Gyutaro groaned as he was subject to yet another, and thankfully the final hug bestowed on him by the Love Pillar. By hug, of course, he meant a bone-crushing embrace that would kill a lesser being. She hadn't ceased trapping him in such. Where did she hide that much strength in that little frame?

"Thank you so much for all the help Gyu-chan!" the girl grinned as she lifted him off the ground despite his struggle. Didn't she know he could (and was almost willing) to kill her here and now for this blatant breach of his damn personal bubble?

Hashira or not, even if she was incredibly strong, flexible, friendly, bubbly, sweet, and kind - if it came to a fight he would win... probably...

He very suddenly didn't want to think about this splash of pink smiles and sweetness stained in blood, so he very simply didn't. It was getting easier to stop imagining things like that.

"You're welcome," was all he said instead, and she put him back down lightly.

"We should do another mission again sometime!" Mitsuri laughed joyfully. "Except next time you won't be all 'meh' and 'grrr', and we can 'swoosh', 'shing', 'baaam' all the demons quicker!"

Five days had unfortunately gotten Gyutaro used to this foreign language of onomatopoeia that the Love Hashira used too frequently. It had irked him at first, but to the same level as Inosuke's constant bickering or Daki's whining.

"Sure man, you know where to find me," Gyutaro shrugged as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the Butterfly Mansion.

Mitsuri clapped her hands eagerly, hopping up and down as she went back to Iguro's side.

Ah... Iguro. Obanai to Misturi, but Gyutaro didn't think they were on first-name basis just yet. Hell, they'd never be on a first-name basis if the snake guy got his way.

Their relationship had been... rocky... at best. It started with a staring contest that only intensified whenever Mitsuri got remotely close to Gyutaro. But clearly, the hashira didn't completely despise him because the snake-boy had covered Gyutaro's back when one of the many demons they'd run into tried to attack his blind spot.

It really wouldn't have been a big deal if the demon had struck, Gyutaro's regeneration skills far surpassed any lower demon - but Iguro jumped in to help regardless.

He'd claimed he had just 'used Gyutaro as a distraction' but Mitsuri didn't buy it and Gyutaro didn't either. Now, that didn't mean he believed Mitsuri when she said the guy liked him - there was way too much murderous intent in that gaze to insinuate otherwise. 

Oh well, who the hell knew what the human was thinking? What any human was thinking... ever. Snake-boy was at least better than Mr. I-have-three-wives-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it Hashira.

"Stay behaved, demon," Iguro muttered in what was probably a threat. His ever-present snake was resting on his shoulder and opened one of her eyes lazily before closing them and falling back to sleep. She at least liked him - Gyutaro could vibe with the snake and that was the only thing helping his case when it came to Iguro.

Gyutaro only chuckled arrogantly, tilting his head to sneer at the hashira.

"Sure thing, snake-man. Watch you back," he snickered.

They stared at each other for a long moment in silence, Iguro glaring from under his bangs, Gyutaro doing the same. Mitsuri let this go on for a few seconds before sighing and grabbing Iguro by his arm.

"See you later Gyu-chan! Say hi to everyone for us! Tell Shinobu-chan and Kanae-chan that I love them!" the Love Pillar dragged the Snake Pillar away, Iguro's eyes never breaking their contact with Gyutaro's until they were turning a corner and leaving Gyutaro alone a few feet away from the Mansion.

He sighed, rubbed the back of his neck, and simply settled on the fact that all demon slayers were weird. Very, very weird. There wasn't a normal one among them so, of course, Inosuke had fit right in. Hell, even he, the hideous violent misfit from the red light district, fit in somehow... at least according to Mitsuri.

Slipping through the gate he couldn't help but smile to himself a bit as he waltzed through the garden and slipped into their wing. That's right, their home. They had a wing, a room, a territory, something to call their own, and who gave a fuck if it belonged to some flower hashira. It was theirs. It wasn't the Red Light District, hardly comparable in size, but that wasn't a bad thing... It wasn't a bad place...

He walked down the hallway and snickered to see Miku sprawled on the floor, snoring away like a thunderstorm. He crept a bit further towards the candlelight, leaning on the open doorframe to Doma and Kotoha's room.

They were sitting on the floor, reading quietly and as soon as Gyutaro stepped in they smiled.

"Your back early," Doma observed warmly.

"How was it?" Kotoha beckoned as she stood up and softly demanded a hug with her open arms.

Goddammit, Gyutaro had to give in. He hugged her before pulling away and giving a shrug.

"Eh, it was boring. We ran into a group of demons off to the east - it was weird to see so many grouping together but I didn't get much info out of them," Gyutaro explained. "It was nice to snack on a few though - "

"And the hashira? How did it go with the Snake and Love pillar?" Doma encouraged.

"Ehhhhh," Gyutaro managed. "I think Mitsuri likes everyone, and I think Snake-man hates everyone."

"You two should get along great then," Doma chuckled to himself as he turned a page.

"Ha-ha, shut up," Gyutaro muttered dryly. "I'm going to go see Daki. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"No," Doma denied. "Inosuke went off on a mission with Zenitsu; I'm told it's a minor problem, maybe not even a demon so I didn't accompany him. Miku's been sleeping for two days now, so it's been too quiet, but I think she'll wake up soon. Akaza got back from his mission yesterday night... and... I think that's it..."

He looked to Kotoha and she nodded.

"Yeah... it's been quiet here. Daki got back maybe three days ago and she had a bit of excitement from the sound of it. She saved a lot of people, and we're all rather proud of her. Other than that... it's been quiet." She smiled as she pat Gyutaro's shoulder and went back to her seat. "I'm glad your mission went well."

"Good. Speaking of Daki, I have to go tell her I'm back. G'Night," Gyutaro dismissed himself and waltzed out before either could ask any more questions. He made his way to his room and slid the door open softly.

Daki was, unsurprisingly, fixing her hair. She immediately froze, whirling around and grinning when she saw him.

"Onii-chan!" she grinned as she jumped to her feet, abandoned her half-braided hair, and leaped into his hug. "You're back!"

"Ey! You miss me?" Gyutaro laughed, as he hugged her back.

"Oh! So much has happened Onii-chan! I went on a mission with the Water Pillar and we found all these demons! I killed them all, right, because I'm strong and all - and that hashira, Giyu, he's great, really quiet though - "

Gyutaro nodded intensely as he tried to keep up with Daki's ramblings. It was strangely wonderful to see her so energized. The two of them sat down as she continued, almost bouncing in joy as she explained it all.

"And he told me I did great, and I was like 'of course I did great, who do you think I am?' and then there was another demon but I sensed it first so we went up the mountain - "

When was the last time she had been so eager and proud? Gyutaro sat down and searched his mind for such a memory as Daki rambled on about the demon who was trapped slayers and stowing them to save for later.

"And I'm like; this guy must be super weak if he can't eat all these guys at once and he was, but there were a bunch of slayers and they were all wrapped in this goo - it was super gross actually. So Giyu was all: 'help the humans' but, like, what was I supposed to do? If I took them from the goo they would bleed out, and then I had this great idea, and Kanae-san even told me it was a good idea. So anyway I had this idea and I looked at Giyu and was like; I have an idea -"

If Gyutaro thought hard enough, the last time Daki had been this excited had been when they first became Upper Moons. Muzan had praised Daki for her brilliance, for her brutality and Daki had looked over to Gyutaro from where they knelt, eye gleaming, smile beaming, her very being vibrating in pride. Even that had been a strange dark and mature pride, a vindictive pride in her own power and anger.

This... this was childlike pride. Innocent pride... the type that couldn't be translated into words behind a smile that was incomparable to anything Gyutaro had seen.

"And then... I - I... Gyutaro... I..." Her voice began breaking and Gyutaro jumped out of his mind to see what he was hearing.

She was crying.

"Hey! Hey, what happened? What are you crying for? What did that Water Pillar do? Did something happen - " He was compiling a very quick list of how to make a water hashira disappear off the face of the planet without arousing immediate suspicion.

"No - no they're happy tears," Daki managed as she rubbed her eyes and laughed weakly. "I... I saved someone. A - A lot of someones!"

Her ribbons were swaying calmly, so calmly that it was so clear she was happy - but Gyutaro had never seen her with such an expression in her eyes. They were both sitting but he moved in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders as she sniffled, wiping her eyes and grinning.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Gyutaro asked.

"There - there were all these demon slayers in the goo. They were going to be eaten later, I think... and they were dying. I just... I just acted. My ribbons - " she grabbed one of them and held it gently in her claws, a smile on her face.

"What about your ribbons?" Gyutaro probed, leaning in and grabbing her hand. She gripped it back.

"I saved people with them, Gyutaro," she was smiling so wide that Gyutaro thought she might combust. "I... I've never done anything like that in my life... I've never saved someone - "

"We have - " Gyutaro began to argue.

"Not like that," she denied. "There was no reason to save the slayers. I could've just left them and helped Giyu kill the demon but I just felt like I should, and I did. These... these ribbons; I've used these ribbons to hurt so many people, and they saved those slayers. I patched wounds with them, I stemmed the bleeding, I kept the humans alive long enough to get them to Kanae-san and I feel... wonderful. They smiled at me..."

She was crying again, still smiling, but crying as she held her ribbons.

Gyutaro managed a wry smile but something in him warmed to see her so... innocent. The smile on her face was a youthful smile he hadn't seen on his sister's face in a while.

Muzan had once called her impressionable, and that was true. Just a few years among the moral and Daki was crying about saving people, just a few years among the blessed and Daki was as sweet as Ume had once been. A few years with people better than him... and she was infinitely kinder than he ever could be...

"Did you like it?" Gyutaro smiled weakly.

"I did - I really did," Daki nodded. She then seemed to come to her senses and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I know you just got back and everything - but I really needed to tell you and I was so excited and - "

Gyutaro wrapped her in his arms and felt something that sat tight in his chest release after centuries of pain... and guilt he could now recognize. He had missed this side of his sister - and he was ashamed to say he had forgotten it. He missed the side of his sister that would cry in shock when she found an injured bird on their doorstep. This side of his sister would beam at the sight of someone being proposed to in the street. This side would urge her to hug Gyutaro after a long day.

The side of her that always had been good.

Daki was doing good. Daki was good again. His little sister was crying for others...

"Gyutaro?" she asked from within the embrace. "What happened, did the mission not go well?"

"No," Gyutaro laughed at the warm muffled questioning. "No, it went great. I just missed you..."

And he had. He really had.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

"Yes! That's the way Kamado!" Kyojuro praised as Tanjiro's feet finally found their positions and his sword flew, splitting the wooden dummy apart, a thin line sending its torso off its waist. The boy had leaned too far into the swing, as was usual with water-breathers who were used to constantly moving and shifting their center of balance - but the boy adjusted his position quick enough, centered himself, and used his weight to further the swing.

It was a clever hybrid of the two styles, and he likely wasn't doing it purposefully.

The boy straightened up and grinned; "It feels a lot stronger - very similar to the Hinokami Kagura - but less raw..."

"Who knows!" Kyojuro laughed. He didn't - and based on the state of his ancestors' Flame journals, they'd never know. He would never hate his father, but there was always a simmering pain to know that it had only taken one lost man to destroy centuries of their family's life. "But for now, you seem to be catching on quick!"

There was a splintering of wood and Kyojuro smiled broadly, knowing exactly who it was. Inosuke's swords had decimated his target, his body in the air to push weight in his steel but his posture was familiar - he too was applying stances and blending them with his own inventive breathing style. Granted, it took Kyojuro's trained eye to recognize any hint of Flame breathing in his movements, but they were there. Who knew what Inosuke had pulled from when creating a style completely on his own (which was a feat in itself) but it seemed to have the same ferocity that Flame focused on.

The only one who hadn't incorporated any changes into his style was Zenitsu, but the boy was still present, going through the exercises and smiling at his comrade's success. The blond wasn't suited for Flame breathing, his style relied on quick, sudden movements; precision as finite as you could get it. Flame was similar to water in its rhythm, though where water breathing taught reversal of energy, especially when facing a stronger opponent, Flame focused on fluctuating strength; on keeping your own flame and strength constant and careful until your opponent faltered. 

Zenitsu simply was suited to a technique as raw as Flame breathing that cared for speed and precision over strength and ferocity, but that didn't mean he stopped improving.

The boys were growing. Tanjiro was adding more to his repertoire, refining his Hinokami Kagura (Sun breathing... the only thing Kyojuro had gleaned from his father was the name; Sun breathing), and now he had mastery over water breathing along with the basics of Flame. Inosuke's ferocity and raw style were being refined by the intricacies of Flame Breathing, he was more conscious of his balance, of his footing, and while he still fought like a wild animal there was an intelligence in his attacks that was undeniable. Zenitsu's physical strength had grown exponentially and while his confidence still need work, his hands no longer trembled when reaching for a sword. He could decapitate lower-level demons (while conscious) without so much as a shriek from his lips (though one may follow afterward).

Kyojuro was quite proud of them. They were progressing wonderfully as tsugukos.

"Hey! You guys better pick this mess up!" Kyojuro smiled and turned as Aoi walked past the garden with a bin full of linens. "You left a mess of splinters the other day!" the girl ordered sharply.

"Absolutely Aoi-san!" Tanjiro agreed firmly. 

"We will clean up to our very best abilities!" Kyojuro announced loudly and Aoi sighed with a roll of her eyes that was reminiscent of one of Shinobu's expressions. She walked away and Kyojuro turned to the three. "You heard her, let's clean!"

"I'm gonna get the most!" Inosuke immediately challenged, diving for Tanjiro's splintered dummy, hoisting it over his head, and running to discard it in the woodpile.

"Hey - hey! Not everything's a competition!" Zenitsu cried picking up an arm full of his own fallen targets and taking chase. Tanjiro smiled as he too followed with his own handful. 

Kyojuro went to pick up some remnants himself when he heard Kanae's gentle footsteps make their way from the mansion to his side.

"Kyo," she greeted warmly, as always.

"Kanae!" he grinned as he straightened up. "Do not worry - this garden will be clean before we leave it!"

"Oh, don't worry about that, the training garden should have some evidence of a mess. That's how I know it's well-loved," she laughed, gazing towards the corner where the boys had disappeared. "I take it training is going well?"

"Very well!" Kyojuro grinned. "They take to self-improvement like a fish takes to water!"

"Wonderful, that's wonderful!" Kanae smiled. She looked up to the afternoon sky and grinned. "Though it seems your training has an audience."

"What?" Kyojuro asked, following her gaze up to the tree that sat between them and the sun. It only took a moment of searching through its branches to see who Kanae was referring to; it was Miku.

She squeaked when she met Kyojuro's eyes and quickly slipped out of the branches, landing with a hard thud on the ground and looking nervously at the hashira.

"I'm sorry!" she cried loudly, not quite apologetically, just loudly. "I didn't mean to spy or anything! I promise!"

Kanae was laughing again while Kyojuro was quickly contemplating why on earth he hadn't sensed the child; was he so complacent and comfortable here that he hadn't been alert? That was dangerous - 

"Did you like watching?" Kanae asked sweetly.

"Yes!" Miku cried eagerly. "It's so cool to see Nii-chan use his swords! Everyone's so cool and strong! I want to do it someday!"

"Oh, my," Kanae murmured with a grin. "That would be quite dangerous - "

"If Inosuke can do it, I definitely can!" she stated proudly, pointing at herself. "I've never, ever broken a bone - Inosuke's done it nine times!" 

"She makes a good point," Kanae murmured to Kyojuro with a playful smile. 

"Please!" suddenly Miku had come closer to both of them. "Please teach me how to slay demons! I learn quick - and I'm already pretty strong!"

"I cannot do anything of the sort unless your father allowed it," Kyojuro stated firmly. It would also have to be run by the master; teaching Mirakuru breathing techniques and sending her off to fight demons would be a terrible risk should anything happen to her.

Muzan would stop at nothing to snatch her away.

"I would be happy to teach you!" Kanae grinned. 

"Kanae - " Kyojuro began in shock. This needed to be considered carefully - there needed to be a layer of discretion and care!

"Oh, just a little training in the garden. Just the basics. We'll see if flower or insect breathing clicks with you and if not I can talk to the other hashiras and see what might suit you best," Kanae waved Kyojuro off as she smiled at the girl.

"Really!?" Miku demanded in pure juvenile excitement.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Kanae smiled. "I'm sure Shinobu would be happy to help too!"

There was no arguing with Kanae when she got like this and doubtlessly she would forge forward without hesitation, despite what Kotoha, Doma, or Kagaya said. She'd always been like that; spontaneous and instinctive. It was a good idea at the moment, it was a good idea. Though Kyojuro could give credit where credit was due, Kanae's ideas were usually good and her fearlessness was impressive.

There was a reason that even Sanemi bent under her unbendable will. She was certain of her path, no matter who's opinions it crossed with.

"Can I get a sword!?" Miku cried eagerly, now nearly jumping with excitement. 

"Maybe not quite yet... let's go see what training swords we have and I'll start teaching you some footwork," Kanae offered leading the girl back towards the house. "We'll also have to run it by your mother, but I'm sure she'll allow it."

Kyojuro was not so sure about that, but that was a problem left for Kanae. The boys were returning. Still, he watched as Kanae and Miku disappeared into the mansion and sighed with a smile.

There was no stopping such a force of nature. Idly, Kyojuro wondered if Akaza would be returning from his mission soon so that he could ask the demon what he thought of Miku's slayer desires.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

No failure. No failure.

Mukago's fear was so thick she was sure everything in a ten-mile radius could smell it. That was okay though... her fear was her strength. Her cowardice would be her greatest success - Muzan's words not hers.

Lower Four. She had only been Lower Four! After Muzan had eliminated the unloyal and problematic Lower Moons, he'd refused to change the remainder's rankings, demanding they work up to such a level. Mukago had devoured humans like she never had before, desperate for his approval...

Desperate to continue living. She'd seen the other three lower moons fall like they had been ants beneath the heel of a man. Sometimes she could still feel Lower Two's blood splattering on her face as Muzan cleansed the ranks.

She'd swore that she would avoid a fate like that.

Then Rui died. Damn him - damn him to hell and back, the boy's failure had turned the devil's eyes on them once again. Muzan had summoned the two sole Lower Moons and hissed that they both had one more chance. Lower One, Enmu had been filled with blood, and with the way he had screamed and thrashed like a fish, Mukago had feared for her life. If she came next, she would die - surely, she would absolutely die.

"I need subordinates who will be of use to me," Muzan's voice resonated in her mind again and again.

She trembled as she raced through the trees, feeling his disappointment radiate through her being. She had only been spared that day because she was of use and if she continued to be of use, she would continue to live.

Unlike Enmu...

"Lower One has also failed me, miserably," she hated to remember the unsaid threat in the way he had held her face. "So why should I keep you around if you are even less promising than him?"

She had begged. She was doing what he bade of her. She had grown stronger, she would grow stronger still!

She bounced silently to a bough of a thick tree and stared down at the collection of slayers that were to be her prey. She flexed her hands and elongated her nails as she began to manipulate the space around her fingers. She would be of use.

"I no longer care if you can rise up the ranks," he had told her, his crimson eyes boring a hole right into her existence. "The worst of possibilities for demonkind is being faced at this exact moment. Traitors walk with our enemies and slay your kin before they have time to taste their second meal. If you want to prove yourself to be of any worth, you'll do exactly as I say."

Of course! Of course! She would do just as he commanded! Anything! Anything! Just let her survive!! And he had smiled wickedly at that.

But she must focus - stay in the moment. Swallow that fear to fuel the void of terror in her stomach. Become one with that fear!

She pounced, fixing on points of each of the four slayers beneath her, unaware of her approach. Like the pop of a bubble, four spaces erupted in chaos and violence. Like a vacuum, the small bubbles took a portion of the slayers. One lost her arm, two lost their legs, and one's waist went, his sword with it - the swordless one would serve as the other three's first taste of power. What use was a creation if it didn't have its sword?

Mukago descended and raced quickly to the one missing her arm, pinning that one down by her throat. Quickly she threw bubbles over the other three's heads; silencing their screams and making it easy to kill them if they tried to interrupt. They thrashed and screamed helplessly which only made them seem even more pathetic... they acted terrified, but what did they know of true fear? What in this world could they possibly see that would instill more terror than those red eyes...

"You flee at the first sight of hashira, there is no way you can do what I need you to do," he had scorned.

She had begged. She had groveled because though it was true, she'd do anything to live, even something as dangerous as this. Give her time. Give her time.

He'd hummed at that... he'd considered it. He knew her mind. He knew that she was willing - he had to!! She had been sobbing through her pleas but all he had done was lean closer, his fangs glinting with malice.

"If I give you the means and the time to do what must be done, would you do it?" he had challenged. "Would you risk facing demon slayers daily for my greater purpose?"

Of course! Of course! Anything was better than that awful place of a fortress, that awful terror that was so unlike anything else she could experience. There was the fear of death and then there was Muzan Kibutsuji. One was not even comparable to the other.

She looked at the slayer pinned beneath her and raked her claws down her own arm until demonic blood came bubbling forth and the girl beneath her began to plead and scream. Mukago ignored her, such screams were incomparable to her own that had spilled when Muzan had gifted her blood.

It was lucky she had grown so much stronger, or she wouldn't have survived that much of Master's blood back when the Moons had first been culled. But she had! She had and now she did his bidding far more successfully than any of her successors! She would! She had to!

Her blood dribbled onto the slayer beneath her sizzling as they made contact with open wounds. Screams turned to gurgles, and those gurgles turned to snarls soon enough. Mukago stepped up and back from her creation, studying it with passive disappointment; was this how Muzan saw her? So weak and primal; so insignificant?

She looked down at her new creation and it looked up at her, not knowing, but understanding instantly what the kanji in both her eyes meant.

"Will you do what must be done, Mukago? Will you accomplish what even my highest ranking demon could not?" Muzan had held a tone that Mukago hadn't understood, but she didn't care.

She would! She would!

There was no other choice! She studied the demon at her feet and turned to the others; there was no other choice. She blinked, relishing the way the kanji sat in her eyes; Upper Six. 

The newly turned demon growled as it saw the humans, frothing and trembling as it waited for permission from its master to eat. Mukago stilled it with a gesture of her hand and crouched down to change the next human into something more useful.

She would be more powerful than her successors. She would not falter. She would be of use. She would not die. She'd grown too powerful to die now.

(Mukago really be out here accidentally becoming a critical villain when my original plan was to kill her off. Whoops - 

*chuckles*

We're in danger

Anyyyyway, that won't come back to haunt y'all, I'm sure. 

Look! Mirakuru's learning how to fight, everything's going to be fine. She's going  to take on the world! Also, for any interested, this is how that conversation went -

Miku *skidding into the room*: Papa! I can kill demons now!

Doma: That's... interesting? With a poison??

Miku: No! *Hoists up a pointy object as large as she is that's capable of killing BOTH her species* I'll kill em' with a sword!

Doma: