[Seiji's POV]
(Demon Slayer Headquarters)
"You've returned, Seiji Shigan."
It's been a year since I last laid my eyes on him, but the changes in his body made it feel like it's been a hundred years.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki was a dead man still living. His condition had worsened dramatically during the short time that I was gone.
He was a very sick man the last time I saw him, but now half of him was a corpse. His flesh was beginning to rot while he was alive. The stench of decay had to be stopped using bandages and scented oils.
I could imagine the agony he was in every second of his existence.
I respected him and I loved him. Which was why I nearly blurted out an offer to end his life. If that could be called living, then death must be kind.
The only reason he was still alive was because of his hatred for Muzan and his ambition to end the demon-kind in this generation.
"My lord," I said, and a wave of silence spread through the whole room. "I have returned."
All the Hashiras present stared at me with varying degrees of shock in their eyes. Even Lady Amane looked at me with wide eyes.
It was because I directly addressed Ubuyashiki as my lord. Perhaps you didn't notice, but throughout my time in the Demon Slayer Corps, I had never addressed him as such directly.
It was one of the ways I distanced myself from the whole Japanese samurai tradition. I was a modern child reborn in the past, so having a Lord I needed to sacrifice my life for had never sat well with me.
But the sight before me broke that barrier. How could I not show at least this level of respect and loyalty to the man who wrestled with death every day for the greater good?
Others might not know it fully, and they might be unable to comprehend. But my eyes saw everything, and they couldn't help but lower their gaze in respect for the man.
"Did you accomplish what you set out to do?" he asked me in barely a voice. But his words never looked clearer to me.
"I did."
"Was it worth it?" he asked again.
"It was," I said and paused, before I continued, "I fought the first Upper Moon last night. Kokushibo, the traitor who turned on his own brother and the Demon Slayer Corps."
"The fight was intense, we stripped a mountain in our wake. I came out victorious in the battle, and I call that... easy," I said.
"I see," he said and closed his eyes as he lay on the futon before me. "Then I guess I could rest... easy."
He smiled.
"You've done more than enough for us. Just know that the demons are as good as dead. The only thing stopping me is nothing of their doing but time," I said, as certain as any blade could be.
"I believe you, Pillar of Pillars," he said and then became still.
It was not death, but it was so close it might as well be.
I released a shaky breath and tore my eyes away from him. I looked around the room. We were inside the main room of the Demon Slayer Headquarters. After we helped the survivors in the morning, we gathered here in the afternoon for a Hashira meeting.
The meeting had already been held, where everyone was informed of what had happened last night. All the casualties, the injured and the deaths. We've also made plans to deal with any future attacks and properly decide on future actions.
After the meeting was over, we met with Lord Ubuyashiki and he praised us for all our hard work and welcomed me back personally.
And now, after the meeting was over, it was late into the evening. The sun was starting its descent on the horizon. Orange sunlight filtered in through the paper walls of the Headquarters.
Every Hashira was in here except for Rengoku, who remained buried in the mountain. He would come out at night and eventually join us.
"That will be all, everyone. I will take care of my husband now," Lady Amane said while bowing respectfully.
We did the same as well and then moved out of the room. When I came outside, the fresh afternoon breeze hit my nose. I felt the tightness in my body slowly melt away under the shy sunlight.
"Seiji~" Mitsuri sang and jumped at me. I caught her and she hugged me tightly with all her limbs and clung to me like a koala.
I chuckled, "You know this is like the seventh time you gave me a welcome back hug."
She giggled sweetly, "You were gone for a full year, and now I have to make up for all the missing hugs every day. I will have to hug you 358 more times."
"Only hug?" I asked.
She blushed red and hid her face on my chest, "Not in front of the others," she whispered.
"Disgusting," Sanemi commented from the side with a very judgmental face. His face looked like our display of affection offended him personally.
"Just because you can't get a girl doesn't mean a relationship is disgusting," I said while throwing a smirk at him.
"Shut your mouth scarface!!! I can get any woman I want!" Sanemi barked back immediately as if expecting my retort.
"Please scream louder, I can't hear you," I said. He lost himself further into his own rage. His teeth ground together, nearly creating sparks.
It felt good to piss off the Wind Hashira again. It's been quite a while since we last interacted like this. I believe he was secretly enjoying it as well.
"I'll carve my words on your brain!" he actually screamed louder.
"You can't do that. Unlike you I have a maiden who would protect me," I said, showing Mitsuri who I was holding in my arms. She played along and faked a glare towards Sanemi.
"I can beat every woma-" Sanemi was about to retort again but I cut him off shortly.
"Just a reminder, you still can't beat her in an arm wrestling," I said, and he was forced to swallow back all his words.
"Damn it!!" he just said angrily while stomping his feet, "Mitsuri!! I challenge you to a duel of the arms!!"
"I don't wanna, you always lose anyway," she said in response.
Suffice it to say, it had become a pleasant thing to annoy and tease Sanemi. He always had the best reaction to every little thing and always took insults to heart. That made his presence unignorable, you never felt alone with him around.
"The sun is setting, I think we need to hurry to the village soon. We can't leave it unguarded for too long." Giyu said, his voice cutting a new tension to the situation.
Indeed, we won the battle, but the war is not finished yet. We had moved all the injured into a nearby village which is under the jurisdiction of the Ubuyashiki clan. All the patients, including other Demon Slayers like Tanjiro were there.
"You guys go ahead. I will return to the Butterfly Mansion and check everything before I dig out Rengoku and guide him back to the rest," I said, finally putting down Mitsuri from my arms.
"Alone? Do you think that's a good idea?" Obanai asked.
I nod, "Yes, given that I am the one with the least injuries. I can also secure Rengoku quickly if it's necessary."
"I wouldn't be worried about that," Kanae said while stepping forward. She had her kiss already, so she did not interfere when Mitsuri decided to hug me and had me all for herself.
"We've studied with Lady Tamayo over the years. She was able to sever her connection with Muzan, and she helped us do the same for Rengoku," she said.
"I know, just in case. Who knows, maybe the demon blood itself corrupts over time. We need to prepare," I said, paused for a bit and then smiled, "Don't worry, I will return soon and you can have me all to yourself."
Kanae was taken aback by a blush, "That's not what I was thinking about!!"
"I need to come with you," this time, Shinobu spoke out, "I've hidden my research materials underground and I need to collect those."
I thought for a bit and then nod, "Okay. But the rest of you should return to the village, get yourself some rest."
The others nodded with no complaint.
And so we split when the sun was starting to set. The other Hashiras would go to the village. They would help in any way they could while also making sure they were there to protect in case anything happened.
"Shall we?" I asked Shinobu after the others left.
"Let's go," she said and ran first.
She was the more tired and injured between us too so I let her go at her pace and followed behind her.
The Butterfly Mansion was quite a bit of distance from the Headquarters but not too far. But at our current relaxed speed, it would take an hour. So I decided to have small talks, it could be a good time to catch up.
But Shinobu seemed to have the same thought and spoke first.
"You need to get your arm checked up," she said.
"Oh," I blinked, "You noticed?"
I was trying to hide the small injury but I guess it couldn't slip a doctor's eyes. "It's nothing really. Just a small injury from catching one of Muzan's attacks."
The sword I used was broken in my clash with Kokushibo so I had to fight Muzan barehanded before Tengen arrived. Although I was able to block and dodge, I could not truly escape the full force of a Demon King.
"Do you think it's a good idea?" she asked, "I mean the message you sent to Muzan."
She was talking about the part where I destroyed the Blue Spider Lily in front of Nakime's eyes and boldly declared I was going to destroy the last garden of the Blue Spider Lily the next time they bloom. So Muzan had to find me and kill me before that happened.
"You are painting a big target on you," she said.
"That's the point," I answered, "Muzan has to target me instead of the others. The next time we meet, I will not let him escape."
I would have to kill Nakime first. Her Blood Demon Art was the only thing that saved Muzan. If that was gone, he would be effectively vulnerable. I realized last night that instead of just targeting the strong ones, I need to take her out.
"How sure are you?" she asked yet again while we ran through the forest.
"I did not lie to Lord Ubuyashiki," I said, "The only thing stopping me is time. The training I did the past year bore wonderful fruits."
"Will you tell me about it?" she asked to which I smiled,
"Sure. But when everyone is there okay. I will even show you the new technique that I developed," I said.
"Is it stronger than Sun Breathing?"
"That's a tricky question. But it is more effective for the demons," I said.
"Seriously?" she asked, her eyes wide when she turned to me.
"Seriously," I said.
"What about you? Tell me about the research you've had with Lady Tamayo. How does severing a demon's connection with Muzan work?" I asked.
Shinobu was happy to answer. I have been living like a sage for a year now, so I really need to catch up with everything else.
She told me all of their findings in a year. Their findings while working with Lady Tamayo were all innovative and groundbreaking. They were already on the brink of perfecting the cure that would reverse demonification.
They had tested it with success on weaker demons, actually and with success. But the consequences of turning demons back to humans were tricky, often killing the subject on the spot because their lifespan was burnt away by all their regeneration while being a demon. And that consequence returned in full when they became humans again.
She also told me how they were able to cut Rengoku's connection with Muzan. Basically, what Lady Tamayo did to herself took years, so they took a shortcut and exchanged all of Muzan's blood with Lady Tamayo's through transfusion. Rengoku was more like Yushiro instead, a demon from Lady Tamayo and not of Muzan.
We reached the burnt-down Butterfly Mansion while she told me those things. She actually went into detail about what happened, thinking that I was one of the few who could understand the true process.
When we reached the mansion, I helped her clear the debris and ash before she took out all the scrolls and materials that she had hidden underground. In the end, she was left with three big backpacks that were too much for the two of us to carry.
"I swear I thought I didn't secure enough materials at the time," she defended herself when I gave her a look.
So we left those there and headed towards where we had buried Rengoku. I gave a few taps on the ground with my foot. I could see through the soil so I knew he was awake.
"I have risen yet again!!" Rengoku said while appearing from the ground with no help. He just needed someone to tell him the sun had set.
"Good to see that you can wake up," I said, taking a moment to look at his appearance once again.
He was still new but he looked cool outwardly, I must admit. The horns and the sharp canine fangs gave him a wrong look. Like someone with such a bright personality and smile could not be a demon.
I held his hands and uprooted him from the ground.
With his help, we were able to carry all the buried materials so we head towards the village where everyone else was waiting for us.
"What!? You were gone for a whole year? Why?" Rengoku asked.
I answered, "Training, yada yada more training yada yada and then inventing a new and better technique."
"I decided to train because of the battle we had with Muzan. I realized then that I needed to grow stronger than I already was. The battle I had with Kokushibo right after only cemented my decision," I said.
"But I thought we did pretty well," Rengoku asked, still wondering why I decided to take such drastic action.
"I lost you," I admitted before correcting myself, "At least I thought I lost you."
Rengoku was caught momentarily off guard before he beamed a smile.
"But I see that I don't need to be worried. Even as a demon, you are still you," I said.
"Hahaha, my mother always did say that I have a heart too big to corrupt," he said while patting my shoulder with a new arm that he grew.
What? He can do that? Take the luggage I'm carrying too.
Our return to the village was even slower with all the materials we had with us. But there was never a moment of boredom with Rengoku's loud personality. I'll admit it was rather fun and relieving.
Yes. I didn't hate my friend even if he had become a demon.
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[IMAGE]
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Author : 😶 hi
Let's do this slow. Inconsistent update for this week but will try to do proper schedule next week.
In the meantime, may I humbly advice re reading some things, especially the fights. The movie gave me a new prepective and I really enjoyed it.
For what it's worth, I think your shamless author is back for this book.