Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 28 - An Invitation

 Rengoku was sitting in the Med Bay, holding onto Yuki'd hand. It had been nearly a month since Yuki had stumped back to the Butterfly Mansion, and Rengoku had been by her side the entire time. He was starting to lose hope, but he noticed a slight flicker of movement on Yuki's face.

Rengoku stood up, taking a closer look and seeing her eyes trying to blink, "Yuki? Are you there? C-Can you hear me...?" He asked, watching silently.

Yuki let out a soft groan, before her eyes slowly began to flutter open, "K-Kyojuro...?"

Rengoku's eyes nearly welled with tears, pulling Yuki into a tight hug, "Yuki... You're awake... I've been so worried about you... but you're ok... Thank god..."

"Kyojuro... W-What happened...? How long have I been asleep...?" Yuki quietly asked, looking Rengoku in the eye with worry.

"It's been about a month... but that doesn't matter... You're awake now, and we can finally learn what happened to you..." He said before standing up, and letting go of her, "I'm going to go find Shinobu so she can check your injuries. I'll be right back." Rengoku walked out of the room, quickly going to find Shinobu.

A few minutes pass, before Rengoku comes back into the Med Bay with Shinobu following close behind. Once Shinobu was able to see Yuki for herself awake and well, a soft smile formed on her face, "Yuki... I'm glad to see that you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Yuki tried to sit herself up in the bed, but she winced and leaned back on the bed, "I'm still feeling very sore... but I don't know how injured I was when I got here..."

Shinobu node, helping Yuki get into a comfortable position on the bed, helping her sit up, "That's reasonable. You had collapsed the second you got to the Mansion. You were probably aimlessly wandering for hours trying to find your way back."

Rengoku stood by Yuki's side, before looking at her with worry in his eyes, "Do you remember what happened while you were in Kibutsuji's captivity?"

Yuki had a feeling that someone was going to ask that question. She sighed as she looked up at Rengoku, "Yes... I remember everything... Even if I wished I didn't..."

Everyone could see the worry on Yuki's face, but soon another voice caught their attention, "Yuki, I'm glad to see that you're finally awake."

Everyone turned around, seeing that is was Master Ubuyashiki standing in the doorway, "Master... What are you doing here...?"

"I had heard that you were awake. I wanted to come see you, but I also want to know what happened."

Yuki nodded, taking a deep breath before beginning to explain, "Well, I remember waking up inside the Infinity Castle, chained to the wall. I remember seeing Kibutsuji, two of his Upper Ranks, and one of his Lower Ranks... That lower rank demon used her powers on me... she's able to search through a person's memories, and make them re-watch them... S-She made me re-watch the day Kibutsuji attacked... I-I saw everything..."

Rengoku and Shinobu looked at each other, before Shinobu spoke up, "What do you mean you remember everything...?"

Yuki could feel the sting of tears in her eyes, as she tried to talk, "I-I saw what happened... the night my family was attacked..."

Everyone's face filled with a sense of urgency, before Master Ubuyashiki took a step forward, his voice dropping to a serious tone, "Please, tell us what you saw. We must know what happened that night."

"I saw Kibutsuji... He slaughtered my parents in front of my eyes... Then he came after me... He injured me to the point that I was starting to lose consciousness... Then I saw Kori... she was fighting Kibutsuji... but he cornered her.... Then he... he-..." Yuki was having a hard time saying it, but through tears, she managed to say the words she wished she didn't have to, "He turned her into a demon..."

Rengoku quickly pulled Yuki into a light hug, running his fingers through her hair to try and calm her down, "I'm so sorry Yuki... but did you at least see what she looked like after she transformed...?"

"N-NO... but Kibutsuji knows where the books were hidden... but luckily we hid them at the Master's Mansion before he got that information"

"Speaking of your books... I wanted to give them back to you," The Master spoke, pulling her books out of a bag he was carrying and handing them to Yuki.

"But... Why are you giving them back...? Wouldn't they be safer at your Mansion than here?'

"I can't say anything just yet, but they'll be safer in your care than in mine at this point in time."

Yuki looked back at the books before nodding, "I understand. Thank you, Master."

Master Ubuyashiki nodded before walking out of the Med Bay, leaving Yuki alone with Kyojuro and Shinobu. Shinobu gave Yuki a soft smile, "Well, now we can start your physical therapy once you feel up for it. We need you back on the field as soon as possible."

Rengoku smiled and put his hands on her shoulders lightly, "And I'll be with you every step of the way. I know it might take some time for you to fully recover, but I'll be by your side the entire time."

Yuki gave the both of them a soft smile, "Thank you guys... You really are the best friends I could ask for..."

The next few months were rough on Yuki, the physical therapy she had to do was intense. She had so much training to do to sharpen up her skills once again.

As Yuki slowly recovered, she heard about Tanjiro's mission alongside Tengen in the Entertainment District, and saw that he was slowly recovering from that as well.

The two eventually started training with Tanjiro, Rengoku watching carefully, and making sure they were taking breaks when they needed to. Tanjiro recovered quicker than Yuki, eventually traveling to the Swordsmith Village to get his new sword.

Once Yuki had fully recovered, Rengoku had a thought. He took Yuki to the side, before asking her a question, "Yuki, would you want to come meet my father and little brother?"

"Do you think your father would be ok with it? You've told me what he's like..."

"I know what I told you about him, but he doesn't know what you've been either. I believe you can prove you're worthy of his approval."

Yuki thought about it for a moment, debating hard about what to say, before giving him a confident smile, "Alright. I'll come and meet them. I'll prove I'm worthy of his approval"

Rengoku smiled at her, before taking her hand, "Then let's get going. I'll send them a message by crow to let them know we are coming"

Rengoku sent his crow to his family. The crow carried this message:

"Father, I'm going to be returning to the home, bringing my partner Yuki with me. I'm planning to propose to her while we are there, but I would like you to meet her first. I think you'll like her a lot. Please have Senjuro set up something in the backyard. We'll be there later tonight."