The Ubuyashiki estate was, in a word, strange. Tanjiro hadn't been used to being in, or even seeing, estates when he'd lived on his mountain with his family. Oh, sure, they'd had a couple nearby, but they were few and far between. The rare time Tanjiro had seen one, though, they'd always looked pristine on the outside, and from what little he could see on the inside when the doors were open (that had only happened once before that night).
Once he'd left to begin his training, though, he'd seen several estates, in various states of repair, but the Ubuyashiki estate topped them all. It almost looked abandoned on the outside, with cracks in the walls and ivy growing everywhere, spiderwebs left completely alone and bird or insect nests in whatever nooks and crannies they could find. The paint on the walls had begun to peel and the tops of anything visible from the outside had chipped. The doors even looked crooked, like they'd fall over at any given moment.
Inside, though… well, while he couldn't call it 'pristine', it still contrasted greatly with the outside. It was clean and well tended, with maybe the exception of some parts of the landscape. He walked through well-swept halls as he looked for his target, and couldn't help but marvel at how many people the Demon Slayer Corps Head would have to employ to keep both the inside and the outside in the states they were in.
He suspected the Kakushi had a lot to do with that. They had to do something while they weren't cleaning up after demon attacks, after all.
It took him longer to find Sanemi than he thought it would. First, he checked the cellar, but only found a sleeping Kimiko there. After that, he began to check the various rooms and the two dojos on his way outside. That was where he finally found Sanemi training with his wind style, trying to incorporate his demon blood art into the forms. He stalked around a dummy set up in the middle of the training grounds, slowly moving and concentrating on his footwork without taking his eyes off of the target.
Tanjiro paused as he watched the man break his Total Concentration Breathing to take a deep breath, then blew out with a flick of that long, purple tongue. Then he fell right back into the rhythm of Wind Breathing as he made his regular attack. He didn't call it out, so Tanjiro didn't know exactly which form he used, but the force hit the target within moments of each other. The double hit tore the dummy apart… literally. It would take meticulous timing in battle to use the attacks well, but if anyone could do it, Tanjiro would put his money on Sanemi using it to devastating effect.
He wondered why the demon's blood art had developed into more or less typhoon breaths. Certainly wind-based, but why that form specifically? Especially as he had no idea if he'd influenced Sanemi's demon form at all, let alone his blood art. He still had no idea what determined that, but was positive that a turned breath-user's style influenced the form a blood art took.
Sanemi paused in his movements, observing his handiwork for several seconds, probably dissecting everything he'd just done and looking for ways to improve or modify the attack. Tanjiro smiled at his dedication, just allowing himself to admire the man for several seconds. Then he straightened his back and rushed forward.
"Sanemi-san!" The Wind Pillar turned to scowl at Tanjiro. Because of course he did. It was Shinazugawa Sanemi.
"What do you want?" he asked, a little sullenly… even for Sanemi.
Tanjiro refused to let the man's attitude faze him. This was nothing compared to the torture of traveling with him constantly cutting himself to tempt Tanjiro with his merechi blood.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading to the Swordsmith Village to train with Himejima-san and prepare for the demon attack that I remember happening."
Sanemi frowned. "Demon attack?"
Tanjiro nodded. "With two Waxing Moons."
The Wind Pillar's eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he nodded. "We've been assigned to go?"
The younger demon blinked. "Oh… um… no. Well, I have, but you haven't," Tanjiro rushed to reassure the man. "Would you like to go? Or stay here?"
The taller man blinked rapidly, then frowned again. "I can't stay, not without you to keep me from… going off."
Tanjiro thought about that for a moment. "Before you decide, I'd like to point out that Oyakata-sama is letting Hashira stay around him right now – something he hasn't ever done before. Also, Iguro-san is coming by in a couple of days. I know you'd like to protect Oyakata-sama, so do you think you can hold out that long? I'd feel better knowing more people were here to keep the Ubuyashiki family safe. And yes, I trust you."
For just a second he looked more vulnerable than Tanjiro had ever seen before. "Why?"
The time-traveler just smiled. "Because you still want to protect people more than anything, even if it's from yourself."
Sanemi looked torn for a moment. After a couple of seconds, he frowned warily. "Is the Third Kizuki staying?"
The time-traveler rolled his eyes, probably a little more fondly than he wanted it to be. "Former Kizuki and yes."
The other man did not look happy. He sat there for several seconds, obviously weighing his choices back and forth before seeming to come to a decision with a firm nod.
"Fine. I'll stay."
That… actually surprised the smaller demon a bit. He had been prepared to give into whatever Sanemi pushed for. Him giving in that easily was… well, the man didn't often change his mind. "You will?"
"Yeah."
Tanjiro couldn't help but smile softly. "Okay."
The white-haired man relaxed a little, before tensing up and looking down worriedly. Tanjiro could guess where his thoughts had gone, so he shrugged.
"You made a good decision, Sanemi. And I meant it when I said I trust you. Now you just have to trust yourself."
Sanemi blinked. "How? How can you trust me like that?"
"Because I know you." Tanjiro grinned widely as the Wind Pillar just stared at him and said nothing. Eventually, it got awkward and Tanjiro began looking for a reason to leave. Before he could say anything, though, another voice rang through the clearing.
"Oi! There you are! I… Oh! You're here too!" Akatsugi had focused on Tanjiro before turning his attention to Sanemi. "Great! Let's fight!"
Tanjiro sighed. "You sound like Inosuke."
The pink-haired demon blinked, then frowned. "Who?" Oh, right… he hadn't met Inosuke this time around and Tanjiro didn't really want to explain it.
"Never mind," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. Then he peered at Sanemi out of the corner of his eye. He looked about ready to explode.
"Weren't we going to train some more?" he asked the newcomer hurriedly, hoping to stop a fight between the two of them.
"Sure. When I win this fight," Akatsugi replied, not taking his eyes off of Sanemi and grinning ruefully.
"Bring it, demon," Sanemi hissed.
Tanjiro sighed, realizing he couldn't prevent this. "Um…"
They both turned their glares on him; one pair of slitted eyes, one set of kanji. Tanjiro sighed. "Don't destroy the compound."
"Fine. I know a place nearby where we can go all out!" Akatsugi said, never dropping that sharp grin as he turned to look back at the man he'd challenged.
Before Sanemi could interrupt and say something stupid, like he wouldn't follow a demon anywhere or something like that, Tanjiro nodded hurriedly. "Great! Lead the way."
The Wind Pillar opened his mouth to object, but then closed it and growled deeply. Akatsugi ignored that and jumped out of the compound, laughing.
"I'm coming too," Tanjiro called after him, then raised an eyebrow at Sanemi.
"Fine," the white-haired man grumbled through gritted teeth before jumping to follow the other demon. Tanjiro shook his head at the Wind Pillar. Then he glanced over his shoulder at the estate, wondering if he should tell someone, but he didn't want to take the chance that those two would kill each other before he arrived if he took the time to do so… and they could, too. Akatsugi had his nichirin knives, and Sanemi the traditional blade.
He decided he'd apologize later if it was a problem. Right now, stopping those two from rearranging the countryside sounded like a much better idea. He could slow both of them down if he had to (not that he wanted to… it still made him wince to think he had that kind of power over them), and he could only hope that would be enough.
So he leapt into the air and out of the compound.
xXx
The two of them went all out. It took Tanjiro running around and countering some of the strikes with his own forms to contain it somewhat, and even then too much got past him. The grass-covered clearing soon became a much wider, very barren clearing and Tanjiro had to stop each of them from completely obliterating the other no less than five times… three from Akatsugi, twice from Sanemi.
Finally, Tanjiro had enough and called for them to stop. Thankfully, both of them did, dropping to the ground across from and glaring at each other over Tanjiro's head. (He didn't much care for the reminder that even as a demon, his natural form was short.)
After a couple of seconds, though, Akatsugi broke into a huge grin. "Now that was a fight! And you're so used to your blood arts and demon abilities already. You Pillars are something else."
Sanemi growled and looked about ready to attack again, but Tanjiro frowned in question. "Demon abilities? Other than his blood art?"
The other demon blinked. "Well, yeah. I mean, enhanced body and senses. His reactions are top-notch, and it's obvious he can hear what high-level demons can. I'm surprised it's so good this soon after being turned, although it still takes several seconds for him to regrow limbs, but it's still surprising."
"And you think that's because he was a Pillar as a human?"
"What else would it be?"
Tanjiro opened his mouth to reply, but Sanemi beat him to it. "Stop talking about me! I'm right freaking here!"
The time-traveler winced and turned apologetically to his white-haired subordinate. Then he bowed.
"Apologies, Sanemi-san."
"Yeah, me too," Akatsugi said nonchalantly. Probably didn't even bow, but he also said it on his own, so Tanjiro would take it. Whether Sanemi would or not…
"I'm out. And you better watch yourself, demon," the Wind Pillar shot, pointing a finger angrily at Akatsugi, who looked amused if anything.
"Same."
Tanjiro withheld a sigh but couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes as Sanemi practically stomped away.
"He stood up to me… and I'm positive I could beat Douma right now," Akatsugi said quietly. "Dunno if I could kill him, but I can beat him."
They continued to watch the Wind Pillar leave until he disappeared into the treeline.
"He's still not strong enough to fight Kokushibo alone," Tanjiro muttered darkly.
Akatsugi snorted. "Yeah, no."
"And Muzan's even stronger."
A heavy silence fell over them before Akatsugi finally broke it. "Yeah."
Tanjiro deliberately avoided checking what both Akatsugi and Sanemi were feeling, choosing instead to examine his own thoughts and memories regarding both the strongest Waxing Moon and the Demon Progenitor.
After a couple of minutes, he sighed and turned to his subordinate. "We should probably get back before we're missed. I obviously still need to train."
"Obviously," Akatsugi snorted. "Let's go then."
With a nod, he and Tanjiro leapt after the white-haired demon.
xXx
Sanemi hated this. He hated being a demon, he hated talking and interacting with demons, he hated everything about demons! And yet that human-eating former Kizuki had the gall to compliment him! On his technique!
He hated it all!
He hated the fact that he wouldn't have stopped fighting if Kamado hadn't been there to stop him. Looking back, Sanemi was a little surprised he'd had the presence of mind to actually make battle-worthy decisions. All he'd wanted towards the end was to tear the other demon apart… more so than normal. He'd been less angry and more… primal, aggressive… demonic.
(How long would he have been in that state of mind, with that level of energy? He didn't know. Indefinitely? Or only minutes? Who would get hurt if the former was true?)
He hated this.
(Most of all, he hated that he'd actually enjoyed that more than he wanted to admit.)
"Ah, Shinazugawa-san!" a sunny voice broke him out of his thoughts and he glanced over to see Rengoku rise from a kneeling position on the engawa. Sanemi blinked. When had he gotten here again? Where had he even been going? Had he been that lost in thought?
His self discipline really was shot.
"Hm," he grunted with a nod at the yellow-haired man.
"Is Kamado-san with you?"
The question took Sanemi by surprise, but also served to remind him of the whole situation that he hated so much all over again and he grit his teeth. Then he sensed for the other two demons. They were still outside the compound but coming towards them. (He also hated that he could sense that.)
"They're that way," he said – practically growled, really. "They should be here soon." They were heading in the two Pillars' direction. Which probably meant they were coming for training. Which meant that Sanemi would have to either find somewhere else to train or give up on the idea of training altogether.
Which just ticked him off more.
He went to stalk angrily past Rengoku, but the man stood quickly, sword in hand, and fell into step beside him. That surprised Sanemi.
"You just asked 'bout them. Don't you gotta talk to them or somethin'?"
Rengoku's smile slipped a little, but it may as well have been a frown with his normal (and usually very frustrating) disposition.
"No. I… think I would rather avoid Kamado-san right now." Sanemi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What had the kid done, he wondered? Rengoku noticed his expression and his eyes widened a bit in realization. "Not through any fault of his own, of course."
The demon frowned. "Then why?"
The Flame Pillar fell quiet before answering. "I just received news of my father's death. He died defending Kamado's sister… from Waxing One. I… simply wish to avoid the reminder until I have better control over myself." And then the man's smile returned, although it looked more forced than normal. It honestly freaked Sanemi out a little. He figured he should probably say something.
"Sorry. 'Bout your dad 'n' all." He knew what it was like to lose a parent due to demons.
The smile seemed to melt into something more real – more normal.
"Thank you, Shinazugawa-san. You enrich the corps with your presence."
And he meant it. That took Sanemi back and he stopped, just staring at the yellow-and-red-haired man, who took a couple of seconds to realize he was walking alone. He also paused and turned to face the Wind Pillar, questioning.
"How can you say that?" Sanemi asked, his hands shaking at his sides he clenched his fists so hard.
Rengoku tipped his head to one side, that dumb smile still in place. "Why wouldn't I? I merely speak the truth."
"I'm a demon!"
"Yet you control your urges! It is truly a mark of stren—"
"No it isn't!" Sanemi shouted, breathing heavily. Rengoku looked surprised enough to clamp his mouth shut, blinking at his fellow pillar. Then he just sort of deflated. "Sometimes… Sometimes I can't control it." He looked down at his hands, claws so obvious.
"And yet you haven't killed a human," the Flame Pillar said, his voice surprisingly gentle.
"Only 'cause I was lucky," Sanemi grumbled. "Had people 'round who could stop me."
"People you purposefully sought out."
Well… he wasn't wrong.
"I do not care that you have become a demon. I trust you, Shinazugawa-san, because you deserve it. You have made the most out of a very poor hand, and are turning a weakness into a strength."
Sanemi… hadn't expected that. He felt a little embarrassed, actually and looked down, scuffing the engawa with his foot. "I've been lucky," he insisted. "And one day that luck will run out." One day, he'd lose it and a human would be in his way and… and that would be the end of it.
Rengoku seemed to think about that for a moment before he finally answered. "If that day comes, I and every other Hashira will be there to stop you." His smile widened again. "But that day is not today.
"Come," the Flame Pillar said with a smile as he slapped a hand fondly on Sanemi's shoulder, "demons can drink tea. Let us share a pot."
Sanemi had never really liked most teas but… that… sounded good right now.
"Yeah," he agreed and followed the other man inside.
It was only later that he remembered Rengoku had been grieving his father. And yet, even in his pain, he'd taken the time to reassure Sanemi. His respect for the Flame Pillar shot up that day.
xXx
"So, you're leavin' then?" Akatsugi asked as he handed one of Tanjiro's fingers back to him. Long since used to the morbidity of it all (Tanjiro had lost count of how many fingers he'd sliced off and reabsorbed), he closed his eyes and concentrated. It took several seconds, but the small appendage disappeared and the time-traveler nodded firmly both at the question and at the accomplishment; he'd gotten much faster.
"Yeah. Probably as soon as I'm done here." He held his hand out for another finger, trying not to look at it while concentrating on it at the same time. (Reabsorption was still inhuman and about as gross as anything he'd ever seen). Willing his flesh to move and change was also a… strange feeling. One that sent shivers up and down his spine every time… but he was getting it. And it could be useful…
He shook his head and continued to explain. "I just spoke with Oyakata-sama about it, actually."
"So that's why you went inside after we got back?" Akatsugi asked, glancing over at the house before looking back at the demon progenitor.
"Yeah."
"What about the brat in the basement?" the pink-haired demon asked, handing the small appendage over.
Tanjiro paused. "Right. Kimiko… could you keep an eye on her? Just make sure she doesn't wake up and stop her from attacking people if she does?"
The former Waxing Third didn't answer for several seconds. Then he frowned. "You want me to protect the weak?"
The time traveler blinked, then shook his head. Hadn't they already talked about this? He was positive they had, so he looked back up and met the other's gaze again, trying to convey his disappointment without actually speaking it aloud. It must have worked because Akatsugi flinched and looked away, then cleared his throat.
"Habit."
It would probably be better to get someone dedicated to her to watch over her. So he shook his head. "If you don't want to, I can ask Rengoku-san to—"
"No. No… I'll… do it." He sounded pained, but determined.
Tanjiro watched him for several seconds and took another finger to absorb. "You sure?"
Akatsugi hesitated again, but when he did answer, he nodded firmly. "Yeah."
Tanjiro grinned, proud of the guy. He didn't think he could tell him that, he probably wouldn't take it well, but—
A shock went through his body from his hand where he had just reabsorbed his finger. He jumped a little, staring at his palm. That… hadn't happened before. What… had that been?
Akatsugi was staring at him now with a strange expression on his face. Tanjiro frowned and cautiously tapped into what he could sense from the demon. Wariness and… anticipation?
"What was that?" he asked slowly. When the pink-haired man didn't respond, Tanjiro felt his eyes narrow. "I know you know something."
His expression fell into resignation. "That was my finger."
Tanjiro blinked at him, then looked back down at his palm, brows furrowed, and then up again. "What?"
"Muzan would absorb demons to get their powers," he said with a shrug. The time-traveler did not like where this was going. "It's how he plans on conquering the sun."
"Right," Tanjiro said slowly, holding his hand against him as if it had been hurt – as if he needed to protect it, as silly as that was.
"Was curious to see if you could gain our powers. Figured we can start small and go up if not."
The demon progenitor just blinked at his subordinate.
"You… want me to… absorb you?" he asked, feeling more than a little sick (not pleasant on top of the hunger).
Akatsugi shrugged. "Muzan stole our powers, but I don't think he ever cared enough to try and see if he could just gain the powers without completely absorbing the demon too."
Tanjiro stood then, glaring down defensively. Why…? He didn't want to be like Muzan. And… Akatsugi knew that but had taken his choice away anyway. Hadn't even talked to him about it, just shoved him into… what, an experiment? Why did it feel like when he'd become a demon to begin with?
"Why didn't you say something?" he asked, unable to keep the betrayal from his voice.
"Because you wouldn't have agreed to it and you need every bit of strength you can get."
He wasn't wrong.
But still…
Maybe in the first couple of timelines he would have blindly gone along with it, or if not, he would have explained why he didn't like what had happened and then just moved on but…
He wasn't the boy from the first timeline anymore. He hadn't been for a long time, no matter how much he acted like it.
At that moment, it took every ounce of strength he had to not lash out and completely take Akatsugi apart until he stopped regenerating.
And that scared him.
"You should have asked," was all he said – all he could bring himself to say – before turning and hurrying away.
"See if you can use shockwaves at some point," the former Waxing Third called after him. He didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Were those… tears coming to his eyes? He blinked several times and his vision cleared. For now.
He didn't understand why this made him so upset, except that he felt like a demon now – like a Waxing Moon instead of a human demon slayer. Normally, with the exception of the hunger, he still felt like he could at least present himself as, well, himself; As Kamado Tanjiro and not Waxing Zero. But every now and then it would just hit him.
He would never be Kamado Tanjiro again, no matter how much he pretended.
He needed to get away before he did something he regretted later – before he reacted like he had forced himself to in the previous two loops with Muzan hovering over his shoulder and encouraging or outright ordering the most heinous… He shook his head. He didn't want that to become a habit again… never again.
That was fine. He had to leave anyway.
As he rushed into the estate, he couldn't help but reach out and see what Akatsugi was feeling. He found concern and guilt. That… well, that was good at least. Right? It didn't help what he'd done, but… maybe they could talk later, after Tanjiro had come back from the Swordsmith Village?
What really got to him, though, was the resignation and fear.
Akatsugi was still scared of him. Still expected him to… well, do what Muzan would have done (to do what he'd wanted to do initially) and destroy him or at least 'discipline' him. Painfully.
"I'm not like him," he whispered to himself, clutching his hands to his chest tightly. "I'm not."
He was fine.
He was fine.
(He really wished he could believe that.)
xXx
Nezuko took a deep breath and went into the stance for her (currently) final form.
"Ninth form: Sapwood Flow." And with that, she moved across the clearing, concentrating on her feet and then her swings as she twirled through the air, adding just that much extra power to the arc of each swing. Timing was crucial here.
It wasn't perfect – not by any means, especially as she'd only just come up with the technique and she hadn't had nearly enough time to practice it. Still, it would work in a fight and it would showcase her goal for this form of her style.
Reaching the arc of the form, she sliced through the tree she'd been aiming for and then made sure to get out of the way as it began to fall. They needed the wood to finish the last cart they would need for completing the move from their (second) mountain home anyway. The tree fell to the forest floor with a mighty crash, sending poofs of leaves, dust and seeds into the air. Nezuko stayed in the final stance, breathing hard, for several seconds before standing up and facing her teacher.
Urokodaki stood across the clearing, arms folded and one hand stroking the chin of his mask.
"I see," he finally said thoughtfully. "You created this style to make up for the lack of strength that would have otherwise been a detriment."
Nezuko smiled widely. "Hai, Sensei."
The masked man nodded. "Why not circumvent the problem as our Insect Pillar has?"
The eldest Kamado girl sheathed her sword and began to make her way towards her sensei. "Shinobu-san is an amazing Pillar, but she admits that her form has problems. I'm not extremely skilled in poison and don't want to be dependent on her expertise. I wanted a form I created and that I can change and tweak as needed – one that I not only know inside and out, but one that is made for me."
The nod her teacher gave her that time was both firm and heavy with approval. As soon as she got within range of his arm, he reached over and patted her head.
"You have indeed grown well, child. I am most impressed with your forms. You are fast approaching the level of a Hashira and have exceeded my expectations."
She couldn't help but beam at him as the warmth of his compliment filled her. "Thank you, Sensei!"
"And even now that you have the strength and ability to wield the water form to its fullest extent, you would still use your unrefined form?"
Nezuko deflated a little. "Well, I don't see a problem using the form to enhance my strength further. And my speed. It… may not be necessary now like it used to be, but demons can still reach levels even the masters of forms can't reach. Maybe this is a way to push it and level the playing field that much more."
"You still need to work on your timing in that final form of yours."
She'd been expecting that. "Yes, Sensei. I know."
A pause, then the older man ventured, "Before we begin to cut branches from the tree you felled, I could… give you some pointers on where to enhance your swings to gain the maximum strength…"
Nezuko blinked and then grinned happily, bouncing a little excitedly. "Would you, Sensei? I would love to know what you think would help!"
She didn't see his face, obviously, but she could practically feel the soft smile that crossed his lips. He patted her shoulder this time instead of her head.
"Then let us begin. Show me the stance of your ninth form again."
Nezuko did so, withdrawing her sword.
Urokodaki-sensei nodded. "Now, slowly, show me the next steps…"
xXx
"Will you hurry up, Tanitsu!" Inosuke yelled over his shoulder at a wheezing Zenitsu.
"That's not my name!" the lightning breather yelled back angrily, then fell into a wheeze again.
"I wanna go fight the demon!"
Zenitsu felt his heart stop at his companion's words. Fight the demon… the former Waxing Moon they were supposed to be training with…
Why was he doing this again? A Waxing Moon, former or not, would slaughter them. His knees felt weak and he collapsed, unable to withhold a whimper. The demon was supposed to be good now and supposed to help train them but…
He was a Waxing Moon! Did no one else see a problem with this?!
"Don't just sit there and cry like a baby again!" Inosuke yelled, arms in the air as he stomped on the ground like a child. Zenitsu could almost see his breaths shooting out of his mask, even though it wasn't nearly cold enough for that.
"I don't wanna go!" the yellow-haired boy cried, shaking his head back and forth frantically. "It's too scaaaary!"
"So you're gonna break your promise to Mozuko?!"
That brought Zenitsu up short because…right. He'd promised the now absent Nezuko he'd train as hard as he could.
But did that really mean he had to fight a demon? Why did it have to mean that?!
He was just about to open his mouth and say just that, but Inosuke beat him to it.
"Fine, you stay here and cry. I'll go and meet Nezaki and I'll be super strong and she'll be able to see how amazing I am!"
Wait… did that mean… was Inosuke… in love with Nezuko?! Was he going to try and take Nezuko away from him?! Oh, no…. NO…
Zenitsu surged to his feet, a new found energy he didn't have before rushing through him. Before he could say anything, though, the boar went racing off over the next hill.
Oh, he couldn't let Inosuke get there first! Couldn't let him shmooze his way up to Nezuko. He could see it right now…
Nezuko blushing so cutely as Inosuke called her by the wrong name (AGAIN) and him flexing and her saying he was so good looking and… and…
NOT. HAPPENING.
"Lightning Breath First Form: Thunderclap Flash Godspeed!" he hissed, pushing himself to the absolute limits. He would not let boar head beat him out! Demon or not!
"NEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZUKOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed as he shot past Inosuke.
(Wait, why was he only hearing the boar cackling behind him?)
xXx
Muzan slammed the latest book he'd been looking through closed and tossed it aside, not caring that it went through several walls. The growth Japan had seen recently was unprecedented. There were more humans – sources of food and fun playthings (well, sometimes fun) – and more knowledge available than ever before, and yet he still couldn't find anything to do with the blue spider lilies! WHY?!
Once he'd realized that society was changing in a way it never could have begun to before, he'd allowed himself to hope again, but like every other time, it had proven in vain. Why? Why was it so hard to find a couple of simple flowers?! Had they truly gone extinct?
His only other option was to keep turning humans into demons in the hopes that one of them would be able to conquer the sun and he would be able to absorb them and be done with it. He could finally make his move on conquering the entire world – subjugating every sapient being on the planet. The very idea made his multiple hearts writhe with pleasure.
But he couldn't count on that just yet. He had to first conquer the sun.
Fortunately, he had recently created an idea as to how to do it.
There was something different about the sun-breathers. The boy had turned into a demon without ever having met or seen Muzan. He had marked eyes… and there was a story there that the demon king couldn't truly guess at. Some connection to his demons? A demon the boy had come across that had somehow infected his wounds and even that small amount had turned him instead of killing him? Had Muzan missed some blood art out there that would turn a human into a demon slowly?
Whatever the cause, though, the boy was too dangerous to let live.
The girl too. She had resisted being turned twice, but that was due to her brother's blood art. He was sure of it (and it had to be true as he was never wrong). She had proven to be more trouble than she was worth, so she had to die.
However… that left several more children to exploit.
He wanted one of those children. As good as they seemed to be at avoiding his demons – even his Waxing Moons – they could not run forever.
He would make sure of it.
He continued to contemplate what he would do when he finally caught one of the family, brainstorming and discarding several ideas before a door suddenly appeared in front of him. Frowning, he wondered why Nakime had interrupted him. She knew better… unless…
"What is it?" he snapped.
The door opened (at least she had that sense – it was one reason why he liked her so much) to reveal the woman kneeling, biwa in hand and her single eye fixed on Muzan.
"Muzan-sama," she said respectfully. Then she spoke the words that would make his entire day – no, his entire year.
"I found them."
Muzan felt a smile creep over his lips. "Which ones?"
He could swear he saw her own lips twitch up in pleasure. "All of them."
He didn't bother resisting the grin after that. "Excellent."
xXx
AN: So yeah... NGL, the next few chapters are going to be a lot of set up before the next arc, but I hope you'll find it all worth while. :)
Thank you to Quathis, Kaylessa, TimeLordTim and Found for their help beta reading! I have such awesome beta readers. Also, thank YOU for reading. Your comments help me find holes in my stories and fill them in, so it is much, MUCH appreciated.
Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)
