Hinokami's Blessing
Chapter 18
12Thirtypain03
WARNING: This story is rated M for mature rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering makes you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into demon/human, or more will be labelled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.
Kanao's POV
When Kanao woke up, she was immediately rocked by the looks of relief on both Shinobu and Kanae. She was confused for a bit, onto why her two sisters were so worried.
Until her memories came back.
When it came back, her confusion began to hit her.
What she tried to remember, was the entire ordeal that occurred.
She remembered fighting Lower Moon Five, performing relatively well, until the demon infused his blood into his threads. Once he did that, Kanao began to struggle somewhat, and eventually suffered too many injuries.
As a result, she unfortunately got weaker and eventually couldn't fight anymore.
When she thought it was over, and the demon would kill her, she was rescued by two individuals.
Whilst Kanao wasn't sure who these individuals were, they were wearing masks, and could tell that they were a bit strange.
Thinking back, the two didn't seem that human, but their morals seemed very strong, and thus she was confused.
"What happened?" Kanao asked. Considering everything, she was trying the best to decipher everything after the entire event.
"You were saved by two individuals, and were taken down to the kakushi by me." Shinobu explained, "Giyu and I found you laying on the ground, seemingly in a recovery position.
"Who were the individuals who saved me?" Kanao asked, "Did you defeat the demon?"
Shinobu shook her head, "No, the two individuals who saved you managed to kill him."
At this Kanao looked down, before she noticed the stressed look Shinobu had.
"What's wrong sister?" Kanao asked Shinobu who was trying her best to retain her composed smile.
However, Kanao's vision as extraordinary, and she was able to quickly see that something was wrong. Kanae looked to Shinobu in concern, "Yeah, what happened, Shinobu?"
"It's regarding Giyu…" Shinobu revealed, "You see, Giyu seems well associated with them, which surprised me, especially when he told me they were his tsuguko's. Especially since one of them was the one who was stalling Upper Moon Two, allowing the kakushi and us to bring you back."
Kanae nodded, "I was aware of that, considering I remembered his mask before I fell unconscious."
Kanao sighed, "Indeed, but I could tell from my vision that something seemed off about them."
Shinobu nodded, "You'd be right. Both of them are demons, and they're also Giyu's tsuguko's."
At this, Kanae and Kanao looked at Shinobu in concern. "What?!"
"Why didn't you report this to Ubuyashiki?" Kanae asked. "I mean, I'm glad they were nice and noble enough to fight a Twelve Kizuki to save me, but the risks of them eating other humans…" Kanae sighed, "Unless…" Her eyes looked somewhat conflicted.
Shinobu sighed, "I wanted to, don't get me wrong, but Giyu blackmailed me."
"He blackmailed you?" Kanae asked Shinobu.
"Apparently, he managed to discover about the status of Tamayo and Yushiro." Shinobu revealed, and Kanae's eyes widened. "And apparently, Giyu's tsuguko's have met Tamayo and Yushiro."
"Why? Are they alright?" Kanae asked.
"Yes, they are, I've asked Tamayo to write me a letter about the two, however, Ubyuashiki knows about the both of them and their association, and has deemed them not dangerous." Shinobu sighed. "Giyu, and the other two have strictly told them that neither his tsuguko's have eaten humans, nor had the thought."
At this, Kanae's eyes widened, "Is this true?" Kanae then turned to Kanao.
"How did they look?" Kanae asked her adoptive sister.
Kanao thought about it before she spoke, "They both were wearing masks so I couldn't see their face. However, they did have some demon characteristics, especially on their hands. One looked to be a boy, and the other a girl. The other thing I noticed was their morals."
"Their morals?" Both Shinobu and Kanae raised their eyebrows.
"They seemed to be high in their morals and strong willed. They seemed to have acted very human." Kanao revealed.
Just as they were going to continue speaking, another individual came in the room.
It was Giyu.
"Speaking of them." Shinobu spoke as they all looked to him.
"I'm assuming it's about my tsuguko's?" Giyu asked.
"Yes." Kanae responded, "Apparently you also know about Tamayo and Yushiro?"
Giyu nodded, "I did. As for how, both my tsuguko's met with them, and from speaking with Ubuyashiki, they encouraged each other to meet."
"Oh, I see." Shinobu sighed, "I'm guessing when you told Ubuyashiki, he recommended the two to meet up with them…"
Giyu nodded, "They apparently were also attacked by some of Muzan's personal demons, but they managed to subdue them, and eventually move."
"Where are they now?" Shinobu asked.
"Who?"
"Your tsuguko's?" Shinobu asked, clearly not liking the obliviousness Giyu was playing.
Giyu sighed, "Honestly, I don't know. They've managed to escape, and as for where they are, I cannot tell you."
"So you are letting your tsuguko's roaming around potentially eating humans?" Shinobu asked.
At this, Kanae put a hand on Shinobu's shoulder. "Sister, Giyu is not that oblivious or neglectful. If he has tsuguko's, then he must really trust them. He wouldn't let them explore if he was risking humans as a result."
Shinobu eased up at that, clearly not liking this, but ultimately deciding to let it go.
"I don't think they are those kinds of demons." Kanao spoke up.
"How so?" Shinobu asked.
"I couldn't see any semblance of human remains on them. They seemed very pure, unlike the eyes of other demons, theirs were rather kind…"
At this, Kanae and Shinobu looked at each other.
"Could this mean…" Kanae thought to herself, accidentally speaking quietly,
"I highly doubt they are demons who have never eaten humans. There is no way, even Tamayo and Yushiro rely on a bit of blood." Shinobu concluded.
"We'll never know until we see them in person." Kanae responded.
All the while, Giyu was watching both sisters comprehend the entire ordeal with his tsuguko's, all the while Kanao was merely watching her sisters have this little back and forth.
Giyu decided now would be a good time to leave while he could.
"What are your tsuguko's names?" Kanae asked the receding Giyu, who sighed.
"Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado." Giyu told the two.
"Oh! They're siblings? How did two siblings catch your eyes?" Kanae asked.
"Both of them were the sole survivors of a demon attack that killed the rest of their family." Giyu explained, "I noticed they had potential, and before Urokodaki died, he trained them."
"Oh… That's quite a lot…" Kanae sadly smiled. Clearly, the ordeal with both Kamado's losing their family did make it more tragic.
Shinobu, by contrast did not want to believe this.
In the end, Ubuyashiki had to reveal of the extra help they received, but just by explain that was how Lower Moon Five was killed. Giyu refused to take the credit of killing Lower Moon Five, when he didn't.
In the end, Kanao was sent back to the Butterfly Mansion, alongside Aoi, and the other girls, who were glad to see her back.
All the while, the other demon slayers, including Genya, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were all allowed to stay within the residence, as they were going to undergo rehabilitation training.
All the while managing to do their own unique circumstances, they also knew that they, for the most part, would have differing opinions to girls massaging them.
Genya was going to hate it.
Zenitsu was going to love it.
Inosuke, didn't care, unless it was the girl who was nice enough to him to leave food just for him.
Kanao was eventually told to help them all train and undergo rehabilitating training for their own benefits. They were all somewhat injured within Natagumo Mountain. Kanao less so because of the individual who saved her.
However, once she was observing Genya, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, she was intrigued a bit by what they were talking about.
However, she ultimately knew she had to focus.
"Are you alright Kanao?" Kanao turned and noticed an individual with blue hair and black hair.
"I'm fine Aoi, just observing the slayers I'll have to train alongside Kanae and Shinobu." Kanao explained.
"Shinobu won't be training them. She wants to work on her poison and the likes. Kanae will be the one taking care of them all."
"Oh." Kanao responded, "I understand."
"That's a relief." Aoi smiled, "Also, make sure you also get some rest, you were injured after all."
"Those weren't serious, especially since I was rescued by an individual, or two rather." Kanao told Aoi.
"Oh? And who exactly are those individuals?" Aoi asked.
"I'm not exactly sure." Kanao explained. "Apparently, they were wearing masks so it was difficult to observe, other than the fact that both seemed to be skilled demon slayers, and were a boy and a girl, likely siblings."
"Is that so?" Aoi asked.
Unbeknownst to Kanao, Zenitsu, with his hearing was able to hear the girls' conversation. Specifically, the description of the mask design of a demon slayer was enough to catch his attention.
"The weird thing is, one of those individuals was the same individual who had saved Kanae from Upper Moon Two during the whole Final Selection debacle." Kanao revealed to Aoi.
Aoi shivered once she heard about that. She at one point had gone through Final Selection, but hated the profession and considered herself lucky to survive eventually decided to focus on healing and the likes. She did not like demon slaying.
"And I thought I had it bad when I went through… You literally had burning wisteria and stronger demons from the outside trying to kill you all…" Aoi mumbled.
Kanao sighed, "Yeah Kanae ran into a upper moon who wanted a rematch. The sad thing is he would have killed Kanae if it wasn't for that individual…"
"Are you both talking about a demon slayer with a mask?" Zenitsu approached the two girls. Under normal circumstances, Aoi would be very suspicious of him, however this time, Zenitsu was approaching them for a reasonable question, considering the question at hand.
Kanao looked at Zenitsu, then back to Aoi. Here, she flipped the coin, and it landed in Zenitsu's favour.
"Why is she flipping the coin to talk to me, but not to Aoi?" Zenitsu thought to himself.
"Yes, we are. Specifically, two masked individuals who have assisted in killing Lower Moon Five." Kanao explained to Zenitsu.
"A masked slayer… I encountered one in the Final selection!" Zenitsu revealed.
Besides him, Genya too nodded, "Same here, I think they both were in Final Selection when the Wisteria burning occurred."
Kanao nodded, "They were. Now, is there any critical information you think you should give out about them?"
Zenitsu thought, "The person was shorter than me, seemed to be a girl judging by her figure, younger than us, and was using water breathing."
"Really?" Kanao asked, "Then again, it makes sense if they're supposedly Giyu's tsuguko's."
Zenitsu nodded, "Yeah, she was wearing a mask as well. She had a nirchirin blade and was cutting a demon. She was skilled especially being so young…"
"I see…" Kanao thought as she said outloud, before turning to Genya.
Genya knew from a basic perspective that he was wanted for his input.
"I think the person I found was a boy, because when he talked to me, it sounded masculine. However, it sounded a bit younger than us, like he yet to went through puberty. As for his appearance, he was around Zenitsu's height, and wore a mask as well. He also had a nirchirin blade, and…" At this Genya looked down.
"What is it?" Zenitsu asked, "The fact you also met one of these strange individuals with masks is new to me."
Genya sighed, "You all know how I fight demons, right?"
The group nodded, except for Aoi.
"Well, the guy seemed to have recognized how I struggled, and… To my surprise, he gave me some of his blood." Genya revealed.
At this, Zenitsu screamed comedically, "WAIT YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THOSE PEOPLE ARE DEMONS?!"
Genya looked a bit unsure, "I don't know. When he gave me his blood, he said he had enough demon blood. But his blood was strange… It didn't feel demon, nor human…"
"Both of those individuals are demons, and are also Giyu's tsuguko's." Kanao revealed, "Shinobu and Kanae have talked to both Giyu and Ubuyashiki about it. Seems there's some things that we've been left in the dark about."
The entire group went silent after that.
"Wow…" Genya mumbled, "A demon who willingly gave me his blood so that I could defeat another…"
Zenitsu, meanwhile, was in shock, "The one girl who seemed rather alright with me calling her pretty, was a demon?! She's going to eat me the next time she sees me! PROTECT ME GENYA! KANAO! AOI!"
"ARE WE GETTING FOOD YET?" Inosuke asked, clearly not caring for the entire conversation.
Aoi sighed, "WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS EATING?!"
Inosuke and Aoi began to get into a little squabble, but thankfully, Aoi caved in and promised to give Inosuke some food. Inosuke quickly ran in.
"Wait, so what are we supposed to do about these individuals?" Zenitsu asked. "Are they going to be a threat?"
"Highly unlikely, so far, they've only been associated with saving and protecting other demon slayers. In fact, it was both of those individuals who killed Lower Moon Five. Not one of the Hashira's, or me." Kanao explained.
"I see…" Zenitsu sighed.
"Also, remember you, Genya, and Inosuke all have rehabilitation training with Aoi, Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho later today. That means, you need to take you medicine."
"AW MAN! I DON'T WANT TO!" Zenitsu cried.
"You want to remain short forever?" Kanao asked.
"… No…" Zenitsu sighed, "Fine…"
And so, Zenitsu went back to his bed to get his medicine that Aoi was going to have a difficult time doing, all the while Genya was with Gyomei.
It was an interesting relationship the two had, however, due to Genya's inability to use a breathing technique and style, he had to rely on other means.
This included a repeat chanting, or action. By repeating an action, or chant, the user was able to lessen the pain and increase the pain tolerance. For someone like Genya, it was a decent ability that Kanao herself was unable to do.
She merely sighed, once she saw Shinobu.
"Kanao, how are the other demon slayers?" She asked, making sure Kanao's bandages were properly placed.
"I'm fine, the other demon slayers seem ready to start their training." Kanao revealed.
"That's a relief." Shinobu smiled, "I'm sorry I cannot help, however…"
"It's to do with Giyu and his tsuguko's, huh?" Kanao asked.
"… Yes." Shinobu sighed, "While I want to believe that these demons are good, considering Kanae is hopeful, and Giyu out of all people seem to be very close with them, I'm not sure how to react."
"I mean, even Tamayo and Yushiro need a bit of human blood to survive and not go wild. How can Tanjirou and Nezuko be different?" Shinobu asked/
"Tanjirou and Nezuko, huh?" Kanao put those names into her mind, clearly interested to see what these demons saved her from another demon.
"Like, maybe they wanted to fight to become a Twelve Kizuki. The fact Giyu blackmailed me into letting them go too…" Shinobu was clearly mad.
In the meantime, Shinobu emphasized that she was focusing on creating new poisons and better healing conditions.
Apparently Kanae had came to her younger sister complaining of a bit more breathing problems. No doubt due to the Upper Moon Two's ice demon art.
The sad reality, was that Kanae wasn't at the strength she was around two years ago, when she first encountered the Upper Moon.
Shinobu began to hate that Upper Moon, because it literally felt like the Grim Reaper for them.
After Kanao was done, she made her way to the mansion, ready to see how the demon slayers would do for their first training.
Almost immediately, she walked in, and saw the girl butterfly girls, Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho all making Inosuke limber. It was quite the sight to see, with Kanae laughing at the entire thing. From that overall action, Kanao could tell Kanae's lungs were still healing. There was a bit of a wheezing noise coming from Kanae's voice.
Kanao walked next to her sister quietly, as Kanae headpatted Kanao, she spoke up to encourage them to continue.
Immediately, Kanao could see the lack of determination from both Zenitsu and Inosuke. Genya was also present, but he was an interesting case due to his lack of breathing style.
However, Kanae seemed to have done some relatively dirty tactics to get the three of them to continue with the training.
For Zenitsu, it was a promise to find that girl with the mask so that she could maybe go out with him.
For Inosuke, it was both, a promise of more of his favourite food, and a bit of tempting of strength.
"I think I may be able to find that masked girl for you if you try hard enough Zenitsu."
"It's alright if you cannot do it, Inosuke. A lot of people cannot."
"OK I'LL DO IT! FOR THAT MASKED GIRL!" Zenitsu exclaimed. Kanae literally deadpanned. "And he knows that girl is now a demon…"
"ARGH! I'M STRONG! I CAN DO THINGS NO HUMAN CAN DO! I'LL BEAT THIS TRAINING BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!" Inosuke exclaimed as he too ran into the training facility.
Kanao, meanwhile, looked at this with a shocked expression.
"My sister really is devious sometimes. But then again, apparently Giyu is the most devious…" Kanao thought as she knew she would be tasked to help them with their training.
Around 3 months had passed, and they were finally done. It took quite the time for them all to heal, but it was something they had to do, especially fully heal.
In the meantime, Shinobu had continued her own research. Apparently, she had found some blood from the two masked demons, and wanted to see what was up with them. Sadly, to no avail, but she could ask Tamayo.
As for Kanae, she was helping the demon slayers recover, and by teaching them the total concentration breathing constant. It was a difficult technique for many to get down.
Kanao herself occasionally struggled for a bit, but she was relatively consistent with it.
Seeing them all blowing the gourds Kanao herself used to shatter daily, it made her feel nostalgic, but she pushed it aside.
However, the more intriguing aspect of this, was Giyu, who chose to visit Shinobu every once in a while, especially about their tsuguko's, Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado.
"Tanjirou Kamado, and Nezuko Kamado, what exactly makes the two of you special tht has both of my sisters so devoted on?"
Infinity Castle, Muzan's POV
The sounds of a biwa was all that was heard.
The infinity castle, was specially within the domain of Nakime. Upper Moon ranked demon.
It was mostly, a safe place for the progenitor to reside, safe from the risk of any demon slayer trying to find him.
Muzan had ordered Nakime to bring and summon each of the lower moons to the infinity castle.
When he had heard Rui's distressed tone through his vision, he opened his vision.
To his surprise, he saw the former lower moon on the ground, withering in pain. His head seemed to be somewhere, as Muzan was unable to see who exactly was the individual who had slain Rui.
"Not only did I lose one of my trusted members, but I couldn't even see who defeated him… How annoying." Muzan sighed in frustration. Right now, he was dressed up as a girl, a testament to his disguising ability.
For the time being, however.
There was one specific thing that remained on his mind.
Those two demons, who escaped his control. He hadn't known their actual names, besides Kamado.
He sighed in frustration.
"Kokushibo?" Muzan called for his most trusted demon.
Almost on cue, a tall demon, with a monstruous deformed sword, appeared, almost manifesting himself. quite possibly the most notable appearance about this demon, were the six eyes he had.
"Yes, sir?" Kokushibo asked.
"Remember the so called descendants you told me about? About that monster?" Muzan asked.
Kokushibo nodded, "The Kamados? Yes. They were merely shared together and conceived a family."
Muzan nodded, "Exactly, and it was your doing that allowed me to locate them, especially since they seemed to have remained in the same place throughout their generations."
Kokushibo, for his part raised his eyebrow, "Not to be rude, master, but why are you telling me this right now?"
Muzan sighed, "It seems I've made a blunder. I had attempted to insert my blood into one of them, hoping them would fall under my control and serve me. The purpose, since they were the descendants of that monster, she would have been able to withstand the sun."
Kokushibo merely looked onward, "That seems to be a reasonable reason to why you turned her into a demon, what's the problem?"
"She escaped my control. In addition, the eldest boy miraculously survived, and also broke my curse." Muzan revealed. "To make matters even worse, they attacked me in Asakusa."
At this, Kokushibo looked somewhat disturbed. "That's concerning… Did they fight you? And did you kill them while you had the chance?"
Muzan shook his head, "No, that kid reminded me that monster… Everything about that kid… The long, red hair, the breathing style, even the mark on his face, even though it's extended further down his face, it's the exact same as that monster…"
Kokushibo looked confused, "Even if it looked like him, why didn't you finish them off?"
"They managed to slice a heart and brain of mine, and they seemed willing to fight in public. I had to teleport away before they overwhelmed me, and I'd have to worry about them making everyone aware." Muzan sighed.
He then stared down at Kokushibo, "Therefore, I have a mission for you."
"And what is that mission?" Kokushibo asked.
"Find more information about those two demons that escaped my curse. If they are alone, then kill them." Muzan demanded, "I have originally turned the girl into a demon for the fact she may withstand the sun, but with that boy around, he is too dangerous, especially for his resemblance to that monster."
Kokushibo nodded, "Yes sir."
"Good." Muzan smiled a bit sinisterly. "Remember, only kill the boy if he is alone. If he is, worst case scenario, with the demon slayers, then at least inform me, and we can decided the best course of action afterwards."
Once again, Kokushibo nodded. "Is there anything else, master?"
Muzan shook his head, "No, I have my own meeting matters to attend to."
Kokushibo nodded, as he noticed the other lower moons being summoned.
"What is-" One of them asked, clearly unaware of everything going on.
Eventually, the rest of the lower moons had made it. All five remaining lower moons.
For the time being, Muzan looked pissed, and angry at them all.
"These lots are so weak…" Muzan thought to himself as he eventually looked at them.
The first was a slender man who could easily be mistaken as a woman. This individual had some square markings on his face and a horizontal slit as well. He also had his hair fading to a red-pink colour a the tip. This complimented his black attire with grey pants and white shoes. This was Emnu, lower rank one.
The other, was more of an older individual with branch-like patterns across his forehead, and a beard on his jaw. With his amber eyes located the kanji for Lower Two. This was Rokuro, lower rank two.
The third individual, was someone who seemed average in appearance. Almost nothing seemed noteworthy about him as he had elf-like ears, and some crosses across his forehead and cheeks. The kanji in his left eye read Lower Three. This was Wakuraba, lower rank three.
The fourth individual was the shortest of the bunch, and was the only female. She had gray skin, and white hair, with grey and white rings with a red sclera on her eyes. She also had horns on her forehead, with some other marks spanning her cheeks. This was lower moon four, Mukago.
The last individual was a short man with a decorated face of green under his eye, above his nose and to his forehead. His hair was black and orange, but other than that, was relatively underwhelming. This was Kamanue, lower moon six.
Only lower moon five was absent, and many of them were confused, especially since they were the only ones to have gathered. Usually, they would be gathered alongside the other upper moons if they were needed.
To their right, they could see the Upper Moon, Nakime.
Then, the Upper Moon One, Kokushibo.
With the strike of a biwa, their entire beings moved, to stand in front of Muzan, though they were unsure because he was dressed like a girl.
"Lower your heads, and bow!" Muzan's voice immediately echoed throughout the room, as the lower moons quickly realized who this individual was.
"I-It's Lord Muzan! His appearance… It's impeccable…"
The entire lower moons looked very shocked, and it was Mukago who asked the first question.
"M'lord, if I may ask, where is Rui?" Mukago asked.
At this Muzan glared at her. "Who gave you the right to talk?"
Mukago treaded back her statement, but Muzan gave a small chuckle. "Though I'll admit your intuition is polished. Lower Moon Five, Rui is dead."
The rest of the lower moons looked shocked, as Muzan continued.
"Now I will ask one thing. Why are the both of you lower ranks, so goddamn weak?" Muzan's voice was dripping with venom, and every demon moon could tell he was being serious.
What they said next, was a matter between life and death.
"You all know, that joining the Twelve Kizuki is just the beginning of your journey as demons. You all must eat more people, get stronger, and then become useful…" Muzan explained, "In all my eternal life, it is only the lower moons who've had to be replaced. Why is that?"
"Because you all are too damn weak." Muzan explained, "Tell me why I should be putting up and wasting my resources on individuals who cannot even yield useful results, such as killing a Hashira. I have to rely on my upper moons for that!"
"That is, if you discount Douma…" Wakuraba mumbled, before he chuckled slightly.
"What is so funny?" Muzan asked. Truth be told, he knew what Lower Three was referring to, but at least Douma survived and badly injured the Hashira. None of the Lower Moons have been incapable of such a feet.
Muzan then turned to Kamanue. "Is there something you want to tell me, Lower six?"
"N-No!" Kamanue exclaimed.
"What am I supposed to say to that? Is that right, Kamanue?" Muzan asked, and the lower six flinched.
"H-He can read my mind?!" Kamanue exclaimed in shock. "T-This is bad…"
"Silly Kamanue… You do realize that I can see through you, inside you. Therefore, I can read your minds. It may be less clear the farther you are from me, but location is never any issue." Muzan told his ranked demons as he stared down at them.
Kamanue was ultimately the first one to go.
"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Kamanue exclaimed, crying as he was liftedupside down by an extended limb from Muzan himself. He then turned it into a beastly mouth, that roared right in Kamanue's face, paralyzing him and making him unable to speak.
In the end, Kamanue was ultimately consumed by Muzan, and this caused the rest of the Lower Moons to think for themselves.
Muzan then turned to Mukago. The lower moon four.
"Mukago. Why have you yet to run into any of the demon slayers? Are you more afraid of them, than me?" Muzan asked.
At this, Mukago remained silent, she lowered her head. After what she was told prior, she had taken it to her life, and knew that if she spoke, she would die.
"Every time you encounter a Hashira, you want to flee, is that it?" Muzan asked.
Mukago merely sighed, "Yes… And if I must pay my life for this, then at least I'll be dying under your own conditions, master. For I am just a coward, but at least this coward had managed to rise the current rank she is to have served you, lord…"
The surprising statement caught Muzan off guard, as he levied his giant massed limb, just on top of Mukago. She merely stared at it, embracing what was, inevitable, her death. Muzan could tell she was meaning what she said, especially since he hadn't expected her to admit to her faults.
And so, he decided to spare her.
"It seems you've learned your lesson. At least you admitted to what I wanted to hear…" Muzan looked at Mukago. "I'll let you live. I'll let the rest of you all live, on one condition!"
"And what is it, my lord?" Enmu asked, clearly wanting to hear.
"If one of you, within the lower ranks, can defeat a Hashira withing the year! I'll allow you all to live, and hell, even give you all some more of my blood." Muzan explained, "I'll be extra generous, and even allow the three of you to work together to defeat a Hashira, if that is what it takes." Muzan explained.
Enmu, Wakuraba, and Mukago all nodded, bowing to Muzan, accepting the condition.
"We thank you for this extra opportunity to show you the worth we bring." Wakuraba explained, adhering to the terms as well.
It seemed, however, that one lower demon moon disagreed with this.
"We can still be of use! We just need a bit more blood…" Rokura explained.
"How much exactly? What can you do at your strength?" Muzan asked Rokura, with a deadly tone.
The remaining three lower moons looked Rokura, like if he had a death wish.
"If we got a bit more blood, we could be stronger!" Rokura exclaimed.
"I'm getting sick of hearing your voice." With that, Muzan snapped his fingers, and immediately, an arm pierced out of Rokura, killing him once it threw his head out the infinity castle, his body turning to dust immediately.
"You three!" Muzan exclaimed to Enmu, Wakuraba, and Mukago. "I'd recommend you three work together towards killing a Hashira. For unlike some upper moons, you remaining lower moons will be forced to cooperate towards a single goal."
"Like I said, if ONE of you can kill a Hashira, then I'll let you all live, and give you extra blood. Hell, if you can kill a demon with hanafuda earrings and his sister, then I'll be even more generous, and give you even more." Muzan explained.
Before then, Muzan injected the three demons with a bit of is blood. "Remember my terms and conditions. That is, if you survive this."
"Y-Yes sir…" The three remaining lower moons mumbled, as Muzan left. Nakime flicked her biwa, and immediately the three demons of lower moon got into quite the epiphany.
Thankfully, because it wasn't too much of his blood, all three of the lower moons were able to survive.
However, they were not dealing with another issue.
"We need to kill those demons and a Hashira! Our lives is on the line!" Wakuraba exclaimed. "We need to!"
"Chill out, we all need to do our work… I guess we'll have to cooperate to get the job done, if we want our lord to keep us alive…" Mukago mumbled. "What are we to do? I don't want to be doing this anymore…" She sighed.
And so, the three demons continued to ponder, over what they were supposed to do.
"Hey guys…" Enmu asked the two.
"Yes?" Mukago asked.
"Did you just get a vision of master's eyes of the boy and girl we're supposed to kill?" Enmu asked.
The two nodded, "We did. Must've been the extra blood we received…"
"Perfect, then we'll have to explore and try and find these demons and a Hashira." Wakuraba exclaimed in excitement. "We may actually be able to keep our titles!"
"We'll need to work for it, first we need to find out how to find a Hashira!" Mukago sighed, "Don't get too comfortable yet…"
"I know…"
Enmu, however, had an idea, "Say you guys, want to go on a train ride, like no other?" Enmu asked the two other demons, who merely looked at him in confusion.
Ubuyashiki's POV
"What is going on?" Ubuyashiki asked a crow, who seemed to have overexerted itself, trying to fly back.
"Hmm, that is concerning…" Ubuyashiki said at last, before he then turned to the rest of the Hashira.
He had called for a Hashira Meeting an hour ago to speak about the update since Mount Natagumo, and was going to transition towards the matter at hand.
"What is it, Ubuyashiki?" Obanai asked, clearly looking over at everything that occurred.
"There have been reports of demons attacking some nearby trains. As a result, one of you Hashira will have to be sent to take a look." Ubuyashiki explained.
"I think I'll be willing to take the mission, sir!" The Flame Pillar, Kyojura Rengoku had spoken out.
"Ah, Rengoku, what a nice offer you have decided to take, I guess I'll let you go to the Mugen Train. However, I do wish you would go alongside some other individuals." Ubuyashiki explained.
"I'd be willing to go." The rest of the Hashira looked shocked, as their head turned to Giyu Tomioka.
"Why would YOU want to go?" Sanemi asked, clearly surprised about what Giyu had spoken out. "I liked it better when you were quiet…"
"Sanemi…" Kanae looked disappointed in Sanemi, who merely looked down,
"He can go for all I care…" Sanemi mumbled.
"As much as I'd allow you to go, Giyu, the crow talks of lower moons, therefore it would be best for only one Hashira to go. However, I wouldn't be against other demon slayers going to help Rengoku, but we just cannot send out the Hashira, for they are needed elsewhere." Ubuyashiki explained.
"No, that's fine." Giyu nodded, "Perhaps I can let Tanjirou and Nezuko go towards the Train…"
Giyu had already made plans to send his crow towards both Tanjirou and Nezuko for their next mission. He had hoped that they would be practicing and training as they were out.
"I am willing to go alongside Rengoku." Shinobu spoke out, "I'd also like for my tsuguko, Kanao to participate."
"How intriguing!" Rengoku explained, "I had already hired Inosuke and Zenitsu to come travel with me!"
"Is that so?" Shinobu asked, before she turned to Ubuyashiki, "Is that too much?"
Ubuyashiki shook his head, "I think this is a fine cast, you both should all be fine for this mission. Unless there's some form of opposition."
No one spoke of anything, however Kanae and Giyu were both a bit nervous for Shinobu to go out.
However, Giyu knew he had to do something. In particular, he knew he could rely on his tsuguko's for this, and so that was what he was going to do.
Once the Hashira meeting was over, he called his crow over.
While his crow was older and made more mistakes, he had made sure to write the messages that the crow was to deliver, instead of the crow having to say anything.
Giyu knew his crow was putting more effort into his job than what he should be. He felt quite bad, and so thought that he would at least try and make sure his crow wasn't overexerted as much as he was. The crow was already reaching it's older years, and thus would be a time before Giyu would have to get a new crow.
For now, Giyu began to write a letter, meant to Tanjirou and Nezuko to head to the Mugen Train district to help defend some Hashira, and to kill the demons Ubuyashiki had discussed about.
Once that was done, all Giyu did was look up, wondering if Tanjirou and Nezuko were doing okay. For the time being, he was going to rest, or maybe train. He wasn't sure.
A.N / Chapter 18 done! Next chapter will be the start of the Mugen Train Arc. Honestly, I don't know if I'll be able to write something as complicated as this, but we'll see. For now, enjoy this prelude to it, as I do plan to bring new characters. I've decided to keep some of the lower moons alive to work together, because one, it makes for a more interesting fighting scene, and two, it makes for a more interesting arc. I didn't necessarily like how Muzan just killed almost all of the lower moons, when they each could have been gone in a specific arc.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, somewhat not as intense, but more of a calm before the storm.
Character Profile:
Enmu: Male, unknown age.
- Status: Alive, Demon
- Height: 5'6" (168cm)
- Weight: 137Ibs
Rokuro: Male, unknown age.
- Status: Dead, Demon
- Height: 5'8" (172cm)
- Weight: 150Ibs
Wakuraba: Male, unknown age.
- Status: Alive, Demon
- Height: 5'5" (165cm)
- Weight: 130Ibs
Mukago: Female, unknown age.
- Status: Alive, Demon
- Height: 5'3" (160cm)
- Weight: 125Ibs
Kamanue: Male, unknown age,
- Status: Dead, Demon
- Height: 5'10" (178cm)
- Weight: 167Ibs