"Eh! One more story, please?" This little boy sure is full of energy! Still, his adorable face was something I can't say no to. I was just about to give in when Rengoku-san walked in.

"You're still up, Nobu?" At his voice, the little boy instantly straightened up and turned to him with his hands behind his back – as if caught doing something he shouldn't be. Well, he is still awake past his bedtime.

"I was just about to go to sleep! Uh, good night sir." He then ran to me, tackling me into a hug. "Good night, obaachan!" Ah yes, obaachan. I'm a grandmother now. Nobu is Yori's grandson… well, one of his grandchildren. He got married a few years after Yusuke left, and had a lot of children and a lot more grandchildren.

I say a lot, but he only had four children – like us siblings – and then his children had at least two or three each. Yusuke, for someone who didn't want to be found by us, moved to the next town. It was easy to keep tabs on him, all we had to do was pretend we didn't know where he was. He and Keiko-san had two daughters, and they have a ramen shop that seemed to be always busy.

I tried once to talk to him. He reacted pretty much the same way he did when he left. Father and mother, while understandably sad about almost everything that happened to our family, felt amazing joy at becoming grandparents. They passed away decades ago now, three years apart.

Yori inherited almost everything. Yusuke didn't bother with his share, and I received some money that father hoped would help me survive for as long as demons live. I didn't even need to use it since Yori insisted that I stay with him and his family.

Both of us didn't tell his wife and children what I was outright. Just that I had some disease that prevents me from walking out in the sun. But the fact that I haven't aged a day when even his kids are now decades older than I am was clue enough. Still, the word demon was not used at our estate.

Kuwajima-san retired years ago. It was after the first and only attack that Muzan-sama… no, Kibutsuji, ordered. It was a lower rank moon that attacked us – someone I've never met, but Kuwajima-san defeated him easily enough. Then the newly recruited upper rank six came out of nowhere and got Kuwajima-san's leg. It was a difficult fight, something that made me miss Akaza-san's lessons so much.

We didn't defeat him, but we were able to drive him off. I can't say we weren't hurt, as I felt like I could die right then with all the gashes I've received. I reckoned that I'd be more useful as a shield than if I attempted to fight then. And what a glorious meat-shield was I. Kuwajima-san lived, but with the loss of a limb his career as a demon slayer was over.

This meant a new hashira was assigned to our district. It's been more or less forty years now, and there has been a lot of hashiras that were assigned here. Some of them do drop by our estate, maybe to see the demon that does not kill humans. Some were friendly enough; others stay away completely. The latest one to be assigned here was Rengoku Shinjuro-san.

He always looks like he was on fire due to his wild hair that is as bright as the sun. Maybe it's because he's the flame hashira? "That kid is sure growing up too fast." He said, sitting across from me. "Your son is about Nobu's age, isn't he? I'm excited to meet him." Rengoku-san is only twenty-five but is already a hashira and a father of two. How he managed to do all this at the same time, I have no idea.

"About that, Y/N-san." Ah, Y/N. It's different than what Kibutsuji called me, and also different from my birth name. Yori figured I should change my name every couple of decades, as children can't really stop themselves from talking. Imagine how the neighbors would react if they hear the kids talk about Yukiko who was supposed to be missing years ago. It's just a precaution that Yori wanted us to take.

"Are you sure it's okay to bring him here?" Rengoku-san continued.

"Of course. If anyone has to be okay with it, it should be you and your wife seeing as I'm… well, what I am."

"I've known you for so long now, I trust you. You've been around children all these years now." He sighed. The thought of what's happening to his family is weighing heavily in his mind. His second son was born only months ago, making his household busy with taking care of a newborn. But now that his wife has caught an illness that had rendered her bedridden, they have their hands full. Poor Kyojuro.

Rengoku-san decided to give a hand and take care of his older son to lighten everyone's load back home. Technically, I'd be the one watching his child. He can't exactly bring him along to patrols and missions. Besides, with Nobu and his siblings, I'm sure Kyojuro would be entertained enough.

"If you say so. I'm just happy to help. If there's anything else, Rengoku-san, don't be afraid to ask." Rengoku-san isn't a warm and friendly kind of person. TO be honest, he scares me, but he's the hashira that was here the longest and the one I got pretty close to. He trusts me with his son, after all.

"Helping with Kyojuro is more than enough. Truly, I'm very thankful."

After Rengoku-san excused himself to finally go home and get his son, I went out to patrol in his stead. In the years that passed, I finally did learn some fighting techniques. Kuwajima-san taught me years back, but his style was a little violent. I mean, there are times that I just want to rest and laze about and he'd hit me with a wooden sword. He even had the brilliant idea of using real swords on me, since I'd just heal and regenerate anyway but father and Yori almost killed him for it.

I was careful when I went out, making sure my hood was on and my face was hard to see. The generation… my generation is still alive and strong, after all. The people that were born around my time are in their sixties now. If I was still human and aged properly, I'd be sixty-four.

One time, an old playmate of ours saw me. Takeo-san was his name, and he called me by my birth name. Yori just laughed at him, saying how that was definitely not my name and that I'm his granddaughter Y/N. "Of course," Takeo-san agreed. That was the only thing that made sense – I was his granddaughter that looked so much like his missing sister. A fifteen-year-old girl can't possibly be his old playmate.

This gave me more freedom to roam about outside, but it's only effective for as long as I could pass just looking young. Anyhow, I found myself at the edge of town that night. "Huh?" A lone house at the edge of the road caught my attention. I went inside and saw it completely ransacked and devoid of life. Everything that is of value is gone, including food, and its residents' absent. "Another one?"

For years now, several houses in our district are robbed like this, with its occupants missing. It smells like the work of humans, so it's not really our job. Still, I felt like we should be doing something about this. I sighed and went back to my patrol.

The smell of blood was faint, but I was still able to follow it. A hunter's home in the mountains is where I ended up; a demon was startled as I interrupted her meal. She snarled at me, "this is mine! Find your own food!" The days that I run into demons is something I look forward to. Of course, it's sad that someone died, but it was my chance to practice.

Obviously, my blood demon art wasn't something Kuwajima-san could help me with. It's something I had to work on my own, and the fact that I don't eat humans is hindering its growth. I had to improvise.

"Okay." I said, before going for the demon herself. My claws were sharp enough to slice off her arm from the elbow. Biting into it was not something I looked forward to; the surge of power was.

"You! You ate me?" A look of shock that was almost funny on her monstrous face was directed at me. "It's not like I want to eat you." Before she could even think of regenerating her arm, a significant amount of frost encased the stump. It was thick, and something she won't be able to remove. Pride flowed through my body at that. I was actually getting better at using my power.

"Seventh moon? You're a demon moon?!" Now it was fear written on her face. "Mu – " I went for her head before she could utter his name. It was easy to keep her quiet until sunrise, I just had to crush her head every time she tried to regenerate. The pain she felt must have been too much, for she stopped trying after two hours.

See, I don't really eat demons the same way demons eat humans. A chunk of flesh every now and then was more than enough. It was only to get some of Kibutsuji's blood. It's what makes demons strong, after all. I figured I'd rather consume that than humans. I can't say that it's morally better, it definitely seems as monstrous, but it doesn't keep me up all day.

You might be wondering why other demons don't do this. Well, it's not entirely safe. One, it has something to do with how we became demons; it was through Kibutsuji's blood. He gave us his blood which turned us into monsters. More blood from him means more power. But too much of it is dangerous, as sometimes the body won't be able to handle it all and you'd end up getting destroyed from the inside. Two, it's against Kibutsuji's will.

His blood resides within every demon, and that's how he was able to read our minds. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I did. It's also how he puts on his curse on us. If you talk about him to someone else, his blood and cells within your body would attack you. Found it out the gross way when one of the demons I fought said something about him.

It scared me since I talked about him with the demon slayers, but nothing happened. The Oyakata that time said it must be because I broke out from Kibutsuji's influence and control. How that happened, I have no idea. But it made me careful. I never did talk about him except back when Urokodaki-san brought me to the headquarters of the demon slayers.

Making sure I was covered completely; I stuck to the shadows and went back home. It was easy enough, seeing at it was early morning. The people that were already outside were all busy with their chores or were still sleepy enough to pay attention to me. Three children welcomed me the moment I stepped inside.

Seven-year-old Nobu, ten-year-old Haru, and twelve-year-old Kiyomi were all waiting by the door for Rengoku-san and his son to arrive. They were all disappointed that it was just me that walked in. Stings a bit, but endearing too.

"Aww! It's just you." Nobu said with all the sensitivity a seven-year-old could offer. His oldest sister nudged him at that, as Haru went in for a hug. "Were you out all night, Y/N-chan?" Another thing Yori and their parents trained them was to not call me obaachan. It's weird to see a fifteen-year-old be called grandmother, but Nobu is just too much of a rule breaker to follow that.

"Uhuh…" I said, squeezing her back. Haru has always been the sweetest. "Rengoku-san left right after Nobu went to bed. Though, he won't arrive until a couple more hours so you three shouldn't just wait here all morning." Pouting faces looked up to me at that.

"You said they'd be here in the morning?" Nobu complained, and I can already see the tantrum that was starting. "Yes. It's still morning two hours from now. Or even five hours." I said, leading them deeper into the house. "Awe. Maybe Rengoku-san should have left a lot earlier yesterday." Kiyomi said. I didn't think she'd be this excited to have Kyojuro over.

"I wonder what Kyojuro-kun is like? Maybe he's scary, too!" Haru commented. "Eh, but he's my age. How can he be scary?" Nobu asked, and he made a lot of sense. The two girls just shrugged at that.

"There you three are! Your mother's looking for you, she's in the kitchen."

"Yes, ojiichan." The three children said and went off rushing towards the kitchen. One thing I admire about them is how obedient they could be. "Rough night, nee-san?" Yori asked as he started to walk beside me. Despite him being sixty-two now, he still calls me nee-san at home. "What made you think it was rough? I had the time of my life." I quipped, grabbing his arm as we walked.

I started to tell him about the abandoned house, and he told me that it was probably the fiftieth house I found in that state. "It's odd, don't you think? Thieves don't usually take the homeowners with them, but this has been consistent."

"Maybe people just constantly take everything they own and run away?" He said. I can't deny, the idea did cross my mind. But just how many people take everything they own and run away, never to return? This seems like too many. I shrugged before changing the subject.

"Will you be busy today?" Our family still owns the Wagashi shop that father started. Yori's children started shops in other towns, and his eldest was the one working with him in the main shop. We've told him to retire and let his son take over completely, but my dear brother apparently loves working too much.

"Today? No. I'm letting Ryoma run things by himself today." I can't stop my laughter at that. "You've said that so many times before, yet ended up at the shop anyway." He gave me his own smile at that. Sometimes my heart ache when I look at my brother. His face, while still the same, look so different now. Time and age are so cruel and unfair.

When our parents died, I felt lost. But I still had Yori, and my nieces and nephews… and Yusuke even if he won't talk to me. But now that Yori is getting older, there's a fear in me that I'd wake up one day to total strangers. To a different world, where everyone I know is gone. At one point, the two of us discussed the possibility of him becoming a demon, too. But he was already a father by then, and the thought of him losing control and eating his family was too much for us to get anywhere with that plan.

I suspect him having a lot of grandkids comfort him because he knows I won't be alone after… oh god, the thought alone could bring me to tears. I don't want to be left behind. I know I still have family, but these children will grow up too, and their children, and the generations that would follow. There would be no one that truly knows me in a few more decades.

It's why I made it my goal to be human again. I vowed to myself that I'd look for a way to be normal again. To age with time and to walk under the sun. Maybe then, Yusuke would actually talk to us again.

With both my brothers in their sixties, I only have maybe two or three decades left. I have no idea how, but I have an inkling of where to start. Kibutsuji Muzan. He's the origin of our kind, so he probably also knows how we could be human again. I can't exactly waltz back to him and ask him. It's why I hatched a plan of my own; find the blue spider lily that he wanted so much. If I give it to him as a peace offering, maybe he'd be willing to turn me back into a human.

Right. All I need now is to trigger my visions and hope for the best.