KANNA RETURNED AS promised before the next morning. despite dōma's persuasion of staying just a bit longer, both knew better than to defy their master.

"muzan-sama, I've returned", kanna announced.

muzan dismissively hummed, not even bothering to spare the woman a glance. however, kanna was used to it, simply resuming her duties by heading towards her own desk piled with various threads and fabric.

     due to the woman's copious amount of time, kanna was able to skillfully embroider expensive pieces for the upper moons, specifically muzan. ever since the heian era, every yakuta or suit owned by muzan had detailing hand-sewn by kanna.

     regardless of how tedious and straining embroidery could be for kanna, the woman didn't mind sitting in one position and doing the same task for hours.

and though the two worked in the same office, little to no words were exchanged.

one would think that the way to muzan's seven hearts would be to shower him with care and affection, yet that couldn't be further from the truth. for in order to close the distance between kanna and muzan, all kanna had to do was stay out of his way.

ironic, one may think. though with centuries of experience being by muzan's side, kanna had learned that it's best to speak only when spoken to.

"this is wrong", muzan had mumbled to no one in particular.

gripping the beaker with the failed solution, muzan's hand had incidentally shattered it due to his lack of success. the liquid spilled over the demon progenitor's wounds that hastily healed despite the beaker's glass shards still stuck in his flesh.

kanna immediately paused in her sewing, sticking the needle in a random spot of the fabric as she made her way towards the demon king.

despite nothing coming out kanna's mouth, her actions spoke for her. the demoness gently plucked the shards out of muzan's hand, whilst wiping the mystery solution off. her hands remained in contact with muzan's for slightly too long, as he had quickly shaken her off.

"my head hurts", he complained, yet nothing more needed to be said.

     for kanna had been by his side for so long, she practically knew him like the back of her hand.

     "perhaps laying down for a bit would help, my lord".

     kanna's skillful fingers made its way to the black tie that muzan wore, easily wiggling it off his neck whilst unbuttoning the top two buttons of his white button-up shirt so that he could breathe better.

     as the dark-haired woman had taken a seat on the elongated coach that was placed in front of the office's bookshelves, muzan had promptly laid his head right on kanna's lap.

     while most wouldn't even dare to dream of touching their demon king so casually, kanna had a way with her hands. every time she massaged muzan's temples in a circular manner, his headache seemed to leisurely fade away.

     the man was well aware that anybody could've done this for him if he had simply commanded, but it's the fact that kanna knew what he needed and when he needed it that made all the difference between them and her.

     she watched as muzan had closed his eyes, sighing out a deep breath for his experiment was once again proven defective.

     "tell me, what have you accomplished by visiting upper moon two?"

kanna hummed a little, as if seemingly deep in thought.

"nothing much", she truthfully answered.

muzan's eyes snapped opened, glaring at the woman who looked no less concerned than usual.

"then what do I have you for?"

perhaps any regular demon would have started begging for mercy now, though kanna just chuckled.

"I wonder", she replied, running one hand through muzan's ebony hair whilst another was complacently lying on the demon king's chest.

"I see that I've been too lenient with you. tell me, what punishment should I enforce this time?", the demon progenitor asked, though his tone neither resonated anger nor disappointment.

"how about I plan a special outing for my lord and I?", kanna suggested.

     "if this falls through once again, I'll have you strung up for the sun to dry".

     kanna simply smiled.

"thank you for your benevolence, master".

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     muzan thought it strange for kanna to not guide him to the destination that she had set for their outing. though nonetheless, he was intrigued with what idea she had come up with this time, for he will admit that she has never failed to surprise him.

"my dear, I hope I didn't keep you waiting".

muzan spun around from a touch on his shoulder.

in front of him, was kanna dressed in a long trench coat, covering her entire outfit and leaving only a few inches of fabric for muzan to guess what was under.

"dear? since whe—"

"follow me, my dear, for this snow will only pile higher", kanna ushered.

grabbing onto muzan's hand, the demon progenitor had no choice but to follow, for they were in front of too many humans for him to reveal his true intentions.

muzan noticed that many stalls and restaurants had lit more lanterns than usual. instead of the usual yellow, there was red, green, and even blue ones. more people loitered around the streets, some even heading to church despite the snow nearly reaching their ankles.

     "this must be worth it for you to drag me out here in this nasty weather", muzan scowled.

     kanna continued walking without any qualms until she had reached the gardens of an aristocrat's mansion. muzan found it almost laughable that they were entering from the back entrance, yet wondered what event this was, for so many politicians and westerners were all gathered here on the same night.

"tonight, we are mr. and mrs. hayashi", kanna mumbled, though muzan's listening was sharp enough to catch that.

immediately, he knew which politician and his wife kanna was referring to.

as the two demons easily slipped into the ballroom, where a cotillion was being held, there was a particular tree that stood out to the demon king.

a large triangular tree that was perched in the center of the room with tinsels, shiny ornaments, and a star at the very top, was being showcased as if everybody was worshipping it.

"the westerners call it christmas", kanna quietly explained, "it's a holiday that they celebrate over there with family and friends".

a servant had then approached the two, offering to take their coats off their hands.

muzan tossed his jacket to the human, revealing his usual black tuxedo, which seemed to matched the theme, as every other man also wore the same.

as kanna had shed off her heavy trench coat, muzan's eyes immediately shifted to the woman's bosom.

in all her glory, though she was in a similar dress like all the other women, kanna was just simply too close to perfection.

muzan knew it was odd for kanna to bundle her hair up, for she always left it down as a way of remembering the heian era. yet tonight, she had chosen to allow only her bangs to frame her face.

"you're staring, my lord", kanna ever so gently whispered, even going as to tip-toeing so that she could near the demon king's right ear.

"and so are others", muzan rebutted, to which as soon as kanna had glanced around, plenty of men had returned their gazes towards their partners.

"must you attract so much attention when we are out?", he lowly questioned.

"why I'm simply wearing what everyone else is", kanna smiled.

indeed, she was. however, pearl-white seemed to match her fair complexion a bit too well. one would think it would've washed her out, yet they could not be even more wrong, for kanna appeared like an angel in the eyes of those who had bestowed their eyes onto her.

"let's dance, my dear. the night will not last forever", kanna urged.

muzan begrudgingly stuck his hand out, as a gentleman would.

willingly placing her hand in his, kanna was delighted by how quickly the demon king had caught on to the westerners' dancing style.

like any other couple on the floor, the two twirled and spun, whilst keeping close to each other and not allowing a single moment to go to waste.

"you seem to be thoroughly enjoying this", muzan mocked.

"how can I not when I'm dancing with the most handsome man in the room?", kanna smoothly replied.

"save your breath. you've been beside me long enough to know that flattery doesn't appease me".

kanna simply hummed as she noticed that the music had suddenly stopped.

it seemed that the three politicians from court nobility were making an announcement and thanking everyone for showing up. beside them were two westerners whom kanna had assumed were also the more important politicians.

whatever the five men were yapping about, kanna could've honestly cared less. however, she knew that muzan did particularly like listening in to politics, so she had urged the man to go ahead and socialize with them.

"I'll be taking a seat over there", kanna informed, heading towards the couches.

muzan was swiftly approached by one of the politicians, matsukata, who was alongside kuroda and saigō.

"I don't believe we've met", matsukata greeted.

"hayashi tadasu", muzan impersonated.

"well, mr. hayashi, your wife is certainly the belle of the ball", kuroda complimented.

"thank you. she'll be pleased to hear that", muzan fake smiled.

whilst the men continued conversing about women and the emergence of western culture, kanna was sitting on one of the velvety couches simply observing the other couples dancing.

"pardon me, but you seem like you're in need of some company".

     kanna glanced up at the foreigner, who had a charming grin and slicked back hair.

the demoness wasn't used to seeing others with sky blue eyes and blonde hair, hence she was least to say just a bit in awe.

"I apologize, but I have a husba—"

     "well I surely don't see him. and plus, who would leave their beautiful wife just sitting here by herself. care for a dance?", the blonde man asked, stretching his hand out for kanna to take.

     just as kanna had stood up to go find muzan, it seemed that the demon king was already two steps ahead of her.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't try to steal my wife, mr. bergen", muzan interrupted.

"ah, I apologize, but you are..."

"hayashi tadasu, the husband of hayashi misao", muzan lied, as he wrapped his right arm around kanna's waist — nearly tripping the woman into his embrace.

"oh, I see. apologies for bothering your wife, I had thought that she was just—"

"well you had thought wrong. now good night", muzan rudely stated, before walking off with kanna close to his side.

as soon as muzan had snatched both their coats and exited the ballroom with kanna softly chuckling, the demon king returned to his usual scowl.

"this was not worth the trip", he uttered, tossing kanna her trench coat as he was walking a few steps front of the demoness.

"my dear, no need to be so mad", kanna still pretended.

muzan halted in his steps, snapping his head around as he glared at the woman, blaming her for such a horrible night.

"I do recall that if tonight didn't go well that you'll be greeting the sun soon", the demon progenitor threatened.

kanna couldn't help but let out a soft giggle, for she was all too amused by her master's possessive behavior.

"you're still in the mood to laugh? seems like I seriously did not trai—"

kanna had then pulled something out of the pocket of her trench coat, dangling it above their heads.

"did you think some stupid leaves and red berries would save you? perhaps if you had found me the blue spider lily instead", muzan scoffed.

the dark-haired woman had then tugged on muzan's tie, pulling the grumbling demon towards her as she planted a firm kiss right onto his cold lips.

muzan was quick to reciprocate, wrapping his arm around kanna's waist once more as he deepened what was supposed to be just a quick peck.

kanna pulled away to breathe for a moment, as muzan wiped his lips with the back of his hand while grinning.

"was this your plan all along? all this just for a kiss?", he scoffed.

"it's a mistletoe", kanna explained, "a tradition amongst the westerners. when two people are under it, they must kiss".

muzan had never heard of such a thing before. it was almost comically stupid that two people would kiss simply because of some leaves and berries.

however, the man didn't detest it. it was almost entertaining in a sense.

"perhaps you'd like another go, my lord?", kanna cheekily smiled.

kanna's smile only widened upon feeling muzan's strong arms easily lift her up, carrying her towards an alleyway.

he seemed to have telepathically conversed with nakime, for the two had immediately ended up back in the infinity castle, specifically in muzan's room.

as kanna's body had plopped onto the bed beneath her, muzan was already towering above her, loosening his tie with one hand.

"on second thought, I think I've found a better punishment for you to fulfill".

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: extra long chap. just like muzan's dic—joke. tysm for reading, hope y'all enjoyed it 🥹🫶