Main Content
Archive of Our OwnArchive of Our OwnHi, TheBrimmedHat!PostLog Out
FandomsBrowseSearchAboutWork Search
tip: "uchiha sasuke/uzumaki naruto" angst kudos>10
Actions
Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Bookmark Mark for Later Comments Share Download
Work Header
Rating:
Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category:
Gen
Fandoms:
鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime)鬼滅の刃 | Kimetsu no Yaiba (Manga)
Characters:
Tsuyuri KanaoDouma (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Hashibira InosukeKotoha (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Kimetsu no Yaiba EnsembleTwelve Demon Moons Ensemble (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Original CharactersDaki | Ume (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Gyutaro (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Kochou KanaeAkaza | Hakuji (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Kokushibou | Tsugikuni Michikatsu
Additional Tags:
Alternate UniverseFluff and AngstCanon-Typical ViolenceCannibalismDouma is a Little Shit (Kimetsu no Yaiba)BAMF Tsuyuri KanaoDysfunctional FamilyBad ParentingDouma grabs Kanao instead of the Kochou siblingsAnd grabs Inosuke before Kotoha can chuck him off a cliffDouma: I'm not like a regular dad I'm a cool dadSwordfightingDubious MoralityConditioningKanao and Inosuke as siblingsBlood and GoreLoyaltyFamily Bondingno beta we die like the KamadosCultsTsuyuri Kanao-centricCanonical Character DeathHashibira Inosuke Being Hashibira InosukeTsuyuri 'if anything happens to my family I'll kill everyone in this room and then myself' KanaoPast Child AbuseMorally Neutral KanaoProtective KanaoVivisectionAnimal Abuse
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:2021-11-21Updated:2026-04-06Words:154,514Chapters:39/?Comments:1,964Kudos:3,613Bookmarks:795Hits:129,182
Iron and Ice
SkilledWarriorKiwi
Chapter 2: Paradise Faith
Chapter Text
The girl was being bathed.
It was a strange, unknown experience. The women were gentle, the water was warm.
Her eyes kept darting around the room, ignoring the water and suds that washed over them as she tried to look for her master. He had handed her over to the group of three women shortly after arriving to this new place, instructing them to clean the girl before he vanished from her sight. She kept still, letting the women scrub through her hair with special shampoo to kill the lice as she sat on the small wooden stool in the middle of the bathing room.
Her master had wanted her clean so she would be still so they could clean her. It felt so strange though. She had never been bathed before. She had only felt the rain, not the warm water being carefully spilled over her and soft hands scrubbing her.
Her filthy clothes had been removed, distastefully taken away to be burned, before the women had placed her on the stool and poured the first pail of water over her. The mite bites upon her sallow skin were scrubbed with soft wet cloths, the water sluicing over her thin form turning brown from the filth upon her. The women were even more gentle when cleaning her, fussing and cooing over the girl.
One of the women, with bright green eyes and long dark hair, was the one kneading at the girl's hair with the shampoo suds caked up to her wrists. She was kneeling in front of the girl, while another woman was scrubbing at her back with a cloth and the last was now filling the nearby wooden bath tub with hot water.
"It's alright, little one," the woman lathering her hair smiled at the girl warmly. "You're being so good. I know it can be scary, being somewhere new and strange, but you're safe now. We'll get you all washed up and something hot to eat before you can rest."
The girl said nothing as her eyes darted about the room; it was the most lavish she'd ever seen, beyond anything her parents hovel possessed or even the buildings at the small village. The ceiling was covered in elaborating carved artwork of lotus blossoms, the floor a smooth grey marble, and there were several small potted bamboo plants against the walls in gilded vases. The oil lamps fixed to the walls cast the room in a warm, golden glow. In one corner upon a gleaming wooden bench was a ivory vase, where lit incense was smoldering and filled the air with sweetness. There was an alcove to the side filled with various items the occasionally used upon her. Brushes, cloths, bottles, soaps.
The woman at the tub opened a small box to the side, scooping out handfuls of rich smelling herbs and salts which she tossed into the water. Behind the girl, the woman put aside the cloth to pick up a small pail of warm water. She doused the girl with it, the one with green eyes scrubbing through the girl's dark hair as the shampoo was washed from the jagged tresses.
"Have you ever gotten a haircut?" the woman behind her fretted. "We have some scissors-"
"I'm not sure if we should be using sharp things around her yet," the one at the tub quickly jumped in. "Douma-sama just said for us to get her clean. She seems to be in shock. We don't know what happened to the poor thing yet."
"The Founder is so gracious and kind, he saved me and my son as well," the green eyed woman said tenderly to the girl. Her hands were gentle as she washed the remaining suds from her hair. "You'll be safe here. But we won't push. Just a nice bath, some hot food and then you can have a good long rest. Tomorrow is another day."
The girl said nothing even if now she understood. The Founder must be the man with the rainbow eyes, her new master. He must be the master to these women as well, since they obeyed him so quickly when he ordered them to clean her. Since she had been so quiet and obedient when he took her from the inn he must be rewarding her with the bath. She liked being clean. She was glad the man was her new master. She would remain good and maybe he would give her a rice ball like her last master had.
The women chattered to each other as they ushered the girl to the waiting tub, telling her how the salts and herbs in the tub would help with her scrapes and welts. They told her of how peaceful it was to live in the Paradise Faith commune, how happy and loving it was. Telling her how they could show her the lotus gardens later, or take her to the river to see the fish, or let her see the goats and sheep which were used for their milk and meat. The woman with green eyes even mentioned introducing the girl to her son.
"Little Inosuke's just started sleeping right through the night," the woman said fondly, running a thin comb through the girl's hair. "And it was not even dawn when Douma-sama brought you in. So we might just have to wait to see how long you need a good rest for before you two can meet up. Honestly that boy sleeps like a log now that he's figured it out."
"More like a hog, I've never known a baby to snore that loudly," the one gently scrubbing the girl's bony back said, a laugh in her voice.
"A sweet wee piglet!"
It was strange, for the girl to be surrounded by such soft touches and giggling voices. Her siblings were much like her back home, trying not to speak in case their parents grew angry. They were hit much like her, sometimes beaten to bloody heaps when they did not obey or were in the way. Once, one was beaten so badly he never got up again. Her parents threw his body into the nearby river when the maggots and flies got too thick. Now the air was filled with sweetness, from the smoldering incense and salts within the tub, and the hands rubbing at her were gentle and patient.
The lack of itching in her hair, the soothing of the mite bites, the hot water seeping into her thin limbs and easing the aches. The bath even helped ease the gnawing hollowness of her empty belly. It was good and the girl was glad.
When she was lifted from the tub she was dried down with soft fluffy towels, the women taking care not to jostle or handle her too roughly. One always remained in front of her, even if the girl didn't know why, and their voices always remained sweet and gentle. They had their orders from the master, he would be angry if they disobeyed. That must be why they were so gentle with her.
The girl refused to eat.
She had been dressed in a soft, pale blue robe with golden lotus blossoms stitched upon it once she was dried. Her feet had been bandaged and her hair brushed back into a loose ponytail. On the low table before her was a small bowl filled with a rich brown broth and a cup filled with a greenish fluid that the women said would help for any bugs in her gut. Her empty stomach grumbled and twisted but the girl steadfastly refused.
She was not permitted to eat from the table. Her new master had not told her to eat. He had only told the women to bathe her, not feed her. So she refused.
"It's alright, you can drink it," the woman with the green eyes said encouragingly. All three were kneeling around the table as well, watching her with increasingly anxiety. The room was like the bathing room; lavishly decorated and smelling sweet and clean. Outside through the closed shoji door there was an increasing brightness as the sun rose beyond to bring the dawn.
The girl's fists clenched slightly into the fabric of the yukata but she otherwise didn't move. The cotton of her new outfit was the softest she'd ever had. She was grateful for it, like she was grateful for the bath, so she would not fail this test. Because that was what the food was, the girl knew. Sometimes her parents had done the same. Leaving food on the table, sometimes for days. But when one of them was stupid enough to touch it, or even worse eat it, they would be beaten bloody and unconscious or shoved face first into a water basin to choke and vomit. The man must be testing her. He knew he hadn't ordered the women to feed her, he wanted to see if she would continue to be good and follow orders.
The three women exchanged worried looks, unaware of the girl's resolve, before the woman with green eyes moved forward to pick up a spoon. She dipped it in the broth before bringing it up to the girl's mouth with soft, encouraging noises. The girl did not open her mouth, even as the spoon pushed against her dry lips and the delicious scent of the broth filled her nostrils. Her parched mouth watered while her hands clenched the fabric tighter as her stomach clenched painfully.
One of the other women spoke, "It's a broth, it will be light and easy on your stomach. It was made fresh, just for you. You can eat."
Still she refused, her lips pressed in a thin line and veins standing up on her hands. After a moment the woman with green eyes put the spoon down. All three looked concerned but the girl would be good.
"Should we get Douma-sama?" one said in hushed tones.
"He only just got back from his pilgrimage. I'm sure he's resting."
"But she isn't eating. The Founder will know how to help her, as he's helped us all. She's so thin and silent, I'm not sure it's a good idea to let her sleep without something in her belly. She might not wake up."
There were murmurs of agreement but the girl ignored them all. She tried to stop her gaze from straying to the broth but it was difficult. She still felt hunger, always present and always gnawing. But she would not eat.
One of the women rose and left the room. The two remaining tried to talk to the girl, telling her more of the commune where they lived. High in the mountains, peaceful and isolated. They also mentioned more of the Founder and the girl paid close attention to those words even if her stare did not stray from the table.
They said the Founder was blessed by the gods, with his silver gold hair, rainbow eyes and longevity.
"He has led us to paradise for over a century yet he still looks so youthful and beautiful," one of the women gushed, her face flushed. "He protects and nurtures us all. Some of us come to him but sometimes he finds those suffering beyond our walls and leads them here."
"Like with you," the other said to the girl, "He saved you and you'll grow up safe and loved here. And one day Douma-sama will lead you to paradise. Some live their whole life at Paradise Faith and go to paradise when their bodies die of age, but some are called from the gods themselves for our beloved Founder to take personally."
"Yes, he hears the voices of the gods. They speak to him."
The girl did not understand all what the women said but already knew her new master was very special indeed. He had taken her from that place, from where she had been beaten and then dragged with a rope until she had bleeding feet, and he had allowed her to bathe. Her mite bites were no longer itching, her hair was clean and the clothes were soft. Her new master was good.
Then the door slid open and the girl straightened up as her master stepped through the doorway with the green eyed woman behind him.
He was dressed slightly different, with a heavy black cape hanging from his broad shoulders and a headdress that resembled a lotus blossom with golden accents and two flowing ribbons. However he was still clad in the dark red shirt which clung tightly to his muscular physique with black dripping patterns upon the sleeves and collar.
Her master sat casually to her left in the seat the green eyed woman had been, in agura form rather than seiza, and propped an elbow up on his raised knee to cradle his chin in his palm. The beads of the jade around his neck clicked against one another.
His smile was wide and toothy as he grinned at the girl, who stared passively back.
"Well don't you look far better after a bath, little mouse!" his voice was cheerful but his eyes were sharp. "It seems Kotoha, Yoko and Misaki have been taking good care of you. I just knew they would, they're such lovely gentle ladies!"
She continued to watch him, gaze upon his chin and not looking in his eyes even if the glowing myriad of colours tried to draw her stare upwards. Around her, the three women turned various shades of flustered from praise from their master. The women had been good when they had given the girl her bath, as the master commanded.
"Hm, but it seems you haven't eaten yet," her master continued, his thick eyebrows pulling down in a frown as he looked at the small bowl of broth. "Are you not hungry?"
As if in response the girl's stomach grumbled loudly. Her master laughed even if the women looked concerned.
"Her stomach has been like that ever since she arrived," the one with green eyes fretted. "But she won't eat!"
"Kotoha-chan even pushed a spoonful right against her mouth but she still won't eat," another added.
"Hmm, that does sound worrying. You poor thing, so starved and scared," the man's eyes shone with tears but his gaze was as watchful as a hawk's.
The girl said nothing.
"Well I won't let one of my flock starve, my duty is to make sure you're all happy," her master said, tears gone in the blink of his rainbow eyes. He picked up the spoon, his nails long and sharp and a soft shade of blue.
This time, when the spoon was brought to her mouth it was accompanied by the sweetly spoken order of, "Open up, little mouse."
The girl obeyed.
The first mouthful was so rich and flavourful the girl could barely comprehend it. Her throat constricted and she nearly choked, eyes watering at the explosion of flavours she'd never experienced before.
"Swallow it, slow now."
The girl obeyed.
Her master fed her the whole bowl, telling her each time to open her mouth and swallow. She was glad for the orders, easy to follow and helped her mind focus when all she wanted was to drink the broth forever. It settled in her belly, warmth radiating through her body.
But soon enough the bowl was empty and then her master picked up the cup of medicine. The same orders were given and she swallowed it, the taste bitter. Her stomach felt full, even in a way the rat was unable to satiate.
Her master clapped his clawed hands together, smile so wide his eyes shut as he said, "Good girl! You must feel so much better."
The girl relaxed slightly, a smallest of tension easing from her bony frame at the praise. She was right, it had been a test.
"Ah, I think she only trusts you, Douma-sama," the woman with green eyes said, hands clasped to her breast.
"Of course she does," another of the women said. "She must know the Founder is special, even after she's been through so much. She must know he is god-touched and he is her saviour."
Her master's smile became something vicious and too wide but an instant later it was gone. With a rustle of robes he got to his feet, the two women still kneeling quickly rising as well.
"Shall I take her to her room, Douma-sama?" the woman with green eyes asked.
"No need, Kotoha. I'm sure your son is missing you. Go tend to him, I shall take our newest member to her rooms myself."
The women cooed over that, even if the girl didn't understand. As before, when her master picked her up he tucked her into the crook of his arm. The long ribbon from his headpiece fell over her face, tickling her nose, but the girl remained still. The three women fussed and said goodbyes to her, promising to help the girl around the commune when she woke. The girl did not react, as it was not an order her master had given.
This time the girl noticed the man was breathing but he still lacked a heartbeat. Her eyes darted around the hallways as her master walked with long easy strides, noting how anyone they passed would stop and bow to the man. He must be very important to have so many people. She could not count them, much like how large the new place was. There were many hallways and doors and statues and flowers and the girl did not understand how large Paradise Faith must be. The air smelled so sweet.
Eventually they stopped and the man slid open a shoji door into a washitsu where a futon was set up. The single sleeping room was larger than her parents entire hovel. The duvet of the futon was covered in a pattern of twisting vines and blooming flowers which matched the art of the several scrolls hanging from the walls. There were more vases and in an alcove was a large golden statue of a Buddha with several blooming flowers arranged around it in golden pots. In the distance the girl could hear the soft call of wind chimes.
"Now this is close to my own rooms, so no escaping," the man said jovially as he set her down on the futon. The duvet was so soft and plush she felt herself sinking into it like a cloud.
The girl stared up at him. He stared back at her, a quizzical expression on his face. She didn't understand.
"Such a sad, meek little mouse," her master suddenly cooed, clawed hand running through her dark hair and tugging it loose of its ponytail. "If there's something bothering you, you can always tell me. I make sure to listen to each and every one of my followers. Even the very small ones."
Her master's hand was large enough it encased her head, thumb resting on her cheekbone while his fingers curled near the base of her neck.
"Are you scared?"
His hand moved, thumb pressing against her pulse point. The tip of his claw dug lightly into the skin of her throat. He suddenly looked hungry, ravenous, and the air grew cold. His rainbow coloured eyes gleamed, the kanji within as black as night. The girl just continued to stare.
After a moment he shrugged, loosening his grip on her skull, "I guess not. Such a strange little girl you are. Now, get some sleep. I'm sure we'll learn more about each other soon enough," the man's smile was all teeth, wide enough she could see his gums.
Then he was gone, so swiftly the girl could not follow the movement. All she heard was the noise of the door sliding shut before she realized she was alone.
Slowly she pressed her hands against the plush fabric of the futon. The kakebuton was the softest thing she'd ever touched, even softer than her robe. Her hair hung over her face as she leaned forward to sniff the fabric; sweet, like blooming flowers. Then she sat back and touched her hair. Soft, and smelling sweet like blooming flowers.
She liked this new place. She liked her new master. She liked that he gave her a bath and food when she was good so she would continue to be good. His teeth were sharp and his eyes were all the colours of the rainbow. He did not breathe sometimes and he ate her last master but the girl did not care as the man had not hit her like her parents. He did not yell or tie her up. This place was good.
The girl curled up on top of the kakebuton, shuffling in on herself like a cat with her arms tucked inside her robe. The girl slept well.
Actions
↑ Top ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Bookmark Comments (16)
Kudos
HIRO_Moon_18, Greekgods1hades, TheSecondC, Solsticalpine, Baypatatas, Hihoo, Egg3, Orange08, Mr_owoa, CherryPepsiPerson, It_has_to_mean_something, Herbig_Haro_24, Finchfrin, chatichy, TheTinnnMan, runninwhimsy, Dradiodemon, Just_Me_IDK, idk_myname, Shroomly_Enby, sleepycatjeans, SingDanceRead, Kiwiwbord, SelfProclaimedHermit2, FishyAngel, starlesslabyrinth, Jackthetimberlog, FluffyCatsrbestCats, TheydaGecko, RxAzazel, seashellsigh, Gray_Scale77, Lori_NS, Halogenicalis, A_Black_Hat, DevianYue, Puppetmaster13, whispers_ofthestars, designatedidiotnumber12, Circusafton, ChishiyasNiragi, gyokkopottery, Anzhelina_3, PeridotFallen, Nino_read_it, wistfulpetrichor, XxEstiaxX, Abomina__me, Nightmar3_wolf, Caryte, and 1602 more users as well as 1961 guests left kudos on this work!
Comments
Post Comment
Comment as TheBrimmedHat
Plain text with limited HTML ?
Comment
10000 characters left
Footer
Customize
Default
Low Vision Default
Reversi
Snow Blue
About the Archive
Site Map
Diversity Statement
Terms of Service
Content Policy
Privacy Policy
DMCA & TIDA Policies
Site Status
Contact Us
Policy Questions & Abuse Reports
Technical Support & Feedback
Development
otwarchive v1.2.0.0
Known Issues
GPL-2.0-or-later by the OTW