Douma left the siblings as soon as the sun went down the following night, an idea of how to help Hotaka already set in his mind. He made it back to his home in good time, meeting a few of his humans who were still out and about in the evening. After a few surprisingly warm greetings and good nights, he went back to his temple.

He froze as soon as his palm landed on the doorframe.

Blood. He smelled blood. A lot.

Quickly, he opened the door and ran inside, following the scent to his council room. The blood belonged to Kaede and Takeshi. No one outside was aware of an attack. And it was clearly an attack because there was so much blood. Kaede was old and Takeshi not that much younger, they couldn't fight. Who would invade Douma's temple? Selfish humans looking for treasure? A demon looking for a meal? Surely the wisteria would have warded them off—

He opened the doors.

Kaede's blood painted the walls and floors of the room. Strips of soft tissue and chunks of bone had fallen around a tendril of flesh's maw as it chewed her remains.

Takeshi had been discarded to the side with a candelabra in his hand. The lower half of his face had been either eaten or struck off, but he was still alive. The skin over his throat had been stripped and Douma definitely felt something when he saw the pink, bloodied flesh underneath shift as he struggled to beg for help or death.

Douma could offer neither.

At the end of the room on Douma's usual spot where he listened to the troubles of humans was a beautiful, dark haired woman with red eyes who gave off no aura.

Only one demon would be so bold.

Douma was already on his knees in a bow. He gave Takeshi one last look. He was stubbornly clinging to life and Douma longed to put him out of his misery.

But if Muzan wanted him dead he would have done so himself and going against his will would surely get Douma severely punished, if not killed. He lowered his gaze back to the floor as Muzan stood up gracefully from his throne and approached him. He stopped in front of him and Douma felt his silent demand for him to look up. Obediently, he did so.

Two fingers dug into Douma's temple so forcefully it made him black out for a moment. When he came to, he could feel Muzan digging through his memories almost violently. Something must have gotten him angry before he arrived. All of his memories from the past couple of decades flicked through his mind's eye, barely visible.

Was Muzan looking for something?

Abruptly he felt it stop. Then start over again but much slower. Memories lingered in his head longer, allowing him to recall moments in more detail. Muzan clawed in further and Douma could almost hear and smell and feel the memory. He could feel the warmth with Gyutaro and Ume, the admiration and concern for Akaza. The loneliness. The loneliness that felt so, so much stronger suddenly now that it was being brought forward – forced forward and melded to the forefront of Douma's mind at Muzan's will.

Muzan's fingers twisted in his head and he watched him coldly as Douma mentally wrestled with the feeling that now overpowered everything else. Slowly the feeling ebbed, but the fact that Muzan had been able to pull it forward so easily and seemingly for no reason, made Douma uneasy. The last time they interacted, Muzan had called him unfeeling. He'd have to know now that it wasn't the case, that Douma was different now. Changing. This appeared experimental, like he was testing how much he could—

! ! !

Something vanished.

Douma barely refrained from squirming when he felt the… the something. Something was gone. Taken.

He was on his knees in front of Muzan, two of his lord's fingers digging forcefully into his temple. He… remembered arriving. He remembered Kaede and Takeshi, dead and dying – he'd need to help Takeshi soon— Muzan had been waiting for him and- and now he was like this. Something was missing. There was a gap.

…Right?

"Miura is dead," Muzan said, immediately forcing Douma's attention back to him. His previous concern melted away until he didn't even remember feeling it. "Turned to ash by the sun."

Huh. Douma hadn't expected that. He hadn't even felt it. It was also the same way that he had died in the previous timeline. That was a little weird, in Douma's opinion. The timing was almost the same as well, perhaps a little later…?

"You've been developing more than anticipated. Upper Rank Four has been granted to you."

"My lord is generous," Douma said automatically.

"You have my permission to engage."

Douma stared, unsure if he heard correctly. Engage with what?

Muzan brought forward a memory of him spending time with Gyutaro and Ume, followed by a memory of handing Akaza a kimono. Douma felt an ache of loneliness. It was a little stronger than he remembered.

Engage with… demons? Other demons? Any demons?

He reigned in his suspicion at the last moment, settling for confusion instead.

Permission to 'engage' with other demons was just a different way to say 'hang out' but Douma would not complain. This was such an interesting development! Muzan had never done anything like this in the previous timeline. He had his favorites and Douma was not one of them. It had to be some form of long-term manipulation, considering the demons Douma was most likely to hang out with were Upper Moons.

It didn't really make sense. Muzan wasn't one to have long term plans, he wanted things done immediately.

Sure, his manipulation tactics changed for each demon, but the underlying one was fear.

…Fear that Douma did not feel. Was that it, then? Was he trying something different? Mister 'I detest change?'

Thankfully Muzan didn't appear to have detected that thought. He never did seem to catch things related to the previous timeline.

"There is a demon wreaking havoc near a town called Isano. I will not have such a generous portion of my blood go to waste on pointless destruction. Bring them to heel."

With that order, Muzan was gone.

Sending Upper Moons to confront weaker or rowdy demons wasn't anything new. It was meant as a display. A show of power to let the weaker demons see what they should be striving for. Douma had never been chosen for one of those assignments before. It was usually Akaza or Kokushibo, the two who were the best at following orders with the power to back it up.

This was also very likely a sort of scouting mission. With Miura's death, the Upper Ranks were incomplete. If Muzan had given this demon a large portion of his blood that would make it very powerful. Based on the timing, the most probable demon it would be was Hantengu. It would be easy enough to stop him from whatever he was doing. He was such a cowardly creature.

Douma stood up, head healed, and went back towards Takeshi.

He was dead. What a painful way to go.

Something tugged in his chest.

He pulled the body into his lap and absorbed him as quickly as he could, placing his hand on the blood on the floor as well to absorb the mess of his and Kaede's remains. It was still much too early in the night and anybody could walk in. There was no guarantee that nobody had seen Muzan murder Kaede and maim Takeshi either. He'd need to sweep the temple to make sure.

It seemed everyone had gone home except…

He could smell a trace of Hotaka.

Almost reluctantly, he followed the scent to his lotus garden.

"Hotaka?" Douma called. He was nearby. "Hotaka, I know you're there."

Hotaka poked his head out from behind a beautiful large pot that Douma didn't own.

"Lord Douma," Hotaka greeted sullenly as Douma strode forward. He placed a hand on the boy's back, startling him as he firmly pushed him to the other side of the garden. "How did you know where I was?"

"I pay attention," Douma said, patting his head once they stopped. Hotaka didn't look fearful or traumatized. He must not have witnessed Muzan's slaughter. Something in his chest loosened. What a relief. "What are you doing in my lotus garden?"

"I'm not allowed in here?" Hotaka asked, brow furrowed as he looked around the space.

"No, no, anyone is welcome, but it's a work in progress, and I'd prefer for children to be supervised when they're here." Douma gestured at the water, each pond was at different depths. Hotaka would likely be fine, but a small child could easily fall in and drown. "I'm glad you're here, though! I've been meaning to show you this..."

Douma led Hotaka to a pond with a bamboo dock. He pointed at the koi fish Ko had gifted him before he had eaten him. It was still a little shy but was swimming in circles closer to the surface in hopes of extra food. Hotaka leaned forward to watch it.

"Your brother left him behind before he disappeared," Douma said. "Isn't he pretty? I'm going to have to get him some company. He looks lonely in this big pond, doesn't he?"

"Ko would have caught more for you," Hotaka said. He touched the surface of the water and the koi darted away. "He likes to fish."

Douma tilted his head. "Oh? What about you? Do you like to fish?"

"Yeah! I know all the good spots up here."

"You mean fish have favorite spots? I didn't know that."

"I can show you! I think I know where he probably caught this one too! I remember the river was really clean."

"I'd love to see it!" He gave him a small smile. "But maybe you can show Mr. Ikeda for now? He can go out in the day when it's safer."

"Ikeda?" Hotaka asked, brow scrunching. "He doesn't talk to me much."

"No? What about Mrs. Ikeda?"

"She's nice, but she worries too much."

That did sound like Miki.

"I'm sorry if she's smothering, I asked her to keep a close eye on you," Douma said. "No one wants you to get hurt."

"Yeah…" Hotaka looked back down at the koi fish that went back to swimming in front of them cautiously. "Even Ko says for me not to go in the mountains without him. I did anyway. Sorry…"

"We all understand why. I'm sure Ko would have too," Douma said. He lifted a small ceramic jar of fish feed and peeked inside, then held it open for Hotaka. "Why don't you come over and feed this little guy in the mornings? You can help me take care of him! I can only feed him at night and I feel bad he doesn't show himself all day until then. I want everyone else to see him!"

"The mornings? Every day?"

Douma shrugged. Having a set time for him to visit made it easier to keep track of the boy and he'd have less of a reason to come at night. He nudged the jar in Hotaka's direction. "You've been coming here every day anyway," he pointed out. Hotaka got a handful of feed and tossed it into the pond. "I'll see about organizing a trip for us to get him some friends too. I'd love to see more color in these ponds."

Hotaka nodded, appearing pleased at the idea. "Oh, I should go to bed," he said as though barely noticing the hour.

Douma gave him another head pat. "You should! I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

"Ok. See ya!"

Once Hotaka was gone, Douma turned around to a low laugh.

"How touching…" Gyokko said, crawling out of his pot. "Is that how you tenderize your meat?"

Douma raised an eyebrow. "Gyokko! I didn't expect you to visit. You weren't hunting were you?"

"The young ones taste the best you know."

Douma disagreed, but that wasn't important. What was important was that he did not know how long Gyokko had been here. Douma had been gone the previous night, Muzan's presence had flushed out any other demons and Gyokko's favorite method of eating and travel left no trace behind. He had only sensed him when he had entered the garden. "I did not permit you to hunt here."

"I thought you wanted us to get along… one would argue sharing meals is a good way to bond… don't you want to be friends? Don't be so selfish, Upper Five… Or should I say, Upper Four. Congratulations on your advancement…"

"Do not hunt here, Gyokko," Douma said, his voice taking to that odd tone he wasn't used to hearing from himself.

Gyokko cackled. "As you wish."

Satisfied, Douma gave him a small smile. "So, what are you doing here? I didn't take you for one who would spend their free time visiting their fellow Upper Moons!"

"I'm here on His Lordship's orders."

"Oh? How interesting! I just saw him." So Muzan had visited Gyokko too? He'd met up with Gyutaro and Ume recently too… How curious. "You're going to accompany me?"

"I was the one who noticed the demon in the first place," Gyokko grumbled. "He's stronger than me… I want to see if he's stronger than you."

He wouldn't be. "Gyokko is worried about my safety? How cute!"

Gyokko sputtered and Douma's smile widened. Gyokko didn't actually care about anyone other than Muzan, but they had been on relatively good terms in the previous timeline that Douma had considered him a friend. Douma's relationship with the siblings seemed to have affected it here, or at least given it a rocky start. He wouldn't mind trying to improve it. Gyokko was good for gossip and Douma did admire his artistic talents, a trait often overlooked since they were demons.

"What the hell is with the wisteria?" Gyokko asked, changing the topic. "Aren't you sick of that smell? I can barely move in here. You should burn it all."

"Nonsense! I love the flower! It wasn't too much of a deterrent, was it? I plan to cover the temple in it." Hopefully it'd keep other demons out. He didn't like the idea of anymore sneaking in without his permission.

"It reeks," Gyokko murmured. He seemed to hate admitting it now that he realized it had no effect on Douma.

"What a shame you won't be able to visit!" Douma sighed mournfully. "Say, if it bothers you so much how did you get in here?"

"The biwa woman sent me." He'd have to remember to forbid Nakime from doing that without his permission. Gyokko did say he could hardly move… Adding more wisteria was sure to help immobilize anyone else who was sent to his temple. Ah, but then how would Gyutaro and Ume visit? How troublesome…

"Hm, are you able to get out on your own?"

"I have a pot outside."

"Oh, good! I was worried I'd have to toss you over the gates. I'd hate to damage your pot." Gyokko's mouths sneered at him and Douma pouted. "What's with that look? I mean it, your pots are beautiful, Gyokko. You know that, right?"

"Of course, I know that!" Gyokko snapped. He ducked into his pot and disappeared, presumably outside of the temple property and to escape the conversation.

Douma wanted to keep the pot left behind but he knew it would give Gyokko access to his followers. He wasn't sure if he believed Gyokko would follow his orders and refrain from hunting, so he carried the pot with him as he left the temple, taking a shortcut and hopping on the highest rooftop and over the small wisteria barrier. When he was an acceptable distance away, he tucked the pot into a thick knot of a tree's roots deeper in the forest where it would be protected from the sun, should Gyokko decide to use it for transport.

To his surprise, Gyokko popped out of it almost immediately.

"Hello!" Douma greeted cheerfully as though he hadn't seen him just minutes before. "Are you ready to go?"

Gyokko eyed his surroundings, appearing annoyed. "Yes, yes, let's get on with it."

Douma nodded and turned to walk in the general direction of Isano, only to stop once a thought occurred to him.

"Um, Gyokko… can you walk?"

Gyokko bared his teeth at him.

He'd seen Gyokko hop in his pot but that was no further than a few feet. He could also stretch his body from the pot a full room's length away. Douma had only ever seen him really move around on his own when he fought him in his true form. Teleporting through pots seemed to only be really useful in combat, not travel.

…Well, not travel with a view. He supposed Gyokko just might not care about having a nice walk.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Douma asked.

"What?! No!" Gyokko snapped.

"Are you sure? I don't mind!"

Gyokko made a sound that Douma could only describe as a hiss and disappeared further down the path into another pot and then again and again until he was out of sight. Douma watched him go with a small pout, feeling surprisingly disappointed.

"Oh, I guess I'll meet you there, then…"

Reviews would be nice, please! ^_^