𝐑𝐞-𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 [Discontinued]

Chapter 14

<><><>

"How is everything going so far?" Said a voice, stern and full of power. Plum red eyes, held a dim glow to them. Back faced, hands crossed as he looked at a board full of different types of things, "...Kokushibo." He took a small step to the side, and turned around to face the six-eyed demon. Giving a small nod of approval to his right hand man to speak, "everything is going good...they are pretty cooperative." Something else seemed to be on Kokushibo's mind— but he didn't voice it, nor think of it. It was a mere linger of something, that he wouldn't dare surface.

"Good.." Muzan closed his eyes for a moment, as if in thought; then opened his eyes once more and took one last look at Kokushibo, before turning around back to the board. "Tell me everything that you know about this so far."

"Of course."

—

"Akaza-dono~" Sung out a voice from afar, an irk mark appeared from the striped-pink haired demon as he heard the familiar voice. He side-stepped out of the way to avoid a disgusting hug from the other Upper Rank, then striker at his head and blew it off. "Don't touch me." He spoke sternly, glaring holes onto Doma as his head began to regenerate. "My my Akaza-dono! Have you gotten stronger or what? Haha!" He laughed out as if nothing had happened, and eventually; his head was back to normal.

"What's the real reason why you came to me?" Akaza crossed his arms, he hated to admit it— but he knew Doma well enough to know his actions well enough, although Akaza did have a feeling there was obviously more to Doma, below the surface. "Haha~ of course Akaza-dono getting straight to the point~" He gave a close-eyed smile to his dear friend.

Akaza let out a tch noise to Doma, tapping his fingers, waiting for his question to be answered. Doma gave a sigh to Akaza and sat down on the wooden floor. "Well~ I may or may not have overheard a little something from Kokushibo-dono and him." He grinned at Akaza, who gave him a look of confusion. "And why am I being informed of this?" Akaza questioned, rolling his eyes at the rainbow-eyed demon. "Sh-sh! I'm getting to it Akaza-dono!" Doma shushed Akaza, and opened his mouth. "We'll be getting some new friends." He gave a giggle, and Akaza's expression showed a look of confusion, and annoyance towards the other.

"And these new friends we'll be getting..."

Akaza let out a gasp of surprise by Doma's words, and an expression of infused anger and annoyance, "You— thats confidential information Doma! Why do you think he hasn't told us yet and you—" He slapped his face and shook his head at Doma, "so. Why are you telling me this information?" He growled out at Doma, who continued to keep his kind smile out for his dear friend.

"Hehe~ Akaza-dono no need to get so angry, I only decided to share this information with you as best friends always share secrets and info whenever they can~ so I expect the favor to be returned one day." He let out a happy hum before skipping away from Akaza, who stood motionless for a moment. An irk mark appeared as he clenched his fists, 'Go to hell, Bitch.'

—

'There's nothing around.' Zhongli looked right, then left, then straight, behind him, above, below...but nothing, he scouted the entire mountain but the existence of the thing he saw, it was like it didn't even exist or step foot onto the mountain. The sky was still dark, the stars twinkled slightly, but he couldn't shake off a terrible feeling he began to feel once he left the home of the sleeping family. He clenched his polearm, taking a deep breath in, and deep breath out. 'I wonder just how much has changed..' He thought to himself, 'the environment reminds me of Inazuma, when I visited a few times when I was..a different man.' He turned around, and walked back to the Kamado house slowly. 'But this is no longer the same Inazuma as it once was.' He closed his Golden amber eyes for a moment, and opened them, the snow crunched and there didn't seem to be a living thing in sight.

But, as he got closer to the Kamado home, he froze in his tracks as he heard a pained scream from familiar voices— his eyes widened, his calm composure was gone for that moment. He calmed himself quickly before full on running to the home as quick as he could, but it seemed like...he was almost, too late. Tanjiro was fighting back still, against the creature he was searching for the entire night. 'I'm sorry, Tanjiro. Nezuko. Kie. Tanjuro.' He gripped his spear and stopped infront of Tanjiro. He dropped his spear onto the floor and pushed his hands out creating a shield of some sort with kanji floating around it. He breathed heavily as the creature laughed.

'I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect your family like I said I would have.' He crouched down and picked up his spear, and walked out of the shield, "stay inside that shield, and protect your sister." He took a glance at Tanjiro and Nezuko, and back at the creature. His eyes narrowed down at the creature, he didn't dare look around him...for it was too much. "Have you creatures really stooped down so low to kill a peaceful family?" He spoke, a dim glow radiated from the tips of his hair as his Golden amber eyes stared down at the creature. "Abyss mage, what benefit did it bring to you?" He stomped onto the floor and dashed to the Abyss mage, spear in hand as he was ready to fight it. The Abyss mage merely laughed, not spouting out an ounce of information.

"Then so be It." Zhongli brought his polearm up and kicked it at the creature as he swiftly caught it back. His movement was smooth, graceful. He stabbed the spear into the Abyss mage and pulled it out, 'this Abyss mage is merely a toy to her I suppose.' Zhongli noted a while ago that the Abyss mage never used its shield or magic...it was just, there. He narrowed his eyes more before finishing it off for good, he turned around to see a frozen Tanjiro who was terrified and upset on what happened. Nezuko was still asleep as it seemed.

"Tanjiro...I'm sorry for what happened to your family, I only wish I got here in time." He sighed, and released the shield around the two siblings, he walked closer to them, and embraced them into a hug. He didn't shed a single tear, unlike Tanjiro who cried his heart out for his family, and for Nezuko. 'This is merely, the beginning.' And maybe perhaps, a single tear did fall from his eye. He had seen this happen far too much, to even cry another tear.

The only thing he could do now, was to be there for Tanjiro, and Nezuko. Though, he regretted deeply that this whole thing could have been prevented. But he had never thought about it sooner, and it caused to this.