Akaza made the first move, using his compass needle technique. You knew that after he set his blood demon art he'd attempt to attack from the side. You shifted your own stance, putting more of your weight on your rear foot.

You waited for him, palms open and ready to deflect any attack. He smirked, preparing to attack, specifically to attack you.

He did exactly as you expected, attacking from the right. You shifted farther back, dodging his fist. His shoulder came into view, he wasn't thinking and was about to pass your body.

You shifted behind him, looping both of your arms under his own. You lifted your arms caging his. He was floundering in your grasp. He did something dumb, simply detaching his arms from his body to get away.

He regenerated quickly, the large amount of blood given to him by Muzan allowing Akaza to do so. You gave him a pointed look, completely discontent with his action.

"You are so bizarre Akaza," you chuckled to yourself. You ran towards him, a left haymaker prepared. He dodged it by ducking, and you caught his chin with a front hook.

He stumbled back, gripping and massaging his jaw. "You never do seem to hit the same place twice do you mother?"

You smirked, "nope, gotta keep you on your toes sweetie. How are you gonna get better if it's always the same fight?" You teased, changing your stance again. You took a lower stance, one leg spreading out farther behind you.

"Come at me. Can't get better if we just sit here." You didn't wait for him this time, your rear foot digging into the soil to rush at the man. He didn't have much time to react as you punched his side.

He groaned, righting himself, and attempted to land a hit on you. He was able to poke or tap areas, but never deliver anything more powerful. You were laughing, bouncing around, and teasing him.

It was grating Akaza's nerves. There was a certain amount of strength that was fun, but you were so far above him it almost made the feeling sour.

You sensed the change in mood and decided to end the fight there. It was still bright out, and while you were sheltered by trees you would need to find a better place to hide before the sun got too high.

"Why don't we find a nice little cave or something to shelter from until the sun starts to go down?" You looked for a cave and were able to find one that you could both barely squeeze in.

Your clothing was dirty, as was his, the floor of the cave not helping the situation. You were both crouched over in the cave, the position awkward and uncomfortable. "Akaza, next time, keep better time," you groaned while trying to stretch.

- - - - -

Akaza grumbled, feeling just as uncomfortable as you. "I'll watch out better next time." You nodded, still attempting to find a comfortable position.

The sun was finally starting to set, and you had both squeezed yourself out of the too-small cave. You stood up and stretched, feeling the ever-satisfying pop of your joints. You groaned at the stretch but felt better afterward.

You look over to Akaza who was only staring at you. "I think it's time to go. I'll see you soon, okay?" You hummed, cupping his cheek and rubbing your thumb under his eye.

He nuzzled into the affection, leaning forward and hugging you tightly. You crooned, stroking your hand up and down his back. "We'll see each other again soon. I don't want Muzan getting suspicious."

The man squeezed tighter for a moment before releasing you. "I'll see you soon," you called after him, waving. He nodded at you, disappearing into the forest. You were sad to see him go but knew you'd see each other shortly.

- - - - - -

Akaza opened the door to the residence Muzan was currently occupying. He crouched in the open door, keeping his head down. Muzan turned, glaring at the man. "Were you able to find what I asked for?" The boy glowered.

Akaza really hated when Muzan took on the look of children. "I looked into it but came up empty-handed. I couldn't find the blue spider lily. There wasn't even a trace of its existence." Akaza knew this would upset Muzan, but he could do nothing else.

"It seems like you have the wrong idea of how things work here Akaza. I'm curious," Muzan pointed his finger at Akaza, sending a fierce wave of wind and having each of Akaza's blood vessels turn blue.

Akaza couldn't help the groan that escaped him. "Did you expect praise? All you did was dispose of a mere cockroach," Muzan growled. So he doesn't know, Akaza deduced. "Why did you not kill all of them when you had the chance, and after I made a point of sending you there because you happened to be nearby?"

The atmosphere around the older demon became suffocating. Akaza was shaking as he crouched there, Muzan was messing with the blood in his body and it hurt. "Akaza..." Muzan repeated.

Akaza was trembling, trying to keep any pained noises to himself. Blood spilled from his nose, and his mouth. "You have disappointed me so... You are dismissed."

Akaza stood, mother would never treat me that way, he grumbled to himself, stalking away. He already missed you, and desperately wished that he didn't have to keep coming back to Muzan.

But you asked him too, and it helped you, and Akaza wanted to help you. He had done so much just because you asked. He didn't expect anything other than love and praise from you, and that was exactly what he got.

You always spoke so sweetly to him, always so proud of him no matter what kind of information he gave to you. It didn't matter whether he had to kill someone or had the smallest idea as to what Muzan's plan was, you were always so proud of him.

You were adamant about constantly praising him, knowing it made him feel better, especially if he wasn't able to give you the most useful information.

You loved Akaza, and he loved you. Akaza would do anything for you. He'd walk through fire, kill anyone you asked him to, he'd even wait for the sun to rise and feel its burning rays on his skin if it made you happy.

You loved Akaza like you loved any of the children who came into your care. Akaza loved you, but sometimes he found himself blurring the lines. He didn't mean to, but you treated him so well, helped him so kindly, spoke to him so softly, and you were so pretty.

You seemed oblivious to the man's troubles, and he didn't care. He'd take whatever you would give him, no questions asked. And goodness you were a giver. You'd give him almost any affection he asked for. Hugs, cuddles, cheek and forehead kisses. Almost anything he asked for, you would give him.

You were so loving, and Akaza would kill anyone that took advantage of your kindness. It didn't matter whether they were man, woman, or child. If they took advantage of you they were dead.

Akaza liked to think of himself as your little, well not really little, guard dog. He was willing to do more for you than he would have ever been willing to do for Muzan.

You always asked him, ' is this something you're comfortable with doing?' You always made sure that you weren't pushing him to do anything he didn't want to. Even if Akaza wasn't entirely thrilled about the action, he'd do it. For you.

He's on his way to the next location, where he is supposed to look for the blue spider lily, kicking his feet along the way. He can't stop thinking about how much he wishes you were here. About how much better it would be if Muzan would just die already.

He's so annoying, Akaza thought resentfully. He didn't want to find some dumb spider lily for Muzan so he could reign over the humans. While Akaza was self-centered 89% of the time, Muzan only thought about his own goals and ambitions 100% of the time.

You taught Akaza to be better than that. That everything he fought for as a human could be accomplished by now if the humans weren't so fearful of the night. That everything Akaza fought for was valid, and that Muzan was a barrier to his own goals.

Akaza's resentment for the older demon grew and grew, but that was all part of the game. Akaza could hate Muzan as much as he wanted, but he needed to stay and play the good little obedient servant.

Akaza wished that they could move things forward and just end Muzan by now but you had a plan and he trusted your plan no matter what was currently happening. He trusted you and that was not something that he was willing to give up so easily.

You earned his trust through blood, sweat, and tears. And that meant more to him than anything else. He really did miss you. It was something he found himself doing more and more often.

He was dragging his feet to get to the next destination Muzan had ordered him to go to. He wasn't thrilled whatsoever but would deal with it to learn more. Even if he did find the spider lily he would die before he gave it to Muzan. He would fight Muzan until he inevitably died if it made you happy.

Akaza was ripped from his reverie by a small child running into him, well technically it was the other way around but that is entirely beside the point. The kid couldn't have been older than 6 if that.

She looked up at him, petrified, tears already filling her eyes. Akaza only stared down at her. He'd never been faced with this situation before and was 100% unsure of what to do. You would know what to do, but you weren't here right now and Akaza was nowhere near as skilled with children as you were.

So the two of them just stared at each other for a long moment. Akaza figured if he stayed still long enough the kid would leave. Apparently, that wasn't how the world was going to work today.

"I'm sorry mister," the girl sobbed, "please don't eat me!" She had snot running down her nose. If Akaza's muscles could tense any more they would. She just stood there crying, hands fisting her skirt.

Akaza had no idea what to do. He took a shaky breath, reached down, and gently patted the girl's head. Her shoulders bounced with the force but her sobs were cut short. "I'm not going to eat you," Akaza asserted, giving the girl a closed-lip smile.

She stared up at him, snot and tears still streaming down her face. She brought a hand up, brushing the tears away from her eyes. "You're not?" She sniffled out. Akaza shook his head, "nope, no interest in eating a small fry like you." Akaza tried to joke.

Said joke somehow made the girl laugh. "M not small," she muttered. Akaza couldn't help but laugh at this. "Sure you're not kiddo, now go back home where it's safe," he pushed the girl towards where he assumed the town was.

She nodded, sniffling again, taking off towards light that Akaza could now see. The girl paused in her running, turning around and facing the demon, "thank you, mister! I promise to remember you!" She cried out, waving wildly at him.

Akaza chuckled, "sure kiddo! I'll remember you too!" He called back as he too waved. The smile on the girl's face grew exponentially before turning and running back toward town.

Akaza found himself smiling as he made his way towards the next sighting of the spider lily. The little girl was funny, and he found himself already fond of the young girl. Is this how mother feels around children? Akaza pondered as he continued walking.

While interacting with children was scary to him, he quite liked the feeling that interacting with the child gave him. He resolved to ask you to teach him how to better interact with children in the future.