[Gore and death ahead. Also, spoiler warning to anime watchers. I know the MC has the personality of a doormat right now, but I want to show her growth throughout the story. lol ]
Muzan-sama gave me two jobs; one is to see the vision I had of him under sunlight again; the other is to look for a flower called blue spider lily. I have no idea how to accomplish either, yet the only correct answer I could give him is to tell him that I'd do it. It's not like I've accepted this new life as a demon and as his servant… I just feel like I had no other choice.
Other than these tasks, I had nothing else to do. Muzan-sama leaves almost every night and returns an hour before sunrise. He's not always reeking with the scent of death when he returns, though. He's up to something other than just eating humans or turning them into demons. Maybe it has to do with what he commanded me?
I can barely recall the vision that I saw aside from the details that truly jumped out to me – the sunrise and the people with swords. They didn't look friendly. Honestly, I doubt Muzan-sama was thriving under that sunrise… but he also wasn't, I don't know. Burning? What does happen to demons when the sunlight touches them – us?
I'm not curious enough to try and see what would happen. Besides, there's also the issue with the flower. I have no idea how these visions work or even if I could control them, so how am I going to look for flowers with that? And what kind of a flower was it? I sighed. "Will Muzan-sama kill me if I fail?" Death doesn't sound so bad.
The sounds of sleeping pigs broke me out of my thoughts. It's been weeks since I've become like this, and I find it possible to survive on animal entrails. It's not fulfilling in any way – it's like trying to live on water alone – but it's better than having to eat humans. I mean, stealing livestock from humans has got to be better than eating the humans themselves, right?
It's what I told myself as I took the biggest looking one. Taking a pig heavier than me is quite easy now. Killing it and going for its guts is like breathing to me now; natural and easy. Its warmth spread to my body, yet my stomach still grumbled, as if telling me it's not enough.
"Ah!" It happened so suddenly – the blinding pain and the sudden vision. It was flashes of images I could barely make sense of; a small, yellow animal that looks like a rabbit, or was it a mouse? It had lighting going out of its cheeks and tail; a long futon-like item with a painting of a girl that's definitely wearing something indecent – barely wearing anything; hanafuda earrings and red a flaming sword; and a beautiful woman… or a man with shoulder-length hair wearing a peculiar white coat, standing in what looks to be the mountains and holding a flower that looks like a red spider lily, only it's blue.
"Flower?" I don't understand most of what I saw, however, the flower stood out. Was that what Muzan-sama asked me to find? Seems pretty convenient for me to see it right away. But I can't complain, that meant my job was done. Right? Or did he mean that I physically have to look for and find the flower? Whenever the vision I saw occurred, it didn't feel like anytime soon, so looking for the beautiful person won't lead me to it. I decided to wait for Muzan-sama and see what he'd tell me after telling him what I saw.
Muzan-sama didn't waste any time the moment he returned.
"You finally saw it!" His grip on my shoulders was hard from his excitement. "Set out to the mountains at once." He commanded as if I was able to identify which mountain it was. I guess he read my mind again for he offered a solution to that.
"Y/N," is what he called me despite us being alone. "You are starting to prove your worth despite living on pigs alone." He made a face of disgust at that. Is he even able to have other expressions aside from disgust? "Your power would be stronger if you cave in to your nature and consume humans. It's all they're good for, after all." I wanted to tell him that he's wrong, however, I find myself unable to open my mouth. His hold on me suddenly felt heavy, and our dynamic was shoved to my face once more. He made a move to cup my face – I would've flinched if he wasn't somehow making me freeze on my spot.
He smiled, and it somehow made me more afraid of him. Don't get me wrong, he was absolutely handsome but breathtaking in so many ways… deadly ways. "You did well. I'm sure you'll find what I asked you to. If you live through this."
What? "Ugh!" It happened too fast for me to see, but some kind of appendage appeared from Muzan-sama's general direction and went straight for my neck. I felt it pump something into me… Muzan-sama's blood? Writhing on the ground, I felt almost the same pain I did when I became a demon. It was like every fiber of my being was being ripped apart and fire was replacing the blood in my veins. My mind started to get foggy and -!
It seems like I passed out from the pain. It was early evening when I came to, and there was still a light throbbing in my head. Why would Muzan-sama give me more of his blood? He did that when he turned me into a demon… ugh. It's like I'm cursed. I have no idea what's going on with my life anymore. Maybe I should just do what I was told. Finish my task and maybe then Muzan-sama would have no use for me and would just let me be.
My mind went back to the flower – and as if triggered by my thoughts of it my vision of the flower returned, only this time it was much more detailed. The flower was heavy with dewdrops, and the mountain it was on seemed to be so high up that you could almost touch the clouds while walking. I can feel reality pull on me slowly, yet I still try to look for more clues. There seems to be a house occupied by a small family of three – the father wearing hanafuda cards as earrings. I feel like I've seen this before, I just can't remember when and where.
Regardless, this vision narrows down the location to only the highest mountains wherein you can walk amongst the clouds. I never really did know much about our country's geography – that's not something being a housewife would require – so knowing this fact hardly helps someone like me.
"I see you're awake now."
"Who are you?"
The man – demon – that spoke step into the rays of moonlight and showed himself. Fluffy, bright pink hair was the first thing I noticed about him. Then the thick blue lines decorating his body – reminding me of the tattoos given to criminals. Looking closer I found yellow eyes looking at me. I almost missed the displeasure in them as I was distracted by the writing etched on his eyes that says "Upper-Rank Three". What does that even mean?
"Akaza." He said, still looking at me as if measuring me up. Akaza? "Can I help you?" I asked, confusion heavy on my voice.
"You're not only weak, but you're also pretty stupid. I wonder why Muzan-sama thinks you're useful." I know I've only met this man, but I can say that I already don't like him. I just opted to tell him how he didn't really answer my question.
"You were supposed to know where the Blue Spider Lily can be found." I felt myself turn red at that. Telling him how I have no idea where it was and the only clue I have barely narrowed it down would just prove his assumptions about me right. "So, do you know?"
To say that Akaza-san was not pleased is an understatement. He told me that the information I gave him was good for nothing as if I didn't know it myself. However, being demons, we have all the time in the world. We could realistically search every mountain in Japan. Akaza-san decided we explore Mount Takao first since it was the closest one.
He walked ahead of me, staring straight ahead. I took my time, looking at the sky every now and then. The sky was very clear, beautifully dotted with stars. "Tsk, it will be dawn before we even reach the foot of the mountain. Can't you walk a little bit faster Y/N?"
"That's not my name," I said, complying to his request. "If Muzan-sama says it's your name, then it's your name." We continued on in silence, walking side by side. Then a sudden thought occurred to me. "Upper-Rank Three. On your eyes, Akaza-san. What does that mean?" At that, he looked at me as if I sprouted another head. Considering I was able to regenerate my hands before, I wouldn't be surprised if I did grow another head.
"You reek of Muzan-sama's blood yet you know nothing?" Ah yes, like that was helpful. I continued looking at him, waiting for an answer. "Tsk. Twelve Demon Moons. We report directly to Muzan-sama. You can say we're the strongest of all demonkind, as we've received the most blood from him." I didn't know there was this kind of hierarchy within demons – or that there are even enough demons to have some sort of community.
"The amount of Muzan-sama's blood in you seems to be almost on par with a lower rank, yet you seem pretty useless. Like you'd die five seconds in a fight." That has got me thinking. "Why would I need to fight anyone?" I asked, surprise evident on my voice, and probably even my face. I mean, stealing pigs was pretty easy for me, and as Akaza-san said so kindly I'm pretty useless. So, with stronger demons like him – I assume – and Muzan-sama, people would be scared to fight and it looked pretty easy to kill and eat them. What is there for demons to fight?
"You really know nothing, do you?" Akaza-san stopped in his tracks at that. I felt the need to defend myself. "I've only been a demon for… weeks. A month?" Huh, thinking about how much time passed since I left home made me realize how I have no idea what month it even was. My only clue was how the weather is starting to get colder now.
"Why ever did Muzan-sama even turned you into one of us? And to keep you close to him, too. What's your blood demon art?" He asked arms crossed over his chest. I tried to think back to when I met Muzan-sama. I was at home. I had a family, right? Why can't I remember my parents' faces? That's not really important now, huh? "Wait – blood demon art?"
An exasperated sigh escaped Akaza-san. It seemed like he was more tired talking to me than walking. "My bad. You obviously can't fight. The moment Demon Slayers find you – even the lowest of their rank – you'd be dead. There's barely any battle spirit coming off you."
"Demon Slayers? Battle spirit?" Ah, the more we talked, the more confused I get. He started to walk again, setting a faster pace than before which led me to run after him. "Demon Slayers are humans who take arms against us." Humans? "You mean, humans killing demons?" He nodded at that. "Are there really humans who could kill us?" It's very hard to wrap my head around. I figured that the only possible way to die would be to stand under the sunlight. Is that what Demon Slayers do? Push us into the sunlight?
"There are humans whose life mission is to kill us. They have special swords which when used to cut our necks, we won't be able to regenerate. And there are those who are skilled. And they won't hesitate to kill you, even if you're a girl." That caught me off-guard. Why the need to emphasize that they'd kill even girls? "Do you not… I don't know, kill girls?"
"No." He said, sending me a menacing look as if daring me to tell him he was stupid for that. I don't think that's something demons can't do. I remembered how Muzan-sama killed and ate women and children, so Akaza-san refraining from killing girls seemed to be a personal choice.
"You've never eaten any women before?" He waited a bit before nodding. A heavy feeling settled in my heart. "I wish it was you I came across before. Maybe I'd still be a human now." I don't even seem to remember anymore how Muzan-sama turned me, yet I can't help but wish for what I said.
Glancing at me sideways, Akaza-san chided me. "I've only been around you for hours and I can already tell how you don't like Muzan-sama. You'd better be careful about what you think and say. It's easy for him to make demons and even easier to kill them."
A smile formed on my lips. "Death doesn't sound like a punishment." Do I want to die? Kind of. Not so much that I'd do it myself, but if it happens it sure sounds better than craving for human flesh and being a creature of the night.
"Is that why you haven't any humans yet?" Akaza-san inquired, curiosity evident in his voice and the raise in his eyebrow. "You can tell?" I wondered. "Your scent is different." I sniffed the air, unable to note anything different in our scents. Maybe my sense of smell isn't as good as his?
We arrived at our destination near midnight. Akaza-san said it might take us until sunlight to reach the peak, so he decided that we should look for shelter as we climb. We spotted a small hut three hours into our ascent… with humans inside. Woodcutters, probably. Akaza-san made quick work of them they didn't even get the chance to scream. I admit, the smell was enticing. It was overwhelming, especially when Akaza-san went out of his way and kindly offered me a man's severed head. Surely a bite won't hurt. I mean, he's already dead. It's not like I'm killing and hurting him more by eating him, right? He'll just go to waste. If I eat him… Akaza-san handed the head to me so casually, it was like passing an apple to me. Hah.
Panting, I turned the head in my hand looking for a spot to bite off. I surprised myself when I happened to turn the face towards me. I wanted to vomit. I'm a monster. I bolted. I didn't care where my legs took me and I only stopped once I wasn't able to smell the dead humans anymore. A movement in the bushes caught my attention and before I could think I pounced on it.
The wild boar was almost all bones when I regained my senses. The snap of a twig told me I wasn't alone. "We better go back to the hut. Dawn is almost here." Akaza-san looked clean compared to me. I could feel the still-warm blood around my mouth, and some even dripped down to my kimono. "I cleaned the hut. We'll be spending daylight there, then continue on to the peak."
We quietly walked back, and true to his word the hut was almost spotless. Almost. The faint smell of death still hangs around it. Still, Akaza-san is pretty considerate. "Thank you, Akaza-san." I said, bowing. My only experience with demons is limited to him and Muzan-sama, and despite him being condescending to me earlier, I find him a better company than the one that turned me.
"It's nothing. There's a futon there, you take it. I'll keep watch." He said, voice a little gentler than when we first spoke hours ago. "Oh, you won't be sleeping?" Despite being seemingly kinder, he can't stop looking at me incredulously. "Yes. That's what keeping watch is."
"For the whole day?" He nodded. He's been awake all night. "I can keep watch until noon. I'm not very tired and I'm very good at yelling in alarm, I think." He actually laughed at that. It was an unexpected sound coming from an imposing man like him. But it was a sound containing the most warmth that I felt from someone in a while. My heartbeat a little faster.
"Alright. But quietly wake me up if you do see someone." He said before finding a comfortable spot on the floor. I told him he could take the futon, yet he stubbornly told me it was for me. I can't convince him otherwise. Shrugging, I moved to where I won't be touched by any sunlight that would stream in in the morning. And so, my watch began.