"Akaza dear, we probably ought to move through the forest. Don't want to be stuck in here for longer than we have to." He hummed, gently standing and reaching his hand down for you. He's such a sweet boy, you thought candidly.

He helped you stand, and waited for you to dust off your dress. You started to walk together closer to the edge of the forest. "Akaza," you stopped. He froze and turned towards you. "Fight me," you announced.

The other demon coughed, "what?" he stared at you incredulously. "Fight me, take out that anger, all that pain, and fight me."

"Mother I can't do that," he sputtered, "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. Did you forget I'm damn near as strong as Muzan," you shrugged. Walking towards the demon you leaned towards his face, "you scared you'll hurt little ol' me? I appreciate the concern dear but I'm stronger than I look. Remember?"

Akaza did remember. It's how you reformed him.

You approached the demon, and spoke to him so kindly. And Akaza wanted you to leave. He didn't eat or kill women, that was his one rule. But if you didn't leave he was going to throw you out the damn window.

"You're Akaza, ranked upper three of Muzan's twelve Kizuki correct?" Akaza's head almost snapped off with how quickly he turned to look at you. You were beautiful, even with pants on, but that was entirely beside the point.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb kid. You know what I'm talking about." You approached him, sending every one of his nerves on fire. You touched his shoulder lightly, and images flashed through the man's head.

Images of someone that looked like him, images of a girl, of a dojo, of his life as a human. "Stop! Stop it! I don't want to see this! Stop it!" The other demon screamed, holding his hands over his ears, and closing his eyes. "Make it stop! Please! Make it stop," he sobbed.

"I need you to see this Akaza, I need you to remember what it was to be human. I need you to take that pain, realize that's how you are making others feel, realize Muzan is causing that pain to others, and I need you to fight for me."

"Why the hell should I fight for a lowly human like you," he growled, gritting his teeth to try and stop the images from flashing through his vision. "Fight me Akaza, if I win, I gain your loyalty. If you win, you can do as you please, and the memories will stop."

"Just make it stop!"

"Agree to the terms Akaza!"

"Fine! Just make it stop." You complied, touching his shoulder again. As soon as the images stopped Akaza began swinging. His fist hits the air.

He stopped and looked around for you. What just happened? He asked himself. Where did she go, he was looking around wildly. Trying to search for you, for your scent, anything. "Up here Akaza," you teased.

His head jerked up to see you, and you were coming down faster than he could process. Oh, shit, he tried to dodge, but you caught him by the beads around his ankles. You swung him around, throwing him like a discus.

Akaza righted himself, landing only a hundred feet or so away from you. You were really starting to piss him off, but seeing how strong you were got his blood flowing.

He smirked, his inner sadist showing. He desperately wanted to beat you, to show how much stronger he was. Play into his god complex, it's not going to be hard to beat him, but making sure he respects you is the important part, you talked yourself through the whole ordeal.

You both fought each other viciously, not holding any punches. He was strong, you'd give him that. But you were faster. You had a hidden strength that Akaza knew he needed to avoid.

You had a cut on your cheek, small bits of blood dripping down your cheek. A boy suddenly interrupted your fight. "Stop hurting her!" The 12-year-old yelled. You grabbed the demon, throwing him into a headlock, "get out of here Ren!" You screamed, trying to get the boy to run.

He didn't listen. Akaza threw his head back, hitting your nose. You jerked back, arms loosening enough for the man to get out of your grip. "Ren! Run!" You bellowed. The boy finally listened to you and ran.

But a human boy is no match for a demon. Akaza caught him, you not far behind. The demon turned to look at you, putting the boy in the same headlock you had him in moments prior.

"Mm, would you look at this? Why'd you interfere, kid? Coulda stayed where you were safe but you didn't. Did you ignore your nanny's instructions?" The boy squirmed, kicking fiercely to try and get away.

You stood maybe 10 feet away from the demon, "let him go Akaza. He has nothing to do with our fight."

"He doesn't? Hmm, seems like he does. You know each other right?"

Damn, should have put Ren somewhere far away. Fuck, you grit your teeth, trying to placate the other demon. "Mother!" The boy cried. "Just kill me! I refuse to become disgusting demon food!" He was still kicking and fighting trying to get away from the "disgusting demon".

"You won't be demon food, I won't let that happen, sweetie." You called softly. Akaza felt his resolve crack. Nope, nu-uh. Underhanded moves are what demons do. This is fine, Akaza attempted to assure himself.

"Mother, just kill me. You can get him too! I'd rather die by your hands than any other!" The boy finally kicked and threw his head back hard enough to hit the demon. Akaza remained still, however.

Akaza unconsciously squeezed tighter, increasing his pressure slowly. "Mother," the boy choked. You knew you had no choice, but you couldn't. You couldn't do that to your son.

"Time is running out, I can kill him, or you can. You decide." Akaza smirked, he enjoyed seeing the weak break. You wouldn't do it, you were weak, and he knew that.

You burst into tears. "I-I'm so sorry Ren," you choked out. Akaza blinked and saw you staring into his eyes, face inches from his own. He attempted to laugh, but blood poured from his mouth. Akaza dropped the boy, your arm through both of them.

You removed your arm, face remorseful. "You-" a cough interrupted the demon, "you did it," the man spoke incredulously. He coughed again, more blood spilling down his jaw and chest.

You grabbed your son, cradling him even though he overflowed in your arms. You cried and wailed holding him. Ren coughed, "thank you," he smiled at you, another cough racking his body.

"I'm so sorry Ren, I'm so sorry," you repeated, rocking your body back and forth. Akaza stumbled back and fell, sitting and watching your grief. She killed him, just to prevent me from doing it, Akaza was confused but you had, at the moment, earned his respect. You were strong whether he wanted to admit it or not.

He still wanted to fight you, and prove he was stronger, but you killed someone you loved to not only get to him but to not allow Akaza to get to the boy. Akaza found himself still coughing, blood still dripping from between his teeth.

He attempted to focus on the area and regenerate, but nothing happened. He felt panic, for the first time in decades, flooding his system. "What did you do to me!?" He said while gripping that gaping hole in his abdomen.

You ignored him, still sobbing while nuzzling the dead boy. "Hey! I asked a question!" You didn't stop crying, but your head snapped up, and the glare that filled your eyes sent every one of Akaza's alarm bells off.

This was more terrifying than when Muzan was disappointed in his inability to complete orders during missions. You set the boy down, kissing his forehead, and strode towards the demon.

You crouched in front of him, gripping his hair at the top of his head. "It's time to die now kiddo. I won't tolerate that sort of behavior," you said, monotone. You turned his head this way and that, not releasing your grip.

You finally brought an arm back, blood dripping from your palm from how tightly you were clenching it, and punched him. He flew, and only seemed to stop when he hit a cedar tree that stopped his momentum.

You were in front of him in a flash, gripping his face and grinding it into the earth. You punched him again, and again, he was bleeding profusely now. "I don't blame you for his death, it was my decision, however, I do blame you for putting me into that position."

"I'll see you in hell Akaza." Your face was void of any emotion, Akaza's was not.

Fear filled his expression, and that caused your oncoming fist to stall. The fear in his face reminded you of a child, a child with too heavy a burden for their age, the weight of their family, the world on their shoulders.

You unclench your fist, bringing it to cup his bloody face. "You've had a hard life haven't you sweet pea?" You knew you shouldn't kill him, and seeing the fear in his eyes, the fear of you, appalled you.

And Akaza cried that day. He hadn't cried in, well he didn't remember, probably since he was a human. Why were you making him feel human again, he hated it, but his heart yearned for it.

He cried and cried, and you hushed and cooed at him, he felt like an innocent kid all over again, like he'd never done anything wrong in his life. He gripped onto the fabric of your clothing for dear life, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated over and over.

You smoothed your hand over his hair. The anger deep within you, at the death of a child still burned brightly. You chose to ignore it, knowing that having this demon on your side was more important.

It was that day that Akaza reminded you of one of your lost children, and you reminded Akaza of the woman he was once betrothed to.

You gave him some of your blood that day, making Muzan's curse on the man null and void, and him pledging his undying allegiance to you. Your blood allowed his wounds to heal. That was how you got the upper three on your side, kicking his ass and compassion. And a little of your own mind fuckery to the both of you.

"You gonna come at me already or what sweet pea?" You teased him. He smirked, and so your sparring session began.