My Brightest Flame (Rengoku X Reader)

Chapter 35 - Hide and Seek

A/N: If you notice any typos let me know! My phone keyboard has been fighting me lately because I'm learning a language and I added a second dictionary 😭

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"Igloo!" Y/N headed downstairs in time to hear Reiko declare the random word, her mother chuckling.

"I have to clean up first, okay?" Rei spoke, pale from morning sickness. She definitely wasn't in any condition to go outside.

When the daughter noticed the demon, her eyes brightened as a huge smile crossed her face. "Can we make an igloo?"

"Okay." Y/N agreed, trying to hide the sadness she felt with a small smile. Maybe building an igloo with this overly cheerful child would help her feel better, it could distract her just as the snowmen they made had done.

"I will forever be grateful for you, y/n." Rei's voice was gentle, both with gratefulness and sickness. The sentence threw y/n off, not expecting her to actually be grateful. She hadn't really been doing her job, not that there was much reason to guard them...She felt more like a babysitter. "Stay warm you two." She spoke.

"We will, don't worry. Please lie down once you're done. If anything is too much leave it out and I'll finish it when we come back." Y/N supported, helping Reiko get dressed before taking care of her own clothes. Of course the temperature outside made no difference to her as a demon, but she had to maintain the appearance of a human anyway, no matter how restrictive it was. With one last thank you, the demon and child left into the cold.

It was windier than it was before, y/n noticed. Not much however, but there could be an overnight storm. A part of y/n wondered how the little girl next to her wasn't afraid of the dark and how she wasn't struggling to see. Maybe she was just used to it after however long she and her mother had spent with Muzan? Because of the wind, they had to find an area with some trees. It was further out than y/n would have preferred, but Reiko had really wanted to make an igloo. So, being thorough on her way to the small forest, she continued on. There was no danger, she was certain, so they started on the igloo.

While they built, y/n gave instructions to the child, keeping a subconscious eye on her as she searched for snow. She wondered what Muzan had done to just disappear like that, or what reason he had for it. Maybe it was because an upper rank was gone? Was he selecting a new upper six? Y/N couldn't know, she wasn't a mind-reader like him. A snowball hit her face, followed by mischievous giggles. Breaking from her thoughts, she looked at Reiko with a trouble causing grin of her own.

"Oh yeah?" The demon neglected the half built igloo, grabbing her own snowball as the child ran off, laughing out as she got hit easily by the snowball after a sad attempt at hiding. It didn't really matter if she was a good hider though, y/n had an easy time locating humans. As the kid grabbed another ball, it was y/n's time to hide. Once she was behind a tree, she frowned to herself. She couldn't afford getting distracted by her own thoughts like that, she should have been aware of the snowball. If she didn't focus then that could have easily been a demon slayer ready to kill her.

Glaring in front of her she had noticed quickly how windy it had gotten, the storm approaching rapidly. They should really head home now, but she'd let Reiko win first. That was until she felt something...Even as a demon, the change in temperature was obvious and unusual. Staying hidden she tensed as she felt the slight warmth that appeared and she for a fact it wasn't the jacket. There was something about it that made her feel safe, growing warmer as she recognised it as something familiar.

With concern the demon stepped out of her hiding spot, trying to understand the sudden heat that had surrounded her and why it was familiar. A snowball hit the back of her head, and she turned back to the child with a serious frown covering her expression.