Emergency Mission

The days at the Wisteria House passed amid the bustle of a delicate balance. Sunlight filtered through the lush Wisteria trellis, casting dappled shadows and bathing the peaceful courtyard in warmth, yet it could not entirely dispel the exhaustion and tension that had built up in the boys' hearts after their successive battles.

Moyu sat cross-legged beneath the eaves, his eyes half closed. He appeared to be resting, but in truth, he was keeping his Six Eyes active at the bare minimum, observing the flow of Breathing Cursed Energy within his body. His battle with Kyogai had given him a slightly different understanding of how to combine Azure Flow Breathing with Limitless. His fingertips traced absent patterns in the air, simulating minute changes in the energy's structure as he sought to control every fraction of his power to the utmost.

In the center of the courtyard, Tanjiro meticulously practiced his Water Breathing sword swings. Sweat soaked his bangs, and he aimed for precision with every stroke, sending a steady whistle through the air. The wooden box rested in the shade nearby. Nezuko seemed to have caught her brother's diligence: the lid was slightly ajar, and her clear pink eyes followed Tanjiro's movements intently. Whenever he performed a particularly beautiful move, she would occasionally rock the box gently and let out a faint "mm-mm" of encouragement.

"Aah! Ow, ow, ow! Easy, Tanjiro! I'm seriously injured!" Zenitsu Agatsuma cried, grimacing. Tanjiro had just finished changing the dressing on his arm. Although his flesh wounds had mostly healed, Zenitsu still habitually exaggerated his pain, particularly in the hope of catching the attention of a certain girl in a box. Unfortunately, Nezuko spent most of her time asleep or watching her brother and showed no reaction to his little trick.

"Zenitsu, your wound has healed very well. I'm just changing the dressing," Tanjiro said with a helpless smile, his movements still gentle. He had great patience for this companion, who was timid but unexpected at critical moments.

"Hmph! Useless blond weakling! You won't stop whining over a tiny scratch!" Inosuke Hashibira stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a pillar. His bright gaze beneath the boar mask rested mostly on Moyu under the eaves. With the help of the Wisteria House's highly effective medicine and his own robust constitution, his injuries had nearly healed, but the sight of Moyu defeating him so effortlessly was etched into his bones. A flame of defiance burned in his chest, almost beyond his control.

Suddenly, Inosuke moved. With a low growl like a real wild boar, he pushed off with both feet and charged straight at Moyu! Instead of using his Nichirin Blades, he relied on his beastlike instincts and his recovered strength, driving a straight punch at Moyu's face with a fierce rush of wind.

"Take this, blue-eyes! No swords this time!"

Tanjiro and Zenitsu both jumped at the sudden attack. "Inosuke! Stop messing around!"

Yet Moyu did not even open his eyes in the face of the swift assault. Through the perception of his Six Eyes, Inosuke's trajectory, the points where he exerted force, and even the airflow stirred by his punch were perfectly clear. Moyu merely tilted his head slightly, and Inosuke's fist brushed past his hair by a hair's breadth. At the same time, Moyu raised his left hand in an apparently casual motion, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and struck precisely at Inosuke's wrist joint, while his charge still carried him forward but his old strength was spent and his new strength had yet to rise.

"Thump!"

With a muffled impact, Inosuke felt a subtle, irresistible force travel up from his wrist. His entire arm went numb in an instant, his forward momentum was forcibly halted, and he lost his balance and stumbled forward. Only then did Moyu open his eyes and gently press his right elbow down, placing it squarely against Inosuke's back.

"Thud!"

Inosuke landed face-first in the dirt, raising a small cloud of dust.

"Aah! What's gotten into you this time, Boar's Head?!" Zenitsu cried, jumping back a step.

Tanjiro hurried over. "Inosuke, are you all right?"

Inosuke lay on the ground and grunted twice before scrambling to his feet and brushing the dirt off himself. His boar mask had shifted slightly, and the eyes visible beneath it held no anger, only an even fiercer fighting spirit and a trace of confusion. "Damn it! Why can't I hit you?! Your movements don't even look fast!"

Moyu closed his eyes again. "Fighting isn't about brute force. Your instincts and Breathing Style are good, but you lack control and variation. Once your injuries heal, spend more time practicing the basics and adapting your Breathing Style instead of wasting your strength on pointless brawling."

"Mind your own business! I'll find a way to beat you!" Inosuke roared, his neck stiff. This time, however, he did not immediately charge again. Instead, he walked to one side, picked up his twin blades, and began practicing and pondering his movements, as though he really were thinking about Moyu's words.

The little incident caused no great stir; everyone seemed to have grown used to it. Tanjiro shook his head and resumed tending to Zenitsu's "serious injuries." Zenitsu, meanwhile, enjoyed Tanjiro's care while stealing glances at Nezuko's wooden box.

Moyu appeared calm, but he was thinking about something else. He silently retrieved the special test tube containing a blood sample from Kyogai, the Former Lower Rank Six, from his system space. The sample was dark red inside the vacuum-sealed crystal tube, with a faint, unusual sheen flowing through it. The concentration of Muzan's blood within it was far beyond anything found in an ordinary demon.

How should I get this to Miss Tamayo? Moyu thought. He remembered that in the original story, Yushiro's Blood Demon Art could control animals and even create illusions. He concentrated and, using the superhuman perception of his Six Eyes, tried to send an extremely faint mental wave of a particular frequency into his surroundings. This was the method of contact Tamayo had quietly told him about when they parted, based on her unique understanding of souls and spiritual energy.

A moment later, a stray cat slipped silently into the courtyard, its coat entirely black and its eyes unusually lively, as though they held humanlike intelligence. Avoiding the others' notice, it came to Moyu's feet and rubbed against him affectionately.

Moyu looked down, and his Six Eyes confirmed that a very faint layer of Blood Demon Art energy from the same source as Yushiro's clung to the cat. He quickly wrapped the test tube in a piece of oilcloth he had prepared beforehand and tied it beneath the black cat's collar. The cat meowed, then turned and disappeared nimbly into the shadows by the courtyard wall, as though it had understood.

I hope it can help with the research, Moyu thought.

Not long after he sent the black cat away, Inosuke was still wrestling with his twin blades, Zenitsu had begun complaining that he was hungry, and Tanjiro was preparing to go to the kitchen to help make dinner when—

"Caw! Caw!"

Urgent caws shattered the courtyard's peace. The Kasugai Crow responsible for delivering orders beat its wings and swooped down like a bolt of black lightning, landing precisely on the open ground in front of everyone.

"Emergency mission! Emergency mission! Northeast, northeast, Mount Natagumo! An unusual demon has appeared on Mount Natagumo! Several Demon Slayer Corps members sent to investigate have lost contact, including Kanoe-ranked members! The situation is critical! Mizunoto-ranked members Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, and Moyu are ordered to proceed to Mount Natagumo immediately to investigate and rescue any survivors if possible! Proceed immediately! Caw!"

The mission orders were like ice water poured into hot oil, instantly freezing the atmosphere in the courtyard.

"Mount Natagumo?!" Tanjiro's expression turned grave. He immediately thought of the comrades who might be in danger, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

"Lost c-contact?! Even Kanoe-ranked members?!" Zenitsu's face went deathly pale. All his earlier complaints of hunger vanished, and his voice took on a tearful edge. "We're done for! A demon even Kanoe-ranked members can't handle! Won't we just be going there to die?! I'm not going! Absolutely not! We'll die! We'll really die this time! I'm not even married yet!"

"Shut up, blond weakling!" Inosuke, on the other hand, grew excited. He snatched up his twin blades, his eyes gleaming with belligerence beneath his boar mask. "A powerful demon? Perfect! I'll go chop it to pieces! Wahahaha!"

Nezuko also seemed to sense the tense atmosphere from inside her wooden box and let out a soft, uneasy hum. Tanjiro hurried over and gently patted the box. "It's all right, Nezuko. We'll be careful."

Moyu took in everyone's reactions. His expression remained as unruffled as ever, but a trace of profound gravity flashed deep in his Azure-blue eyes.

Mount Natagumo... Lower Rank Five, Rui.

He silently repeated the name to himself. In the original story, it was the scene of Tanjiro and the others' first true encounter with a demon of the Twelve Kizuki's Lower Rank—a brutal battlefield they had only managed to survive with great difficulty and at tremendous cost. The Kasugai Crow's information was clearly incomplete, or rather, the Demon Slayer Corps had yet to realize the true strength of the demon entrenched there. It was certainly not something ordinary members could handle.

Lower Rank Five, Rui, who can control spiders and blood threads, and his twisted "family"... Moyu's mind raced as he recalled the relevant information. He's far stronger than Kyogai, and his abilities are bizarre. In the mountains and woods, especially, he has the advantage of the terrain... It looks like this won't be easy to resolve.

He glanced at Zenitsu, who was still wailing, Inosuke, who was itching to fight, and Tanjiro, whose face was full of worry but whose gaze was resolute.

Having delivered its orders, the Kasugai Crow gave another shrill cry and flew away, leaving a heavy silence behind.

Moyu slowly stood, flexed his wrists, and calmly walked to his room to begin packing.

Seeing Moyu already packing calmly, the loudly agitated Zenitsu gradually quieted down, and the restless Inosuke unconsciously stopped swinging his blades. Even Tanjiro took a deep breath, suppressed the anxiety in his heart, and silently began preparing his gear.

"Hey... Moyu," Zenitsu said in a low voice, unable to hold back. His voice was still trembling. "Aren't... aren't you afraid? Even Kanoe-ranked members..."

Moyu stopped what he was doing and looked up at him, his Azure-blue eyes as deep as an abyss. "Afraid? Would that help?"

Zenitsu was at a loss for words.

Moyu continued, "The Demon Slayer Corps' duty is to slay demons. Since the order has been given, all we can do is prepare, then do everything we can to stay alive and complete the mission. Besides, other members are waiting for us to rescue them. If we get there sooner, we might save a few more lives!" His gaze swept over Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. "Pack your things and check your preparations. We leave in fifteen minutes."

There was no rousing speech, no detailed assignment of tactics, only brief, calm orders. Yet that composure strangely soothed everyone's anxious hearts. Tanjiro nodded firmly. "Right!" Inosuke grunted and began gathering his few belongings. Although Zenitsu wore a miserable expression, he still scrambled to pack while muttering, "We're going to die."

Tanjiro carefully hoisted the wooden box containing Nezuko onto his back and softly reassured his sister inside. Nezuko seemed to understand that they were about to set out and quieted down. Only the box swayed slightly with Tanjiro's movements.

(My thoughts are a little muddled. Maybe I'll follow the plot through the Butterfly Mansion, then have the protagonist mostly solo from there, cutting his way from one end of the village to the other.)