RUI WASN'T SURE WHEN he had fallen into the habit of looking for kanna as soon as he awoke for nightfall.

     perhaps it's because kanna was the only demon that he interacted with, and the fact that she posed as a perfect mother figure in his current life.

     regardless, rui made his way to kanna's room with the help of nakime. per usual, the demoness was working on a sewing project. this time, it seemed to be a pair of swans.

     "rui, you've forgotten to brush your hair again it seems", kanna greeted, ushering for the boy to come sit at her vanity.

     rui took a seat in front of the mirror, watching as kanna took a brush and allowed the bristles to graze through his hair. kanna usually hummed the same tune rui had woken up to on the first day every time she brushed rui's hair.

     he wasn't sure what the song was, but he was convinced that it was a lullaby of sorts.

     "there, done", kanna smiled, placing the brush down as she patted the boy's shoulders.

     "will we be heading to the forest today, miss kanna?", rui asked.

     "indeed. I've packed all your clothes and belongings that you may need. after today, it'll be a while until we see each other again", kanna sighed.

rui frowned, for he did not wish to leave kanna's side. after all, he had become somewhat dependent on her, despite being a demon.

     "when will I be able to see you next, miss kanna?", rui questioned, causing the woman to spill a slight smile.

     "when you become a part of the twelve kizuki", kanna answered.

"muzan-sama only allows me to visit the twelve kizuki as a way of monitoring their progress. hence, if you become one, I'll be able to see you more often".

     rui's moment of sorrow suddenly morphed into determination.

     "promise?"

     "of course, rui. now, let's head out, shall we?"

     slipping his hand into kanna's, rui's view instantly shifted from the infinity castle into the forest of mount natagumo.

     before him was a shack that somewhat reminded him of his house back when he was a human. a thick mist shielded the green scenery, allowing creatures of the night to lurk from within.

     the two demons walked towards the shack, to which kanna was able to place rui's belongings in a corner for the time being.

     kneeling down, kanna was now eye-level with the young demon, who had gotten a very clear view of the woman's sharp features.

     "I've made you something to keep you company for the time being", kanna stated.

     pulling out a silk handkerchief with rui's name embroidered onto one corner and kanna's name in the opposite corner, the demoness had gently placed the fabric into rui's cupped hands.

"become strong rui", kanna whispered, as she enveloped the young demon into a tight hug.

"I will, miss kanna".

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"good. that'll certainly encourage him to reach his full potential", muzan grinned, as kanna had instantly reported back to him after dropping rui off.

during daylight, muzan spent the majority of his time experimenting, attempting to recreate something similar to the blue spider lily. it didn't matter what it was, as long as the effects were the same.

"if there's nothing else then I shall take my leave, muzan-sama".

kanna bowed, about to exit the demon king's office before he had stopped her.

"kanna".

"yes, muzan-sama?"

"dōma has requested for your presence once again. make it quick".

"may I ask when—"

"I don't know and neither do I care. return before the next morning, or I'll have your head severed".

"of course, muzan-sama".

at last, by the power of nakime's biwa, kanna was transported to the inside of the infamous eternal paradise cult.

though it was morning, dōma did a splendid job of keeping the building void of any sunlight.

kanna was observant of the voices coming from the main room, where dōma took part in listening to his precious followers.

distressed sobs and complaints filled the room and entered the ears of a demon man who could care less regarding their sorrows. kanna couldn't bare to listen, for their problems would soon all be met with death anyways.

cautious as to not alert anybody, kanna had stealthily made her way through the shaded halls and into dōma's personal room.

nothing much was kept there, just a shelf of pots (made by gyokko) with human skulls sitting on top of the opening, hidden behind the secret wall. several paintings that the woman had created from centuries ago were also hung from one corner of his room to another.

upon judging each and every one of those paintings with great intensity, the door had slid open revealing none other than the paradise leader himself.

"KANNA-CHAN!! you've finally come to visit!!", upper moon two exclaimed, slamming the door behind him as he leaped onto the demoness.

the dark-haired woman chuckled before tapping dōma's side so that he could stand up straight.

"I heard from master that you've been asking for me. now what pleasure do I owe for being graced by the presence of upper moon two?"

"I've missed you, kanna-chan. it's been so lonely here without you", dōma pouted.

grabbing onto the woman's delicate wrists, upper moon two had pulled kanna into his embrace, allowing her to wrap her arms around his snatched torso. her chest pressed against his toned abs, for the blonde demon had to hunch over a bit to fully envelop into the hug.

     "do you even like me anymore? after I turned upper moon six into demons, you've paid more attention to them than me. it seems that I've lost your interest", upper moon two whined.

     "silly dōma", kanna smiled, holding him even tighter.

     "of course I still like you. I've come to see you now have I not?"

     "perhaps you could ask master to stay here for a few days, or even for a few wee—"

     "as much as I'd like to, dōma, we both know master would not approve of it", kanna dejectedly sighed.

     slipping out of the blonde demon's grasp, kanna held his hand and led him towards the mats that were placed beside the table.

     "though let's not dwell on that. let's make the most of our time together", the demoness advised, taking out a handkerchief with lotuses embroidered on it.

     "my gift to you".

     dōma wowed at the neatness of the lotuses, immediately keeping it safe in the pocket of his tan-colored hakama pants.

     "I have something for you too. come with me", the leader of the paradise cult ushered.

     guiding the woman towards the little yard that had a petite pond and a classic red bridge as decoration, kanna's eyes had immediately darted towards the spider lilies.

     for a moment, the woman's heart stopped, believing to have witnessed the real blue spider lilies again. though upon closer inspection, she had realized that the spider lilies were still dripping with paint.

     a chuckle escaped from upper moon two's lips, as he observed the woman's reaction morph from disbelief into slight annoyance.

     "did I fool you?", he teased.

     "you're lucky I'm not muzan-sama. he'd surely have you minced for that", kanna scoffed.

     "awww~ c'mon! you can't admit that it wasn't funny even in the slightest bit", dōma stated, nudging the demoness who simply shook her head and sighed.

     "perhaps a little", she caved in, flashing dōma her perfect smile.

     "I must say, you must have a lot of time on your hands to have painted all these spider lilies blue. seriously, is this what you do in your free time instead of searching for the actual thing?", kanna laughed.

     dōma's pastel eyes never shifted away from the snickering woman, for all his time painting these meaningless flowers blue had all paid off.

     it was a bad habit of his, for he wasn't sure when he had started to pay even more attention to the details of his cult and himself just to please the woman before him. he secretly hoped that she'd crack him a chuckle, or even send a smile his way if it meant that he'd spend weeks on a useless project.

     but of course, all that was buried deep within him, somewhere not even muzan would be able to reach.

     "dōma, you're staring", the woman exposed.

     "you're simply divine, lady kanna!", upper moon two chirped back.

     "you flatter me. say, do you tell this to all your female followers too?", kanna teased.

     the woman started to head back to the room, for she did not wish for the humans to see her with their precious leader. she'd rather avoid conflict with them if possible.

     "no", dōma mumbled, though kanna was already far ahead of him to hear.

     skipping after the woman like a child, dōma hastily caught up with kanna and tightly held onto her hand.

     "lady kanna, how about we paint this time?", dōma suggested.

     "you mean like every time that I've come here?", kanna mocked, "and how you just watch me paint instead of doing it yourself?"

"yep!!", dōma exclaimed.

as soon as the two had returned to dōma's room, he had hastily left and came back with a blank canvas propped up on a easel. paintbrushes and paint were also provided for kanna to use, with plenty of spare tools as well.

dōma sat criss-crossed onto the mat, offering his lap for the demoness to take a seat on.

"are you sure?", kanna questioned.

"lady kanna only deserves the best seat in the house", dōma answered, earning another laugh from the dark-haired woman.

complying with upper moon two's desire, kanna fit perfectly onto his lap whilst his arms snaked around her waist.

as the woman begun to paint, dōma patiently awaited for her to finish. in fact, he preferred for kanna to take her time, so that he could continue holding her.

though kanna wasn't as frail as humans, she certainly wasn't as strong as the twelve kizuki. having her in dōma's lap made him feel like he could protect her and keep he—

dōma's grip tightened around kanna's waist as he felt his heart being squeezed, so much so that it might actually explode.

it was definitely a reminder from their master, that dōma had let his thoughts wander too far.

"are you alright, dōma? don't tell me you've already gotten bored", kanna mused.

"never", dōma smiled like usual, urging for kanna to continue with her artwork.

"will you be hanging this one up as well once I've completed it?"

     "naturally", dōma answered, "anything you make is a prized possession of mine".

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     AUTHOR'S NOTE: can y'all tell which demon is my fav 👀

     i'm trying my darn hardest not to lose focus here,, but the options are just all too good 😮‍💨