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"it's going to be a pleasure working with you..."
hotaru woke up in the same bed she had awakened in the previous day, with nothing in the room changed except a table by the bed with a plate of various sushi rolls on it.
next to the plate, there was a note written in neat characters.
you were asleep in the painting, so i brought you out of it and back to the real world. that painting is a dream world i created for you, you can always go there when you need some rest and relaxation! i made this sushi for you; it may not be that good, but i tried my best. i hope you enjoy it!
hope you're having sweet dreams, tamio enmu
hotaru had heard of tamio enmu. he was ranked lower one among the twelve kizuki, the group of twelve powerful demons that muzan commanded. he had the talent to make people dream dreams that he chose. hotaru had to admit, those did sound like extremely interesting abilities to have, and having the ability to create a whole world- although the world wasn't real, so there was that- was immensely powerful.
and apparently, he made good sushi too!
hotaru savored every bite of the sushi presented to her, unexpectedly eating the whole plate. she must've been hungrier than she thought she was!
after hotaru finished eating, she was going to enter the dream world again, but just as she reached the painting, the door opened, and muzan entered the room.
"good to see you in better spirits today, my little firefly," he said. "today is the day you'll be meeting the rest of the demons you'll be working with. come with me!"
hotaru opened her mouth to protest against this, but suddenly, she heard the sound of a biwa being strung and she was no longer in her room, but in an odd location that seemed to be between the boundaries of space and time.
all around her were platforms and rooms seemingly suspended in midair, with stairs leading up to them. some rooms were flipped upside down, some were right side up. the maze-like sequence of rooms and corridors and stairways seemed to go on infinitely into the distance, never disappearing or growing smaller in number.
the air in this place was thick and choking, and hotaru was suddenly struck with a sense of fear and awe. what was this strange place that seemed like nothing more than an optical illusion, like a dream world envisioned by a mind addled by a harsh fever? and how did she get there?
her second question was answered when she spotted a demon wearing a black kimono tied with a red obi kneeling down on the ground in front of her. her unnaturally colored gray arms were holding a biwa, and she had her fingers resting on a large wooden pick, ready to play at any moment. her hair, which looked like folded paper colored black, was hiding her face, and her lips were curved down in a disapproving expression.
"that's upper rank four, nakime. she controls the infinity palace, which is the place you're in right now," muzan explained.
nakime looked directly at hotaru and silently bowed her head in acknowledgement. hotaru shyly bowed back in response.
the sound of the biwa rang out once more, and a muscular red haired demon appeared on the platform before hotaru. he had various types of lines drawn all over his body, and his golden eyes were filled with curiosity as he looked at hotaru.
"this is akaza, upper three. you'll find him entertaining, i believe," muzan said.
there was a tone in muzan's voice that indicated that he felt some sort of emotion towards akaza. hotaru didn't dare think deeply about it, lest she upset muzan, but she noticed it and kept it in the back of her head to think about later.
"it's a pleasure to meet you!" akaza said in a voice that was loud and excited, but somehow devoid of all emotion. "i look forward to working with you!"
hotaru summoned her best false smile and bowed, and akaza smiled back before nakime strummed her biwa again and he disappeared back to wherever he had come from.
nakime continued to strum her biwa and more and more demons continued to appear, until there was only one demon left to see.
she played the summoning chord for the last time, and a handsomely dressed demon with black hair with pink tips cut into a bob cut appeared. his eyes were a soothing blue color, and he had a gentle expression on his face.
"master muzan," he said in a voice that hotaru couldn't help but find beautiful, "why have you called me here? i was having such fun haunting humans' dreams!"
so this is tamio enmu, hotaru thought. he's not too bad. i could learn to like him... if he wasn't a demon that murdered thousands of humans.
"you will learn to like him eventually," muzan said, reading hotaru's thoughts. "you'll be working under him, after all."
enmu's eyes widened in shock, and his mouth opened in a small O.
hotaru gasped and glared at enmu, pretending that she hadn't just thought that he was a decent individual.
working with him? i'd rather-
"die? i could arrange that as well," muzan finished.
"that won't be necessary!" hotaru blurted out, cursing herself for her foolishness in thinking anything bad in muzan's presence.
enmu's shocked expression had morphed into a peaceful smile. his blue eyes looked directly into hotaru's green ones, and his smile grew wider.
"it's going to be a pleasure working with you, moonlight hashira."
