Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. This story is a translation of another fanfic of mine. I hope you like it!
Makio woke up early that morning. She had barely been able to sleep and it showed, as she confirmed when she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.
She had very prominent dark circles and it was clear that she was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She spent the day training with Hinatsuru, with the help of the girls who lived in the mansion and Shinobu.
Both women ended up very tired after spending most of the day strengthening their lungs, but at night, Makio, instead of being able to rest, was plagued by nightmares.
In the vast majority of them, Tengen and Suma were killed in front of her, and she was unable to do anything to save them. She was unable to move her body and became a mere spectator.
She usually woke up startled, sometimes screaming, and on more than one occasion, she ended up interrupting Hinatsuru's sleep. Those nights usually ended with both of them unable to fall asleep again, and they simply kept each other company in silence.
In other nightmares, it was Hinatsuru who died. Although the scenario varied, the result was always the same. But those nightmares only made her determination increase, she would become strong enough to avoid that scenario. She wouldn't lose her too.
"Makio?" she heard Hinatsuru on the other side of the bathroom door. "Are you in there?"
"Yes, yes. I'm coming out now," the other woman responded quickly. She turned on the faucet and washed her face quickly, wiping away the sleep in her eyes. Although her gaze still revealed how tired she was. She sighed a little, annoyed, she wasn't going to be able to deceive her companion.
She opened the door and found herself face to face with the other kunoichi. And she immediately regretted it, Hinatsuru's face clearly showed how worried she was. Makio tried to think of any excuse quickly, but before she could string her thoughts together, the other woman hugged her tightly.
She tensed up, she had expected anything but that. She ended up responding to the embrace and they stayed like that until Hinatsuru pulled away and examined her carefully.
"You're still having nightmares," Makio reluctantly admitted.
"Almost every night," Makio admitted, reluctantly.
"I think you should talk to Kocho about it," the other woman suggested, affectionately pushing aside the bangs that were obstructing her companion's view.
"No," Makio refused categorically. Kocho was, in her eyes, the least suitable person for something like that. Besides, she barely knew her and didn't plan on telling her about something that was so personal.
"Maybe I can prescribe some medication to help you sleep," Hinatsuru insisted. She couldn't allow Makio to continue like this, and she had to convince her, for her own good.
"I don't want to resort to that," Makio said. She didn't trust those things. Who knows what they contained. They were still drugs. And she didn't want to resort to them.
"Makio, please, you can't go on like this." This time, the concern permeated Hinatsuru's words. She suffered seeing Makio in this state and wished to help her in some way.
"I'll get over it. It's just a matter of time." That's what Makio wanted to believe. It had been recent, and she attributed it to that. It had to be that.
"Makio…" Of course, that wasn't enough to convince her colleague. Hinatsuru remained concerned. And that only increased her distress.
"I know what I'm doing, really." She wasn't going to give in to that. She wanted to overcome it on her own. She also didn't want to openly admit that the presence of the other woman helped mitigate the nightmares. And she appreciated it; without Hinatsuru, she didn't know what would have become of her.
"Well, but if this gets worse, promise me one thing," the woman insisted. "You'll tell Kocho, okay?"
"If I agree, will you be more at ease?" Makio wanted to know, and Hinatsuru nodded immediately. "All right, I promise. Are you happy?"
"Thank you, really," the other woman said, feeling somewhat more relieved.
Makio nodded, and Hinatsuru, after giving her one last smile, entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaving her alone in the middle of the hallway. However, the kunoichi didn't waste any time and returned to the room they shared.
Like the rest of the bedrooms in that house, it was furnished with just the essentials. A couple of beds that both women had pushed together the first night and kept that way, a chest of drawers to store their belongings, and a small wooden desk in front of the window. The chair next to it was also made of wood, although it didn't seem too comfortable, but it wasn't as if the two women had made use of it.
Makio approached the window and, after pulling back the white curtains, opened it a little to ventilate the bedroom. She leaned out a bit and looked at the sky. It had been cloudy since the day before, and judging by the smell of wet earth, it had been raining during the night.
It was an aroma that she found particularly pleasant and helped her relax. Since she was little, she had liked that smell. Taking a deep breath, she moved away from there, approached the chest of drawers, and picked up one of the two hair ties that both women had left there the night before.
She placed it between her lips and began to gather her hair with both hands. When she had it securely fastened, she took the hair tie with her left hand and, quickly, secured her hair with the band, making sure that no loose strands remained.
She had already dressed to start the day, having done so before going to the bathroom. Hinatsuru had done the same. She stretched a bit, they would go now, when the other woman finished grooming, to have breakfast in the kitchen and then start their training.
Her body was a bit sore from the previous day's training, but it was nothing that couldn't be remedied. It would be enough to warm up with a few stretches.
When Hinatsuru returned from the bathroom and approached her, Makio grabbed her hair tie and handed it to her. The other woman took it with her right hand and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"Shall we go have breakfast?" Hinatsuru asked when she finished and had her hair in place.
"Of course, let's go," Makio said, and the two women left the bedroom.
Aoi was finishing up cleaning the dishes from her breakfast when the kitchen door opened. Makio and Hinatsuru walked in and, upon seeing her, waved hello.
"Good morning," greeted Aoi, drying her cup and placing it back in the cabinet with the rest.
"Good morning," they both replied, grabbing a couple of cups for themselves. "Is there any coffee left?" Makio asked, needing it to fully wake up.
"Yes, there's a little left. I think it's enough for both of you," Aoi replied, noticing Makio's dark circles. She wanted to say something, but held her tongue. It wasn't her place to say anything, Kocho should be the one to speak up.
Hinatsuru opened another cabinet and grabbed the cereal box and sugar container, placing them on the table while Makio poured the coffee for both of them. With a couple of spoons that Aoi handed them, they added a bit of sugar to their drinks and sat down at the table to eat.
"Are you going to continue training today too?" Hinatsuru asked, looking at Aoi curiously.
"I still haven't mastered what Tomioka wants," Aoi admitted. The eleventh form of the Water Breathing technique was proving difficult for her to learn. She couldn't follow Tomioka's instructions properly.
"Is it difficult?" Makio asked. According to Tengen, who had explained it to them before, Tomioka's breathing technique was the easiest to master.
"Not really," Aoi admitted, although it sounded easier than it actually was. Keeping her mind completely blank and being relaxed was something she was terrible at. But she wanted to master that movement.
Hinatsuru took a sip of her coffee and looked at her. "I'm sure you'll eventually get it," she said, trying to encourage her.
"I'm not going to give up," Aoi said. "Well, I'll see you later. Good luck with your training!"
With that, Aoi left them alone. Tomioka must be waiting for her outside, in the garden. Kocho was currently using the training room to teach Hinatsuru and Makio, so they practiced outside to avoid disturbing them.
When she stepped outside, she saw that Tomioka was already there, ready. In his hands, he held a wooden sword specifically for training. Aoi quickened her pace and stopped in front of him.
"Sorry for the delay. Have you been waiting long?" Aoi hoped he wasn't angry with her.
"No, I just got here. Shall we begin?" Giyuu asked.
"Are we going to continue with meditation?" Tomioka had dedicated their last few sessions to that, seeing her inability to keep her mind blank.
"Yes, of course. It's essential to master it," the man replied, as serious as ever. Aoi nodded and sat on the ground, crossing her legs. She grimaced when she felt her clothes starting to get wet from the grass.
She started by trying to synchronize her breathing and pushing all thoughts out of her mind. But, like on previous occasions, her mind started to wander, making her think about household chores.
Her expression must have shown that she wasn't focused because she felt Tomioka, rather roughly, hit her on the back. She winced. The wooden sword hurt a bit, but at least he wasn't hitting her too hard.
"You get distracted too easily," Tomioka said.
Aoi was about to respond, but she held back just in time. Tomioka was her superior and not only that, he had offered to help her. So, the least she could do in a situation like this was to give her best effort.
She took a breath and exhaled gently, trying not to think about anything and continue with the exercise.
Makio stopped for a moment to catch her breath. They had been trying to catch Kanao for over ten minutes, but no matter how many times Hinatsuru and she tried, the young girl was more agile than them and always managed to evade them. She wiped the sweat dripping from her chin. She was beginning to feel really frustrated. To make matters worse, they had to continue maintaining the Total Concentration Breathing while running, which made the exercise even more difficult.
Shinobu approached her at that moment with a small canteen and handed it to her. "Drink a little, it will do you good," she said. Makio took it and, after bringing it to her lips, took a good swig of water. She was thirsty and exhausted. And she hadn't been running for that long.
"We're going to take a break for a bit," Shinobu decided and signaled to the other two. Kanao, upon hearing her, stopped abruptly. Hinatsuru sighed a little and approached Shinobu and Makio, who handed her the canteen so she could drink a little, which the other girl gladly accepted and drank a little, more calmly than her companion.
Shinobu smiled a little. She was going to let them catch their breath for a bit and then move on to the next exercise. She approached Kanao and nodded, the girl understanding immediately what she wanted and quickly left.
"You did well at first, although you have to be careful to continue breathing. There were times when you stopped using it," Shinobu said.
"We couldn't do it anymore," Hinatsuru admitted. Their lungs still hadn't gotten used to it, but they were aware of how important it was to master it perfectly.
"Well, I'm convinced that with the effort you're putting in, you won't be long in being able to use it," Shinobu said. "I recommend that you strengthen your lungs every day with exercises similar to today's."
"Thank you. We'll do that," Makio assured her, serious.
Kanao returned then, carrying a pair of Wu-lou ceramic gourds. They were small and brown and didn't seem to be too heavy.
"What you're going to do now is simple," Shinobu explained, taking one of them from Kanao's hands. "You have to be able to make them explode. By blowing."
The two kunoichis were dumbfounded upon hearing this. They exchanged a look and then looked at the two objects.
"Is this a joke?" Makio asked incredulously.
"Not at all. It's not that difficult if you use the Total Concentration Breathing," said the Insect Pillar.
"We'll keep training," Hinatsuru assured her. Neither of them was going to stop until they achieved it.
"I won't be able to supervise your training for a while," Shinobu confessed, frowning a bit. She didn't like leaving them on their own. "I have a mission that takes me far away, and I'll be absent for several weeks."
"It's okay," Hinatsuru played it down, smiling a little. She was already helping them a lot. And they could understand, Kocho had to fulfill her obligations as a Pillar.
Douma was sitting on a cushion. He had just had a small meeting with several women from his cult about the search for the blue spider lily. Completely fruitless, they had not been able to find anything that would provide clues about its existence.
It was frustrating. The demon had hoped to have some good news to report to his lord, but it was not going to be the case. And Douma was beginning to believe that such a plant did not exist, so what other explanation was there? But he would not express that aloud in front of Muzan.
He got up and started pacing the room. He nervously bit his nails. It was most likely that he would disappoint Muzan, and he risked being punished for it. He had seen other demons who had been victims of his wrath, and it had not been pleasant.
He swallowed, he had to calm down. Muzan would not get rid of him so easily, not being one of his most loyal demons. He even made sure to send a monthly amount of money to finance his lord.
He camouflaged his cult as an organization that was dedicated to sheltering women in precarious situations and, every month, received a juicy amount of money from the government to support the women. Part of that money was given to Muzan, although he could not send him too much while having to support so many women. He also could not risk drawing attention and ending up being investigated.
But, no matter how hard he tried to relax, his nervousness did not completely disappear. He had to think about what to say in case his lord asked him about it. The first thing was to calm down, he told himself seriously.
He took a deep breath and exhaled, imitating the technique he had seen Kanae use on more than one occasion. According to the woman, it was something that helped her relax when she was nervous or worried, and Douma hoped it would work.
If he thought about it in perspective, apart from not getting any results with the investigation, everything was going well. The demon slayers still had not found him or Kanae, which relieved him more than he wanted to admit.
He was not very inclined to turn humans into demons and he liked to see the three he had chosen progress and become stronger. Perhaps, when things had calmed down a bit, Kanae could come back. He would have to mention it when he saw her again, her company had been very pleasant.
His stomach growled at that moment, breaking the demon's concentration. He should go hunting in one of the neighboring cities. As a precaution, he always avoided hunting in the city where he was hiding. He also did not attack the women he protected, as it would have been too risky.
He sighed a bit and decided to leave. He approached the window of the room, opened it, and with insulting ease, jumped out. He landed on the snow and, without wasting time, ran south. The nearest city was about a hundred kilometers away, and it would take him little time to get there.
This way, he could forget, even if temporarily, about his problems. And he would figure out how to break the news to Muzan about his lack of progress. The only thing he didn't doubt was that Akaza would be happy about his failure.
He had tried to get along with that demon and avoid any lingering resentment after taking his place as the Second Upper Moon nearly a century ago. But it was in vain. From the first moment, Akaza showed that he would not forgive him, and their relationship was always tense.
And when Muzan assigned him the task of finding that flower, a task that Akaza had taken care of, their relationship, if it was possible at this point, worsened even more. But Douma could not refuse a direct order from his lord. That was unthinkable.
The demon grinned. A man was walking quickly a few meters ahead of him. He was quite bundled up, wearing a brown fur coat, black pants, and boots of the same color. He carried a shotgun slung over his shoulder, Douma noticed.
A lone hunter, no doubt, and an easy prey, the demon thought as he took out one of his golden fans from the folds of his clothing. He didn't usually hunt men; he preferred to eat women. But from time to time, he allowed himself to make exceptions. And this was a perfect moment.
He waved his fan a bit, and the effect was immediate. Before the human could take another step, his head detached from his body and fell to the ground, rolling several meters away from the path.
The body collapsed with a thud. Douma smiled a bit and approached. He picked up the head, noticing the expression of surprise that the man had shown before his death. It was amusing to contemplate the expressions his victims made when their time of death came, Douma thought as he brought the head to his chest, beginning to absorb it inside himself. He had to admit that it was a very comfortable and clean way to feed.
Just five minutes later, it had disappeared completely inside him, and Douma did the same with the body, although given its size, the corpulent person took longer to absorb. He made sure to dispose of the weapon as well, breaking it into small pieces until it was unrecognizable. Satisfied with his work, he continued on his way. Although he felt less hungry, that man had only been a snack.
Kaigaku kept his gaze fixed on the ground, he had been summoned along with Kokushibo and the Lower Moons to their lord's Infinite Fortress. None of those present had the audacity to look Muzan in the face.
His presence was still as intimidating as the last time Kaigaku had seen him, he thought involuntarily.
"So my presence intimidates you," Muzan finally spoke, directing his attention to him. "Tell me, Kaigaku, how many hunters have you killed so far?"
"Twenty," he replied, aware that, for those present, it must be a ridiculous number.
"I see," Muzan's tone revealed marked disinterest, Kaigaku noticed immediately, which only made him even more nervous. "If you manage to kill sixty, I will grant you a position among the Lower Moons," he announced. After all, he needed someone who could replace Mukago.
The young demon had to control himself from raising his head and looking at him. "I will make sure to deserve such an honor," he opted to say.
Muzan nodded, apparently satisfied with his response, and, to the huge relief of the boy, focused his attention on the Lower Moons. He approached them, serious.
"As you know, Mukago was killed by one of the Pillars," he began to speak, serious. "Despite being among the strongest demons, you always fall before those hunters. Why?"
None of the Lower Moons dared to answer, the reason was quite evident. The Pillars were stronger than them, it was obvious.
"I will provide you with more blood," the king of demons announced. It was time to strengthen the Lower Moons. This way he would put an end to the shameful fact of having to constantly replace them, although he had serious doubts that all of them would be able to withstand the process.
Without further ado, he injected a significant amount of his blood into the five demons. The effect was immediate, as soon as they received that extra dose, those affected fell to the ground and began to convulse.
Muzan watched with some curiosity, wondering who would be able to survive. His gaze briefly stopped at three of them. Rui, Kanae, and Enmu. He hoped that they would be able to survive the process.
As for the fate of the other two, Rokuro and Wakuraba, he was quite indifferent. He was very aware of the cowardly nature of both and disliked having such demons among his Lower Moons. So, when these two succumbed to his blood and their bodies began to turn to dust, he couldn't help but feel joy.
Kaigaku, who like Kokushibo, had been watching the entire process, shuddered at seeing those two demons disappear just like that. He had to get stronger if he wanted to avoid the same fate.
His survival was at stake, he told himself, serious. And he would do whatever it takes to stay alive. He glanced at the surviving Lower Moons, mentally grateful that he didn't have to face one of them in combat to join their ranks. He would have lost immediately.
Killing demon hunters was something much simpler, which he could do. Although the required number was so high, it was not a problem for him. Now that he was a demon, he had realized how fragile and pathetic humans were.
And he felt no remorse for ending the lives of those who were once his companions, why should he care? It had been their fault for being so foolish as to want to face him.
Muzan then made a gesture to Nakime, who, as usual, had remained in a discreet background, and Kaigaku had not noticed her presence until then.
The five Lower Moons and Kaigaku disappeared from the scene, leaving only Kokushibo with Muzan and Nakime.
Muzan stopped in front of the First Upper Moon. He had to assign a task personally, and if there was a suitable demon for that job, it was Kokushibo.
"I have a special mission for you," he said. "I want you to take care of eliminating the Demon Slayer Corps once and for all."
Kokushibo nodded. "I will do so, my lord."
"I want you to succeed this time. I will not tolerate a repeat of what happened in the Sengoku era."
At that time, Kokushibo was able to exterminate almost all of the members, but the apprentices of the Pillars of that time were able to escape and remained hidden, transmitting their knowledge and ensuring the survival of the Corps.
"It will not happen again, I assure you, my lord," said Kokushibo, serious. He was very aware of the importance of that mission.
"I also entrust you with locating the Ubuyashiki family mansion," Muzan added without taking his eyes off the other demon. "And if you ever come across Sumiko Kamado, I want you to turn her into a demon."
They were simple tasks that Kokushibo should be able to carry out without any problems, Muzan thought.
"I will do so."
See you soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! I would love to hear your thoughts!