A week after the battle at Taiwa, Michikatsu was sleeping with Tenko in his bed one night when he began to toss and turn in his sleep. Inside his head, he began to see visions of a tragic event play out that he tried and failed to stop. These visions consisted of Tenko in a particularly awful state, though Michikatsu did not see what had caused her to be in such pain as she screamed for mercy. "Tenko… Tenko… TENKO!" His pleas went unanswered as her screams continued. "TENKO, LISTEN TO ME, GOD DAMN IT! TENKO! FUCK, TENKO!" As Tenko seemed to die within the dream with little to no explanation, Michikatsu screamed, "TENKO, NO! NO, MY GOD, NO! DON'T TAKE HER FROM ME!"
He then awoke in bed, rising up in a cold sweat and looking at Tenko as she slept peacefully beside him. He hyperventilated for several seconds before calming himself down and wiping his eyes. He then shook his head a few times and looked around the room, seeing if any threats were present. His rustling soon awoke Tenko, who slowly opened her eyes and asked him, "Michi, what's wrong?"
Michikatsu then sighed and gently placed a hand on her face. "It… It was a nightmare. A nightmare I'll do everything to prevent."
Tenko, too tired to press further, sighed and replied to him, "Okay. Good night."
"Good night," Michikatsu replied before kissing her on the cheek and closing his eyes as he sat his head back down to go to sleep once more. "Hey, Tenko."
"What?"
Michikatsu then told her something he had not said in a long time, not since he had left her in those years before. He never thought that he would say these words ever again to her, but now, something inside him compelled him to. "I love you." In his head, he thought to himself, "This past week has opened my eyes in more ways than I ever thought possible."
Tenko replied with a smile, telling him, "I love you, Michi."
"I'm glad to hear that from you again."
Tenko simply chuckled and told him, "Maybe if we have enough time tomorrow, I can show you how much I love you in a few different ways."
Michikatsu smiled and thought to himself as he fell back asleep, "Maybe we can do this again. Maybe we can succeed this time."
…
Later that day, Michikatsu and Yoriichi met with Shiro at the Ubuyashiki Estate, the three of them discussing intelligence gathering with Sora Rengoku, who was the then leader of the Rengoku Family and the premier user of the Breath of Flames. "We have gathered some interesting information," Sora told the other three. "Another Breath of Flames user recalled overhearing two demons talking about a special group of demons that Kibutsuji wishes to create before he killed them both. We believe that he wants to try to create an elite group of demons designed specifically to kill high-ranking swordsmen in the corps."
"How concerning," Shiro replied, wondering how much progress Muzan was making on this possible venture of his. "Well, it's a good thing that Pillar concept I talked about last week is underway. By the way, I have news for you all."
Michikatsu asked, "What is it, Oyakata-sama?"
"Gentlemen," he informed them with a warm smile. "You three are the first of the nine Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps. Congratulations."
Yoriichi bowed first, followed by Michikatsu and Sora. "Thank you, Oyakata-sama. Me, my brother, and Rengoku-kun will not let you down."
"Yoriichi, you will be the Sun Pillar. Michikatsu, you will be the Moon Pillar. Sora, you will be the Flame Pillar. I expect all of you to take this role seriously, and I have the utmost confidence in your capabilities. I would not have chosen you all if I did not have such confidence. I'll choose the other six Pillars soon. I aim to have four more from the other basic offshoots of the Breath of the Sun, and two more from one of the new offshoots."
Sora replied somewhat loudly with glee, "That sounds like a great plan, Oyakata-sama! I'll see to it that it goes well with all I can do!"
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Shiro replied with a smile. "We need more people like you in the corps."
Yoriichi told Sora, "You always were one of my most energetic students, Rengoku-kun."
Michikatsu thought to himself as the others talked among themselves, "This could help me show my true potential and finally exceed my brother. By proving myself to the Oyakata-sama, I can surpass him."
Shiro's son, Nobusuke, was then seen entering the room, startling all of them. "Papa, sorry to interrupt, but… Can you read me and my sisters a story before we go to bed?"
Shiro smiled and told his son, "Of course, Nobusuke. You're fine."
"Hello," Nobusuke then waved to the others. "Tsugikuni-ojisan, Rengoku-ojisan, and Tsugikuni-ojisan."
Sora greeted the younger Ubuyashiki with a hearty, "Good to see you, Nobusuke! Glad to hear you and your siblings are doing well!"
…
Two days later, as Michikatsu was returning from a solo hunt in the middle of the night along a deserted country road, he felt a presence behind him and turned around, expecting to find another demon ready to attack him. "Who goes there?! I've already slayed one of your own kind! Don't make me do it again!"
"I'm not here to fight," then said the voice of a man about the same age as Michikatsu himself. "I'm here to talk to you."
"Talk to me? Who the Hell are you?!"
"I'm right in front of you."
Suddenly, a man bearing slightly long black hair, red eyes, and paler than usual skin materialized right in front of Michikatsu, startling him and causing him to draw his sword out of surprise and fear. "Agh, what the fuck?!"
"I have many powers," the man explained to him. "That being one of them."
"Who are you?! Answer me, damn it!"
"You're Tsugikuni Michikatsu, the brother of the legendary Tsugikuni Yoriichi, are you not?"
"Answer my question! Who the Hell are you?!"
The man simply gave him a grin as Michikatsu tried to swing his sword down on him, only for the man to catch his sword with his one hand, causing it to be split down the middle. Despite this, with almost no effort or hesitation, the arm and hand quickly healed and grew back. "See that? I can do that, too."
"So you're a demon?!"
"You could call me that," the man replied. "You know, I'm surprised you guys haven't yet figured out how to spot me when I'm not disguised. You've been fighting me for a few centuries now, so…"
"Just tell me who you are," Michikatsu demanded of him, getting annoyed with his evasion of his one simple question. "This is getting pretty frustrating, asshole."
"I'm the leader of the demons himself," the man explained. "The creator of the demons of Japan… Kibutsuji Muzan."
Michikatsu's blood ran cold upon hearing his answer. "You're… You gotta be bullshitting me. There's no way you're fucking Kib-"
"Kibutsuji Muzan? You're staring right at him." He then bowed to him, clearly trying to be polite despite the tension between them. "Tell me, do you desire power, Tsugikuni?"
"Enough with your questions," Michikatsu replied as he readied his sword. "I'm gonna show you how much of a mistake it was to show yourself to me."
"I wouldn't recommend fighting me," Muzan warned him.
"Fuck your recommendations," Michikatsu yelled before charging at him. "Breath of the Moon, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing!"
However, despite Michikatsu's powerful attack moving at a fast pace, Muzan was able to dodge it and quickly move in behind Michikatsu, striking him down with a hard punch to the back. "Not fast enough, I'm afraid!"
Michikatsu broke his nose upon hitting the ground, causing blood to pour from it as he staggered to his feet. "Come on, let's go!"
"I won't kill you," Muzan told him. "But I will put you in your place." He then unsleeved one of his arms to reveal a growth that came out of right hand, which quickly turned into a second mouth with sharpened teeth. "How about this?" He then charged at Michikatsu.
Michikatsu replied by trying to slash the arm off, but he missed, and instead, the arm bit him in the shoulder, causing him to scream in pain before once again falling to his knees. "Fucking… Agh, shit! That hurts!"
"I'm gonna come back to this exact spot in three days' time," Muzan told Michikatsu as he backed off of him. "I expect you to be here as well."
"Why?! What's your plan?!"
"I'm assembling a team of powerful demons who will undertake dangerous and unusual missions," Muzan explained. "This team will report directly to me and only me, and will be my key to victory. I want you to be a part of it."
Michikatsu was shocked. "What?! Why me?!"
"Having such a powerful demon slayer like yourself become a demon would give me an edge," Muzan explained to him. "Also… I know that you're insecure about your little brother Yoriichi exceeding you. If you join me, you can flip it around."
"As if I wou-"
"You could even protect your wife."
Michikatsu was now confused and angrier than ever at Muzan after he brought up Tenko. "How… How the Hell do you know about her?!"
"I have ways of finding out this information," Muzan told him, refusing to explain further. "Look, Tsugikuni-san, with me, you can exceed your little brother and keep your wife and child safe."
"You know nothing about me."
"Liar!" Muzan was adamant. "I know exactly what makes you tick. The same with your brother! I've waited for many years to be able to finally confront one of you two, and here's my chance! You've seen what I can do, right?"
"I suppose so…"
"Well think about that over the next three days," Muzan told him. "I expect an answer when that day comes."
"An answer, huh?"
"You're God damn right."
"Oh yeah?!" However, when Michikatsu looked up to confront him further, he realized he was now gone. It was as if he never even existed in the first place. "Wait… Where… Where did you go?" Michikatsu got up and brushed himself off, looking at the wounds on his arm and saying to himself, "Ah, shit… It was real. I better get this cleaned…" As he walked away, he debated telling the others about his sighting of Muzan in his head, as well as Muzan's offer. "This whole thing really threw me off," he thought to himself. "So do I tell the others? Do I tell them about what he said? Do… Should… Should I take his offer seriously? I never thought I'd be considering joining my enemy, but… He knew exactly what made me tick. He was right about that for sure."
