Second Chances {Doukaza}

23

R.I.P filler chapters
Also, Kokushibo's group got teleported as well. So everyone is in the forest now.

Akaza's POV
I watched as the new demons all spread out into the forest doing Muzan knows what, and tried to decide what I was going to do with my time. All the former hashira formed a group, except for Giyu, who went with Tanjiro and his friends. Kanao and Aoi stole Nezuko, and they all sat down to braid her hair.

Rui joined the girls, spinning some thread for them to use as hair ties. Kaigaku went to talk to Genya, who was sitting alone up against a tree, and Douma decided to go bother the hashira, dragging me painfully along with him.

The night flew by, and by the time we were brought back, Douma and I had gotten the rest of the hashira caught up with the fact that demons weren't all that bad.

As I was slowly making my way back to my room from getting everyone set up in their rooms, (some people had to share) Kaigaku came running up to me. "Akaza!"

"What is it?" The upper six demon looked a bit concerned.

"I wanted to tell you something I thought was strange. You know how I went looking for Zenitsu and his friends after I talked to Genya?"

"Yes, I knew about that."

"Well, I was tracking their scent, and I was walking through a dense part of the forest, then their trail just disappeared."

"Did they walk through a stream or something? That can erase scent trails sometimes." We continued walking in the direction of my room.

"No, there was no water in sight. I just turned around a tree and then it was gone. But when I turned around to back track, the trail behind me was still there. At one point it just stopped."

"Could they have climbed a tree?"

"No, Akaza you don't understand. The scent just stopped existing."

That is strange. I wonder if they're up to something.

"If who is up to something?" Muzan said from behind us. I froze.

"Just some former slayers wandering off during free time. I'll be following them next time to make sure they aren't doing anything suspicious."

"I'd say wandering from the group is already suspicious. Which means you're not doing your job right."

I felt my wind pipe closing against my will. The cells were doing their work again. I coughed roughly, putting my hands on my knees for support as Muzan continued.

"You will follow these demons, and you will tell me immediately if they are doing something they should regret."

I gave one last shuddering cough before he released me and walked away. I sucked air into my lungs like a kitten starved of milk. Even though it brought me relief to be breathing again, the air around me tasted foul. Hatred for the demon king grew like a wildfire in my stomach.

Kaigaku must have sensed my anger, because an alarmed look appeared on his face and he grasped my shoulders with his hands. "That's a dangerous emotion, Akaza. Please don't do anything stupid with it." Kaigaku turned around and headed to his room.

I sighed and continued down the long corridor, eventually making it to my bedroom. I slid the door aside and stepped in, shutting it behind me. As I climbed into bed, I thought about what the upper six demon had said.

Kaigaku is right. These are dangerous emotions to harbor, especially towards Him. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

With that, I drifted off to sleep.

Time skip to the evening.
Tanjiro's POV
We were all sitting on the 'meeting platform', waiting for the last few demons to get here.

"I heard the uppermoons are taking us back to that forest tonight," I told Inosuke and Zenitsu.

"Should we risk going where we went last time?"

I thought about it for a second. "We can go, we'll just be more careful on the way there."

Giyu walked over to us. "Are you three going back?" He asked quietly.

I nodded.

"Alright, but be careful. I'll stay back and keep an eye on the uppermoons for you."

"Thanks, but you really don't have to put yourself at risk for us."

Zenitsu nodded in agreement with me.

"I was at risk the moment I came with you three into the forest. It's no big deal."

The fact that Tomioka was willing to put himself in danger to help us was admirable, and made me feel a bit better about going back.

Kokushibo's group arrived last, and the two former hashira went over to the others while the upper one went to go tell Nakime we were all ready.

I felt the strange warping feeling in my head, and the scenery around us became that of the forest from last night. Zenitsu told Kaigaku we were going to explore some more, and the demon nodded to show us it was okay. We took a different path than yesterday, running down the mountain for a while before jumping in a river to mask our scent trail. I climbed out the opposite side, followed closely by Inosuke and Zenitsu as we began to make our way back up to where we needed to go.

Our feet barely touched the ground as we raced through the forest, trees flying by quicker than I could count them. Becoming demons had only made us faster and stronger, so it didn't wear us out to be running so much uphill. The scenes that flashed across my eyes began to look a bit familiar, and I motioned for the others to slow down. We dropped to a walk, combing the area for the entrance.

"Found it!" Inosuke whisper-shouted.

"Great job, Inosuke!"

Zenitsu and I went quickly over to where he was standing. The doorway looked like a regular tree, but when you walked into it from a certain angle, you could walk right through. I ran my hand along the side, stopping when my fingers slipped through the image. I walked into the tree, coming out the other side to reveal a small log cabin, which was normal in every way except for the concealment spell it was under, and those who lived in it.

Yushiro poked his head out of the door, surveying the three of us. "You're sure you weren't followed?"

Zenitsu nodded. "We were very careful. We took the long way here."

The silver haired demon sighed. "I'll get Lady Tamayo for you." He disappeared inside for a moment before popping back out and saying "Lady Tamayo invites you to come inside."

"Thanks, Yushiro." I smiled.

"Yeah yeah." He pointed at Zenitsu. "Thank me by keeping him under control this time."

"Will do!"

We filed inside, joining Tamayo and Yushiro around a small table in the center of the room.

"I'm glad to see you're doing well, Lady Tamayo," I said politely.

"Thank you Tanjiro. I'm happy to see you all in good health as well. Did you manage to get me the blood samples I requested?"

Regret pulsed in my body. "Sorry, I could only get one, and it isn't as much as you would have liked." I presented a small sample of blood from Kaigaku, which I had gotten during the day while he was asleep.

Tamayo took it delicately in her hands. "It will help. If it's not too much to ask, could you-" she paused, looking outside.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Someone else is here."

How do you like this one?
I'm diving into the plot now 😈