Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 34 - Entering the Warp Gate

The next few months after Kori's death, Yuki had spent almost all of her spare time honing her skills with her nichirin blades. She trained day in and day out, barely taking breaks. Kyojuro had been making sure Yuki would take breaks and eat as needed, bringing her food and water when he could.

Shinobu and Giyu would also make sure she was getting the proper rest and care she needed. Shinobu would always patch up any injuries Yuki sustained before she would go off and train some more. Giyu would help her train, giving her pointers when needed, which helped her get more confident in her skills, as well as physically stronger.

Kyojuro would train with Yuki most of the time, but occasionally Tengen would stop by to give Yuki pointers. He and Inosuke were the only two Demon Slayers beside herself who used two blades, but Tengen only had one hand now, he couldn't physically show her techniques. Even if he could show, he could tell, and it helped Yuki improve.

Many things had happened over those few months within the Demon Slayer Corps. Tengen had officially retired as a Hashira, and had been spending more time with his 3 wives. He would come by the Butterfly Mansion every once in a while, but his family was taking priority. Muichiro and Mitsuri both had intense fights at the Swordsmith Village, even unlocking their demon slayer marks. Shinobu had also been very hard at work, working alongside a demon named Tamayo who had been working against Kibutsuji for centuries. Apparently with the help of Tanjiro, they had been collecting the blood of Demon Moons to try and create a serum to change Nezuko and Yuki back into humans.

Everyone was working very hard, including Tanjiro and his friends. They all knew that their final confrontation with Kibutsuji would come... but how soon...? No one knew when the inevitable was coming... and it kept everyone on edge, even the Hashira.

What was even stranger about these times, was that no reports of Demon Moons had happened during the entire time. Only lower ranking demons were getting reported, and the Hashira had no need to interfere with the work of the lower slayers, since these demons weren't strong. They didn't know if this was part of Kibutsuji's plan, but it gave them time to get stronger, even if it meant that the Demon Moons were also getting stronger.

The days passed at an alarmingly fast rate, yet also painfully slow all at the same time. Each day that passed on meant their final battle was only drawing closer, which made the days tick by fast. However, not knowing when this final battle would be made it agonizingly slow at the same time.

Yuki and Shinobu had been outside in the courtyard training together, when a crow landed on Shinobu's shoulder. She listened carefully to the crow' message, and Yuki could see the color drain from Shinobu's face as it contorted into a look of fear. She looked at Yuki, and the two words she said sent chills down Yuki's spine.

"It's time..."

Yuki went pale as well as she heard Shinobu utter those words, feeling her body go rigid, "K-Kibutsuji... i-is he... at the Master's mansion...?"

"Yes..." she muttered, looking back at the Butterfly Mansion, before sighing, "Call all of the available slayers and Hashira you can find. I need to go to the med bay to not only get Kanao, but also get the medicines for you. Meet me back here in 5 minutes."

"Got it. I'll be back here in 5 minutes. This is going to end, and end tonight."

The both of them quickly ran inside the mansion, running in opposite directions. Shinobu ran in the direction of the med bay, grabbing many different medicines and syringes, calling for slayers to head to the courtyard as she passed them. Yuki ran the other way, ordering all slayers she saw to the courtyard as well. Many Hashira and slayers ran out past her, and she was running out of time. She was just about to head back into the courtyard, but heard her name getting called.