Another

Chapter 38-Crow

"I see."

Dark feathers fluffed and fluttered all around the tatami mats. Dust floated into the air. With each beat, more caught the edge of a rising sun, illuminating each speck like tiny little stars in the approaching golden light.

The crow settled clumsily onto the floor. It's wings ached, and it struggled to even remain awake. To expect it to compose itself enough to stay on its two feet would be cruel after the long journey it rushed through. It had made a typical two day trip to the estate in almost a single night. To say the poor crow was tired would be a sad understatement.

Especially alongside the heaviness of the message it had to deliver.

"I'm glad Tamayo-san and her apprentice were able to protect Nezuko." The man carefully plucked a saucer from the table and filled it with water. He placed it down gently, albeit far from the crow.

The tired bird panted in reply. The last thing it wanted to do was move, but the bird couldn't blame the man. Everyone knew the curse had taken his ability to see years ago.

The messenger hopped a bit before greedily dipping its beak in and out of the water. Talking was too much effort at this point. Sometimes, it really hated its job. There was never anything good to report, and even if there was, there were at least a hundred more terrible things that erased whatever happiness. 

But a job was a job, and it had an important one.

After stanching its thirst, the crow nestled its head into the crook of its wing. The head of the organization carefully preened the feathers on its head with his fingertips. It felt nice, and before the crow knew it, it was dreaming of lush forests untouched by the ravenous industrialization of humanity, and of a sunny day unruined by the necessary graveyard shifts of the corps.

Ubayashiki sighed. Sometimes, it was hard making all the choices. Now more than ever. Night after night. Name after name, it felt like he was sending all his precious children to an early grave. To the end, Tanjiro died a death devoid of the inhumanity of a demon. Yes, the child attacked the other two demons he entrusted them too, but something about the whole event seemed off. 

He was missing something. Something major.

The crow fluffed its feathers before settling under his hand again. Ubayashiki caressed its head affectionately once more before reaching out for his beloved daughters. He needed to inform Urokodaki-san what happened before anything.

The Kamados were supposed to be kept under Tamayo's wings- Urokodaki-san himself had pushed for it. Although it seemed reasonable that the Kamados would benefit from the teachings of a demon with similar goals and a means to get there (diet-wise included), truthfully, he had felt unsure about how safe it would be for the Kamados out in Asakusa. Now Kamado Tanjiro is gone, beheaded by comrades who had never known him as anything more than a demon. These members were only mere Mizunoe, and there was no doubt that they were proud of themselves after slaying a 'demon' that, without their knowledge, was just like them. Someone who had someone to protect. Someone with the same goals, and with the same will to put an end to all of this tragedy. These kids would never know that they had just killed one of two survivors of an entire bloodline. That they killed someone's brother, a loved one, and left her the single surviving member of their entire family.

This was hard. It's always hard.

But decisions had to be made, and the corps needed a head. Until the curse finally finished its rounds on his body, Ubayashiki had only one job. Win this war, and end all this bloodshed.

He stumbled onto the floor. His daughters caught him, but he waved them off quickly, regaining his footing and continuing his stagger forward. Nichika glanced warily at Hinaki, who clutched their fathers other hand in both her own. They looked at each other silently, and exchanged a grim nod. Their father was 23, and nearing his thirties all too quickly. They'd be fatherless in less than ten years. 

But until Muzan was dead, all they could do was pray for a meaningful death.