Second Chances {Doukaza}

36

Welp, gotta update, so here, take a chapter!

TW: eating human 😐, slight swearing

Tanjiro's POV
After Akaza was stripped of his rank and nearly killed, Giyu and I were added to Douma's group. Not that it mattered much. It's almost like he retreated into himself, because he barely talks, doesn't eat much, and I haven't smelled a single emotion from him all week.

The uppermoons have been able to get away with not supervising us as much, since Kibutsuji is apparently too busy to care. We're allowed to do whatever we want, except leave. The only way to leave was to get Nakime to teleport us out, but she shook her head and apologized when we asked.

All the uppermoons were shocked when we told them what we knew about how Akaza was 'killed', of course excluding the part where Tomioka and I brought him to Lady Tamayo and Yushiro. To a certain extent, they all mourned him in their different ways. Rui and Douma were the most affected, and the two rarely left each others' sides.

I walked down the hallway, leading a blindfolded and restrained man by a rope to Douma's room. The task brought me no joy whatsoever, and I felt really bad for having to do this to him. When we reached the demon's quarters, I knocked twice and waited.

The door slid open to reveal Rui, who smiled tiredly upon seeing me with the man. I peered around him to see Douma sleeping on his bed, his face buried in one of his pillows.

"Is he doing any better?" I asked.

Rui shook his head. "I don't think he'll feel better any time soon."

I wanted to tell him, I wanted to give the pair any hope that the former upper three demon was still alive. I ran one hand through my red hair, trying to decide whether it was worth it.

Douma whimpered in his sleep, curling up with his hands around his stomach. Rui frowned and knelt next to his adoptive father, running a small hand over the demon's side.

"A-Akaza..." Douma cried softly.

The decision made itself for me. I knocked the man out and brought him inside. "I'm going to tell you something. And you can't think or tell anyone else about it." I looked at Douma. "Could you wake him up, Rui?"

"S-sure."

Rui shook the sleeping demon gently. "Douma. Tanjiro wants to talk to us."

He blinked his eyes open and looked around the room. "Oh. Hi Tanjiro." His eyes caught on the man. "Is that for me?"

I nodded.

"Do you mind if I eat while we talk?"

"No, I don't mind." I cringed internally. I never liked watching the demons eat people, but I had mostly gotten used to it.

Douma summoned ice tendrils that speared the man in his chest, head, torso, and limbs, then brought the body over to him. As he started eating, I sat down on the floor and began to talk.

Douma's POV
I bit into the man's arm, tearing off a chunk of flesh. Since Akaza died, I refrained from eating women, as he had.

Tanjiro sat down and gave a lengthy sigh. "You can't tell anyone this, alright? Don't even think about it."

Strange, what could he have to say that Kibutsuji would dislike?

"Akaza is alive."

I nearly choked on my mouthful. I swallowed quickly and managed to stutter "W-What?!"

"After He threw Akaza off the cliff, Tomioka-san and I ran around the mountain to see if he was still alive. We took him somewhere where he got an shot with medicine to help him regenerate. I don't know how he's doing right now, or if he's already fully recovered."

I think every conceivable emotion rushed through my body at the same time. I was angry the little slayer had kept the secret so long. I was overjoyed that Akaza-dono was still alive. I was sad and confused as to why he hadn't tried to come back.

So many scents all at once must have overwhelmed Tanjiro, because he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "Where is he now?" The question wasn't lighthearted. I was dead serious. Hatred coursed through my veins.

I hate Kibutsuji. I hate him for hurting Akaza. I hate him for lying to us. I hate him for everything!

"I don't know where he is," Tanjiro said quietly.

I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves. I pat the red haired boy on his head. "Thank you for telling me, Tanjiro."

He smiled. "I'm glad it helped."

Rui hugged me around my waist, pressing his head into my side.

"Awww~" I hugged the little demon back, earning a cute little smile from him, as well as an approving look from Tanjiro.

A knock sounded on the door. I sent an ice tendril out, which slid the door open. Nakime was standing in the entrance, holding her biwa tightly.

"What the hell did you three do??" She questioned us. "Muzan is angry, and he's on his way here."

I balked. "Seriously?"

"Yes!! Would I come bother your sorry asses for any other reason than to save you!?"

"You'd help us?" Rui asked.

"I've known Douma for a good part of my life, so yes. Now where do you want me to take us?" She said urgently.

"Us?"

"If he finds out I helped you, he'll kill me. I'm going too."

"The forest. There's a place there where we can hide."

"Fine." She struck a couple strings on her biwa with a resounding twang. We dropped through the floor and into the forest. Once she made sure everyone made it, she closed the doorway behind us. "Lead the way, Kamado."

Tanjiro led us quickly through the forest, avoiding the random patches of sunlight that streamed through the leaves without warning. I ducked under a fallen tree, popping back up on the other side. We came to a stop at a small tree, and he ran his hand along the surface, walking in a full circle around the trunk. He pushed his hand in, and it slipped through without resistance.

"What the-" I watched as Tanjiro walked into the trunk and disappeared. Rui followed him in without hesitating, and Nakime went next. I looked around warily before stepping in, revealing a small log cabin with a nice yard. The other demons covered their noses, and I noted there was a strong scent of wisteria in the air.

"Akaza? Lady Tamayo? Yushiro?" Tanjiro called out. No one responded, and he turned around to face us. "They aren't here."

"Wait, this is where you brought him?" I asked.

He nodded, looking around. "Maybe they left when He was looking through the forest?"

"That seems likely." Nakime strummed her biwa with her fingers, a harmless way of playing it without activating her blood demon art.

Tanjiro dropped to the ground, sniffing the earth. "There's still a faint scent. I can track them, but we should wait here until nighttime in case they went through an open area." He straightened up, getting back on his feet. "Does that sound good?"

I glanced at the other demons and realized they were looking at me for the okay. "Um, yeah, that's alright."

As we settled in the cabin, I propped myself up against the wall and sighed happily.

I get to see Akaza-dono soon!

Dang sorry it took so long to publish this 😅
I got distracted watching a Spider-Man movie and took a break from writing.
Well, here you go!