^ Chapter 20 - An Angel among Demons ^
Tanjirō had a wide smile on his face as he walked down the familiar hallway flanked by windows within the Butterfly Mansion on his way to breakfast, with his usual company in Shinobu right by his side. The only difference about today's walk was that they were closer, practically shoulder to shoulder, and Tanjirō could truly feel and smell that Shinobu was genuinely happy this morning.
Part of it was that she had been able to clean herself and fix her hair back to a proper condition from its earlier disheveled, terror-induced appearance. But the big part of course was what had just occurred a few minutes before in her bedroom, what the two of them did prior to the two of them taking a bath. Tanjirō could still taste and feel the tingle of wisteria on his lips even after bathing himself from the kisses he shared with Shinobu, but he didn't let that distract him from his immediate infatuation with the girl walking next to him.
Shinobu must have detected his joy because she lifted her head up the inch she needed to peer at his face and smiled happily, Tanjirō glancing down and gifting her with one of his bright smiles back.
"That smile of yours...if Kanae were here, you'd easily make her smile just as much as you are now…" Shinobu said as they walked, Tanjirō blushing a little at the praise.
"If she's as amazing as you say she is, I don't think it'd take much to make someone like her smile."
"Perhaps...but I meant it, Tanjirō. You have this uncanny ability to make anyone smile...I can attest to that…"
Tanjirō laughed a little and Shinobu blushed with slight embarrassment as they rounded a corner and continued their stroll to the dining room. As they walked their hands happened to brush by one another and for a second they both thought about the same thing. They were alone in the hallway and hadn't met anyone yet, and even if they did it would be one of the occupants of the mansion.
So with slight blushes they brought their opposite hands together and wove their digits together, holding hands as they walked to breakfast. Thankfully they didn't encounter a single soul the entire trip and got to enjoy the warmth of the other person's hand in their own. Aside from the kissing, holding Shinobu's hand was also something Tanjirō could get used to if and when they were ever allowed to do it without fear of retribution or punishment.
Expecting to find Aoi there, instead they found two plates of breakfast waiting for them and a written note between them resting on the floor with a cup to hold it down. Tanjirō looked into the kitchen for any sign of the oldest of the girls in the mansion, excluding Kanao, while Shinobu squatted down to pick up the note and read it.
"Aoi-san made two plates expecting you to hopefully be here this morning, but because we took so long she left them here for us…" Shinobu said with a soft smile as she made a mental note to thank Aoi extra today for her work. "Thankfully, she guessed right."
"Yeah...I'm glad she was right. All of us are, I'm sure." added Tanjirō with a light laugh. "I should probably go and see Zenitsu and Inosuke after this to tell them I'm okay...I bet both of them got pretty upset…"
"I'll go with you, Tanjirō. To check on their condition, and...of course because I want to…"
Shinobu smiled at him as she tucked the note away into her haori and sat down in front of her plate of food, Tanjirō plopping down next to her and nudging her playfully. She nudged back, and the couple laughed together before they indulged in some breakfast.
After they made Aoi's life a little easier by picking up after themselves, they checked to see if the coast was clear and left for the training room hand in hand once again. Tanjirō had been accompanied by his sister since day one and later on Zenitsu, then Inosuke soon after, but Shinobu was the first person he had ever held hands with. And he was glad she had been the first, because that made the feeling of warmth her hand gave made it all the more special.
As they neared the training room they could hear aggressive and loud yelling coming from inside, which they immediately knew belonged to Inosuke, and stepped in to see him engaged in a furious game of cat and mouse with Kanao around the entire room. It was the full-body training of course, and every so often thick clouds of steamy air shot out of Inosuke's nostrils as he kept getting within inches of the Tsuguko with his fingers.
"You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!" chanted the girls off to the right, with a furiously fist pumping Zenitsu doing the same next to them as Inosuke grew closer and closer to the goal.
"Uraaaaaaaghh! PIG ASSAAAAULT!" he bellowed as he bounded off the ground like a rampaging boar and reached as far as he could, snagging Kanao's right wrist and stopping her right in her tracks with a gasp. "Yeaaaaggghh!"
"Whoooooo!"
"He did it! He did it!"
Kanao's wrist was freed when Inosuke threw his fists up into the air and did a victory lap around the room, Zenitsu jumping and leaping back and forth in celebration as well. Tanjirō couldn't help but smile at their success and laughed out loud with an arm around his gut, Shinobu taking her hand away from his to cover her mouth as she giggled.
Their laughter was noticed by Aoi, the girls, and slayers in the room, and almost instantly all of them except for Kanao hounded Tanjirō. The girls were the first to hug and wail as they had thought he had died, but he happily hugged them and told them he was alive and well. Zenitsu was next, who in his normal obnoxious way he hugged Tanjirō while crying about Aoi being mean to him in the morning while he was gone. Aoi of course rolled her eyes and sighed, before she looked at Tanjirō and gave him a softer expression as well as a tiny smile.
"We're glad you're okay, Tanjirō-san...it's good to see you up and moving around again."
"Thank's Aoi-san," Tanjirō replied with an awkward smile. "I'm sorry for making everybody worry about me. I'm okay now though, I promise!"
"How were you able to do it? That was Wisteria poison!" asked Zenitsu after letting go of him and returning to normal. "No demon's ever survived that, I think...right?"
"We're going to look into it, Zenitsu-kun, but as of now...the only evidence we can go by is that fact alone." stated Shinobu while glancing at Tanjirō as the girls flustered him again. "That he was able to survive my poison and assimilate it with his blood."
Tanjirō laughed again while rubbing the back of his neck, before he noticed Kanao staring at him and he gave her a warm smile and a wave. She said nothing as usual, but she did give him back a tiny little smile and a slight head nod to at least acknowledge that she was glad he pulled through too.
"Now that I'm back though, Zenitsu, Inosuke, want to go on a run?" he asked them once he managed to free himself from the girls.
He appreciated their worry and he couldn't bear to see them upset, but after being out of commission since yesterday, he was eager to hop back on the bandwagon. Plus he needed something else to think of outside of Shinobu as well.
"You mean while doing Total Concentration - Constant?"
Zenitsu lifted his arms back and presented his abs to Tanjirō to hit with his hand hard to see if it would interrupt his breathing after confirming his statement, but to no avail. He sighed a little bit, lamenting about having to keep up Total Concentration Breathing without stopping, before he was roused by Inosuke yelling his name incorrectly. Despite that he punched the boar-headed slayer several times in the gut with his almost fully developed arms, hardly doing anything to hinder his breathing or his body, which made Tanjirō laugh at the two of them and their reinvigorated spirit.
"Come on, let's go then!"
- A Few Months Earlier -
Up, down, left and right, there existed endless walkways, hallways, rooms and chambers that stretched out seemingly to infinity from a single, central point consisting of a single raised platform made of huge wooden beams and paper windows lit by some sort of light source within. As disorientating as it was incredible, this hidden expanse of rooms existed in every dimension there was, as if it were an abstract painting made by M.C. Escher.
It was a labyrinth in every sense of the word, leaving no possibility of finding your way through its bowels unless you had a destination in your mind that could only be sensed out, because there was no point of reference for what was even the actual floor or ceiling. Even gravity made no sense in this strange new world, with every single bit of visible floor having its own unique gravity and direction for said force. Where one person could be walking down some stairs, another would be walking to their right along what would be a wall to the first person.
Above the central isolated platform there was an observation deck that led into another section of the maze of rooms and hallways, and sitting upon that very deck was a pale woman with a grayish complexion. Her clothes were plain and not much to look at, her hair was a shiny dark brown color that fell down her back in slight waves until the very ends were seen rooted into the tatami mat flooring she sat upon. There was little one could see of her face aside from her mouth, nose, and chin, since her hair parted in two strands with bangs covered the rest of it from view. Her most notable feature was the large wooden biwa that she held in her lap tenderly, as if it were her child, and the large pick that she used to play it.
There was a commanding voice that spoke to her in her mind, and without uttering a word, she raised the pick and positioned the fingers of her left hand on the four strings of the biwa before striking one individual string with a loud twang.
Suddenly a short young man with teal facial tattoos and black and reddish orange-tipped hair appeared within the realm, eyes wide and full of shock at the sudden shift of scenery around him. Within the blink of an eye he had been instantaneously transported to this strange new place, and already he could feel a creeping terror slowly make its way up his spine. Engraved upon his right eye was the kanji for "Lower Moon Six", denoting him as the lowest rank of the Twelve Kizuki, a stronger demon than most, but certainly the weakest by far of the group.
He gasped as he lifted his head and stared into the abyss of rooms, chambers and stairwells that went up and up into the infinite space, his terror only doubling at the sheer scale of the world.
"W-Where the hell is this place?"
The biwa was struck yet again several times over, and throughout the maze, four other members of the Kizuki were summoned against their will to the labyrinth. Walking slowly across one of the many bridges connecting the rooms over the expanse was a pale young man with ringed blue eyes, short dark black hair that was parted to the right with red-orange tips and two longer strands that had blue ends below the base of his neck. Engraved upon his right eye was "Lower Moon One"
Upon observing the surrounding area and seeing all of these new figures appear near the central chamber of sorts where the biwa woman was present, they could see that all of them were indeed the Lower Moons of the Twelve Kizuki. Lower Moon Six was able to spot the biwa woman herself and squinted his eyes at her, managing to see the instrument itself in her lap, and wondered if it was because of her Blood Demon Art that they were summoned to this location.
What made it odd was that it was just the Lower Moons present, not the six demons who comprised the far superior Upper Moons. It truthfully didn't matter to them that much that they were not present, considering the bad blood that existed between the two halves of the Twelve Kizuki. Even more strange was the fact that they had never been summoned together like this before, not even once., and what's more was that one member was missing.
The Twelve Kizuki were composed of twelve demons, the six who comprised the Upper Moons and the six who made up the far weaker Lower Moons. There were only five of them there, the demon who was Lower Rank Five was missing.
Another biwa chord was struck and instantly the five demons were brought together on the single wooden platform, with Six, One, and an older man with "Lower Moon Two" tattooed onto his eye standing at the front, while the demons given "Lower Moon Three" and "Lower Moon Four" standing behind them.
They looked around, still somewhat disorientated by being moved and shifted around without any prior warning, except for One who was looking up at something in front of them at a higher level. Six followed the gaze of One and he gasped a little upon seeing a seventh person, different from the biwa woman, was watching over them from a second platform that had inexplicably appeared in front of the one they were standing on, albeit a few meters higher.
She was a woman with a pale complexion and bright red lips, with jet black hair and black eyeliner around her eyes. Wearing a long black yukata with some floral designs, she could have been considered just a normal human if it weren't for the plum red, feline-like demon eyes staring at them with enough intensity to pierce through their bodies.
"What's the deal with this woman…? Just who is she?" thought Six, the woman narrowing her eyes slightly without making any motions or doing anything for another second or two.
Then her lips parted to reveal a pair of fangs as she spoke to them quite clearly with a male's voice, ordering them to lower their heads and bow out of respect and full submission to her. Six and the other demons, save for One, immediately felt a chill surge up their spines when they recognized the voice as their master's, the one who gave them the blood that allowed them to attain the position they currently held.
A frightening and immensely powerful aura appeared around them, as thick as blood in mud, and forced their legs to buckle so that they'd fall and prostrate themselves before the woman who was in fact Kibutsuji Muzan, the lord of all demons in Japan.
"It's Muzan-sama's voice...that's Muzan-sama's voice! I didn't recognize him!" thought Six frantically with a horrified expression on his face, the sweat droplets falling from his skin onto the wood beneath him. "He's completely changed his appearance and aura. The precision of his shape-shifting is mind-blowing!"
"P-Please forgive us! Since you've assumed a different for man aura-"
Four was instantly quieted by an influx of Muzan's aura and she trembled from head to toe, her body feeling as if it were being pricked and needled by thousands of fiery stakes that made her stare even harder at the ground with her mouth clamped shut.
"Who gave you permission to speak?" questioned Muzan as his aura wore off again. "Don't presume to voice your worthless thoughts. Answer my questions. Nothing else."
Four didn't say anything else after Muzan finished speaking and he lifted his terrifying gaze off her, moving it across one Lower Moon to the next as he let his words sink in just a bit further into the minds of his subjects.
He then told them of the news that Rui, the Lower Moon Five, was recently killed. It was the reason why he was not present with them at this time. For the demons in attendance, it didn't seem like it was that much of a big deal because the Lower Moons seemed to be replaced relatively often, due to members always dying as a result of the Demon Slayers.
"Why is it that you demons, the Lower Moons, are so utterly and pitifully weak?" questioned Muzan with a voice that hid vicious and insidious intent. He was just about fed up with the performance of the Lower Moons and was one wrong move away from letting actions speak for him. "You shouldn't be satisfied with just being counted among the Twelve Kizuki. That is merely your starting point. To devour more humans, to gain more power…"
As Muzan ridiculed the five remaining Lower Moons, pairs of eyes watched from the shadows and corners of the infinite expanse surrounding them, their presence known only to the demon lord himself. They would not interfere because he had strictly ordered them not to, and they weren't going to challenge that decree because a couple had a desire to see what became of those under Muzan's thumb.
One even laughed sadistically to himself as he watched from around a corner, while one among them merely offered passing glances as he cleaned and maintained a certain unique blade in his possession.
"For over a century, the members of the Upper Moon Twelve Kizuki remain unchanged. It has always been, without fail, the demons in the Upper Moons who've disposed of those who call themselves the Hashira among the Demon Slayers," stated Muzan coldly, his frown turning into a cold scowl as he felt the terror arising from most of the Lower Moons. "But what about you of the Lower Moons? How many times have you been replaced? Tell me how that is."
"That's easy for you to say, but we-"
"That's easy for you to say, but we...what?"
Six's heart pounded heavily against his sternum when his own thoughts were repeated by Muzan, the demon lord narrowing his eyes even more as his focus shifted solely to him. He dared not lift his head and kept his wide-open eyes firmly glued onto the wooden floor, his sweat dripping down his face at an even faster rate.
He knew that Muzan was an extraordinarily powerful and terrifying demon, it was why he was the undisputed demon lord. But to be able to read the very thoughts of those in proximity to him? Anything he thought of could be used against him, so there was no way out. He was screwed!
"Screwed how? Come on...go ahead and say it." ordered Muzan darkly as veins bulged out from his feminine face, while a horrifying creature of sorts began to grow out of his back. "Now!"
Six's mouth was clamped shut, unable to open as he brought his head up and felt every ounce of manhood he thought he had immediately leave his body as a dark shadow overtook his whole body. A bubbling, grotesque worm of flesh littered with bulging, pulsating veins and mouths filled with razor sharp teeth had spawned from his very body and was looming over Six like a hungry predator.
Before he could even react, Muzan lifted up his left arm and spawned a second writhing tentacle that possessed several large glowing eyes akin to his own across its mangled, fleshy skin that quickly wrapped around Six's torso and lifted him up off the floor. Six tried to beg for mercy and forgiveness, his tears running freely up his face as he hung upside down over the other Lower Moons. His frantic begging was soon cut off by the blood-curdling sound of flesh being torn apart and devoured, the Lower Moons watching as Six's blood cascaded on to the floor in front of them like a nightmarish waterfall. Some of his blood splattered onto their clothes and faces, but they dared not move or budge from their position. They didn't even try to think about what was happening above them, their only thoughts being don't move or say anything.
With a resounding burp, the mouth-covered tendril coming out of Muzan's body finished devouring Six's entire body and with the second tentacle returned to their master's body as if they hadn't even appeared in the first place.
"Why is this happening?" questioned Lower Moon Three when he felt Muzan's piercing gaze lower back down to them. "Am I going to be killed? After all I went through to become a Twelve Kizuki...why? Why?!"
"Are you more afraid of the Demon Slayers than you are of me?" Muzan asked when the veins bulging from his face receded back below his skin, making it seem as though his anger had waned. "Well? Answer me."
"N-No!" squeaked Four in a high pitched tone, unknowingly signing her own death warrant.
"Every time you run into a Hashira, the only thing on your mind is escape."
"N-N-No, that's not what I'm thinking!" Four cried, a hand coming up over her chest as she vouched for herself before the demon lord. "I'll put my own life on the line to fight for you!"
"Are you refuting what I just said?"
She had done it now. In her own ignorance and desire to try and survive, as she had done time and time again because of her cowardly nature, she had gone and unintentionally contradicted what Muzan had said about her. To contradict the master of all demons was to forfeit your own life.
With nothing but silent whimpers coming out from her parted lips, Muzan once again sent forth one of his flesh appendages to slam its razor sharp teeth-filled mouth into her body and knock her flat onto her back and almost swallow her entirely. Her body slammed onto the wooden platform from the sheer force of the hit, the lips of the tentacle pinning her to the ground as its teeth dug into her flesh and caused her to let out a high-pitched muffled scream from beneath it.
The three visible eyes looked around erratically as she was viciously devoured, one of its powerful bites that severed her body from her limbs spraying blood all over Three's left side from head to toe. The stench and the stickiness of the blood as it splattered against his skin, clothes and hair didn't bother him, not nearly as much as the crushing reality of their situation sinking in.
There was nothing any of them could do to please Muzan, Three figured. Their minds were being read, so they couldn't hide anything even if they tried to. The truth was undeniable, no matter what they did, all of them were never going to leave this hell they had been summoned to. This was no meeting, this was a sentencing to death.
And because of that, Three reasoned, there was only one possible course of action. To survive, he had to run!
With a burst of speed he launched himself up into the labyrinth of rooms and chambers around them, trying to go as fast as he could in order to find some kind of exit that will allow him to be free from Muzan's wrath.
Several of the eyes and their owners watching from the shadows made no attempt to interfere, with a handful laughing to themselves at the futility of the demon's plan. Even One, who had turned his head upwards to watch Three's hasty getaway, had a smile on his face as he too recognized just how much of a fool the Lower Moon was to attempt escape.
Three meanwhile felt he was getting closer and closer to finding an exit, his heart beating faster and faster as the sweet embrace of freedom grew more real by the second. He was sure he could be free, it was within his grasp! Then he would return to Muzan and prove to him he wasn't worthless, he'd prove it to him!
His eyes widened as a gentle gust of wind seemed to pass over his body, and in the seconds after that he couldn't feel anything anymore. A gasp escaped his lips when he saw himself before the remaining two Lower Moons, only he was being grasped by the hair tightly by a firm, almost intentionally painful hand.
"I believe that the Twelve Kizuki are better off consisting of just the Upper Moons." spoke Muzan right above him, making Three realize exactly where he was. His head had been severed by Muzan and was being held by the demon lord as a sort of trophy before Lower Moons One and Two. "I am now dismantling the Lower Moons."
"He got me? No way!" Three thought in denial as blood oozed from the bottom of his severed neck onto the floor next to Muzan's feet.
How could he have been caught when Muzan hadn't even moved? It couldn't have been the Biwa Player either, because he hadn't the distinctive sound of the instrument. Was the demon lord really that powerful?
Muzan then tossed Three's head onto the blood-splattered platform that One and Two were still prostrating on, a grunt escaping the demon's lips, as he felt himself begin to die, unable to regenerate himself. This was the end for him, he was going to die without having achieved any of his aspirations beyond joining the Twelve Kizuki. When he asked the remaining two Lower Moons for their last words, it was Two who spoke first, proclaiming that he was still useful to the demon lord with what he could do and what he was capable of doing.
Where he went wrong was asking Muzan for some of his special blood that he'd use to create demons or empower those under his control, instead of earning it as any good servant should. A servant had their place, beneath the feet of the master. A servant had no right to ask or demand of the master for something, and as such, any servant that disobeyed that was to be punished. For Lower Moon Two, that punishment was instant death.
In a gruesome fashion just as brutal as those who went before him, Two was mercilessly slaughtered by Muzan until he had been totally devoured by the demon lord. All that was left behind of his existence was the blood that cascaded over the edges of the platform that One still remained sitting on, his gaze firmly planted on Muzan as if he were in some kind of trance. One even had reddened cheeks after witnessing the killings of his former comrades, implying some kind of attraction was evident towards the suffering of others.
"And what of you? Do you have any last words?" Muzan asked the only remaining Lower Moon.
Three, who was still barely alive at this point, figured that he would get killed by the demon lord just as he and the other Lower Moons had. Everything depended on the mood that Muzan was in, and with what had occurred so far, they had been doomed from the start.
Coming out of his trance, One smiled a little as he brought his hands up in a penitent manner while looking at his beloved demon lord, his cheeks remaining flushed slightly with blood from the killings he had witnessed. Right off the bat this intrigued Muzan, intrigued him enough to actually pay attention to what this Lower Moon had to say.
"Well, let's see...this is like a dream for me. To die by your hand in person," said One as he offered his hands up to Muzan like any groveling servant would, his voice soft and full of thanks and joy. "And I so enjoyed hearing the other demons' last gasps! I feel truly blessed…!"
Muzan raised an eyebrow, his shoulders seemingly slacking as he continued to listen with mild interest in One's final statement. He spoke of being in love with others in despair and agony, the feelings so enrapturing to him that it could only be described as a heavenly dream.
Taking up the penitent pose once again, palms and fingers pressed together as if he were in prayer, Lower Moon One proclaimed his utter joy for being left for last by the demon lord, and that he was ecstatic to know what method he'd use in order to kill him.
"That...is what I like to hear."
A tendril sprouted from Muzan's body and snaked over to the Lower Moon, a needle at the end of the mass of flesh and eyes puncturing One's neck before forcibly injecting a vast amount of Muzan's blood directly into his bloodstream. The Lower Moon gasped as his body locked up and his airways constricted, the influx of Muzan's blood sending it into total chaos as it tried to acclimate to the generous share of the demon lord's blood.
One gripped his throat and choked as he rolled across the floor back and forth, his body convulsing and writhing in agony, with Muzan merely smiling as he watched the Lower Moon try and adapt to the gracious gift he had been given.
"I've given you an ample share of my blood. Although you might not be able to withstand the volume of blood, and die." he said over One's gasps and painful chokes, his veins bulging out across his face, neck and hands as well as the rest of his body as he continued to suffer. It was an enjoyable experience to watch, in fact, and part of Muzan certainly did hope that the Lower Moon perished from his blood overwhelming him. "Still, if you do manage to acclimate, you're sure to acquire even greater strength. Make yourself useful to me...kill the Hashira!"
One painfully turned his head as he writhed on the ground, his eyes settling on Muzan as his red lips curled up into a devious smile, a single finger rising to his right ear in a knowing sort of manner.
"And if you can kill the Demon Slayer wearing hanafuda-like earrings...I'll give you an even greater share of my blood."
Lower Moon One's lips quivered as he smiled at Muzan even during his suffering, and without saying a word, Muzan instructed the Biwa Player to strike her instrument, the echo of each string she played sending Lower Moon One on a journey down through the depths of the maze until finally he was deposited into an empty alleyway somewhere in Japan from one of the doorways of the realm. As he gripped his cheeks, silently choking, the door faded away into obscurity and within his mind he received a vision, a vision of a young man with red and black hair and a checkered haori.
Then he began to laugh, cackling deviously to himself as he thought of the blood he'd receive from Muzan if he were to kill the Hashira and the person he just saw in his memories. It was like a dream come true!
Muzan closed his eyes and sighed a tiny bit now that his business with the Lower Moons had been finished. Killing off those who were worthless to him had been a nice treat considering his relative inaction for several years now, but there was no time for him to relax. He still had to find the one ingredient he needed in order to allow himself to become the perfect being, the one thing that he and the Twelve Kizuki have been unable to find ever since their creation.
And he would have left his domain if not for one tiny little detail that he had kept tabs on in the back of his mind as he was dealing with the Lower Moons. Now that they were out of the way, he was able to direct his full attention to it, and so by lifting his head up towards one of the overhanging hallways part of the maze of rooms, he narrowed his eyes.
"Kukuku, so you knew I was here all along, hm? Makes sense, you are the Muzan Kibutsuji, after all." spoke a giddy sort of voice from the shadows, followed by a pair of pale white eyes with no pupils appearing at the same time. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Muzan's eyes narrowed more as the pair of eyes spoke to him. This voice was nowhere like his own or anyone else he's ever met, it was entirely foreign, which was even more evident by how the voice spoke his name. Whoever this intruder was, he did not originate from Japan, and an even greater question was how he had managed to infiltrate his base.
It irritated him, sure, but it also intrigued him at the same time as well. Just who was this foreigner that had managed to bypass his strongest servants in order to eavesdrop here, within his formidable fortress? He had to know, if only to satisfy his own curiosity before he killed the intruder.
"Kokushibō, refrain." he spoke firmly, the white eyes blinked when a dark purple blade with a red, flesh-like dull side with yellow bloodshot eyes with red pupils emerged from the shadows over where his neck would be. "There's no need to kill him. Not yet, anyways."
"Kuku, you're too kind." spoke the voice before he sniffed the blade as it slowly withdrew back to its owner, who had appeared next to the intruder and was staring at him with a set of eyes that matched those on his blade, red sclera and yellow irises, with the Kanji for "Upper Moon One" tattooed between both of them. "Oooh...is this the scent of a Nichirin Blade? Were you perhaps once a Demon Slayer?"
"And what if I was…?"
"Kukuku, they're some of my favorite delicacies...especially for their swords. Every time I come to Japan I've always greatly enjoyed feasting on their swords...it makes me feel all tingly inside."
The pale white eyes widened as he leaned forward out of the shadows, revealing a rather beautiful face with light blonde hair and a caring smile that betrayed his rather vicious-sounding personality. He looked practically like a golden child of purity, especially considering there was an earring hanging from his right ear that was a golden cross, its face twinkling slightly from the ambient lighting.
Muzan narrowed his eyes a little more as the individual's statement about coming to Japan confirmed he was a foreigner, as well as his appearance being different than what a japanese man's appearance at his age looked like. Whoever this person was, they had to be in their early to mid-twenties, possible late twenties, and they had to be a demon like the rest of them judging by the aura he was giving off.
What confused and intrigued him was how a demon could be capable of swallowing and ingesting a Demon Slayer's primary weapon without any adverse side effects or internal damage from the sun-baked ore a Nichirin blade was forged from.
"You're wasting what precious time you have here, intruder. Speak your mind or I will have you killed." said Muzan with a frown, the pretty-faced newcomer laughing at him and wiping a fake tear from his eye.
"Oh, Muzan, Muzan, Muzan...you wouldn't dare kill one of Father's beloved children, now would you? Granted, it would allow me to reach the ever glorious state of true salvation as it is written in scripture! Ah what a wonderful goal that is!" stated the man by bringing up his hands hidden by large white and gold sleeves and holding them up in a prayer, his gaze looking up with a blessed expression on his face. "But that would make Father upset too, because it is through him that salvation can be delivered, and no one else! It can only be Father, for he is the chosen one by God to bring about salvation onto the miserable species we call humans and demons!"
"Miserable creatures? Salvation?" questioned Muzan with a slight bit or irritation. "Do you know who I am?"
"Of course I do, Father knows everybody! And it is through him that I know as well. Those looking at me from the shadows are most certainly the Twelve Kizuki, those who comprise the Upper Moons, yes?" questioned the man with a bright smile as his eyes glanced around the central chamber, seeking out those he knew were watching him. "Ah, what a joyous occasion, to be in the presence of such loathsome, ugly creatures such as yourselves! Truly! It moves my heart to tears to see all of you in such sad, impure, horrendous states! It inspires me even more to follow the will of my Father to his vision of salvation for your pitiful lives!"
A vein popped out of Muzan's forehead as yet another insult from this person struck him like a boulder, his anger starting to show itself as his gaze developed a more frightening appearance that the other demons watching could feel. It wasn't often that their master became angry in such a manner, and when he did, it was equivalent to a force of nature.
Who did this person think he was, coming into his territory and spouting off insult after insult at him? He was one of the most perfect beings in existence, leagues above a pitiful human! Nobody could even begin to hold a candle to him, the progenitor of demons, the undisputed demon lord of Japan!
"Kuku, I can see you're getting upset, little mutt. It's only right though, that a demon look upon what is superior to it!" announced the man as he then took one step forward out of the shadows and dropped down gracefully through the air, his white and gold priest's outfit flapping around.
His sandals struck the blood stained platform the Lower Moons had been present on earlier just as gracefully as his fall did, and he dropped his arms to his side under the gaze of Muzan as he smiled brightly at the demon lord. Then from specially cut out slits in his robes, two huge and domineering wings spread out as if he were presenting himself for the world to see. The ambient lighting from the dozens of hanging lanterns strewn throughout the maze of rooms and hallways made the silvery white feathers glisten and shine, a sound like metal blades sliding across one another coming from them.
Muzan looked closely and he realized that the man's wings were made entirely out of a silver that seemed to inherently glow, each feather having a razor sharp tip that could easily pierce flesh.
"I am an angel among you filthy mongrels, a glorious messenger of God, sent forth and instructed by his savior, my Father, in order to carry out his will of salvation!" exclaimed the man proudly with heavy zeal before dropping to his knees, soaking his robes with the blood of demons as he offered a silent prayer. A minute or two later his head jerked upwards, catching Muzan off guard, as the man then smiled joyfully and laughed happily. "Ah! I can feel it now! A message from Father! Receive it, you disgusting beast! Receive it, and be grateful!"
The man's body then went totally limp as if he passed out from his own rantings, the demons and Muzan looking at him each developing their own feelings towards who this person was. What kind of angel talks in such a demeaning manner, if he really was one? And how could he be an angel if, to Muzan, he was giving off the same aura and presence as anyone else in the room.
All of a sudden the man made something of a snort and his body immediately jerked upright, his white eyes turning pitch black with some kind of dark ooze, before it began to spill out of his sockets and his mouth to begin consuming his body. Muzan maintained composure as the dark, amorphous black goop overcame the man's entire body, causing his angelic wings to retract and disappear inside of his body once again as he stood up slowly, one leg after the other.
His arms hung limp by his side, and because of the black sludge, no discernible facial or bodily features outside of the clothes the slime had covered were seen. It was rather disturbing, but was even more unnerving was the deep, gravely voice that began to speak out from where the man's mouth had been.
"Muzan Kibutsuji...you dreadful, cursed being...you haven't changed at all."
Muzan's tolerance for these insults immediately shattered, and six different eye-ridden tendrils with gaping mouths riddled with razor sharp, jagged teeth launched themselves from his body to devour whatever the self-proclaimed angel had become.
His eyes widened and an audible gasp escaped his lips when the metal wings of the angel sprouted quick as lightning and slashed through them with their razor-sharp feathers with ease. Muzan's own blood was splattered out in all directions from the vicious attack, and he was left so stunned that he hesitated for a brief moment. Was he just countered? He, the demon lord? Nothing should be able to beat him, nothing!
"It seems as though I was correct...you're the same man who killed the one I sent to turn you into who you are today." spoke the deep voice once again, Muzan's heart skipping a beat.
What you are today? Did this person, whoever he was, know and employ the elderly doctor that had given him the medicine that turned him into a demon?
"What did you just say…?" he asked, his eyes wide open now. "Repeat yourself, now."
"That's another matter for another day. I'll tell you, only if you listen to what i have to offer. You see...consider me a like-minded benefactor...somebody who can give you assistance. As I'm sure you heard...I know a great many things. Like how one of your servants was killed recently by a person wearing hanafuda-like earrings?"
Muzan's eyes narrowed and he growled a bit at the game the man was playing right before his very eyes. He knew exactly what he wanted to know, but hid it behind a wall of other knowledge that made him want to question him even further. If he knew about the Demon Slayer with the earrings, than what else did he know? Did he have agents in Japan that spied on him?
And what's more, what was his connection to the doctor that had turned him into a demon? Did he know that the serum was incomplete, and that he was searching for the last ingredient he needed? All of these questions and more were swirling inside of his head, causing it to show on his face in a disgruntled expression. He was the damned demon lord, there was no reason for him to play along in this man's game, but because of what kind of information and knowledge that was at stake, he forced himself to calm down and think rationally.
"Yes...that's correct. But I've already rectified the issue...my servant will kill the boy and remove him as a threat. A Lower Moon's death is hardly concerning to me." Muzan replied after taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"I see...so you did know that this boy with the earrings was actually a demon?"
Muzan's calm was broken once again at the new information and his jaw muscles clenched so hard that he could have broken his own bones if he wanted to. A demon? That boy? How is that even possible?!
"While I'm not so sure of the specifics behind his conception, I do know that you and i are very similar...in that we have the capabilities to give humans an extraordinary gift. A gift that far surpasses their inferior humanity. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to give yourself a powerful ally?"
"What are you getting at? Are you suggesting I attempt to turn that boy to my side?"
"That is exactly what I'm saying...and I have the means to do so. He is standing right in front of you, in the form of my child. He can get you that boy...and with him...you can go about destroying your enemies, because I know just how much those earrings matter to you...considering they once belonged to the one person who almost killed you."
Muzan's jaw tightened even more and extreme anger overtook his body as he was forced to remember that person the voice was referring to, those blank expressionless eyes and the earrings he wore flashing like lightning in his mind.
To this day he still thought of that person with utter fury, the very memory enough to make him seethe. He almost instinctively gripped one of his arms to rub a particular spot, like he had some prior injury there that had not healed, and did that for a few seconds before snarling in a low tone. This voice had a point, instead of trying to kill the person who could become his greatest enemy, why not turn him and make him his most powerful ally? Especially since he was a demon, that meant his powers could grow even further beyond what a typical Demon Slayer would have, even more so than those pathetic Hashira.
The thought of unleashing one of their former comrades to wreak havoc on their lives sounded pleasing to him, so pleasing that he stopped rubbing his arm and lowered his head slightly so as to gaze at the ooze-covered man with a completely serious expression.
"Perhaps you have a point...but why should I listen to you? I don't take advice from others...only my words are to be trusted. They are absolute." he stated with ice in his voice, the voice chuckling a little bit.
"That is undeniable...I will not question it. Think of it as an act of good faith...you've established a good hold on Japan, so that makes things easier for us. It saves us time."
"Time for what? This so-called 'Salvation' your child was ranting about? Just what is your goal? And why should it concern me? I could kill your servant right now and be done with you."
"You just don't see it...yet. It's salvation on a far grander scale...something that can be accomplished with your assistance, Muzan. And I promise I can make your cooperation worthwhile...for I can get you what you desire most in this world. Your own perfection...your own salvation...the Blue Spider Lily."
- Present Time -
It was early morning and the sun hard only just barely began to come up over the horizon, the sky still claimed by night. Within the Butterfly Mansion its occupants, after the scare all of them had endured, were sound asleep in their beds. It was quiet in the halls, with not a single sound being made, save for the chirping of the crickets and the birds outside in the trees and gardens.
The sun wouldn't take long to reveal more of its warmth and light, giving the occupants of the mansion a little over maybe thirty minutes before it would be time to start waking up and get ready for the day ahead.
What made sleep even sweeter for Tanjirō was the fact that as he had been continuing his nightly rooftop training for Total Concentration Breathing, he had been met once again by Shinobu, only there was no important or deep talk between them. This time, Shinobu merely treasured Tanjirō's company by leaning and resting her head against her while he practiced. That didn't mean it prevented him from doing the same right back to her, and for a long while they held one another close and enjoyed the moon and the stars together. It was one of those moments that Tanjirō could feel and smell without a doubt that Shinobu was genuinely at peace by his side, so he was sure to remember and cherish it for that reason.
After he had finished for the night, Shinobu surprised him by inviting him back to her room since she wanted to see how it would feel to have him join her in bed, which with a heavy blush but an enthusiastic reply he agreed to.
And so there they were, sleeping softly under the covers side by side in her bed with their heads mere inches apart on the pillows. Because of Shinobu's slightly smaller body she was nestled up close to him in a sort of cradling-like position, with Tanjirō's arm resting around her in an embrace. They had ended up that way unconsciously in their sleep of course, but after a few moments of light snoring Tanjirō started to wake up with the furrowing of his brow and a tiny grunt.
His eyes opened and the first thing he saw was the top of Shinobu's head peeking out from under the covers resting just below his chin, a further glance down showing him the completely serene expression on her face as she quietly slept in his arms. It filled him with happiness and warmth as he closed his eyes and ever-so-carefully pulled her closer, until her body was cuddled up against his, so that his body heat could transfer over to Shinobu's petite body.
She stirred a tiny bit, her feet changing position below the covers, but she didn't wake up just yet. Tanjirō imagined if Kanae had ever seen her younger sister look this at peace when she was still alive, and if she did, had she waited like he was for her to wake up, or woke her up herself?
Tanjirō didn't have to think long about that prospect when Shinobu started to awake from her slumber on her own, her eyelids fluttering like the wings of a butterfly before they rose up to reveal her sleepy-looking eyes.
"Good morning, Shinobu…" murmured Tanjirō in a low tone as he rubbed her back, smiling warmly when she followed the sound of his voice in order to look at his face. "How did you sleep?"
"I think...that might have been the best sleep...I've had in a very long time…" Shinobu replied with a soft yawn as she nestled her head below his jaw, her hand searching for his under the covers. Once she found it, she locked their digits together and held his hand as she lifted her head up once more and smiled back at him. "What about you?"
"Really good...I might say the same too, honestly...I've never really slept before like this with anyone, let alone a girl."
"I was the first girl you've ever shared a bed with?"
"Y-Yeah...eheh…"
Tanjirō blushed as he looked away from her, which caused Shinobu to giggle a little before her expression softened and she closed the gap between them in order to plant her lips gently on his. It was their first real kiss since they had admitted their feelings for one another, and since they had kissed those five times the previous morning.
Shinobu enjoyed the warmth and the tingly sensation she got whenever she and Tanjirō kissed, and she wished that they could do it more often, but both of them knew their relationship was practically a sin to the Demon Slayer Corps. It had to be kept secret for as long as possible, until Tanjirō and Nezuko were able to truly prove themselves to the Corps, or until Muzan was dead, leaving the door open to a world where demons and humans could coexist.
Getting caught and punished for it was a scary thought, and they should be scared of it. Both Tanjirō and Shinobu had their reservations and doubts about if they'd really be able to keep it a secret, but at the same time they weren't scared at all. Either of them would do anything for the other, because in their hearts they had accepted one another as members of their family, forging a bond that was consecrated by their time spent together and the feelings they shared.
"Shall we wake up now, Tanjirō...kun~?" she asked in a teasing voice when she pulled away, Tanjirō's ears and cheeks turning red. She still liked to tease him, but it was in a loving and caring manner because he looked so adorable when he blushed. "I can let you bathe first if you'd like."
"Thanks, Shinobu...I promise I'll be quick!"
They brought themselves up out of bed, and after somewhere around ten or so minutes, they were out of their room fully dressed and ready for what events the day held for them. What they arrived at at breakfast was Tanjirō's crow squawking at them from the porch of the room, with Inosuke and Zenitsu sitting close by in the middle of their meals.
When he asked what was going on, Zenitsu motioned to the Kasugai crow as it flapped its wings and looked directly at him and Shinobu and repeated the message that it had for them.
"Casualties aboard the Infinite Train are increasing! More than forty humans are now missing or dead. Kamado Tanjirō, Agatsuma Zenitsu, Hashibira Inosuke, you are to join Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyōjurō, on site!" reported the crow, cawing once and resting its wings at its side. "Head west at once! Head west at once!"
"Ah! A mission! And it's to where the Flame Hashira is!" exclaimed Tanjirō in surprise.
Shinobu smiled happily and clapped her hands for the three of them, before Tanjirō looked her way with an excited smile on his face. She could clearly tell he was pumped, because now was the time where all of his hard work and training could be put into good use. It was time to start turning Kanae's dream into reality by taking the first steps towards the ultimate goal of killing Muzan!
Inosuke was just as pumped up as Tanjirō since he roared confidently and began scarfing down his food as quickly as he could, causing Zenitsu and the girls to grimace slightly at him. Shinobu and Tanjirō laughed at him as they joined everyone eating, before the latter turned to the Hashira and asked her if she knew anything about why they had been chosen to support Kyōjurō.
"Well...I do actually. I was the one to recommend you to Oyakata-sama." Shinobu replied with a sweet smile before taking a bite of food, her response making Tanjirō gasp. "You have a pure soul, Tanjirō-kun, and a work ethic like no one else I've ever seen. The same to you two as well, Zenitsu-kun, Inosuke-kun~ Of course it took some pushing, yes, but you succeeded and grew nonetheless!"
"Thanks, Bug Lady!" said Inosuke back with a mouth full of food, an irritated Aoi shouting from the kitchen for him to not speak in such a manner.
"Plus, Tanjirō-kun, I knew that sending you to Rengoku-san could help give you some guidance on what you told me about your father."
"Oh, yeah! Thank you Shinobu-san!"
With the news of their assignment adding some extra spice to what would have been a more normal breakfast, once they were finished and done helping Aoi clean all the dishes, the three slayers went their separate ways to prepare in their own way for their eventually departure from the Butterfly Mansion.
For Tanjirō, this going around to the girls and Aoi once they were free and thanking them for their help in getting his friends better and helping them train to keep their bodies in shape and ready for the coming battles ahead. Aoi had been a little bit difficult, because she claimed that Tanjirō didn't have to thank her for what she did because she considered herself nothing more of a coward.
She had survived Final Selection by pure luck, and was too scared to actively deploy on the battlefield as a regular Corps member, so she had resolved to stay at the Butterfly Mansion and help as a nurse to those who needed it. Tanjirō refuted her statement, saying that her emotions would be carried with him because she had become part of him, thanks to the work she put in for their overall betterment. He then left Aoi with a touched and shocked look on her face as he waved goodbye to her in order to search out the next person on his list, who he found at the backyard porch of the mansion in her usual spot.
"Ah, there you are! Kanao!" said Tanjirō as he jogged up to the sitting Tsuguko, Kanao turning her head and glancing up at him silently as she normally would. "We're going to be leaving soon, Inosuke, Zenitsu and I. Since you weren't at breakfast, I figured I'd tell you before we left! Thank you for all of you help too!"
Kanao didn't say a word and only smiled at Tanjirō, causing him to feel a little awkward as the only person speaking. He then perked up when he watched Kanao take out her coin and position in it on top of her thumb to flip it up. He asked her what it was for, but without saying anything Kanao flipped the coin up and caught it with her opposite hand, placing it back on top of her right hand and waiting a second before looking to see what result she got.
Seeing tails, her eyes stared at the coin for another moment before her focus was shifted back to Tanjirō as she finally spoke to him for the first time since they had met. Shinobu happened to be passing by at the same time and she watched them out of Tanjirō's view with a warm smile on her face.
"I was just following Shinobu-sama's orders. There's really no need for you to thank me. Farewell."
"Whoa! Kanao, your voice sounds so pretty and sweet!" Tanjirō exclaimed with a beaming smile while pointing at the coin she had in her hand. "What's the purpose of that coin you flipped there, though?
"Farewell."
"Aw, but I'd really like to know! I'm super interested!"
Tanjirō sat down next to Kanao to prove his point, and without much ground to argue against the adamant slayer, Kanao revealed the coin by holding it up with her left hand for him to see. It was nothing much, just a normal coin with a "heads" and a "tails" side. Nothing but common currency in Japan.
"I flip this to decide what I haven't been ordered to do. I just decided whether or not to speak to you." Kanao explained still with the slight smile on her face, Tanjirō's optimistic interest quickly morphing into genuine intrigue about the coin and how Kanao was so dependent on it for her to make decisions. "'Don't speak' was heads, and 'Speak' was tails. Because it came up tails, I spoke to you."
Kanao closed her eyes with a smile and once again told Tanjirō farewell while hiding the coin behind her fingers, the male slayer staring at her silently for a brief moment or two with his thoughts racing about this girl. Shinobu could see the cogs turning from where she was just around the corner and her expressions softened when she recognized what Tanjirō was doing with her Tsuguko.
He was analyzing her, trying to figure out the secrets behind the coin and what it meant to Kanao, something that she herself knew because she had watched her sister Kanae give the coin to her at a young age after they had rescued her. It always did hurt her, especially after she grew a little older, to see the girl make practically every single decision outside of what she was ordered to do by that coin. Do or do not, it was always the same, even if the pretext for each choice was different.
She wanted to step in and say something, or perhaps pull off Tanjirō to the side in order to explain it to him herself, but in the end she decided against either option. Shinobu thought that if Tanjirō was able to deduce what was wrong with her, and change her for the better, than he could do the same for the quiet and choice-dependent Kanao too.
"Why don't you just decide for yourself, Kanao?" questioned Tanjirō, his thinking ending and his warm smile returning. He had smelled what he had wanted to discover, and with a plan of action firmly rooted in his brain, it was time to put it into motion. "What did you want to do, Kanao?"
"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters to me, so I can't decide for myself."
Tanjirō felt his heart ache once he heard the smiling Kanao say that, his facial expression remaining the same in order to keep his intentions hidden. He was getting an almost similar feeling from Kanao like he had from Shinobu before he discovered the truth, which made him want to find it out even more.
He had smelled Shinobu's scent standing behind him somewhere, and with a quick glance back he saw her standing near the corner of the house with a soft smile on her face, her hands behind her back. She nodded her head once, giving him the green light to try his luck on Kanao, and gave her a thumbs up before looking back at her.
"I don't think there's anything in this world that doesn't matter. It seems to me that...mmn...that the voice in your heart is really tiny." he said while crossing his arms over, Kanao opening her eyes and dropping her smile as she observed Tanjirō out of intrigue. Why was he not going away even after she had said goodbye to him several times? Was there something wrong with her? "Sure, following orders is important, but...ah! Kanao, may I borrow your coin for a second?"
"Oh! Um, sure…"
Kanao tenderly placed the coin into Tanjirō's outstretched hand and watched with wonder as he jogged out to the center of the backyard, turning around to look back at her as he gave her the widest grin imaginable.
She blinked, unsure of what to think or say about what he was going to do with her coin, while Shinobu silently cheered for Tanjirō as she watched the both of them.
"Okay! Let's toss this to decide!" exclaimed Tanjirō confidently, the coin being held high above his head.
"Decide what?"
"Decide whether or not..." began Tanjirō as he flipped the coin into his opposite hand and looked to the sky, reading it on his thumb. "You're going to listen hard to the voice in your heart from now on!"
Tanjirō then flipped his thumb up hard and sent the coin twirling up high into the sky, the little bronze object virtually disappearing into the blue sky and clouds above, causing Shinobu and Kanao to squint when they tried to follow it up. Perhaps he flipped it too hard, because even he lost track of it for a split second before he found it again and began to step back and forth, trying to position himself to catch it.
He made the coin's "heads" the side that would have Kanao listen to her heart and was ready to catch it when a gust of wind caused it to drift far off to the right. Tanjirō gasped and quickly followed it, keeping his eyes glued to the small coin, before he was able to snag it out of the air and clap it against the back of his hand.
"Ah, I got it Kanao! Let's see what it is!" he proclaimed, Kanao blinking again as he jogged back over to her with his right hand covering up the result from the both of them. "Ready?"
For Tanjirō, the expectation was he had hopefully landed on heads, since he really did want Kanao to stop relying on an inanimate object with no feelings to dictate her life's choices. Deciding what to do or not to do was up to the person's heart and soul, because only they could know what was right or wrong.
Kanao on the other hand was immensely focused on the coin, her lower lip even quivering slightly in anticipation for what the result was. She asked herself several times mentally about which one could it be, heads or tails, almost as if she were silently urging Tanjirō to show her the coin faster. She hadn't been able to see the moment the coin had landed into his hand, since his back blocked her view, so she truly had no idea what face the coin would give them when Tanjirō finally removed his hand blocking it.
He finally did show the result of the coin flip, and with a rush of excitement he leaped into the air with his arms held up at the "heads" face staring back up at him from his hand. Kanao was just as surprised as he was happy, her brain going into overdrive at how he had been able to succeed in getting the desired outcome.
"Kanao, here!" he said as he clasped his hands around her's, transferring her coin back into her position while looking into her eyes. "Good luck! It's the heart that drives people, what allows them to live their lives! So, your heart can grow as strong as you want it to!"
Tanjirō then withdrew his hands and gave her a little wave while stepping back a few feet, Shinobu silently clapping her hands from the side at the wonderful result and the look of pure awe and surprise that was present on her Tsuguko's face. She could relate with the younger Kanao, since Tanjirō had made her experience the very same feelings, and hoped that this would serve to begin her journey on the road to change as well.
"All right! I hope I get to see you real soon, Kanao! I'd really like to talk to you again some time!" said Tanjirō with a final wave goodbye, Shinobu taking her leave and disappearing around the corner to wait for him as he started jogging off in that direction.
"W-Wait! How did you make it come up as heads?" questioned Kanao as she stood up from her seat, her voice making Tanjirō slow down to a halt and stop completely. "Did you cheat? Did you flip it in your hand before showing me? What did you do?"
"It was just chance, Kanao. And even if it was tails, I was going to keep on flipping it, over and over and over again, until I got heads!"
Tanjirō gave her one of his warmest smiles at the exact same time as a breeze swept through the trees of the garden, causing their branches to rustle and a few birds resting inside of them to emerge and fly off. Kanao's hair was blown around a little bit, causing her eyes to sparkle and shine when the morning sun made it past her straight fringe. A silent gasp escaped her lips as she held her hands in front of her chest, over her heart, and she was left there with this sort of strange feeling as Tanjirō finally departed and disappeared past the corner of the house to where the waiting Shinobu was.
When he was gone, Kanao's heartbeats sped up a little before returning to normal as she lowered her hands and looked down at her coin resting comfortably in her right hand. After a bit of silence she then hugged the coin against her chest again, the warm feeling remaining present in her chest.
What exactly was this...?
A/N Dun dun dunnnnnnn...wholesomeness can't last forever, my peeps...It's gotta end sooner or later. The puzzle pieces are being shifted into place, moves are being made. We shall see what happens next, when we officially begin the Mugen Train Arc next chapter :3
Watching the anime again and knowing the manga made me appreciate Kanao's character even more, I really enjoy her. Not as much as Shinobu, but she's up there! Trust me! Sorry about another late upload with this, I got busy a little bit so it delayed this chapter someone, but I still got it out, haha! Also, fun fact, this story right here is the second largest Demon Slayer fanfic on FFN by wordcount! Second largest out of over a thousand fanfictions, can you believe that? Its crazy! :D
Ah! Tomorrow is my birthday too! August 29th, I turn 22! :DDDD
Leave a favorite, follow, and review telling me what you think of the story so far! I hope to see you guys in the next one!