One thing that had never changed about Muzan in all the time Kokushibo had known him, was that for all his power, he still tended to be predictable – at least to a certain extent. He had his default mood of 'superior and condescending' and the second state of annoyed, third state of apathetic along with so many different flavors of 'angry' the Waxing Moon honestly found it impressive (he could also be sadistically happy and vindictive, but those tended to be rarer – for better or worse). Something that had surprised Kokushibo when he'd initially become a demon though, and still did to some extent, was how, despite as nuanced as the Demon King's anger could be, it wasn't so easy as one might think to make him truly upset. One had to push him far enough to get past those initial stages of indifference and annoyance first.
He supposed that Muzan's anger just tended to be more potent forms of his base emotions – frustration, annoyance, fear, and boredom. And even when angry, he didn't often rage. That wasn't to say he couldn't be savage. The fact that he tended to be savage while looking completely nonchalant or apathetic made him all the more terrifying. No, when he got angry, he had a sort of quiet intensity that built and built until, well, someone (or several someones) died… or the problem was fixed. Whichever came first.
Fortunately, his Waxing Moons tended to be more or less exempt from that (with exception of course, but that was rare if only because Waxing Moons tended to be difficult to replace). Which was why, as the Waxing First observed the haughty face of the demon king as he stood before his remaining Kizuki, Kokushibo noted that intensity and had to steel his expression. In honesty, he found it rather entertaining. Muzan often became frustrated, especially in his search for the blue spider lily. However, that was an old frustration – almost a resigned one that didn't really invoke the kind of anger he sported now. It had actually been quite a while since he'd been this upset. What really amused Kokushibo, though, was the source of said frustration.
Muzan had been looking for a family for a while – a family with the accursed hanafuda earrings so reminiscent of Kokushibo's long-dead brother. And yet, after a long search and one particularly close call, the Demon King still hadn't been able to locate this family of potential Sun Breathers. Somehow, they had escaped and trained – actually quite the impressive feat – so now Muzan and his Kizuki had a problem on their hands.
Then they'd lost Waxing Three without a decent replacement in mind. Perhaps Nakime would finally earn a place? She certainly had enough power with her Blood Art, even if it tended to be the ultimate misdirection with very little offense. Even if they replaced Akaza, though, losing Waxing Moons definitely put the Demon King in a sour mood, especially as Douma hadn't been able to take retribution. But then, he'd known a superior fighter when he saw one.
Kokushibo, like the other Kizuki, had been granted a picture of the boy from Muzan once he'd gotten the images from Douma. It was both bone-chilling and utterly breathtaking to see the child move so familiarly. To be honest, he didn't fight like Yoriichi had. He lacked the grace and utter mastery of the Sun Breathing form – even Kokushibo could see differences between what the boy knew and his brother's style – but he'd still used a breath style that should have been extinct long ago… and he used what he knew well. It had been simultaneously terrifying, enraging and enticing. It had sparked a hope in Kokushibo's chest because he could finally prove he and his Moon Breathing style were superior. Even better, it would be against another demon and not a human like his brother had been.
Except the boy wasn't a demon… supposedly. Muzan hadn't turned him. At all. Neither had any of the Kizuki. And yet the boy felt like a demon, according to Douma (albeit, only later in the fight). He had the basic physiology of a newly turned demon (claws, fangs, enhanced reflexes) and his eyes had been marked… as if he were a Kizuki himself. Marks like that weren't easy to fake – they ran too deeply. Plus he'd had a Demon Blood Art. So someone had either found out how to turn and mark people or…
Well, truthfully, he couldn't really think of another explanation. Neither could Muzan; hence the intensity in his frustration and anger. Unfortunately, that was where Muzan's predictability ended. Kokushibo had seen the man kill Kizuki in far more pleasant moods. In states like this, he could kill even Waxing Moons on a whim. This instance could easily prove to be the exception he'd contemplated earlier if someone misspoke.
Kokushibo knew he would be the last person Muzan would kill – he was too valuable as a former demon slayer with a breathing style of his own (there was a reason he'd been Waxing One for centuries now) – which was why he still found the whole situation amusing. That didn't mean he would allow his control to slip. He wanted to live until he could prove his superiority, and if that meant playing along with Muzan's little games, then so be it.
Unfortunately, the Demon King had not been pushed enough to actually confront the kid. After all, the last time he'd confronted a Sun Breather, he'd almost died. It was only natural to be cautious.
(Secretly, Kokushibo couldn't help but be a little disgusted at his cowardice, but wasn't suicidal enough to say or even truly entertain the thought as he had better preservation instincts than that.)
The result of the man's cowardice caution had all of the remaining Waxing Moons gathered in the Infinite Mansion while Muzan instructed them on what to do if they ever came across one Kamado Tanjiro. Basically, they were to inform Muzan immediately, by any means necessary, and confront the boy or keep him in one place.
At which point, Muzan would send in his strongest weapon.
"Kokushibo," the Demon King said, turning to him. The ex-slayer gave his full attention to the king, tipping his head forward respectfully, six eyes all focused on his legs out of deference. "He will be your responsibility once he is found."
The Waxing First would be lying if he said he hadn't been expecting (and looking forward to) that. He raised his gaze to look Muzan in the eyes, then nodded once in affirmation, not letting his anticipation show on his face. He was far too disciplined for that.
"If you cannot capture him, kill him," his lord said firmly.
Kokushibo nodded again.
"And the Hashira he was with looked to have gained a mark."
That had the Waxing First frowning. "The marks have been extinct since the generation after my brother." Just like the Sun Breathing style.
"Yes," Muzan replied, not looking pleased. "And we must keep it that way. Kill her. All of you. And any other demon slayer with a mark."
Douma, ever smiling, raised his hand and waited for their lord to call on him.
"Yes?" Muzan asked with narrowed eyes. He must know what the Waxing Two would be thinking.
"What do these marks look like?"
For a couple of seconds, the Demon King remained quiet, contemplating the man in front of him. Then, eventually, he decided that it was worth the hassle.
"You saw one on her neck – two hearts with leaves that pulsed and moved. Once she got her mark and activated it, she moved more quickly and gained strength. Hashira with marks are more dangerous. Not all marks will look like that – it depends on the user's style, but they are unnatural and move. You will know one when you see one."
Douma just smiled wider and nodded.
"Any other questions?" Muzan asked, almost derisively.
To their surprise, Daki raised her hand.
"Yes?" Muzan snapped.
"What about the girl? His sister?"
Muzan scoffed. "She does not seem to be traveling with her brother, uses a water style, has no mark and is of little consequence now that Kamado Tanjiro has burned the demon transformation out of her before she turned." Douma had described looking back to see the boy with his hand hovering over the very much not burning companions, despite the fire. And she wasn't a demon. What an interesting Blood Art the boy had. Like the rays of the sun burning away an infection.
"However," Muzan started, but paused and smiled ever so slightly (it was not a nice smile, of course), "she may be of use. If you happen to find her, capture or kill her, but she isn't a priority."
The Kizuki all nodded.
The hallway remained quiet for several seconds after that.
"Leave," Muzan finally finished. Everyone stood, bowed and turned to go their own way. As soon as Kokushibo opened the nearest door, he found himself on the outskirts of the village he'd been hunting near recently. Behind him, the door closed and he contemplated the scene before him. A relatively large village with enough traffic for him to be discreet in, it had been a good temporary roost. However, it was nowhere near where Kamado had last been seen…
With a nod of his head, Kokushibo turned and began his trek towards the battle sight where Douma had fought with the boy and the Hashira. He doubted he would be lucky enough to run into the sun breather before someone else found him, but he would have a chance…
A chance to prove his superiority once and for all.
And he couldn't wait.
xXx
Nezuko hurt. All over. The sort of aching hurt that she hadn't had to deal with since the early days with Urokudaki-sensei.
Well, to be honest, it still wasn't as bad as those first few sessions of training, but incorporating some of Mitsuri's stretches would definitely be beneficial in the future. She even had some ideas for modifying some of her stances – something Urokudaki-sensei encouraged. It apparently wasn't uncommon for dedicated breath users to develop their own style that suited their body and way of thinking. That appealed to Nezuko.
But that was for later. For now, she just had to keep moving – keep training. She'd be leaving tomorrow, after all to begin her offical Demon Slayer Corps duties.
Once she began to get into her normal routine, her body didn't hurt as much and her choppy movements began to smooth out. Her mind had become still again, pushing past the pain and her senses had focused outward just as much as inward.
That was likely the only reason she sensed the fist coming towards her. She dodged to the side and took a defensive step back, eyes widening when she saw who appeared before her.
"You," she said to the demon with the words 'Waxing Three' written in his eyes.
He just raised an eyebrow in question. "That was better than I thought it would be, but still too slow. Block it this time."
He punched forward, faster than before and she had to misdirect his fist with her blade.
"No good," he said with a shake of his head. "That broke your stance. Again."
"Wait!" she shouted. "How did you get out?"
He paused and blinked. "Your brother let me out. Told me if I helped you, he'd fight me."
It was her turn to blink and then glanced over to the clinic to see her brother sitting on the steps with a sheepish expression. She glared at him.
"Why are you looking away from me? I'm your opponent," the demon said, drawing her attention back to him just in time to be sent flying via punch to her chest.
"Nezuko!" she heard Tanjiro shout. Then, "Akaza!"
"Psh," the demon said. "You wanted me to teach her, this is how she learns." To her he just said, "Get up and try again."
So, he wasn't running away because Tanjiro was right there? It still seemed like a huge risk… but she also liked the idea of getting stronger. Fighting a (former?) Waxing Moon would definitely do that. So she grit her teeth, forced herself to breathe and stood.
To her surprise, the demon grinned. "Heh. You got guts. Runs in the family, I suppose." He said that last part dryly and that ticked Nezuko off. She took her stance and attacked.
First Form: Water Surface Slash! She didn't even say it aloud, but aimed for his neck anyway. He redirected her blow by dipping to the side and knocking her arms up. In the middle of her technique.
She went flying again.
"Eh, not bad," he said, scratching his cheek, then running a hand through his bright pink hair – one of the marks of his demonic nature that had remained behind. "Direct attack, lots of power, definitely has its uses, but you should have picked something else for me. I'm a Waxing Moon. That would have taken out most weaker demons, but not someone stronger.
"Try it again."
He sounded so… bored – almost condescending (even if he did have good advice). She made it her goal to make him regret his words. So, despite being winded again, she stood and forced her aching lungs to breathe like she needed them to.
Third form: Flowing Dance, she thought and rushed forward. She only directly attacked him once, but when he dodged, she moved to the side as well, slicing at where he should move to. He still ended up being able to move around it, somehow, so she continued on with the form, determined to at least scratch him.
"Good, good," he said. "That's actually impressive. You sure you're just a Mizunoto?"
She grit her teeth and finished the form, panting.
"You're even coming at me with the intent to kill. You're a natural." He turned and called out to her brother. "Did you hear that, Kamado? Your sister's got—"
He didn't get to finish as she used a Seventh form: Piercing Raindrop that he barely dodged. She still didn't even cut him.
"Hey, hey… that's not very fair," he said.
"Demons don't play fair," she returned a little breathlessly.
To her surprise, he blinked and then smiled. "True. True. Fine. I'll take you more seriously."
With that, he took the stance she'd seen him take before, when he'd first fought Tanjiro. She decided not to give him the chance to attack. Even knowing it would take everything out of her, she put her all into the one last form.
Tenth Form: Constant Flux, she thought as she raced forward. He went to punch – she'd seen that attack before. It would be a long-distance air attack. She dodged to the side, using the constant flux to bypass the blow. It still hit her and slowed her down a bit (if she'd known she'd have to dodge around things like this, she'd have used Form Three again, or perhaps Form Nine), but she couldn't switch now, so she pushed on, concentrating on her footwork.
"Hey! I like that!" the demon said, smiling. "Impressive!"
Then he moved just right and her swing went right by him.
"Not good enough, though," he practically whispered into her ear, and she knew he would attack now. With the way his legs were, it would probably be with his fist, and the one poised best to hit her was the one now behind her.
She threw herself down and rolled. She felt his punch pass right above her and almost crowed in triumph. But then her feet refused to work and her roll turned into a sort of flop. She panted and her lungs hurt and her arms ached worse than before and… ouch…
Nezuko still drew breath and tried to force herself to her hands and knees at least. It didn't work.
"Eh, this is just a spar," the demon said. "It's probably best you stay down. If this were really a fight, then pushing yourself to the limit is the obvious way to go, but not now. Still, you'll go far, Kamado-san."
"Nezuko! Are you alright?" she heard her brother's voice and slumped a little.
"Just… tired." And very sore. Also, her muscles didn't want to obey her.
"Oh. Well, that was a great Constant Flux!" her brother said. "But it does take a lot out of you."
"Yeah," the demon said. "What you need to work on most, right now, is endurance, but if you fight like that you shouldn't have a problem with most one-on-one demon fights you come across."
A pause and then, "You're a surprisingly insightful teacher, Akaza," her brother said. She could almost see the bright smile on his face despite the fact that he'd turned to look up at the demon.
To her shock, the demon looked a little embarrassed. "Really?" he asked, sounding a little unsure of himself.
A Waxing Moon, sounding unsure of himself.
"Yeah! You'll be a great teacher!"
What.
"Nii-chan," she groaned, forcing one of her hands to come underneath her torso. She had to get across to him how terrible of an idea that was.
"Oh, Nezuko! Let me help you!" She felt one of his hands under her and he lifted her arm over his shoulder, helping her to her feet and then slowly walking her back towards the clinic.
"Nii-chan, what do you mean 'teacher'?" she asked tiredly.
"Oh, I think he'd be great in helping to teach you how to fight demons better and Yushiro how to fight at all."
A pause because her brother – even after as many lives as he'd lived – would honestly never stop being her brother.
"You really don't see how bad of an idea that is?" she asked, almost despairing.
He paused. "No…"
She sighed and put her head in her remaining hand. The one with her blade still in it, so she only marginally succeeded in showing her resignation.
"Hey, Akaza," Tanjiro said. "Would you get the door for us, please?" They paused and Nezuko looked behind her to see the demon standing there, staring at the outside wall. It occurred to her that if he really wanted to run, he could have right then. Instead, he turned around, neutral expression back in place, and shrugged.
"Sure."
He jogged past them to the door and even held it open. Then he followed them up to her room where he waited outside as her brother helped her in.
"Your fatigue should wear off soon," Tanjiro said with a smile as he helped her to her futon. She already felt like she'd regained enough of her stamina to walk, but still practically collapsed onto the bedding.
"I have a long way to go, don't I, Nii-chan," she said softly as he hung up her haori.
He smiled. "Not so long as you might think. Keep growing, Nezuko."
"I was thinking of modifying some of the forms," she said slowly. "They… don't feel… right to me – for me. I don't think I'll be able to reach the heights I want to with water breathing."
Tanjiro studied her for several seconds before he broke out into a grin. "That's great Nezuko! I can't wait to see what you come up with!"
She felt a weight lift off of her chest that she hadn't even realized was there. Then she felt foolish because of course he'd support her. He'd probably want to help if he could. Maybe she'd ask him for help when she saw him next.
"Good night, Nii-chan," she said softly.
His grin widened. "Night, Nezuko."
With that, he turned and left her to finish dressing herself. Once the door closed, she heard the demon outside speak.
"Can we fight now?"
"We can spar."
A pause. "Good enough."
She stared at the door, uncomfortable at the thought that he was out there. And yet…
"Akaza…" she said quietly. He seemed different, somehow. After a few moments of contemplation, she filed everything away for later and finished getting ready for bed.
She fell asleep almost immediately.
xXx
Nezuko woke to angry yelling outside her door talking about the craters they now had in their yard.
She sighed. "Nii-chan…" she groaned.
xXx
Once breakfast had been eaten and cleaned up, Nezuko made to leave for her first assignment. Unsurprisingly, Tanjiro insisted on escorting her out. What was surprising was how Mitsuri let them just go. When Nezuko pointed out she'd be letting Tanjiro out of her sight, Mitsuri just brushed her off.
"He'll be with you. Besides, I think it's more important to watch the Waxing Moon, don't you?" she asked with a wink, pointing to the demon who had fallen asleep again. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure Tanjiro had forced himself to wake up just to see her off.
She couldn't help but be glad. Leaving without saying goodbye did not appeal to her.
And so she and her brother left to find the demon slayer who would accompany her for now. When they approached the address she'd been given, a small cafe in a back alley, she was pleased to see a familiar face.
"Agatsuma-san!" she said as they walked up to him.
He seemed surprised, having been looking at a young waitress at the cafe.
"N-nezuko-chan!"
She huffed as she stomped up to him. "Well, if you get to call me 'Nezuko-chan', then I get to call you 'Zenitsu-kun'."
His eyes widened and then he got a dreamy look on his face as a blush rose to his cheeks. "Does that mean—" he started, but Tanjiro stepped in, cutting him off with a wide smile.
"Does that mean what, Zenitsu-san?" Tanjiro asked, voice like a sword hidden under a woolen blanket.
Zenitsu's eyes went wide again, but this time he paled. Then he looked between Nezuko and Tanjiro for several seconds before looking down. He kept glancing up at Tanjiro through his eyelashes and finally her brother sighed.
"Just say it, Zenitsu-san."
"You sound… more like a demon," the yellow-haired boy said softly.
Tanjiro's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "Yeah. I didn't have much of a choice."
Zenitsu cocked his head to one side. "You're… still on our side, though… right?"
Her brother almost looked offended. "Of course!"
"And… you're still in the sunlight."
Tanjiro's offense faded to sheepishness. "Oh, yeah. Holding onto humanity as much as I can."
Zenitsu frowned, but he didn't say anything. Nezuko also frowned because even as a demon, he should be immune to the effects of the sun on most demons. He'd said so himself. But perhaps he didn't want Zenitsu to know? She wondered why.
"Caw! Caw! Hurry! South! Go South!" her katsugai crow called out suddenly… and loudly. She sighed up at it as Zenitsu jumped and put his hands over his ears. Then he scowled at the bird.
"Well," Nezuko said with a smile, "I suppose that's our cue. We should head out, Zenitsu-kun!"
The yellow-haired boy blinked, but then smiled that dopey smile of his. "Sure, Nezuko-chan."
"Zenitsu," Tanjiro said, that sharp smile hidden beneath sunshine back in place. "Please remember our last conversation about Nezuko and when it's not appropriate to ask her to marry you."
Zenitsu gulped and nodded.
Then Tanjiro's smile warmed up considerably. "And please be safe – both of you. Trust in your own strength and trust in each other."
With that he drew Nezuko into a hug, then clapped Zinetsu on the shoulder.
"I'll head back to Mitsuri, now," he said, once he drew back. Then he yawned and stretched. "I'm due for another nap."
Nezuko sighed. She really hated how much he slept sometimes. Still, it was better than the alternative. "Sleep well, Nii-chan."
He smiled and waved them off. They'd just turned to go when her brother froze and his body tensed. Nezuko frowned and was about to ask what was wrong when his head snapped in one direction, away from Tamayo-san's house.
"Muzan," he whispered. Beside her Zenitsu gasped and Nezuko felt her eyes narrow.
"W-what?" Zenitsu whispered. For some reason that seemed particularly strange. She remembered him being rather loud…
Tanjiro just seemed to deflate a little before he smiled back at them, albeit a bit sadly. "He's in Asakusa."
"H-he… He's… How do you know?!" And there was the loud boy she remembered.
Her brother just frowned. "I… can sense him, I suppose. I could sense something before, but… I think he just sensed me because it just… changed." He looked troubled. "There has to be an area of effect… and he can't be moving since it's daylight."
"Nii-chan," she started.
A pained expression passed over his face, but he reached over and took her hand, then held it up while looking her in the eye. "I won't start anything, Nezuko. I swear. I'm going to head back to T…" he paused, glancing at Zenitsu for a moment before turning back to her, "to the place we've been staying and we'll leave, okay? If we leave while the sun is still out, he won't be able to follow us.
"Don't worry about me, please. You focus on what you need to do – your new style and fighting or killing as many demons as possible. For now, you should hurry and leave town. Be safe."
She opened her mouth to protest, but then remembered just how badly she'd failed against Akaza and the Waxing Moon fight only a couple of weeks before. Slowly her mouth closed and she looked down to the side.
"Hai," she finally said, albeit through gritted teeth.
"Um… actually…" Zenitsu said slowly, "we're s-s-supposed to stay in town…"
Tanjiro just stared at them for several seconds.
"Go… find an inn to stay in on the edge of town and we'll write to Ubuyashiki-sama. You staying here and potentially running into… that man… would not be good for anyone." Nezuko could almost swear his eyes glowed for just a moment when he looked back in the direction he'd stared in before – when he'd first mentioned Muzan. But when he turned back to them, he looked fine. "I'll take responsibility as a Hashira."
Reluctantly both Nezuko and Zenitsu nodded and turned to head more or less opposite of the direction Tanjiro had sensed Muzan in.
"See you later! Trust each other! You'll both do great! And good luck!" Tanjiro called after them before turning and heading away. Nezuko didn't think it was a good idea for him to head directly back to Tamayo's house, but figured her brother knew what he was doing. He'd probably take a difficult-to-follow path back. And he'd promised they'd try to get away from Muzan. He'd be fine.
Still…
"Um… your brother," Zenitsu started as they turned onto a more main road. "He… Um… he makes no sense!"
Nezuko sighed. "Well, you're not wrong," she muttered.
The yellow-haired boy seemed surprised at her answer. "You think so too?"
The younger Kamado sibling shrugged, grabbing some of her hair and brushing her fingers through it absently (she didn't like putting it up in her usual style – it didn't look right with the orange tips and she didn't want to mess with it right now).
"I know why he is… like he is," she said softly. "I know what happened and I know why and…" She shook her head. "It still makes no sense. It's just so… messed up."
Zenitsu shot her a sympathetic look that held no small amount of uncertainty.
"But one thing I can tell you: He will not turn his back on us. You saw him just now, right? My brother… doesn't hate much. It almost goes against his entire being to hate… but he hates Muzan. He would do anything in his power to take that man down. He's slowly turning into a demon, but I can promise you that he will never change his allegiance. Ever."
Her new companion studied her for several seconds before nodding. "Okay."
Nezuko couldn't help but be a little taken back by that. "Okay? You really believe me?"
He shrugged. "From what I heard from him – and from you – you both believe that with all your hearts. So until I get proof otherwise, I'll believe you."
For several seconds, she just stared at the boy as they walked, wondering if he was real or not.
After almost a minute, his face darkened into a blush. "I-I-I don't mind you st-st-staring… but… um… your brother is… kind of protective. S-s-so maybe it's n-n-not a good idea?"
Nezuko couldn't help but giggle at that. "Don't worry. If you ever angered me, Nii-chan wouldn't have time to get to you."
For a second he looked relieved, but then his face twisted into horror. Nezuko just smiled wider.
"H-h-how can you both be so scary!" he suddenly yelled, shaking his head around. Several people stared in their direction and Nezuko shushed him.
"Shhh!" she hissed. "You're drawing too much attention."
"Eh? But they're all human anyways?"
Her lips tightened as she hurried him along. "That doesn't stop it from being embarrassing."
They continued down the main streets for a couple of minutes in relative silence before Zenitsu spoke again, sounding hesitant.
"Your brother said you were thinking about developing your own style? What did he mean?"
Nezuko blinked. "Oh! Well, I know the water style just fine, but… it doesn't seem to fit me as well as I'd like, you know? From what I've been told, it's not a difficult style to learn relative to some of the others. It's very well rounded in power, flexibility, offense, defense, etc. But, well, it doesn't feel right to me. Not completely. So I'm going to modify it to make it more my style. Apparently many people do that. Most of the current Hashira have their own styles – Insect, which is based on Flower which is based on Water, Sound which is based on Lightning, Mist which is based on wind, Love which is based on Flame, etc."
She realized she was ranting a bit and stopped, a little sheepish. "In any case, I want to become the best I can be, so I'm going to try and see what fits me. Probably something that utilizes flexibility and speed. I thought about learning the Flower Breathing, but… it doesn't seem right to me either, although it's close from what Nii-chan tells me. I mean, I've never actually seen it before, but I'm going to follow my intuition."
And suddenly, Zenitsu looked at her with such adoration, she could have sworn he had hearts in his eyes.
"Wow! You're so amazing, Nezuko-chan!"
She blushed a little, cleared her throat and hurried on, looking for something that she could use to draw attention from herself. That… was just a little much right now.
"So, what style do you use?" she asked.
Zenitsu's smile faded and he deflated as if she'd burst a bubble. "I… was trained in Lightning Breathing."
Nezuko's eyes widened. "Wow! I hear that's one of the hardest ones to learn!"
"It iiiissss!" Zenitsu wailed. Nezuko winced and looked around again. Fortunately, there weren't as many people staring at them this time.
"Is it hard to use even now?" she asked. "I mean, you passed the Final Selection…"
The yellow-haired boy sighed. "No… I mean… yes… um…"
She put a hand on his arm, sensing it was a sensitive subject. "You don't have to say if you don't want."
For a moment she thought he'd start yelling about how cute she was or something again (something she'd very much rather avoid). But then he slumped.
"No. If you're traveling with a weakling like me, you deserve to know. I… canonlyuseoneform."
Nezuko blinked. "Um… say that again?"
Zenitsu winced. "I… can only use the first form of the lighting style," he muttered, looking down at his feet as they walked, shamed.
"Oh," Nezuko blinked. "Um… if you don't mind me asking, why?"
For several seconds, her fellow demon slayer didn't answer, but then he grit his teeth. "I don't know. I can use the Thunderclap Flash just fine, but when I try to combine what I know with the other techniques… it just doesn't work!" His voice grew louder and louder until he was yell-whining again at the end.
Somehow, Nezuko figured she'd just have to get used to this.
"Well, how about you show me your style and we can train together!" she said, trying to stay positive. "I could even teach you some water techniques if you'd like. Maybe that can help?"
Zenitsu paused, then looked as if he were about to cry. He even sniffed. "Y… you'd really do that for me?"
"Well, of course. If you want to get stronger and we're going to be traveling together, I think it would be a great idea! We can find an empty place to train with bokken or something once we find an inn to stay at. Sound good?"
And then he was suddenly hugging her. "You're so wonderful, Nezuko-chan! And strong! And beautiful! And—"
He cut off when she kneed him in the gut and then threw him down on the street. She could feel her cheeks heating up from her utter embarrassment.
"Rule number one when traveling with me: Do not hug me without my permission! Understand?!"
From the ground, he gasped. "H-hai, Nezuko… chan."
She nodded firmly.
"Good."
Then she turned and began walking down the street again, hoping she could cool down soon.
"W-w-wait! NEZUKO-CHAN! DON'T LEAVE ME!"
She sighed.
xXx
Muzan came out of the bedroom he'd been staying in. He had a private room as he stayed separately from his 'wife'. It had been a marriage of convenience for both of them as she said she needed someone to help her escape her family's pressure to marry again after her husband had been killed, and to help take care of her daughter. He needed access to her family's library. She also became a very good cover for him – part of why he'd approached her to begin with. It was one of his more beneficial arrangements at the moment.
Currently, both his "wife" and "daughter" were out of the house. He tended to "sleep late" and she would run errands in the morning after taking her daughter to school.
They'd come to stay in one of her family's properties in town for one of the first times as a means of vacation. He'd never stayed here before. Which was why he was likely only sensing something just then… something new. It… felt like a predator? A fellow predator perhaps? Someone who had just as much potential as he did? (Not more – no one could have more!)
He froze in the hallway, in the middle of adjusting his Western-style cuff links. Then he looked over in the direction he sensed the presence.
"So," he said with a smile. "There you are."
He couldn't go after the boy himself, but he could definitely send some of his trackers over there. He wished he could send someone now – Kokushibo even – but he couldn't during the day. Then again, he didn't know whether the kid would be able to after taking a demonic form. Likely not.
At this point, it was just a matter of time.
xXx
AN: We don't see evidence of any demon (besides maybe Daki) having intimate relations, so… why would Muzan? He seems to derive more pleasure from eating or hurting people, so his 'daughter' is his step daughter, despite the earlier Omake. FYI.
Soooo I was supposed to have this up earlier this week. Then my sister called me in tears because she had to go to the ER. She's fine now, and the problem she had was treatable, but she needed someone to be with her kids while she and her husband were gone and so yeah.
Sorry this took so long to post. Will be trying to get another one or two chapters up very soon.
Enjoy the extra long chapter!
Discord: TQxEBuhVjK (no spaces)
