Growth and Malady

5 - Kokushibo

Muzan's gaze dropped to the floor.

"You can still read my mind, can't you?" I asked accusingly.

He didn't respond, merely closing his eyes.

Answer my question, Kibutsuji. Or I'll cleave your head from your shoulders. I reinforced my point by wrapping one hand around the hilt of my katana.

"So what if I can? I don't know why I can hear you two's worthless thoughts." He spat out, glaring in my direction from where he was sitting.

"Us.. two? Who else can you hear?"

The man stood up, one hand gripping the arm of the couch for support. "I think it's upper five. He's constantly thinking of spiders and webs."

"Don't call him that," I warned him. "He's not one of your demons anymore. None of us are."

A small smile spread across Kibutsuji's face. "That's debatable."

"This conversation is over," I growled. I was losing patience with his masked threats and half-hearted mind games. Muzan watched me return once more to preparing the food.

We settled into a tense silence, and about an hour later, I deemed the dish edible. Putting some of the tempura on a plate for myself, I set that aside while I piled some more onto another plate for Muzan. Balancing each dish on one of my hands, I set one down in front of him and mine on the opposite side of the table.

I sat down wordlessly, focusing on eating the home cooked meal. After a few minutes, the silence was broken.

"You've been very quiet for the past hour, Kokushibo."

"I haven't said anything."

He shook his head. "Up there," he pointed to my head with one finger. "You aren't thinking."

"My thoughts should be my business, not yours, Kibutsuji."

"They were my business for nearly five hundred years, why are you so protective of them all of a sudden?"

"Maybe because I'm finally able to put my foot down around you." Finally I looked up from my plate, locking eyes with the former demon king.

"You don't control me," he said dangerously.

"Don't I? If I didn't control you, you wouldn't be here. If you could do whatever you'd like, there's no way you would be sitting at this table, eating dinner with me."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.

"However, if you were set loose, the demon slayers would kill you. You'd die to the elements, remaining demons, or starvation. You're just too proud to admit that I and the other moons are the only reason you're still alive. Back at the sound hashira's home, those slayers would have gotten rid of you without a thought, but we guarded you. Kept you alive and out of trouble, despite the pain you caused some of us."

Silence.

"A speck of gratitude is all I expect from you," I finished, placing the last piece of tempura in my mouth.

When he was done eating, I took both our plates into the kitchen to wash later. The rest of the evening, Muzan didn't speak a word, simply going about his business as he usually did. Just like every night, I'd sit with him outside while he watched the sunset, and when the stars became visible through the clouds, I herded him back inside to get ready for bed.

Except this night, he didn't protest or shove me away angrily when I helped him get his bedding back together. He accepted my presence while I waited just outside the open door for him to get comfortable, and didn't complain when I left it open to go lay down on the couch.

"Kokushibo?"

The voice in my head startled me, and I sat up warily.

Who is this?

"Muzan."

Oh. Get out of my head.

"Thank you for the food."

What?

"It was delicious. I wanted to thank you for going through the trouble to make me food, even after I was being difficult."

...

No problem. Now get out of my head.

I heard a faint laugh through the walls, coming from his room.

"Fair enough. I'll go to sleep now. Good night, Kokushibo."

That night I laid awake for a while, trying to process the idea of having private, silent conversations with Kibutsuji inside my head. What a creepy prospect.

Another short chapter with next to no plot? Sorry you guys, plenty more filler chapters are up ahead. Gotta get to the storyline somehow, right?