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HIMARI SNEAKILY DROPPED SOME CRUSHED up spring snowflakes into the eight other teacups that contained freshly boiled water.

     "himari, what are you putting in there?", rumi asked.

     "crack", the woman immediately answered without any hesitation.

     though when her statement was followed by utter silence, she sighed, just knowing that they didn't get her joke.

     "I'll explain later, but anyways, help me with the dress. it's lowkey complicated", himari said, to which rumi had nodded, as the two females had took off into a more private setting.

     getō and gojō incidentally glanced at each other, hastily diverting their gazes, as itadori had immediately picked up on the slight awkwardness.

"sooooo...how's everyone doing today?", itadori asked, trying to relieve himself from the tension.

"fine", the four bluntly answered in sync, to which itadori had thickly swallowed his saliva, nodding along.

"u-umm...so do we know what lady himari's doing or—"

"no one knows. she refuses to tell anyone", getō bitterly interrupted.

"but we should just trust her", gojō stated.

     getō raised a brow.

     "did I ever say I didn't?"

     "no, but you're babying her. if she wants to fight it on her own, then you should let her. if she's in true danger, one of us will for sure get to her before the thing does.

     however, never letting her attempt by herself is enabling her", gojō sharply replied, to which tōji and sukuna had actually agreed with the white-haired daimyo for once.

     if they truly felt that himari's life was in actual danger, they were sure that they could get to her before anything else.

     getō only bit the inside of his cheeks, as he glared at his friend, softly huffing.

     "okay!! so please be my guests and watch how all this plays out. worst case scenario this doesn't work and I just end up getting my legs scraped again", himari joked to herself, coming back in some wedding attire.

"lady himari, are you sure you'll be okay?", itadori asked, to which the woman had nodded, taking deep breaths in and out as she prepped her downcast expression.

     "whatever you all do, don't interrupt", himari warned, snatching the tray of nine teacups, as she calmly walked towards the lake.

     meanwhile the others hid behind the trees, himari was seen kneeling down by the edge of the waters, conversing with the eight-headed demon.

     "have you finally lost your insanity? what's with the bridal kimono and tea set?", the head that was more towards the center inquired.

     himari dramatically displayed a pout, trying her best to force a tear out.

     "you know...after all these days and battle scars that I've earned...I've decided to give up...", himari admitted.

the eight heads glanced at each other, whispering amongst themselves.

it was true that throughout their fight, himari seemed more depressed by the day, losing again, and again, and again.

"so what's with all this set up?", one questioned, raising a brow in suspicion.

"it's an offering...I was hoping you all could give me a peaceful death...OR TAKE ME AS YOUR BRIDE AND LET ME LIVE!!", himari accidentally shouted, causing the demon to snort.

     "a peace offering?", one repeated.

     "also, what makes you think we'd want you as our bride?", another asked, causing an irk mark to appear on himari's forehead.

     'bitch I'm a whole ass package!'

     "w-well...for the peace offering...I was just thinking to trade myself for the stone...and we can seal the deal over a cup of tea", himari suggested, to which the demon was indeed quite hungry.

     though himari didn't really pack much meat, they supposed that at least she could serve as a snack.

     "hmm...since you've so kindly offered. I suppose we could let the others through, as long as you stay behind", one stated, as the other seven dipped their heads down, basically swallowing the entire teacup.

     himari took hers, as she elegantly lifted her cup and drank it without hesitation, to erase any suspicions.

     though as soon as the yamata-no-orochi had consumed the liquid, all eight heads had promptly fell into the lake, causing a huge splash to wet himari's entire body.

"okay damn! didn't have to die so ungracefully", himari coughed out, wiping her entire face, as she waved her hand, signaling for the others to come out.

"h-himari!! what did you put in their drink?! they just fell over after you gave them the teacups!!", rumi exclaimed in amazement, to which himari had grinned.

"it's called a spring snowflake — well, leucojum vernum. I noticed them blooming near the bottom of the mountain after yuki's death. they're extremely toxic from the leaves to the bulbs, because they contain harmful alkaloids, lycorine, and galantamine.

however, they can help with memory loss, like alzheimer's", himari informed.

everyone just silently listened, as rumi handed himari a towel, to which the woman had thankfully accepted it.

     "s-so...we can go across the lake without any worries now?", rumi asked, to which himari had happily nodded.

     the woman then gave gojō a high-five — something that she had taught him recently — as she stumbled over towards getō.

     "I know my way was a bit stupid, but I assure you that I know my own limits. so please don't be too worried for me anymore, suguru", said himari.

the woman then left the dark-haired male, as she pleaded for sukuna to help her get across the lake, saying how she was already too tired from using her big brain power.

     'how can I not? when you're just so precious...to me...'

the group was now on the extremely cramped platform in the middle of lake biwa.

     a red torii stood right in front of them, to which himari had hesitantly stuck her hand through it.

     "does it hurt?", itadori asked.

     "does it look like I'm in pain?", himari sassily retorted, to which the pink-haired boy had shook his head.

     "I think it should be okay...I mean, susanoo said that there was some purity test, but I don't know if this is it. it just looks like a regular barrier...or an entrance to someplace", himari commented, fully stepping in, as she could visibly witness the change in scenery.

     though it was very much like the world on the other side, himari noticed that she was now stepping on fresh grass with a river — that emitted slight steam — before her.

     the others followed, as itadori and rumi gazed in awe.

     "HELLO?!", himari suddenly shouted, causing the peace to cease.

     "AYO SUSANOO! WHERE'S THE PURITY TEST?!", himari screamed, to which a rustling from the opposite side of the river could be heard.

     a god with a full grown beard and mustache had appeared in royal clothing.

     stern eyes glared at the auburn-haired woman, as the man had taken a more human-like appearance.

     "quit your obnoxious yelling. I'm right here, woman!"