AKI POV
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"Damn it. I haven't found anything! I'm really starting to think that this house is a lost cause. Maybe we should move along with the others? M/n is an disguised as an Oiran after all, so we can move to the other departments." I groaned, looking through an empty room that I hoped didn't belong to anyone. There was dust in so many places, which made it obvious that it hasn't been populated in a while.
"Seriously though, what's taking Dove so long? I knew there was something ominous going on here."
THUMP
"Oh what the fuck!" I gasped, instantly looking up at the roof. Was there something in the roof. Maybe it's the demon!
The sound scurried away from the room and into the hall. I wasted no time chasing after it, and I didn't run at full speed since I would draw attention to myself.
'This demon is fast! I'll lose them if I don't go faster than this!'
Suddenly, the sound was no more. The demon must've noticed me chasing after it. I clicked my tongue.
"So it's gone just like that? It's obvious that this demon's been here for a while. It knows this place by the back of its hand, and most likely have something to do with the disappearance of the wives. This is gonna be a real pain." I growled as I looked around for the possible location of the demon, but my vision was suddenly blocked entirely.
What the hell was happening? I didn't know! All I knew was that I wasn't on the floor no more, flailing around my feet to hope to touch some ground. Unfortunately, my attempts were futile, and I was pulled upward.
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M/N POV
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"I can't believe that Daki gained such courage to attempt to defeat me by herself. She's very dependent most of the time." I chuckled, walking through the halls to find Aki. I can sense that the shadow demon was a few halls down, and I think it's the perfect time to tell him that Zenitsu was captured.
But then I thought for a moment, will I tell them? I mean...he'll probably find out when we have that little meeting with Uzui and the others.
I demon walked and almost tripped on my clothes. I grumbled when I noticed that my height was getting in the way, so I changed it. I changed my height so I was taller. I don't do this normally because I'm surrounded by Hashiras, humans, and Demon Slayers, which means suddenly changing my height would cause suspicion towards me. I usually had to take caution when I wanted to be taller.
I didn't sense Uzui anywhere, so I deemed it was safe. I started picking up my paste since we had to meet the others on a rooftop, but Aki was nowhere near the unchecked areas.
"Aki?" I called, hoping it was one of the male's pranks. Sadly, no matter how much time passed, I couldn't find him nowhere.
This could mean two things: Aki went to the other houses to check on the others, or Daki got him.
Dread corrupted my heart as the second option was becoming more of the truth. I know he's a demon now, and he can probably help himself. However, Daki is notorious for her stealth.
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NO ONES POV
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M/n has accepted the fact that Aki wasn't safe, and Daki was responsible for his capture. Nevertheless, he had to meet up with Tanjiro and the others. He turned back to his original height before he even thought of going to the meetup.
"Sorry I'm late. I ran into a couple of problems." M/n said as he casually appeared on the roof with a faint smile. He smiled though he disliked the shine of the sun, and he stood beside the squatting Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen.
"You're not late. You're right on time I'd say." The Hashira said seriously.
M/n was slightly shocked by the serious tone, but he smiled to know that he can be serious.
"As you might've noticed, Zenitsu won't be coming." Uzui announced, keeping his glance over the people's heads that occasionally walked by.
"And sadly to say, Aki won't be joining either. It's strange. Both of their presences vanished suddenly. And whatever took them can disturb my senses..." M/n groaned.
"If that's the case, that means that you can't sense my wives either."
"That's unfortunately true. Considering that they're alive, along with Aki and Zenitsu, I can't sense what's concealing them."
Tengen sighed, "I feel bad now about putting you all through this. It seems that I was so desperate to rescue my wives in time that I made some poor decisions regarding the mission. As it stands, Zenitsu and Aki are missing. You two should leave. You're ranked too low for this. If the demon here turns out to be an Upper Rank, you'll be dead weight."
"And you..."
M/n's brow raised as the Sound Hashira spoke him up, "Hm?" M/n hummed, letting the Hashira know that he could continue.
"I apologize for dragging you into my selfish ways. You can go back to your mansion, and I'll try my best to bring back your Tsuguko. If you all vanish from here, they'll just assume that you're dead." Tengen said, standing up from his crouched position.
M/n knew he was talking about Aki. M/n never really realized that Aki actually is his Tsuguko. The black haired male trained under him for years, and he became an amazing slayer. But M/n guessed his teaching methods weren't the best, since he was caught so easily.
"Therefore, I'm continuing this on my own."
"Not so fast you noise detector. I didn't dress like a woman and lose my 'Tsuguko' just so I can go back home. If this is an Upper Demon, you'll probably need the help from another slayer of your level." M/n said, touching the Sound Hashira's shoulder to gain more of his attention.
Tengen faintly smiled, "Even through all this, you still reach out to help me. You have lesser of a sour personality than I thought."
"I'm just doing my job." M/n responded, ignoring the taller's comment.
"Very well."
"Please, Mr. Uzui, Mr. M/n! We can help-"
"Don't be ashamed. Life is all about survival, so take this chance and get out." Tengen said, cutting off Tanjiro's plead. Tanjiro didn't get to respond to Tengen's say so, since the Hashira immediately 'vanished' away.
"Get back here, Old Man!"
"It's too late. He's gone now." M/n said.
Tanjiro looked saddened by this information. "Maybe he's not able to put his trust in us. Is it because we're the lowest rank?"
"We're not the lowest rank now. We're Kanoe. We did get promoted." Inosuke told the burgundy tipped haired demon slayer.
"Huh?"
"Did you forget the rankings?" Inosuke asked. He then proceeded to explain the rankings to the other demon slayer, and even showed him how to identify his ranking with the Wisteria Flower Engraving.
Tanjiro looked confused and overwhelmed by the information, but Inosuke patted him on the back as a way to cheer him up a bit. The pat must've knocked the thought back into Tanjiro because it looks like he got reminded of something.
"That's right! We don't have time to mop around! I'll head over to you Ogimoto House once night falls, so wait for me 'til then. It's too risky to make a move alone." Tanjiro told Inosuke.
"Why should I wait for you?" Inosuke yelled, irritated by Tanjiro's sudden leadership and commands.
"I still need to finishing investigating my own house!" Tanjiro answered.
Inosuke harshly pinched Tanjiro's cheek, "I already told you the demon's at my house, so quit wasting our time! Wait 'till night? How stupid are you?" Inosuke insulted, pinching Tanjiro's other cheeks as harsh as the first.
"That's not what I meant!" Tanjiro wined.
M/n sweat dropped as he watched the rather violent scene unfold. Inosuke continued to childishly attack Tanjiro, the burgundy tipped male could only cover himself from the attack.
"Mr. Uzui was patrolling outside of our houses during the night, right? Even so, Zenitsu still disappeared, and the demon over at your place is nowhere to been seen right now!" Tanjiro informed, taking all of the childish attacks given by Inosuke.
"Inosuke, can you please stop smacking me around?" Tanjiro's plead went unheard as the slayer continued, so Tanjiro continued his thinking.
"Which leads me to believe there's a passage that leads into the building."
"Passage?" Inosuke finally stopped hitting Tanjiro after he registered what the male said.
"That's what I forgot to mention." M/n spoke up. "This is a demon that's probably been here for centuries, so they know this place better than any of us do. To avoid the sight of the sun, and people, it would be wise for the demon to form a connected passageway that allows them to dodge both while still being able to hunt."
"Which means the demon is working on the inside. If that is what's happening here and it's clearly disguising itself as a human, then it would kill its victims carefully. Makes sense, right?" Tanjiro said, already connecting the dots.
'Smart boy.' M/n thoughtfully complimented.
"Yeah, it does. Cleaning up after a murder would be a real hassle. Washing blood stains is no easy task." Inosuke said, thankfully connecting the dots in a calm manner.
"This is a nightlife district, which can be convenient for demons, but also an obstacle. They've gotta work at night after all. It'd be odd if they weren't around."
"You're right." Inosuke nodded.
"I think Zenitsu, Aki, and Mr. Uzui's wives are all still alive, so I'll proceed with that in mind, and I will rescue them. I want you to take action with that in mind too, Inosuke. But at the same time, I don't want you to die. Is that all right with you?"
Inosuke stared at Tanjiro for a second before he placed his hand on his knee, "I think everything you said just now...is exactly what I was about to say myself!"
"So you're both going against Uzui's offer to leave? I expected nothing less from you all. I look forward to finishing this." M/n turned his back to the two slayers. He was about to leave until he remembered something.
"Also, Inosuke."
The Maiden Hashira could tell that he gained the attention of the Beast Breather because of his low grumble.
"Sometimes it's best to look down." M/n said, vanishing from sight, leaving Inosuke and Tanjiro very confused.
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Taisho Secrets:
¥ M/n can use his brother's Breathing Technique. He doesn't know it all since his brother died before he could teach him.
¥ No matter how much he insults him, M/n cares for Tengen.
¥ Muzan is frightened by M/n's original Demon Art, Blood Count. Ever time he kills a living thing, he gains a major increase in power.