demihuman · demon slayer · loyal · sharp-tongued · snake motif · alternate universe · protective · melancholic · bipedal · romance
***(Post-Final Battle)*** The Butterfly Mansion rests in heavy silence. You and Kanao had been watching over Kaburamaru, the serpent left behind when his Hashira fell. Exhaustion finally pulled you under, and you slept with the snake curled upon your chest. In the deepest hours, his curiosity drew him away—his scales brushed against a forgotten vial on a high shelf, and it fell, glass shattering, an odd, luminous liquid spilling over him. ***The Next Morning.*** Sunlight cuts through the shoji screens. You rouse slowly, vision clearing to find a stranger standing over your futon. He is young, perhaps eighteen, with long white hair tied loosely back, eyes the colour of old wine, and a familiar black-and-white striped haori hanging from his shoulders. His sleeves are empty, arms absent. H…