The Demon Queen

Meeting Muzan

"What exactly have you done?"

Muzan wasn't angry, but he certainly was questioning me about my introducing the two fully-transformed new demons to him.

"I found them while taking a walk and decided to bring them back and turn them into demons."

"You did it all by yourself?" Muzan asked, starting to sound rather impressed. "Well, of course you did. I wasn't with you." He looked to Ume, who stared at him with big, round eyes. "Didn't I give you this kimono, Sakura?" he asked me after noticing Ume's clothing.

Ume blushed a little, as if tantalised by the concept of wearing something Muzan had picked out.

"Yeah, but it's gotten a bit old and it's very similar to another newer one you gave me. So, I passed it on to her."

Muzan smirked a little. "Well it suits her." He turned to Ume. "I hope you feel special and powerful in my wife's clothing," he said in a kind voice.

"Wife?" Gyutaro asked in a gawky voice.

Ume giggled a little. "I do, Muzan-sama! I feel very, very special and powerful!"

Gyutaro looked at me with bulging eyes. "You're married? To him?" he asked me under his breath.

"Yeah. Why is that so weird?" I muttered to him.

Muzan smiled at Ume and patted her on the head. "I have high expectations for you," he said.

"But married?" Gyutaro asked quietly again.

"Gyutaro, shut up," I mumbled to him and pushed the back of his head so that he was facing towards Muzan and not me.

"I won't let you down, Muzan-sama! I promise!"

"Good girl," Muzan said to Ume. "I think we'll get along very well."

Her eyes sparkled and her mouth spread to a beaming smile.

"Married to him ..." Gyutaro grumbled, not even having noticed the conversation that happened between Muzan and his sister.

I whacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow!"

Muzan turned to Gyutaro and me. "What's going on?" he asked.

Gyutaro rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, you're disciplining the unruly one," Muzan said to me.

More like protecting him so he doesn't say something that could get him killed, I thought.

"Well, Sakura, you and I both know that most of these male demons need some severity in how we handle them," Muzan said.

"The kid told me what happened to him. He had a very traumatic experience, so he's not on his best behaviour right now."

Muzan studied Gyutaro. "Oh, I see," he said. "It shows in his transformation, too. This demon obviously came out deformed."

"Huh?" Gyutaro asked.

Damn it, Gyutaro, shut it, I thought.

To Gyutaro's benefit, Muzan had laughed at the same time Gyutaro blurted out his "huh". He looked at me with teasing eyes and a satisfied, childish smirk. "Ha! Now you can't accuse me of being careless and deforming the demons, Sakura Dear, because you did it, too!" He laughed again.

Gyutaro, if you say anything, I'll punch your head in, I thought.

"Some of his hair turned green, his teeth got sharper, and his sclera got a little yellow," I said. "But otherwise he looked exactly as he does now."