Three months later.
Asakusa, mansion in the western district.
Tanjiro stood planted in front of an enormous iron gate, looking at the three-story Western-style villa rising at the back of the property.
A slight smile crept onto his lips.
"Senpai really has struck it rich…"
"Incredible!"
Zenitsu was already plastered against the gate with a look of fascination.
"A house this huge!? With a garden!? Are there sculptures!? And a fountain!? But this… this is Lord Demon Pillar-sama's mansion!?"
Tanjiro pulled out a piece of paper where he had written down the address and double-checked it.
"It should be here…"
Inosuke was looking around from one side to the other, "There's nothing but flowers and shrubs around here, hardly any trees, it's empty, nothing about this rocks!"
"We're in the middle of the city, not the mountains!" Zenitsu bellowed.
"…"
Tanjiro looked at them with resignation, already out of habit, on top of that, and stretched out his hand to press the doorbell.
Ding-Dong!
…
No one answered.
He rang the bell again.
Ding-Dong!
…
Still no one came out.
Just when he was beginning to wonder what was going on, the small window of the gatehouse in the garden flew open with a yank, leaving a narrow gap.
A face peeked out from inside, gloomy and with a furrowed brow.
Yushiro.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Yushiro-san?" Tanjiro was stunned for an instant. "We've come to see Marc—"
"I knew it! What a pain in the ass these people are!"
Yushiro cut him off, his face even darker now.
"Wait there."
Bam!
The gap snapped shut.
Zenitsu stepped closer. "And who was that? He seemed to be in a bad mood…"
"That's Tamayo-san's companion, Yushiro-san." Tanjiro whispered to him. "He's never liked Marcus."
"And he's still here anyway?"
"It's… complicated. Better not to ask."
Zenitsu was left even more confused.
Crrrrrr!
The gate started to open slowly, splitting down the middle.
Yushiro was planted at the door of the gatehouse, with the remote clutched in his hand, but his gaze was lost off in another direction.
"Get in, fast."
Just as the three of them took their first step inside, they heard at their backs the click of the gate closing, accompanied by Yushiro's muttering.
"Three more… sooner or later this place is going to be packed…"
Zenitsu glanced back. "What did he just say?"
"Don't ask anymore." Tanjiro sighed.
The three of them crossed the garden and the fountain, and before they could reach the main door, a white figure came out to greet them.
Pearl.
Dressed in a kimono as white as snow, her long hair falling over her shoulders, tied back with a white ribbon, she greeted them with a smile.
"Tanjiro-kun, welcome."
Zenitsu came to a dead stop and stood there dumbstruck, gawking at the young woman whose skin was whiter than snow.
He kept opening and closing his mouth over and over again, but not a single sound came out.
Tanjiro was also frozen for a moment, unable to react.
"Y-You're…"
"Pearl." She tilted her head slightly. "We've met before, on Mount Natagumo."
"Mount Natagumo!?" Tanjiro sniffed the air and raised his voice in disbelief. "You're that demon?"
He really was shocked. Had he not picked up on certain familiar scents, he most likely wouldn't have recognized her.
Smiling without responding, Pearl brought a finger to her lips.
"When you come in, please keep your voices down a bit. The master hasn't gotten up yet."
Zenitsu's mouth fell open even wider.
Master!?
Who?… The Demon Pillar!? AND HE STILL HASN'T GOTTEN UP!?
He looked himself over: he'd been on a mission all damn night, his clothes were a complete mess, and he had bags under his eyes that made him look like a panda…
He raised his eyes again, first to Pearl, with her angelic air, and then to the mansion.
A wave of bile rose from his stomach.
"Tanjiro…"
"What?"
"We've been busting our asses on missions all night long… for what, exactly?"
"To kill demons."
"And your senpai…?"
Tanjiro stayed silent for two seconds.
"Don't ask anymore."
"How can you not let me ask anything?!"
Tanjiro shook his head, downcast, "I'm telling you for your own good… better not to ask anymore…"
"…"
Pearl led them inside, stopped in the living room and turned to face them with a smile.
"Please wait here for a moment. I'm going to go let the master know."
And off she went.
Zenitsu kept staring at the figure walking away toward the stairs, his entire body slumped against the wall.
"Tanjiro…"
"Now what?"
"That super cute girl… smiled at me…"
"And…?"
"SHE SMILED AT ME, TANJIRO!!!"
"…And what does that have to do with anything?"
"YOU DON'T GET A DAMN THING!!!"
Zenitsu brought his hands to his chest with a look of total infatuation.
"That elegance, that sweetness, that… waaah, waaaah… I think I'm in love!"
Without bothering to pay him any mind, Tanjiro swept his gaze across the room.
'What a place…'
High ceilings, everything spacious, full of light, with sofas that made you want to throw yourself onto them without a second thought.
On the little table there was fresh fruit and something to snack on.
Everywhere you looked there were fine ornaments and paintings hanging on the walls.
The sun streamed in through the windowpanes, polished until they gleamed, and filled the place with the kind of warmth that invites you to stay.
Compared to the cabin where he had lived with his family, this was a hundred times better.
…No, that's an understatement.
TEN THOUSAND TIMES BETTER!
Even the Headquarters fell short next to something like this…
While he was mulling all that over, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs reached him.
The three of them turned their heads at the same time.
Dressed in a red silk pajama, Marcus was coming down the stairs at a slow pace, his eyes still half-closed.
He had all the look of someone who had just rolled out of bed.
But what left them slack-jawed wasn't Marcus himself. It was the beautiful woman, petite and with full curves, who was coming down beside him.
Ivy.
"Is that… the other demon?" Zenitsu asked with a dopey look on his face, practically drooling.
Tanjiro nodded silently.
She was also wearing a white kimono, which over Ivy's curves looked especially sinful.
She was half a step behind Marcus, with one hand resting gently on his arm.
And her other hand… empty.
"Hold on a second…"
Zenitsu rubbed his eyes.
There were things floating.
Toothbrush, toothpaste, glass of water, basin, towel.
Everything was floating in front of Marcus.
The toothbrush was applying paste onto itself and bringing itself up to his mouth on its own. Marcus opened his mouth and the toothbrush started moving up and down. The glass of water rose up, he rinsed and spat into the floating glass itself. The towel got itself wet on its own, wrung itself out on its own, and then…
Ivy stretched out her hand and, with care, took hold of the towel.
She rose up on her tiptoes and, with her small hands, held the warm towel, helping him wipe his face little by little. From his forehead to his eyes, from his cheeks to his chin.
Her movements were very tender, practically devout.
Marcus kept his eyes closed, letting himself be tended to.
About sixty-five feet of distance.
By the time he had finished coming down the stairs and arrived in front of the three of them, he was already completely freshened up, clean, and crisp.
The used towel and basin floated behind her like a row of obedient little tails.
"Master, the food is ready."
"Mm."
With a small bow, Ivy left, taking the row of floating objects along behind her.
Zenitsu still had his mouth hanging open.
He watched Ivy walking off, then the procession of towels and basins floating in the air, and finally laid his eyes on Marcus's face.
"Sir… what… what was all that…?"
Marcus yawned, "What was what?"
"T-that! The things that fly!"
"Ah, that's Ivy's ability. Thread manipulation."
"No… that's not what I'm asking…"
"Then what are you asking?"
Zenitsu opened his mouth and, all of a sudden, realized he didn't even know where to begin.
Ask why those two stunning women were calling him "master"? Ask why they were tending to him while he washed up!? Ask why he was just getting up while they were finishing a mission!!?
BETTER ASK SOMETHING ELSE!
"Demon Hashira-sama!!"
In a fit, he launched himself forward, sliding on his knees, and threw his arms around one of Marcus's legs.
"P-Please, tell me! How does one go about living like you!?"
Marcus looked at him with an unmoved expression.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"YES!!!"
"First, let go of my leg."
"YES!!!"
He let go of it instantly and sat down on his knees off to one side, obedient, his eyes shining like two lightbulbs.
Marcus paid him no mind and looked toward Tanjiro and Inosuke, who looked like they were beat from the trip.
"Coming back from a mission?"
Tanjiro nodded. "We just finished. We came by to say hi to you and Nezuko."
"And you? Did you recover from your injuries?"
Inosuke pounded his chest. "Ages ago!"
"Perfect." Marcus turned around and walked toward the dining room. "Right on time for lunch, let's eat together."
"SIR!!" Zenitsu jumped, springing to his feet right away. "You still haven't answered me!"
"First, food."
Just as the four of them reached the dining room, a tiny figure came shooting out of the hallway.
"Mmm!"
Nezuko's short legs were moving at full speed, and her little hands were stretched out with a very clear objective!
"Nezuko!"
Tanjiro opened his arms with a grin from ear to ear.
And then…
Nezuko ran right past him. And slammed face-first into Marcus's chest.
"Mmh~!"
With her eyes shining, she started climbing up him.
Marcus, of course, scooped her up in his arms and bounced her a little. "You've gotten heavier."
"Mmm!"
Nezuko gave him a tiny kick in the chest, but with no force behind it whatsoever.
"…"
Tanjiro was still standing there with his arms wide open.
"You had it coming!" Zenitsu gloated from off to the side.
"Mmm!"
Nezuko finally turned her head toward Tanjiro and gave him a small wave with her hand.
That expression clearly said: "Oh, my brother got here too!"
Tanjiro's face contorted.
'Only now do you notice me…?'
Luckily, Nezuko didn't make much of a distinction either. In that same instant she leaped off Marcus and ran over to take Tanjiro's hand.
Only then did he break out into a smile of satisfaction.
__________
Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎
And don't forget to comment, I wanna know if you liked the chapter 👀
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And if PS aren't your thing but you still want more chapters...
P-a-t-r-e-o-n → Athome790