RUI AWOKE TO A strangely soothing tune, one that brought him unease yet reminded him of his deceased mother. upon slowly opening his eyes after he had killed his parents, rui noticed that he was laying on a futon in an unfamiliar place.

     "you're awake", the woman who was humming suddenly spoke.

     rui hastily sat upright, turning his attention to the dark-haired woman who patiently sat in the corner of the room. she seemed to have been combing the ends of her hair and touching up her makeup whilst awaiting for him to waken.

"who are you?", rui questioned, cautiously watching the demoness place her comb down onto the vanity before nearing him with a bowl of red liquid.

"here, you must be thirsty", she offered.

rui hesitantly accepted the bowl of human blood, taking a sip before placing it onto the ground.

     "I'm kanna, one of muzan-sama's loyal servants. I'll be tending to your needs before you get relocated".

     "relocated? where am I going? where is this place?", rui questioned, for the room he was resting in was vastly more comfortable than the one back home.

     "that will be up to muzan-sama. though in the meantime, let's get you some new clothes shall we?"

     rui simply nodded, as he stood up after kanna did. sliding open the door, kanna held her hand out for rui to hesitantly accept.

     the white-haired demon was amazed by the maze-like infrastructure, with stairs twisting and changing ever so often.

     "this is the infinity castle", kanna informed, "and that is nakime-san".

     rui noticed another dark-haired demoness sitting at the center of the infinity castle, holding a biwa as if she were waiting to perform.

     "she controls the ins and outs of this castle", kanna stated.

     "nakime-san, please take us to the night market", kanna called out.

     with a strum of her biwa, rui and kanna were instantly transported to the alleyway of a bustling night market.

     "I suggest you morph into a more human appearance if you don't wish to be discovered", the dark-haired woman reminded.

     incidentally, rui had reverted his appearance back to when he was a human, though his eyes don't hold the innocence of a child anymore.

     "come", kanna ushered, gently holding rui's hand once more, as the two looked like any normal mother and son.

     "do you see anything you like?"

     "I...don't really have a preference", the young demon answered.

     "how about this white one with red dots? it suits your new appearance", kanna suggested.

     the duo stopped in front of a shop that seemed to sell a great variety of fabrics and already made yukatas.

     "some color would be pleasant as well. do you like blue? let's get some purple and green as well", kanna excitedly picked out.

     the shop owner chuckled at the woman's enthusiasm.

     "first time out with your mother, huh?"

     "what?"

     "ya know, usually kids don't really like shopping for clothes with their moms because it bores them. I'm sure you tagging along with her this time makes her very happy", the store owner explained with a smile.

     "oh, she's n—"

     "rui, come look at this one. what do you think?", kanna asked, holding up a navy blue yukata with golden-lined waves near the bottom of the fabric.

"I-I think it's okay...", the boy softly replied, for he was slightly caught off-guard by the store owner's comment.

"hm, perhaps we should stick with the original white...", kanna mumbled.

"sir, do you happen to do custom patterns?"

"yes, of course, ma'am! though it does cost extra", he replied.

"money isn't an issue", kanna smiled, taking out a hefty bag of yen and dropping it onto the counter.

the store owner immediately pried open the pouch, ogling at the stringed coins that could nearly buy out half his store.

"what else may I get for you, madam?!"

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     rui ended up with a closet full of new clothes by the end of the night. perhaps kanna had went a little overboard, but it mattered not, for it wasn't like it was her money.

"why don't you head back to bed, rui. I'll greet you tomorrow with some dinner", kanna had stated.

complying, rui returned back to the room that he had awoken from, never realizing how exhausting shopping was. though it was liberating being able to walk so much without needing to go back to bed ill.

as kanna gently slid the door shut, she carried two bags of clothing back to the room that was next to hers.

without leaving a note or anything, kanna had retired for the morning, until the next moon had graced them with its presence.

"good evening rui", kanna greeted.

     the white-haired demon's eyes snapped open, sitting upright before returning the greeting out of politeness.

     "would you like to have dinner now?", kanna asked.

     nodding, rui swallowed the human meat presented before him in a neatly arranged manner. kanna simply watched, making rui wonder whether if she had already eaten.

     "miss kanna, are you not hungry?"

     "don't mind me", kanna smiled, "you go on".

     rui hummed before continuing his meal, whilst kanna maintained her composure.

     once the young demon was finished, kanna had offered to help him get ready for the night.

     "I'm okay", rui answered, for he wasn't as sickly as he was before.

     "I've brought you some literature as well. if you are interested, feel free to give them a look. and if you need me, ask nakime-san, and she'll take you to me".

     with that, kanna had disappeared, for she did not want to suffocate the boy with her presence.

     rui leisurely made his way towards the pile of books that laid on top of the short, stubby table.

grabbing one that seemed somewhat intriguing, the young demon spent hours reading until he had heard nakime strum her biwa. curious, rui slightly slid open his door, enough for him to stay hidden while still being able to peek through the crevice.

there, standing in the center was the demon progenitor, dressed in a similar attire to when rui had first met him.

kanna was already there to greet the demon king, assisting him in taking off his suit's jacket while making polite conversation.

     "how's he?", muzan questioned.

     "he's currently in his room, reading. we bought him some new clothes yesterday", kanna answered.

     muzan raised a brow.

     "and with who's money?"

     "yours", kanna smiled.

     many a times, nakime thought she would witness the death of lady kanna simply for just breathing. however, every time, the sly demoness seems to create new limits, for muzan had simply ignored the woman's answer.

     "nakime, bring us to him", muzan commanded.

     with a single strum, the two demons appeared in rui's temporary room. rui, who was quick to shut his door and pretend to be reading still, had set his book down to greet the two.

"rui, I heard from kanna that you've acquired some new necessities. how are you faring?"

"I've been well. thank you for the concern, muzan-sama", rui replied.

"I know it hasn't been long, though I'm sure you're curious regarding the relocation?"

     rui nodded, "yes sir".

     "every demon must relocate to an area and grow stronger. as you already know, the more humans you eat, the stronger you become. the strongest are a part of the twelve kizuki. hence, you must keep eating in order to climb the ranks", muzan patiently explained.

     perhaps it was because rui was so similar to muzan during their human times, for kanna has never seen the man be so tolerant to another demon.

     "then where shall I go, master?"

     "I've chosen the forests of mount natagumo for you. it is my hope that you flourish there", muzan politely smiled.

     "I will not disappoint", rui bowed.

     "you may stay here for a few more days, though when the time comes, kanna will take you there".

     with that, muzan had left the two alone once more.

     "did you enjoy the books? I see you've gone through plenty in just a few hours", kanna praised.

     "they were interesting", rui responded, still not really sure how the woman played into the hierarchy of power.

     "no need to be so stiff around me, rui. treat me as if we're equals", kanna advised.

there was definitely no way rui would be able to do so, for the woman definitely radiated a more mature and caring aura.

"or perhaps think of me as a guardian of yours for the time being".

rui nodded, as kanna simply sighed.

"you don't talk much do you? reminds me of upper moon one", kanna softly chuckled, before taking out a bunch of threads from the inside of her kimono sleeves.

"I sew a lot, so strings are my specialty", kanna shared, "if I were to have a blood demon art, I suppose it'd deal with manipulating threads".

     rui was slightly astonished that the woman didn't have her personal demon art yet, despite having to have lived for what he assumed, centuries.

     "look, I can make a web, or even a butterfly", kanna showed, her fingers delicately switching between designs.

     rui watched with great amusement, as he too wished he could pick up such a talent.

     "I can teach you", she offered, as if reading the young demon's mind.

     "if it's not a hassle", rui replied.

     "of course not", kanna laughed, handing rui some red string as she draped the boy's fingers with it.

     her nimble fingers brushed against rui's very own, sometimes even encasing his, reminding him of a mother and her child. she was patient and tender, never showing displeasure even when he failed an abundance of times.

     rui wasn't even aware of the time, for his desire to master the strings under the guidance of kanna was too great.

     and poor little rui didn't even notice, for he had just tangled himself into the spider's web.

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     AUTHOR'S NOTE: i'm so sorry if the first few chapters are boring,, i just really want to build the relationship btwn the other demons & kanna first 🥹

     i'm trying to work on my character & character relationships so the OG characters don't seem too ooc 😔

her interaction with muzan will come soon tho 🥰 (it's just hard writing about an absolute narcissist who had minimal hobbies 💀)