Warning: Stalking/obsessive behavior, attempted sexual assault
Chapter 1: New Moon
The Upper Moons (and Lower Moons) were an intimidating clan of demons. They have fought the Hashira for years and weren't planning on backing down anytime soon. Yes, they all had their flaws, but none of them were prepared for the new recruit.
One day, a demon showed up at the door of the Infinity Castle. She had long straight blue hair with pink eyes and a big horn erupting from her forehead. She had a white kimono with a green nature pattern, complete with socks and sandals. It would be a crime against fashion nowadays, but this was the Taisho period, where it was normal to dress like that. Anyways, she was nervous about doing this, thinking about turning the other way so she doesn't humiliate herself in front of the Upper Moons. However, she affirmed herself that she was better than that and that she had been training for this for centuries, and she wasn't about to throw it all down the drain right now. She wanted to prove to everyone in her life that she CAN be an Upper Moon. With that, she knocked on the door. She felt her confidence rise up, however, it was… too much confidence. Footsteps were heard approaching before the door opened, and there stood a tall demon with long spiky brown hair with red tips and six eyes. He had a purple and black kimono that was held together in a white knot. With a cold expression, he looked her up and down before studying her face. "So you must be the new Upper Moon we've been hearing about," he said in a deadpan voice. The girl grinned cockily and crossed her arms, looking up at Kokushibo. "Hell yeah, I am! I won't let you down!" she said in a rather sassy way. The demon was taken back by the fact that she was nothing like he had expected her to be. "You seem… very confident," he said, widening his eyes a little. The girl's ego was only stroked even more. "I know. I've been training for centuries up to this point. Yeah, I lost some battles with the Hashira, but with time and practice, I'm sure I can take down at least 3 at once!" she grinned. The demon took some time to process what she had just said. She lost some battles with the Hashira before? How was she even fit to be a Demon Moon? Even if she had been training for years, she would be considered weak and the other Demon Moons would have eaten her alive- both figuratively and literally. "You… lost some battles with the Hashira?" he asked, going back to his stoic expression. The girl nodded. "But I've gotten better overtime. I figured becoming a Demon Moon is how I would complete my life." she said. The demon held back the urge to slam the door in her face. It seemed she didn't take the position of an Upper Moon seriously and just wanted to be part of it to be 'cool'. However, he kept his composure and took a deep breath. "Let me ask you a question; do you know what it means to be part of our clan?" he asked calmly. She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Of course I do!" she replied. The demon wasn't buying it. "Prove it. Prove you're not joining just because you think we're 'cool'," he said, giving her a stern face. The girl was confused and a little offended. "Okay, I will! I'll say the Upper Moon oath," she said. The demon was impressed with the fact that she remembered that the Upper Moons even had an oath. With how she's been acting so far, he figured that she would ask what she had to do. The girl took a deep breath and put her hand on her heart, saying the Upper Moon oath:
"I will not only use my words to show that I take my new position as an Upper Moon seriously; I will fight the Hashira and go on the missions Muzan gives me. I will attend meetings and gatherings, as well as participate in the downfall of the Hashira. I will ensure our clan becomes the most powerful demons alive."
The demon's eyes widened as she had said it all correctly. It seems that despite her cocky demeanor, she was fit to be an Upper Moon after all, as much as he didn't want that to be the case. He sighed and led her inside the castle, where the rest of the Upper and Lower Moons were gathered around to celebrate her arrival. They heard the banter between her and the demon, but decided it was most professional to keep it to themselves. The girl made her way up to the Demon Moons and the six-eyed demon beside her followed. He then turned to her. "What is your name, by the way?" he asked. The girl grinned. "I'm Vespera," she replied. The demon gave her a slight nod. "My name is Kokushibo, the top ranking Upper Moon," he said in a serious tone. Vespera rolled her eyes. "I know who you are," she said. Kokushibo just stayed silent as he turned his attention back to the Upper Moons. "This is our new recruit, Vespera. I know you may not like the change of plans we have, but it's what it is now." he said. Vespera then made her way to the Upper Moons to introduce herself more to them, seeming way more confident than she was before she first arrived at the castle.
After she had introduced herself to most of them, she noticed one Upper Moon she had forgotten about who was reading a book in the corner. He had long spiky blonde hair with a black and golden crown. He sported a red shirt that had a drippy black design that resembled ink. He had grey pants that were held by a white belt. His eyes were a piercing combination of yellow and green. His eyebrows were bushy and black as well. Vespera seemed intrigued by this demon and she started making her way towards him, but Kokushibo stopped her by grabbing her arm. "Wait. You… don't want to go near him." he warned. Vespera looked up at him in confusion. "Why not?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. Kokushibo tried to explain it to her without creeping her out. "Well, as a woman, you don't want to associate with him. He is… not the ideal man around women," he said, trying to sugarcoat his words so he doesn't outwardly say anything he might regret. Vespera turned to the blonde demon and back to Kokushibo. "Well, don't knock 'em till you try 'em," she replied, clearly not believing Kokushibo, who then took a deep breath. "Well, it's your funeral then," he shrugged. Vespera scoffed softly as she thought Kokushibo was being dramatic. She made her way to the blonde demon and he looked up at her. "Hey, didya hear about me, or were you too busy reading?" she asked with a slightly annoyed expression on her face. The blonde demon looked up from his book with a smug grin on his face. "Oh, I heard, but I wanted to see you come to me instead of the other way around." he said as he looked at her in a rather dreamy manner. Vespera chuckled. "Well, you were just sitting there with your book, so I wasn't expecting you to come over to me," she replied. The blonde demon softly chuckled and continued grinning at her, even getting closer to her. "I suppose I should have. After all, who am I to not be lured in by a beautiful creature such as yourself?". He gently took her hand and kissed it, making her a little flustered. "Oh, wow. You're quite a gentleman, I guess." she blushed. The blonde demon looked up at her as he scratched the back of his head. "Oh, how rude of me, I didn't introduce myself. I am Dõma, the second Rank Upper Moon, and you must be Vespera," he said as he slowly placed her hand on the side of his face. He started to blush at her touch, and she wasn't sure whether to feel uncomfortable or flattered. "I must say, you have a very soft hand." Dõma said as he let her hand fondle his face. Vespera felt a little uncomfortable and tried to remove her hand from his face, but he kept it there. After a while, he finally let go of her hand with a happy sigh, as if her touch made him feel something. "Anyways, you must be very tired from walking all the way over here. Your room is prepared for you," he said once he got out of his trance. Vespera looked behind and saw a bedroom which had her rank number on it, Lower Rank #7, and went inside. She heard some of the other Demon Moons complaining that it wasn't fair that the Lower Moons got another recruit while the Upper Moons didn't, and they saw her as weak and worthless. She didn't care though, as her ego was too big. She had gotten what she wanted, after all, though she wished she was part of the Upper Ranks.
As she finished setting up for the day, she turned around to leave the room, but Dõma was standing there, leaning on the door frame. She hadn't felt his presence beforehand, so he either just came, or he was there the whole time and she was distracted. "Oh, hey." she said with a grin. He chuckled, still with that smug smile. "I couldn't help but read on the door that you are a Lower Moon. How unfortunate for you, since you've worked and trained for so many years." he said. Vespera sighed. "Yeah, I wanted to be up there with you, Kokushibo, and Akaza, but I guess I had to start off small with these Lower Moon losers," she said as she rolled her eyes. Dõma chuckled and came closer to her. "You know, as the second-in-command of the Upper Moons, I have the power to give you what you want- for a price, though." he said as his grin grew more playful and mischievous. Vespera's eyes widened in excitement. "Really?" she asked. Dõma put a finger over her lips and shushed her. "Yes, really. Just give me what I want first, then I'll give you what you want," he whispered as he got closer to her face. Vespera looked a little confused for a second and looked around, trying to find some sort of escape route as she wasn't expecting an Higher Rank to act like this towards her. She slowly removed his finger from her lips. "What exactly do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms. Dõma saw that she was playing hard-to-get, but he liked his women like that. "You know exactly what I want," he said. Vespera wasn't really getting it. "No, I don't," she replied. Dõma thought she was just playing dumb now, so he leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled herself back. "Hey, what the hell? I wasn't asking for a kiss!" she exclaimed, half annoyed and half surprised. Dõma just blushed and playfully chuckled. "Oh, how rude of me to do that on your first day. I apologize, Miss Vespera, it's just that I couldn't find my way out of the maze of beauty you set up for me," he said, his grin still plastered onto his face. Vespera was confused. Why did he seem like he didn't regret what he tried to do? "Well, just don't go crazy on me again. I'm not looking for some guy, I'm looking to be a muscle in a team," she said as she sat on her bed. Dõma went to sit beside her, getting questionably close to her. "Oh please, a pretty girl like you doesn't need to worry about that. You need to worry about pleasing your man," he replied. Vespera seemed a little appalled. "So you're saying I joined this clan for nothing?" she asked. Dõma continued to grin. "Well, not for nothing. You can find many male suitors here, like a certain man in front of you right now." he said, hoping she was picking up what he was laying down. Vespera just turned to him with a slight grimace. "Not interested," was all she said. It shattered Dõma's ego a little, but he didn't want to give up on her just yet. He frowned a little, but he quickly went back to his grin. "Oh, you sure? Okay, but let me know if you change your mind once you crawl back to me," he snickered as he crossed his left leg over his right one. Vespera rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's not happening," she chuckled. Just then, Kokushibo was walking by and heard their conversation. He let out a long sigh, seeing how Dõma was trying to charm yet another woman, even after being rejected. He turned to the room and spoke sternly and clearly. "Dõma, she said she wasn't interested," he said. Dõma knew he couldn't put up a fight with the Highest Rank Upper Moon, so he scoffed and left Vespera's room. Vespera just looked at Kokushibo weirdly. "Thanks, but… I could have done that myself," she said. Kokushibo's face remained stone-cold. "No, you couldn't. You see, Dõma sees women as objects, not people, and he can't take no for an answer. That's what I've been trying to tell you, but you didn't listen. Now he is obsessed with you." he said, looking slightly angry with her. Vespera sighed. "Hey, I did say 'don't knock 'em till you try 'em', and I did try him, and I didn't like him," she snapped back. Kokushibo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You SHOULDN'T have tried him in the first place, because once he lays his eyes on a woman, he never looks away," he replied more firmly. Vespera just kicked her feet up and down a little. "So, what now?" she asked. Kokushibo just sighed. "Be very cautious whenever he approaches you. He's unpredictable, that means you can never expect anything from him, so be careful with how you act around him," he explained. Vespera frowned. "I know what 'unpredictable' means," she sassed him. Kokushibo had enough of her stuck-up attitude. "Fine, if you think you can handle him on your own, then show me. I'll wait for you to crawl to me for help," he said coldly before leaving. Vespera wasn't too worried about Dõma, as she had trained and exercised her abilities enough to use it on any man if they become a danger towards her. The way she saw it, Kokushibo was babying her and calling her "weak".
