stolen time

Ch105 rr

He sent word back to headquarters to report the news, as well as a message to send for kakushi's to aid the injured while he headed back first with ayame.

It was a slow and quiet walk back with only the sound of their synced heartbeats playing in his ears, without thinking about the past or the future kyojuro solely focused on the present. Thinking how happy he is to be able to look forward to the next day and seeing her beside him, how comforting it would be to see her smile again.

His smile faltered as his thoughts were quickly put on hold, the moment he stepped within the boundaries of the corps headquarters all the remaining hashira that were present and had heard the news instantly picked up on their aura. Sanemi and obanai were the first to arrive with their katanas deadly glistening in the moonlight, heading straight for ayame that layed still in Kyojuro's protective hold.

"Rengoku move it, seeing as you were the first to see her you must've felt the change in her aura didn't you"

Obanai threatened, he couldn't deny the fact that the moment he met ayame again he could feel that her aura had become darker and closer to that of a demon, but it didn't change the fact he still insisted on protecting her.

"I don't think we even need to feel her aura to tell, she doesn't even look human anymore!"

Sanemi scoffed with his blade still pointing directly at them, kyojuro tightened his grip around ayame and both sanemi and iguro noticed by the way his hand pressed harder against her.

"You-!"

Sanemi's frown knitted together harder as veins bulged on his head, he didn't want to ruin their close relationship as friends and comrades especially by hurting a person that he loved dearly, but with his hatred of demons running deep he couldn't let things go as they are.

The tension around them started to bear down on ayame as she slowly regained her consciousness, her eyes slowly fluttered open halfway with her mind still hazy from being knocked out.

"Where...am I..."

She whispered with her breath brushing against Kyojuro's chest, he was quickly alarmed at her awakening with his grave expression softening up.

"Aya? You're awake!"

He called.

"Kyojuro...?"

Her head slightly tilted upwards to meet eyes with Kyojuro's.

"Oi Oi! This is worse than I thought, that woman is an upper moon now!"

Iguro called out with his slithering finger pointing towards her face, the symbols engraved in her eye shined brighter than the eye itself, slowly she turned her gaze towards them.

The moment she layed eyes on their figures her vision became distorted and the corrosion started to take its effect once again.

"AaAaAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

A double voiced shriek escaped from her lips, curling herself into a ball in Kyojuro's arms with her hands tightly dug into her head. Kyojuro lowered her down with concerned eyes when shinobu arrived just around the corner with tamayo and yushiro in tow, the three of them dropped to their knees in front of kyojuro and ayame blocking them from iguro and sanemi.

"Ayame! Hold on I'll administer a drug to temporarily help you"

Tamayo calmly said in a hurry, flicking open a box she had brought along with her. Flicking the syringe twice to get rid of any bubbles, tamayo carefully injected the drug into ayame's arm. She quickly calmed down once the drug took effect, going back to sleep once more.

The three of them took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Thank you tamayo, kocho"

Kyojuro said wrapping ayame in his haori.

"Rengoku don't tell me we'll just let her go because that demon over there put her to sleep? If that's all you're going to do every time she wakes up I might as well just put her to sleep permanently for you"

Sanemi glared towards them, with his hatred of demons burning high, he was ready to force his way through if kyojuro continued to refuse. A silent fire flickered between them, against those who had hope for ayame and those who wished to destroy her.

"That will be enough"

Kagaya said in his soothing tone, walking out from the fusama to the open room. His curse had spread even further than before, nearly covering every part of his body rotting away at his life. Regardless of the indescribable pain he was in, he still chose to come in person knowing that this was not a simple matter a stand in could resolve.

"Oyakata sama! It's dangerous you should not be here right now, she is no different than any other upper moon in this state"

Obanai called out watching as he sat down with the help of his daughters.

"I am aware, but even so I cannot leave the situation in this state"

"Oyakata sama you cannot be thinking of keeping her alive can you? I can't accept this she's being manipulated by muzan she's a threat to the corps!"

"I understand your concern sanemi, and that is one of the reasons why I brought tamayo san in, I was hoping that she may be able to find a cure and help ayame, it's the least we could do after all the support she has offered us even with the stakes at hand, which lead to her current predicament"

"But there's no guarantee she will be able to find a cure, and what will we do in the meantime?"

"That will all depend on tamayo san"

Kagaya said looking towards tamayo who stood up with a determined look, pressing a hand on her chest she confidently declared.

"Yes, even now I have been working on a drug to help with her condition ever since I heard about the situation, the one I had just administered is a work still in process, it should keep muzans cells at bay for now until i and shinobu san manage to perfect it"

"I hope this is enough to set your minds at ease, she will also be held in a separate estate for the time being, and I will assign another hashira along with Rengoku to guard it"

Kagaya smiled hoping they will accept his proposal.

"But unlike before she's under the control of muzan now, and even as we speak our location could have been found out!"

Sanemi swung his sword beside him, making a swooshing sound from the force of his swing.

"You won't need to worry about that! She was able to avoid that factor, the only thing she can't do now is say his name!"

Kyojuro replied, shooting down any objections sanemi would have left as he clicked his tongue in annoyance.