The Demon Queen

Transformation🌙

For some reason, none of the Slayers were coming in to attack us while we were weak, and no more wisteria bombs were being dropped on us. I felt like I was being watched the whole time, like I was an experiment and that notes were being taken of me. I could sense that the Slayers were still there ... but why were they watching us? Why weren't they coming at us, trying to finish us off?

The only conclusion I could come to was that even the Slayers didn't want to inhale what was in these bombs. But, it slowly became easier to breathe, even thought my lungs and my body continued to feel weaker than before.

I felt Kokushibou's chest rise and fall against my face. "Sakura ... are you here with me?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Douma! Douma!" he called in a flat voice.

Douma coughed. "Here, guys," he said. He coughed again. "You okay?"

"I'm still here," Kokushibou said.

"Yeah. I guess I'm fine," I said and raised my head from Kokushibou's  chest. I looked over to Douma. He no longer had the red blotch-like mark on the top of his head. "Did you do something with your hair?" I asked him.

"Huh? No."

Kokushibou started to stand up. "Don't worry about ridiculous things like that. We've been weakened and the Slayers are still nearby. To your feet, if you're both well."

Douma and I both looked to Kokushibou. As we both saw him, we turned incredibly pale, our jaws dropped and hanging open as we stared at him with bulging, terrified eyes.

"Hm?" he asked. "What's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Douma pointed at him with a shaky hand. "Kokushibou-dono, you -- you --" He was unable to speak.

"What?" he asked, demanding in his tone. "What's going on with you two? Hey!"

"Michikatsu ..."

He looked at me.

"Michikatsu, you're missing two sets of eyes ..."

Kokushibou turned so pale that he almost became blue in his cheeks. His eyes, now with white sclera and dark amber-coloured irises, widened in shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't bring himself to utter a word. Instead, he impulsively threw his hands to his face, feeling his newly-formed eyebrows and upper cheek flesh. He started to panic internally, the fright and pressure he was under causing his nose to bleed.

"Michikatsu ..." I said and slowly got up.

"Human?" Kokushibou said in a shaky voice. "No." He aggressively felt at his eyebrows. "No. It can't be." He squeezed at his cheeks. "It can't!" With a snap of his body, he bent forward, squeezed his face between his hands and let out an agonised scream.

"Michi!" I started to grab him, but Douma beat me to it.

Douma jumped over, grabbed Kokushibou by his long ponytail, and yanked his head up. Kokushibou's hands fell from his face, revealling his panicked expression and a trail of blood coming from his nose down to his chin.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Douma yelled. He slapped Kokushibou's cheek, as if to wake him up. "Kokushibou-dono, you're better than this! You're Upper Moon One! Get a grip!" He stared seriously into Kokushibou's eyes. "You're reacting exactly as the Slayers want you to. Don't make this so easy for them," he said sternly. "Demon or human, we're gonna defeat them all. For us, so that we survive." His voice softened some. "And for our friends, that we lost because of them. I'm not going to die here, Kokushibou! I'm going to make it through this! Even if I'm human!" Douma smiled a little. "I know I can do it because of all you've taught us, Kokushibou-dono. You've been a great leader. I'll make you proud."

Kokushibou stood there. He was silent, his mouth open a little.

I could tell that no one had ever said such a thing to him.

"He's right." I put my hand on Kokushibou's shoulder. "We can do this. We have you. And if we have you, we can't be beat."

Douma nodded.

Kokushibou was beyond touched by our words, but now wasn't the time to show it. He snapped himself back to reality. His face hardened, he wiped the blood from his nose, and he stood up straighter. "Thank you both," he said. "Now, my plan is --"

"Ara ara!" came a female voice from above.

We looked to see a young woman Hashira drop down from the hole in the ceiling. She had blank, purple eyes and an eerily calm smile. She woe a butterfly-shaped hairpiece and was dressed in a Demon Slayer Corps uniform under a butterfly wing-print haori.

Douma blinked a couple times. "Why is she familiar?" he asked himself and rubbed his chin.

"My, it surprises me how sentimental you demons can be. Or is that just because the mix of poisons made you human again?"

I hated her immediately. She reminded me of Tamayo.

Douma snickered. "Somehow I always end up meeting the Insect Hashira," he said. "They always tasted lovely. It's a shame that it seems I won't be able to eat you, cutie."

Kokushibou and I stood ready with our swords.

The Hashira smiled at Douma. "Kindly keep the memories in your tastebuds, because you'll be dying soon. My Nichirin blade might only be able to poison demons, but it sure can cut through a human."

Douma licked his lips and pointed his sword at the Hashira. "With a face as cute as yours, I'll eat you anyway even if I am human." He prepared to fight. "I'll take this one," he said in a more serious tone to Kokushibou and I. "You two go find Muzan and Akaza."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave him, but Kokushibou pulled me away just as the fight was starting. I saw Douma clash swords with the Insect Hashira as Kokushibou got us to the door.

"Do you sense that?" Kokushibou asked.

I nodded. "A Slayer's behind there."