After Tamayo's visit, they moved - quickly. They bounced from place to place leaving no trail and avoiding all signs of demons. Even though Tamayo's visit was a fortunate turn of events, no one was willing to risk a visitor with a different intention.

As they moved, Doma did find some resolve to eat. Akaza too. They had to. Strength was a necessity and so they swallowed their hunger and forced themselves to gorge on less-than-pleasant meals.

Animals and demons became their main food sources - though even demons could make Doma want to be sick. They were too much like humans - too sentient. They could make him want to claw his throat and stomach out with how the guilt burned into his mind. But he needed strength so he swallowed his bile and tried to tell himself it was for the best. He'd take a few bites and string the demons in the sun so that they could harm no other humans. Still, sometimes the screams of demons echoed with the voices of human victims' long dead and Doma would stumble away, his old meals clawing up his throat.

Kotoha knew what Doma was doing, she must - but she was not afraid. Guilt sometimes crept up on her as she thought of demons who may have been like her love, but it was quickly dispelled when she saw Doma and his true soft smile. This was her family, no matter what. Inosuke and his wildness, Mirakuru and her sweet demeanor, Doma and his unexpected gentle nature, even Akaza and his liveliness had grown on her. 

She knew of other demons, she knew the caliber of monsters that shared a species with her family. They weren't much different from the worst of her own kind and when she reminded herself of that, she could sleep easier at night. Perhaps it was selfish... perhaps it was evil, but when she awoke to find Doma sitting vigilantly by her, his breath thick with iron but his eyes bright and strong from his last meal, she felt safe.

Whatever it took to keep her family safe.

Still, there were always challenges, and Kotoha wished she had been more prepared when the first shipment of blood came. She wished she had been more observant of Doma and prepared... for his sake.

The blood arrived on a cat, strangely enough, though Kotoha supposed strange was the new way of things. The cat with a tag around its collar arrived with a meow that made Akaza leap to his feet in surprise and almost obliterate the poor thing.

"Easy, easy - it's Tamayo's," Doma soothed as the cat hissed and spat at Akaza's fist that had been moments away from crushing it.

"Fucking - invisible - what the hell!" Akaza spat back as he retracted his punch and stomped away.

"WOW!" Inosuke and Mirakuru cried in wonder as they raced towards the cat, falling to their knees before the thing whose hackles were still lowering.

"It can turn invisible!" Inosuke grinned. "That's so cool!"

"It's so cute!" Mirakuru giggled as she offered a hand for the cat to sniff. The cat gave it a suspicious sniff but then perked up and rubbed against her knuckles.

"He likes you!" Inosuke grinned as he gently shoved Miku.

"Of course he does!" Mirakuru smiled. "I'm the best!"

"Hell ye - WAIT A SECOND, I'M THE BEST - " Inosuke caught himself before his core beliefs could contradict each other.

The cat meowed again and moved from Miku's hand to Doma's leg, brushing against him and offering the box it carried. Kotoha watched Doma's eyes sharpen as he reached down and unclasped the lock on the rectangular wooden box strapped to the calico's back. Kotoha leaned over his shoulder and saw a rather large plastic bag squished within filled with a red substance.

You didn't have to be a genius to guess what it was.

"Tamayo's blood delivery." Akaza's words supplied the title.

Doma reached down and pulled out the bag, but Kotoha saw the slight tremble in his hands. It wasn't noticeable, just the regular amount of uncertainty that any human would carry in their fingers; but Doma wasn't human.

Kotoha's gaze turned to her lover's face. She read the furrow between his brows, how the colors in his eyes gleamed with something ancient and strong, how his jaw was clenched just the slightest bit. He was scared.

She reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, a gentle sort of contact, a reassuring touch. A similar touch to the ones he'd grant her when old memories awakened new fears. He didn't flinch at her touch but she could see the subtle tense of his fingers.

"Are you alright?" she breathed softly as they both studied the thick blood within the bag.

"Ewwww! Does that even taste good?" Inosuke wrinkled his nose at the sight of the blood. Miku was beside him and seem to regard the bag with a similar distaste. 

"No, it doesn't, so don't you ever try it," Akaza warned strictly as he pointed to both of them. Then he turned back to the cabinets he'd been in front of and pulled out two cups.

Doma poured the blood into the cups easily enough and Kotoha managed to usher the children off to play so that they wouldn't gawk. It wasn't the most tasteful of sights and while she was certain neither of her children was weak in stomach, she wasn't sure Doma would appreciate the audience.

He was paler than usual as he stared at the viscous liquid in his cup. Kotoha sat down next to him and squeezed his arm, a silent question. He glanced at her for a second and then averted his gaze but it only took a moment for Kotoha to recognize the fear and uncertainty in those eyes.

The smell of blood was just barely tangible in the air for Kotoha to make out but she could already see how it was affecting the two demons. They were breathing (which wasn't a requirement for them) and breathing heavily, with their mouths open and their eyes bright and vividly colored. There was a predatory stance to the way they sat, both guarding their cups instinctively like they thought someone was going to reach around them and snatch it from their fingers. 

Doma's breath was heavy... and shaking.

"Kanpai," Akaza toasted half-heartedly, gently tapping Doma's cup before gulping down its contents. He drank like a parched man, gulping down the blood and not breaking until the cup was dry. He pulled away like a starving man pulled away from a feast and took a long breath. The striped demon's body shook for a moment and his eyes reverted to their crossed-out form, the colors brighter and awakened.

"Are you alright?" Kotoha inquired, both out of curiosity and in fear - Akaza almost looked in pain.

"Yeah, no... it's great. It's good... but strange, you can almost tell... never mind," the striped demon shook his head. "Drink up."

That last part was directed to Doma who looked like he was about to be sick as he stared into the cup.

His senses were flooded with the scent of human blood which wasn't anything new, but the fact that he could actually consume this elixir was making something feral and desperate in him beg for a taste. An old starvation was clawing its way to Doma's throat and he couldn't stop it. The blood that sloshed around in the cup was awakening his senses in ways he had forgotten they worked. He could hear Kotoha's heart beating in her chest, pumping her own blood through her. He could smell their breaths, their health, everything... including the blood. He wanted to drink and lick the cup dry to satisfy the hunger in his stomach and that terrified him.

What if he couldn't stop? What if he tasted it and he wasn't able to stop?

Fear, stronger than the hunger, made his hands shake. He was warring with himself as the red liquid mesmerized him and his mind screamed to throw it away. He didn't consume blood, he couldn't  - he can't. He wouldn't be strong enough to resist it. He knew it would taste like life and strength, sweet and thick and wonderful -

No.

"I can't - " he breathed, and he was gone within the second, the cup left on the table, the door slid ajar, and his feet carrying him as far away as it could until the damn smell wasn't staining the air and bringing saliva to his mouth but it was too late. It was stuck in his nose and he couldn't get it out. He couldn't make himself stop wanting it.

He held his face in his head and tried not to scream as his body roared with disappointment. He was better than this. He needed to be better. It had been so long since he'd tasted something human but that shouldn't mean he devolved into some animal!!

"Doma." There was that soft voice accompanied by the sweet smell of sweat, flesh, blood, and grass. Doma wanted to curl away until he was nothing but a stain on the floor. She would see him like this, fallen and hideous...

"Doma, it's okay - there's nothing to be afraid of." Why was it fair that she sounded so beautiful? The blood in her veins pumped with a symphony that went kindly with her voice. With a start, Doma realized there were terrible ancient thoughts that he thought he had buried years ago.

She put a hand on his shoulder and he almost tore away from her warmth. He didn't deserve it! He couldn't let her taint herself with him, not when he was like this.

"Hey, shhh, it's okay. Breathe, Love. It's okay." He was in her arms, she was hugging him, that damn cup was a few feet away sitting on the ground, he could smell it.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, and to his ears, it felt like a growl.

"You're okay. It's okay," she soothed. "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on, please."

Doma shook his head and stopped breathing to keep that smell out of his nose. He couldn't - he wanted it so badly and it scared him. Where did the want end? He couldn't even trust himself enough to smell it, let alone taste it...

"You don't have to talk, but you need to know that I know you are not a monster. I know," she swore.

"I don't - " he managed weakly. "I don't - I can't. If - if I drink I don't know if I - I'm not sure I can - if I lose control and - "

"You are not going to lose control. You aren't going to hurt anyone. You are strong," Kotoha soothed, and finally, Doma pulled himself away from his hands looked up to her. 

She was smiling, smiling so, so softly, with her eyes gleaming like gems in their own right. She cradled his face in her hand and somehow that smile grew even softer. There wasn't a shred of doubt hidden in those eyes and not a muscle in her body was taunt with fear.

Doma could've screamed. She saw him. He knew he could see him. She saw was he was tensed to attack, the predator within him that clawed into his gaze and yearned to feed. If she looked hard enough maybe she'd even see the growl building in the back of his throat or the way his hands were longing to rip something apart and feed his mouth that was salivating with no end in sight.

He could've screamed at her stupidity. Why didn't she run? Why didn't she scream? Why did she stay?

"You are strong. And you are going to be alright," she soothed.

"I can't drink it - I can't -" Doma managed to voice desperately. Images flashed before his eyes, older meals, sweeter meals, deadlier meals. Ones armed with swords, ones armed with perfume, and some so drastically unarmed they never even knew what tore them apart.

"I trust you, trust yourself to do this." Kotoha's voice broke through the images as a cup was gently placed into his shaking hands.

"I - " Weak, his voice was so weak, he was so weak.

"Nothing is going to happen, look at me," she ordered. He did as she bade. "It's all going to be alright, I promise."

He didn't believe her, did he? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure what he was feeling as he looked into the cup and felt his stomach twist. 

He would drink to stay strong. He would drink to protect Miku, Inosuke, and Kotoha. He wasn't drinking for pleasure. He wouldn't drink this for pleasure; he'd never enjoy the taste of humans again. That was a lie.

That was a lie from the moment he thought it to the moment he forced himself to drink. 

It felt like ichor and paradise, soothing parts of him that had long since roared to be fed. It was the sweetest of meals and he nearly found himself licking the bottom of the cup, it wasn't marechi but it was heavenly. No, no that was the wrong word. It made his heart tear apart too viciously to be anything from heaven. Time had vanished and anything that had happened between the start of his guzzling and its end was lost to him. It took a shameful amount of willpower to pull the cup away from his lips. 

He threw a hand over his mouth, to hide the bloodied teeth from Kotoha, he told himself. But he knew the truth, he stared into Kotoha's eyes that were looking at him with support and adoration. He covered his mouth to hide the drool that was nearly dripping from him. He wanted more. GODS, he wanted more.

"There, see? Nothing happened. Are you alright?" Kotoha asked gently.

No. No, he wanted to say, but how would he say that? How could he explain to Kotoha that his tongue was shaking like a trembling child? How would he explain the things he was thinking? How he knew that the blood that coated his throat belonged to a middle-aged woman past her prime by the way it sat just a little tart on the roof of his mouth. How his entire body registered the blood and told him whoever this donor was still lived and her blood could still be drunk from like a fountain. How it was like tasting the sweetest of any food and made the edges of his mind foggy.

How his senses were now zeroed into the way her heartbeat?

He felt filthy and monstrous, like every terrible thing he'd tried to hide now emerged in all its horrific glory and Kotoha was witness to it all.

"Doma... talk to me," Kotoha begged. She grabbed his free hand and squeezed it tight... that was grounding. There was no horror in her eyes. She didn't know...

And maybe she wouldn't care if she did.

Doma slowly pulled his hand away and he felt that he should do something, say something, be anything other than whatever he was. But she smiled anyway.

"I'm sorry," was all that tumbled out of his mouth. He wanted to hide his face again, he knew his teeth were stained despite how badly he wanted to lick every crimson substance away.

"For what?" she asked with that smile, that holy, perfect smile that wasn't tainted as his was. She picked up his hand and kissed it gently, her warmth spreading down his nerves like fire, or perhaps sunlight.

"For what I am... for how I am..." he tried to explain but his words all seemed to fall short of the magnitude of his crimes.

"You are Doma," she laughed as she stared at him. "And I love you. Blood-drinking and all."

What else could Doma say to that, but; "I love you too."

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Akaza was finding it was harder to fight the human that he once was. Emotions, guilt, even... warmth; they all returned to him in spades the longer he stayed with Doma.

Who would've thought that Doma of all people would make Akaza something more? Luckily it wasn't just Doma and that made the debt sit easier with the striped demon.

Kotoha too changed him. She was everything he'd never had or once lost. She was sweet, sweet and gentle, she eminded him of Koyuki. It was like a constant nagging in the back of his head and he would suddenly find himself engaged in conversation with the woman. She treated him without prejudice or judgment and that made his heartache and burn all at once. 

He missed Koyuki.

Mirakuru also had absolutely no fear once Doma told her she could trust the pale demon. No, instead the little girl tried her hardest to try and be friends with him, an act that slowly chipped away at Akaza's steadfast demeanor. He tried, he did - the girl needed to be afraid of demons. She should avoid him like the plague... but instead, she brought him pictures and poems and flowers. She asked him on grand adventures in the woods to explore the great unknown. She... she treated him like family.

Even Inosuke had formed a relationship with the former Upper Three. The boy thrived on competition and a drive to be the best, something Akaza understood very well. Post-Inosuke's demand to learn how to fight, Akaza took it upon himself to teach the boy just how to reach his goal. It seemed that every waking moment was spent teaching Inosuke in martial arts or just running the boy until he was exhausted. Inosuke loved it and his anger fueled every action.

Inosuke would be the best. He'd be the strongest! He'd crush Akaza one day, just you watch!!

And Akaza... Akaza could only feel the warmth in his heart eat him alive. It was alright though, because the warmth fueled him too. He kept himself sharp, kept himself fit. He would protect this family. He would protect this one!!

He would lose no one else! He promised that as Hakuji, not just as Akaza.

He wouldn't allow anyone in this family would die. Not even Doma.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Doma watched his children grow in strength and would marvel at how he and Mirakuru grew by the day. Miku only seemed to grow sweeter and more kind with each passing day, her rainbow eyes ever gleaming with happiness, much like her mother's. Speaking of Kotoha, she was still a brilliant light in Doma's life. The woman's songs emerged at dawn when the family rested, and they lulled all into a sense of peace and serenity. Doma would always love her for the feelings she instilled in him. The nervousness made his heart flutter every time she kissed him. The joy when she fell asleep beside him. The love that filled his entire being every time she smiled.

What had happened to him?

It was almost laughable how much he had changed. Sometimes, he wasn't even sure he was the same demon. Memories of his old life seemed distant and out of place as if they were some foreign apparition. The scent of blood was still sweet and ever tempting - but never stronger than the way he despised what it did to him. The taste of flesh was no longer and would never be delightful. The feeling of power in his veins now felt irrelevant and useless unless it came to using it to protect Kotoha and the children. What had happened to him?

Doma was pondering it one day as he devoured a deer a few miles away from where the family was. He stared up at the night sky and wondered why emotions had changed everything about his life. Was it possible emotions controlled thought? Morals? Actions? Of course, they did... but to this extent? He had practically made a 180-degree turn in his life choices simply because he had gained them.

How could humans be evil to one another if they felt this way? How could demons who carried emotions be content to feast on humans? It made no sense. Did they not feel guilt? Did they not understand it?

There was a tingle that went up to his spine, jarring him from his existential thoughts. He looked up knowingly and composed himself.

Gyutaro and Daki, Upper Moon Six... they traveled alone and they moved quickly. They must've stumbled upon his scent because they moved with a purpose... straight towards him. That was interesting, they cam for him instead of the family. 

Intriguing.

Doma figured that Muzan had sent them and so he stayed put, perhaps they just hadn't smelled Mirakuru or Akaza. Speaking of which, Akaza was with Kotoha and the others and he could protect them if things went south. Doma wouldn't lead the two siblings to his family, not if he could help it. He could fight them, he could win.

Doma crunched down on a leg, feeling the bone splinter between his fangs as he ripped through flesh and muscle. The blood was thick and putrid on his tongue but he ate it easily, quicker than usual. Leaving this corpse would be a waste that would sit heavily with him later, even it was a lone deer.

A few minutes later, Gyutaro and Daki seemingly appeared before the ex-upper moon. To the two, he seemed no different than he had when they had first met him.

The tall demon sat in a puddle of blood as the remnants of his last meal were strewn around him. His lips and chin were covered in blood and he wore his normal fake smile as his white fangs glistened in the silver moonlight. Doma put a few of his fingers to his lips and licked off the crimson blood on them, keeping his brilliant luminescent eyes on the two.

A shudder went up Daki and Gyutaro as they watched his 'human' eyes melt away until they were his old demonic eyes now dawning two hideous X's, one through each eye.

"Hey!" Doma greeted, feinting sweetness. "It's been a while! What brings you here?"

Daki opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Gyutaro dropped to his knees and bowed, surprising everyone, including Daki.

"Lord Doma... we're looking to join you," Gyutaro explained reverently.

Doma's eyebrows raised at the sound of that and he slowly opened his golden fan which flashed in the moonlight. Lord? He was Lord now?

"Join me? Why ever would you do that?" Doma asked, still wearing his fake smile.

"Because," Gyutaro hissed, looking up to meet Doma's gaze. His eyes suddenly shifted from their previous 'humanoid' ones to his demonic ones which also had an X staining each of his eyes. Daki's eyes reverted as well and Doma spotted a bit of... guilt? It looked as though guilt resided in her gaze. Daki? Looking ashamed?

Doma wasn't convinced. It could easily be one of Muzan's elaborate schemes. It could be a facade so that the two could get close to him and snatch Mirakuru away. It could be a trick. It probably was a trick.

But yet again emotions were making him think foolish things.

"And what on earth could've gotten you two excommunicated from the Upper Moons?" Doma giggled, tilting his head.

"The same thing as you," Daki hissed.

Doma doubted that.

"He wanted me to kill Daki," Gyutaro explained, standing. "I couldn't."

Doma's eyes narrowed. It was plausible. Muzan would be testing the Twelve Kizuki and executing others on a whim. It was common knowledge to everyone except Daki herself that Muzan thought she was a brat and a waste, so their story was possible, but it was also too perfect... still questionable. How did they even get away from Muzan in the first place? Why weren't they being dragged back to the demon king's lair as they spoke?

"How did you get away?" Doma asked. "If he wanted you dead, you should be dead."

"You're not!" Daki snapped back in fury. "I don't think he can."

"He definitely can," Dome denied, his brows furrowing. "So how did you escape?"

"Hell if we know, dumb luck - but we'd like to keep it that way!" Gyutaro cried.

"Why should I ever consider trusting you?" Doma smiled falsely, his sweet tone contradicting his words.

"Please!" Daki spat out.

Now that was unusual. Daki pleading for help? The only thing stronger than Gyutaro's jealousy was Daki's pride and here it was... shattering before Doma's very eyes.

"We have nowhere else to go," Gyutaro explained with a growl. "We ran from fucking Kokushibo for God's sakes!"

"Why come to me?" Doma pressed, his tone was still falsely sweet. "I am the largest target on his radar. You're inviting trouble."

"We have nowhere else to go," Gyutaro grumbled.

"I don't believe you," Doma murmured. "You shouldn't have been able to escape him."

"We don't know how we did but we have nowhere else to go!" Gyutaro argued as if that was the best argument he had.

Maybe it was, Doma realized. Maybe these two were telling the truth and maybe they were truly just desperate and lucky.

"What makes you think I would want to help you?" Doma asked tactically. 

"You did it once!" Gyutaro cried, his voice cracking.

Then, Doma saw it. In Gyutaro's eyes, there was a familiar emotion tumbling. It was an emotion Doma had seen in Kotoha's eyes too many times; desperation.

The emotions the two felt seemed true... Doma knew more than he had years ago so perhaps, if he had been the demon he was, he would've dismissed the two without hesitation, but knowing the power of emotions, and what they could make you do, changed his heart easily enough.

He could recall the image of two siblings in the street, shivering in the cold. A young girl, maybe once beautiful, but beaten and burned and barely clinging on to life. The older boy had his arms wrapped around her, his hideous body shadowed by the eyes of desperation that had once pleaded with Doma. Pleaded for help.

Doma had given it to them then, for a very different reason.

Doma would give it to them again.

The demons stood and noticed the flinch that ripped through both Daki's and Gyutaro's bodies. He then laughed and spread his arms welcomingly.

"Well, as long as you promise to be nice, and promise to live by my rules, I don't see any reason we can't all be buddies!" he announced.

Gyutaro's and Daki's expressions spoke for themselves.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅

When Doma emerged from the woods, tailed by the previous Upper Six demons, Akaza almost throttled him. He was moments away from tackling Doma and demanding what the actual fuck he was thinking. 

Akaza didn't think himself a sentimental demon, far from it. He was harsh, unrelenting, merciless. At least... he considered himself to be. He had been teaching Inosuke, Doma's brat who reminded him very much of himself, well, who reminded him of Hakuji - the man he used to be. The boy's footwork was a mess and he was far too eager to skip to the 'fighting' part, but he was eager and that quelled Akaza's impatience and anger.

Then, he had sensed Doma. He had sensed Doma and Gyutaro and Daki.

"We'll finish this later," Akaza told Inosuke.

"I don't wanna wait till later!" Inosuke cried angrily.

"Get inside," Akaza ordered, glaring at the boy.

Inosuke hated authority, but he understood the tone. He ran into the house, muttering curse words under his breath that made Akaza wince... Inosuke's bad language was likely his fault. Doma would kill him for that later.

If Akaza didn't kill Doma first for being an idiot!

As soon as Doma was in sight, Akaza sneered. The tall demon raised a hand in greeting and before he could think, Akaza was tackling him and strangling him. Daki and Gyutaro jumped away, Gyutaro's scythes emerging in his hands as Daki's ribbons danced in the air.

"What are you thinking!?" Akaza demanded, shaking Doma.

"Hi-yo," Doma smiled sweetly.

"You led them to our camp," Akaza sneered, pointing at Gyutaro and Daki. 

In Akaza's mind, the two were absolutely working for Muzan, without a doubt. They manipulated Doma's new 'moral mind' with their sad sibling antics and the dumb demon had welcomed them. Akaza wasn't falling for it. He glanced at the two and almost dared them to try and make a break for the house. Let them try to attack the humans in it, they'd be dead before they took a step.

"They're on our side, buddy!" Doma explained with a smile.

"Bullshit," Akaza hissed. He grabbed Doma's shirt collar with his hand and shook the demon as if he was a ragdoll. "You led them here!! They're spies for him."

"Don't worry, we can trust them," Doma assured the demon, not trying to get up.

"And you believe that!?" Akaza sneered.

Then Doma gave him a smile, it wasn't his normal fake smile that made Akaza want to punch his face in, it wasn't the loving smile he gave to one of the humans, it wasn't even the soft smile Akaza had spied on the demon's face a few times. The smile Doma gave him was one full of mirth and playfulness. 

"Of course I do!" Doma chirped.

Akaza almost punched his face in. Almost.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Kotoha was mildly surprised when Doma introduced Gyutaro and Daki to her. Then again, she had a half-demon daughter, two demons living with her, and a little boy who wanted to learn how to kill demons... oh, and there were such things as invisible cats, demon kings, and demon slayers. There wasn't too much that could take Kotoha by surprise anymore.

"Pleased to meet you!" Kotoha smiled, extending a hand as the two new demons looked at her apprehensive.

"Thanks," Gyutaro responded coldly, seemingly confused. He took her hand, shook it, and then pulled away quickly. The situation was beyond awkward and the fact that Akaza was glaring at him like a criminal allowed Kotoha to read the tension in the room. Akaza didn't like these two... these two were likely strong demons who'd betrayed Muzan.

But Doma trusted them.

"Momma, can we come out now!?" Mirakuru asked, poking her head out of the closet Kotoha had ordered her to hide in. As soon as Inosuke had run in she had expected the worse but luckily, it had been mere paranoia. Or... mistaken paranoia. She couldn't really tell the difference anymore.

"Yes, Miku, you can come out," Kotoha smiled.

"ALRIGHT! WHO CAN I FIGHT!??" Inosuke roared, kicking the closet door open and brandishing two chopsticks as weapons. He took one look at Gyutaro and his eyes practically sparkled. "YOU! NEW GUY! FIGHT ME!"

Saying Gyutaro was prepared for a young human boy to challenge him to a chopstick fight would be a lie. The demon looked flabbergasted and Daki deadpanned. Kotoha smiled to see their reactions.

"Wow," a sweet voice tore Daki away from her brother's confused look as he watched Akaza try and talk Inosuke down. Daki looked down to see Doma's daughter staring up at her with wide eyes.

Mirakuru gawked at the demon and said the first thing that came to her mind. "You're really pretty... are you a demon, like Daddy is?"

Daki tried not to sneer at the small lump of flesh that was talking to her. Doma had briefly explained his rules and while she wasn't giving up human flesh for two seconds she knew even considering violence against Doma's human pets was certain death, so she played along.

"Yes," she answered.

"Wow, can you do cool things?" Mirakuru asked.

Daki scoffed and wondered why Doma had forsaken his life of immortality for this.

"You're really pretty and I bet you're strong too... of course, you're not as pretty as Mommy but that's okay!" Mirakuru grinned.

Daki's eyebrow twitched and tried to remember that this was Doma's daughter and she couldn't murder her. Prettier? That woman?

In her anger, Daki's eyes reverted to their slashed form, and Mirakuru gasped. The little girl ran over to the kitchen and ran back with a stool in hand. She placed it down beside Daki and the demon watched in utter confusion as the girl clambered onto the stool. Mirakuru stood on it so that she was on eye level with Daki. She grabbed the demon's cheeks and squished them as she looked into Daki's eyes.

"You're hurt too! Inosuke, come look she's hurt too!" she gasped as she looked at the demon's eyes. "So the mean man was bad to you too! You must be super brave, just like Daddy! Did you have to escape the scary place too? Did you get hurt? Did the mean man hurt you!? If he did, then he's super mean!! Don't worry though, the cuts only made your eyes look tough! That's what Inosuke says! You're still super pretty!" Mirakuru announced.

Okay... maybe Daki could understand why Doma loved this kid.

"I WANNA FIGHT HIM!" Inosuke roared, deaf to everything Miku had just said as he pointed a chopstick to Gyutaro.

"YOU COULDN'T FIGHT A KITTEN IF I DECLAWED IT!!" Akaza roared back, stepping between the two, trying to keep his tongue civil for the children present.

"I CAN FIGHT YOU!!" Inosuke challenged.

"REALLY!???" Akaza shot back.

"Inosuke," Kotoha scolded, shutting the boy up. "Be nice and greet our guests."

Inosuke puffed out his cheeks and then stuck his tongue out at Akaza. He then turned to Gyutaro and Daki before bowing.

"Nice to meet you. We'll fight later," Inosuke grumbled.

Doma laughed to see the antics of his family. Family... hmm, what a descriptor.

A young woman with the heavens hidden in her voice, a young, rambunctious boy, a spirited half-demon, a striped anger-ridden demon, and now two more demons...

Perhaps it became some sort of family... in a strange twisted way.

(Daki and Gyutaro have joined the party!

Doma enters Dad mode: Gyutaro and Daki are confused.

Imagine suddenly getting adopted by a bunch of criminals. Couldn't be them - )