Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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"Hehe..."
Gyokko explained his discovery with enthusiasm. Although he 'stole' this information from another demon, it is imperative that he be the one to relay it to Muzan-sama.
Gyokko's face was full of anticipation and eagerness at Muzan-sama's praise and reward.
Muzan looked into Gyokko's eyes and saw all his thoughts and desires.
'...Swordsmith Village?'
Another one of his objectives has been completed, that is... the searching for the location of the Demon Slayer Corps' Nichirin sword supplier.
He glanced at Doma, who was lost in his own world and whatever nefarious plans he concocted in his head.
Muzan pondered over the information brought by his subordinate for a while.
"If your information is correct, then take Hantengu with you." Muzan ordered.
After that, Muzan waved his hand and considered this matter closed.
Dang!
Nakime understood the order and plucked her biwa. Immediately, the floor on each of the Upper Moons transforms into a portal, sending them back to their previous location.
"Huh?" Gyokko's head was left behind since the portal opened underneath his body. He had to use his small baby hand to hop around and finally jumped through and back to his room full of pots.
"Muzan-sama!"
Akaza was unwilling to go back just like this. He shouted his objection as his frustration could no longer be held back.
"Please let me go with him—"
Before he could finish speaking, though...
Creak!
The portal pulled him in forcefully, and Akaza stepped on air and fell out of the Infinity Castle.
Muzan turned his head to glance at the place where Akaza had fallen and shook his head.
'...It's no use, Akaza.'
'All frontal attacks are in vain...'
'Now the only thing that can help me...is the blue spider lily.'
Muzan's crimson eyes held contempt at his situation, and he steeled himself for a solitude in the Infinity Castle.
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-Location: Back at the Unknown Dojo-
The pale moonlight shone down at the horror of the dojo's hall as a figure was slowly crawling along the floor and ground to the gate.
She was the assistant to the photo studio crew that did this gig of documenting this new dojo in town. She was named Mizuki Nana, is 17 years old, and already misfortune seems to like to toy with her.
She had suffered the biggest shock of her life.
"...leave, I need to leave..." The girl was holding a box in her trembling hands as she adjusted her glass that she found under the pile of limbs. She slowly crawls her way out of this cursed dojo.
"...What was that..." she muttered to herself.
Recalling the monster with pink eyelashes who has enough strength to punch through a human body triggered her fear again.
Nana subconsciously held the box tighter as she took several moments to calm herself down.
The box in her arms held a camera borrowed from her photo studio, a relatively new and portable model for the time.
She resisted her urge to vomit and inhaled and exhaled her breath in short intervals. Her face was pale and blue, mostly from fear and cold. She forces her body to continue crawling to the gate. Her legs have no strength left to even stand up.
Suddenly—
At the entrance of the dojo.
Whoosh!
Bump!
Akaza appeared in all his glory from the air and landed heavily on the ground.
Dust rose to obscure his vision.
Akaza stared hard at the ground as if they had committed a grave sin. His teeth were grinding against each other so much that people could hear a crack-crack sound from it. His fists were tightened so firmly blood was about to burst.
He stood there stewing in his anger for a while.
Behind him, Nana froze in her attempt to get away, still holding her box.
"Upper Moon One!"
Akaza snarls as rage veins burst out on his face and muscles.
"How dare you just die like this!"
"Bastard!"
Akaza yelled out a scream of rage to the moon, his eyes reflecting the number "2" engraved on them.
"!!"
Nana was frightened and flinched when she collapsed at the entrance of the dojo. Her face turned more ashen by the second.
Her limbs and some of her clothing on the front were covered in coppery blood and small pieces of flesh that no one could identify. She looked on in horror at the suddenly appearing Akaza.
Her pupils trembled violently as her mouth hung open, but no words could come out.
'Why! Why did he suddenly appear again!? Didn't he leave!??'
Despair seeped into her heart as her trembling went down to her hands and body. Her glasses on her face were broken in one of her lenses.
'I just plucked up the courage to get out of that pile of corpses!'
'...and the moment away from the freedom of this nightmare, this guy fell from the sky!'
'I'm just an assistant photographer!'
Perhaps it was her fear or her despair.
Nana couldn't control her hands anymore as she gripped tight the camera box and accidentally clicked the shutter button to take pictures.
Clicked!
She took a picture of Akaza's back, and the quiet night announced her accidental photo.
"...Ah..." Nana held the camera in her hand blankly, aware of what she had done. Her beating heart reached its peak as her fear spiked even more. Her body completely freezes in place.
"...it's over." Her mouth twitched, and her eyes felt droopy. She looked at the camera in her hand as her body went into shutdown mode. Her last thought was:
'This damn camera... I should have never taken it.'
Fortunately,
Akaza doesn't care about what happened to her and didn't even glance back.
Whoosh!
He turned into shadow and disappeared from his spot.
...
It was not until the next morning that the girl was found unconscious and covered in blood, slumped at the gate of the dojo.
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-Location: Butterfly Mansion-
In the early morning the next day after Tanjuro and Shinjuro duel.
The Kamado children were not at the mansion at the moment. They had gone to play at the Rengoku residence's house nearby with Mitsuri, who was overflowing with joy at so many little brothers and sisters, and Obanai, who claimed that he was worried and followed along.
So Tanjuro and Kie had a rare moment alone together, sitting on the veranda enjoying morning tea and the quiet early morning.
"Dear."
"Hm?"
"Is it really okay for us to just... stay here with other people like this?" Kie's eyes were full of worry. Staying in the Butterfly Mansion for so long made her feel a little guilty.
"Although we've been helping out with chores, but..."
"It's okay." Tanjuro said, shaking his head. He held Kie's hand and comforted her.
"Like you said, we've been helping out and not freeloading."
Before Kie could say anything, a kasugai crow circled in the sky and swooped down onto the courtyard.
"Caw! Kamado Tanjuro-san!"
The crow flapped its wing and landed beside the couple, cawing his instruction out of his beak.
"You have a reply!"
Hearing this, Kie loosened her grip on Tanjuro's and retrieved the letter from the crow.
"Here you go, dear."
"Thank you, Kie." Tanjuro nodded with a smile and took the letter and opened it.
"Is that a reply from Ubuyashiki-san?"
"Yes, that's right."
A few days ago, he wrote a letter to Kagaya.
The content of the letter consists of how he wanted a more durable Nichirin blade and a Kasugai crow of his own.
The reason for the kasugai crow, besides the obvious, was to see whether he could use their feather to release a ninjutsu called "Mist Raven" by means of the paper man he had obtained.
The crow came to Tanjuro's side and jumped onto his shoulder. "Caw!"
"As you requested, from now on, I'll be your messenger!"
"My name is Gonpachiro! Nice to meet you!" The crow introduced himself.
Tanjuro's hand stiffened from opening the envelope. He turned his head slowly to look at the crow. "Sorry, what's your name...?" He inquired clumsily.
"Gonpachiro! Caw!" The crow flapped his wings and answered Tanjuro.
"..."
"What's wrong, Kamado-san?"
"...no, it's nothing." Tanjuro turned back to his letter. He reached out and rubbed the crow's chin and body with his index finger. He wondered if he should feel guilty.
Since he gave Kokushibo his name as Gonpachiro on the spur of the moment.
Tanjuro finished his scratching and read the letter.
"What did it say?" Kie leaned in slightly, craning her neck to look at the contents of the letter.
"...An invitation... to the Swordsmith Village." He replied softly.