Present Day, October 21, 1913
"He's over here!"
"Muichiro! Muichiro!"
"Where the fuck is he?!"
"Oh my God, Mui!"
"He's still alive! I don't think he's hurt too bad, either!"
"Oh, thank God!"
"Get 'em outta the water! Come on!"
"I got him!"
"On three! One, two, three!"
"Man, this water's fuckin' cold! I'm surprised he ain't frozen stiff!"
"People? Who are these… Wait, I know these voices…" Muichiro awoke to find James, Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Mukago all carrying him out of the water he had fallen into. By some miracle, he had not injured himself despite falling a good twenty feet down the waterfall. As he slowly came to, he moaned, "Koku… Kokushibo…"
Tanjiro noticed this and asked, "Huh?"
"He's sayin' somethin'," James told Mukago. "Hang on!"
"Kokushibo…"
Mukago then asked him, "What about Kokushibo, dear?"
"Kokushibo… Is my ancestor…"
All three of them stopped in shock. Tanjiro widened his eyes as he asked him, "Are… Are you sure?!"
Nezuko added, "How is he your ancestor?!"
"He told me himself," Muichiro confirmed. "I didn't want to believe it, but… I can't deny it anymore."
Mukago sighed and told him, "We'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to get you somewhere safe."
"I agree," James replied as water dripped from his clothes and Kyojuro's haori. "Let's get 'em somewhere dry and safe. This village could still be crawlin' with demons." Realizing he was also referring to himself, Nezuko, and Mukago, he clarified, "Bad demons, of course."
As the four of them carried Muichiro out, Nezuko shivered due to the unusually cold night. "Is it supposed to be this cold in October?" She knew it was not, but asked anyway.
"Not this cold," James replied. "I'm surprised y'all don't have a haori on over your uniform."
Tanjiro then told Nezuko, "You could always use part of your old outfit. Your pink haori would be nice to use in the winter."
"I might do that," Nezuko replied as they hoisted Muichiro up off the stretcher, allowing James to hoist him onto his back instead. "I'll also need longer socks."
"I'm surprised you didn't just go with pants like Kocho-sama," Mukago told her. "Or me."
"I considered it," Nezuko replied. "But…" She then blushed, indicating she was reluctant to tell the others why she chose a skirt.
Mukago got a bit playful with her, asking, "Nezuko-chan, why did you choose a skirt?"
Nezuko finally relented by telling them, "So I could be more like Kanao-oneechan. She looks really cool in her uniform and skirt, and I wanted to be like her."
Mukago giggled in amusement. "So that's why?"
"Yeah…" Nezuko then sighed and adjusted her skirt after noticing it was messed up a bit from the climb out of the water. "You have your answer, okay?"
…
October 24, 1913
Vernon Hill, the 23rd Knight of the Moon and the brother of the late John Hill, had been itching for revenge ever since James had killed his brother, and a plan formulated by him and the 6th Knight of the Moon, Thomas Green, he believed he could attain the revenge he had been seeking. As the two sat around a table, writing details out on a large sheet of paper, Tom told Vernon, "We know exactly where the Rengoku Family lives, and we know that Jack lives there too. If we strike by day, we could easily kill him."
"But we'll also be at risk," Vernon pointed out. "Remember, none of us got Total Sunlight Resistance, and even by day, Jack can just use a breathin' style. He's a Pillar for a reason, after all."
"Which is why I got help," Tom replied before turning around and shouting, "Come on in, fellers!"
Two demons, both from the Americas as well, then came into the room after sliding the door open. Both were not Knights of the Moon, but in fact slaves owned by Thomas. Both had slight expressions of fear on their faces as one of them told Thomas, "Thank you, master."
"You're welcome," he replied. He then told Vernon, "I nabbed these two a few years after the war in a sharecropper's field and demonized 'em myself. I don't even know how I've managed to go so long without bein' caught violatin' Lincoln's amendments."
"It's just luck, I suppose." Vernon then asked, "So how are ya gonna incorporate these negroes into the plan?"
"Simple," Tom explained to him. "They'll pose as salesmen. We'll hide somewhere nearby, and when they get inside the home, we'll sneak in with them. They won't resist our orders." He then turned to his slaves. "Ain't that right? You boys won't resist our orders now, right?"
"No, master," neutrally replied one slave. "We won't, and we can't, even if we wanted to, master."
"Because I'd kill ya if ya did," Tom replied before pulling a revolver out and firing a shot into the ceiling to scare both of his slaves. "And I can do it easily, too, since I demonized y'all! I don't even gotta be there! One minute, y'all could be standin' 'round, and the next, your heads would explode like a fuckin' balloon, ya damn nigger!" He then laughed at them. "Ain't that right?"
"Yes, master," replied the other slave with a hint of fear in his voice. "You could easily kill us, master."
"Now," Tom then said to Vernon. "Do you have a time for when this plan will go into action?"
"October 27," Vernon replied. "Three days from now."
"That'll give me more than enough time to prepare," Tom replied. "Excellent." He then turned back to his slaves and snapped his fingers, "Now get outta here! I'll call ya back when I need ya!"
…
Muichiro met with Kagaya privately regarding the battle with Kokushibo on the same day. The two sat down across from each other and discussed the battle as well as the revelation of Muichiro's ancestry. "I can tell you're troubled, Muichiro."
"Of course I am," he replied despondently. "I'm ashamed to be related to such a horrible person. Kokushibo has brought untold suffering to thousands upon thousands of people ever since he betrayed the corps. I couldn't even defeat him. I'm ashamed to have failed."
Kagaya felt terrible for the Mist Pillar, and also felt sympathy for him. "Muichiro, you… You aren't alone in terms of feeling ashamed for what one of your ancestors did."
Muichiro looked up at Kagaya and realized he was referring to himself. "Wait… Are you saying you feel this way too?"
"I tell very few people this," Kagaya explained. "But the Ubuyashiki family is related to Kibutsuji Muzan, and legend states that our poor health is punishment for it."
Muichiro's jaw dropped in shock. "You're related to Muzan?!"
"I am," Kagaya replied. "Distantly, granted, but I am related. I consider it a failing of my family name that such an evil man came from our bloodline. It is said that once we found out of Muzan's activities, our health began to fail. Realizing we didn't have much time left, we dedicated our family to stopping Muzan. After many countless generations, we're still here. We will continue to fight until either Muzan dies or we die out."
Muichiro nodded. "So that's why the corps was founded…"
"Muichiro," Kagaya told him firmly. "I don't want you to feel shame. I need you to keep fighting. You're a better man than Kokushibo ever will be. Besides, you have a family now."
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm worried about that, too."
"I was in your shoes in that regard, too," Kagaya added. "Hell, I was younger. I married Amane when I was only 13. Hinaki and Nichika were born a year later. It was arranged, granted, but I told Amane that she could only agree to it if she really wanted it."
"How were you dealing with that back then?"
Kagaya gave a faint smile as he uncharacteristically swore with, "I was fucking terrified. I thought becoming the leader at the age of four after my father killed himself was stressful enough. Now I was a father at such a tender age while still leading the corps. However, I had a support network that extended beyond just Amane."
"A support network…"
"I had friends who cared," Kagaya explained to him. "I could never have raised five children in my condition without the help of those around me."
...
Later that night, Muichiro dreamt for the first time since the battle, finding himself in front of Yoriichi's small cabin with several questions he had to ask him. As he walked towards the cabin, Yoriichi emerged and waved hello to him. "Welcome ba-"
"No," Muichiro angrily cut him off. "I'm the one talking now. You have a few things you need to answer for."
Yoriichi, surprised by his anger, stepped back a few feet and asked, "Woah, woah, what's going on?"
"Why did you lie to me?!"
He immediately realized what Muichiro was referring to. "Oh shit…"
"Answer me!"
"Look, look," Yoriichi explained to him. "I can explain."
"You told me Kokushibo was a student of your's who murdered your brother when he betrayed the corps!"
"My older brother was seduced by Kibutsuji Muzan," Yoriichi told him as he tried to calm him down. "The moment he swore allegiance to him, he ceased to be Tsugikuni Michikatsu and became Kokushibo. The man he was before was dead, and Kokushibo killed him."
"That doesn't explain why you phrased it that way!"
"Because I was ashamed to have failed my brother," Yoriichi replied. "And I didn't want you to feel my shame as well. I mean, look at you now, Muichiro! How do you think you would have reacted if I told you all those months ago that your ancestor did all those horrible things?"
Muichiro realized he had a point. "The same way I am now?"
"Exactly," Yoriichi confirmed. "When my brother came to me upon his decision to become a slayer, he already was a great warrior, but he excelled even further under me. He never saw himself that way, though. He always thought he was never good enough, and despite my attempts to convince him otherwise, he never agreed with me."
"He was that jealous, huh?"
"Perhaps you could phrase it like that… Perhaps…" Yoriichi then sighed and sat down on a rock in front of the house. "My brother made many mistakes over the course of his life, and he tried to correct just as many, but he was still my brother. I tried to kill him twice, and I failed because I simply couldn't bring myself to do it, even after he became a monster."
"Twice?"
"The first when I fought him just before he was demonized but after he swore allegiance to Muzan, and the second many, many years later just before I died. I ended up dying in the middle of the fight before he had a chance to kill me. Even in my elderly state, I was a formidable threat, which enraged him."
"Wow…"
"Yeah," Yoriichi remarked. "It was an interesting fight. I was basically blind by that point, but even then, I still put up a Hell of a fight."
