───

     "WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER, HIMARI-SAMA?"

     "myself", himari confidently answered.

"HUH?! YOU TOOK THAT LONG JUST TO SAY YOURSELF?! you sure are a narcissistic woman", sukuna huffed, crossing his arms, as the flames had diminished.

"yeah yeah!! why isn't it me, himari-chan?", gojō pouted.

even though tōji and getō kept quiet, their internal bitterness sure didn't.

     "self love comes first", himari boldly proclaimed.

     "if I cannot love myself first — take care of myself — how can I possibly love others and give them my full attention?", the woman explained.

"especially those four who's got major issues", himari teased.

nanako and mimiko cracked a small smile, bowing, as if they were congratulating the woman.

"mayako-sama would be proud. welcome in, himari-sama".

the double doors then opened, leading into a well lit room that had a gigantic orb in the center — like the actual moon itself, as there seemed to also be craters all around.

     many matching tiger statues from the previous rooms were also built in here, with the exception that they were well kept and didn't rust.

     "woah..."

     "what did she build all this shit for?", sukuna asked, skimming around, as there didn't seem to be anything valuable.

"shhhh, don't question my mother, ryō", the woman huffed, causing the demon king to scoff.

     the two teenagers had then presented himari with a silver box, that had a single lock on it.

     nanako then handed the auburn-haired woman a key, as himari hesitantly opened it, hoping that a spider wasn't going to pop out or something.

     after all, maybe her mother was a prankster.

     "stop the cap right now", himari gasped, nearly dropping the metallic box, as the others had peered over her shoulders.

     "is that..."

     "the moon stone?", rumi breathlessly questioned, to which everyone had glanced up at himari, who just covered her mouth in utter shock.

     "you and mayako-sama are the descendants of tsukuyomi-sama. your mother's been trying to keep the moon stone safe after your grandmother, great grandmother, so on and so forth", nanako explained, to which himari had then started mildly grinning.

     "my luck's just rad", the woman lowly chuckled, picking up the stone with her pointer finger and thumb, as she held it up to the dim light.

     "so how do I use it?"

     "mayako-sama didn't leave any instructions. hence it's up to you to figure it out, himari-sama", one of the teenagers replied.

     himari then clicked her tongue in dismay, as she placed the bright, creamy colored stone back into the box, shutting it.

     "well thanks! anything else mother left behind for me? like maybe more money...??"

     rumi and itadori sighed, meanwhile sukuna and tōji had just snorted.

     "mm...her diary's here. I assume she had left it for you to view", mimiko answered, miraculously showcasing a slightly roughed up journal.

"oh I love snooping", himari smiled, snatching it, as she flipped to a random page.

     "week nine of being pregnant...honestly, no words can describe how elated I am to have you. I just know that no matter what, you're going to be born lovely and an absolute darling".

     sukuna stifled a chuckle.

     "lovely my ass".

     "sir, I will cancel you", himari threatened, as she continued skipping through the data entries.

"week sixteen of being pregnant...you're quite the fussy baby; kicking whenever you can. I can tell that you're going to get pampered and spoiled by the both of us, no matter what gender you are".

"wow. surprisingly accurate", gojō teased, causing himari to gently elbow the man in the stomach.

"week twenty-six of being pregnant...you're growing healthily, unlike your mother. hotaru sometimes reads famous poems and stories to entertain you...while I play the shamisen or hum a lullaby".

     "that's so sweet of lady mayako!!", rumi awed.

     "pity himari didn't inherit the skills", gojō joked, to which before the woman could retaliate, getō had placed his hands on the woman's shoulders.

"she's well versed in more than just instruments, isn't that right, himari?"

the woman then smirked, sticking her tongue out at the white-haired daimyo, as she flipped to the end of the journal — well, the last page that had been written on.

"to my most precious child, though the world is cruel and separates us at your birth, I cannot express how utterly precious you look.

from the tiny hands that grip onto my pointer finger with intense strength; as if clenching onto my last breath alongside me, I shed a tear, at the close eyed smile that you have blessed me.

a light tuff of red hair and two small slits that had allowed me to witness the beautiful emerald green of your eyes, I have no more to say than just how grateful I am to have a baby girl.

alas, though I am not by your side, I hope you grow up to become a: passionate, but not perfervid, understanding, but not a pushover, strong, but not cold hearted, and finally, a loving person overall.

and one last thing before I ascend to the heavens — where I shall watch over you — I have left the moon stone that's been passed down for generations to you.

keep it safe and don't let it fall into the hands of those that are evil, especially the man who's named kenjaku.

though he may go by many other names and appearances, do not be fooled. I trust your judgment and the ones that you trust.

be wise, be witty, and be yourself.

I, your mother — nakajima mayako — will forever and always love you, nakajima himari".

the auburn-haired woman then covered her eyes, as she allowed her arm that was holding the notebook to drop to her side.

though the woman was not her actual birth mom, she could feel all the sincerity emitting from the woman's writing, as she hastily wrote the last entry.

it was the last thing she left for her, and it was a pity, because the real himari wasn't here to read it.

"ugh, fuck. my eyes are sweating", himari muttered.

"huh? but eyes don't swea—"

"that's the point. she's crying", gojō whispered, to which itadori had nervously scrambled around.

"u-umm...lady himari, it's gonna be okay. we're here for you", itadori awkwardly smiled.

even rumi embraced himari, as the woman just quietly weeped, quickly wiping away her pathetic tears, as she deeply breathed in and out.

"okay, but who the fuck is kenjaku?", himari asked, causing a few to chuckle.

"don't you know him? since you know...you're like from the other world?"

"uhhh...okay but to be fair, I got teleported here RIGHT BEFORE I got to the next update, which was like when tōji stabbed his—uhhh or when ryō used his domain expansion against this thing that megumi summoned", himari reasoned.

"I stabbed my what now?"

"and I fought against who now?"

"so who's kenjaku? and if he goes by different names and appearances...then how are we supposed to find him then?", rumi questioned.

a moment of silence was heard, as himari just waved her hand.

"mah~ I'm more worried about kamo noritoshi the first than kenjaku", himari admitted.

"kamo noritoshi...the first?"

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a/n: hey my lovelies!! I'm so sorry for the delayed post, as I got my 2nd covid shot 2 days ago + ended up w/ a low fever.

anyways, I've also been VERY invested in demon slayer (will make a fanfic about them soon).

hope you guys enjoy + major manga spoilers in upcoming chapters! love y'all <33