33| Heart of ice

                                    

                                          
Omniscient Narrator:
Shit, shit...
"Shit!" Sanemi shouted, kicking the trunk of the nearest tree. He almost shattered his toes, but he didn't care.
Once again, Sanemi had messed things up with (y/n), and now she had run off. Wasn't that what he wanted anyway? No, not like this. Not now. He was worried about her. Deeply worried. Where the hell had she gone? He had been searching for her like a madman for half an hour and hadn't been able to pick up her trail. (Y/n) was incredibly fast, and the darkness of the night didn't help. Tonight, of all nights, the moon had decided to hide, offering only a thin crescent of light in the sky.
"Goddammit!" Sanemi kicked the same tree again, this time with the sole of his shoe to avoid breaking his toes.
Sanemi had been simmering with anger all day. First, (y/n) had provoked him by saying she preferred to patrol with her first choice, none other than that bastard Tomioka. The thought of him made Sanemi's blood boil. He imagined finding him, grabbing him by the collar, and making it clear he'd cut off his fingers if he so much as touched her. 
As if that weren't enough, another demon slayer had the audacity to ask her out. On a fucking date. Right in front of him. Was the idiot suicidal? Sanemi had almost strangled him on the spot, consequences be damned. He knew he needed to work on his jealousy because it was bringing out the worst in him. It reminded him of his fucking father and he disgusted himself. But when it came to (y/n), he found it incredibly hard to control himself.
Sanemi was dying to grab (y/n) by the waist and claim her as his own, but he had already decided to push her out of his life. He had to stay on the sidelines and quash those damn jealous feelings. Everything seemed to infuriate him lately. To top it off, Genya was training with the Stone Pillar instead of forming a normal family, which is what Sanemi had always wanted for him. 'The place where Genya wants to be is with you,' (y/n)'s words echoed in his mind.
He shook his head to clear it. It was impossible. That girl had penetrated the deepest parts of his being. Her scent clung to him, making it impossible to detach from her. And once again, she had ventured into the darkness of the forest, leaving his side. All because his jealousy had flared so intensely that even she had noticed. Sanemi had to make a monumental mental effort to keep from going crazy, to calm himself down. Because no matter how much he wanted her, (y/n) was not his, and she never should be if he wanted to protect her and keep her safe.
But what good had it done? All he had managed to do was drive her away at the worst possible moment. (Y/n) could be anywhere in the forest, where demons lurked in the darkness, waiting for a new victim. Sanemi didn't doubt her abilities, but he feared something might happen to her, that he wouldn't be able to protect her, and that by trying to push her away, he might end up losing her forever. That thought was killing him. He had searched behind every bush, through every grove, but there was no sign of her. The forest seemed fucking endless.
"Where the hell are you?" he muttered, scanning the area, hoping to see, hear, or sense anything that would lead him to her.
When he found nothing, he buried his hands in his white hair in frustration. He was about to kick the nearest tree again when he heard a rustle that put him on alert. He crouched, sharpening his senses, and reached for the hilt of his katana, ready to draw it quickly if it turned out to be a threat.
Then Sanemi saw it—a shadow moving among the trees, too fast to be human. The stench of rot was unmistakable.
Damn it, (y/n), where are you?
°°°
(Y/n):
The twentieth time I dodged his attack, it was by the skin of my teeth. Cold sweat trickled down my back while other drops ran from my forehead to my chin, falling onto the grass. Exhaustion tasted salty and bitter, seeping into every fiber of my being. I lost track of time fighting. My lungs burned, my throat felt like it was on fire, and the hairs on my body stood on end from the cold. The temperature had been steadily dropping, all because of his demon art.