Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. This story is a translation of another fanfic of mine. I hope you like it!
Rengoku hesitated in front of his house. He had decided to pay a visit to his family, but now that he was there, doubt invaded him and he remained rooted to the spot.
This wasn't like him, but after what had happened at that party, things had changed. He was more like his father than he would have liked.
He had promised himself not to drink alcohol again, but that fear didn't disappear, it just remained tucked away in a corner of his mind.
He sighed. He couldn't stay standing there forever. Summoning up courage he was far from feeling, he advanced towards the entrance and turned to head to the garden, hoping to find his father or his brother there. He hoped to see the latter; he didn't feel like confronting his father at the moment.
When he saw no one in the garden, he opted to enter the house, using the sliding door that led to the kitchen.
If he was lucky, his father would be getting drunk in some bar, but Kyojuro wasn't going to check whether he was there or not.
"Senjuro?" he asked, trying not to startle him, finding his brother's back turned to him as he tended to something on the stove.
The boy jumped and turned around, but quickly recovered upon seeing who it was and smiled.
"Kyojuro!" exclaimed the younger one, happy. The older brother sat in one of the chairs in the kitchen and looked at him, with poorly disguised concern.
"How are you?" Kyojuro asked directly.
"Fine," the younger one replied immediately, removing the pot from the stove. "Do you want some tea? I just heated up the water."
The man nodded and remained silent as his brother prepared everything. Had he been worrying too much? Senjuro seemed to be doing fine, but he wanted to make sure. "And father? How has he been?"
Senjuro sighed. In reality, the answer was quite obvious, but it was clear that his brother still needed to hear it. "He went out to buy more alcohol. I don't think he'll be gone for long."
"Senjuro, is everything really okay?" Kyojuro insisted.
The young man sighed a little before answering, "Brother, things have been bad for a long time." It was time to talk openly about everything. Pretending that everything was fine or that their father's behavior was normal for any longer would only harm them.
His words were able to silence the older brother, who opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to sort out his thoughts and find an answer. Senjuro wasn't going to let this conversation slip away any longer.
"But I'm sure Father will get better," Kyojuro decided, repeating that mantra.
"You know that's not true," the younger one rebuffed, finishing preparing the tea and handing one of the brown ceramic cups to his brother.
"Senjuro..."
"It's no use continuing to deceive yourself," he said. Perhaps he was being too harsh, but Kyojuro had to realize it once and for all.
"There has to be a way to make him come back," the Flame Hashira insisted, sounding almost desperate, as if he needed to cling to that belief.
"I'm sorry... you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved," Senjuro softened his tone, sympathizing somewhat with his brother.
Kyojuro looked at the cup, feeling a lump in his throat. He knew deep down that his younger brother was right, but giving up on his father didn't seem fair.
An awkward silence settled between them, but neither had the courage to break it and focused their attention on the tea.
Kanao ran as fast as she could, she had to find Sumiko and Nezuko as soon as possible. What she had discovered examining the scene of the last disappearance with the police worried her excessively. Not because she had found a grotesque scene upon arrival, it was the scarcity of blood, how clean that alley was, that had activated her alarms.
If, as she suspected, it was a demon of great power, if they were all together, they would have more chances of finding and defeating him before he continued killing.
She barely paid attention to the streets she passed, completely focused on getting to where she had left her friend.
It took her fifteen minutes, with the amount of people she had to dodge, it took longer than she would have liked, but she finally reached the area of the noodle stand.
She stopped abruptly, unsure how to react to what she saw. Sumiko had her katana unsheathed while her sister was ready to attack. In front of them was a man in a dark suit and pants. He was wearing a white hat. As he was facing away, Kanao couldn't see his face, but the oppressive aura he emanated betrayed what he was. A demon.
She tried to move, but her legs wouldn't respond, she was completely paralyzed. The longer she spent in the presence of that demon, the more afraid she felt. That overwhelming atmosphere was too much.
She tried to speak, to get the attention of the other two, but she couldn't even do that. It was the first time she had ever felt this way. She wanted to help, especially when she saw the demon calmly advancing towards the other two.
An aroma reached her nose at that moment and, increasing her discomfort, it was as if she suddenly couldn't see what was in front of her. Was that the blood technique of that demon? However, before she could process everything that was happening, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Let's go! We don't have much time!" a male voice hissed at her. Someone who had grabbed her began to run, dragging her along.
Yushiro stopped running when they reached a fairly remote area of the city. He glanced at the human demon hunter he had saved and let her go somewhat roughly, only because Tamayo asked him to.
He smiled a little when he saw the woman arrive and approached her. The woman held Nezuko and Sumiko's hands and seemed quite upset.
"Let's go in now, Yushiro," she asked, and turning to the three girls with a certain tone of apology, she added, "I'll explain everything calmly once we're safe," she promised.
That was how the five of them found themselves, barely five minutes later, in a Western-style living room.
It was a medium-sized room with a wooden table in the center and six chairs around it.
Several white wall lamps provided the necessary lighting.
"I'm sorry I was so abrupt earlier," the woman said. "My name is Tamayo," she introduced herself.
She was a woman with gentle features, not too tall, about the same height as Shinobu. She had dark hair tied up in a bun that highlighted her face. Her purple eyes overflowed with kindness.
"You're demons," Nezuko commented, looking at her saviors suspiciously. That made the other two tense up, because at first glance, they did not appear to be demons.
Tamayo sighed a little upon hearing that. "That's right, but we've been running from Muzan for some time," she confessed. Though it sounded difficult to believe, she wanted to tell the truth.
"And you expect us to believe that?" Nezuko retorted, once again ahead of the other two.
"How dare you doubt Lady Tamayo's word?!" the other demon, Yushiro, shouted, offended by the young woman's tone.
"Yushiro, please," the woman appeased him without losing her composure. "Please listen to us first."
Sumiko and Kanao exchanged a glance. Neither of them was entirely convinced, but it was true that they had been saved.
"The demon you encountered before," Tamayo explained, "was Muzan Kibutsuji."
Kanao widened her eyes upon hearing that name and waited a few seconds, expecting something, which did not go unnoticed by the woman.
"I've known how to counteract the curse for a long time," the woman explained, "as well as a way to subsist without needing to eat human flesh, although I need human blood." Seeing the expressions on the three's faces, she hurried to add, "I've been working as a doctor for a long time and I get the blood from voluntary donations."
"What curse?" Sumiko asked, confused. She had not heard about it before.
"The demons created by him cannot pronounce his name or reveal information, or they will die in a horrible way," Kanao clarified.
"Oh..." Sumiko didn't know what to say. It sounded excessively cruel. "But that doesn't explain why you helped us."
Tamayo looked up and fixed her eyes on the girl, paying special attention to her earrings and the mark on her forehead.
"The truth is, you reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago," she admitted. "Where did you get those earrings?"
Sumiko brought her right hand to her right ear and lovingly caressed the earring. "They're a family heirloom. Why?"
Tamayo smiled somewhat sadly but didn't answer the question. "We've been hiding from Muzan for a long time," she repeated. "Three centuries ago, thanks to certain modifications I made to my body, I was able to free myself from his control," she explained.
Nezuko looked at her, curious. Some time ago, when she was in that coma for two years, she had done something similar, so it wasn't, deep down, so hard to believe, although she didn't plan to admit it. Besides, that didn't mean they were trustworthy.
"I've been trying to create a cure for demons for a long time," Tamayo confessed, serious. "But to do that, I need blood from the Twelve Moons."
"And you want us to help you," Kanao understood immediately, to which Tamayo nodded. "Wouldn't it be better to ask the Pillars for that?" the girl asked, serious.
"Do you think they would listen to me?" the woman replied with another question. "Besides, I prefer to attract as little attention as possible, so I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."
Nezuko shifted uncomfortably. She had noticed the glimmer of hope that had appeared in her sister's eyes as soon as Tamayo mentioned the possibility of obtaining a cure. She understood it, but she wasn't sure if she wanted that, but it wasn't the time to talk about it, not in front of people she had just met.
"I'll do it," Sumiko decided. "If there's any way for Nezuko to become human again, I can't miss it."
"Thank you very much," said Tamayo and smiled.
Muzan was returning to the house where he was temporarily staying. He had done well to track those two down. Now he had a better idea of what he was up against. It had been so long since he had seen someone with that mark...
It could pose a problem in the future. He had almost solved it by trying to turn her into a demon too, but that meddlesome Tamayo had ruined everything.
He could send several people to track them down, but he doubted it would be successful. That woman had been evading him for almost five centuries. He was patient, so waiting a little longer to kill her and get what he desired was not a problem.
Furthermore, he had to consider that these two humans, Sumiko and the hunter accompanying her, were quite likely to inform the Pillars of his location, so he would leave that same night.
He would kill the human who had unknowingly helped him hide and leave. Her usefulness had passed, and Muzan couldn't risk her speaking too much, although he would give her a quick death for having been useful.
Uzui read in silence the letter that his crow had just delivered to him. According to reports received by Ubuyashiki, a demon had chosen the pleasure district as its hiding place.
He set the paper aside and stretched. He would go take a look first, it was best to start with a reconnaissance of the area. But, he had to admit, it was an intelligent demon. It was the perfect place to hide, given the nocturnal nature of that district.
The first thing would be to wear appropriate clothing for that, he didn't plan on going in his uniform, but he couldn't carry his swords either.
He clicked his tongue a bit, he would have to settle for kunais and smoke bombs, he wasn't so crazy as to go unarmed.
One of his wives, Suma, peeked in at that moment-"The food is ready, are you coming?"
"Yes, yes," he said and followed the young woman to the dining room. He would explain the mission during the meal, he decided.
Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio listened seriously as their husband explained the mission. Tengen paused for a moment to take a bite of food and drink some water.
"That's it," he said after finishing chewing. He put down his chopsticks and looked at the three of them. "I'll go first to reconnoiter the area."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Makio asked. She was a medium-sized woman with blond hair at the bangs and dark hair elsewhere, tied up in a ponytail. Her eyes were brown, and her skin was a light tone.
"No, I'd rather you stay out of harm's way," Tengen replied. He didn't want to put them in danger if he could avoid it.
Hinatsuru sighed a little. Her husband had that tendency, even though they could fight too. The second wife was of similar height to Makio, with long jet-black hair also tied up in a ponytail. She had fair skin and violet-colored eyes.
"I think it's better if we go," Makio spoke up again. "We'll have an easier time infiltrating there," she commented before Tengen could protest.
"I agree," Hinatsuru said as she fixed her gaze on her husband. Suma swallowed nervously, feeling nervous.
"But isn't it too dangerous?" Suma murmured with a thread of voice. She screamed in surprise when, without warning, Makio slapped her.
"Stop being so cowardly!" she shouted at her. "You're a kunoichi!"
Tengen and Hinatsuru watched the scene amusedly. Suma protested, which annoyed Makio even more, who continued to shout at her. But as soon as Tengen spoke, the two women fell silent.
"Before you do anything, I want to see what we're up against. The pleasure district isn't exactly small, and the demon could be hiding in any of the houses there."
"We'll do that then," Hinatsuru decided, smiling a little. The other three nodded and continued eating calmly before the rice became completely cold and became inedible.
Kocho listened very seriously to what Kanao and Sumiko were telling her. As soon as the two girls arrived at the Butterfly Mansion, they ran to find the Insect Pillar.
"Let me get this straight, both of you encountered Muzan Kibutsuji, is that right?" asked Shinobu.
"Yes, that's right," said Sumiko, while Kanao nodded. Shinobu examined them both, neither of them seemed to be injured, she thought.
"And it was a pair of demons who saved you," the woman continued.
The two girls nodded again and Shinobu thought for a moment. Meeting the creator of demons and surviving was practically impossible. She was worried that despite seeing his appearance, he had let them go without a fight. Something didn't add up, but neither of them seemed to be lying.
The first thing that occurred to Shinobu was to write to the leader and tell him everything, but when she remembered the meeting where they revealed Nezuko's existence, she stopped. She looked at the two girls and smiled.
"I'll inform the leader of what happened," she promised. "Why don't you go and help Aoi in the meantime?"
She opened one of the drawers in the cabinet and took out paper. The leader already knew about the existence of those two demons, she thought, recalling his words that day. She bit her lip, knowing that withholding information wouldn't be entirely fair, but perhaps it was best for the time being.
She grabbed a brush and began to write. She detailed only the encounter of the two apprentices with Kibutsuji, abstaining from mentioning the conversation with Tamayo.
As soon as she finished, she wrote a nearly identical letter to Rengoku, wanting him to know what had happened as soon as possible, especially since Sumiko was his apprentice.
Amane read aloud the contents of the letter they had just received. Beside her, Kagaya Ubuyashiki listened attentively, without interrupting his wife at any moment.
"So, he's finally starting to show his face," muttered the man, struggling to sit up. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to move.
His fair-haired wife helped him immediately. "Please don't overexert yourself, patron."
Kagaya sighed a bit. It was true that his health was deteriorating. The doctors had given him barely a year to live, and he had come to accept that he would not live to see his thirtieth birthday. With luck, he would make it to twenty-four in his current state.
"But I'm worried about the interest he's showing," Kagaya continued. He was uneasy about this fixation.
"The investigation into the Kamado family has shed no light," Amane confessed. "They have been working with coal for centuries, that is the only thing we have been able to confirm."
"There has to be something," Kagaya insisted. "It wasn't a random attack."
The woman nodded. "We will keep looking."
"Perfect. Now, please help me get up. I want to visit the graves of the fallen hunters."
Without saying anything else, Amane obeyed immediately and carefully helped her husband to his feet.
It was a routine they followed every day, Kagaya always paid his respects to those who had died in combat. And since he had lost his sight, it was she who recited the names engraved on each grave.
"I hope it is my generation that will finally put an end to everything," murmured Ubuyashiki as the two left the house, holding hands.
Rengoku read the letter for the second time, still unable to believe what Shinobu was recounting. He stood up abruptly and his brother looked at him with concern. The crow had arrived several minutes ago and, judging by Kyojuro's expression, whatever was written had caught him off guard.
"Has something happened?" he asked, worried.
"Don't worry!" Kyojuro replied quickly. "But I have to go!"
Senjuro also stood up and accompanied him to the door of the house. This time, his brother's visit had been shorter than he would have liked, and if there was one thing the young man hated, it was having to say goodbye without knowing if he would be able to see him again.
Almost as if he could guess the direction of his thoughts, Kyojuro stopped and affectionately ruffled his hair.
"I'll be back soon! Don't worry, Senjuro!" Rengoku didn't give his brother time to say goodbye and ran away at breakneck speed, disappearing into the horizon just a couple of minutes later.
The boy sighed. It was clear from his brother's reaction and his abrupt departure that something had happened. He just hoped it wasn't too serious.
Sumiko was training with Kanao, both young women wielding wooden swords and exchanging blows, trying to disarm each other. They had been at it for a while in the room of the house specifically designed for training.
Although Kanao's technique with the weapon was much more polished and had come close to winning on more than one occasion, Sumiko defended herself well.
Shinobu supervised both from the door, having arrived a while ago and smiling, pleased with the effort both were putting in, although the balance was slowly tilting in favor of her apprentice. Kanao was much faster than Sumiko, but did not match her strength.
"Miss Shinobu!" Kiyo's strident voice distracted her, and she turned in that direction. The girl ran towards her, almost out of breath.
"What's wrong?" asked the Insect Pillar, perhaps a serious injury or a particularly problematic one had arrived.
"The Flame Pillar just showed up," the girl gasped for breath, struggling to speak. "He wants to talk to you... He insists it's urgent."
"Thank you, Kiyo." Shinobu followed her assistant, but made sure to close the door to the training room.
Kyojuro was waiting for her, as he had on previous occasions, in his office, but this time he was quite restless, and as soon as he saw his companion enter, he stepped forward to stand in front of her in two strides.
"Tell me in more detail what happened!" he demanded, sounding more like a demand. "Are both of them okay?!"
"Both of them are unharmed," she tried to reassure him.
"The ones who saved them from Kibutsuji were two demons," Shinobu told him. Kyojuro's eyes widened in surprise, and to Shinobu, at that moment, he resembled an owl.
"Are you sure about that?" disbelief tinged the man's voice, and honestly, Kocho couldn't blame him for it.
"That's what both of them told me, yes. It also fits with what the boss said during the meeting where you told us about Nezuko Kamado."
"Right!" He also remembered their leader's mention of two demons who were hiding from Kibutsuji.
Shinobu sighed a bit. She couldn't yet tell him about the possibility of a cure. Rengoku wasn't exactly capable of keeping secrets, and she didn't want that to be known. Not when it was something she saw as highly unlikely to develop. In addition, not all of the Pillars would accept it without question. In fact, the vast majority still doubted Nezuko.
Rengoku, although calmer, still seemed somewhat worried. Then the woman spoke up, "If you want to go see how Sumiko is doing, she was training in the room at the end of the hallway a while ago."
The man nodded. "I'll go see her now!" he said and quickly left the office.
Sumiko wiped the sweat off her forehead, exhausted from the training session. Kanao was a formidable opponent and had even disarmed her first.
"Thank you for the training," Sumiko said, and Kanao, who had been putting away the two wooden swords in the closet, looked at her and nodded briefly.
"It was pretty good," Kanao admitted, and Sumiko smiled a little at hearing her speak. Kanao watched her and swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry."
"Why?" the young girl asked, not understanding.
"When I saw Kibutsuji, I was paralyzed," Kanao explained. She had wanted to say that since they had returned, but had not gathered the courage until that moment.
"Don't worry, to be honest, the same thing happened to me," Sumiko confided in her.
Kanao was about to say something else, but before she had the chance, the door to the room opened suddenly and Rengoku came in, smiling widely as he saw his apprentice.
"I've been looking for you, Sumiko!" he said as he approached the two girls.
See you soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! I would love to hear your thoughts!