Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. I decided to continue this story, so, here it is the twenty second chapter!
Giyuu stopped in front of the enormous lake that was in his room at the Infinite Palace. From the surface of the crystal-clear waters, a school of piranhas could be seen swimming peacefully.
The demon smiled a little and leaned slightly to get a better look at the fish. "Feeding time~," Giyuu sang as he threw small parts of the last human he had hunted into the water.
The blood clouded the water, but the piranhas reacted immediately and, like mad creatures, they lunged to devour their meal. This made the demon's smile widen a bit as he watched the voracious animals leaving no trace of their food.
He didn't even pay attention to the sound of the bedroom door opening. Sanemi peeked in and rolled his eyes at what Giyuu was doing. "Seriously?" Giyuu looked at him and raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding what he meant by that, causing the other demon to suppress a growl of exasperation. "You had a thing for keeping dogs forty years ago, need I remind you?"
"Mitsuri loved them," the other demon defended himself immediately, "and so did Kyojuro."
"Do I need to remind you how that ended?"
Giyuu let out a sigh of resignation. "You didn't have to remind me of that," he protested, "although I hope those humans knew how to take care of them properly."
"And how long do you plan to keep these animals?"
"Well, until they die or until I get bored," Giyuu said, shrugging. "I haven't really thought about it, to be honest."
Sanemi grumbled a bit. "At least Kagaya knows, right?"
Giyuu simply stayed silent, looking at him as the only response. Sanemi nodded, serious.
"What did you come here for?" the blue-eyed demon wanted to know. "Because I highly doubt it was for my piranhas."
"Do I need an excuse to spend time with my partner?" Sanemi asked, frowning a bit. "The thing is, I'm going to see Genya. Would you like to come with me?"
"Sure," Giyuu replied immediately as he stepped away from the water's surface. He approached Sanemi and gently took his right hand. "Should we go now?"
The platinum blond-haired demon blushed deeply and looked down at their intertwined hands. "Y-Yes, of course," he stammered, embarrassed.
Giyuu laughed playfully and looked at him affectionately. Sanemi couldn't help but be captivated by the beautiful smile adorning his partner's face.
"Let's go then," Giyuu said, not erasing the smile from his lips. Sanemi, who had realized he was being teased, protested a bit when his partner tugged him, although he didn't resist too much.
Genya was trying to force a smile of happiness, but it was proving harder than he would have liked. His brother and his brother's partner had suddenly shown up at Tamayo's house, and now the four of them were gathered in the living room. As usual, Yushiro had refused to come out of his room, and Tamayo didn't insist on it.
"Genya," Sanemi called him out harshly. The boy, who had been lost in his thoughts, abruptly raised his head and looked at him.
"Yes?" he asked. He felt relieved to realize that his voice hadn't trembled or betrayed how he felt.
"I would like you to come with us to the Infinite Palace," Sanemi said, fixing his eyes on the young boy. And this time, Genya couldn't help but shiver. He tried to think of a credible excuse that wouldn't offend or hurt his brother, but Sanemi kept talking. "There are demons your age there, you know?"
Giyuu, noticing that he didn't seem convinced, decided to intervene. "You don't have to live there," he began, receiving a look of incredulity from Sanemi, "but you should visit the Infinite Palace more often, you know?"
Genya swallowed hard and lowered his head. "I know, but..."
Giyuu softened his expression and firmly held Sanemi's left hand. When the other demon looked at him, frowning, Giyuu gently shook his head.
"If you don't feel comfortable, we won't force you to live there with everyone," Giyuu insisted calmly, smiling slightly to encourage him. "But, as Sanemi said, there are demons your age. And it would be good for you to at least interact with them a bit."
Genya averted his gaze when he noticed all three adults looking at him. He slightly clenched his fists and raised his head, forcing a fake smile. "It's not a bad idea, I can try," he said, swallowing hard. "I know I'm going to regret this, but do I have another option?" He glanced at his older brother and noticed that, for once, he was genuinely smiling.
"Thank you, I'm sure you won't regret it," Giyuu said, taking the lead. Sanemi nodded enthusiastically, and Tamayo smiled happily.
"Changing the subject, is everything alright out there?" Tamayo asked, curious. "Is everything going well with Tanjiro? Has he adapted well?"
"Yes, perfectly," Giyuu replied. "He already has a demon blood technique." Tamayo smiled upon hearing that, but the other demon continued speaking. "And Kagaya has given him the rank of Lower Moon Zero."
"I'm glad to hear that," Tamayo replied.
Genya was hardly paying attention to the conversation now. "I hope they leave soon," he thought impatiently, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. It was only five in the morning; there were at least two more hours until sunrise. Too much time.
"We managed to kill Kanae's killer," Sanemi said, a fierce smile crossing his face at the memory.
"It was Kyojuro and Tengen who did it," Giyuu clarified, but the satisfaction was evident in Tamayo's eyes, who was smiling cruelly.
"Did they make that bastard suffer?" she asked.
"Yes, of course," Sanemi declared. "He didn't deserve anything less."
"Good," Tamayo said, smiling even more contentedly.
Genya shivered and glanced at them. "I don't understand, how can they enjoy killing others so much?" He was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable; he had also cherished Kanae a lot, but would she have wanted something like this?
Nezuko sighed, bored. The four of them were still in Kokushibo's house, waiting for the demon to return from the meeting with the leader and the other Pillars. Before leaving, Kokushibo had been adamant about one thing: he wanted them to wait there until he came back. None of them had the courage to disobey such a clear order.
"Do we really have to stay here just like that?" Rui asked for the thousandth time, sprawled on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.
"How many times do I have to tell you that we can't disobey a Pillar?" Kaigaku retorted, just as frustrated as he was.
"He must have his reasons," Enmu added, taking a bite of one of the grapefruits they had bought that morning at a nearby village market. "It's so delicious!" he exclaimed with a smile.
"I'm sure Kokushibo didn't say it for no reason," Nezuko agreed, looking at her friends. "I trust him."
"We got it already," Kaigaku snapped in a bad mood. "How many times have you repeated it?"
She furrowed her brow but didn't engage in an argument. "Do you think we have enough money to buy the camera?"
"Well... I'd have to check," Enmu admitted immediately, as he was in charge of managing their savings and was keeping track of the amount.
"Really?" Rui asked, interested, sitting up and looking at them.
"Yes," Enmu confirmed. "If we don't have it already, we shouldn't be far from having enough."
"I can't wait to have one," Rui murmured, smiling a little.
At that moment, the door opened, and Rui quickly sat up while the other three looked in that direction. Kokushibo walked in and relaxed upon seeing the four of them there. He observed them, serious, and approached them.
"Hello, Kokushibo!" Nezuko exclaimed, smiling cheerfully. Kokushibo stared at her intently, but the girl didn't let herself be intimidated by his penetrating gaze.
"Can we talk in private, Nezuko?"
The girl, not expecting that, nodded curiously. Ignoring the concerned looks her friends were giving her, she followed the demon.
"Is something wrong?" Nezuko asked tensely, looking at the Moon Pillar, concerned.
They were in Kokushibo's study. The demon, who had just closed the door, turned and looked at her seriously.
"I have something to propose to you," the demon said, getting straight to the point. "Would you like to be my successor?"
"Eh?" Nezuko looked at him confused, thinking she must have misheard. It had to be that, yes. There wasn't any other option.
"I'm asking if you would like to be my successor," Kokushibo repeated patiently.
"It's a great honor, but... are you sure I'm up to something like that?"
"Do you think I would propose it if I didn't think so?" the demon asked, crossing his arms and looking at her sternly.
"No, I suppose not," Nezuko murmured. "Thank you very much, Kokushibo. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you don't regret it."
"I'm sure I won't regret it," Kokushibo said seriously. "But, Nezuko, I don't want you to tell anyone about this."
"Not even my friends?" Nezuko asked, frowning, unhappy to hear that.
"Do you trust them?" the demon asked, suspiciously.
"Of course!" Nezuko exclaimed energetically.
Kokushibo sighed a bit and reluctantly nodded. "But make sure you tell them not to mention it to anyone."
"Kokushibo, why can't anyone know about this?"
"It's not safe, for now, the fewer people who know, the better. Is that clear?"
Nezuko, although not fully understanding it all, nodded.
"From now on, I'll go with you on the missions assigned to you," the Moon Pillar told her, relaxing a bit.
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