When Tengen and his team arrived at the safehouse, they walked inside and were met by the owner, a man in his early 30s who bore a demon slayer corps uniform. "Welcome," said the man as he bowed to Tengen and then shook James' hand, knowing that the latter was an American and thus would be more accustomed to hand-shaking. "Make yourselves welcome at my humble inn. I see you brought a whole team with you, Uzui-sama."

"Correct," Tengen replied as he stepped aside to show off Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu. "These two are the Kanao siblings, this one with the boar's head is Hashibira, and this annoying boy with the yellow hair is Agatsuma."

"I presume you've heard of me before," James then introduced himself to the man. "I'm James Colby, the current Flame Pillar. Your name is Hori, correct?"

"I've heard a lot about you," said the man, named Hirohiko Hori as he noticed that James was wearing the Rengoku family's haori. "And yes, my name is Hori Hirohiko. So, you're the first Flame Pillar to not be a Rengoku. I can't imagine the kind of pressure you must be under in such a position like that."

James nodded. "I'm handlin' it the best I can. That's all I really can do."

"You know," Hirohiko then remembered. "Come to think of it, I remember another slayer visiting here yesterday before you guys came around here. She looked all beaten up and wasn't wearing her uniform, but her badge and swords showed she was a corps member, so I let her stay."

Tengen, curious, asked him, "What was her name? Did she give her's?"

"She said her name was Mukago," Hirohiko replied. "I was confused at first since she was a demon, but the badge she had was legitimate."

Everyone else in the group froze upon hearing her name. James turned around to face Hirohiko and asked him, "Wait, who the fuck was it again?!"

"Mukago."

Tengen remarked in shock, "How the Hell is she out here?! She literally just had twins about two weeks ago. Did she say what she was doing?"

"No, she was pretty quiet. She seemed pretty sad about something, but she wouldn't tell me what it was all about."

James then asked him, "Where's she stayin' in the house?!"

"Hello?" Mukago then walked down from upstairs, having heard her name come up in the conversation but not being able to tell who was talking to who. "What's going on he-" As soon as she saw Tengen, James, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu, she paused as panic set in. "I, uh… You… So, um…"

Tengen proclaimed in shock, "Holy shit! It really is you!"

James demanded from her, "Why the fuck are ya out here?! How did you know we'd be here at some point?!"

"Who said I knew that?!" Mukago knew she had been caught, but tried to deny it to them. "I didn't know you guys were coming out here!"

Hirohiko turned to her and told her, "You told me other slayers would be here soon when you came in."

"Damn it," she muttered to herself. "Okay, okay, let me explain."

…

"So that's why you came here," Tengen replied to Mukago after she had finished her explanation to the group. "That's a pretty serious violation of corps protocol, you know."

"I don't give a fuck," she dismissed him. "This is way too personal for me."

"I had a feelin' the Jackson brothers would send someone out here," James further added. "But I didn't realize they'd try to exercise some level of control over one of Muzan's Upper Moons like that."

"It's freaky. Daki-senpai and Gyutaro-niisan wouldn't normally take orders like that from someone. Muzan must be really adamant about it." She then remarked to them, "Daki-senpai worships the ground Muzan walks on, but all he sees her as is an immature brat he can occasionally toy around with, and yes, I mean toy around with in multiple ways. He doesn't actually care if she lives or dies. He doesn't care about anyone under him but himself, the other progenitors, and maybe Kokushibo."

Tanjiro then raised his hand and asked, "So what exactly is your goal, Mukago-san?"

"I wanted to convince her to leave," Mukago explained. "I wanted her to run away from all of this with her brother. She shouldn't have to slave away under Muzan anymore, especially not with everything that's happened in the past year. I know she's committed too many crimes to be truly redeemed, but I know she still has a chance to walk away. Now, though… I don't think it's possible. I don't want to kill her, but I'm starting to feel like I must."

Taking some pity on her, Tengen patted her on the shoulder and told her, "I feel bad for you. I've had to make similar choices in my past between what I want and what I need."

"I have, too," James explained. "There've been people I didn't want to kill, but I had to, or else it would've been me. It ain't always easy to take a life, demon or human. Some people I've killed with almost no hesitation, but others… A part of me kept screamin' no, but another part of me told me I had to."

Mukago then turned to Tengen and asked him, "So, what's your plan to get in?"

All seven of them then heard a knock on the door of the room, with a man sliding the door open and presenting a large box of supplies. "Here you go, sir. This should cover everything you requested."

"Thank you," Tengen told him. He then told the rest of the group, "You're about to see what the plan is."

…

After about twenty minutes of preparation, James, Mukago, and Tengen stepped back to look at the work they had done to disguise Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Nezuko. "So, um," James then said in confusion. "The three boys look, uh, interestin' in drag."

Tengen asked in confusion, "Drag?"

Realizing he had said the word 'drag' rather literally in Japanese, he explained, "In drag is an English term for cross-dressin'."

"Oh, right," Tengen replied.

Mukago said as she tried to hold in her laughter, "I don't know if anyone's gonna be fooled by this. What the fuck?"

"At least Nezuko looks the part," James admitted. "Probably 'cause she's the only one that's actually a woman."

The three of them had done their best to turn Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu into girls, even going as far as to disguise their names as Sumiko, Inoko, and Zenko, but despite their best efforts, the three barely looked convincing. Nezuko, however, looked very well-done, something that Zenitsu commented on. "Wow, Nezuko-chan, you look so pretty…"

Tanjiro asked the three of them, "How bad is it?"

James asked, "Do ya want an honest answer?"

Inosuke, oblivious to how he looked as he had not looked into a mirror yet, confidently replied, "I bet we look fucking awesome!"

James barely held in laughter and told them, "I'd have to be almost or totally blind to think you three are women." He then held up a portable mirror to them.

Predictably, Inosuke was not happy. "What the Hell?! Why do I look like this?! I look like a fucking monster!"

Nezuko herself was also barely able to hold in laughter. "Oniichan… Oh my God…"

Tengen then told all four of them, "Come on, calm down. We don't have much time to waste. I'll take you four back to Yoshiwara to sell, while Mukago-san and Colby-san spy on their own." He then turned to Inosuke specifically and told him, "Whatever you do, I do not want you opening your mouth and speaking. You can pull off a feminine look pretty well, actually, but your voice is an instant giveaway that you're a man, so don't say a word to anyone once you're bought and sold."

"Fine, fine," Inosuke admitted in defeat. "I won't speak."

"Good," James replied. "I hate to admit it, but Uzui's right in that regard. Y'all could easily pass for a girl if ya just keep your mouth shut, Inosuke."

"I'm sure Nezuko-chan will be bought up first," Zenitsu pointed out. "After all, she looks really good."

Nezuko blushed slightly under the many layers of makeup that Tengen had slathered on her face and the others faces, replying to him, "Why thank you."

"Anyway," Tengen then declared. "We will head out in fifteen minutes. Be ready to sell yourselves to the highest bidder!"

…

Back at the Butterfly Estate, Shinobu was now getting sick instead of Kanao, with the latter holding the former's hair back as she puked into a bucket. "Motherfucker," Shinobu muttered to herself before she retched and vomited again. "Agh, shit…"

Kanao told her, "Nee-san, how much more?"

"I hope not much lon-" Shinobu then cut herself off as she became sick again. "God damn it… I fucking hate this shit, Kanao. It's just gonna keep getting worse for the next few weeks."

After half a minute of silence as Shinobu began calming herself down from getting sick and taking deep breaths, Kanao asked her, "Nee-san, are you scared?"

"Huh?"

"Are you scared?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"Well…" Shinobu then wiped her mouth with a piece of cloth and picked up the bucket to dispose of the contents inside. "Kanao, I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm terrified."

As the two walked down the hallway and then outside to toss the contents of the bucket away, Kanao asked her, "You're that scared? You've assisted with pregnancies before, right? Why are you scar-"

"It's different when you're pregnant," Shinobu told her in a stern tone after she tossed the contents of the bucket in a pit. "It's different when your own God damn body is the one giving birth instead of some other woman, Kanao. You know for a fucking fact that I have a smaller body, and I've feared that it would make childbirth more difficult for me for a while!"

Kanao then stepped back slightly, startled and shocked by her harsh response. "I, um…"

Shinobu sighed, "Sorry for snapping at you, Kanao. The truth is that despite the fact you're only sixteen, you'll probably have an easier time in childbirth than me. Your body is stronger than mine, and your hips in turn can handle childbirth better than mine. This is my first ever pregnancy, and whatever happens for the next eight months decides everything in my future."

"Did… Did you want this child, nee-san?"

"That's a difficult question," Shinobu replied as she sat down on a rock, tied her hair back in its normal place with her butterfly hairpin, and the gentle winter wind blew at her haori. "Kanao… I've dreamed of being with Tomioka-san since I was about thirteen or fourteen, and in those dreams was having children… In both wholesome and not so wholesome ways, mind you. Even so, a part of me fears dying in childbirth, even with all of our best efforts. Kanao, I want to have children with Giyu, but I'm afraid of childbirth. It's too late to go back now, though, at least safely." Kanao patted Shinobu on the shoulder and sat down next to her. "Are you scared, Kanao?"

"Yeah," she affirmed with a nod. "I am, but I know I have Tanjiro alongside me."

"And me," Shinobu pointed out. "And Aoi. And the Caterpillar Girls. We both have a lot of support."

"Right," Kanao nodded before she hugged Shinobu. "What I'm really scared of… What really frightens me, though, is the thought of him not coming home before he meets his child."

Shinobu sympathized with her. "I know. I'm gonna be scared out of my fucking mind every time Giyu goes out on a mission from now until I have this child. I know he can handle himself in a fight, but I can't help it."