⋆｡‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.
genre: angst (hurt comfort)
x reader or ship?: x reader
requested by: no one
⋆｡‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.

"damn it, this demon is strong!" you hissed, as you leapt back to dodge a swipe from her claws.

rengoku hastily wiped sweat from his brow before grunting in assent, lunging forward and trying to end the fight quickly.

the two of you had been on a peaceful walk in the forest when you heard screams and growling coming from a small village ahead. rengoku instantly took off towards the village with his sword drawn, ready to help whoever was suffering. you hesitantly drew your sword and followed after him.

it turned out that the village was being attacked by a demon that both of you thought of as being a minor one at first, nothing too hard to kill. however, you both ended up being wrong, and now you were engaged in quite a tough battle.

"y/n, you need to get behind her somehow!" rengoku said. "if we attack at the same time from different directions, she'll be forced to prioritize attacking one of us, and the other person will be able to kill her!"

you nodded and muttered a sharp, 'understood,' before running to try and get behind the demon. as you were running towards her, rengoku used his flame breathing moves to distract her and make her focus on him.

you managed to get behind her without getting hit, but as you raised your sword to attack, she whipped around and cut your neck with her claws in one inhumanly swift movement.

your sword fell out of your hands as you collapsed to the ground, clutching your wound, which was bleeding quite seriously. pain took over your body, and you could no longer move. all you could do was cry out and curse yourself for not noticing the demon's claws coming at you.

rengoku used his flame breathing to quickly take down the demon, and then he rushed to your side, panic in his eyes. his usual smile had disappeared, replaced by a frown.

"kyo...juro..."

you moaned in pain, tears filling your eyes. rengoku tried to comfort you, holding your hands and whispering reassuring words to you, but the pain kept on getting worse.

"i don't think i'll... aah!"

rengoku was pressing down hard on your wound with both his hands, trying to apply pressure so that the bleeding would stop. you could feel his hands shaking, and you smiled weakly to try and reassure him.

"focus on your breathing!" he urged you. "total concentration breathing can help stop the pain, but you have to focus!"

you heard a panicked squawk, and you looked over to see your kasugai crow perching on your shoulder, looking down at you with its beady eyes full of panic.

"kaguya... go to shinobu. tell her-"

your head dropped to the ground, and you lost consciousness.

⋆｡‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.⋆｡‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.

rengoku was blaming himself.

if only he had noticed the demon's attack before it hit y/n, he could've killed her faster. if only he wasn't weak, he could've killed the demon before she even attacked either of them.

if only, if only...

the hordes of butterflies fluttering around him and beautiful aromatic flowers blooming by his feet did nothing to lighten his mood. he stared out into the distance at the setting sun, the beauty of it not striking his heart as it usually did.

he heard a door sliding open, and he immediately stood up at attention. kanao tsuyuri, shinobu kocho's tsuguko, came towards him, anxiously fingering the golden coin she always carried with her.

she bowed low to him, and rengoku hastily bowed back, unfocused and uncaring on how low he went.

kanao flipped her coin before speaking, as was her custom.

"l/n y/n still lives," she said, before turning around to go back into the house.

rengoku reached out and grabbed her cape, making her whip around and look at him with amethyst eyes filled with panic. her coin dropped to the ground, and she strained herself trying to pick it up.

"how are they ?" he asked.

"they're alive, but how are they?!"

"perhaps, if you unhand my tsuguko, i'll tell you."

shinobu kocho appeared, her hair disheveled and dark circles under her eyes. she looked exhausted; it was obvious that caring for y/n day and night was taking a toll on her.

rengoku instantly let go of kanao, who retrieved her coin and rushed away, distrust and fear in her eyes as she looked at rengoku.

he regretted what he had done; kanao was a kind girl, and quite talented. he liked her, and she probably would never trust him ever again.

love really made you do crazy things...

shinobu shook her head and tsk-ed at rengoku, obviously displeased with his behavior towards her student.

"y/n is out of danger, but their injury was severe. they'll need to rest and recuperate here for a while," she said.

rengoku sighed deeply in relief, his heart's frantic beating calmed. the one he loved was safe. he no longer had any reason to fear!

"thank you, shinobu!" he exclaimed, embracing  the insect hashira, who was shocked by his affectionate behavior.

"it's my job," she responded rather sharply.

noticing the gratitude rengoku had for her, she softened a bit.

"...but you're welcome," she finished, speaking softly.

"may i see them?" rengoku asked.

shinobu nodded and smiled at him, but urged him to be gentle with y/n and give them plenty of time to rest. he assured her he would, and then rushed to the room y/n was in.

his heart broke when he saw them. they looked so weak and small, buried under white covers that smelled of disinfectant and staring sadly up at the overly brightly lit ceiling.

he called their name, and they looked at him, tears in their eyes.

"what is it?" rengoku asked, not understanding why they were crying.

"i thought i'd never see you again!" they sobbed. "i thought i was going to die!"

rengoku took their hands in his and kissed them gently, staring passionately into their eyes.

"i'd never let that happen to you," he said.

"i love you."

he brushed their tears away with his thumb and they smiled at him.

"can you promise me that?" they asked.

"i promise, my love," he replied.

a/n- i actually like this oneshot a lot! rengoku might be ooc, and if so, i apologize :(

i hope you like it regardless of any mistakes i might have made! stay safe and have a lovely day or night, depending on your timezone!

love you all ❤️