— yoriichi x demon!reader

— spoilers [ manga only characters ] !

— warnings : alternate universe (role-swap-ish), short-ish / drabble

— genre : fluff / family love / some comedy

— requested by : n / a

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yoriichi grunted softly, adjusting the lightweight box on his back. its contents were important to him--within the item held few things, but all were significant.

specifically two of the things--they were entities, the male corrected his thoughts.

"we're almost there," he hummed to the contents of the box. "just a little longer."

three taps drummed on the box, echoing a little through the gloomy locale. a fourth tap happened a moment afterwards.

the sounds came from two demons. one was a brother, the other was a lover.

yoriichi wasn't sure how the two remained comfortable in such a tight space, but they never showed any displeasure about it. well, michikatsu always glared at him with his three pairs of eyes, but that was only when he attempted to pat his head. besides, he had to still be feeling a bit down since he was turned into a demon.

[name], on the other hand, had been a demon for a longer period of time. they were much like tamayo--reasonable and holding onto whatever humanity they had left. it was admirable, not to mention the trait yoriichi fell in love with the most. [name] showed no ill intent towards becoming a demon like his older brother did.

the beaten trail yoriichi walked along began to end and he believed that they'd need to reside in the overgrowth-filled locale for the night. 

not that he was fearful or anything--michikatsu had quickly adjusted to his new body and [name] could be hostile when need be--but he'd been hoping to sleep on a carefully made futon tonight. as did michikatsu and his beloved, [name].

"ah." yoriichi murmured, looking around as the sun began to gradually descend. he shifted to walk through the overgrowth, sulking ever so slightly.

he wasn't able to provide the things his two loved ones wished to obtain.

"there's nothing at the end of the path," he informed aloud. "we'll find somewhere else to stay."

four soft taps--almost inaudible if the locale wasn't so deathly quiet. they were fine with it.

so yoriichi continued to trek through the unfamiliar locale for a place to reside.

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the box was propped against the wall of a cavern. it'd been woven so intricately, so carefully that the bamboo handle didn't even budge--which yoriichi was happy for. he didn't exactly know much about making such a thing, as sumiyoshi gave it to him when he was informed on his situation.

'oh, that's no good--your wedded and your brother both got turned into demons! i can help with that--consider it a payment for helping me and my family, alright? just wait here for a second, yoriichi!'

he'd have to visit sumiyoshi again after muzan was defeated. a proper thanks was what he wished to bestow upon the happy man and his little family.

to do so, however, muzan would need to be dead.

after all, yoriichi was destined to kill him, especially after their first meeting. 

the fact that he did such a dastardly thing to his loved ones only fueled that belief.

yoriichi would kill muzan if it's the last thing he ever does.

michikatsu was the first one to clamber out of the box, bumping his head against the top of it--he let out a small huff and hobbled onto the floor, already pouting like a defiant child. as he usually was, since he didn't like having a bamboo muzzle wrapped around his face.

[name] was the second to come out, although the box fell over with them. a lack of balance, yoriichi believed.

they whined softly, only returning to a more cheerful nature when yoriichi helped them out of their little predicament--he held them close, smiling down at them as they knead his haori.

michikatsu let out a muffled noise, scrambling over and butting his head against his brother's leg.

the only time yoriichi was allowed to love on his brother was when he demanded attention/was jealous of [name]. this was one of those rare moments.

without hesitation, yoriichi rubbed his brother's head, relishing the small purr that left his mouth. the master swordsman couldn't help but smile at the two demons, adoring them with every fiber in his being.

one was a brotherly love and the other was romantic love--both shared the same importance.

"both of you," he started, gaining their attention. "thank you. i love you both dearly."

[name] wailed, seemingly on the verge of tears--they were quite emotional, mind you. especially since they'd been turned into a demon, as most of their senses were far more enhanced in comparison to a human's.

michikatsu only pressed his face into his brother's pants leg again, probably hiding the preening expression he bore. however, he continued to softly purr as he was showed with small, yet affectionate head-pats.

yoriichi's smile dampened a bit when [name] showed no signs of calming down--ah, this was the third time they'd been like this. they were surely going to burst out into tears soon.

michikatsu peeked up at them, grimacing at the teary-eyed female as she rubbed her eyes. he would've stuck out his tongue at her, but he was two things: muzzled and far too mature for that.

that was just his pride talking, since he was still allowing his hair to get ruffled by his younger brother. upon noticing this, michikatsu shook off yoriichi's hand and grumbled.

the younger of the two still smiled, even as michikatsu began to rummage through the bamboo box for any scraps--after all, yoriichi did put food in there before they departed. how else would the two get inside of the thing?

well, most of the food was for humans, not demons, so michikatsu was disinterested anyhow.

yoriichi gently shifted to comb his now free hand through [name]'s hair, shushing them almost inaudibly. it did little to help, as they were still trembling a little with a small pout.

he would've thought it was cute if they weren't on the verge of crying their eyes out (both figuratively and literally, as they've done that before. they were reading some book before they just started to bawl, their eyes actually popping out. it took a couple of weeks to get them to calm down and a few hours to get their eyes back in their sockets).

"[name], please don't cry."

[name] cried. 

meanwhile, michikatsu found a small, wrapped ball of rice in the basket. 

for the second time, that is.

he put it away, disinterested in yoriichi's little stash of food. he then neared the entryway of the cavern, attempting to ignore [name]'s cries and yoriichi's futile attempts at calming them.

it can only get better.

that's the only way muzan will perish.

'we'll be okay, brother. i know it. you have me and [name].'

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— 1187 words