IX

**A/N: I don't know if all you lovely people are curious about the time line. If you're not, ignore me, but if you are then the current time line is right before the entertainment district arc. After Tanjiro and friends get back from fighting Rui, the Lowermoon six.Muzan hasn't killed the all the Lowermoons yet.***

**3rd POV***

Kokushibou had a concussion.

No, that was too literary. He was stunned.

Too stunned to speak. Not stunned enough to stare. And with that staring, a very visible blush flooded his cheeks.

And disappeared the moment she looked back at him. But his insides still flared like they were on fire.

"Good day" Nakime chirps and goes back to the stove, cooking what seemed to be venison. It was lean, and looked fatty.

How she got it was above him.

But that wasn't the problem right now.

It had been a few days since Nakime got better. She could walk around the house now without having an extreme headache, her temperature was normal and her skin wasn't so pale. He'd still have her eating fresh flesh though and when she could regenerate, he stopped giving her such.

It wasn't as fast as it was supposed to be, but at least it was something. She could handle some Hashiras with her recovery speed.

Not like he'd be letting any corp members close to a strand on her hair.

And now, here she was. Back in the kitchen; in one of the most alluring dresses Kokushibou had ever seen.

It wasn't indecent. No, it was far from it.

However, it was fitted so nicely around her small frame.

The yukata didn't have sleeves.It was a nice shade of dark purple, with black roses pleated all over it. It draped down to her feet, with some black satin cutting open the fabric at her feet, exposing her lower legs.The way the dress hugged her figure made him unable to tear his gaze away.

What sort of seduction was this?

"Aren't you going to sit?"Kokushibou glared at her, and sat on one of the stools in the kitchen. They had also purchased that from Lady Yusa.

He wasn't angry, no. He was far from it.

He was just irritated.....at himself, for ogling the woman in front of him. He internally growled when she reached down to get something and the fabric slightly tightened around her hips.

" For Kami's sake" He muttered and rubbed at a pair of his eyes. Usually, self control was never a problem for him. As a human, he couldn't even count the number of women that flocked him and Yoriichi daily.And even as a demon, he's had his fair share of women chasing him around when he goes on missions.He mostly ignores them, and if Douma is with him, let's just say the women don't get to see the dawn of the next day.

"What's the problem?" He let go of his eyes and saw that the cause of his headache was right in front of his face, "You look like you're thinking really hard about something"

"Yeah, I wonder what" He answers and flinches when she hits him on the head with that damned wooden ladle, ".....I'm going to break that thing one day"

"I'd like to see you try" She scoffs and hands him his plate of food. A small smile forms on his face when he looks at her.

From a small parting in her bangs, her eye was slightly visible. A pretty pink shade with the thickest set of eyelashes he had ever seen.

He never understood why she felt the need to hide such a beautiful thing. He had three pairs of them, six fucking eyes!If anything, he should be the one hiding. But instead, he doesn't really give a damn about it. He liked when people feared him, but he's not sure he would be very happy if she was scared of him.

"Thank you" He says and she freezes.

Kokushibou smirked a little when he saw the blush form on her cheeks. No way he was seeing things now, the shade went so perfectly with her eye.She nodded at him and quickly went back to stove, getting her own share.

There would be a full on squabble if she didn't.

She put some food on a plate for herself and sat on the counter, resting her back on the wall. The two demons ate in comfortable silence. That is, until Nakime decided to peek at him.She swore his muscles had increased. Normally, his haori always made him look lean and not very muscular. Hiding away such a salacious view from everyone. Now she could see how it slightly expanded, because of the growth.

I wonder what else increased.

Her eyes widened and she whined, internally scolding herself. Daki was starting to rub off on her.

"Now you're the one who's in deep thought"

She looked to her side and saw him at the sink, already washing his dish.

She seriously envied his speed.

"What's bothering you?"

She only sticks her tongue out at him( as best as she could with her mouth full) and goes back to eating, giggling at the little glare he gave her.

She decided to poke the bear.

"You eat like a hungry wolf"

Kokushibou kept quiet before a small tick mark appeared on his head. Nakime stifled her laugh.Oh,she had done it now.

"What was that?"

She gulped down her food and jumped down from the countertop, facing him head on. The height difference was so obvious but she stood her ground and glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I said, you eat like a hungry wolf. And not the good ones either, those little ones that always whimper and whine at the slightest inju-"Her words get caught in the back of her throat as her chin is gripped. She stares up at Kokushibou as his eyes narrow at her. The tension between the two of them could form an electric current.

Looking down at this woman, he had the urge to claim those lips. He wanted to do it so badly, it'd be so much easier if he did. But then, he'd be providing a path way for him to get weak.

Anything could happen. The life of a demon was not a bed of roses.

He could get killed, she could get killed.He'd never forgive himself if she died when he was still alive.He's not even sure how Muzan would feel about this.

But even with all those options weighing in his mind, his eyes darted downwards, straight to her lips. They looked so red and so soft and he would be lying if he said he didn't want his blood all over them.Great, now he has a blood kink.

He willed himself to look away from her succulent lips, only to curse at the sinful look in her eye. Was he imagining things? Most definitely, because there was no way she was staring at him with such fire in her eyes.

The icing on the cake was when she let her crossed arms fall to her sides. Her breasts jiggled from the impact of being released and Kokushibou felt something inside him snap.

All thoughts of restraint and decency were thrown out the window as his other hand circled her waist and pulled her closer. Nakime's eye widened and she blushed furiously when she felt him draw circles on her back.There was no way this was happening.

Even if she was in shock, her body didn't hesitate to react to his. The two inched closer, eyes shut as their lips fanned out hot breaths against the other.They jumped apart when they heard a crashing noise from outside. It sounded like something metal and the only metal things they had were in the shed.

The two looked at each other, almost sadly, and rushed to said shed.Once inside, they lowered their guard, seeing no one there.

"Odd" Kokushibou mutters and Nakime makes a noise of agreement before gasping.

**Nakime's POV****

My eyes landed on the Yūjo lily just a few feet away from us. I tapped Kokushibou and he looked at where I pointed at and blinked, shock.

"It's beautiful " I whispered and moved to the plant, crouching in front of it.

It had it's own little space in the plant bed and it had sprouted a few weeks ago. Now, a beautiful white petaled flower emerged from the sprout. It must've knocked the watering can over because said can was oj the floor, right beside the bed.

The flower was beautiful, I couldn't help but give it light pats and stroke its petals.

Kokushibou knelt beside me and watched as I continued to pamper it.

We were really good horticulturists.

"I have to send word to Muzan-sama"

I look at him. He returns my gaze.

We immediately look away from each other and I feel my cheeks heating up so badly, it could be mistaken for a fever.Can't blame me, after what just happened."W-why are you sending word to Muzan-sama?"

Damn it! Why did I stutter?!

Kokushibou picked up his watering can ,that was already filled, and started watering the sprout, "He told me to inform him when the first flowers bloom. It's his way of keeping track and seeing whether this isn't just a waste of time"

"Oh" I mumble before pouting, "Well, he didn't tell me anything..."

A deep chuckle came out of him and I shivered unconsciously."You can be really immature sometimes, you know that, right?"

I only smirk at him, "Well, it's only when I'm around you. Which means you're just as childish"

His eyes narrow at me playfully and I glare right back. I'm about 90 percent sure we are going to have a good old fashioned water fight in a few minutes.Thankfully, he only chucked again and stood up after watering the plant.

I watched him quietly and immediately blushed again as I remembered what happened a few moments ago.

Was he really about to.....?

"Won't you come back inside?" He asks and I jump a little, looking back at him. I shyly look away from him and stand up, patting the lily one more time before walking out of the shed with him. Once we were inside, there was silence.

Silence as he sat down next to a small table and started writing a letter to send to Muzan via raven. I'm very sure he was the only demon that owned one. It makes me wonder more about his past life. But I keep these pressures to myself and quietly sit next to him, peeking in on the letter as he wrote.

" Why is your 't' shaped like that? "

"Nakime, I swear to Kami-sama......."

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**3rd POV*****

It was nighttime. The streets of the district were still bustling with life, the lamps shining brightly to direct pedestrians.

Both demons were out on a stroll. Well, a shopping spree sort of stroll. A few days ago, Nakime helped Lady Yusa out in her shop and then one of the customers gave her a tip.A very generous one, along with a few flirtatious ministrations.

She politely declined him and blushed furiously when the older woman smiled and said something about her lover getting angry if he found out.

She spent most of the night with the woman until she closed shop for the day. Kokushibou would often leave the house too, to train and also to keep watch in case of any slayers. They had not spoken about what almost happened between them.

It was just....too awkward.Nakime felt to shy to ask or even initiate a discussion about it and Kokushibou, didn't want to because he felt she would be weirded out. They both decided to keep it to themselves and both secretly hoped that it would happen again.

Anyways, she didn't need to think twice about what she would use that money for.

Kokushibou had been spoiling her rotten ever since they came. She couldn't even count the number of accessories and yukata this man bought for her.And the worst part was, whenever she tried to tell him that it was too much, a small glare and she'd have to keep quiet.

Now, it was her turn.

"Oh, we're here" She says and drags him into a unisex shop.

It was quite the clothes shop, having a vast variety of traditional Kimonos, Yukata, Haori, Nemaki, Tomesode, Jinbei, Hanten, Hakama. You name it, it was there.

She smiled to herself and let go of him, running into the aisle of clothes. Kokushibou blinked and immediately followed her, not comfortable with how big the place was and the amount of people in it.

"Nakime, why did you bring us here?" He asks, and frowns when she blatantly ignores him, too busy with filing through the assortments of Hakama.

"Nakime"

"Would you untwist your panties for like, three seconds?" She scoffs and his jaw slightly opens. What the heck was so important here that she had to drag him in and now, she was insulting him?

"Excuse you" He muttered and she sighs and turns to look at him.

"I'm sorry okay? I just need to get something here, it's very important and it won't take long"

Kokushibou nods at this and then folds his arms, "What is it? I can just get it for you now and-"

"No!" She yelps and he jumps at her shout.

'What the fuck?' He thinks as she rubs her head with a sheepish smile,"Sorry, just-no. You don't need to get it, I'll get it myself okay? In fact, why don't you go stand by the cashier over there?"

He raises an eyebrow at her and looks over to the paying unit where the female cashier was. He couldn't even believe she wanted him to just stand there and wait for her.

He was an Uppermoon, not some obedient puppy.

"Is there a problem?" She says and places a hand on her hip.

You know what? The check out was looking very interesting right about now. He decided to go stay there and wait.

Nakime went deeper into the aisles as soon as she saw Kokushibou stand by the check out point. He had his arms crossed the whole time and it almost looked like he was pouting.

She giggled at this and started looking through the stack of haori.There were yellow, red, black, white, blue and pink ones. Her eye landed on a grey one with dark purple stripes and she immediately picked it up.

It had long sleeves and she thought the colours would bring out his eyes when more. And the haori had enough space for a little bit of the chest to peek out.

Ok maybe, she was being a closet pervert but it was for a good cause.

She looked at the price tag and her eye almost fell out of its eye socket. If she did buy this, it would take up half of her money and then she wouldn't be able to buy him a kimono like she planned.

Damn it.

She sighed, and decided to get the haori and something else that she could afford.But she made it her mission to get Kokushibou a kimono, no matter the cost.

She went over to accessories and she internally squealed when she saw a dark blue Kanzashi with miniature moon crescents all over it. She would love to use that on his hair. He's been letting her touch it a lot.

She got that and then finally came across some Geta. Yes, he had footwear but she wanted to get him another. Luckily, it didn't cost much and her total yen could cover it.

She hummed, satisfied with her picks and then made her way to the checkpoint to make her payment. She imagined Kokushibou's fave as he got these things and she couldn't help but giggle again. He'd be so shocked.

Once she reached there, she saw him talking with the cashier. He looked so drained of social battery and she snickered when the cashier said something, making him grunt and lean his head on the wall.

However, when she got their attention and dropped the things to pay, she heard some whispering as well as a lot of giggles.She looked to her right and saw a small group of ladies, in traditional kimonos.Probably courtesans.

" He's so handsome, great Kami~"

" Have you seen him around the district? This is the first time I'm seeing him"

" He should really visit, I would love to please such a man like him.."

" What makes you think he'd want to stay with you?"

" Shush "

" Do you guys think I should go say 'hello'? It would be nice to talk to him"

"Um, ma'am?" The cashier says, with a hint of fear in her voice. Nakime's hand was on the check out table and it bent from impact when she squeezed it, "A-are you okay?"

"Nakime" Kokushibou says and places a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped out of her thoughts and stared at a terrified cashier and a worried Kokushibou.

"O-oh, I'm sorry. I was just.....lost. Um, so the total?" She stutters and winces when the cashier cautiously takes the items from her.

Great, she scared her without even meaning to.

(A/N: The price of a haori is quite high so please pardon me for reducing it. I have to do it for the sake of the storyline. Apologies for any other incorrect prices of other items🙏)

"That'll be 1800 yen, ma'am"

Kokushibou stuck a hand inside his pocket, to pay obviously but flinched when Nakime glared at him.

He immediately removed his hand from his pocket and watched her pay and then take the well packaged items.

"Thank you" Nakime mutters and immediately grabs Kokushibou's hand and drags him out of the store.

The walk was silent and he looked down at their locked hands. A small blush formed on his cheeks but he frowned, noticing the way she was gripping his hand not holding it.

"Nakime, is everything okay?" He asks, and doesn't receive an answer, "Nakime?"

He gulps when she stops and then looks up at him. She was glaring, deeply but he also saw that her eye was glossy. Was she about to cry?

"Nakime?" He says and wraps his free hand around her shoulder, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing" She says and wipes her eye when a tear does fall. Luckily, they were alone on the street. He knew that he'd probably decapitate anybody who would see her like this. She looked so beautiful when she was in tears, "It's just me. I'm sorry"

"It's not nothing if it's making you sad, Nakime" He says and raises up her chin so she would look at him, "What's wrong?"

She sighs and looks sideways.

"No. Look at me"

She locks eyes with him and immediately gets lost in them. She wanted to see the other pairs of his eyes but she held herself from ripping of the bandana on them.

"What's wrong?" He repeats.

"Have you.....ever.... you know, k-kissed someone, before?"

He blinks, taken aback by the question.

What?

Nakime wanted to crawl into a hole and die because of what she just asked. But she was determined and stared up into his eyes.

"Well, not really. If you count...... my wife from my past life"

Whatever drive was pushing Nakime forward, it was knocked clean out of her system.

She couldn't believe he just said wife.

So, he was married? Wait, why am I affected? I was married too....

"O-oh" She says and quietly tries to detach herself from him. He notices it and frowns, but complies, letting her go.

Maybe I shouldn't have told her that.

"I'm sorry for asking" She says and looks down to the floor, "......It was none of my business"

He almost wanted to say that it was most definitely her business but he kept quiet.

"You must've had a reason for asking me such a question. Is there something you want to tell me?"

She flinched and bit her lip. Could she tell him? He had a wife!That was most definitely dead.

But she was just......not in his league.He was an Uppermoon, while she was just a demon that managed to get into Muzan's good graces. There was such a difference. And she didn't want to risk loosing the little bond they had.

But this opportunity would most likely never come again. So she sucked it up and nervously twiddled with her fingers,"What i-if, I told you......that I wanted....t-to.."

She gulped and tried to stop her raging heartbeat, "W-what if I told you I wanted to k-kiss...you?"

If Kokushibou was skilled at masking emotions, all that skill was forgotten.His pair of eyes that weren't covered by a bandana opened as wide as they could get.

He wanted to pinch himself, see if he was dreaming.

But he knew he wasn't with the way Nakime was now digging her fingers into her palm.

His heartbeat got a little faster and silence fell between the two of them.

Nakime didn't dare look up. She didn't want to. He was probably looking at her with the most disgusted glare ever. She immediately regretted her decision.

"I-i'm sorry, I s-shouldn't have asked that too, you-"

"Stop that" He says and separates her digging fingers from her palm. She gasped when she felt those hands snake to her waist and then pull her closer, "You'll hurt yourself"

Nakime's eyes widened when she felt his lips collide with hers.

The kiss was soft and he didn't move, almost as if he waited for her to realize herself. It was only a few seconds later that she closed her eyes and meekly kissed back.

Their lips moved in sync and molded perfectly together. Nakime didn't even want to question if this was a dream or not, she was too far gone.Her hands shyly wrapped around his neck and his hands remained on her waist, only slipping down a bit to softly grope her bottom.

Nakime let out a gasp and panted when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He marked everywhere, licking everything within reach and of course, winning the battle for dominance against her tongue.The kiss started to get passionate and he bit her lip sharply making her give out a loud moan. Her eyes widened at the sound she just made and she tried to pull away only to be pulled back in and be kissed into oblivion.

When they pulled away, Nakime's face was so flushed and her lips were as swollen as ever.

Kokushibou gave a very satisfied smirk and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'd tell you that I'd love to kiss you, and have that sweet sound come out of your lips again"

She blushed harder and smacked his shoulder, making him chuckle.

"I was jealous" She says and he raises an eyebrow.

"Back at the store" She adds, folding her arms, "There were a group of women planning to court you"

Kokushibou couldn't help the smile that fell on his face. She was jealous.....That made him extremely happy.

Nakime let out a small squeal when he pecked her cheek.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you."

"Hmmph" She pouts, still trying to look angry but she couldn't, not with the ridiculous blush on her face.

"And, why did you buy these things in the first place?" He asks, peeking into the bag of items. Nakime slapped him away and told him to wait until they got home, and then she would show him the stuff and then explain to him.

Home.

He loved the sound of that word coming out of her mouth. And he hoped to hear it even more from her.

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