Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. This story is a translation of another fanfic of mine. I hope you like it!
Kyojuro let out a sigh. He had delayed this moment as long as possible, but he could not continue like this any longer.
Now that his father was gone, he was the head of the family. And he had to assume the relevant responsibilities.
Ensuring the good condition of the documents related to all the Flame Pillars was the first thing he thought of doing. If any of them were in bad shape, he would have to repair them, he thought.
The Flame Breathing had been created during the Sengoku period, several centuries ago. And since then, all the Pillars of this breathing had belonged to his family. Keeping records of everything in those journals.
Although everything was written there, Kyojuro had never paid much attention to them. He had read a couple of them to learn the principles of Flame Breathing and its different postures, but nothing more. They had never really sparked his interest beyond that. But now he was going to have to pay more attention to those books.
He approached the bookshelf where they were placed in chronological order and carefully picked up the first one. He had to handle it delicately, he might need to rewrite it, he thought as he flipped through it. The pages seemed quite fragile and the ink in some parts was almost illegible. He closed it carefully.
He was going to need Senjuro's help with that, he thought. He wouldn't have the patience to sit for hours transcribing everything. Besides, once he was active again in the Corps, it would be an impossible task for him.
He was grateful they had allowed him to rest for a while, but deep down, he felt he was neglecting his responsibilities. So, when he had that more or less resolved, he would go back to taking part in missions.
He carefully placed the book back in its place. There were many volumes, he thought, it was undoubtedly going to be a quite arduous task.
He stepped away from the furniture and covered his face with both hands. He was tired, more than he felt comfortable admitting.
Dust was accumulating in the house and it needed a good cleaning, something he hadn't done yet. He didn't know, but it couldn't be that difficult, right? He could rehire the woman who had taken care of cleaning and cooking when his mother was sick.
His father had fired her shortly after Ruka's death, and little by little, Senjuro had taken over that. But they had to maintain the house somehow, so it would be best to rehire her if she wanted to work for his family again.
He looked out the window, it was quite late already, it was getting dark, so it would be best to wait until the next day and go to the nearby village at dawn.
He should start preparing something for dinner, he thought as he headed to the kitchen. He had bought some things that morning so he could cook.
It wasn't that he was very good at it, but he defended himself quite decently. His brother was the one who was really good at those things, although he had much more practice than him.
Kaigaku was watching the burning tree. He had finally done it, he had his blood technique. Black lightning, he smiled with some pride. It suited him perfectly. He felt powerful like never before. Finally, he could show those idiots what it really meant to be strong. They all thought they were better than him just because they followed that strict moral code. Nonsense, that was all nonsense. He would make them pay for all the humiliations he had to endure over the years.
Kokushibo observed him from a safe distance. Although his features did not betray the slightest hint of emotion at his disciple's achievement.
It was still too early to feel so proud. It couldn't even be said that obtaining his blood technique was a great achievement. Many demons had one.
"Don't get too confident too soon. You're not ready yet to face a Lower Moon," he said without any hesitation.
Kaigaku rolled his eyes, annoyed, although he was already used to those types of comments, they drove him crazy at times like this, but he wasn't going to express it out loud. He didn't feel like dying.
"I know," he reluctantly replied, "I'll work hard to get a place among the Lower Moons."
"I hope so, I remind you that your time is running out."
Kaigaku growled. He had forgotten, Kokushibo had given him a time limit to achieve everything. It wasn't fair, but nothing changed the fact that he had accepted those conditions.
"I haven't forgotten. I intend to achieve what I said."
Kokushibo nodded. He had to admit that the boy had potential, maybe he was capable of achieving it. Besides, obtaining a place among the Lower Moons was not overly complicated. The current Sixth Lower Moon had achieved it with ease.
"Keep devouring humans, you should do it more often if you want to achieve it."
Sumiko looked impressed at the huge amount of food on the table. She and Kanroji had stopped to eat at one of the restaurants that the Love Pillar often frequented.
Although, after spending so much time with Rengoku, ordering so much food had become habitual, she didn't expect Sumiko to do the same. She swallowed and, somewhat shyly, reached out to serve herself some of the dishes.
"Eat, eat! There's plenty for the both of us," Kanroji encouraged, smiling as she took a generous amount of food into her mouth.
"O-Okay, Kanroji," Sumiko murmured, trying some of the food.
"You can call me Mitsuri," Kanroji found it uncomfortable to be treated with so much respect. To be honest, there wasn't much of an age difference between the two of them. Three years were nothing.
"But you're a Pillar, it would be disrespectful," Sumiko immediately protested. Kanroji sighed a bit, she was right in that sense, but...
"I understand, it's okay," the woman sounded a bit discouraged. She wanted to make friends, but it seemed that because of her high rank, everyone was afraid of her. And she saw the other Pillars very little.
Sumiko noticed that right away by the smell coming from Kanroji and tried to fix it right away. "I can still try, Mitsuri." It sounded strange to address her with such familiarity. She didn't even do it with Rengoku, but seeing how the girl's face lit up with joy, it might be worth it. The woman's face lit up with a smile.
"Let's eat, Sumiko, or it'll get cold!" Kanroji had regained her good humor and was once again eating energetically.
Still somewhat embarrassed, Sumiko did the same. While chewing, she observed the Pillar with curiosity. Her scent betrayed that she was a kind and quite affectionate woman, and she couldn't help but wonder what her motivation was for joining the Corps. Would it be too much to ask?
"Um...and why did you join the Corps?" she ended up asking, trying to make conversation. Mitsuri, who had been about to take a bite of rice, stopped and left it in its place.
"To protect my family," the woman explained. "I'm the oldest of my siblings, and it's my duty to do these kinds of things."
"Oh..." to be honest, one couldn't expect less from one of the Pillars, it was a pretty noble reason, Sumiko thought.
Kanroji nodded briefly. Thanks to Kyojuro, she knew what motivated her apprentice. And she felt some pity for her. But she understood, what hunter didn't feel the same? Demons had destroyed many families, and Mitsuri knew how lucky she was not to be one more case. She was happy about that, in fact.
"We have a mission tonight, a couple of demons have been seen lurking near a nearby city," she informed them between bites.
Sumiko nodded. She had already gotten used to that lifestyle, although she doubted that was a good thing.
She glanced over at the basket where her sister was and held back a sigh. She wasn't any closer to curing her than before, and it was starting to be frustrating.
Mitsuri, who had been observing that, didn't say anything. The love between them was evident, and on previous missions, she had witnessed how much they cared for each other.
Nezuko was always covering Sumiko's back. It was almost adorable, and Mitsuri couldn't help but remember her own brothers. It felt good to take care of someone younger again.
When Kyojuro returns, she will miss them, there was no doubt about it. She smiled with a hint of sadness and continued eating. They had to be prepared for the night, so after eating, they would return to the inn where they were staying and sleep a couple of hours to rest and regain their strength.
Kazumi watched the man in front of her with suspicion. She hadn't heard him arrive, and something about him gave her a bad feeling. He was too pale for a person, and those small, square, yellow marks from his eyes to his chin forming a line didn't seem like the product of some eccentric makeup.
His clothing was strange too. In her ten years of life, Kazumi had never seen anyone wearing Western clothes. And, most unsettling of all, although she hoped she was mistaken and had seen wrong, she believed she had seen a mouth with teeth on his left hand.
She took a step back, her instinct screaming at her to get out of there, that this man was dangerous.
"I'm not going to hurt you, little girl," he assured, taking a step toward her. "I just wanted to talk to you for a bit."
"I-I'm in a hurry," she said, never having felt so much fear in her life. Trying to hide it was proving to be an almost impossible task.
"I've heard that you sell newspapers at the train stations," the man commented, smiling in a way that increased the girl's fear. He had unusually sharp fangs that resembled those of a predator. "And I was wondering if you would do me a little favor, nothing out of the ordinary."
Kazumi refused, not wanting anything to do with it.
"I haven't even told you what it is. Shouldn't you listen to what I want first?"
"I'm not interested," she repeated. She wanted to leave as soon as possible. "I'm in a hurry."
"I insist. I think my offer will interest you."
The girl looked at him doubtfully. It didn't seem like he was going to leave her alone until she listened. Maybe if she did, he would leave her alone. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"Okay, I'll listen, but I'm not promising anything."
Enmu smiled, satisfied. "I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Enmu, pleased to meet you."
"I'm Kaede," she lied. She wasn't going to tell him her real name.
The demon noticed how the rhythm of her heartbeats accelerated, an unequivocal sign that she was lying, but he didn't care. What did it matter if he didn't know her name?
Senjuro finished cleaning the utensils used for the meal. He had quickly become accustomed to this routine.
He used to help the girls with household chores and, when necessary, assist Kocho and Aoi in treating the wounded people.
"Do you have everything?" Kiyo asked, peering in. She carried several sets of freshly washed sheets in a basket, and it seemed to be quite a burden for her. "Can you help me hang them in the courtyard?"
"Of course!" Senjuro exclaimed, drying his hands with a nearby cloth. "Let me carry them. They must be heavy."
"Thank you," Kiyo smiled as the boy took the basket, and the two of them headed towards the courtyard, chatting about unimportant things.
The boy noticed the sideways glances the younger girl was giving him. It was obvious that there was something on her mind.
"Is something wrong?" he asked after a while, feeling quite uncomfortable already.
"Eh? Well..." the girl fell silent for a few seconds. "Shinobu told us that your training period is almost over..."
"Oh..." he murmured. It was true, he had already learned practically everything necessary, and soon the Pillar of Insects would recommend him to be part of the hidden faction.
They left the basket on the patio ledge and calmly began hanging each sheet on the ropes.
"We're going to miss you," the girl admitted at that moment.
"And I'll miss you too."
Kiyo smiled happily upon hearing that and continued with her task. At least, she hoped, she would see him every now and then.
"I'll go talk to Kocho later," Senjuro said as they hung the last sheet. The girl nodded and watched him leave.
Kocho looked up from the papers she was reviewing when she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" she said, as she placed the one she had been reading with the others and stretched a bit, giving her full attention to Senjuro, who had just entered.
"Hi, am I interrupting anything?" he asked, unsure of how to say it.
"No, not at all. Don't worry," said Shinobu. "Sit down if you want. Is there something you need, Senjuro?"
"Well... I know my trial period is almost over," he murmured, unsure of how to continue.
"That's right. In fact, I was just finishing up the recommendation letter," Shinobu admitted. She had almost finished writing it. She just needed to sign it and stamp it with her official seal.
"The truth is, I'm really comfortable here," Senjuro continued. Shinobu crossed her hands and looked at him, inviting him to continue. "If there was a possibility of staying here..."
"There is. If that's what you want, no one will stop you," Shinobu said.
Shinobu had suspected for some time that Senjuro would ask for that. It was enough to see how quickly he had adapted and how well he got along with the girls.
"I'd like to stay," he said, serious. He had made up his mind. Besides, he thought, this way he would have more chances to see his brother. He preferred to be there and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
Shinobu smiled a bit and, without much ceremony, tore up the recommendation letter.
"Then it's settled," she said. "I'm glad you've made this decision."
"Thank you. I'll do my best to keep helping," the boy promised, smiling a bit.
"I count on you," said Shinobu, content.
Muichiro fell onto the bed, feeling more frustrated by the minute. Their investigation had been completely fruitless. None of the people they had questioned seemed to know anything, or they were lying, which Muichiro was starting to suspect. Although they had no way of proving it.
He turned and looked at Giyuu. Despite this, the other Pillar was fairly calm, as if he didn't feel anything about the situation or didn't care. That made Muichiro nervous and he began to understand why Obanai and Shinazugawa couldn't stand him.
"We can safely say that he's not here," the man said. "The trail has gone completely cold, and we're just wasting our time."
"And what do you suggest?" the teenager asked, in a bad mood.
"Nothing. At this point, he could be anywhere. He has a huge advantage over us."
Muichiro sighed. He hated to admit it, but Tomioka was right. They were just wasting their time there.
"I've thought about going back and reporting everything to the boss," Giyuu continued. "You don't need to come with me. This is your territory, after all."
The teenager raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by that offer, but it made sense. "Okay. But say hello to him for me."
"Of course," Tomioka said, continuing to pack the few changes of clothes he had brought with him. "I'll leave tomorrow morning, at dawn."
"Okay," Muichiro said, turning over in bed and closing his eyes.
Giyuu didn't say anything else and closed his bag when he was done. He planned to tell Shinobu about the results of their little investigation. He lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling, he would sleep for a few hours and then go buy his ticket to leave. He didn't think Tokito would be mad if he left without saying goodbye.
Kazumi was trembling. She was sitting in one of the seats on the train. Never in her life had she been so nervous. She felt the weight of the sharp awl that Enmu had given her days ago in her pocket.
She had only accepted it because she needed the money that creature had promised her. He had assured her that she would not be alone in that small task, but the girl was still not entirely convinced.
The assignment didn't seem difficult. Destroying the core inside people's subconsciousness. According to Enmu, it wouldn't kill her, it would just turn the victim into a kind of zombie under his orders. She didn't want to know more about it. It all sounded too absurd, and Enmu seemed like any other madman, but fear had gripped her heart and she had accepted to participate in that madness.
Entering people's dreams was not going to be very complicated, she just had to tie herself with a rope to the other person and fall asleep. At least, that's what she hoped, the others who worked for Enmu would wake her up.
She watched the ticket inspector who was marking the tickets of the different passengers and tensed up when he approached her, but surprisingly he passed by her and continued on as if nothing had happened.
The girl relaxed, he must be one of the humans who worked for Enmu, she thought to calm herself. She had to focus now on her mission. It was simple, she just had to think that she wouldn't cause anyone's death.
She remained alert until she confirmed that all the passengers in the carriage she was in fell asleep. Only then did she take out the rope and approach one of those who were there.
She sat in front of him and carefully tied her wrist with the rope. Seconds later, she did the same with hers and sat in front of her victim. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.
When she opened her eyes, she was in a completely different place. There was vegetation everywhere and a well-kept looking house. She could hear children's laughter coming from there. She looked around in amazement, it couldn't be...she had taken everything Enmu had said as madness, but she was wrong, she thought. She shook her head a little, it wasn't time to think about all that now.
Now she had to find the limit of that dream and make her way to the subconsciousness to destroy the core. She felt her way around, hoping that at some point her hands would come across that invisible barrier that Enmu had described.
It took her longer than she would have liked to find it, but as soon as she had it in front of her, she took out the awl the demon had given her and, with some difficulty, tore the barrier apart. It had the texture and resistance of fabric, so opening a large enough hole to pass through didn't cost her much.
And she found herself in a completely different place. There was nothing around her. Everything was an infinite white space. It was serene and conveyed a peace that the girl had never felt before, but far from being enchanted by that feeling, she continued her search for the core.
After walking for a while, she came across a bluish orb floating. She raised her arm and prepared to break it with the awl. She didn't care what would happen to that person. It wasn't her concern, she thought as she used her weapon to slowly tear apart that object.
The environment around her began to shake, and cracks appeared, the place was beginning to crumble.
The girl desperately looked for a way to escape. She tried to run back to the dream, she had to leave the subconscious as soon as possible.
But as she was only a few meters away, the ground beneath her feet gave way and she would have fallen if Enmu had not appeared and caught her.
"Good job, you did better than I expected. But it's time for you to wake up," the demon said.
Kazumi opened her eyes wide and sat up instinctively. She was back in the train car. She quickly untied the rope around her wrist and looked fearfully at the man she had been tied to.
He was awake, or at least it seemed so. His eyes were open but completely unfocused.
Kyojuro was heading calmly towards the village. He had ended up delaying going there for longer than expected, getting involved in some tasks and writing to his brother, and finally, instead of going down at dawn, he had ended up doing it after lunch.
He vaguely remembered where the houses of the woman who had worked for his family were. Hopefully, he would be lucky and she would accept to work there again. Or if she didn't want to, she could tell him about someone who was interested.
Although as soon as he got back to work, he wouldn't be around much, that wasn't an excuse to let it get dusty. What kind of head of the family would he be if he allowed that?
He smiled a little when he glimpsed the first houses. He tried to remember the path he had to take now. It had been 14 years since he had visited those houses and his memory was at least confusing.
At least, what he did remember was the name. He was going to have to ask around, hoping that someone would be able to give him some indication.
He looked around, alert to any passerby he could ask. There was an elderly lady who was slowly advancing with the help of a cane, carrying a seemingly heavy bag, he noticed as he approached.
"Good afternoon!" he greeted her.
"Oh, good afternoon, young man," the woman looked at him seriously. Almost accusingly. "What brings you here?"
"I was looking for Naoko Nakamura's house, do you know where it is?"
"Yes, of course," the old woman turned around. "She got married a couple of years ago and lives nearby. Look, you just have to keep going forward, and past the red-roofed house, you have to turn left. The third house you find, the one with white wooden shutters."
"Thank you very much!" Rengoku headed quickly towards there, eager to solve all that soon.
He followed the directions provided by the woman and soon arrived at a house that met the description.
He approached, smiling, and knocked on the door several times. He stepped back a little when he heard footsteps and waited for them to open.
A tired-looking woman was looking at him from the entrance. Some grey hairs could be seen in her dark hair. And there were dark circles under her green eyes. She was dressed modestly, and several patches could be seen on her red kimono.
"Good afternoon, my name is Kyojuro Rengoku."
The woman opened her eyes wide when she heard that. "Come in, come in," she asked, stepping aside. He obeyed immediately, and the woman closed the door.
He followed her into a small living room and they sat on two cushions placed in front of a table.
"You've grown so much," the woman commented, looking at him attentively. "It's been so long since the last time I saw you."
Kyojuro didn't know what to say; he barely remembered that. But he didn't contradict her and nodded.
"How's everything over there?" she asked, interested.
The man shifted a bit, uncomfortable. "Father recently passed away," he said.
"I'm so sorry," Naoko looked at him with some pity. "He was a great man."
"He was," those words left a bitter taste in Kyojuro's mouth. He felt they weren't entirely true.
Naoko nodded distractedly. "Do you want something to drink? I can prepare some tea or something."
"No, it's not necessary, thank you very much," he cleared his throat a bit before continuing. "When I was little, you worked cleaning the house."
The woman nodded again. "Until your mother fell ill, yes.
"I would like to know if you would be interested in working there again" maybe he was talking too much, but he had to try. "It would be to go, at least, once a week to clean. Nobody is living there right now."
Naoko looked at him. She hadn't expected that offer, although she had already imagined that there was a reason for that visit. Kyojuro misinterpreted her silence and sighed a little. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time. It was a pleasure to see you again."
"Wait. I was just surprised by the offer. I would love to, but right now I'm only free on Friday afternoons."
"Oh. No problem!" Joy had returned to his voice. "We can talk about the salary now if you want."
A couple of hours later, a rather satisfied Kyojuro made his way back home. They had quickly agreed on the salary that Naoko would receive for her work, and the rest of the time had been spent reminiscing about the times when she worked there when he was a child.
As she had told him, Naoko had the habit of eating sweets, and on more than one occasion, she had found candy wrappers under his pillow. He didn't remember any of that and had spent the time listening to the different anecdotes she had told him. And he had to admit, it had been quite pleasant.
But it had started to get dark, and he was forced to leave, not without making the woman promise that she wouldn't leave the house under any circumstances once it was dark outside.
At least he had that sorted out, he thought. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Now, there was the other issue that worried him. He could pack up several of those volumes and pay a visit to the Butterfly Mansion.
That way, he could also visit his brother and ask him if he was willing to take on that task for him. He quickened his pace to get home as soon as possible. He wanted everything to be ready so he could leave early the next day, and he could use some rest too.
But if everything went as planned, he would use it as an excuse to finally return to work. He had rested enough time already, and it would be taking advantage of the boss's goodwill to rest more.
Giyuu sat down in front of Shinobu. He had just arrived at the Butterfly Mansion in the middle of the night and had requested to see her immediately.
So there they were, in the woman's office.
"I confess I wasn't expecting a visit from you at such late hours," said the Insect Pillar.
"I came as soon as I could. I can't stay long," Giyuu admitted.
"I understand. I suppose you've come to tell me the results of your little investigation."
"Yes. As I suspected, we couldn't find anything," said Giyuu. "She's no longer in Hokkaido. I'm sorry, Kocho."
The woman lowered her gaze, taking in the news. Although she had expected it, she wished they had something to go on.
"You've done what you could," she said instead. "And thank you for coming to tell me."
"It's the least I can do," he confessed. "Anyone would have done it."
"No, you know that's not true," she retorted. She was glad to see that she wasn't the only one capable of acting differently from the other Pillars.
"I can't be delayed for too long," Giyuu said then. "The boss is waiting for the report."
Upon hearing that, Shinobu realized something. She hadn't seen her partner's crow anywhere.
"Where is your crow?"
Tomioka shrugged. "I sent it with a message to my former master. There's a chance it's lost again on the way."
Kocho tried not to laugh at that. But her partner didn't seem at all worried about the bird telling anything, so she would trust him. If she remembered correctly, Tomioka's crow was quite old and prone to getting lost.
"Well, then it's better that you go there now."
"Yes. See you at the next meeting, Kocho. If I hear anything, I'll let you know. Take care."
"You too, Tomioka. And thank you for everything, really."
The woman accompanied him to the exit of the house to say goodbye and stayed there, in the doorway, until Tomioka disappeared from her sight. She sighed a little and held back the urge to cry.
Of course, something like this couldn't be solved so easily, she thought bitterly. She didn't know what the boss would order now, but she had no doubt that he would continue to keep her out of the loop.
Her only way to find out something was for Tomioka to keep her informed.
Tomioka bowed as soon as the leader arrived in the courtyard. He had arrived just a few minutes ago at the house and Ubuyashiki received him despite the late hour.
"I apologize for coming without notice, patron," he apologized. "I sent Kanzaburo to let you know, but I think he got lost again."
Kagaya dismissed it. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
"Don't worry, he's a pretty old crow," Ubuyashiki had been thinking of changing Giyuu's crow for a while and maybe this was a good opportunity.
"I've come to report the results of the mission you assigned us," Giyuu looked up and observed his leader as he spoke. "We haven't found anything. It's clear that Kanae is no longer in Hokkaido."
Kagaya nodded seriously. "It's what I feared. It would have been strange for her to stay after being discovered."
"Do you want me to keep looking for her?"
"Not actively," Kagaya wasn't stupid. Without any clues, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. "I don't think it's going to be easy to find her."
He would notify the rest of the Pillars, although he would still keep Shinobu out of it. He believed it was for the best.
See you soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! I would love to hear your thoughts!