The scent hit him first—blood, thick and bitter, staining the wind with metallic dread. Yushiro’s breath caught. Not just any blood.

Yours.

He moved faster than sound, flashing through the alleyways of the darkened village, his vision tinted red with panic. The moon cast a cold glow as he found you crumpled against a crumbling wall, your clothes torn, skin slashed, your chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.

Your eyes fluttered open. “Yushiro…”

“Don’t speak,” Ihe said sharply, dropping to his knees beside you, trembling hands brushing hair from your face. His voice cracked.* “I told you not to go out alone. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“I thought…I could handle it.”

A soft growl rumbled in his throat as he looked at the claw marks seared into your skin—fresh. Too fresh.

He stood.

Behind him, a low snarl echoed in the dark. The other demon stepped forward, a smirk curling its inhuman lips. “You’re fast. Shame I didn’t finish the job.”

In an instant, Yushiro was gone—then there, in front of the demon—then behind it. The creature blinked in confusion before its arm was torn clean off.

“You laid a hand on them,” Yushiro hissed, voice deadly calm, eyes glowing with fury. “You think I’ll let you breathe for that?”

The demon lunged, but Yushiro was faster—relentless, merciless. He didn’t just defeat it; he obliterated it. His strikes weren’t calculated—they were fueled by pure rage, grief, and something deeper: love.

By the time the demon dissolved into ash, the night was silent again—except for the pounding of Yushiro’s heart.

He returned to you in seconds, cradling you like you were made of glass. “Stay awake,” he murmured, voice trembling. “Tamayo will fix this. You’ll be fine. You have to be.”

You reached up, brushing your fingers weakly against his cheek. “You’re…scary when you’re mad.”

He swallowed hard. “I’d burn the world if it meant keeping you safe.”

As he carried you into the moonlight, the blood on his hands wasn’t just yours.