Chapter 112: Peering
Guided by Tamayo, the small group arrived at one of her hidden suburban residences to catch their breath.
While they had mutually agreed to relocate the demon doctor from Asakusa, executing that escape was far from a simple matter of packing bags and walking out the door. Tamayo and Yushiro's unique biology demanded careful preparation. They needed a reliable method to completely block out the lethal sunlight, requiring a carriage sealed tight enough to prevent even a single stray beam of dawn from slipping through the cracks.
also, bringing Tamayo into contact with the Demon Slayer Corps ahead of their original schedule meant Ubuyashiki Kagaya had to be informed immediately. They could not bypass the master of the Corps. They would have to rely heavily on the Ubuyashiki family's vast financial network to secure a proper, heavily shaded safe house.
Akira had already requested a secure location from Kagaya to settle the Kamado family, but housing Tamayo and Yushiro under the same roof as them for an extended period was entirely inappropriate. Even though the two demons had conquered the innate urge to devour human flesh, they still required a minimal, steady supply of human blood to maintain their strength and sanity. A mature adult might eventually come to terms with living alongside blood-drinking demons, but the Kamado household was full of young, impressionable children. The risk, however small, was not one Akira was willing to take.
Beyond mere housing, forging an unmatched alliance between two demons and the historically uncompromising Demon Slayer Corps carried a mountain of political and logistical hurdles. Kagaya needed ample time to lay the groundwork and manage the inevitable backlash from the other Hashira.
Fortunately, Tamayo's current clinic held nothing irreplaceable. Her centuries of medical knowledge and crucial experimental data were safely locked away inside her own mind. The only physical losses would be some bulky medical instruments and a few blood samples. Since those samples were drawn exclusively from her and Yushiro, alongside the wisteria-based poisons Akira had provided earlier, abandoning them posed no real threat.
As for the light-shielding carriage, Akira had conveniently prepared one beforehand for the initial plan of escorting Yushiro to the Kamado residence. Given the sudden escalation of events, Kagaya would undoubtedly need a few days to finalize the new arrangements, and lingering in Asakusa was practically begging for Muzan to send more assassins.
After a brief discussion in the dimly lit clinic, the unusual party of two humans, two demons, and one tortoiseshell cat reached a consensus. They would travel to Mount Kumotori together. By the time they successfully evacuated the Kamado family, Kagaya's safe houses would be fully prepared to receive them.
Akira quickly drafted a detailed letter to Kagaya, entrusting it to his Kasugai crow. With their immediate path set, the group boarded the heavily curtained carriage, the wooden wheels rattling against the cobblestone as they departed the bustling city and headed toward the rural slopes of Mount Kumotori.
In the quiet hours before dawn, Tamayo gently lifted a small corner of the thick velvet curtain. Her pale purple eyes watched the glowing lanterns of Asakusa slowly fade into the distance, a deeply complex emotion swirling in her gaze. It was not a deep attachment to the city itself. She had resided there for merely a few decades, a fleeting blink of an eye compared to her agonizingly long, centuries-spanning lifespan. Yet, the sheer weight of what she was about to do, cooperating directly with the Demon Slayer Corps, made her usually placid heart beat with an anxious rhythm.
Akira's previous words echoed in her mind. Wolves and sheep could never peacefully coexist on a fundamental, biological level. She and Yushiro were extreme anomalies among the demon race, just as Akira and Kanae were incredibly rare exceptions among humanity, willing to extend a hand of peace rather than a Nichirin blade. But how many more of these exceptions could possibly exist within an organization entirely dedicated to eradicating her kind?
If the master of the Corps rejected their alliance, where would she and Yushiro run? Would they even be allowed to leave with their lives? Tamayo did not fear death. She had welcomed the thought of it for hundreds of years. But she absolutely refused to die a pointless, quiet death. She needed to survive long enough to see Kibutsuji Muzan drag his burning body through the sunlight. Her revenge was the only thing anchoring her to this world.
"Miss Tamayo, please rest assured," Kanae's soft, melodic voice broke the silence inside the carriage. The Flower Hashira had noticed the subtle tightening of the demon doctor's shoulders. "The master is a deeply open-minded and compassionate leader. With your extraordinary medical talents, he certainly will not make things difficult for you."
Kanae spoke from a place of deep trust. Whether it was bending ancient traditions to allow both Sabito and Giyuu to hold the title of Water Hashira simultaneously, or approving Akira's string of unorthodox proposals, Ubuyashiki Kagaya had proven time and again that he was not bound by rigid dogma. With the firm endorsement of two active Hashira, they could absolutely secure Tamayo a fair chance to prove her worth. A chance to demonstrate her very useful contributions to the war against Muzan, and to prove that peaceful coexistence was not just a naive dream.
"I truly hope so." Tamayo let the heavy curtain fall back into place, sealing out the approaching dawn. She offered a soft, elegant sigh before bowing her head solemnly toward the two slayers. "Regardless of what the future holds, I must formally thank you, Miss Kochou, and you, Mr. Kanzaki. If it were not for your timely intervention, Yushiro and I would have undoubtedly lost our lives to an Upper Rank demon by now."
For once, Yushiro swallowed his usual prickly pride. He lowered his head in tandem with Tamayo, muttering a stiff but genuine word of gratitude. He was painfully aware of his own limitations. He was not even confident in his ability to survive a skirmish with a Lower Rank demon, let alone protect his beloved lady from an Upper Rank monster.
"Think of it as mutual benefit," Akira replied, leaning back against the wooden wall of the carriage with a casual shrug. "I only stepped in because I have a vested interest in Miss Tamayo's unmatched medical talents and Yushiro's highly convenient Blood Demon Art."
"You absolute brute, do you even know the meaning of the word politeness?!" Yushiro snapped, his hair practically standing on end at Akira's seemingly indifferent, transactional tone. The young demon ground his fangs together, thoroughly offended that this human dared to brush off Lady Tamayo's sincere gratitude so casually.
"Yushiro!" Tamayo's voice carried a sharp, reprimanding edge.
Instantly, the bristling young demon snapped his mouth shut, sitting up so straight and proper he looked like a wooden plank.
"Akira-kun, your unique art of conversation seems to be catching up to Giyuu-san's," Kanae teased from the side, a light, bell-like laugh escaping her lips. She reached over, gently resting a hand on Akira's arm. "You clearly just wanted to alleviate Miss Tamayo's sense of indebtedness so she wouldn't feel burdened by the favor, yet you phrase it in a way that is so easily misunderstood."
"I am still lightyears away from reaching his level," Akira replied flatly, utterly refusing to accept Kanae's assessment. Giyuu's legendary ability to unintentionally offend everyone in the room was a world of social ineptitude Akira simply could not compete with.
Still, he had to admit his delivery was a bit flawed. He had originally just wanted to inject some levity to keep the atmosphere inside the carriage from becoming too suffocatingly heavy, but he had ended up triggering Yushiro's explosive temper instead.
Then again, looking around the carriage, the suffocating tension from earlier had completely evaporated.
Feeling the noticeably more relaxed, albeit slightly annoyed, atmosphere settling over the group, Akira felt a subtle sense of satisfaction. 'The beginning was wrong, the process was completely wrong, but the final result is perfect,'he mused to himself, a faint, dryly amused smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.'Task failed successfully.'
A few days of steady travel brought the carriage to the familiar, rugged base of Mount Kumotori. It had been nearly twenty days since Akira's last visit to the area. The biting chill of late autumn had fully set in. The lush canopy at the foot of the mountain had faded into a crisp, golden yellow, and the thick blanket of winter snow had already begun its slow creep from the jagged peaks down to the mid-mountain slopes, bringing a biting frost to the air.
Since the sun was hanging high in the clear sky, Akira decided to make the trek up the mountain path alone. Kanae remained behind in the shaded carriage to keep watch over Tamayo and Yushiro, and more, to keep their designated Kakushi driver from having a nervous breakdown.
Earlier in the journey, upon discovering that he was chauffeuring two actual demons, the poor young Kakushi had been so utterly terrified that his hands shook the reins more violently than a frail eighty-year-old man. The sheer presence of two Hashira was the only thing keeping him glued to the driver's seat. Had Akira and Kanae not been there, the man would have undoubtedly abandoned the carriage and sprinted for the hills.
To his credit, Tamayo and Yushiro had behaved perfectly like ordinary, quiet passengers throughout the entire trip, which was supposed to put the driver at ease.
Of course, if one were to ask the Kakushi, his internal monologue was a chaotic mess of panic. 'At ease?! Those are two flesh-eating demons! Two unrestrained demons casually chatting and laughing with two Hashira in the back of my cart! I am not at ease, I am just completely out of options!'
Leaving the panicked driver in Kanae's capable hands, Akira handled the snowy trails with practiced ease. As he approached the familiar clearing where the Kamado family resided, his sharp eyes immediately caught a subtle change in the environment. Dozens of thin, taut ropes had been carefully strung up between the thick trunks of the surrounding woods. Every few feet along the lines, a small brass bell hung suspended in the freezing air, ready to chime at the slightest disturbance.
Stepping into the perimeter of the small, snow-dusted courtyard, Akira didn't even have to announce his presence. The heavy wooden door of the cabin swung open, and a young boy with burgundy hair stepped out, carrying a basket of chopped firewood.
Tanjirou's eyes widened with immediate recognition and relief. "Akira-nii!"
"Tanjirou," Akira greeted, offering a calm nod as he gestured toward the treeline. "What is the situation with all these tripwires in the woods?"
"Oh, those?" Tanjirou set the heavy basket down on the porch, jogging over to meet him. "Father set those up a few days ago. He said he kept getting this unsettling feeling that something was watching our house from deep within the woods. He thought it might just be starving wild animals coming down from the higher peaks to forage, so he rigged up these warning lines to keep us alert."
Tanjirou closed the distance, his cheerful demeanor shifting as he lowered his voice to a hushed, serious whisper. "However... Father also mentioned that it might be the demons you warned us about, Akira-nii. He said this feeling of being watched, this strange peering from the shadows, has actually happened several times over the past few years."
The young boy looked up, his dark red eyes reflecting a mix of determination and underlying fear. "Akira-nii, do you think an evil demon has really set its sights on our family?"
"I cannot say for certain," Akira replied, his tone steady and reassuring as he placed a comforting hand on Tanjirou's shoulder. "But it does not matter anymore. I am here today to take your entire family away. We are moving you to a secure location where you will never have to worry about monsters lurking in the dark again. Besides, the sun is high in the sky right now. No demon would dare make a move in broad daylight; the sunlight would burn them to ash before they took a single step."
A bright, relieved smile finally broke through the tension on Tanjirou's face. "Understood! I will go call Father and the others right away!"
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