The Shadow Pillar

Chapter 4: Cruelty 

I updated the first short

The night is deep, the silvery moon is dotted with the dark blue night sky. It's moonlight sprinkled on the ground, giving of a holy glow. The night's aroma pervades the air, woven into a soft net, covering all the scenery inside. They all have vague, illusory colors, each hiding its meticulousness as the sky turns to a dark black. Droplets of moisture began to drip from the leaves. They were sprinkling onto the grass like a gardener's hose. Reaper's moon of autumn appeared over the trees. The moon seemed to turn the leaves into a flaming patchwork of colors. A tinkling sound came too ears as the first pearls of rain dropped onto the leaves. The sound was like the glassy clinking of a champagne flute, lilting and clear in the night. The mournful cry of a lonely man echoed through the vault-still silence of the trees. Footsteps followed in pursuit. A looming figure stood over the tearful man as he watched his home burn to the ground.

"Why did you do it..." Spoke the man. "WHY DID YOU KILL MY FAMILY!!" He shouted enrage.

"Why?" Spoke a voice from the shadows. It smirked before pointing his sword at the defenseless person.

"Because I wanted too." The young boy said with a smile before chopping the grown man head clean off.

To say Kokushibō was worried was an understatement. He was frightened for Kaigku mental state. They boy was becoming more numb by the day. With in fact, he hated.

"Muzan-sama," Kokushibō began. "I believe we should stop sending the child on missions."

"And why is that?" Muzan asked. Kokushibō never told him something unless he was truly worried. But what Muzan couldn't get in his head was the fact Kokushibō cared a little to much for the child. Which made him suspicious if he and the child had some sort of relationship he didn't know about.

"I believe he's becoming numb..." Kokushibō paused mid sentence. "...like Douma," While empathizing on Douma name. This made Muzan slightly flinch. He already couldn't stand Douma already enough,but two Doumas?! Hell no.

"Alright, but you will train him in the mean time." Muzan waved his hand at Kokushibō, motioning him to leave.

"Yes Muzan-sama."

Kaigku hated the fact he had no more missions anymore. He was lying on his bed, in his room, contemplating his life. He felt right at square one. He was enjoying his missions. Muzan had him take many jobs while he was on missions. And best part of it all, was that he got to kill demon slayers. Many many demon slayers. Truly heaven, if he did so himself and he did. But this week, there was no missions. Causing Kaigku to feel a sense of void. What was he to do when he couldn't kill the very things that killed his clan.

"Kaigku can we talk?" Spoke Kokushibō from behind him. His voice was soft and filled with concern. Actually as of late, most of the uppermoons he had meet so far had been soft and gentle with him, well all except Douma. Well, Douma was the exception in most cases.

"You're becoming more..." Kokushibō trailed off from his sentence. He did know how to fathom the words he need to in this situation.

"Wait, am I about to have an intervention?!" Kaigku screamed. He wasn't ready for one. Where are the others, they must be hiding somewhere! He knows it!

"No, no! This is not an intervention. The other moons aren't hiding anywhere." Kokushibō spat out holding his finger over his nose's. "It's just you, and me."

"Then why did you come to talk to me?" Kaigku was confused. If this wasn't an intervention, than what was this?

"You're becoming numb kid." This not what Kaigku was expecting to hear. Made something like 'you're doing well kid.' But no, he was becoming numb. Numb? What does numb even mean?! He was totally fine. "You're probably think to yourself, 'I'm fine' but your not kid. Your not." The concern in voice was real and Kaigku didn't know if he should be angry at Kokushibō about his situation or thankful that Kokushibō still cared so much. The man didn't show it to him very often.

"What should I do?" Kaigku wanted to do better, he thinks. He wanted to fix himself but he didn't know how.

"First of all, stop killing so people for fun." Stated Kokushibō.

"I don't kill-" Kaigku stopped after witnessing his sensei face. He was not pleased. Kaigku face slightly paled in fear as Kokushibō still looked at him with displeasure. "Okay, maybe I do...sometimes."

"Good," Kokushibō said with hump. The kid trying to opened minded. "Now second, in the occurrence when you do kill somebody who is innocent, you will give them a proper burial and pray for them. And final..." Kokushibō couldn't help but feel cold. "Stop kill demon slayers unless they interfere with the mission." He could see it all on his ,the hated and disgust by his request.

"I can follow the other two but the last one is a no go. You know what they've done! You know what they did to my people!! I CANNOT DO THAT!!"

"You don't think the demon slayer core won't find it suspicious that more of their men are dying than usual?! They'll come after you!"

"I JUST NEED TO GET STRONGER! I HAVE TO BECOME STRONGER!! STRONG ENOUGH TO KILL THEM ALL!!"

"What is you obsession with strength!"

"Like your one to talk!" This hit a nerve. Kokushibō knew exactly what Kaigku meant by that statement. But he would stay calm. He needed to stay calm.

"Listen to me." Kokushibō began, till he was cut of by Kaigku voice.

"NO!! I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YO-"Kaigku was cut of by a hard stomp to the floor but with a foot. No, a katana. Kaigku clicked his tongue knowing fully well what that meant.

"Listen, you know how strong enemies show up in storybooks." Kaigku did see the point in this anymore. He should have left once he had the chance.

"Why the fuck are you telling me this."

"It something your mother told me when we use to exchange letters back in the day. A nice story about this history of her country." That grabbed Kaigku attention. Anything time Kokushibō talked about his mother, he was all ears. Kaigku only knew his mother for a short amount of time while Kokushibō knew her longer. He would take any information he could get. But what he does remember the most was his mother stories. He loved them. And he just so happened to remember that the story that Kokushibō was talking about, was the story of the four maidens.

"Why are you telling me? The story of the four maidens is basically ingrained in my brain?"

"After them, an stronger enemy appears. And after them an even stronger one, etcetera etcetera. So happens at the end?" Kaigku was still confused. "In a way, it's kinda like think about the edges of the universe." Which Kokushibō knew far to well. A woman from another world, how funny. "Your mother told me that once you get a real look around the world, you realize what it means to be a 'strong' person has nothing to do with commit atrocities."

"Then what does it mean?"

"An person or enemy who does bad thing, is a person who has a spiritual weakness. And watch truly scary, is when someone takes that weakness and uses it to lash out at others." How ironic those words were. "Don't let your hate cloud your mind okay."

"Yes sir."