February 11, 1914
Junpei looked over documents he had been given by the army as he worked in his private office. He was busy filing them into folders and signing off on orders for soldiers under his command that were to be passed out by lower-ranked officers. As he signed off on one particular order, he kept thinking about what he would do to get Kaigaku out of the way of his ambitions. He said to himself, "I need to find a way to make it look like I wasn't involved… Or better yet, make it look like an accident. They'll never suspect me if I do."
Then, he heard a knock at his door, followed by the doorknob turning. "Hello? Father?"
Junpei turned around to see his son, who was twelve years old, standing in the doorway. "What is it, Yuta?"
Yuta replied, "Are you still busy with work, Father?"
"Yes," he replied with a sigh. "I'll be busy for another fifteen minutes or so. I can help you with your homework then, okay?"
"Okay," Yuta replied before bowing. "Sorry for bothering you, Father." He then left the room.
Junpei sighed, feeling somewhat bad for brushing off his son in favor of his work, but knowing that, at least in his mind, he needed to do what he was planning. "I gotta come up with a way to do what needs to be done." As he looked at a nearby calendar, he noticed that one date in particular was circled, that being February 20th. He thought to himself as he got an idea, "Ah yes, It'll be the ninth anniversary of the Battle of Mukden soon… Perhaps a celebratory hunting trip is in order…"
…
February 14, 1914
Kaigaku was busy looking through the mail at his small house, at which he lived by himself, early in the morning after having finished a hunt the night before. He made a habit of checking his morning mail before sleeping during the day and hunting at night unless he had plans for the day. He found one particular letter that was adorned with a very fancy wax seal. "Shit, I don't have an actual letter opener. Hang on…" He then smashed the letter on the floor to break the wax as best as he could several times, and when it was broken, he opened it up to find an invitation that had been sent to him by the Mochizuki family. "No way…"
Inadama Kaigaku
We humbly invite you to attend a hunt with us at the insistence of Mochizuki Emi, daughter of Count Mochizuki, on the 20th of February, Taisho 3, or 1914 A.D. Please send us a response at your earliest convenience by mail to the same address that sent this letter. I am sure you are aware of where the Mochizuki Mansion is located, and you will be asked to arrive at the mansion on the 20th of February no later than noon if you are available and interested. We hope you will be able to attend, but if you cannot, we understand, and we will hope to see you again soon.
The Mochizuki Family Estate, on behalf of His Excellency, Count Mochizuki Kyosuke
As he looked over the letter, he said to himself, "I could impress them more if I go. A good relationship with a noble can get me all sorts of shit in the corps." He then turned to his Kasugai Crow and told him, "I need you to do something for me."
"Caw," replied the crow as it flew over to where he was sitting on the floor. "What do you need?"
"Go to the Mochizuki Estate and tell them I'll be around for the 20th," Kaigaku told the crow.
"Understood," replied the crow before it flew through a nearby open window and went off into the clear yet cold winter sky.
After a few seconds of looking out the window, he said to himself as he got up to close it, "Why do I have the sneaking suspicion something will happen when I get there?" As soon as he closed the window, he heard a knock at his door and turned around to go open it. When he went to the door, he asked whoever was on the other side, "Who is it?"
"It's me," Chiyo replied from the other side, prompting Kaigaku to open the door to see her. "Good morning, Kaigaku."
"Oh, hey," Kaigaku replied as he stepped outside. "What's up?"
"I have a message from Kuwajima-sama," she told him as she handed him a letter from their former teacher. "Zenitsu-kun got a similar letter, as did I. He told me to give this to you and him as soon as I could."
"Alright." Kaigaku looked over the letter and saw it was multiple pages long. "Well, I can see why he didn't have a crow deliver this."
"Only the first page is the actual letter," Chiyo explained. "The other two are other documents he wants us to read and fill out."
Kaigaku flipped to the second page and found that it was a map of the area around Jigoro's home, followed by a third page that was a blank Demon Slayer Corps mission report. "I'll be sure to fill this out. Does he want this back by a certain day?"
"He wants it back by the 22nd of February."
"Got it." He then told her as he walked back into the house. "Thank you, Sotozaki."
"Have a nice day," she told him with a wave.
Kaigaku stopped and waved back with a smile. "You too."
When he shut the door, Chiyo turned and walked away, saying to herself, "This request sure is odd, but it'll get me more time with him…"
…
On the same day, Nezuko and Kanao were caring for a still-comatose Tanjiro when Naho came running in, saying to the two young women, "Nezuko-oneechan, Kanao-oneechan, I have a letter from the Mochizuki Estate!"
Nezuko replied as she turned around, "The Mochizuki Estate?"
Kanao asked Nezuko, "Isn't that the family of the girl you and Zenitsu-kun rescued?"
"Yeah, it is." Nezuko then asked Naho, "What does the letter say, Naho-chan?"
"It's inviting you and Zenitsu-san to a hunt to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Battle of Mukden," Naho explained. "It'll be on the 20th."
"The 20th of February?"
"Yes, that's what it says."
Nezuko asked Kanao, "What was the Battle of Mukden?"
"That must have been a battle in the Russo-Japanese War if it was nine years ago," Kanao replied to her. "I was still living with my birth family and really young, so I don't remember anything about it, but Shinobu-neesan and Kanae-neesan taught me about the war with Russia."
"You'll have to tell me about that someday," Nezuko replied with a chuckle. "We weren't really taught such things, or anything, really, where me and my brother were from. We were really far removed from modern Japan."
"I was, too." Kanao then turned to her unconscious boyfriend and sighed as she gently brushed his hair off of his face. "Maybe that's one of the things that drew me to Tanjiro. We could relate to being on the edges of society."
Nezuko, feeling bad for her, put a hand on her shoulder and told her, "He's gonna wake up. I know he will. He's powered through before, Kanao-oneechan."
"But he hasn't been unconscious for this long," Kanao pointed out. "And to top it off, I'm carrying his child, so-"
"Kanao," Nezuko then interrupted her. "Please, stop worrying so much. It'll hurt the baby if you do. My mother told me that a woman who worries too much could have a harder time giving birth."
Kanao sighed. "You're right." She knew that worrying so much about Tanjiro was not good for her, but she felt like she could not help it.
Naho then asked Nezuko, "Nezuko-oneechan, sorry to interrupt you and Kanao-oneechan, but will you respond to this letter?"
"Have someone write back to them saying I'll be able to attend with Zenitsu-san," Nezuko replied to her with a smile. "I'm free on the 20th."
…
On the same day, Junpei was talking with another man that he had known from the army. "So, Amemiya," Junpei said to the man, who was the same age as him but was a Sergeant Major in the army as opposed to being a general such as him. "Did you get those poisoned arrows?"
"I did," Hikaru Amemiya, the man in question, replied as he handed Junpei a small wooden case and opened it to reveal ten arrows. "I figured you'd use these since you like crossbow hunting so much. You seem pretty committed to killing this young man, aren't you, sir?"
"Of course I am. Allowing someone like him to work his way into our family and possibly get my brother's title when he dies is not acceptable. It pisses me off thinking that some fucking low-life nobody like him thinks he's all that. Look, I'm glad my niece is alive, but I don't think we should be elevating someone like him to our level."
"I get it," Hikaru nodded. "You don't have to tell me twice."
"They won't be able to trace these arrows back to you, right?"
"No," his friend replied as he shook his head. "If anything, they'll trace it back to the guy who made the arrows. I just added poison to them. I already have proof of who made them so I can sell them out to the police if they start snooping around."
Junpei smiled. "I knew I could count on you."
"You always did during the war, too," Hikaru pointed out. "'The Black Snake of Mukden could always rely on Sergeant Major Amemiya' as the soldiers under us would say." He had used a nickname that Junpei had been given during the Russo-Japanese War for being a deep thinker and rather cunning on the battlefield, as well as for being born in 1869, the Year of the Snake on the Japanese calendar.
"I haven't heard that nickname in a long time. I still can't believe it's been almost nine years since we won at Mukden and forced the Russians out of the land we rightfully own."
…
February 15, 1914
Nezuko was talking with Shinobu about Kanao, the letter, and other things that had happened over the past several weeks. "I'm still concerned for Kanao-oneechan," she said to the Insect Pillar, who, like Kanao, was also several months pregnant. "I think being restricted from going on missions and subsequently not really getting out of here much is starting to get to her."
"I have to agree," Shinobu nodded. "She always volunteers to do anything for Tanjiro-kun, even if no one else is busy with anything and can do it for her. Like you said, neither me nor her can go on missions involving combat until after we have our children, though at least I've been able to keep busy with other non-combat things like surveying paths for the Swordsmith Village or delivering messages. Kanao… Well, since she isn't a Pillar, she doesn't really have tasks like that."
Nezuko then asked her, "How is Giyu-oniichan taking all of this, given that he's the father of your child?"
"He's been doing his best to keep up, but given that we're down two pillars due to pregnancies and another due to injuries, he's been swamped with work."
Giyu then walked in rather unexpectedly, startling both of them. "Shinobu," he said to her girlfriend. "I'm back from my mission."
Shinobu playfully replied to him, "Don't just sneak up on me like that, Tomioka-san." The two then smiled and gave each other a brief kiss. When they noticed Nezuko was still in the room with them, they both turned away from her, somewhat embarrassed they had kissed in front of someone else. "Oh, my apologies, Nezuko-chan."
"It's fine," she assured them.
"Shinobu," Giyu then said. "I know I've been busy this past week, but for the eight days, I'm totally free, so I'll be able to spend as much time with you as I want to."
"I can't wait, Giyu." Shinobu switched to using Giyu's first name. She would sometimes still call him by his last name when being playful with him, but by now would usually just call him by his first name. "It's been a stressful week, and I could use a bit of a break."
Giyu then looked down at the noticeable bump in Shinobu's abdomen, an easy indicator of her pregnancy, and placed a hand on it, smiling as he did. "I haven't been able to get close to the baby like this for a while."
"Well, it's as close as either of us can get until they're born."
Nezuko, feeling like she was intruding on the couple, asked the two of them, "Do you want me to step out and give you two privacy?"
"Oh," Shinobu then said as she realized once again that Nezuko was still in the room. "My apologies, Nezuko-chan… Again. Anyway, I'll talk to Kanao at some point today. I agree with you completely that she needs to relax a bit." She then sighed and decided to admit something to Nezuko that she had not told anyone else. "One of the other reasons I'm worried is because, well…"
Nezuko, curious, asked her, "What is it?"
"A while ago," Shinobu explained. "When Shinazugawa-san and my sister were in a relationship before their marriage, my sister was pregnant."
Surprised, Nezuko replied to her, "She was? Kanae-san was pregnant?"
"Yeah," Giyu nodded. "She was really happy when Shinobu and the others examined her and found signs of pregnancy."
"Well, what happened to her? What happened to the ba-?" Nezuko then looked at Shinobu's saddened expression and realized what she was talking about. "Oh… She…"
…
August 2, 1908
At the Butterfly Estate, Kanae was writing down a report on a patient the quasi-hospital had taken care of in her office by herself. She had had a busy day, and this report would be the last one of the day for her. However, just as she was about to finish the report, she suddenly stopped in the middle of writing a sentence. She slowly looked up from the paper she had been writing on before placing a hand on her abdomen and clutching it. "Agh…"
As she sat up, a younger Shinobu then walked into the room, asking her sister, "Nee-san, are you done with the repo-?"
Kanae turned to her sister while still sitting in her seat and said in a grim tone of voice, "Shinobu, I…"
The look on Kanae's face was one of abject terror and pain, causing Shinobu's eyes to widen in fear. "Nee-san, what's wrong?!"
"Oh God…" At that moment, Kanae was hit with a severe and sharp pain in her abdomen, causing her to recoil a bit and let out a yell before she tried to get up from her chair, only to fall to her knees. "Agh, fuck! Agh… Fuck…"
"Nee-san!" Shinobu ran to her sister's side. "What the Hell is going on?!"
Tears began to form in Kanae's eyes as she tried to express what was happening to her and get up on her feet. "I think… I think I'm having a-" Then, she suddenly collapsed onto the floor, passing out from a particularly brutal bout of pain.
"Neesan!" Shinobu quickly ran out of the room to get help, calling for anyone nearby. "Somebody help me! My sister just collapsed!"
Sanemi, who happened to be in a room down the hall, heard Shinobu yelling and raced out to see what was going on. "What the Hell's going on out here?!"
"Shinazugawa-san, come quick! My sister just collapsed!"
Sanemi immediately panicked and raced down to where Shinobu was. "Oh shit! No, no, no, no, no!"
As they both ran back into the room, Shinobu began examining Kanae as best as she could and stripping her of her clothes. When she took off her pants after having taken off everything above the waist first, she found a pool of blood beginning to form between her legs, causing her to freeze. "No…"
"What is it?! What the fuck is going on with her?!"
"My sister…" Shinobu began to cry as she realized what Kanae had tried to tell her. "My sister had a miscarriage, Shinazugawa-san… Oh my God…"
"A miscarriage?!" Sanemi rushed over and held his then-girlfriend's right hand as he demanded of her, "Kanae, wake up! Come on! Please, wake up!" He barely had any time to process the fact that his child with Kanae had just died, and that Kanae herself was in danger too. "No… This… This can't be happening… No!"
Kanae then began to slowly flicker her eyes as she returned to some level of consciousness, though she was still not fully alert. "Ugh… Agh…"
Sanemi called out, "Kanae!"
Shinobu added, "Nee-san!"
"I…" Kanae looked up at Sanemi and began to cry, realizing what had happened to the child growing inside her. "No, I…" She did her best to wipe her tears with her other hand. "I'm sorry…"
"Kanae…" Sanemi tightened her grip on her right hand.
As two Kakushi came running in, one of them asked Shinobu, "What happened to your sister?!"
"There's a high probability she just had a miscarriage," Shinobu explained as she began to collect herself emotionally and wiped away her tears. "I checked her two weeks ago after she said she had missed her period a few weeks prior to that, and she had signs of pregnancy after a pelvic exam I did."
The other Kakushi noticed the pool of blood at Kanae's crotch and on the floor and agreed with, "Yeah, I'd say that's a miscarriage, alright."
"Let's get some cloth to stop the bleeding," said the first Kakushi. "Shinobu, grab a stretcher so we can get her into a room and begin trying to pull the fetus out."
"On it," Shinobu said as she got up, running off to grab a stretcher from another room so they could bring Kanae to a proper hospital bed.
Sanemi told Kanae, "Don't worry so much about the baby, okay? Right now, I need you to stay with us, Kanae."
"I'm so sorry, Sanemi…" Kanae, who was beginning to sob as tears streamed down her face, clearly felt guilty for what had happened to her. "I'm sorry…"
The first Kakushi told Sanemi, "Shinazugawa-sama, I'm sorry, but we need to work on your girlfriend for a bit. Can you step back for now?"
Sanemi did as told, knowing that he could not help out since he was not medically trained outside of some first aid. "Got it." As he backed off, a million thoughts raced through his head about what had happened to Kanae and their now-deceased unborn child. "My mother told me this could happen when she was still alive," he thought to himself. "But I never imagined it would happen to me when I fell in love with a woman."
…
Present
"My sister was about eleven weeks pregnant when she miscarried," Shinobu explained as she finished her story. "It devastated her, and she was taken offline to recover for almost two whole months afterwards."
Nezuko asked her, "Did the two of them ever want to have children after that?"
"Of course. After the miscarriage, the two of them decided they needed to get married, and it seemed like things were going well. Of course, then…" Shinobu took a deep breath. "And then she was murdered by the demon with silver hair and rainbow eyes. Shortly before she was killed, she said that she looked forward to being a mother one day, but now… Now she'll never get that chance."
"And you're afraid Kanao-oneechan will go through that?"
Shinobu nodded. "A miscarriage would devastate her, not to mention that Tanjiro-kun wouldn't even know about it until he wakes up." She then chuckled. "You know, I'm a bit hypocritical, since I want her to stop being so stressed out, and yet I'm stressed out, too."
Giyu told Nezuko, "Parenthood can be tough, Nezuko. I'm learning new things every day about it, and my child isn't even born yet."
Shinobu added, "And that's why I told you and Zenitsu-kun to be careful when you two have sex with each other. Have you two been using condoms like I've said, Nezuko-chan?"
"Yes," she nodded. "Every time since you've told us."
"One day," Shinobu assured her. "You'll make a good mother, but that can wait. Wait until you're at least seventeen, if not longer. You can have all the sex you want with the boy you love, but hold off on parenthood for a bit, please."
Nezuko nodded in agreement before telling her, "My mother was seventeen when my brother was born."
"I heard. I'd say she did a good job raising the two of you."
Nezuko smiled, remembering her mother before her death at the hands of Muzan. "Thank you. She would have appreciated hearing that."
…
February 18, 1914
Junpei and Kyosuke were talking about the upcoming hunting trip as well as the Russo-Japanese War. "I'll tell you," Kyosuke said to his brother as the two sat at a table. "We were all really worried when you went off to war, but we knew it had to be done."
"Indeed," Junpei nodded. "Of course, I wasn't on the front as often as I was when we fought China for Taiwan twenty years ago, but still. I had some moments where I was in true danger."
"And Mukden was one of them, right?"
"Mukden was one of them, yes." Junpei looked out of a nearby window as a light snow fell onto the ground from the sky. "It's funny… Not in a humorous way, but in an odd way… We lost more men that day than the Russians, but we still got our objectives done and then some."
"But you captured a bunch of Russians too, right?"
"We did. Almost 22,000 of them, in fact." Junpei then set a pen down that he was using to write in a journal. "You know, the experts in the army say that our side alone fired more rounds of rifle, machine gun, and artillery fire in that battle than both the French and the Prussians, or should I say the Germans, fired at each other in the entire war they fought forty-four years ago, and yet the Russians still fired more."
Kyosuke was shocked. "In the whole war?!"
"Shockingly, yes. More were fired by just us than by either of them in their whole war. Warfare is changing, and I feel like the next major war that takes place will see that record blown away."
…
March 2, 1904
As part of the Army of Manchuria of the Imperial Japanese Army, Junpei was now posted at the front in Mukden. The battle, which had begun almost two weeks prior, was turning in the favor of the Japanese as the Russians were forced to inch further and further north. Today, however, not much progress was being made by either side, as the Russians were holed up at the Hun River and in front of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, using the city of Mukden as its front's pivot.
As a group of soldiers of the Fourth Army under Field Marshal Marquess Michitsura Nozu advanced on Russian lines to the direct south of the city, Junpei was on horseback as part of the cavalry, leading a charge at the Russians. He shouted to his men as they rode into combat, "Forward! Forward! Hit the Russians as hard as you can!" Artillery shells exploded all around them as gunfire erupted from the Russian lines.
A sergeant in the army shouted to Junpei, "Sir, they're opening up their rifles on us!"
Junpei shouted back, "Keep going! Draw your swords!" He then used his free hand to pull out a revolver and fire at the lines.
The sergeant then repeated the commands to the other soldiers, yelling, "Draw your swords! Draw your swo-!"
Before he could finish the command, the sergeant and his horse were both struck and killed by machine gun fire and fell to the ground riddled with bullets, prompting Junpei to yell out in shock, "Fuck!" He then emptied the last of his bullets and holstered his revolver before pulling out his sword.
Another sergeant, Hikaru, told Junpei from his horse, "Are you okay, sir?!"
"I'm fine," he assured him. "Let's focus on the task at hand, Amemiya!" The soldiers then reached the Russian lines, prompting Junpei to yell, "Tennoheika Banzai!"
Hikaru and many other soldiers shouted in response the same phrase as they began to slash through the Russian lines. "Tennoheika Banzai!"
Junpei managed to slice through two Russians, decapitating both of them with his sword as his horse also trampled a third soldier who was trying to run away. As he slowed his horse down, he ducked and just barely missed rifle fire in his direction. "Shit! Too close!" He then saw several Russians try to charge his horse with bayonets in a last-ditch attempt to kill him, prompting him to command his horse to move forward again. "Go! Go!"
One of the Russians nearby shouted in his native language, "Where the fuck is our backup?! We're getting slaughtered!"
Junpei battled with the three men for several seconds from his horse. All three tried to stab both him and the horse, but they failed in their efforts. Junpei shouted at the men as he killed one of them with a slice to his neck, "You won't win!" He then killed the other two in quick succession, but as he did, his horse was shot out from under him by machine gun fire, causing him to fall off. "Agh, fuck!"
As he looked up, he saw Hikaru running for him, his own horse also having been killed. "Sir! Sir! Hey, sir!"
In a daze, Junpei looked up and adjusted his eyes to the cold winter sky, "Amemiya…"
Hikaru then helped Junpei up before they both ducked to avoid rifle fire. "Sir, we need to keep moving! We're making a breakthrough!"
A young private in the infantry then ran over to see if they needed help. "Sir, do you need help?!"
"I'm fine," Junpei told the private. "Thank you, though."
The private then turned and saw several Russians charging at them. He told them both, "Get down!" As Junpei and Hikaru hunkered down, the private opened fire on the Russian soldiers with his rifle, striking down two of them. Hikaru also joined in, using a carbine he carried to fire at the Russians.
Junpei quickly reloaded his revolver manually as he told the private, "Are the infantry coming up now?!"
"Yeah," said the private. "I was in the first group of infantry to get here! Most of the guys around me are already dead!"
In shock, Junpei replied as he loaded his last bullet in, "What the fuck?!"
Hikaru similarly yelled, "Dead already?!"
"The machine gun fire was too much," replied the private.
"We have to keep moving," Junpei then told both of them. "If we don't have horses to ride, we'll just charge ahead with the infantry, Amemiya! Let's go!"
Hikaru said to Junpei to encourage him, "The Black Snake rides again!"
"Indeed! I shall ride again!" All three of them then ran forward to face the Russians once more, determined to break through their lines and turn the battle in Japan's favor.
…
Present
"Are you okay? Junpei, what's going on?"
Junpei snapped back to reality and looked at his brother once more. "Oh, my apologies, niisan. I was just thinking about the battle, that's all."
"It's still on your mind after all this time?"
"Of course," he nodded. "Shit like that doesn't leave your mind, ever. I had seen my fair share of combat between fighting the Chinese and then the Russians, but Mukden was a totally different beast of a battle. It was unprecedented in modern warfare, especially concerning Japan." He then sighed and asked him, "You know… Have you ever considered who will be the next-in-line for your noble title, niisan?"
Kyosuke nodded. "Of course I have. As of now, it would be you. I can't see my wife having any more children. Believe me, we've tried to have more than just Emi, but nothing's happened." He seemed to get depressed upon mentioning him and his wife's problems with conceiving more children. "I mean… Look, it's fun to just mess around with your wife, but… When you want something else other than just feeling good from sex and you don't get it, it can sting a bit. I feel like she feels inadequate as a woman since she seemingly can't have any more children aside from Emi, and that hurts to think about."
Junpei felt bad for his brother, even though he disagreed with him getting closer to Kaigaku. "I'm sorry to hear all that. Having an only child isn't all bad, but it can get a bit lonely sometimes. Of course, my situation is different since my wife's been dead for a while, so I can't actually try to have more children even if I wanted to."
"You could remarry one day," Kyosuke pointed out.
"I know, but…" Junpei sighed. "I've been so busy with the army that I haven't had a lot of time."
"I'm sure you'll find someone."
"Thank you," Junpei replied with a smile.
"As for your question," Kyosuke then said. "My only other option would be for Emi to marry someone and have the title go to them."
"You very well could." He thought to himself, "If I can't get his title when he dies, I could arrange to have Yuta marry Emi. Cousins marrying each other isn't unheard of, especially among the nobility. I would just need my brother to say yes."
"Emi does know your son very well. I could arrange for her to marry Yuta, but given that Yuta is the younger one and also her cousin, I do want to explore other options first."
Junpei, seeing that Kyosuke was at least somewhat open to the idea, replied, "I understand. Take a look around if you must. Yuta is always an option if you can't find anyone else." He then thought to himself, "Of course, I can't have him pick that Kaigaku kid. That would be the worst option possible for everyone here, especially me."
