III

***°°°°****Kokushibou's POV**°°°******The memory lived in my head rent-free, replaying like a broken record. Sometimes, I wondered what would have really happened that night if Yoriichi........ didn't spare me.

I shut the small case I would be carrying with me tomorrow. A few of my black and purple checkered haoris, some black pants to go with it and a few pairs of sandals.

Demons don't need much to travel.

I placed it at my bedside and sat on my bed, placing my legs in a criss-cross manner. I needed to meditate, I was feeling to many emotions all at once.

∆∆∆∆

I thought I could take him on.

I saw him cry, the tears in his eyes looked so remorseful."I'm sorry, aniki" He says and I grit my teeth. Even in old age, he still sounds like he's stronger than me."Stop apologizing and looking like the victim!" I screeched, shutting my eyes and grabbing the hilt of my sword, "Just let me kill y-"

I felt my vocal cords tear open, in under a second. I opened up my eyes and saw that he had moved from where he was to a position behind me.

I coughed as I felt blood slide down my throat.

He cut off my head. I pressed down on my head, trying to keep it on my neck as I turned to look at him. His knees were bent, he was going to strike again.And this time, I would surely die.

I watched in silence as the hand on his sword stiffened. He should've attacked by now, I should be dead.I choked in surprise when his knees trembled and he collapsed on the floor of the forest we were in.

I blinked.From shock, fear and confusion.It was then that my head couldn't stay still and it fell from my hands, hitting the floor. Despite this, I could still see Yoriichi.Grey-haired and frail, limp on the ground.

He died..And what shocked me most is when I felt hot tears of my own..... trickle down my cheek.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

"You seem very deep in thought"

I stayed silent and kept all my eyes shut. If I didn't reply him, he would get annoyed. And annoying Yoriichi has become a great habit of mine.

"Aniki?"

I still sat there in silence and smiled a little when he whined and laid his head on my shoulder, "Stooop..."

It's still weird to see a grown man behave like a new born baby.

"What do you want, otouto?" I ask and open one of my eyes to look at him. He smiled widely, now that he had my attention. Such a child, "I'm in the middle of something..."

"Oh, are you planning on how you'll treat your little girlfriend on this trip of yours?"

I almost choked and I opened all three pairs of my eyes this time, and glared at him, "Yoriichi""Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you" He pouts and I sigh, uncrossing my legs and turning to face him."Who told you I was going on a mission?"

"I was in Kibutsuji's office while he was talking to you two"

"And you eavesdropped?" I squint at him and he gives a sheepish smile, "How old are you, Yoriichi?"

"Old enough to know my brother's finally going to get some action again"

The utter disappointment on my face made him laugh and I sighed and looked away. Sometimes, I regret helping him that night."Stop saying nonsense" I say and pulled out the band that kept my hair up in a ponytail, "It doesn't suit you. And you shouldn't be walking around so much, Nakime has control of every part of the castle. Even here"

"Am I supposed to be scared?"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry" He grins again once I pursed my lips, "You're so protective already. I'm jealous..""I honestly don't know what you're talking about" I answer and sit up from the bed to my closet, "You've been babbling nonstop. I can't understand a single thing"

Yoriichi rose an eyebrow at me and chuckled deeply, "We're doing this the hard way?"

"Why did you leave Muzan-sama's office in the first place?" I ask, running a hand through my hair before smirking, "You seem to love spending time with him these days"

The little scowl on his face almost made me laugh. "Don't push it, aniki" He says in a warning tone and I look at him in a mocking manner and went back to what I was doing, "I saw a small house close to the borders on one of my strolls yesterday"

"Oh?" I say and he nods, laying down on my bed.

"A small family was in there.I'd seen them before, a while back. When I went there yesterday, they were all dead"

"How troubling" I answer, devoid of any particular emotion. What he said next though, caught my attention."Their father was a banjo player. His music was very unique and it helped them a lot. And they were all dismembered,...... that's how they died"

I glanced at Yoriichi and my breath hitched when I locked eyes with him.

His eyes were still full of life, even if he was dead. But he knew, from the way he was looking at me, he knew.

"I'm sorry" I whisper.

He gives me a sympathetic smile, "I know you need flesh to survive now, aniki. I wouldn't want you dying on me and letting Douma be upper moon one"I nodded at him and looked away, going back to arranging my closet. The atmosphere was tense now, and heavy.

I knew he would never be comfortable with the fact that I eat humans for energy. It would never sit well with him.That's why I've been trying to avoid feeding as much as possible.

Yesterday was my breaking point.

I knew what I did that night. I knew why I took his frail body to Muzan-sama and begged him to do something, anything. Till this day, I will always wonder why Muzan never disagreed to my pleas.Perhaps something about having the only person that can kill you be controlled by a demon that you control is pleasing.

"So when exactly do you both leave tomorrow?" He asks in a cheery tone, trying to end the uneasy atmosphere.

I turn to look into his expectant eyes, "We will leave a few hours after midnight. The journey to the district is a three hour one"

He immediately blinked, "You guys are staying in the entertainment district??"I roll my eyes at him, "No, you imbecile. Where we are staying is quite far from it, but we use the God forsaken place to navigate"

"Oh" He says before giving me a mischievous smile, "So? A good amount of weeks with a pretty woman huh? Don't get too freaky okay?"

I frown at him, walk to him and smack him in the head, "Ouch! What the hell, aniki?!"

"Stop being such a pervert" I say and move him over to make space for myself. I laid on the bed beside him and we both stared at the ceiling.

"Do you think mother and father are still watching over us?"I smile at his question and rest deeper into the bed, ".....Most definitely. Especially mother"

****°°°°*****

I couldn't believe this absolute bullshit!

It was 2 in the morning. I had spoken with Yoriichi all night, making jokes and often slapping his head everytime he said something perverted. Then he fell asleep a few minutes before 1:30.

It must've been his reflexes. He's still a human.

I left him to sleep in my bed and carried my luggage for the trip, towards Muzan-sama's office. He was still working on some paperwork, and wished me a safe journey. I requested that he checked on Nakime, to see if she was still awake.If she didn't feel like going, I would wait.

However, he only smirked (which was so unlike him) and told me to check on her myself.

I was beyond dumbfounded and then I pleaded with him to ask for Daki so she could check on her.

He refused. He explained that I was the one traveling with her,therefore, I should be the one calling her out and such.I had no choice but to obey.

And now here I am, in the deepest parts of Muzan-sama's quarters, looking for her room. There were small lamps in the hallway, allowing us to see where exactly we were going.

I reached the end of the hallway and came across two doors. The faint sound of a biwa playing caught my ear and I looked at the one on the left.

It was faint, quiet..But it sounded so beautiful.

My feet moved on their own as I reached the door, and rested an ear on the wood. Aside the strumming, it sounded like she was........singing.

" She sings?" I murmur and press deeper to the wood if possible.

Her voice was soft. Similar to that of a little girl, knowing the right tone to melt any adult's heart.

I groaned silently and closed two pairs of my eyes. I was too interested in her, it had to stop.And I wondered how considering how I had to stay in the same house with her for only Kami-sama knows how long.

I knocked twice and folded my arms, waiting for an answer. I heard footsteps and a little amount of shuffling before the door opened quietly.

I didn't know if it was the poor lighting or my imagination, but she looked up at me and her face turned so red, she could be considered a tomato.

"U-uppermoon one.." She says in a small voice before pursing her lips, "Why are you here?"

I almost smiled when her face twisted in realization and she immediately apologized and ran into her room.

"Please, c-come in"

Again, my feet moved on their own as I took off my sandals and stepped into her room. I didn't know why but my heart started to pick up like I was some sort of teenager in their puberty prime.

Those were the worst years for me. Too much adrenaline.

Her room was aesthetically designed to convey night time.Black walls, black curtains, even the wood on the floor had a dark shade.But with all that darkness, I noticed the little drawings of stars all over her ceiling and on her walls.

Her bed sheets had twinkles too.

It was a little.... childish.

"I'm sorry but I just need to get a few more things. You could sit and I'll get you something to drink while you wait"

Another smile threatened to form on my face but I pushed it down and slowly sat on her bed, "There's no need. I'll wait, don't bother yourself with refreshments"

The only things we could drink were water and blood anyways.

She nodded and walked through another door in the room, coming out a few seconds later with some toiletries later. I wanted to scream at myself for watching her so intently as she moved around, grabbing things and placing them in her small luggage."H-how did you find my room anyways?"

The question caught me off guard but only looked away from her, "Beginner's luck"

I earned a small giggle from her and my ears unconsciously twitched.She should laugh more.

"Oh dear"

I look back at her and raise an eyebrow at the different yukata she was wearing. It was black like the former bit this one had the drawing of a full moon and a woman playing a guitar under said moon on it, "I told Daki this thing was faulty.."

"Is there a problem?" I ask and she jumps a bit.

"N-no, nothing, there's no problem. Just a little predicament" She says with a hint of struggle and I notice how she's trying to pin some hooks at the back of the yukata.Of course Daki would give her such.

"Just give me a moment" She murmurs and straightens up, trying to reach the hooks.I wish she hadn't done that. Instead of looking away, I found myself looking at the amount of skin showing from the small opening. Her skin looked so pale, and yet, I couldn't take my eyes off it.

And my feet start moving again.

I'm not even in control of my body at this point in time.I notice the way her breath hitches when she feels my hands at her back, "Let me. You're struggling too much"

On the outside, my face was left uninterested as I pinned all the hooks where they were supposed to be. On the inside, I was fighting demons.My hand grazed her back at a point and it was the way she gasped that had me gulping thickly, as a way to calm myself down.

"Done" I say and pull away, appearing at her door, far away from her.I closed my eyes as she picked up other things and uttered a 'thank you'.

I didn't open my eyes, just opened the door for her to pass through and then I followed suit. She had her luggage in one hand and her biwa in the other ( I could sense them) and we walked to Muzan-sama's office to inform him we were leaving.

He gave us a thumbs up and told us to be cautious with this mission.

When we left his quarters and she played her biwa, we appeared outside, in the open.

The infinity castle was well hidden, in this forgotten forest. The good thing about the forest was, it looked mesmerizing at night.

"Thank you" She suddenly speaks up and I look at her. She looks away from my gaze and places her hand behind her back, despite the luggage she was carrying, "I know you don't like joint missions, just solitary ones. I didn't expect you to accept.....so, thank you"

I say nothing to her, and take her luggage from her hands. She looks back to me( at least that's what I think she does, I have never seen her eyes before) and I hold her gaze, "You're welcome. Next time, don't jump to conclusions"

She keeps quiet for some time before nodding and we start to walk, side by side.

From the corner of my eye, I watched her and internally smiled at how she reacted to everything that moved in the forest.

She may be quiet, but she's expressive. In her own attractive way.

I just hoped that I only saw her as a mission partner, and not something else.