July 2, 1913
"Should I introduce myself first?" Kagaya was sitting across from the visitor from Ceylon, who had made his way to the Ubuyashiki Estate after coming into contact with several slayers. "Or should you?" The two of them spoke English, a common language that both could understand and speak.
"It does not matter to me," Vijay replied.
"You go first, then."
"Thank you," Vijay replied. "My name is Vijay Anula, and I am the former Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom. My father, Nilushan, was the last king of the demons, Wesamuni XXV, before… Before he came along."
"Muzan?"
"No," Vijay shook his head. "Not him directly, but his Chinese apprentice and progeny, Huo Senghui. Ever since he became the first overseas imperfect demon progenitor, he has waged a war on my people, and has managed to reduce our numbers from over 500,000 to just under 7,000 today." The sorrow in his voice was clearly apparent. "Including my father, my mother, all of my brothers and sisters, my wife, and all of my children."
Kagaya was saddened. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Muzan has caused untold suffering of a similar caliber to many of the slayers in the corps."
"We were the originals," Vijay continued. "We can walk in the sun, we can live among the humans without trying to murder them, we can do so much… And yet it was the imperfect ones created by that bastard Muzan Kibutsuji that won out over us. Our kind has been through many tragedies and trials, from our migration from the Himalayas to Ceylon to the era of Company Rule in India, but this has been the greatest toll placed upon us. This is not even getting into the untold suffering Huo has inflicted on innocent humans in China, Tibet, India, and beyond. I come here to ask you to help us. If we can turn the tide of the war in India, we can get that much closer to closing the book on Muzan and his allies for good."
"I see," Kagaya replied. He considered his options for a brief moment, and then told Vijay, "I can send you several of our best swordsmen to Ceylon to gather intelligence and escort you back. Once we get a report from them, I can commit to fully supporting your cause. If what you say about your kind not going to war with humans is true, we will be close allies soon."
…
July 4, 1913
At the Tokito Estate, Mukago was quietly humming to herself as she watered several plants outside, thinking about the baby now growing inside her, which neither she nor her boyfriend had told anyone about aside from Shinobu. Though the future was uncertain, she knew that from now on, she and Muichiro would have to take their relationship far more seriously. As she finished, she held her stomach, which was still not showing easily noticeable signs of pregnancy just yet, and told it as if she was talking to their child, "I just finished watering the plants, little one. I can't wait for you to see them."
"Mukago," Muichiro then called out to her as he walked over. "How are the plants?"
"Good," she replied to him. "All watered. Anyway, Mui, I was thinking about what to name our child."
"I had some ideas of my own," he replied as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and rested himself on her shoulder. "For some reason, the name Yuichiro keeps coming to mind. It sounds pretty similar to mine, though."
"I think Yuichiro sounds like a great name for a boy," Mukago replied eagerly. "If it's a girl, I want to name it Yuko. Seems like we got similar ideas for names starting with Yu, huh?"
"I guess we do," Muichiro replied with a chuckle. "You know, when we first started, I thought we were just doing this to fool around, but now… I can't stop thinking about you, and it's not even because of the baby. I'm…" He then took a deep breath. "I'm so glad I found you, and I love you."
Mukago smiled and kissed him on the lips before telling him, "I love you, too, Tokito Muichiro."
Muichiro then looked up to the sky, noticing a few clouds above. "Hmmm… I must say, I think I see a fish up there today. The clouds really can give off weird shapes, huh?"
"I see it, too," she replied as she also looked up.
Muichiro then gave off a slightly devious smile and playfully grabbed Mukago's rear end, making her slightly jump before she laughed. "I got you there, huh?"
"I see what you're doing, young man," she replied as she turned around and giggled. "And it's a good thing we live in the country. Otherwise, we'd wake up neighbors with how loud you make me scream. Wanna fuck me outdoors?" A blush encircled her face as she grabbed Muichiro's forearms.
"I've never tried that," Muichiro realized. "So yeah, why not?"
"I've done it a few times," she replied to him as she gently pushed him onto the ground. "And it feels amazing to have the wind and the sun wrap around your naked body. It's fucking fun, Mui, and you're gonna enjoy it." As the two began to kiss each other once more, both began to strip each other of their clothes.
Then, the voice of a male crow interrupted them. "Tokito Muichiro! Tokito Muichiro! Report to the Ubuyashiki Estate tomorrow at noon for a special assignment! Bring your Tsuguko with you as well! That is all!" As the two looked, the crow then flew off as quickly as it came, clearly realizing it had flown in at the wrong time and wanting to leave as soon as it could.
"Well," Mukago said. "That was a bit awkward. Anyway, let's continue where we left off."
"I just hope nobody fucking interrupts us again," Muichiro replies, causing both of them to laugh. "I swear, I'm gonna lose it if someone does."
…
James and Susamaru were watching Véro practice one last time at the Rengoku Estate before heading out to the Final Selection tomorrow. By now, she had a good grasp of the Breath of Wind, and they were both confident that she would pass. Sanemi would escort her to the event, and then would leave her to her own devices. "You're doin' a good job," James told her in French. "Keep it up, Véro!"
"Absolutely," she replied back in kind. "I'm doing awesome!"
Susamaru then asked James, "French, huh?"
"Yeah," he replied to her. "Anyway, Kyojuro should be back in about half an hour. Once he's here, we're gonna prepare for that expedition to Busan." He and Susamaru were to travel by ship to the Korean trading city of Busan, located in the southern end of Japan's newest colony. Several local slayers had reported encountering an unusually strong demon from China who they believed may have been a member of the equivalent of the Twelve Demon Moons for Huo Senghui, the Chinese Progenitor under Muzan. Such a threat would warrant a Pillar being sent from Japan to the colony. "The trip should take about 4 days once we factor in your travel to Tokyo." James would be unable to attend due to commitments with Véro.
"I'm gonna miss you when I'm away," Susamaru told him, frowning slightly. "We should be back by the 15th, or the 17th at the latest."
"I'll still be here," James assured her with a smile. "Don't you worry."
Then, all three of them heard a commotion inside the main house of the estate. They could hear Shinjuro yell something out before a door was heard slamming shut. Then, Senjuro was heard saying to himself, "Not this shit again." As the younger of the Rengoku brothers walked outside, he told the three of them, "My dad's in a bad mood… again."
James felt bad for the kid. It had become clear to him ever since he had begun to stay with the Rengoku's that Shinjuro was an alcoholic and was clearly deeply troubled by the death of his wife several years prior. "I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo. What happened this time?"
"He's drinking, of course," Senjuro confided in them. "James-oniichan, Susamaru-oneechan, I wish he wouldn't."
"I know, son," James tried to comfort him. "I wish he would, too. I was in a similar place for a long time, a very long time…"
"He hasn't been the same since my mom died," Senjuro continued. "It's so sad to see him like this. It's like a part of him died when she did."
Susamaru hugged Senjuro, telling him, "I'm so sorry this is all happening to you guys."
…
July 5, 1913
"And then when you get there," a Kakushi who spoke English and Japanese who would be accompanying Muichiro and Mukago on their mission to Ceylon as a translator. "Vijay says that you will meet with his friends."
"Tell him that we look forward to the journey," Muichiro instructed the Kakushi, who was named Shiro Nagamine, and had previously been a slayer before he had lost his left arm in combat.
"The Mist Pillar and his Tsuguko look forward to our journey," Shiro told Vijay in English. "I certainly do so as well."
"That's good," Vijay replied. "This will open up a new chapter of hope for our people against Muzan Kibutsuji and Huo Senghui. With this possible new alliance, we will be united in our struggle, and united, we will win."
…
TAISHO SECRET #2
Hello! Time for a second Taisho Secret! As a side note, I'll be doing these more often to give you more information on certain characters as the story progresses!
Susamaru first met Mukago shortly after she became a demon. Soon after, as mentioned in previous chapters, she would find herself running messages between demons, either from Muzan himself or from the Upper and/or Lower Moons. When she returned to Mukago, horrified and disgusted by the Snake Demon and her actions, Mukago told her that such things happen among demons, and that they just have to live with it and simply go about their own lives. In reality, Mukago herself was also horrified by the Snake Demon, but did not voice such concerns to Muzan out of fear of being punished for criticizing a potential Lower Moon candidate.
Muzan himself was pleased with her setup and with how she ran things, and her deal with the Iguro clan and the constant stream of food in the form of human children was the main reason why Muzan considered her for a Lower Moon spot before Shinjuro killed her. He was furious at her death, and tried to send the former Lower Moon 4 to kill Shinjuro in revenge. However, he was able to kill him despite being caught off-guard. After this, Mukago was promoted to Lower Moon 5, and then two years before she abandoned Muzan, was promoted to Lower Moon 4 upon the death of the last one before her. Neither Yahaba or Susamaru were ever considered for a Lower Moon spot upon the deaths of two of the existing ones. Muzan merely told them this to give them both false hope.
Stay tuned for the next chapter! Also, if it has been released in your country so far, go watch the Infinity Train movie out now! It's really good!
