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Hundreds of rooms and windows and stairs appeared all meshing into one as if they were a maze. Hundreds of halls. Entrapping the light within the confusion of the structure your mind struggled to comprehend.
The ultimate dimension. The Infinity Castle. This is where all demons came from, their original home.
Past doors, lanterns, stairs, walls, hallways- Doors. Lanterns. Stairs. Walls. Hallways. Doors. Stairs. Walls. Lanterns. Hallways. Over and over again. Reflected in your eyesight and flying past your form at an inhuman speed. Yes. The Infinity Castle was always confusing for you to navigate. No. Not confusing. Impossible. And you couldn't tell where you were going half the time or was confused on purpose (by Enmu) although it had one good feature. Lots of hiding places. Why would someone need hiding places? ....Well-
"Y/N, MY DARLING BELOVED LOTUS FLOWER!! COME BACK!! WE NEED TO DISCUSS OUR DEAL CONCERNING OUR ENGAGEMENT AGAIN!! I WANT TO ACTUALLY COURT YOU FOR LONGER THAN TIL THE END OF THIS YEAR!!"
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"
You were very much starting to get tired of this entire fiance fiasco for a LOT of reasons. All these boys were so clingy, a lot fought with each other, the trouble and stress they caused you, and a lot of other reasons you could go on forever talking about. But the main reason right now was because of a certain tall, muscular, annoying, VERY clingy, rainbow eyed, cold, and strong chatterbox blonde was already chasing after you in a love struck haze. Every since you inadvertently broke through whatever barrier was keeping Douma's mind and heart from experiencing emotions without meaning to, he had been following you around like a whiny and annoyingly clingy lost puppy. Especially now that his body was mostly recovered from the wysteria poisoning. You had to either go with Akaza or sneak out most days if you didn't want him to cling to you until he gets better and Kokushibo sends him back to his compound after his recovery period. Until then you were running for some peace and quiet even if only for five minutes of it.
Douma had been knocking insistently at your door until Akaza got annoyed enough to shout at him to stop. Which gave you enough time to try and sneak out while Akaza had him distracted by his shouting. You tried one of your old tricks. Sneaking out through Rui's connected room but Douma was ready for that. Snapping his head to you in an instant inhumanly fast and creepy, but instead of doll like eyes, his rainbow irises now colorful and full of life like an actual rainbow in the lit sky. And that's what lead to now. You bolted hoping Akaza could get him back before you could be bothered again but sadly that wasn't the case.
"YYYYYY/NNNNNN!!! I JUST WANNA TALK TO YOU!! STOOOOPP!!," Douma loudly whined behind you making servants look up and over curiously at the latest Kizuki drama in the Dwell.
"I JUST WANT FIVE MINUTES IN PEACE DAMMIT!!"
Dammit. How the hell was he still able to be so fast recovering from wysteria poisoning?! You ran but he was still able to keep up and he wasn't even full on running. The arse! This was starting to get out of hand. You ran and ran skidding and making a tight turn around a hallway before bolting. Crap, crap, crap! You had to hide! You had to hide fast!! Taking a chance, you dove into an open room someone must've left open, slamming the door behind you and pressing your back to it. Your sudden arrival startled a demon inside as he jumped and blinked at you-
"HEY!!"
"SHH!!"
You cut him off shushing him before pressing your back against the door and froze in silence as footsteps hurriedly approached. Douma no doubt. The stronger demon walked down the hallway before stopping right outside the door. There was silence for ten seconds before the heavy footfalls of Douma left walking off down the hallway.
"LITTLE LOTUS!! Where did you go, my beloved?!"
You remained silent long after even when you couldn't hear his footsteps... before sighing in relief and deflating. Phew. Well that got him off your back at least even for a little while but he'd no doubt be back before you knew it. You had even almost forgotten about the other demon in the room with you until he awkwardly cleared his throat and you looked back up to meet his gaze. Light blue eyes met your gaze.
It was a man.
A man around Enmu 's size and weight with light blue eyes and greyish skin. He was adorned in a black pair of pants, white button up shirt, and a white haori coat with a curious yellow fish-scale pattern on the sleeves. His brownish hair was tied up in a few ponytails with the ends fading into a bright orange color. But what was the most curious thing was the visible x shaped markings over the kanji shaped pupils of his eyes and the unusual face markings he had. You both just...stared at one another before he suddenly frowned.
"Why are you in my room?!," he demanded, "I'm not to be disturbed until Lord Kokushibo comes to see me about my request!"
"Hey! Calm down there!," you quickly retorted back holding up your hands. The last thing you needed was a love sick Douma hearing him and putting two and two together. "I didn't mean to barge in here. I thought this room was empty."
He narrowed his eyes at you looking at you up and down before humming. "You're not dressed like one of the maids."
"Because I'm not a servant," you clarified annoyed at the comparison between you and the heavily make uped maids here. "I live here..At least for now I do."
Now this strange demon looked confused. "You live here but you're not a servant? Are you related to one of the Kizuki then? Only their families are allowed to be here if you're not otherwise a servant."
"No. I'm not related to anyone here either."
"THEN YOU'RE AN INTRUDER?!", He accused suddenly pointing at you, "DO YOU KNOW THE PUNISHMENT OF SOMEONE SNEAKING IN HERE!! YOU'LL BE EXECUTED AND THAT'S ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY!!"
"I'M NOT AN INTRUDER!!," you shouted back to him, "I'M ENGAGED TO THEM!!"
The man stopped, stared blankly at you, and then blinked. "You're... what?"
"I'm ENGAGED to them. The Kizuki....Well... Some of the Kizuki. I'm engaged to them. For now at least. It's still a work in progress."
The demon continued to stare blankly at you before a slap of realization finally smacked him across his face and he pointed again. "Y-Y-YOU'RE THE KIZUKI BRIDE?!"
"Is that what's everyone's calling me?"
"M-My Lady!" He was quick to throw himself at the ground in a deep bow in fear. "Pl-Please forgive me! I-I had no idea who you were! I beg of you not to tell the others of my disrespect!"
Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods. Shit! SHITSHITSHIT!! Now he did it! He was dead! He was SO, SO DEAD!! Her fiances were going to murder him slowly and painfully for disrespecting their wife! Upper Moon Four would all grab a limb each and cut it off! Akaza would punch his head off! Douma would freeze him to death! Enmu would agonize his sleep with endless nightmares! Kaigaku would chop him up to bits! Gyutaro would tear him apart like a rabbid animal! Kyogai might be the only merciful one and have him just locked away! And...Oh dear gods. What would Kokushibo do to him?! He felt sick with fear bubbling up-
"AH?!" He jumped and snapped his head up to meet tired purple eyes as a soft hand gently grabbed his shoulder.
"Relax. I don't plan on telling anyone anything about today. Gods forbid Akaza and Douma just bug me nonstop again." You sighed.
His body was tense under your hold before he slowly deflated with a relieved groan escaping his lips. "Oh thank the gods. I thought I'd be dead for sure."
You rose a brow at his actions. "Who are you anyways?" He wasn't dressed up like any of the servants here and last time you checked, no other family of the Kizuki lived here other than Zohakuten and Mr. Hantengu.
He slowly rode to sit on his knees and looked at you. "My name's Kamanue. I'm here on official business."
"Business? What kind of business?"
"I wish to challenge Lord Kyogai to a Blood Battle for his position as Lower Moon Six!" He said steeling his gaze and clenching a fist. "Kokushibo agreed to meet with me to see if I'm worthy of being granted my request!"
You were taken back a bit by surprise. He wanted to challenge Kyogai? To a blood battle? To take his place? Why? Kyogai was so nice! Why would anyone else want to challenge him and kick him out of the Kizuki? He had such an important job!
"You want to challenge Kyogai? Why? He's such a sweet man."
"A hundred years ago he took my place as Lower Moon Six!," Kamanue snapped back scowling, "I was once Lower Moon Six of the Kizuki! We were brought in with Enmu and Kaigaku but then not even a year after my Master graciously gifted me the position that bookworm challenged me and swiped it from my grasp!!"
You leaned back a bit from the angry demon. "You were a Kizuki?"
He frowned harder but nodded. "A hundred years ago. Yes. I was hand picked by Master Muzan himself along with five other demons to replace the previous Lower Moons after they were all executed for conspiring to murder Lord Kokushibo." He proudly patted his chest. "I was hand picked from millions of others! But then Kyogai had to challenge me for the position!"
Your eyes widened in surprise. There was once different Lower Moons? "I had no idea there was different lower moons than the ones I knew."
He scoffed. "Of course not. The present Lower Moons have held their positions for the last hundred years. Some of the old ones were either challenged and booted out like Mukago and myself or rose up to a higher position like Enmu!" He hissed under his breath. "I hate that sadistic pervert."
"You wouldn't be the first one to say that about Enmu. But if Kyogai challenged you and won why are you challenging him back?"
"Because I worked hard for that position!" He held up his hands looking at you. "I bleed in the dirt to get the Master to look at me! And then not even a few months in someone JUST-...took it from me..." His arms and face dropped. "Do you know what it's like to just work, and work only to just have it all swept away like it never mattered?"
At this you paused just.. staring at him before sighing and to his surprise nodding. "Yeah. I do actually."
"Wait...Really?" He looked skeptical not that you blamed him.
"I was once in a lot of debt. I worked hard and was finally able to pay it all off so I could go live my own life, but then I got engaged against my will and brought here!"
"Wait...You didn't-...Uh." She didn't...seduce them? Throw herself at their feet? Pull strings to get engaged? Blackmail them somehow? Manipulate them? "....You didn't propose to them?" He decided to ask instead wanting to avoid any accidental offensive to avoid any chances of getting pummeled later.
"NO!! I didn't! That Muzan guy thought it would be funny if he engaged me himself to all these Kizuki! I just wanted to travel around and have some freedom for once! I swear once I get my hands on him, I'll choke him with his own necktie!"
Kamanue's jaw dropped. She just blatantly not only disrespected his master but threatened by him in the same sentence!! Was she crazy?! She would get herself killed that way!
"Don't say things like that! Yo-Youll get yourself killed!"
"With how whipped he is for his wife, I doubt it." He choked on air. "But yes. I do know what you must feel concerning that. Maybe not on the same level but definitely on the same context. It's frustrating to just have things spiral out of your control and not be able to do anything about it. Makes you feel helpless."
He paused. Just... blinking at her for a long moment in surprise before nodding. "Yes! I keep saying that but no one ever listens to me or says that Im overreacting! Finally someone sees it from my point of view!"
You nodded but paused to stare harder at his eyes. They had two giant x shapes over the pupils and under the shapes were the Kanji for Lower Moon Six. Could eyes get scars? "What happened to your eyes? Those are some strange scars."
"Huh? Oh. Those." A hand reached up to gently rub his eyes with a frown. "This is what happens when you get kicked from the Kizuki. You're stripped from your title by the Master and forced to bar the humiliation of being defeated. I have to live with this shame every day. That's why I'm here! If I can just get my place back...then the shame will finally stop!"
"....I don't think it's a sign of shame."
He turned to you. "What?"
"I don't think it's shameful. If you were hand picked by your Master yourself to be a part of the Kizuki then him you must've done something amazing to earn it. Think about it. You were picked. Not Kyogai. He had to challenge you for the position before he even became a Kizuki. That means you were still chosen over him in the beginning. And even I you're not a Kizuki anymore, you were still a part of it and picked for it. There's not many demons who can actually claim that."
Kamanue continued to stare at you wide eyed. "I-...I-I've never really thought about it like that before."
"See? Your eyes are living proof of that. They're not a symbol of shame. They're a symbol of your strength."
He hummed looking like he was thinking very hard about your words before he slowly smiled. "Y-Yes...YES! Yes! You're right! I'm stronger than any average demon! My worth isn't tied to the stupid status!"
"Told you so. But did they hurt?"
"Huh?" He froze as two hands grabbed his cheeks squishing them as she turned his head to stare at his eyes.
"When you got those scars. Did they hurt? It looks painful."
He just ..stared at the beautiful sight of her concerned face and pretty purple eyes staring at him. The scent of tulips suddenly filling his lungs and flooding his senses.
...bu-...bu-bump....BU-BUMP BU-BUMP BU-BUMP
His heart suddenly jolted making him flinch and a hand fly to grip his chest as his face flooded a pink. The sudden beating made him choke on a wheeze making her blink at the sudden strange noise. However before either could say anything a loud pair of footsteps approached making her suddenly let go and her head snap back towards the door wide eyed.
"Little Lotus! I know you're hiding in one of these rooms!" A loud sound of the room two doors down from them being thrown open echoed throughout the hall and other rooms. Douma has returned quickly figuring out your trick. "I'll find you eventually so you might as well come out and spend time with your darling husband to be!~" He sang out.
"Ah shit!''
Without another word to Kamanue, she bolted. Throwing the door back open and running back up the hallway away from Douma...but also in plain view of the powerful Upper Moon. A blonde blur soon also rushed back his door.
"Darling! Stop running and playing hard to get already!!"
"Buzz off, Douma!!"
Kamanue just sat there clutching away at his still beating chest before he thickly swallowed in horror at the sudden realization. ".....oh no-"