Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 16 - Secrets Finally Revealed

Yuki stood before everyone, her body trembling from how nervous she was. She turned to glance at Shinobu, who held her usual smile, "It's ok Yuki. You can do it."

"We have your back, don't worry." Giyu calmly spoke, gesturing to his sword.

Yuki nodded, looking back to everyone standing before her. She knew she would get protected by Giyu and Shinobu, but she still had a sinking feeling something would go wrong.

Taking one more deep breath, she put on a serious expression, looking to everyone before her, "As many of you know, a little over a year ago, my mother and father were slaughtered by a demon, and my twin sister Kori has been missing ever since. It has come to my attention that the demon who had attacked my family and I, was no ordinary demon. In fact, it was Kibutsuji."

Everyone had gasped at her statement, but finally speaking up after being silent for most of the meeting, Muichiro asked, "What exactly made you come to that conclusion? There is no way to tell from a single attack."

"You are correct about that, however only Kibutsuji has the ability to... make people into what I've been since that day..."

Sanemi looked at her with a suspicious gaze, "What are you implying Yuki? Are you saying you're a demon?"

"Sanemi! Don't say such a thing! She couldn't be a demon! She's standing in direct sunlight!" Mitsuri chimed in.

Yuki chuckled with a sadness behind her eyes, "I appreciate you standing up for me Mitsuri, but Sanemi is correct. I am a demon. At least partially."

"What do you mean partially?! Are you a demon or not?!" Sanemi shouted, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

Yuki saw him change his stance, taking a step back to distance herself. She had felt her chest tighten in fear, but she stood her ground, not letting her fear come through in her voice, "There is no need to be hostile, Sanemi. I may have demon blood in my veins, but I do not have the demonic urge to consume human flesh."

"Even if you aren't letting that urge control you, you're still a demon! Demons deserve to burn to ash, including you!" Sanemi quickly drew his blade and charged towards Yuki.

She didn't have much time to react, but instead of drawing her swords, she protected herself with her arms, turning away from Sanemi. She froze when she heard the sound of two swords colliding with each other. When she looked back to see what happened, she was shocked to see Rengoku holding Sanemi off.

"What the hell are you doing Kyojuro?! Stop protecting that demon!"

"Even if she is a demon, you at least need to let her finish her story. There is no need to jump to conclusions about someone's intentions." Rengoku calmly spoke, keeping his sword up to keep Yuki protected.

She watched Rengoku's gaze fall to her, as he held Sanemi off. He was acting as a personal guard for her. Her gaze fell back onto Sanemi, who had put his sword away with a growl. Rengoku lowered his sword as well, but now stood at Yuki's side, making sure Sanemi wouldn't try anything else.

Yuki deeply exhaled, clearing her mind before continuing to talk, "As I was saying, I do indeed have Kibutsuji's blood in my veins, however it is so little, I've only become a half demon," Yuki pulled her hair out of her face, revealing her markings and all white eye, "I have minor demonic features, as well as powers, but I do not burn in the sun like other demons."

Tanjiro looked at her, but shouted in excitement, "I was right! You do have powers! I knew I wasn't seeing things, but why hide that secret from your comrades?"

"Because, as Sanemi so kindly demonstrated, I feared for my life and safety. I will admit that I never intended to reveal my powers to anyone, but with everyone witnessing what just happened with me, I knew I couldn't hide it anymore."

"What exactly happened Yuki? It looked like you got a bad headache all of a sudden." Tengen chimed in, his arms crossed across his chest.

"From what I can recall, Kibutsuji was attempting to communicate and control me. I could hear his voice echoing through my head. The more he talked, the worse the pain got. His voice was... so loud and commanding. I wish I'd never heard it at all..." Yuki's body had begun to tremble remembering his voice once more.

She felt a hand get rested on her shoulder. She turned around to see Shinobu, her face filled with worry and concern, "Do you want Giyu and I to continue explaining so you can recompose yourself. You're trembling Yuki."

"If you don't mind. I don't want to keep thinking about that excruciating experience."

"That's alright Yuki. Rengoku, do you want to stay with her while we explain?" Giyu asked, glancing towards the flame haired man.

"Of course. She is a dear friend and comrade, and I don't like seeing her like this. I will keep her company and help calm her down while the two of you continue to explain."

They two of them nodded, walking over to the rest of the Hashira, while Rengoku guided Yuki to the bench just around the corner. Rengoku sat her down, covering her with his haori to give her a little extra comfort. Yuki had begun to calm down a bit, but could hear Giyu explaining what had happened.

"Once we had gotten inside, Shinobu and I had assumed that the smell of Sanemi's blood had made her begin to lose control. However she had started yelling and screaming at someone who neither Shinobu nor I could hear. She said she wouldn't hurt her friends, and said the person communicating with her was the one who killed her family. That's when we both realized that Kibutsuji was trying to control her."

"Once we had realized this, I ran to get her medicine, but it was across the mansion in my stuff with Kanao. I was not present for most of the altercation."

"It was a lot of work, and very draining of her, but she managed to push past his will. She had fallen unconscious for a brief time after that, but she managed to come to, sooner rather than later. She was however very shaky afterwards, hence why SHinobu and I were helping her walk back out here."

"So it really was against her will." Sanemi said with a slightly softer tone, his hand no longer on his blade.

Yuki had calmed down enough where she had walked back around to look at Sanemi, "Indeed. It was incredibly hard to fight against him, but I knew I had made a promise to Giyu and Shinobu, and I have no intention of breaking it."

"You also have a mission to complete as well," Ubuyahiki spoke, drawing everyone's attention back to him, "You musn't let Kibutsuji get his hands on the Blue Spider Lily's secrets."

Yuki looked at him, a confident smile on her face, "I know Master. I will never let that information fall into Kibutsuji's clutches."

"Blue Spider Lily? What is that?" Tanjiro asked, his gaze filled with curiosity.

Yuki looked at the young boy, her expression serious, "I know you are curious about it, but I am sworn to keep all knowledge secret."

"Oh. My apologies for asking."

"There is no need to apologize, Tanjiro. I know you are just curious."

Ubuyahiki cleared his throat, drawing attention back to him once more, "Now, to end the discussion we came here for. I have already accepted Nezuko as a demon slayer, and I expect you all to do the same. I had accepted Yuki before knowing about Nezuko, so I expect you all to show both Yuki, and Nezuko respect. I give you my blessing, Tanjiro Kamado. Continue your work as a demon slayer, and find a way to help your sister become human once more."

"Thank you!" Tanjiro shouted, "I promise to do good work!"

"I know you will. You all are now dismissed. Hashira, you all will be receiving new missions within the next few weeks."

Everyone nodded, thanking the Master before leaving the courtyard. Giyu and Shinobu had checked on Yuki before heading into the mansion to gather their belongings. Yuki was about to do the same, but she got stopped by Rengoku, "Yuki, I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk with me? I think we should get away from the craziness for a while, if you don't mind joining me."

"Yeah, I think that would be nice. Thanks Rengoku." The two began to walk around the Mansion, but Rengoku knew what he really wanted to say.