━━━━━━

WITH FOUR WINNERS from each group, there was only a total of 54 women left. the entire arena-like room was splattered with blood, guts, and twisted body parts.

     kaguya stared down at the female demoness that she had defeated by slicing her head off.

     "p-please...s-save...me...", she weakly pleaded, her fingers stiffly twitching, as the dark-haired woman could only watch with an ounce of pity.

     "congratulations, ladies! you've successfully completed your first trial by showing that you're not only strong, but willing to dirty your hands for king muzan", the ancient-looking demon (hayate) announced.

     "now, for the next trial — which will be held in a week — you are to pick a partner and have one of you draw a slip out from this bowl", hayate stated.

     everyone in the room immediately turned towards either their right or left, except for kaguya.

'teamwork...you must be kidding me', the demoness internally groaned.

she's had her fair share of "teamwork" back when she was a human.

either her partner slacked off the entire time, or her partner and her had completely opposing ideas. there was no happy middle nor any step downs from either side.

"u-umm...lady k-kaguya, is it?", a woman meekly spoke up, causing kaguya to raise her brow.

'ah, the one from the dinner...'

"you're..."

"nami! I know...my existence isn't very...well...noticiable", the shy demon bashfully admitted.

"what business do you have with me, lady nami?", kaguya bluntly questioned.

"oh! right...umm...I-I was wondering if you wanted to be partners...I-I'm very open to anything, really..."

'hm, she could be useful despite her quiet demeanor...she doesn't seem like the type to openly disagree with anyone anyways. perhaps this could work out...'

"since lady nami has so graciously went out of her way to seek me out, I'd be honored to experience this partnership with my lady", kaguya momentarily responded with a slight smile.

     "o-oh, thank you! then s-shall I go draw a slip from the bowl now?", nami asked.

     the dark-haired demoness nodded, as nami felt some sort of relief.

     whilst everyone else had taken turns picking out a folded piece of paper from the dark bowl that hayate was holding, they were given permission to unfold the slip, and reveal it alongside their partners.

     "gyūtarō", kaguya read out.

     "now as you all may see, each pair was given a name of the twelve kizuki. each moon is appointed two pairs, meaning that you and your partner will be competing against another pair", hayate explained.

     "as for the actual trial, you and your partner will be tasked to create an attire for your chosen kizuki. the pair that performs best will advance to the next stage of this selection.

     it'll be based off of how well you and your partner work together, if the seams are all clean, if the design is stylish, and how fitting it is to the commanders themselves.

     and of course, those who do not advance, will be eliminated".

nami flinched at that last sentence, as she nervously glanced over at kaguya, who was already expecting such.

after hayate's brief explanation, the ladies were all dismissed, along with the twelve moons.

"how am I supposed to make clothes for a demon in a pot?!", one harshly whispered to her partner — clearly referring to upper moon five.

"at least you're not stuck with miss daki...I heard that if you even wrong her in the slightest, you'll be detrimentally punished for it", another quietly muttered.

"l-lady kaguya, so...how should we approach sir g-gyūtarō?", nami softly questioned.

"we go to him first", kaguya instructed, leading the way through the crowd of demons, as she eventually faced the true holder of upper moon six.

"greetings, sir gyūtarō. it's a pleasure to be working with you this week", kaguya curtsied, as the green-haired demon just scoffed.

he hated those who only acted nice towards him when they were in need of something.

'bet they're both internally cursing fate that they're stuck with me'.

"g-greetings...s-sir gyūtarō...", nami squeaked out, clearly feeling somewhat fearful of the upper moon.

"tch, yeah whatever. let's just get this over with!", gyūtarō grumbled.

though before kaguya and nami could leave with their chosen demon, the pair that they're up against, had also made an appearance.

"good evening to you, sir gyūtarō. the name's sayuki and makihara. we'd love to borrow some of you time and get a head start on—"

"apologies ladies, but sir gyūtarō has already promised to start with us first. perhaps you'll both get a chance in the next few days once we're finished?", kaguya fake smiled, gently grabbing onto gyūtarō's arm, as she swindled him away.

gyūtarō couldn't help but stare at the woman's hand placement. this was perhaps the closest he was going to get with physical touch, at least from a demoness (aside from daki of course).

"l-lady kaguya, are you sure that was a bright idea? they seemed very pissed when we were walking away", nami noticed.

"they'll be fine. and plus, sir gyūtarō doesn't mind, does he?", kaguya asked, glancing over at upper moon six, as she slyly pressed the demon's arm against her bosom.

     gyūtarō's fingers ever so slightly twitched at the action, as he stuttered out a muffled, "n-no".

kaguya flashed the upper moon a hasty smile, as nami just observed.

     once the two demonesses and gyūtarō entered a crafting room specifically vacant for the selection ladies, kaguya had offered to first get the measurements of the upper moon.

     "I-I can write down the numbers a-and sketch out an outfit then!", nami offered, taking a seat in the corner of the room, as kaguya nodded in appreciation for the woman's quick thinking.

     "you know, it'd be way easier if you took off your clothes, sir gyūtarō. after all, I wouldn't wish to obtain the wrong measurements", kaguya whispered, resulting in upper moon six to unintentionally let out an embarrassed cough.

     "I—"

     "I'll be quick", kaguya stated, as she started to swiftly shed off gyūtarō's outer coat and beige-colored vest.

as her fingers started unbuttoning the first button of his black shirt, gyūtarō stopped the woman's hand by harshly gripping onto it.

nami gawked at the entire interaction before softly clearing her throat and turning her entire body towards the wall — looking down at her blank paper.

upper moon six parted his mouth in attempts to say something. however, it seemed like he couldn't find the right words.

'don't look at me because I'm gross? don't look at my deformed body? prepare to scream? what the fuck am I supposed to say?!'

"sir gyūtarō, what are you so afraid of?", kaguya questioned with a tilt of her head, feigning innocence, as she ash-gray eyes held a soothing gleam to it.

for some reason, gyūtarō started feeling more serene as well, releasing his grip, as he begrudgingly gave kaguya a consensual nod.

as kaguya made her way down to the last button, her chilling fingertips gently grazed across gyūtarō's sides, seemingly to be untucking the button up. however, it was most definitely intentional. gyūtarō couldn't help but feel blessed.

not only was the woman not disgusted, but she had calmly unraveled him with much care, as if he were something fragile.

"may I?", kaguya asked, kneeling down, as her hands landed on the male's belt.

gyūtarō bit his inner cheeks, as he clenched his fists, giving the ebony-haired woman a stiff nod, as he unconsciously held his breath.

he could only dream of ever having a woman kneel before him in such a position. and not for the reason that kaguya is right now.

kaguya triumphantly grinned to herself, before loosening the upper moon's belt and unzipping his pants, purposely gliding her thumb from the top to the bottom of his clothed dick.

a shiver spiraled through gyūtarō, as the demon had clenched his teeth so hard that he was sure that a few had cracked under the pressure.

once kaguya had finally slipped the demon's pants off of him, she had begun by taking the measuring tape and wrapping it around the green-haired demon's neck first.

as kaguya steadily called out the centimeters, nami hastily jotted them down, making sure not to miss a single one.

"how long will this take?", upper moon six inquired.

"we've finished the measurements for now. and it'll take a few days to actually create the different articles of clothing. though we will need you to come by every so often to try them on", kaguya explained, assisting gyūtarō in reclothing himself.

"hm, alright", upper moon six mumbled, draping his jacket over his slouched back, as kaguya leaned in a little closer than gyūtarō was comfortable with.

"but if you'd like, we would be more than happy to have sir gyūtarō accompany us during our task", kaguya whispered, her hand snaking up towards gyūtarō's neck, causing the demon to think that she was about to kiss him.

     though to his disappointment, she had just flipped his collar down.

     well damn. if muzan didn't want her, he sure as hell would be happy to step in and take her.

     "I...I'll see if I have any spare time", gyūtarō answered, as his dual-colored eyes shifted away from kaguya's expecting gaze.

     "of course! I understand that sir gyūtarō probably has more important things to do than to entertain us, though I'd really appreciate if you'd be able to come by...even after this trial is over".

     upper moon six immediately left the room, leaving nami confused, and kaguya smiling.

     "d-do you think that he'll be back soon?", nami asked.

     "most definitely", kaguya confirmed with a grin.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

     daki entered hers and gyūtarō's shared room, as they refused to be apart from each other unless it was required.

     "onii-chan, I'm back! ugh, you won't BELIEVE how obnoxious the first two girls were. they almost scratched my delicate hands! honestly, how careless can they be?! hey! are you even liste—"

     daki paused in her ranting as she witnessed her brother blushing for the first time.

     granted, he was hunched over like usual and shielding the lower half of his face with the back of his hand, but nothing could get past daki's sharp eyes.

     "are you hot? you know you can just take off your jacket, right?", daki commented, raising a brow at her older brother's suspicious behavior, as she sat across from him and poured herself some tea.

"mhm".

daki suddenly gasped, nearly tipping over her teacup. she covered her mouth with both hands, as if she had just discovered something brilliant.

"no way...YOU HAVE A CRUSH! I NEED TO GO TELL DŌMA!"

"I DON'T!", gyūtarō denied with annoyance, for he did not want their "savior" to know.

"YOU SO DO! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN YOU BLUSH!", daki retorted.

"NO I'M NOT! I-I...I'M JUST...nervous" gyūtarō lied.

"yeah, nervous about your new crush", daki snorted, crossing her arms, as she grinned at her brother.

"so~ who's the lucky girl? oh, I must meet her and approve of her first though! by the way, how did you two mee—", daki stopped, as she suddenly realized the only way her brother could've met his newfound crush.

"s-she's not one of...his selection ladies...is she?"

gyūtarō adverted his gaze, as daki immediately started backtracking everything she said.

"but why?! all of them are ugly anyways. you can find better!!", the white-haired demon whined.

"they're not ugly though...especially not her", gyūtarō defended, muttering the last part, as he reminisced about kaguya's soft touches.

daki was baffled. usually gyūtarō just agreed and went along with whatever she said. however, he actually seemed like he meant it this time.

"who is she?", daki asked.

"what?"

"I asked who she is", the demoness demanded.

"none of your business", gyūtarō grumbled.

daki pouted, as she muttered out a salty, "whatever".

'I'll find out either way!', she internally proclaimed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: lowkey giving me shigaraki vibes...

now imagine him in a ✨corset vest✨ b/c of his skinny waist—MATERIAL GWORL💅