Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. I decided to continue this story, so, here it is the fourteenth chapter!

Nezuko quietly followed her companions. She had finally fully recovered from her injury, and the first mission hadn't taken long to arrive. It seemed fairly simple. A group of demons had settled near a village and were using it as their hunting grounds.

In appearance, it was a straightforward mission. Go, kill those demons, and then head to one of the demon hunter bases in the region. These were strategic points where they spent time while receiving missions. They were usually located in provincial capitals or heavily populated cities.

"Nezuko, focus!" Kaigaku's exasperated voice brought Nezuko back to reality. She blinked a couple of times and couldn't help but smile uncomfortably.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought about the mission," she apologized.

"Why? It's nothing out of the ordinary," Kaigaku remarked, rolling his eyes.

"It's still our first mission," Nezuko pointed out. She glanced at the other two boys. "Aren't you guys nervous?"

"A little," Rui admitted at that moment. "Although I'm excited to see other places too, don't you think?"

"Well, it's true that we'll be moving around, possibly throughout Japan," Enmu acknowledged, smiling a little. He brought his hand to his chin, thoughtful, and looked at his three companions while sporting a smile. "I just had an idea! How about we buy a camera with our first pay?"

"Will we have enough money?" Nezuko asked, doubtful. She didn't know how much something like that would cost. Wasn't it a luxury item?

"If I remember correctly, the salary for Mizunoto is three thousand five hundred yen," Kaigaku recalled. "But, anyway, why would we want a camera, Enmu?"

"Well, to have a memory of every place we visit, of course," Enmu said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't you think it's a good idea?"

Rui's eyes sparkled with excitement upon hearing that. "It's a great idea, I think it's awesome."

"As good of an idea as it may be, I won't deny that spending our first pay on that seems excessive," Kaigaku intervened, serious. They had to be realistic about it. "You have to consider that there will be extra expenses that we might not foresee."

Nezuko, feeling bad seeing the disappointed faces of Enmu and Rui, spoke up at that moment. "And why don't we save little by little?" she suggested.

Her words had an immediate effect, Enmu and Rui smiled again, enthusiastic that Enmu's idea hadn't been completely dismissed.

"We could save five hundred yen each month from each pay," Enmu suggested, excited. "And take the opportunity to look at different camera models. What do you think?" he asked. Nezuko and Rui nodded immediately, happy.

Kaigaku rolled his eyes again, resigning himself. The others didn't seem willing to give in, but at least they had taken his advice into account. "Something is better than nothing," he thought, silently observing as the three engaged in a lively conversation about trivial things.

He had to admit, although he would never say it out loud, that the idea wasn't bad. It was true that as demon slayers, they would be visiting many places. Having memories of all those adventures sounded nice. He gave a small smile and quickened his pace to catch up with his companions.

Muzan observed the doctor in front of him with a furrowed brow and an irritable expression. He had a fever the previous night, and his wife had contacted the man to attend to him.

"I'm feeling better now," Muzan snapped, barely containing his anger. The doctor, an older man named Ichiro, sighed resignedly and turned to look at Hitomi, who had just entered the bedroom carrying a small tray with a teacup for the guest.

"Thank you very much," Ichiro took the cup and took a small sip. Then, under the penetrating gaze of the woman, he continued speaking. "Your husband's condition is still weakening, I'm afraid," he delivered the bad news that the woman had feared.

"Can you not talk about me as if I'm not here?" Muzan clenched his fists tightly. Hitomi gave him an indifferent look and focused her attention back on the doctor.

"Should he continue with the medication you recommended last time?"

The doctor cleared his throat uncomfortably but nodded. "Yes, that's best. However, if you notice any of the side effects I mentioned, let me know, and I'll change the treatment."

"I will," assured the woman, flashing a smile that was clearly insincere. The doctor placed the cup back on the tray and stood up, distancing himself from the sick man.

"I would like to conduct a more thorough examination, but..."

"You must be very busy, don't worry," Hitomi quickly excused him. "I'll walk you to the door." Muzan watched them leave while frowning, annoyed. He looked at the wall and once again clenched his fists tightly. He closed his eyes and let out a growl. He observed his hands, much of the back of them had acquired a reddish hue, an unmistakable sign that the curse weighing on his family continued to spread through his body with each passing day.

He averted his gaze from his hands and focused on the wall in front of him. It wasn't just his health that had worsened; his relationship with Hitomi had become more bitter. The woman had stopped insisting on eating together, and Muzan hadn't insisted on maintaining that habit either. He usually ate in his study, where he spent most of his time, and then Hitomi would come and take the tray when she finished eating with Ayumi.

But this, this display in front of a stranger, was too much. "What are you thinking, Hitomi!?" frustrated, Muzan thought. They had to appear as a united family, not air their problems in such a manner. He turned his gaze towards the door when he heard it open. Hitomi peeked in and looked at him again with that indifference in her eyes.

"It's time for your medicine," she said, approaching the bedside table and taking a small brown bottle filled with transparent liquid from a small box.

"What was all that earlier, Hitomi!?" Muzan snapped, abruptly sitting up, but in doing so, all he accomplished was provoking a fit of coughing. Hitomi approached him and helped him lie back down.

"You shouldn't exert yourself like that," the woman said. "You'll only make your health worse."

"Answer my question, woman!"

Hitomi's face hardened at that, and she distanced herself from him as if Muzan himself were contagious. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, unfazed.

"Don't give me nonsense, you know I can't stand it, Hitomi," the man demanded, tense. Hitomi silently held his gaze.

"I haven't done anything," she insisted, serious. "Am I not taking care of you as I should as your wife?"

Muzan furrowed his brow, and the veins on his forehead began to show deeply. The argument would have continued if Ayumi hadn't arrived at that moment. The girl peeked in and, seeing the serious expressions on her parents' faces, looked at them with concern.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No, of course not, sweetheart," Hitomi responded, sweetening her voice and adopting a more relaxed expression. "Would you like to help me with some things around the house?" Ayumi glanced at her father, hesitating, but Hitomi took her right hand. "Come on, your father needs to rest, you know that." Without giving Ayumi a chance to respond, she led the girl out of the bedroom, leaving Muzan alone.

Kaigaku let out a sigh. They had made significant progress that day, but they were still far from reaching their destination, so when night fell, they had been forced to seek shelter in the village they were passing through.

Fortunately for them, there was a wisteria house in that settlement, and they had decided to spend the night there. The two people who lived there, a middle-aged couple, had welcomed them kindly and, after providing them with something to eat, had offered them futons to sleep on. The boys would share the same room while Nezuko had one to herself.

And at that moment, the three of them were lying down, looking up at the white ceiling of the bedroom.

"Do you think the demons will be difficult to defeat?" Rui asked, breaking the tranquility that had prevailed until then.

"Well, of course," Kaigaku responded immediately. "They wouldn't assign us to kill demons that are far beyond our level."

"Do you really think so?" the boy insisted, not entirely convinced. Enmu watched both of them, also waiting for Kaigaku's response.

"Of course, think about it. If they are really short on personnel, as Enmu said, do you think they would risk sending inexperienced soldiers on a mission that's too big for them?"

"Well, when you put it that way... I suppose you're right, Kaigaku," Rui admitted. "But I can't help but feel nervous..."

"Rui, don't forget that there are four of us. We'll manage just fine, you'll see," Enmu tried to encourage him.

"..."

"We should sleep," Kaigaku interrupted Rui, and the boy closed his mouth, slightly annoyed. He furrowed his brow, but the Thunder Breathing user ignored him. "Tomorrow we have to wake up at dawn. I'm sure Nezuko has already fallen asleep. And we can't lag behind."

"Goodnight," Rui said reluctantly, turning his back to the two boys and looking at the wall. He closed his eyes and didn't say anything more.

"Goodnight," the two boys repeated, and they also closed their eyes. Kaigaku settled comfortably on his futon and soon fell asleep.

Nezuko squirmed uncomfortably in her futon. She had woken up abruptly after having a nightmare. She covered her face with both hands and tried to push away the memories of that unpleasant dream. Her hair, which was loose as she slept and reached her waist, stuck to her forehead due to sweat.

Her brother was surrounded by other demons with distorted faces, to the point that Nezuko couldn't distinguish their features. The group of inhuman beings was feasting on the bodies of their unfortunate victims while Nezuko, present in that nightmare, could only watch. She had tried to scream, to move, but her body hadn't responded at any moment. She hadn't even had the luxury of closing her eyes to avoid seeing it all.

"It wasn't real, Nezuko. Calm down," she told herself while attempting to normalize her breathing. She looked toward the window, the moonlight entering the room and illuminating it softly. The girl stood up and leaned out a little, silently gazing at the lunar orb. "What are you doing now, Tanjiro? Have you become a monster like the other demons?" That thought was the one that terrified her the most. Something that, no matter how much she wanted, she could never completely banish from her mind. "And what will I do if that's the case? Will I be able to kill you if we meet?" She knew well what the answer should be. Yes, she had to do it. But it made her stomach churn. However much of a demon he was, he was still her older brother, the only family she had left.

She hadn't even been able to talk to Kaigaku and the others about Tanjiro. Although she attributed that to not having known them for very long. Perhaps, when she got to know them better and had more trust, she would do it. "Yes, someday, I will. I will tell them about Tanjiro," she promised herself in that moment.

She let out a small sigh and moved away from the window. She approached the futon, and her eyes stopped at the crescent-shaped hairpin. She had left it to the right of the futon. She picked it up and examined it with some affection. She lay down on the futon, still wearing the hair accessory, and sighed. Despite the time that had passed, a part of her refused to even consider the possibility of having to kill her brother.

She set the hairpin aside and took a deep breath. If she kept thinking about all that, she would eventually be unable to fall asleep again, and the last thing she wanted was for Kaigaku to scold her for not having slept well. She had no doubt that he would if necessary. She closed her eyes and, using the relaxation exercises that Kokushibo had taught her, she tried to keep her mind completely blank.

It took them almost a week to reach the village where their mission was located. The place, a fishing area, turned out to be farther than they had originally anticipated. The rain that caught them on their second day of travel didn't help their progress either, but finally, they had managed to arrive.

The sun was shining brightly that day, but it wasn't unpleasant. Nezuko looked around, curious about the houses. They were all lined up in a straight row, and from what she could see, they had walkways leading to the sea. She also noticed small boats in most of the houses.

Rui looked around with great interest. He had a small smile on his face, and everything seemed to catch his attention. Kaigaku, on the other hand, kept his head down and didn't seem very comfortable. He quickened his pace and walked ahead of the other boys.

"Is something wrong, Kaigaku?" Enmu asked, confused.

"No, it's nothing," the boy dismissed immediately, fixing his gaze ahead. The other hunters exchanged a perplexed look and shrugged. "We should reach the wisteria house in this village as soon as possible," Kaigaku said, serious.

"Yes, I suppose," Nezuko murmured. "But are you sure you're okay?"

"I said there's nothing wrong!"

"Okay, fine, but there's no need to get like that," Nezuko protested, deciding not to insist further.

Kaigaku relaxed a bit when they arrived at the wisteria house, and the fisherman who lived there let them in. He was a young man with rough expressions but turned out to be quite kind and attentive.

"Can we ask you something?" Nezuko wanted to know when their host brought them a plate of freshly fried fish.

"Sure, what is it?" the man asked, sitting across from them.

"We would like to know if you have any information about the demons we came to hunt."

The man let out a sigh, and the welcoming smile on his lips disappeared. "It all started about a month ago," he began. "Some fishermen who returned late from the sea disappeared without a trace."

"But they could have perished at sea," Enmu immediately objected, furrowing his brow.

"That's what we thought at first. Until their bodies were found in a nearby forest," the man continued. "And nobody goes near that place. So, it's impossible that they went there voluntarily."

"For any specific reason?" Kaigaku insisted, confused.

"When I was a child, a wealthy couple built a Western-style mansion in that forest. They were a rather eccentric couple, rarely seen in the area except when the woman came to buy some fish."

The boys looked at each other, confused and unsure of what all that had to do with the demons they had come to hunt, but the man continued his story.

"After several weeks, she was never seen again, so the parents of some of my friends went to see what was happening, worried," he recounted. "They found the woman dismembered and her husband hanging, with his clothes and hands covered in blood."

"Are you saying he killed her and took his own life?"

The man nodded with evident sorrow. "After such an act, we considered that house cursed, and nobody has approached it since. But vile creatures like demons wouldn't have a problem seeking shelter in such a place."

"We'll have to go take a look," Kaigaku said, getting up. The others followed suit, serious.

"Please be very careful, that place is cursed, it only attracts misfortune."

"Don't worry, we'll be back," Nezuko tried to reassure him. "For now, we'll just survey the area and locate the house you told us about."

"I'll pray for you and for the success of your mission," the man said. His expression of concern never faded, and he silently accompanied them to the door of the house.

He stood at the door, watching as the four demon hunters headed towards the forest.

"Please, Buddha, protect those boys," the man murmured, closing his eyes. "Don't let anything bad happen to them."

"Do you really believe that building is cursed?" Rui asked excitedly.

"I highly doubt it," Kaigaku responded skeptically. "People in small towns tend to be superstitious and believe anything."

Nezuko furrowed her brow upon hearing that, her face reflecting her displeasure. She pressed her lips tightly together and stared ahead in silence.

"They probably just wanted to keep children away," Enmu chimed in. "Stories like that are usually created for that purpose. But who knows, maybe it is indeed a cursed place."

"We'll find out when we get there," Kaigaku said, rolling his eyes, annoyed by the gullibility of the other two boys.

"I don't think he was lying to us," Enmu insisted. "He seemed genuinely scared."

"They're just rumors from superstitious people who believe anything," Kaigaku added insensitively. "I don't believe in curses or ghosts," he excused himself upon realizing how the others were looking at him. "They simply aren't real."

Nezuko was about to say something, but as she looked ahead, she had to duck to avoid being hit by a low-hanging branch from a nearby tree.

"Look, there it is," Enmu pointed out, coming to a stop.

There, in front of them, stood a huge two-story mansion. It must have been a beautiful place in the past, but at that moment, the ravages of time and damage were evident. Many of the windows were broken, and vegetation grew uncontrollably in what should have been a garden. A rusty metal fence prevented them from accessing the property.

"We'll have to climb over," Kaigaku murmured, examining it.

"It won't be difficult," Rui said confidently.

"Well, it does seem like a cursed place," Nezuko whispered, stopping in front of the iron bars of the gate. Her hair stood on end, and she was convinced that the temperature had dropped considerably in that place.

"Considering the condition of the house, I'm surprised demons would use it as a hideout," Kaigaku confessed, stopping next to the girl.

"Perhaps it has a basement?" Rui questioned thoughtfully.

"That's quite possible," Enmu agreed. "What do we do now?"

"I suggest we stay here and keep watch until nightfall," Nezuko said. The idea of having to climb that fence didn't appeal to her, and she preferred to avoid it.

"But we would have the advantage now," Rui protested.

"Do you think so?" Kaigaku asked, furrowing his brow. "If we enter now to attack, we'll be in trouble. First, they will hear us before we even get there. Second, the basement will be pitch dark, and we probably won't see them at first. But they will see us. We would become an easy target."

Rui pouted in disappointment but nodded without protesting. "I hadn't thought about all of that."

"Then it's decided, right? We'll wait here until nightfall."

"Yes!"

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