Breath of the Void

Breath of the Void: Chapter 16

I've been playing Pokemon while in the middle of moving which has done absolutely nothing for my health but its fine. I'm gonna catch a Snom.

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Musashi's arrival back at Head Quarters was met with an amused Shuten watching as Kyojuro quite literally tackled the swordswoman to the ground. The Flame Pillar hadn't been told about the Mt. Ōe mission, nor had any of the other Pillars outside of Himejima, so it had been natural for him to be confused.

No word came from her when she should have been done with her mission well before the Flame Pillar had, so he had been worried. Of course, after getting tackled to the ground, Ubuyashiki had slowly come out to greet them. The Master of the Demon Slayers was looking much better than before, with the curse gone, she supposed it was natural.

Shuten and Ubuyashiki had an intense stare-off before he had bowed to her slightly, sealing the truce between them.

And in typical fashion, she had asked for alcohol as her pay.

That lead the two Pillars to where they were now, settled in the of the Ubuyashiki Family Manor's back garden with the Master, along with Shuten.

"So that's basically what happened," Musashi sighed as Kyojuro rested his chin on her head. The Niten Ichi-Ryuu creator was settled between the Flame Pillar's legs, the man's arms wrapped around her waist as they talked to Ubuyashiki, who was watering some of his flowers. The man had admitted that he quite liked to do so now that he could move around better and instead of relying on his wife and children, he used a cane occasionally— though he knew the garden by heart already.

Shuten had taken to the roof, though she was certainly listening in as she drank through the family's sake stores— though the Master had also admitted that it was best. He and Amane kept getting sake as gifts from Tengen and other Pillars, but he never drank that much.

"Interesting..." the master hummed, glancing in the direction that Shuten was. "So until Muzan makes his move, Shuten Dōji will simply be around."

"Yes, Oyakata-sama." Musashi confirmed, "She has no wish to go out and kill demons unless they attack her first. Despite the stories of Shuten Dōji, she's much more likely to drink and relax than start street fights and hunt down demons and humans."

Kyojuro huffed softly, poking her in the stomach. "I can't believe you and Gyomei ran off to Mt. Ōe without me," he grumbled, "So mean, my love."

Musashi flushed a bit, huffing a bit in return. "You were all the way on Honshu, I wasn't going to stand around for three days waiting for you to come down to the Kansai area."

He grumbled again but stopped with Ubuyashiki chuckled, the dark-haired man walking back over to the two slowly.

"I will be honest with you, Musashi, I was wary when you said that you wanted to investigate," he admitted, lightly smiling. "But I'm glad you did. Shuten Dōji could be the final piece we need."

"To be fair," the Oni hummed as she hopped down from the roof, walking over and holding a flask of sake in between her index and middle fingers and her thumb loosely. "The Oni found Muzan to be more of an embarrassment than anything. An Oni does not fear the sun, we simply prefer the moon. Oni drink, eat, get wasted, and are merry in their own ways. Oni relish in the pain of others, but we have limits— I would never drink in favor of Ibaraki's abandonment. Muzan has no such restraint." the Oni shrugged with a hum. "As one of the only, true mystics of this era, I find his presence annoying. The fact that he's still alive makes my skin itch."

Her lips had curled up into a cruel smile as she spoke, making Kyojuro's arms tighten slightly around Musashi. She just pat his arm as the Oni walked right up to Ubuyashiki, gazing up at him.