It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been caught up in a lot of schoolwork and updating other fics. If you're still bored after this admittedly pretty short chapter, check out my other fics.

Now that I've reorganized my academic schedule, I should have more time to write as well. So… maybe… expect some updates to this fic and some others… maybe…

No promises. Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry are still tough.

-SpiritOfErebus

…

These couple of weeks had been… very nice.

Despite existing here as a heroic spirit, with his purpose being to destroy some great evil… everything so far had actually been fairly easy.

The first couple demons? The two that had attacked him? Eaten by Oryou. The belt demon that split into another demon that used sickles? Eaten by Oryou.

Any other foreseeable problem? Eaten by Oryou.

Was that it? Was that going to be the extent of his job here?

"Ryoma."

"Yes, Oryou?" Ryoma said.

"Oryou-san is hungry."

…How could Ryoma have forgotten. The main source of his financial and mental burden, along with the love of his life. The great serpent creature that lived with him.

"What do you want?" he said, getting up and shielding his eyes from the afternoon sunlight. "I can get fish, maybe some tofu… I have no idea how to make sushi and we don't have good sushi rice or seaweed, but we could eat out if you want…"

"Oryou-san feels a strange craving for man flesh."

"Don't bother with that." Ryoma said. "It's not like the one time you wanted to eat the master of chaldea. These humans have little to no mana. Besides, it wouldn't be morally correct. Do you want to be like the demons we came here to kill?"

"Oryou-san feels offended by your comparison." Oryou said, crossing her arms and turning her back.

"We cannot buy man-flesh." Ryoma said firmly.

"We cannot?" Oryou said.

"That was literally part of my life's work." Ryoma sighed. "Look at this line here."

"Oryou-san does not deign to read that garbage." Oryou said. "Besides, your writings cannot be read anyways."

"...You're floating upside down."

"Ah." Oryou said. "I see. You did all that? Oryou-san is very proud. And also slightly saddened at the prospect of not being able to consume man flesh."

"Well, I would have… if I didn't… well…"

"It shall not happen again." Oryou said. "Oryou-san will never leave Ryoma again."

"Come to think of it, did you start craving the man-flesh after you consumed these self-described demons?"

"Perhaps." Oryou mused. "Maybe their essence is corrupting my existence. That should not be possible. Oryou-san is much too mighty to be affected by those bugs."

"We may actually be much weaker than previously expected…" Ryoma said. "Do the terms Gaia or Alaya mean anything to you?"

"Alaya? Our boss?"

"Well, more than that. How does their mana distribution work?"

"Oryou-san doesn't know." Oryou shrugged. "It was never really an issue before."

"...I have nothing, then." Ryoma shrugged. "Perhaps somebody will come up with an explanation in some alternate timeline we're summoned to. One that has a mage that understands all of that nonsense."

"...Dinner?" Oryou said.

"Oh, right. I'll get started. Should I get some miso soup cooking? I do have the soup base! This company recently developed this in the 1910's! How crazy is that! You can just… put it in water, and it cooks!"

"Oryou-san must investigate. Perhaps one day, this will mean that there will be instant frog dishes."

"Your interests in food are… rather narrow. I doubt that anybody will invent products suitable to your tastes."

Oryou stared at Ryoma.

"Well, you know that I care." Ryoma said, chuckling just a bit nervously. "But we're not really supposed to interfere with history… and…"

The rest of the evening was also filled with such trivial squabble.

…

"The target is making food. What a waste of time. Demons can't taste anything." somebody said, from on a rooftop, binoculars pasted to his eyes.

"Why are they even wasting this time?" a hooded figure said from beside the binoculars-using person. "I'll have to write this down. By the way, how do you think the guy in the white suit is even… moving around in the day?"

"He seems human. He looks perfectly normal. He acts normal, he's well-respected by the community… And he's also called Sakamoto Ryoma, which is really weird."

"He also wears the same clothes all of these days. It does seem unnatural."

"He's a teacher. Don't they have uniforms? Hey, Kyosuke, you know how to write. Did you go to school?"

"...For a while." the hooded figure said. "And then my whole family was eaten. That kind of stopped."

"Oh." the scout said, taking off his binoculars. "Well, did your teachers wear uniforms?"

"Now that you mention it… no." the person called Kyosuke said, the new-fashioned thing from the west called a pencil being fiddled with in his hands.

"Then that's another weird thing, right?"

"Indeed. So, what is it with this guy?"

"I'm thinking this is some kind of blood demon art."

"Captain!" the two people on the roof said, just now noticing one of their superiors had jumped up to the roof. Being a member of the Kinoto rank, the second highest rank of the conventional ranking system, he was almost at the level where he could have become the apprentice of a Hashira. As such, he was also their superior in this mission.

"Well, think about it. Why is this person, Sakamoto Ryoma, still alive, named Sakamoto Ryoma, and also teaching history at a school? This is obviously… the real Sakamoto Ryoma. Or, at least, a blood demon art reconstruction. Some kind of reconstruction that can move around during the day, whose usage is to lure unsuspecting humans to their death."

"Didn't the police chief say that his wife's name was… Oryou… as well?" the literate member of the squad said, flipping through his notes.

"Indeed. Another name similar to that of the ones in the history books. She is barely seen during the day, and by night, this Sakamoto Ryoma's neighbor reported frequent acts of washing blood from cushions. He says its fish blood or animal blood, but how could we really be sure?"

"So… this Oryou… this Sakamoto Ryoma enthusiast… is the demon?"

"I have a hypothesis. This isn't just a demon that named themselves Oryou. This is… the original Oryou. Sakamoto Ryoma's wife. She's still alive because she was turned into a demon."

"...What the hell?"

"Exactly." the captain said. "Do you think this is somewhat reasonable, Kyosuke?"

"As far fetched as it seems, for the demon's reconstruction to be so knowledgeable as to be able to teach a history course and also take on such a consistent form of western apparel… it has to be a demon that was very attached to this construct." Kyosuke muttered. "It does make sense."

"Should I report this to Usui-san, then? Call in the hashiras to take care of this demon?"

"It's our best shot at it." Kyosuke said, his fist clenching. "Finally, a chance to kill one of these upper moons."

"We'll get rid of the demons." the captain said, patting Kyosuke on the back. His own black uniform, with the complicated character for destroy sown on the back, fluttered in the wind. "We'll try our damn hardest."

…

"Caw! Caw!"

A crow's cries echoed throughout the wilderness outside Tokyo.

"Caw! Caw!"

Within the bushes and the trails in the wilderness, they marched.

Men and women dressed in black uniforms, with black cloth tied over their faces to hide their identities and katana strapped to their belts.

If a common civilian saw this scene, they'd compare this to a procession of ninjas. Silent, coordinated, and most definitely capable of massacring the civilians that dared point them out.

At the head of the procession was a mountain of a man, with chains wrapped around his shoulders and a gleaming spiked flail swinging from side to side as the procession proceed.

Slowly, one of his hands raised up into the air. The column of demon slayers stopped.

"Caw! Caw!"

The trees were rustling. The wind was blowing through the leaves, causing them to rustle. Though Gyomei couldn't see it, he imagined the early moonlight gleaming through the gaps in the leaves, the light scattering across his face and that of his followers.

One hand was held out, and the crow landed on his fingertips.

"Demon slayers! Hashira! Target has been confirmed. Target is Narasaki Ryo, or Oryou, the restoration period's Sakamoto Ryoma's wife!"

Mutters raced through the demon slayers. The men and women in black uniforms muttered nervously.

Gyomei, however, was not shaken.

"Not even a hundred year old demon." Gyome thought. "That'll hardly be a challenge."

…

"The Sakamoto Ryoma's wife? From the Bakumatsu period?" Mitsuri Kanroji squealed. "Really? That's so awesome!"

"What are you talking about?" Sanemi shouted. "What's so significant about this person? I've never even heard of them."

"You've never read those newspaper compilations about his life? And that western thing they call a honeymoon that Sakamoto Ryoma went on with his wife back in the 1860's? Oh, they were the pinnacle of romance!"

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!" Mitsuri shouted back. "They're one of my favorite stories and I will not be silenced! People need to know!"

"This Oryou person is now a demon." Sanemi said.

"That… that doesn't mean I won't kill them." Mitsuri muttered. "It's a shame, though. Maybe I'll ask her about it before I slice her head off."

…

"The Keio era. A demon from the Keio era." Urokodaki muttered.

Urokodaki remembered another demon from the Keio era. The one demon that he had captured… massacring his students.

It had finally been slain by Tanjiro. But to think that another demon from the Keio era had taken a good chunk out of Tokyo's infrastructure and was rumored to be an upper moon.

What… what had he done? Permitting a demon with such potential into a place like Mount Fujikasane? Where every single aspiring demon slayer had to go through?

He shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on things like this.

Giyuu had already left for Tokyo. Headquarters was mobilizing all the hashira to take down the first confirmed upper moon in centuries.

And now? He was all alone. Looking at the moon. Behind the mask.

Just hoping that less people would die… this time.

…

Within a row of tombstones, Kagaya Ubuyashiki strolled. Every movement of his felt weaker these days.

It was natural for him, after all. Half of his face was a disgusting mess of veins turning purple. The curse that had run for centuries in his family showed no signs of abating.

But tonight.

Tonight, he believed.

Leaning a bit more into his wife's supporting arms, he turned to face one of the gravestones. These were the earlier graves. Graves before his time as the 97th leader of the demon slayers. Some of the names had already faded, despite his best efforts to maintain them. Only the echoes of words remained on the tombstone, but still, paper records of each name still existed, filed away in the hidden mansions.

He didn't want anybody else to die.

But he had no choice.

Because if nobody was willing to fight the demons today, then tomorrow, more would be eaten. More people would be turned into demons.

His curse was trivial. The curse upon humanity was the real problem.

And why did they not engage in combat near the morning?

The tunnel systems reported in Tokyo. If the demon hid down there, there'd be no telling where they'd go next.

They only had one shot. To make sure the demon was dead, they'd need to strike when the demon would be confident in striking back.

Looking up, he saw the moon. The same moon shone over Tokyo tonight. The same moon shone over the countless demon slayers marching into combat.

And he hoped that the same moon would shine down on the beheaded neck of this upper moon.

…

"Oryou-san senses a lot of hostility." Oryou said matter-of-factly.

"Maybe it's the spirits of the frogs that you've consumed, coming back to haunt you." Ryoma smirked.

"Impossible." Oryou said. "Their souls are absorbed into Oryou-san's essence when I consume them alive."

Sometimes, Ryoma almost forgot that his wife was an eldritch creature beyond his understanding.

Only sometimes.

The candlelight flickered in his house. Given his meager wages, he still couldn't afford electricity. Still, with his level of vision, it didn't matter much anyways.

He was pretty sure Oryou could see in the dark, anyways.

"Should we go looking again?" Ryoma said. "Nice as this is, we still need to find our targets to fulfill our orders."

"What orders? Oryou-san forgot."

"You know, killing the-"

There was a knock on the door.

…

The conversation inside truly made him sick.

Talking about humans like they were frogs? Treating their lives like… merely orders?

Shinobu… smiled. Oh, well. The demons would be dead soon.

Holding the wisteria poisons in one hand, and knocking on the door with the other, she prepared to strike.

"Hello? Who is it?" a male voice said from inside.

There was some more indistinct conversation about frogs and not being allowed to consume them. Shinobu gritted her teeth.

"Is this Sakamoto Ryoma?" she said, her whimsical voice as normal and cheerful as she could keep it. This was a demon on the level of Douma, the one that ate her sister. She needed this first part of the plan to be successful.

Looking behind her, at the hashira perched atop rooftops, at the demon slayer corp members silently finished evacuating civilians.

They anticipated this region to be completely destroyed by the morning.

"Yes." the voice replied. "Is there a problem?"

"One of your students has gone missing. We'd like to ask a couple questions."

"What?" the voice replied, what pretended to be genuine concern audible to Shinobu. It disgusted her. Even moreso than before.

"Really?"

The door was opened. A face, wearing a white and blue hat, emerged. There were no demonic features, but

And Shinobu immediately tossed the ball of wisteria inside. There was a surprised yelp, and the ball was hit outside of the room. No matter. Jumping back, more of the poison was thrown in through the gaps of the house. The paper windows and the door panels. Nothing was safe.

For a moment, perched atop another building, Shinobu watched anxiously. Was that… enough. That concentrated wisteria was a good portion of her stockpiles. At the very least, it should at least be able to hamper the demons.

Even if it didn't pierce their skin, it would irritate the eyes and cause pain… right?

"Is this some kind of prank? I don't think that's a thing yet." the man said, stepping out of the house, waving his door to waft some of the wisteria out.

"Im.. Impossible!" Shinobu muttered. The demon was completely immune to wisteria? Or was this just not a strong enough dose for an upper moon demon?

No. Now was not the time for hesitation.

"Uzui!" Shinobu shouted.

"On it. Prepare to die flashily, demon!"

Three small, black orbs were thrown at the house."

"What? Demon? There's been a misunderstanding." the man shouted, "Or do you all seriously think I murdered the headmaster? Why would I even do that? the man gave me a-"

Everything was engulfed in flames.

…

Ryoma looked back at his house. Everything was gone.

The explosion didn't really do much to him. He couldn't identify the black pellets at first, but apparently, they were extremely potent bombs. Bombs that had completely destroyed his house.

"Can we talk about this first?" he said, looking at the people that surrounded his house.

"Die, demon!" was what greeted him.

Really?"

Some white haired kid was yelling something about wind, while a monk wearing some kind of green robe jumped down from a lamp post, twirling a chain and flail while muttering something about rocks and buddhism.

His sword materialized, and he deflected the attacks with relative ease. While the strength behind the attacks were augmented, no doubt by some sort of technique,

"You really think I'm a demon?"

"Your sword just appeared out of midair." a man wearing a strange set of haori said. One half of it was checkered while the other half was just red. "You're probably some kind of demon."

"No, I killed the other demon in the entertainment district." Ryoma said.

"You didn't. Show yourself, real demon!"

The rubble of his house shifted, and Oryou emerged from the fiery wastes.

Looking at the swordsmen surrounding Ryoma, Oryou's eyes flashed red. Redder than they ever had been before.

"What. Are you all. Doing. To Oryou-san's Ryoma?" she demanded.

Then, the shadows began to writhe. Slowly, they coalesced around Oryou. Her hair merged into her body, and she slowly became long and serpentine. Her human features faded away as she transformed.

"Wait! Oryou! There's been some kind of misunderstanding!"

But looking at the swordsmen and swordswomen's reaction to Oryou's transformation, Ryoma sighed.

There was no explaining this, was there?

As the swordsmen leapt, aiming for Oryou, Ryoma knew that he had to do something.

These people were humans. Very different from the thralls of the dead apostle. They had probably mistaken Oryou, which was also a mystical entity, as what they called a demon.

They were innocent. And despite the fact that they had just blown up his house, they didn't deserve to die.

Therefore, Ryoma's greatest opponent here… was Oryou.

…

AN

And so, the great misunderstanding continues. Hopefully nobody dies. Well, I control it and stuff, but yknow…

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-SpiritOfErebus