Shinobu woke up groggily. She was laying on her cheek, and her limbs were sprawled out on the floor. Immediately, she knew something was wrong. She was in a small room made of dark brown wood planks, with the only opening being wooden bars on one side, almost like a jail cell. She could smell the scent of soil underneath the wood planks, which indicated thats she was underground. The room was dimly lit, the only source of light being an oil lamp hanging from the opposite side of the bars.
Is this the demon pit I was in before?
Her thoughts dissipated as she heard steps coming from the darkness.
"Ohayo!" Douma greeted. Now he was in his usual attire, no longer wearing a demon slayer uniform. He was also holding a bento box in his hands.
Shinobu grit her teeth. "It's funny how you call yourself a tactician, but you let me keep my clothes on, and all you use to keep me in is a few wooden bars. Why don't you just kill me already?"
Douma chuckled. "Well, that would just defeat your purpose here, wouldn't it?"
Shinobu recoiled in confusion. "Purpose?"
"Well, no time to speak of it now!" Douma said as he slid the bento through a small door under the bars.
Shinobu just glared at him. Douma stood there for an awkward while, then scratched his head.
"Well, what're you waiting for?" Douma chuckled out. "Surely you couldn't last a day without being a little bit hungry."
Shinobu's glare didn't waver. "What's in it?"
Douma was visibly confused. "Hm? Picky one, aren't ya?"
"Answer the question, Douma."
Douma felt offended. "How rude! Okay, it's grilled mackarel, steamed rice, soy sauce, and a few pieces of karaage."
Shinobu looked unconvinced. "With a few human fingers lodged in there?"
Douma's eyebrows raised up, then he finally realized what she was saying and laughed out loud. "Hahaha, no, no, it's just animal meat. I promise."
Shinobu sat down and disconnected the rice and karaage from the bento, and set them aside. In a quick reflex, she tossed the rest of the bento at Douma's face, which he easily dodged.
"No way in hell I'm trusting you again."
Douma looked back at Shinobu like a child. "Now, now, Shinobu. It's not like you would happily stroll into my home without some hesitation."
"Why would I hesitate?" Shinobu questioned. "It's the only chance I can finally encounter my sister's killer."
Douma chuckled at this. "That's a bit foolish to say, considering you slayers have rendered countless innocent demons siblingless."
Shinobu looked up in disgust. "Innocent? Every demon, no matter who they were in the past, must be put down for the sake of Japan's soul."
Douma was laughing now, shamelessly mocking Shinobu. "And yet your supposed 'leader' permits the life of a certain Kamodo."
Shinobu grits her teeth. "No, Nezuko is different. She hasn't killed a single person!"
"You expect me to believe that?"
"What?"
Douma looked back at Shinobu. "Unlike that swine, Ubuyashiki, who sends dozens of young teenagers to die without blinking an eye, Lord Muzan cares dearly about his fellow demons. When I questioned why a demon was fighting against it's own kind, he openly admitted that he gave Nezuko Kamodo his blood."
Douma grinned.
"But he also told me that when he gave her blood, he made sure that her soul would be tainted for the rest of eternity."
Shinobu gasped, realizing what Douma was trying to say. "No... she wouldn't..."
Douma's grin was amplified by the harsh lighting of the oil lamp. "So he let loose his new child unto her own family, and they fell, one by one, and when the screams ended, she realized the sin she had commited, and embraced her last victim, asking for forgiveness, although she never recieved any."
Shinobu looked down, defeated. Tears ran through her face.
Nezuko slaughtered her own family...
Douma cackled as he saw her face. "You see? Admit it already. You just let a murderer walk freely into your courts, and you never said a word."
"URUSAI!!!" Shinobu screamed. She was sobbing uncontrolably.
Douma smiled. "Its okay, my dear Shinobu. It's not your fault."
Shinobu looked up, a furious expression on her face. She was done crying.
"The past is the past..." Shinobu said. "and those that feel guilt are worthy of forgiveness."
"Oh, really?" Douma questioned. "Tell that to the hundreds of demons you murdered. Think about how you gave them no chance of forgiveness."
"No!" Shinobu shot back. "They killed people for sport! They treated us like livestock!"
Douma chuckled. "And what makes you so different? Don't you ever wonder what chickens feel as you tear apart their families and eat them? Do you ever feel horrible when you smile with glee as you feast on a dead body? What makes us so different from you?"
Shinobu stayed silent. She couldn't think of anything to say back.
Douma leaned back. "You kill to survive, and so do we."
Shinobu glared back. "No, we kill to survive, you kill to satisfy that messed up bloodlust of yours!"
Douma froze.
Hah! Shinobu thought. That's right. You enjoy killing. You don't crave the food, you crave the blood. THAT is what makes us different.
Eventually, Douma smiled. "Maybe you're right."
Shinobu wiped away her tears, her nose still red from sobbing. "So what happens now? You're gonna feast on me with glee?"
Douma laughed at this. "No, that won't do. Maybe a few days ago, but I've had a change of heart. I'm gonna keep you here. You're gonna be taken good care of. And maybe, just maybe, you'll come around."
Douma took the bento box and stood back up.
"The Demon King arrives in 3 days. Until then... have a good night, Shinobu."
Douma walked back into the darkness, leaving Shinobu all alone, with nothing left to do but cry.
. . .
Douma set down the bento box on the table. Everything was ready. Despite multiple setbacks, failures, and unpromising results, Douma still felt like what he was trying to achieve was possible. Hell, even Muzan had what he was looking for.
Douma walked around the hidden corridors of his home. Unseen by most, only known by a select few. He unlocked the hidden door and stepped into the main area of the Pit.
His servants were cleaning up what was left of the Pit's demonic population. Ashes of 20 or 30 dead demons lay on the ground as Douma's servants swept them up.
"You wanna explain this?" Akihiro said as he emerged from the group of servants.
"Oh, you silly child." Douma said playfully. "It's the same routine I've had since the beggining! The situation explains itself!"
"Another one of your experiments, I guess?"
"Exactly!"
Akihiro looked back at the ashes. "Tell me, Douma, are your sick games worth the loss of our food, or the lives of our fellow demon-kind?"
Douma kept his smile. "Remember where you are, boy. As long as you stay here, you're MY servant."
Akihiro grit his teeth and walked back to the other servants.
Douma grinned. "Just so you know, if you complain even just a little bit, you might end up in that pile of ashes right there."
The demons recoiled in surprise and worked faster. Douma giggled as his poor servants fought for their life, which would inevitably end soon.
Their lives didn't matter much to him anyway. His concerns were exclusively for himself, and he had much more personal things to deal with.
Because starting now, he will find a way to be able to feel emotion.
END OF CHAPTER 14
Oooh... how ominous...
So that was Chapter 14! Let's see, prisoner Shinobu, demon servants, Nezuko plot twist, there's a lot to unpack here! This scene might also be reminiscent of another scene from The Last of Us. That's cuz it heavily inspired this story. Anyhow, I hoped you enjoyed!
Just a quick update, "The Dead Man" has now been renamed to "The Dream Man" because the word 'dead' is already in THIS story, Tsunami of DEAD Tears, so having another story with the word 'dead' in it would be a bit ridiculous, so there's the renaming for you.
Until next time! 🌊🦋
-Mr. Veyrum