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

Muzan glared at Ume. The girl remained kneeling, her gaze fixed on the ground, trying to contain the anger and sadness she felt at that moment, although she wasn't having much success.

The leader of the Corps had called for an emergency meeting of the Pillars as soon as he learned what had happened in Hokkaido, and since Ume was the only one available to attend, she was also summoned to tell them everything.

"Well?" Muzan asked, crossing his arms.

Ume swallowed and quickly tried to organize her thoughts. "I think... I think it was an ambush," the girl confessed. "According to my brother, one of the demons told him that their sole objective was to kill the Ice Pillar."

"How many demons were there?" Muzan continued interrogating her, showing no hint of sorrow for the death of his subordinate.

"I can't give an exact number," Ume admitted, clenching her fists. "We ended up separating, but from what I was told, I know there were at least three Lower Moons and one Upper Moon."

"And what happened?"

Ume swallowed again before continuing. Feeling the stares of everyone present fixed on her was only making her more nervous, but she couldn't protest about it. "We fought, but we ended up being overwhelmed by those demons," the girl reluctantly admitted.

"Are you telling me that despite having two squads and two Pillars, you couldn't kill a single demon?" Muzan spat, glaring at Ume, who trembled and didn't have the courage to raise her head.

The young woman didn't answer. The response was, after all, quite evident. Kokushibo cleared his throat at that moment, attracting attention to himself.

"Shall we organize a search team to locate the Wind Pillar?" the demon wanted to know. Because from the battlefield, only Douma's remains had been recovered, but there was no trace of Hantengu.

Muzan growled slightly and shook his head. "We don't have enough human resources for that. And it's very likely that Hantengu is dead by now."

Ayumi, who was also present at the meeting, looked at her father confused. She was surprised by his refusal.

"What this has shown is that the troops' level is very low," Managi commented, somewhat acerbic. "I can understand that a squad of Mizunotos can't confront one or several Lower Moons. But if I recall correctly, yours is composed of four Kinoes, right?"

Ume clenched her teeth before responding tersely, "Yes." She thought to herself, "I don't want to be here any longer," glancing sideways at the leader, waiting for him to give her permission to leave. But Muzan remained silent, observing her intently, and Ume couldn't help but shudder.

"I think she has told us everything we needed to know," Muzan declared, grimacing in displeasure without taking his eyes off Ume. He clapped his hands twice, and a kakushi arrived running. He hurriedly knelt before the Pillars and the leader of the Corps, and ignoring Ume's feeble protests, he carried the girl on his back and left.

Susamaru stopped in front of Ume's bedroom door and pressed her right ear against it. She could faintly hear her friend crying. Ume had been locked in there since she had returned from the Pillars' meeting the previous day. The demon slayer let out a sigh when she noticed the tray near the door.

She had brought it herself the day before, but Ume hadn't touched a single bite. Susamaru looked at the door with concern and, after hesitating for a moment, tapped the door twice with her knuckles. There was silence for a few seconds until Ume's somewhat hoarse voice was heard.

"Yes? Who is it?"

"It's me, Susamaru," the girl said, placing her left hand on the doorknob. "I'm going to come in, okay?"

"No!" her companion's sudden exclamation made Susamaru pause, but she didn't give up.

"Ume, please," she insisted. "You haven't come out since yesterday, and you haven't eaten anything..."

"I'm fine," Ume replied, but she didn't fool Susamaru in the slightest. The demon slayer furrowed her brow slightly, even more worried. Hearing her friend so downcast was not normal.

"Don't lie, Ume," Susamaru pleaded, not willing to give up so easily.

"...Susamaru, please," Ume implored, increasing the other girl's concern. "I need to be alone."

At that point, Susamaru had to bite her tongue to stop herself from insisting further. She looked at the heavy wooden door and reluctantly walked away. Perhaps Gyutaro would be able to convince Ume to come out of her self-imposed isolation. That's what Susamaru wanted to believe as she headed determinedly to the training room in the Eternal Paradise. She knew, thanks to Yahaba, that Gyutaro had been there since dawn.

"So, you want me to try talking to my sister?" Gyutaro asked, lowering his two sickles and looking at Susamaru with a serious expression. The girl nodded vigorously. "I can give it a try," the boy said, scratching his head with a finger from his right hand. "But I can't promise much. You know how Ume is."

Susamaru lowered her head upon hearing that, feeling sorry. "I brought her food yesterday, but she hasn't touched a bite. I'm... worried," the girl admitted. Gyutaro silently observed her. It was the first time he had seen Susamaru so disheartened. It was unlike her.

He sheathed his two sickles in the scabbards on his back and placed his right hand on the girl's shoulder. When she looked at him, surprised, he attempted a reassuring smile, although judging by her expression, he wasn't quite sure if he had achieved the desired effect.

"I'll do what I can, don't worry," Gyutaro assured her. Susamaru smiled faintly upon hearing that and watched him walk away.

Gyutaro went to his sister's room and, without bothering to knock on the door as a warning, he opened it and entered. He surveyed the room with his gaze; it was completely dark, with the windows tightly shut, blocking any light from entering. He let out a sigh and pressed the switch next to the door, illuminating the bulb in the ceiling lamp.

His sister, who had been in bed, completely covered by the sheets, immediately protested. "Turn off the light!" Ume shouted angrily.

Gyutaro sighed again and approached her. He forcefully pulled the sheets off and tossed them onto the floor haphazardly. Ume tried to cover herself again, but her older brother didn't allow it.

"You look terrible," the boy commented, taking note of his sister's appearance.

Ume's normally well-groomed and styled hair was completely disheveled, as if it hadn't been combed for several days. Her eyes, which always displayed a strong determination, were red and lifeless.

"Give me the sheets, Gyutaro," Ume requested, ignoring his previous comment.

"No," he replied.

"Gyutaro," the girl insisted, but her brother held onto her and sat beside her. He let out a sigh and observed Ume.

"What's wrong with you?"

Ume remained still and gave him a pained look. "What's wrong with me!?" she exclaimed, unleashing everything as if it were a volcanic eruption. "What's wrong with me is that Douma is dead! Doesn't that seem like enough to you!?"

At that moment, Gyutaro hugged her tightly. Ume rested her head on his right shoulder and began to cry intensely. The two of them stayed like that for a while, until slowly Ume stopped sobbing. She moved away slightly and looked at her brother, feeling ashamed.

"...I'm sorry... I don't know what happened to me earlier," she murmured.

"It's okay, Ume," Gyutaro said, wiping her eyes and removing some tears with a handkerchief. "There's nothing wrong with crying."

"But..." Ume protested, avoiding eye contact.

"I miss him too, you know?" Gyutaro interrupted her. Ume looked at him, surprised. Her brother's gaze had turned sad and melancholic.

"What are we going to do now?" Ume asked nervously.

"Move forward," Gyutaro replied immediately, without a hint of hesitation. "We owe it to him for getting us out of that place when we were kids."

Ume nodded. She remembered all of that vividly, despite the years that had passed. They wouldn't be where they were if it weren't for Douma. Gyutaro stood up and extended his hand to Ume, who took it firmly and also got out of bed.

"Thank you, brother," Ume said, smiling slightly.

"You're welcome," Gyutaro smiled too, relieved to see his sister in higher spirits. He knew that perhaps this conversation wouldn't be enough, but it was a start. "We should go back to Susamaru and Yahaba. They were quite worried about you."

Nezuko stared silently at herself in the mirror. She was completely naked in the bathroom, as she had been about to take a bath. Or so she intended until, by chance, she noticed the scars on her back. The entire area was red and somewhat wrinkled. She reached her left hand there and touched part of her scar.

She hissed in pain and quickly withdrew her hand. She sighed a little; her right arm was in a similar situation. It was the first time she had removed the bandages since they were applied to both affected areas.

"Don't think about it, Nezuko," she pleaded with herself and approached the bathtub. She carefully got in, but when her scars came into contact with the warm water, she couldn't help but hiss in pain again. She began to cleanse herself gently, following the advice given by the women who had attended to her. According to them, although the scars would become less noticeable, they would never completely disappear.

"And now what do I do?" the girl wondered as she soaped her body carefully, following the instructions she had been given. "What's supposed to happen now?" Although her friends' words managed to alleviate what she felt, the fact that her brother had tried to kill her remained. "Is killing Tanjiro really the only thing I can do for him?" she questioned herself. "I don't know if I'll be capable of it," she murmured to herself.

That was what worried her the most. The possibility of the previous scenario repeating itself. She had no doubt that Tanjiro would try to kill her, and she wasn't sure if she could do it. Kaigaku had advised her to think of her brother as just another demon they had to kill. He was no longer her brother; Tanjiro had died the moment he was tainted with the blood of the demon who turned him.

When she finished bathing, she gently dried herself off and patiently put on the new bandages she had been given earlier. Once both burns were properly covered, the girl put on the white pajamas and stepped out.

Ayumi sat up when she heard the infirmary door opening. The girl had decided to go to the Eternal Paradise to visit the wounded. And surprisingly, Kokushibo requested to accompany her. The most challenging part of it all had been convincing her father to allow her to go, something she achieved because they were in front of the Pillars, and refusing was not a favorable option for Muzan.

Nezuko, who had just entered, stood by the door, looking bewildered at the two of them. Ayumi smiled slightly and approached her with determination.

"It's been a while since we last met, Nezuko Kamado," the girl said as she stopped in front of her.

"You're the girl who presented the Final Selection!" Nezuko exclaimed, recognizing her quickly.

"That's right, my name is Ayumi Kibutsuji," the girl introduced herself. "I apologize for not introducing myself at that time."

"She's the daughter of Muzan Kibutsuji, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps," Kokushibo explained, approaching.

Nezuko looked at her in surprise and bowed slightly. "Pleasure to meet you! I apologize for my lack of manners!"

"I heard about what happened," Ayumi said, changing the subject and feeling a bit embarrassed by Nezuko's stance. "And I wanted to see how you are doing."

Nezuko looked away, unintentionally adopting a sad expression. "We're... fine. We came out alive," Nezuko murmured, unsure of what to say about it.

Ayumi looked at her with a hint of pity at that moment. "Not everyone can boast of having survived a battle against a Lower Moon as a Mizunoto," she remarked.

Nezuko looked away, not knowing how to respond to that. Fortunately for her, Kokushibo cleared his throat at that moment, drawing the attention of those present.

"Can we talk privately, Nezuko?" the demon requested. The girl nodded and followed him out of the room. Kokushibo observed her and softened his stern expression a bit. "What exactly happened?" he asked once they were far enough from the infirmary.

"My brother was among the demons who attacked us," Nezuko confessed, looking down at the ground. "He didn't recognize me." As she said that, she brought her left hand to her wounded arm and rested it on her elbow.

"He attacked you," Kokushibo deduced, serious.

"Yes, I tried to reason with him, but..." Nezuko took a breath before continuing. "It was in vain."

"And what do you plan to do about it?" Kokushibo wanted to know, fixing his three pairs of eyes on her. The girl clenched her fists and held his gaze. Although she tried to appear determined, the demon could see the shadow of doubt hiding in her eyes.

"There's only one thing I can do, right?" she replied.

"That's right, but I wonder if you'll truly be able to do it."

"I have to be," Nezuko concluded. As she said that, her voice trembled slightly, something that did not go unnoticed by her master.

"I hope, for your own sake, that you will."

"What do you think of what happened?" Ayumi asked, looking at the Moon Pillar with a serious expression. They were on their way to the Kibutsuji family mansion, and that question had been lingering in the girl's mind since she learned about what had occurred.

Kokushibo abruptly stopped and looked at her, curious. "What do you mean?"

"It's not normal for a squad of Mizunotos to be sent on such a complicated mission," Ayumi pointed out. "And I highly doubt it was a mistake."

"Her father must have had his reasons," Kokushibo said tersely, resuming his pace and walking faster. He looked ahead, his lips pressed tightly in a serious grimace.

Ayumi observed him thoughtfully. "Do you really think so? Like what?"

"It's not my place to try to find the reasons behind his orders," Kokushibo replied. "My only role is to fulfill them."

"I see," Ayumi said. "Although I admit that I would like to know my father's reasons."

Kokushibo glanced at her sideways, saying nothing.

"I will get to the bottom of all this," Ayumi promised herself at that moment.

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