July 11, 1913

Véro woke up in the Butterfly Estate after having been unconscious since the 9th. As she looked around, she saw James, Shinobu, Gyomei, Sanemi, Genya, and Chiyo in the room. "Where… Where am I?"

"You're in the Butterfly House," Shinobu explained to her. "You passed out in the forest."

"Wait," she then yelled. "Did I… Did I fail?!"

"No, no, no," James assured her. "You passed. You were very active in your five days in the forest. Your uniform is being made now, as is your sword. We made sure to get you a similar uniform to Pillar Kocho, and not get one from Maeda-san."

"Shinazugawa-sensei," Véro excitedly called out to Sanemi. "Did you hear?! I passed!" However, Sanemi did not share her joy, and instead gave a look of disappointment and some disgust. "Shinazugawa-sensei, what's wrong?"

"You eat demons," Sanemi coldly told her. "How… How the Hell can you just eat demons? They're monsters!"

"Shinazugawa-san," Shinobu politely told him, despite Véro noticing she was holding back anger at his remarks. "We already talked about this. Don't fly off the handle, please."

"Quiet down, everyone," Gyomei then calmly but firmly addressed both of them. "There is nothing wrong with eating demons. As I have already explained before Renaud-san woke up, this is a rare but not new power some slayers possess, and it has been used to achieve many good things in the corps. Genya, my own pupil, is a Demon Eater himself."

Sanemi seemed angry at his own brother for this simple fact as Genya spoke up, saying, "Renaud-san, y-... You will be training with Himejima-san and me alongside your conventional Breath of Winds training under my brother."

"That is true," Sanemi begrudgingly added. "Unlike my brother, you can actually use a breath style, so you'll have that to work on as well."

"Demon Eater… So that's why I suddenly felt the urge to eat that one demon…" She then sighed. "Ah, putain… Comme si les choses n'étaient pas déjà assez compliquées."

"Ça pourrait être pire," James replied in French. "Vous pourriez être mort."

…

Meanwhile, Inosuke was passing the time by exercising outside, lifting heavy stones attached to ropes with no shirt on to help cool down. "Yeah, get some! King of the Mountains, here we go!"

As he repetitively lifted the stones up and down, Aoi took notice of him. "There he goes again with that King Of The Mountains crap," she thought to herself. "How did he even come up with that?" As she stared at him and his workout, she suddenly found herself drawn to his abs. "Wait, why am I suddenly staring at him?" As he continued to lift stones, she suddenly developed a small blush and buried her face in her palms. "Oh my God, no, please, don't think about that…"

"Don't think about what?"

Shinobu suddenly interrupted Aoi, causing her to scream out, "Fuck!" As she turned around, she saw her older adoptive sister. "Oh, it's just you, Shinobu-sama."

"I must have really startled you," she playfully told her. "Were you staring at Inosuke-kun?"

"No," Aoi tried to deny. "Why would I do that?"

"He's got a really strong body," Shinobu pointed out. "But a really pretty face. I figured that someone around here would get a small crush on him."

"The boy probably has zero clue how girls work. I can't see him marrying anyone. He's just… Too weird for that."

Then, they both saw Inosuke take his boat head off to wipe off sweat from his forehead. "Damn, that was the toughest one yet. These fuckers don't get any lighter."

Aoi blushed and turned away. "I'm not looking."

"Aoi! Shinobu!" Inosuke then waved over to them. "I need some slightly heavier rocks to lift!"

"You got it," Shinobu assured him. "Slightly heavier rocks, coming right up!"

…

July 15, 1913

As Susamaru and Kyojuro walked through the front door of the Rengoku Estate, the former quickly kissed James before she asked him, "So, did we miss much?"

"Nezuko's improvin'," James told her. "And Véro is officially a demon slayer now." He then turned to Kyojuro. "Sir, Nezuko is relearnin' how to speak, and I've practiced every day by myself while you were gone."

"Very good," Kyojuro replied as he set his luggage down. "Very good indeed. Any other news on your granddaughter?"

"Well," James then began to explain. "She's… She's a demon eater. We just found that out a few days ago."

"A demon eater… I see." Kyojuro knew of them, but had never run into any personally before. "That certainly is a rare trait, though not unheard of. Has she had any difficulty with the Breath of Wind?"

"None," James shook his head.

"Even rarer, though again not unheard of. Most demon eaters can't use breaths, but a select few can. If Véro continues to sharpen her skills in both areas, she might be one of the most powerful slayers of her generation."

"I'll be sure to tell her that. She could use the encouragement, since Pillar Shinazugawa isn't treating her too well now because of it."

Kyojuro sighed. "Of course he isn't."

James then developed a slightly angry tone. "I swear, I'm this close to givin' him a piece of my mind. I get he's her trainer, but what he's doin' ain't right."

"A piece of your brain?"

"It means that you'll tell them you're upset or pissed off at them," James explained.

"Ah, right," Kyojuro nodded. "I wouldn't do that to Shinazugawa-san. You're still just a Tsuguko, and he's a Pillar. At the same time, though, I get why you're upset, and if he's doing what I think he's doing, I agree that it's not right."

"Honey," Susamaru asked James. "What's he doing?"

"He's bein' harsher than usual during trainin' with her," James explained. "And he's been sayin' she's a monster and shit. I get that he lost his family to demons, and he lost his wife to 'em, but don't take it out on Véro."

"I remember when Kanae-san died," Kyojuro added. "It really got to Shinazugawa-san. He was always kind of abrasive and stubborn, but he wasn't as… As… Well, he wasn't as much of a dick, to put it bluntly, until Kanae died. It was as if the last light in his life was smothered. They were only married for six months, but loved each other for longer than that." He then affirmed, "But again, that's still no excuse. I'll see what I can do, because what you're saying he's doing is not right."

As Kyojuro went into another room to unpack his luggage, Susamaru turned to James and smiled. "It feels good to be back with you. Say, wanna go to that secluded spot we found before I left near the creek and get caught up on what we've been missing?" She then nudged him with her elbow. "Huh? How about that?"

"I would love to do that," James replied quietly. "You've only been gone for ten days, but it feels like forever since I've felt the touch of a woman."

"I can say the same for the touch of a man," Susamaru seductively told him as she ran a finger down his lower face and upper chest. "I think I'm getting addicted to you, James."

"Then we're both addicts," James replied before he gave her a quick kiss. "And what I want to do most right now is physically show you how much I love you."

…

Meanwhile, back on the ship, the mood remained somber after the battle with Ichiro and Hiro. Reiko was finally opening up about what had happened to her, but was still shaken by what the two demons had done to her. As she and Mukago talked privately in the latter's room, she told her, "I felt so powerless, so fucking powerless, as they raped me. They would hurt me, let me heal, and then hurt me again. I've barely been able to sleep ever since it happened."

Mukago felt sorry for the chronologically younger demon. Though the two were the same physical age and had both been the same age when they were turned into demons, Mukago had been around much longer. "Reiko-chan, I… I know how it feels to be violated by someone, to be taken advantage of and held down. I haven't even told Muichiro, the father of my own child this."

"You have?"

Mukago sighed and frowned as she nodded. "Indeed. When I was still working as a tea waitress and sleeping with some customers on the side, Muzan had offered me a chance to become a demon, but I declined for the time being. However, that changed one day when a man I had earlier had sex with voluntarily came back for another visit."

Reiko was confused. "He came back?"

"Yeah, without paying. He snuck into where I lived somehow, and I woke up with a blade to my throat." She then pointed out where on her throat the blade was held to. "I wanted to scream, but he held my mouth shut and told me not to scream. He then…" She took a deep breath. "He then had his way with me. Just like you said, I felt powerless. I felt so… So weak. So fragile. So helpless. When he was done, I found Muzan again, and I became a demon."

"What happened to him?"

She then smiled. "He became the first meal I killed on my own. Of course…" She once again returned to a saddened expression. "Even after I became more demon-like and left that Post Station, I ended up getting bounced around by the Upper Moons as a sex toy for Muzan and the male Demon Moons to have their way with. The only Upper Moon that treated me with any respect was Upper Moon Six."

"Six?! Daki?!"

"Correct," she replied. "She treated me with decency because we were both prostitutes at one point, with her still being one. Her brother, Gyutaro, also saw me as a second sister he never had for a while." As a slight blush came across her face, she told Reiko, "Now, Reiko-chan, you know that you don't have to be with a man to have sex, right?"

"Sex between two women?" Reiko was somewhat confused. "How does that work?"

"We, uh, found a way," Mukago admitted to her. "Me and Daki-senpai found a way for sure. We both also slept with some high-ranking demons, too, including Muzan. Occasionally, the two of us would team up if it was a demon's really lucky day. She was super into sleeping with Muzan, which I never really got, since he wasn't particularly good in bed."

Reiko's face by now was bright red. "Fucking Hell… What haven't you done?"

"I ask myself the same thing," Mukago admitted. "Now, though… Those days are gone." She then caressed her belly, which was extended outwards from her pregnancy. "I found a young man who I want to settle down with. I know that as a human he'll one day pass on and leave me behind, but I would rather spend a short 50 or so years with him than have never met him at all. Muichiro knows that he's not my first, but he doesn't care, because he loves me."

Reiko smiled, feeling happy for her. "I'm glad to hear that. Maybe when me and my brother return to Japan, we can receive the same blood you did and have the same thing happen to us one day." She then looked down at herself, having some doubts. "Though… I don't know if I can be as lucky as you are and find a man who will accept me after what has been done to me."

"The men who mind don't matter," Mukago assured her. "And the man who matters won't mind. I'm not saying that finding a husband, or in your brother's case finding a wife, is the only way to be happy, because it's certainly not, but… It's an option. It's not necessary at all, but if you see an opportunity and your heart tells you you found something, go for it."

"Are you gonna tell Muichiro-san the secret?"

"Well," Mukago began as she struggled to find a concrete answer to Reiko's question. "The secret… Well…"

"What secret?" Muichiro then suddenly walked in, having heard Mukago mention a secret. "Mukago, what's going on?"

"Nothing," she tried to deny. "It's not a secret from me."

"I heard Reiko-san mention you having a secret," Muichiro countered. "Tell me, please."

"Reiko," Mukago told her. "Step out of the room, please." As Reiko left the room, she told her partner, "Mui, I swear, I wasn't-"

"Bullshit," Muichiro replied, now getting somewhat angry. "You were keeping a secret. Mukago, I don't want us to keep secrets from each other. What's wrong?!" His anger also showed hints of deep concern for the mother of his child.

"It's a secret, okay?!"

"I don't want you to hide it from me," Muichiro practically yelled at her. "Mukago, nothing you did in the past would make me not love you, so I'm begging you, tell me what happened! You don't have to worry about me leaving you, because I'm never going to… At least not voluntarily. They'll have to rip my corpse away from you before I leave you."

Mukago was at a loss for how to react. She was touched by how devoted he was to her, but still had some doubts. Then, she finally made a decision. "I… I was raped when I was a human, Muichiro. I didn't want to tell you because… Because…"

"Because you feared it would damage how I felt about you," Muichiro finished the sentence for her as she began to cry. He then hugged her, telling her as he gently patted her head, "Mukago, I… I see why you kept it from me. I can't believe someone did that to you."

"Muzan had offered me the chance to become a demon right before, but I said no…" She tried to hold it together. "Then after the rape, I said yes, and… And the man who did it was my first victim. I felt so powerless, so weak… Becoming a demon gave me the power I sought…"

"It doesn't matter now, though," Muichiro assured her. "Not at all. I didn't care about your past as a prostitute, so why did you think I would care so much about that?"

"I was ashamed I let it happen."

"It's not your fault," Muichiro assured her as he wiped away her tears. "It really isn't. It will never be your fault. Who you slept with and why, and whether or not you were violated, doesn't matter anymore, because you're mine and only mine now, and when we get back to Japan, we're gonna make it official."

Mukago cried quietly into his shoulder. "Thank you… Thank God for you…"

"Please," he then whispered into her ear. "No more secrets."

"Indeed," she whispered back. "No more secrets."