The Butterfly Estate was a mess.
And no matter how many times anyone guessed the reason behind the mess, they would always be wrong.
Starting with Tanjiro coming back injured again, from the Swordsmith village this time, to Nezuko walking in the sunlight and even being able to speak again of all things. Not to mention Miyasha, who had been injured by another Upper Demon Moon, had just woken up after being comatose for almost three weeks.
The Butterfly estate was a mess with these three and there was no one who minded it.
After all, everyone was safe and they got the key to Muzan's obsession. All they needed to do now was to use that to lure him into a trap set by the Slayers.
However, while that plan was still being formulated, there was a new wave about Miyasha that almost everyone who visited her noticed but wasn't able to pinpoint why.
"Are you sure you are not feeling any pain?" Aoi asked again as she gently rubbed the milky ointment around Miyasha's eyes, "You cried a lot after waking up. It was blood everywhere — even your eyes were aching!"
"It was my tear ducts, actually," Miyasha corrected before pulling her hands up jokingly when she noticed the younger girl's fierce expression, "Alright, alright! I know you are seriously asking me and I'll be serious in answering you too, then. I'm genuinely fine, trust me. I don't have any pain around my eyes. Though, can't yet say that about my torso."
There was a strange serenity in her tone that sounded more than just unfamiliar — it almost made her sound like she was finally relieved of a burden she had been carrying over her shoulders for years.
She looked more... bright. Happy.
And while everyone had noticed it, no one could get a straight answer about why this was so.
"What is it that you keep scribbling all the time?" Hitoshi asked curiously as he leaned over Miyasha when he came to visit her again, "Are you drawing something?"
"Not quite," her answer was simple as she kept writing in her old leather-bound journal, taking gaps only to adjust her glasses that she still wasn't used to wearing, "I'll tell you about it soon. Just, give me a bit of time, yeah?"
"Sure," he continued peeking over her shoulder, "At least you finally started using the pen we gave you. Have you organised that medical box we gifted you yet?"
The sheepish smile they were given as a reply was an answer enough for both the twins.
"Never mind that," Hiroshi shook his head with a lazy smile, "Are you planning something again?" He started gently patting her head, "It's barely been a week since you woke up, give it a rest, maybe?"
"I'm fine," Miyasha waved off their worries as she continued writing in her journal in a language that both didn't seem to understand or recognize, "Writing doesn't strain on my body, trust me."
It had been five days since Miyasha woke up — a fact that everyone kept reminding her every time she tried to do anything.
And that was because she barely woke up, too.
Hiroshi looked at her hunched position as she wrote in her diary, her whole body visibly covered with bandages under the simple violet yukata she was wearing.
Those bandages reminded him once again how close they were to losing her.
The night Douma had ambushed Miyasha, the twins were barely able to intervene before he almost killed her; something that both the twins realized once the Sun had risen and the Upper Demon Moon withdrew with a mockingly sad look.
He still remembered how that fucking bastard was looking for Miyasha and exclaimed in a very creepy manner how much he will love to meet her again.
If the twins could, they would have ripped his throat apart at that moment.
However, as it stood, the Upper Demon Moon 2 was much, much stronger than both the twins combined — a fact that both recognised but hated nonetheless. It made them respect Miyasha even more, knowing that she held out for them for a good hour before they found her.
That respect, however, couldn't overpower their worries as they had rushed to the Butterfly Estate with her limp body in Hitoshi's arms.
Hitoshi still remembered how she was barely breathing and how worried they were that she was going to die. Ironically enough, their minds were fogged enough to even skip the thought of checking her pulse as they had rushed to get her treated.
For all they knew, he could have been carrying Miyasha's dead body for hours.
That morbid thought made Hitoshi wince as he shook his head to clear his mind.
It was fine.
Everything was alright.
Miyasha was alive and recovering well.
Hitoshi's eyes met with his younger brother's as both the twins nodded to each other.
Yes, everything was fine. Miyasha was with them alive and they didn't lose her.
And they will make sure to keep it that way.
Miyasha ignored the twins who were talking with their eyes as she focused on writing down everything she remembered bit by bit — the memories and future (past life's future? Past future? What?) that she had seen were still fresh in her mind as she noted down the relevant instances.
While it felt quite relieving and honestly melancholic knowing what had happened after her death and how her family was actually doing well despite grieving for her, there was a lot she still had to process regarding the things she heard and saw as well.
The most dire of them were the 'spoilers' she got from her sister about the ending of the manga and anime. And boy, were they not something she was ready for or even wanted to imagine.
Everyone died? Tanjiro almost became the Demon King? Sanemi watched his brother fucking disintegrate?
There was a lot to unpack and god did Miyasha hope she had her journal back then to note down while her sister ranted in her old room as she watched the anime.
The whole process of killing Muzan was executed quite horrendously and Miyasha honestly didn't know if she should blame the author of the manga for rushing through or the one planning that out as of now in her current life.
The strange suffocating feeling that Miyasha had in her chest increased as she thought about the future of people around her. And what she had to do to stop it.
There were a lot of variables and unanswered questions that plagued her mind but, she reasoned, they were better than the high death rate that was promised if she didn't intervene now.
"Are you having trouble breathing, Miyasha-san?" Shinobu's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "Would you like some warm water?"
"If you can, then please," Miyasha accepted her offer as she looked around, finally noticing that the twins had vacated their seats after hours of staying beside her.
As far as she remembered, the twins didn't leave her side even for a minute when she initially woke up; or rather, she should say when her consciousness still kept fading and coming back as the pain in her lungs and upper torso absolutely tore her apart.
It was the most painful thing she had ever experienced in both her lifetimes and she definitely wouldn't recommend that to anyone.
Thankfully enough, once she gained consciousness properly, the pain slowly subsided with enough patience and time since painkillers didn't quite work on her either, given her strange blood composition.
It was only because of the utmost care and treatment that she received from Shinobu and the twins that Miyasha was recovering as quickly as she was — despite the damaged lungs and torn-up torso.
She was pretty sure Douma damaged the lining of her lungs too, with how painful and difficult it was to even breathe at times.
"Thank you so much, Shinobu-san. Without you... I definitely wouldn't have survived," Miyasha couldn't help the tinge of self-depreciation seeping into her words, "Because God knows how much damaged my body has already become."
Shinobu didn't reply as she took the glass from her hands, her expression looking grim as she looked at the younger slayer.
"What happened, Shinobu-san?" Miyasha could see that something was bothering her, "Is there something you want to say? Ask?"
"Ah, no," But no matter how much she tried, Shinobu didn't let her know what was bothering her, "I was just wondering why you still keep straining yourself by getting up from the bed even after knowing how 'damaged' your body is."
Ah, yes, the sass was back.
"I'm not straining my body," Miyasha argued back, "The stitches on my chest are in top condition and are even drying up nicely, trust me."
The silent look Shinobu gave her made Miyasha chuckle nervously before finally shutting up.
"Inosuke-san and Zenitsu-san would be quite sad to see if you hurt yourself again," She pointed out mercilessly, making Miyasha wince while she continued, "And so would Tanjiro-san, who keeps telling you the same."
Miyasha winced again as she remembered how worried the three stooges were for her; Inosuke and Zenitsu going as far as sitting outside her room every day till the day she properly gained consciousness.
In fact, it wasn't until they had to go on a mission that they took a break from monitoring her condition. And even then they would try to come back to visit her as much as they could.
Inosuke even left acorns for her on her bedside table whenever he could, in hopes that she would feel better after eating them.
Tanjiro, unfortunately, was even worse than those two since the first thing he apparently asked for, after waking up from his own injured state, was Miyasha.
And getting to know that she was injured and almost dead made him panic enough to drag his still-injured body to her room before collapsing right at the foot of her bed.
Even hearing the twins recount it made her heart ache with guilt and regret as she winced while even imagining it.
"I, I would keep it in mind," Miyasha finally relented, "I'm sorry for worrying everyone."
"You don't have to be sorry for our worries," Shinobu's voice turned softer as she turned to leave the room, "Everyone cares for you more than you think, Miyasha-san. We just hope you start doing the same for yourself. You have no idea how many people came to ask about your health when you were unconscious."
She was almost at the door as she looked back with a tired smile, "Especially Tomioka-san, who didn't even rest after his rigorous missions as he had rushed to bring all the herbs and medicines we needed for your treatment."
"Wh-What?" Miyasha's heart thundered as she heard his name after quite a while, "He, he did?"
"Of course he did," Shinobu's words were dry and straightforward as she repeated, "Miyasha-san, there are more people around you who care for you than you think. Please take care of yourself — at least for them, if not yourself."
She left the room after saying that, avoiding mentioning how much truly devoid of hope everyone was during the period she was comatose.
How everyone was expecting more of the news of her death than waking up with each passing day as her condition only worsened.
And how, when she almost woke up before falling asleep again, everyone came to visit her at least once — even Sanemi and Obanai. The latter came more because of Mitsuri's insistence, but still.
Many of them, including the twins and the trio youngsters, didn't leave her vicinity for days; waiting for her to wake up fully before even thinking about going back to their daily lives.
Then there were some like Tomioka and Shinobu, who worked tirelessly to treat Miyasha and somehow clutch her out of the grasp of death — with Tomioka being the most active in bringing all the herbs and medicines asked of him within the day, no matter how rare or hard they were to find.
She didn't tell Miyasha how Tomioka almost collapsed twice while rushing in between missions to visit her. And how he acted as if he couldn't even feel his own exhaustion despite the tiredness being reflected in his every move.
It was, as if, he couldn't feel tired because his heart was outside his body.
There was a lot Shinobu wanted to tell Miyasha but she couldn't. She neither had the words nor the courage as she herself felt beyond scared at her condition.
She felt terrified as well as furious at the thought of possibly losing another person to that fan demon.
Honestly? Shinobu hated it.
But she still couldn't say it to Miyasha because, despite feeling so many things, she barely had the words to describe them.
The only thing that she could express was how relieved and grateful she was that Miyasha came back alive. That she didn't have to see another girl of the Butterfly Estate succumb to death.
That she was successful in at least saving one person.
And that was enough for Shinobu, for now.
(~<>~)
The twins yawned as they returned to the Butterfly Estate after another quick mission.
Well, the mission wasn't exactly quick but they successfully did manage to make it one.
And even that was possible because almost all the demons had retreated back into their holes after the news of Kamado's demon sister conquering the Sun reached Kibutsuji, which was about a week ago.
There were still a few rogue demons here and there but they were mindless enough to not be an obstacle.
However, what did worry them was this strange and sudden peace. It was like the calm before the storm and honestly, they knew that most of the Demon Slayer Corps wasn't ready for that storm yet.
"We should start the whole training thing soon," Hitoshi mumbled as they started walking upstairs towards Miyasha's room, "Any later than this and it'll be too late."
"We haven't planned the curriculum yet though," Hiroshi pointed out as they gently knocked on the door to her room before entering silently once they noticed her sleeping soundly, "It'll be good if we can ask Kyojuro to help too, honestly. And we need to get together in another meeting for that."
Hitoshi hummed as he finally sat down on his designated spot beside Miyasha's bed, the whole room feeling more than just familiar after how many days the twins had practically lived by the bed.
There were two issues the Hashiras currently had to tackle: the first starting with how to protect that demon sister of Kamado in a manner that the other demons couldn't spy on or access her location and the second was how to prepare for the final showdown they would soon have to go through with Muzan.
While the former was still not being discussed or even figured out yet, the latter was discussed in the last Hashira meeting they had.
They had also discussed the whole demon slayer mark thing and their possible conditions to awaken it but the issue still stood on how to achieve those conditions considering that inducing them sounded much more challenging than surviving getting the mark itself.
Add to that the fact that they also had to train and maybe induce such marks in the rest of the lower ranks and it was a bigger situation than they could talk about in only one meeting.
And while everyone already had decided on their own specialized training, the basic curriculum was yet to be discussed along with how and where they'll conduct it and the whole sequence as well.
"I'm still surprised how cooperative Tomioka has been this time," Hiroshi piped up suddenly, making Hitoshi frown, "I expected him to pull his regular 'I'm not like you guys so you do what you want' shit and leave in between the meeting. Surprisingly, he sat through the whole of it."
"He's... changed," Hitoshi felt a bit strange as he somewhat defended the Water Hashira, "I mean, with how he kept visiting Miyasha and even helped Shinobu one-sidedly for all kinds of medications and all, I kind of feel that he is better now."
"Better in what sense?" Hiroshi smiled wryly as he asked, "Better as in his attitude or better as in your view of him."
"A little bit of both, I guess," Hitoshi admitted as he turned to look at their sleeping sister, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I still feel like he has interest in our Miyasha but the way he did things... I can't help but feel grateful. Don't tell me I'm the only one who feels that way."
Hiroshi didn't reply anything verbally but he did agree with his older brother, no matter how much he didn't like it.
Tomioka had a huge hand in Miyasha's recovery and it was undeniable enough that even Shinobu admitted it every time they talked about her treatment.
Not to mention, as the twins got to know from Shinobu, Tomioka was also the one who helped Miyasha develop her aura-sensing abilities further as well as get better both mentally and emotionally during her sudden loss of eyesight.
He hated how they weren't there for her and couldn't help but feel kind of grateful too that other Hashiras helped Miyasha get through that period as well, especially Tomioka.
And now that Tomioka had dropped his 'better than you' attitude, they looked at him in a much better light than before.
"He still talks very little, though," Hiroshi complained, knowing quite well that he was the worst person to speak on this topic, "Even in the meeting, he only nodded and answered minimally."
"I mean," Hitoshi shrugged, "It's still better, in my opinion. He was sincere in all his actions and I, I don't know why but kinda feel guilty about him."
To be honest, both the twins knew the reason for that feeling — the way Tomioka selflessly helped Miyasha and didn't even visit her when he was told that they were there to visit her, made them feel very guilty.
Especially after being pointed out by Shinobu how Tomioka actively did that to give them time with her since he apparently understood their feelings.
That made them realize how almost no one knew anything about his history or even the reason for being a Hashira except maybe Miyasha. Even Shinobu only had a slight inkling that she had pieced out herself from their conversations.
"Maybe he understood us that well because he had a sister who was targeted like this, too."
That thought made them feel an odd kinship with him, even though they still didn't understand his previous attitude.
"Do you think he changed because of Miyasha?" Hitoshi threw it out softly, so as to not wake up the sleeping girl, "Shinobu did say they had become especially close."
"I don't want to assume anything," Hiroshi curtly replied, hating the underlying meaning of those words, "And I don't want to talk about it either."
"One day you might have to," the elder of the two replied honestly, "Or else it would be harder for you to accept if Miyasha does end up liking him the same way."
"She can have way better men than Tomioka, please."
"Yes, but," Hitoshi hesitated as he looked at his twin, "Name me one who helped Miyasha as sincerely and silently as he did. In fact, if what we gathered was right, then he even silently looked after Miyasha in the past four years too, without interfering with her or stifling her."
'And we both didn't or rather couldn't' — went unsaid, but was felt still as both the twins looked at each other in the eyes.
Hiroshi was the first one to break the eye contact and look away, mumbling how he didn't care about such things.
Hitoshi refrained from pointing out how, if what his younger brother said was true, then he wouldn't have looked as bothered with the thought of it as he did now.
"Anyway," he diverted the topic as he gently tugged the blanket over to Miyasha's shoulders, "It really doesn't matter. If he makes her happy, then it is what it is."
"...she seems to have different priorities, though," Hiroshi pointed out, "So, it's a waste of time assuming such things."
"True, considering how she's been continuously scribbling down in her journal long enough to exhaust herself into sleep like this, despite how cold it makes her feel."
Both twins quietened down as they watched Miyasha turn over in her sleep, silently communicating with their eyes as both wondered what she had written in her journal for the past week.
She was planning something extensively and that made both of them nervous as well as excited.
Because whatever it was that was taking her this long, it seemed to be significant enough for her to even strain herself to work on it.
And that meant it could be a big thing that would impact her and others around her.
However, the twins had no idea how big it really was, and how absolutely right they were about their hunch.
At least, not until a day later, when they were summoned again for a sudden Hashira meeting in the Headquarters.
(~<>~)
It was odd seeing everyone sitting on one side of the room instead of the loose circular way they usually gathered around.
But what seemed more odd was how there were people except the Hashiras present as well.
Especially Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke.
"Kamado, my boy!" Rengoku looked around with a confused expression, "It's good to see you! But why are you here today?"
Tanjiro looked back at his friends before shaking his head, "I don't know, Aniki."
"A crow came up to call us," Inosuke grunted out as politely as he could, his expression not visible underneath his boar mask.
Rengoku nodded to them as he looked around once again, noticing how almost every Hashira seemed to look worriedly towards the door behind him while he came inside.
It wasn't even the door that they were nervously looking at.
"I'm sure Oyakata-sama is fine," Hitoshi blurted out suddenly, making everyone look towards him, "Stop worrying. His condition is still better than before, you know that right? And Miyasha has started looking after him again, so stop with this tense and nervous atmosphere."
"I wish I could be as carefree as you," Obanai quipped, making Hiroshi snort while Hitoshi patted the Snake Hashira.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you!"
It was Sanemi who snorted this time while Obanai gave a scathing look towards the elder Snow Hashira.
"So, we aren't discussing the Hashira training, today?" Rengoku asked Uzui as he sat beside him, "Isn't that why Oyakata-sama called us?"
"The Kasugai didn't mention anything," Uzui replied almost carelessly, his attitude laid back enough to make people think that he wasn't worried unless one noticed his fierce gaze, "So, maybe? Who knows!"
The thing that put the Hashiras on the edge was how sudden this meeting was — even more so than the last one when they came to know about how Tanjiro's sister conquered the Sun.
In fact, it wasn't just sudden, it was ominous. No particular reason was given for the sudden summons and the summon was specifically stated to be given by Oyakata-sama, not Amane-sama.
That worried them even more, knowing how Oyakata-sama's condition had suddenly worsened in the past few weeks after doing much better the month before.
This sudden gathering of every single Hashira and even Tanjiro seemed too ominous. As if, Oyakata-sama was calling them to disclose some plan. Or his incoming death.
Chatter seized as everyone sat up straight when the sliding doors opened, their eyes following the upright Oyakata-sama who was smiling at them. However, what drew their attention wasn't him; instead, it was Miyasha and Amane-sama, who were supporting him from each side.
"Ohayo, Minna," Oyakata-sama's usual greeting echoed in the quiet room, "I'm pleased to hear everyone is doing well."
"We are pleased to see you in better health as well, Oyakata-sama," Shinobu greeted back once Oyakata-sama was seated, "I hope you keep doing well and pray for your continued good fortune."
Idle inquires continued as Oyakata-sama proceeded to ask about Tanjiro's health, the whole atmosphere of the room becoming more neutral and calm with each word spoken.
Meanwhile, Miyasha felt their gazes acutely as she sat on the left side of Oyakata-sama, with Amane sitting on the other side of him. Despite that, she didn't look up to meet their gazes.
There was a lot she had to do today.
There was even more she was going to lose today.
"Oyakata-sama," Sanemi spoke up, "May I enquire what we are called here for today?"
The benign smile playing on Oyakata-sama's lips widened, "How are you doing, Miyasha? How are your injuries?"
The addressed female froze, her expression stiffening as she wondered why she was asked this question again, "They are mostly recovered, Oyakata-sama. Thank you for asking." She answered simply.
"Then I will leave today's meeting to you," his smile seemed to gain a teasing undertone, "We all will be in your care."
There were no words that could describe how Miyasha was feeling at the moment when Oyakata-sama blatantly put all the spotlight on her, pushing her onto the stage even before she could prepare her mind.
"Today's meeting will be led by Miyasha," Oyakata-sama declared, "I will be a mere audience since I am not well-versed in the things to be disclosed today. So, I would ask everyone here to keep an open mind and a silent ear while she speaks."
Miyasha bowed her head low once Oyakata-sama finished, signalling her to continue in his stead as she sat upright and looked straight ahead.
"Ohayo, Hashira-sama, Slayer-san," Miyasha started with a formal greeting, making sure to emphasise through her words that she was talking to them as Demon Slayers rather than her friends or acquaintances, "I have a few things to disclose and discuss with everyone present here. I, uh, the things I am going to disclose today are quite vulnerable for me to share and I am not sure how to explain or start, but I will try my best. Thank you for having patience with me."
Miyasha hated how, even now, fear was gripping her by her throat and how she was unconsciously stalling — even after preparing for this for a whole week.
The pain, the suffering and all the anxiety she had to go through just to sit here and lose everything and everyone again made Miyasha feel absolutely helpless.
It made her feel more scared than even dying and that thought made her laugh internally.
At least, this was better than everyone else dying.
Miyasha closed her eyes as that thought completely cleared her mind, making her realize once again how important what she was doing today was.
"The first news I would like to share regarding this is of my retirement," she bowed lightly, "As per the Insect Hashira-sama and the other doctors, my body currently is not in the condition to fight demons any longer; without jeopardising my life further, that is."
Her words were met with silence as she continued, "Thus, to compensate for that, I would retire as a Kakushi and aid behind the scenes. I apologise for any inconvenience caused due to my lacking behaviour."
"There's no need to apologise for this," Shinobu gently replied, her heart aching for the younger slayer as Miyasha nervously tried to relay her words to them, "And you don't need to be afraid of our reaction either."
Miyasha opened her mouth to say something before pausing and closing it. She genuinely didn't know how to continue after looking at the gentle expressions many of the people sitting in front of her were giving her. The one that pinched her heart the most was the blue eyes she couldn't even look towards.
She knew she had to do this.
If she wanted to see everyone alive and happy, this was the least she could do.
If it meant that they would hate her or feel betrayed by her, then let it be so.
This is the least she could do to change their undeserving ending.
"Thank you for saying that, Hashira-sama, but I have a lot to apologise for," she took a deep breath to calm down her loud heartbeats, "My actions for the past few missions have been quite reckless, despite being as fruitful as they were. And while many of you may think of them as nothing but instinctive or rather thoughtless actions, they were well-planned manoeuvres on my end."
"So, you knew about them?" Hiroshi asked tentatively, leaning forward unconsciously as his eyes gleamed with an unknown excitement, "You knew about those Demon Moons? In the mountains and that train? I know you knew about the Red District one, but you knew about the rest, too?"
It was funny seeing Miyasha as startled as she was when she answered them, "I, I don't know how to answer that."
"You can answer that by a simple yes or no."
"If I had to answer that way, then yes," she finally relayed, "I knew about their existence and attempted to plan accordingly. But—"
"Wait, so you planned them?" Hitoshi interrupted her, his brows furrowed in confusion, "Does that include the last confrontation with the Upper Demon Moon, too?"
"No!" her answer came out more rushed than she intended, "I had no idea Douma would come hunting me down there. If I did, I wouldn't have stayed behind." Her eyes then shifted to the younger twin, "But, if I may ask, how... or rather why do you think so? I mean, you are right but why... did you think I knew about them beforehand?"
"Because once can be a coincidence but twice? Thrice? I beg to differ."
"I agree with Kinomiya-san," Shinobu's eyes shimmered with the same interest as Hiroshi's as she looked at Miyasha, "Your history of meeting Demon Moons and even Kibutsuji so many times seems beyond the scope of coincidence, Miyasha-san. The frequency is high enough to make many of us wonder if it was planned that way."
"But how can that be?" It was Rengoku who spoke up this time, "In my last mission, the Upper Demon Moon showed up without any notice! How can you know beforehand about it, Miyasha?"
"And in the Red District mission," Uzui added, "You knew about the siblings duo, didn't you? That's why you weren't surprised when that ugly male one popped out — you even knew the name of the female, despite that bratty one not introducing herself!"
"Can you see the future then, perhaps?" Tokito started looking at Miyasha with interest, his tone becoming more and more intrigued as he thought about all the possible scenarios, "Are you a Seer? Oracle? Or maybe a Shaman?"
"N-No," Miyasha had never been as speechless in her life as she was right now while everyone laid out their own theories about her actions, "I'm afraid I'm not any of those, Tokito-sama. And I, I genuinely am too flabbergasted to answer anything properly, so please give me a moment to collect my thoughts."
"Why," Sanemi's sharp gaze met her confused one, "They are right, aren't they? You knew about the future, didn't you?"
This was not how she planned for the whole thing to go.
"Yes, but—"
"Then, how didn't you see 'this' happening, huh? What are you pla—"
"It's not the future that I see or know," Miyasha interrupted him forcefully, feeling quite overwhelmed all of a sudden, "I, I don't know the future, I just have knowledge of it!"
Oyakata-sama gently placed a hand on the shoulder of the agitated female beside him while putting a finger on his lips to signal the other slayers and Hashiras to quiet down.
"I, I," Miyasha looked clearly overwhelmed, adjusting her glasses nervously as she slowly continued, "I have knowledge of the future that I had once read in my past life."
Her words completely stilled the atmosphere as she tried to explain herself, "I, I have had memories of my past life since I was a child — no, since I was born in this wo, uh, era."
"This is not my body. Not my first one, at least." Miyasha knew it was a strange way to tell about her reincarnation but she genuinely didn't know how to do it in any other manner, "And in my past life, I had read about the events of this era. That is where my knowledge originates from."
The looks of disbelief and confusion that she got were quite expected because this was the normal reaction.
One, that she somehow didn't receive from Oyakata-sama, which left her more on edge than she expected.
"I," Miyasha wanted to cover the part of her reincarnation as briefly as possible to focus more on the important parts, "I was born in the year 1999, in my past life — a much distant future from now. And during my course of that life, I had come across a book."
"It was a book about Demons with blood art techniques and the demon slayers who killed them," she took another breath as her jitteriness got lesser the more she spoke uninterrupted, "I had read that book assuming it was on a myth or rather of a fantasy theme, talking about things that don't exist and writing adventures that one could only read and never go on."
"I never knew my next life would be of the same place," the wariness that seeped in her tone surprised many of them but Miyasha didn't notice, "It... I, there is a lot I remember about the book and a lot that matches the future of the current time. That is how I roughly know what lies in the future and how to avoid or handle it."
Her eyes swept through the room, noticing everyone's blank looks along with some expressions of disbelief and denial.
"If I have to summarise it down to one line," She took a slight pause as she adjusted her glasses again, "Then it would be that I have memories of my past life and in that past life of mine, I read a book that depicted the exact scenario of the time we are living in right now. In that essence, I know the 'future' from my memories of that book and that is the exact information I have been acting upon for the past few years."
The silence that followed after her words was deafening; even when the minds of everyone present there were as loud as they could be.
"So, you are saying you reincarnated?" Hitoshi blurted out, "Into the... past? You had memories about it since you were born?"
"Yes," she answered as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing more on calming her anxious thoughts, "I was aware of the memories of my past life since I was born as Miyasha. However, I did not realize where I was until I was four."
"Where you were?" Oyakata-sama asked curiously.
"I mean," she paused as she collected her thoughts, her hands fumbling with her glasses again, "As I stated earlier, I did not realize that... demons were a real being that may exist given how they didn't in my past life. So, I was not quite prepared for them in this life either. Not until they attacked and my sensei mentioned demons and their blood arts. That was when it clicked."
"I don't get it," Sanemi spoke up loudly, his expression seeming much louder than his volume, "You thought that book you read was a fantasy?"
"Uh," there was some hesitation on Miyasha's end as she replied to that question, which was noticed by everyone, "It was, the book was something I assumed to be fictional since demons did not exist in my past life. I did not think something like that could be true or real either, so—"
"So, you are saying you are from the future?" Obanai interrupted her with his own questions, his tone more mocking than curious, "And there are no demons in the future? But you still read a book about this exact same thing and didn't realise it was history? You are telling us to believe that?"
Miyasha bit the inside of her cheeks as she mused how to answer that.
"I would not force you to believe anything against your will; however, I would assure you that I am not lying either," she decided to answer firmly, "And I would also like to remind you, Hashira-sama, that there are still many people in this era who don't believe in demons either. With the future being demon-free as it is, how can it not be expected of them to be more ignorant?"
"You are claiming so many things but do you have anything to prove it?" Obanai asked honestly this time, his eyes briefly straying to Oyakata-sama, who was oddly sitting quietly the whole time.
In fact, everyone had noticed how silent Oyakata-sama was on this topic, his silence making it evident about his trust in Miyasha's words.
And that made Obanai feel even more iffy as he stubbornly refused to believe Miyasha's words.
"Would you like me to prove it?" Her words came out sharper than she intended but she didn't want to soften them either, considering how she was almost already at the edge of a breakdown, "I can divulge your curiosity, if you would like me to."
There was a slight pause as everyone focused on Miyasha while she stared directly at Obanai.
"Iguro-sama," she started, "Your snake acts as your eyes since you are partially blind from your right eye."
Miyasha then turned to Mitsuri, "Kanaroji-sama, your original hair colour is black and you inherited your immense physical strength from your father."
Her eyes then shifted to Shinobu who met her gaze head-on, "Kocho-sama, the haori you wear is of your late elder sister, who was killed by Douma with his fans when she was seventeen."
Miyasha's words continued as she proved her knowledge of the future by relaying things of the past that were not supposed to be known to her.
"Tokito-sama, you were saved by Amane-sama when you were eleven years old, after which you suffered through amnesia due to severe trauma."
"Shinazugawa-sama, you hunted demons even before you joined the Demon Slayer Corps; using your blood as a medium to intoxicate them before tying them up on trees and waiting for the Sun to disintegrate them."
"Himejima-sama, you discovered your strength for the first time when you were attacked by a demon," Miyasha relayed before pausing, "Before that, you were much leaner and had no clue about your own abilities."
While she was disclosing the facts about the people present there, she was also trying to not poke too much into things that might be sensitive or triggering for them.
"Rengoku-sama," she faltered a bit before continuing as her eyes met his sincere one, "Your mother asked you to protect the weak as her last wish, stating how it was the duty of the strong to look after those who lack strength."
She immediately moved her eyes away to Uzui, who was looking at her with surprise, "Uzui-sama, you, uh, you had a promise with your wives that you would retire after dealing with an Upper Demon Moon. However, I can't say why you didn't follow that through."
Her gaze then finally met those familiar deep blue ones, which were making her feel the most nervous and scared, "And Tomioka-sama," she paused as she wondered what to say about him that she didn't know already, "You... You were planning on giving up your position as the Water Hashira to Tanjiro since you did not feel deserving of it."
The atmosphere of the meeting room was completely frozen as Miyasha continued mindlessly, "And Kamado-san, when you were a child, there was an incident where your father fought a bear with his fragile body while using the dance of the fire God, which you realized was something you could incorporate in your own fighting style."
"Agatsuma-san," her voice wavered a bit as Zenitsu's soft eyes met hers, "Yo-Your hair was black before you were struck with lightning when you were on a tree once."
"And Hashibira-san," she finally concluded, "Was someone who was taught to talk by an older gentleman he had come across accidentally as a child while living alone in the forest."
Miyasha closed her eyes as she felt her heart echo in her ears, "This is the information that I could never have known if I did not have the knowledge of the book I read in my past life. This is the only way I can prove my legitimacy, given how any future I relay beyond this point is something I want to change and cannot let it happen to stand as my evidence."
"And what about me?" Oyakata-sama asked gently, his benign smile making her feel odd, "Is there something that you read about me, too?"
"Um," Miyasha genuinely didn't know how to answer him, "There were quite a few things I did read but among them, I mostly remember about the prophecy-like ability of intuition that runs in the Ubuyashiki Household and that you, Oyakata-sama, asked Amane-sama to marry you on her own will than the will of her family or the priest that brought her for the engagement."
Oyakata-sama let out a few chuckles at her last statement, "Quite right, I see. You know a lot more than I assumed."
"I apologise if it felt intrusive."
"It didn't," he answered honestly, "However, it makes me wonder how much you honestly do have the knowledge of. And, if you do know so much, why didn't you say anything about the Hitoshi and Hiroshi?"
Miyasha froze as she realised her mistake.
"I, I," her eyes strayed to the twins, who were looking at her with an unwavering gaze, "There is nothing I can tell about them, unfortunately."
"Why? Is it because you already know everything about them?" Oyakata-sama probed gently, making her wonder how much of it was actual curiosity.
"No, but," Miyasha honestly didn't know how to say it, "It is, um, I do not know how to phrase it in any other manner, but the twins were not in the book that I read."
"What?"
"The book I read only had the information of what happened," She paused as she collected her thoughts, "It was a recollection of events that happened during this era. Unfortunately, many of the events and, um, details have distorted a bit in accuracy due to my involvement."
"Is it because of the changes you brought?" Hitoshi asked gently, realizing that the conversation on hypothetical situations they had the last time was exactly about this, "Are we those changes?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly, "There were no mentions of Snow Hashiras in the book; let it be retired or even active ones. There were no Kinomiya twins either and I genuinely do not know how my involvement impacted that."
The frown on her face deepened as she admitted, "The only thing I can blame that change on is my existence, which wasn't supposed to be here either."
Miyasha didn't realize but her words impacted everyone present there a lot more than she may have intended or even thought.
"Your existence," Oyakata-sama started, feeling as if he needed to intervene, "Is not dictated by a book, Miyasha."
"I understand that Oyakata-sama, but it wasn't a mere book," she stubbornly emphasised her point, "It was about a history that I failed to recognize and when I did, I had already brought changes that I did not even realize until later."
"What are the other changes?" Uzui piped up since he had a feeling he was one of those, "Was it me retiring? Or was it dying? I remember you mentioning it just a few minutes ago."
"Retiring," Miyasha instantly replied, "You were supposed to retire after you defeated Daki and lost your left hand and eye."
"So, two Hashiras weren't supposed to exist and two were supposed to retire?" Obanai frowned as he asked, "We were only supposed to be seven?"
"Um," Miyasha hesitated as she replied, "Only, uh, one was supposed to retire."
The realization that followed after her words hit Rengoku, Uzui and Tanjiro the hardest.
"I was supposed to die," Rengoku said out loud, realising why he felt as he did when he had survived, "That Upper Demon Moon 3 was supposed to kill me!"
Tanjiro looked back at Miyasha, waiting for her to, maybe, correct him but she didn't.
"You," Sanemi's tone came out harsher than intended as he glared at her, "Why didn't you say this before? What made you tell us now? Your near-death experience?"
"Maybe," she answered with a wry smile, "To be fair, I was thinking about disclosing it for months but was unable to. I knew people would not believe me and if they did, I would be blamed for not acting beforehand, which would be absolutely justified."
"You didn't act beforehand?" Oyakata-sama had an odd look on his face as he asked.
"I didn't," Miyasha couldn't even pretend to look up at others as she looked down at her hands, "I, I, I was afraid to play God by changing the fate that was already written down. I was so blinded by what I knew that by the time I did start changing things, I realized how much of a fool I was."
She paused she felt her throat itch, "I am a coward and the only reason I disclosed all this now is because I am afraid of what will happen if I do not do so now."
"How did the book end?" Tanjiro asked for the first time, feeling ominous at the words Miyasha just relayed, "Aneki, did we kill Kibutsuji? How did it end?"
"It ended with death," she spat out, "Almost everyone died while killing Muzan and, and..."
"It's alright, Miyasha-san," Amane gently shifted to sit beside Miyasha, who was hyperventilating at this point, "Take your time."
"With Miyasha's knowledge, we can resolve the current situation safely," Oyakata-sama decided to take the control of the meeting back into his hands, "With Kibutsuji aware of Tanjiro's sister, his focus would be entirely on hunting her down and consuming her to gain the ability to walk in the sun."
"Miyasha," he gently called the younger female beside him, who he could hear was much calmer now than just a few moments earlier, "What knowledge do you have about the current situation?"
"As far as I know," she relayed, "Muzan has seen Nezuko's ability to walk in the Sun through the eyes of the dying Upper Demon Moon, uh, Five, I think? He knows about Nezuko and that is why he is preparing for a final battle."
"Final battle?" Shinobu asked with urgency.
"Yes," Miyasha looked much more tired as she continued, "He knows that we have Nezuko with us, so he is retrieving all the demons back into his base, the Infinity fortress, to prepare for something. His main focus right now is to determine the location of our Headquarters because he is assuming this is where we have Nezuko."
"But how is he going to do that without any demons?" Sanemi asked.
"He does not need demons for that," Miyasha shook her head as she fixed her glasses again, "A demon working under him, I don't know her name but she plays the Biwa, has the ability to not only control the movable base of the demons but can also make these small eyeball familiars that they are using to follow and track down our Headquarters."
The silence that followed after her words was of a much different type than before as the Hashiras realised what that could entail.
"Was that why you were against the training planning?" Oyakata-sama asked Miyasha, surprising everyone else listening to them, "Because that would make it easier for Muzan to find my residence?"
"Yes," she admitted simply, "Since the lower rank demon slayers would move from one place to another, it would be easier for those eyeball familiars to track down the Headquarters; if not that, then at least narrow down its location."
"Is that what happened in the book?"
"Yes," Miyasha stared at Oyakata-sama sitting beside her, "And you had already anticipated it as well, waiting for Muzan to arrive and possibly blast him away."
"Blast— what?" Sanemi almost stood up, "You mean there are explosives here?"
"Oyakata-sama planted it to trap Muzan and possibly weaken, if not kill, him," Miyasha answered.
The smile that spread on Oyakata-sama's lips was confirmation enough if not for what he asked after.
"Was I successful in it?"
"No," Miyasha firmly replied, "You weren't."
"Hm, should I not follow that plan, then?"
"I would suggest not to," her voice turned drier with each statement as she looked tiredly at the smiling Leader.
"Then what would you like me to do?"
There was a wave of anticipation in everyone as they waited for Miyasha to speak.
"Oyakata-sama," she started slowly, her face depicting her tiredness as she continued, "I have an idea, an advice, a suggestion and a theory. Which one would you like me to start with?"
Her question brought a new wave of emotions to everyone sitting there; the whole atmosphere felt surreal as a completely new topic and purview was introduced in front of the demon slayers.
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Heya!
I hope everyone is doing well!
I'm back with a bang and the chapter that I promised! It's a bit messy, this one, but I can't do anything about it since omniscient perspectives are always a pain.
Ironically enough, both my omniscient perspectives are of Hashira meetings and about thirty chapters apart, making it a strange coincidence on my end, lol.
》Taishou Secrets《
We know that Shinobu ships Miyasha with Giyuu but do you know that Mitsuri ships her with Rengoku? (And so does Uzui). And can you guess the other person who ships Miyasha with Giyuu quite a lot and is doing a lot in the background to push them together? Those who guessed Oyakata-sama, are right~!
And that's it for this chapter, folks! Please leave a vote and comment if you liked it or even if you didn't — your comments are what keeps me going!
Stay safe and stay healthy!