"You know how Kibitsuji hides?!" Sanemi imploded. Don't yell so loud, you idiot. I can feel the headaches becoming worse. "When did you get this information, Hikigaya?! Where did this take place?"
"First off, calm down. You shouting isn't helping in my headache." Seeing him calming down, I continued. "To answer your question; this happened a week ago when I was in Sapporo. There, I met with the Upper Demon Three conversing with the Demon that can teleport other Demons and most likely, knows about the location of Kibitsuji's hiding location." Hearing Shinobu gasp usually means that she's either delightfully surprised or, I did something stupid. I'm guessing that it's the latter.
"You met with the Upper Demon Three?" Ubuyashiki inquired. I looked at his face, and it seems like he's also surprised that I managed to avoid confrontation with the Upper Demon. That, or he's delighted that events are finally moving forward. It has been a hundred years since an Upper Demon has died. I gritted my teeth at the reminder that Doma is still alive. That bastard with his fake falsetto voice irritates me to no end. Especially with what he did to Kanae, I'll make sure that bastard would pay the moment we meet again. Two folds.
"Yes. Not only did I managed to avoid a confrontation, but I also managed to hear glimpses of their plans." And it was by pure coincidence too. I still don't know how I managed to escape and eavesdrop into their conversation, but I was still able to listen. Good thing that I stayed calm and composed throughout the whole thing. One thing that I learned from Demons is that they tend to let their instincts guide them. Rarely do you see a Demon that retains their human consciousness with the exception being the Twelve Demon Moons.
And since most Demons tend to rely on their instincts, this tends to give them a severe weakness.
Lack of rationality.
There's a reason why Humans are atop the food chain. Like Charles Darwin once said, 'Survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations.' Humans are the apex predator due to our innate ability to adapt. And I think that Demons are only below Humans.
If a Demon is meant to be more powerful than a human, then how come Demons haven't been able to adapt to the sun? The reason for that is simple.
They failed to adapt because they don't have rationality.
I remembered when I first met Muzan. I thought that I was going to die that day, especially since I almost blurted out that he was a Japanese Michael Jackson. Good thing that I didn't. Otherwise, I would've found myself turning into a Demon, willingly or not.
"And what are they talking about?" Ubuyashiki questioned. There's a reason why I waited until Tanjiro was out of sight.
"I think that they're trying to find something about a 'Blue Spider Lily.'" I replied. Ubuyashiki hummed at those words. Does he know something about the Blue Spider Lily? Guess I'll need to ask him about that later. Privately, of course. I already received enough glares at this point.
"For this 'Blue Spider Lily' to be deemed of importance by Kibitsuji is quite interesting to hear about." Iguro mused.
"Whatever Kibitsuji intends to do about this Blue Spider Lily must be dangerous. We shall stop Kibitsuji's plans, whatever it takes!" It's always reassuring that Kyojuro is there to remind me of the numerous times I almost died before becoming a Pillar. 'Whatever it takes.' are words that I would always resent due to how many times I've scared Kanae to death with my stupid self-sacrifice impulse. The last time I attempted to self-sacrifice, I found Kanae confessing to me the moment I woke up. I was pathetic back then, rejecting her confession cracked my heart. Fortunately, I was able to throw away those negative thoughts and I, too, confessed when she was recovering from the time that Doma almost killed her.
It's ironic.
"Blue Spider Lily... I'll need to look it up on the estate when I go home." Shinobu mumbled. If there's anyone more knowledgeable than me, it would be Shinobu.
"Nevertheless, I thank you for giving this important information. I know that you are tired from your travels and as such, we shall re-convene tonight."
"If I may ask, Onii-sama, how did you managed to avoid the Upper Demon Three?" Shinobu asked as me, Muichiro and Shinobu are leisurely walking towards the Butterfly Estate. I suppressed the shiver that I was feeling on my back. I fervently believe that Kanae wouldn't overdo it too much. I hope.
"Easy. I calmed down." Seeing that both Muichiro and Shinobu didn't believe it, with their deadpan faces looking at me, I elaborated, "I meant that I didn't let my bloodlust to show. It's pretty simple if you ask me." And that was the truth of the matter. Demons tend to focus on the emotions of their prey, to which they akin Humans to than of an animal and disturbingly enough, I can't help but agree with those words. Seeing that they'd rather fight one another rather than cooperate is a sign that they're only above animals and not humans.
"Didn't show your bloodlust? Nii-san, does that mean that you tried to suppress your emotion?" Muichiro questioned.
"Not... exactly, Tokito. You see, there's one thing that I didn't let up during the meeting. And that is I almost got detected." I answered. Seeing the paling face of Shinobu would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that it was a serious conversation.
"Do you mean that you were almost detected and you didn't say it during the meeting!?" The way how Shinobu's voice got louder and louder is beholding to look. Too bad that it's related to something that I did. Seriously, what's with the Kocho family tending to have a dual personality? One moment Shinobu's is acting like one of those drama queens that Komachi uses to watch on TV, the next she's acting all Dere. Then there's Kanae.
This time, I felt my back shivering. I don't know if it's from the cold, but if there's one thing that could be said, I'm screwed. Hard.
And by god, I hope that it wasn't literal.
"We're here, by the way," Tokito interrupted as we're on the entrance of the Butterfly Estate. Just like most hotels and inns that provide comfort to the Demon Slayers, the Butterfly Estate is no different with the difference being that the Estate is the place where most injured Demon Slayers are healed and taken cared off. But the thing is that since the Demon Slayer Corps isn't recognized by the government, as of the moment, it's quite hard to take care of the injured Demon Slayer. Especially with the recent event that happened.
As such, I've taken to upon myself that I would extensively re-model the Butterfly Estate. With the funds that I've managed to collect through the works that I've done (copied), I used all of that to buy the surrounding areas so that I could build an extended wing for the house. Sorry, I meant to say multiple for the estate.
You know where in some anime's that I've watched, there would be a person in anime that is so rich that their mansions are triple, no, quadruple the size as regular Japanese houses. Well, I managed to replicate that with the extension of the Butterfly Estate. Of course, not to the point of ridiculousness but since the Great Kantō Earthquake hasn't happened yet, I've been busy hiring architects that could make the Butterfly Estate earthquake-proof. Even though it's a large sink in the funds, It's worth the cost.
There's also the fact that most nurses and doctors that staffed in the hospital wing of the Butterfly Estate are Koreans. Thankfully, the Demon Slayer Corps are apathetic to nationalist sentiments considering that all of us are busy killing demons and avenging their loved ones rather than pushing a political agenda. It's a win-win scenario for everyone. I even managed to get a school wing built in the eastern part of the Estate. Kanae is busy handling that one. She does love to teach children the value of education. That and her motherly instincts are flaring up.
The only thing that irritates me is the people that are trying to discredit the Estate. If you have the time to dilly-dally around, then perhaps you should try working yourself to the bone instead of ridiculing the work that I've put on. There's also that one time where I almost punched a policeman because he's trying to take one of my employees away. 'Threats to the state' my ass. That police only wanted to vent their frustrations towards someone. Thankfully, Kanae managed to defuse the situation before I could do something stupid. Something that Shinobu holds to me to this very day.
"We're home," I shouted at the hall. Hearing footsteps, I braced myself as three human rockets launched their bodies towards me. Grunting at the way they barrelled me, I nonetheless hold the line as I hear them giggling. I swear, sooner or later I may find out the feeling of my head hitting the floor. Good thing that I build myself up to be like a rock. Take that, Gyomei.
"Welcome back, Onii-sama!" The three human rockets exclaimed as they're currently busing hanging from my body. I each gave them a pat on the head, to which they gave me smiles in return.
"Thank you, Sumi, Kiyo, Naho for greeting me, as always," It's nice to meet the three girls. Especially with what happened to their parents and their brothers and sisters that became Demon Slayers. Besides, I made a promise that I wouldn't abandon them so I can't just break them.
"Sumi-chan, do you know where Onee-sama is? I have something important to discuss with her." Shinobu asked. She may try to hide it, but I'm pretty sure that she's going to tell Kanae something drastic.
"Hai, she's currently finishing teaching. Right now, she's at her living room." Sumi-chan answered. Oh crap. If she's in the room, that possibly means one thing. I instinctively gulped as Shinobu's smile became more sinister. With Shinobu here, Kanae may do something scary to me. I just got home, alright?! So why are you doing this to me? I'm tired, and I want to take a nap. I can deal with the rest tomorrow. So please, dear wife of mine, give me time to recuperate before you chain me on the bed. Again!
"I see. I guess I'll need to visit Onee-sama. Alone, if you wouldn't mind, Onii-sama." Parting her last words, she left with a spring in her step. I turned my head to Muichiro to see him giving me a soft smile. And why are you smiling at me, Muichiro? Do you want to see your Nii-san suffer? Are you teaming up with Shinobu? That would be a first.
"Nii-san, I'll be training in the dojo. If you'd like, we can spar again before we go back to the Master's mansion." Muichiro inquired.
Sighing, I ruffled his hair before answering, "Tomorrow would be better. That way, you can fight me at my fullest. Is that okay?"
Nodding at my answer, he proceeded to walk to the dojo but not before leaving me a "Goodbye." Sighing once again, I looked at the kids before asking, "Can you help me to the infirmary? I need to take a rest there." Nodding excitingly, the three kids helped me on the way to the infirmary.
I need to talk to Tanjiro as quickly as possible. I want to know if he knows something about the Breath of the Sun. Muzan killing Tanjiro's family just because they're the descendants of the Demon Slayer that almost killed Muzan.
Truly, Muzan's the epitome of what it means to be a demon.
And for that, I'll kill him.