Chapter 1

Once again... the same dream repeated itself.

It had the same pattern. A never-ending hallway with doors on both sides. Dim, reddish lights illuminated the floor and adjacent walls. Same dream with same pattern, same responses from Shinobu who only hastened her pace and decided to open door after door.

All of them, however, opened the same red tapestry room with nothing inside. All except the last door, the one at the end, near the darkness. When Shinobu touched the handle of this one, unlike the others, a chill ran down her back, "It's freezing." She thought as she turned it slowly. The warm reddish light illuminated the floor and the shadows were marked effusively on the walls, the cold of the room hit against the ex-hashira's pale face. But nothing was as strong as the tingling she felt when she met him. His rainbow-colored eyes, the same ones for which he had been proclaimed as the special child, were staring at her from the back of the room. Impassive as always, Doma was sitting on his throne.

-Welcome Shonibu-san! You took a little longer this time.- he said, while a wide smile formed on his face.

She stood still, looking at him, analyzing the disadvantageous situation she was in. Standing in the middle of the room with the same clothes she had worn to bed, facing the demon who had been killed with the help of Kanao and Inosuke, without a weapon and completely defenseless. Was it her mind playing a trick on her, making her relive the encounter against her worst enemy over and over again? She furrowed her brow a bit, but before she could react, his face was only inches away from hers. Doma had crouched down to be at eye level with her. Shinobu felt small in front of his imposing body and remembered with helplessness the exact moment he absorbed her into his body as if she were a small doll.

"Hey hey Shonibu-san, did you come to keep me company, right?" Doma took her chin between his fingers, lifting it slightly and thus forcing her to look directly into his eyes. "You know, I'm surprised at how small you are," he murmured with amusement as he looked at her penetratingly.

Shinobu furrowed her brow, but her self-defense mechanism was activated instantly. A small smile appeared on the raven-haired woman's face, and she managed to spit out the words with hatred.

"Remember who finished you off, demon."

His eyes opened amused and a twisted smile formed on his face. She could feel how his touch became firmer against her skin; she was ready for an attack. She knew that someone like him wouldn't hesitate to kill her or eat her alive, he did it once anyway. It would be a feast for him. "Will it hurt?" She asked herself. Everything felt so real. She was aware that it was a dream, but she couldn't understand why it felt so real and why it repeated itself. That seal of number 2 was no longer tattooed in her eyes, which made the majestic color of his gaze more penetrating.

The attack never came, instead Doma slid the same fingers with which he had her by the chin, now by her neck, his long nails intensely puncturing the ex-hashira's soft skin. The rage that impregnated Shinobu's body made her step back abruptly, and although she didn't consider herself the physically strongest hashira, she didn't hesitate to raise her fists as her only defense tool.

That image of a small woman, in sleepwear, relatively wet loose hair, furrowed brow, and raised fists, seemed adorable to Doma, who now looked at her with voracious desire.

"Shinobu-san, the last thing I want to do is fight. I was waiting for you to make love to me," he babbled like an offended child.

"What-?" Her purple eyes opened in amazement.

"Isn't that what people in love do, Shinobu-san?" He dragged the words. But the most surprising thing for her was the fact that he didn't seem to be joking, those were legitimate questions.

"How did you come to the conclusion that we are in love?" The ex-hashira's amazed face now filled with confusion. But she needed to know what was the logic behind his reasoning.

"You break my heart..." Doma pretended to hold his chest. "...I declared my love to you before I died. I like you Shinobu-san, I want to have you for myself for all eternity."

"You killed my sister..." she murmured.

"That's unfortunate. But if you look on the bright side, I didn't eat her."

"Are you serious?"

Doma approached once again, this time he didn't use his speed, he just took a step towards her.

Shinobu's pale face was stunned and confused when Doma took it in his hands.

"Shinobu-san, you are a majestic creature and I have desired you since the moment I ate you." He murmured just inches from her mouth, dragging every word with his tone of amusement and calmness. "However... I'm worried about how small your body is, I wonder if I won't hurt you when we make love."

Every drop of her blood started boiling with rage, she felt her stomach convulsing and helplessness filled her mouth with insults. She pushed him with all her strength, managing to distance herself a little from the male body, that same force made her body destabilize and fall to the ground, she saw him again with fury. The demon was in front of her, impassive, with broad shoulders and an imposing height. "It's a dream, just a dream," she told herself and the only way to wake up is to ….She dug her nails into the palms of her hands at the same time that they were clenched into fists.

Everything turned somber... the impassive figure began to look distorted. And all she could hear was a "See you soon."

She woke up agitated, sitting abruptly on her bed, her hand soothing her chest and her uncontrollable breathing. It was dawn, she could distinguish the sun's rays coming through the curtains of the doors.

Her breathing regulated accordingly, she calmed down and remembered that she was in the butterfly mansion.

Just 2 months ago, something unpredictable had happened. Shinobo Kocho, the fallen ex-hashira in the last battle against Muzan, had come back to life. No one could explain it. A girl from a nearby village found her body, Shinobu was cold, naked, and completely lost. The girl took her to her family, they gave her clothes, food, and a place to stay. In a matter of a couple of days, the girl was identified as the ex-hashira.

Shinobu moved to the mansion and was under the strict care of Aoi, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho. The first nights were the hardest for the mansion's inhabitants, seeing the ex-hashira fall into a deep sleep. Kanao sat by her side every night, waiting for her quick recovery.

Kocho was strong. In the first month, she regained her memory. In the second month, she started training again. The demon slayer were no longer active. But having free time after losing so many loved ones gave way to thoughts and sadness, she wanted to stay busy.

She wondered, daily, how she had come back to life. Why her and not the others. She felt guilty, thinking that perhaps if the world had any of her fallen comrades back, it would be much more pleasant than having her. She didn't share these thoughts with anyone. They were hers, and hers alone.

She had decided to do good and help. Training would keep her combat skills sharp and she could fight crime in nearby villages, after all that's what all the slayers did and the crime rate had decreased incredibly.

She got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. She could hear the birds singing outside. Now standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she looked at herself.

For a few days now, she has been dreaming of Doma. The dream seems to extend and more things happen. First it was the hallway, then it was the hallway and seeing him in that dark room. Today it was having a conversation with him. A chill ran down her body as she remembered his words.

"Is Doma somehow connected to all of this?" she wondered. Impossible, he was dead. Even in her dreams, he no longer had the number 2 tattooed in his eyes. But every dream seemed real, and in each one, he seemed to be waiting for an encounter with her. Shinobu let out a loud growl, she had a very bad feeling.

"Kocho-san, breakfast is ready."

"Thank you, Aoi, I'll be there in a moment." She said gently as she walked out of the bathroom

"This also arrived." A letter.

"It's signed by Ubuyashiki." Shinobu took the later in her hands and furrowed her brow slightly. Something was wrong.

In someone's dream...

A delicate and trembling hand turns the same doorknob that Shinobu opened a few hours ago.

The dim light of the room reveals the facets of the woman, with beautiful emerald eyes, long black hair, a slender build, and pale skin. The small-bodied woman enters the room slowly, seeming to be afraid, trembling and ashamed.

"I'm sorry to bother you," her soft and gentle voice would not be heard by a normal ear. But Doma was not normal, he heard and savored the fear.

"Please come in. Poor little soul, tell me, what troubles you?" His lips licked in the darkness.