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KAGUYA WAS PREPARED for her training session with dōma. after all, dōma seemed like the simplest to control despite his keen intelligence and sharp combat skills.

the woman knew about upper moon two's inability to feel emotions. although he was good at hiding it, kaguya was a pro at reading people's expressions (or lack thereof).

after all, her blood demon art specifically dealt with feelings and such. and there wasn't a single ounce of sentiment behind those colorful eyes.

     "sir dōma, this is kaguya. may I enter?", the woman asked, awaiting outside the door of dōma's training room, as she heard a cheerful, "come in!"

kaguya gently opened the door, revealing her in the combat uniform that was tailored to each and every single one of the demonesses.

     "good evening, lady kaguya! how're you doing?", dōma questioned.

     "I'm well, and you? sir dōma?"

     "good good. now, why don't you pick out a weapon and we can start honing on your skills. or if you'd like to fight with your barehands like sir akaza does, that's fine too", dōma smiled.

"I'd like to use a pair of daggers", kaguya answered, pulling them off the shelf of weapons that were displayed.

     "ooh, great choice!! say, have you ever participated in a fight before?", upper moon two questioned, as he steadily made his way towards the dark-haired woman, his shadow looming over her.

kaguya cracked a petite smile.

"no, not really", she lied.

dōma hummed in response, as he tilted kaguya's chin up with the end of his golden fan.

"are you sure, lady kaguya? you know, I can read others pretty well~"

"is that so?", kaguya muttered out, as her ash-gray eyes stared into dōma's rainbow ones.

boldly taking a step forwards, kaguya maintained her unaffected expression even though the edge of the fan was pressed against her throat, threatening to slice through the thin layer of skin.

her thumb gripped onto the hilt of the dagger, as she slyly placed her palm against dōma's chest, right where his beating heart thumped.

"well, I do think that I'm slightly more of an expert at reading others emotions...", kaguya whispered.

"including someone like you".

dōma suddenly felt something.

     oh god, it was horrid — it was awful! it was something he's never experienced before. he felt; he actually felt something. this indescribable feeling of warmness. it was blossoming and creating butterflies at the pit of his stomach. he wasn't sure if the butterflies were just a jittery sensation, or a warning that the demoness before him was dangerous — demanding that he runs.

     his face blanked and drained of color even more, if that were even possible.

     it was clear that kaguya had struck his long-lived desire to feel, which had diminished upon the upper moon becoming a demon.

     dōma just didn't care anymore. he accepted his inability to feel and switched masks like they were his actual expressions.

     that is, until this exact moment.

     he felt something.

     what it was, he wasn't sure yet. however, he'll figure it out. yeah, he'll just have to experience the feeling again, and all the other emotions that humans and demons thrive on.

"eh? what does lady kaguya mean by someone like me?? am I different?", dōma questioned with his usual fake smile, as the feeling had already disappeared upon kaguya's fingers leaving his chest.

kaguya slightly shook her head.

     "nothing...I suppose that I was wrong about my intuition", kaguya casually hummed.

     "what intuition, if I may ask?"

     "oh, just that the infamous upper moon two isn't able to feel any emotions. though it seems that I'm clearly wrong. apologies for the assumption", kaguya stated, as she gave the male a small curtsy.

'so she's not just a pretty face after all...'

     "no worries; no offense taken!! anyways, let's get on with your training, shall we?? I'd hate to see you lose", dōma mumbled, his breath almost quieter than a whisper.

     "after all, I can foresee that lady kaguya will get far into this competition".

     the dark-haired demoness felt shivers trickle down her back, causing her to straighten her posture, despite keeping a calm expression across her face.

     "I appreciate sir dōma's trust in me. however, I believe that I'd need just a little more than a pretty face and good fighting skills to stay", kaguya responded.

the woman then held her arms up into a fighting stance, as dōma corrected her down to the tiniest details.

his long fingers trailed from kaguya's wrist up towards her shoulder, pushing them down, as he lightly rubbed circles around the nape of her neck with his thumbs. it was a relaxation technique, as he would say.

"no need to be so tense, lady kaguya. fluid movements over stiff ones", dōma reminded.

"and I agree. it'll take more than just your pretty face and a firm stance to win this entire selection. it'll take a conniving mind..."

dōma took a short moment to pause in his sentence, as he fixed the woman's stance, widening it so that she'd have a better balance.

"a stern soul craving for this..."

a sweep of the foot was then delivered to kaguya, causing the woman to fall onto her bum, as she glared at upper moon two.

"a steady heart in the presence of him..."

before kaguya could rise, she was tacked down to the floor with her two wrists pinned above her head.

"and a pair of hands that aren't afraid to be tainted by the ichor of those pathetic humans", dōma spoke, lifting the woman's chin by placing the sharp end of his war fan under her jaw.

a thin line of skin had then been cut, exposing a droplet of blood that rolled down the side of kaguya's neck.

upper moon two had then wiped the blood away with his thumb, for the wound had swiftly healed.

licking his thumb, dōma leisurely stood up and flashed open his golden fan to shield the lower half of his face.

'even her blood gives me such a chilling feeling...oh how delightful!'

"sir dōma, though I indeed cherish your advice, I can assertively tell you that...", kaguya paused for a second as she threw her dagger at the upper moon so roughly that the wall behind him had created a large dent that would not be able to be recovered with just a few pints of cement.

"my mind will be more than just conniving. my soul will be hungrier than a demon that's been deprived of humans. my heart will be sturdier than king muzan's reign of terror. and my hands will never be afraid, nor regret being dirtied, for they have long been stained".

dōma tilted his head to the side, as he fanned himself with a grin.

"is that so? if that's the case, then I'll be awaiting for lady kaguya to perform her best throughout this entire selection. I hope you don't disappoint".

     "I won't", kaguya assuringly smiled, as she held up her other dagger.

     "now, shall we commence in a fight? I promise I won't go too hard", dōma teased, as the dark-haired demoness graciously accepted.

     "as honored as I am for sir dōma's consideration, I'd appreciate it if you went as hard as you could".

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

     kaguya was beaten mercilessly, as the woman was practically covered with bruises — that have yet to heal despite her being a demon — all around her body except for her face.

     "you need to keep your pretty face just in case your battle doesn't go so well. maybe they'd reconsider even if the rest of your body's all bloodied up!", dōma had exclaimed.

     "tch, fuck you!", kaguya yelled into the innocent air of her bedroom.

     inhaling and exhaling three deep breaths, kaguya was glad that she was at least able to land a few hits on upper moon two, causing a couple of superficial cuts, which allowed her to wipe it away using a spare hanky.

     "hopefully she'll find some use for this", kaguya mumbled, as she suddenly hear a soft meowing.

     "ah chachamaru, make sure you get this to tamayo safely", kaguya faintly instructed, as the tricolor calio cat meowed once again, turning invisible.

     hopping out of the window, kaguya had then prepared for the battle — praying that she would get an easy opponent so that she wouldn't have to waste too much of an effort.

     though her wish did come true, her expression ever so slightly tensed at the sight of others brutally (some hesitantly) bashing the other demonesses' heads.

     "w-why must we kill each other??", one squeaked out.

     "only the strongest gets to survive in this competition. if you can't even pass this first trial, then you have no right to even meet our lord", the demon announcer proclaimed.

     'so it's either kill or be killed, huh? would've never expected any less from the likes of him'.

     kaguya glanced over at the opposite bench, where her selected partner sat. she seemed quite weak, as her entire body couldn't stop shivering, and her jaw was beyond tense.

'did I just get lucky, or...'

the ebony-haired demoness had then looked towards dōma, who was just smiling at her.

     the upper moon slightly lowered his fan down to his chin, so that kaguya would be able to read his lips.

     "you're welcome", he said.

     AUTHOR'S NOTE: little meow meow🥺

     hey darlings!! please don't forget to share, comment, & star. it's greatly appreciated!! love y'all lots <3