Inside the simple, rather cramped yet cozy little thatched cottage, Shi served Muzan and Yoriichi tea, then sat beside Yoriichi, leaning against him with her heavily pregnant belly.
Muzan: Burp~
His son had stolen away the precious girl he had raised, then taken her along when he "ran away from home." Although Muzan had known all this long ago, seeing Shi's swollen belly still pained him.
So he simply smacked Yoriichi on the head.
"That's for going after Shi!"
Yoriichi did not think it hurt, but he ducked his head anyway.
Shi smiled, then asked in confusion, "What exactly happened?"
Muzan could not be bothered to explain. He glanced at Yoriichi, signaling for him to tell her.
Yoriichi explained what had happened, and Shi nodded.
"So, Yoriichi, you've become a demon like Lord Muzan now?"
"Yes."
A little worried, Yoriichi could not help wrapping his arms around Shi from behind.
Muzan glared at him, then turned to Shi.
"How about I give you some of my blood too?"
"No." Shi shook her head. "I don't want to become a demon."
Muzan pressed her. "Because demons have to eat people and fear sunlight?"
"Yes." Shi nodded.
"Then you have nothing to worry about!" Muzan said with a smile. "We've already found the Blue Spider Lily. We don't need to eat people anymore, and sunlight no longer hurts us."
With that, Muzan looked at Shi expectantly, his meaning clear: Come on! Let's all become demons!
Unexpectedly, Shi shook her head again. "No, thank you."
"Why?!"
Muzan immediately pressed her. He did not understand. Was this not essentially eternal life? Why would she turn it down?
You look down on demons, is that it?!
Shi explained.
"I just want to spend my life peacefully with Yoriichi, living by his side."
As she spoke, she gazed tenderly into Yoriichi's eyes, a gentle, contented smile curling her lips.
Muzan was momentarily speechless. Motherfucker!
Smack!
Muzan slapped Yoriichi again, glared at him, and stood up.
"Go enjoy your cozy little life together!"
Yoriichi rubbed his head and smiled awkwardly, watching Muzan disappear with a slightly sheepish look.
Four years later.
The people originally assigned to live near Yoriichi's home had already left. Only Yoriichi's and Sumiyoshi's families remained in that little clearing in the forest.
Nearly every demon had either taken the Blue Spider Lily or received Muzan's blood, and they no longer feared sunlight.
Yoriichi still lived happily with Shi. Muzan dropped by from time to time, bringing snacks or other things. After Yoriichi recovered, Tsugikuni Michikatsu was no longer under threat either.
The mere Demon Slayer Corps could not possibly threaten him!
He began wandering from place to place, studying swordsmanship and, whenever he happened across Half-Demons, killing them for Muzan.
He became a renowned wandering samurai.
One day, Tsugikuni Michikatsu arrived near Yoriichi's home.
Beneath the golden sunset, he saw three houses standing quietly in the clearing, their roofs gleaming in the sunlight. He spotted Shi sitting beneath the eaves, her head lowered as she concentrated on sewing something. An unfamiliar woman beside her was also sewing.
Two small children played noisily in front of them.
His footsteps alerted them. The children stopped playing and looked over along with their mothers.
Surprise flashed across Shi's face. Then she stood, smiling as she waved to Michikatsu and called out.
"Michikatsu-!"
Tsugikuni Michikatsu was invited inside. He took a sip of tea, set down his cup, and asked Shi.
"Where's Yoriichi?"
Sitting across from him, Shi looked through the window toward the forest, smiling as though she could see Yoriichi there.
"He went to chop firewood. He'll be back this evening, so it shouldn't be long. Stay for dinner too."
"All right. Sorry for the trouble."
That evening, as Yoriichi shoveled food into his mouth, he heard Michikatsu say,
"I recently heard that anyone who awakens a Demon Slayer Mark dies before twenty-five. You were the first to awaken one, so I wanted to ask whether there's any way to live past twenty-five."
Shi, who had just sat down, could not help looking at Yoriichi, then turned a worried gaze toward Michikatsu.
Yoriichi frowned and shook his head. "I don't know either. But perhaps we could ask Muzan."
Michikatsu looked at Yoriichi. "Do you have a way to contact him?"
Over the past few years, Michikatsu had barely seen Muzan. He had been busy improving his swordsmanship and could no longer get in touch with Nakime either.
"Muzan can sense my thoughts, but he won't necessarily notice..."
Before he could finish, a figure suddenly appeared before them.
"Hey! Looking for me?"
All three: "..."
Tsugikuni Michikatsu could not resist a jab. "You're the mighty Demon King. Do you really come whenever someone calls?"
"Oh, come on. Is it wrong to care about my son?"
Yoriichi: "..."
Well, as long as he's here.
Michikatsu was about to get down to business, but Muzan interrupted him again.
Muzan pulled over a little stool and sat down.
"There isn't really any way to live past twenty-five. That mark borrows power from heaven by spending your lifespan. It's like a candle-you burn yourself up."
Tsugikuni Michikatsu's face fell. "There really is no other way?"
Muzan shrugged. "How about I give you some of my blood?"
Tsugikuni Michikatsu looked conflicted, but when he remembered that Yoriichi had already become a demon, he knew he absolutely could not die before him. Instantly making up his mind, he nodded decisively.
"Give me your blood."
Muzan: I knew it!
With Yoriichi already a demon, how could Tsugikuni Michikatsu refuse to become one?
"Sure."
To keep Tsugikuni Michikatsu from rolling around on the floor in pain and wrecking Yoriichi's little home, Muzan hauled him off to the Infinity Castle.
Michikatsu had barely stepped onto the wooden floor when Muzan plunged a finger into his head.
Pain!!!!
Ignoring Michikatsu's face as it contorted in agony, Muzan leisurely withdrew his finger and watched Tsugikuni Michikatsu roll around on the floor.
What Muzan could not understand, however, was why Tsugikuni Michikatsu grew four more eyes after becoming a demon.
Muzan watched those four eyes emerge on his face. So weird...
He could also tell that, despite now having six eyes, Tsugikuni Michikatsu adapted almost instantly, as though it were perfectly natural.
At the same time, countless blades sprouted from his body. Veins bulged all over him, and low, agonized growls rose from his throat.
Nakime was already used to such sights and calmly practiced her biwa.
After a while, Tsugikuni Michikatsu finally made it through. All the blades protruding from his body retracted, and he looked at Muzan, still shaken.
"Could you stop stabbing me in the head...?"
"I do what I like. If you're done, hurry up and change."
As he spoke, Muzan tossed him a set of clothes.
Tsugikuni Michikatsu's clothes had been pierced into tatters, leaving parts of him exposed.
He caught the clothes and looked down at himself. His expression unchanged, he took the outfit Muzan had given him into a room, changed, and came back out.
Muzan smiled.
"Now that you're a demon, how about I give you a name?"
Tsugikuni Michikatsu looked at him expressionlessly. "There's no need."
"From now on, you're Kokushibo," Muzan declared, ignoring him.
Tsugikuni Michikatsu: "..."
"Your situation is different from Yoriichi's," Muzan explained, having heard Tsugikuni Michikatsu's thoughts and confusion.
"Yoriichi's still living his cozy little life with his wife, so why change his name? But you've outright left home to devote yourself to the martial arts. It wouldn't be right to keep carrying the Tsugikuni family name, would it?"
Tsugikuni Michikatsu, now Kokushibo, did not particularly care. He stopped dwelling on it and nodded, feeling that there was perhaps a tiny bit of sense in that.
Then, remembering that he still intended to travel, Kokushibo considered the trouble three pairs of eyes might cause and disguised himself as an ordinary human.
If that scumbag boss can turn from a man into a woman, hiding a few eyes is a piece of cake for me, Kokushibo.
Before you continue