The night passed without any more drama. Akira and Kokushibo had managed to find lodging before the sun came up. It was a private inn and the inn keeper had luckily given them the one room that would be shielded from sunlight even during the day.

Akira sighed in relief as she sat on the bed, the heavy curtains blocking out the sunlight. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The events of the last few days had taken their toll on her, and she just wanted to rest. But she knew that she could not relax completely.

She had a strange suspicion that last night wasn't going to be the last she would see of Muzan.

She knew that he was far from done with her, and that he would continue to pursue her until he got what he wanted. She felt a sense of dread, a sense of foreboding, as she tried to sleep. But sleep had eluded her, her mind filled with thoughts of Muzan and what he might do next. She had tossed and turned the entire night, her restlessness growing with each passing minute.

When the sun had risen she had decided to do a little exploring of the town they had come to to maybe ease her mind.

"Koku-san, I think I will do a little exploring, maybe even play some music for a little money. Will you be fine here on your own?" She asked him with a gentle smile.

"It's fine, Akira. Be safe." He replied as he gave her a gentle kiss.

With that she set out on her merry way. The town was a calm place with people moving about in their business. Everyone seemed happy and content. She could see herself living there for a while.

"I wonder if I can find someplace to play my music." She thought happily as she went around exploring.

She met a pleasant old couple who invited her to play her music by their stall. They were a pleasant pair and as she played, they told her stories about how they met and fell in love.

"I remember Tamami played hard to get back in the day." The old man said as he gave his wife a playful pinch on her cheek.

"Oh Izana, you were all but a player back in the day." Tamami said with a chuckle. "Unlike that sweet young man who always comes by to buy medicine from us, what's his name again?"

"Hm, I think he said his name was Tsunahisa." Izana said thoughtfully.

"Isn't he coming today?" Tamami asked .

"Yes he is, in fact. Should be any minute now." Izana replied.

Akira merely looked from one to the other wondering what they were talking about.

"You know, I think that handsome young gentleman is right about your age." Tamami suddenly said to her with a mischievous smile.

"Oh no no, I'm actually with someone." Akira said with a blush.

"Oh my dear, don't discount the young man before you see him!" The old lady continued.

Akira merely laughed, amused by how they were already trying to match her with someone. She found it sweet and endearing. It kind of reminded her of her own parents.

She suddenly sensed as someone stopped right next to her.

"Oh there you are Tsunahisa! We were just talking about you." Tamami said to the stranger.

"Oh is that so? Sorry, I am a little late today." Akira heard a male baritone voice respond.

She turned her head slightly to see this new face. The first thing she saw was long spiky waist length black to burgundy tipped hair. There was something about him that seemed familiar but she didn't know what it was until he turned to face her.

"Oh hello." He said in greeting as he gave her a smile.

Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up at him. She had only guessed at it before but now looking up at him there was no doubt about it. He looked like Kokushibo even if he was human.

"Oh look she's speechless." She heard Tamami said with a giggle.

The stranger in front of her merely laughed at this before he turned back to them.

"I'll be taking the usual herbs, Tamami -san, Izana-san." He continued as he handed them a pouch of money.

"Right away dear." Tamami replied as she began packing up his package.

Akira merely stood there not knowing what to say or do. She didn't know how to react. At the same time she was so curious about this man who looked so much like her demon lover. Was it mere coincidence? Were they related? The only way to find out would be to get to know more about him.

"You seemed to have gotten quite a lot of supplies today. Won't you be coming back here for a while?" She heard Izana ask.

"Well winter will be upon us soon. I won't be coming over here as usual. Plus you two need to keep warm and take care of yourselves." Tsunahisa replied with a smile.

"Oh you're so considerate." Tamami said. "But how will you carry all that back up the mountain?"

"I'll be fine." He replied. "This is nothing, really."

"Oh you're so stubborn." Tamami said with a pout before she turned to Akira with a cheeky smile. "Maybe you can help him dear."

"Me? Uhm..." Akira stuttered.

"That's really not necessary."  Tsunahisa said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, actually, I wouldn't mind." Akira suddenly said.

This made Tsunahisa look at her in surprise.

"Really? That's really not necessary." He said.

"It's fine." She said as she shook her head. "I wanted to see more of the town before. I'll only help you out till the edge of town."

She wasn't sure why she volunteered herself. Maybe it was curiosity. She wanted to know more about this man, wanted to understand why he looked so much like her lover. Maybe it was nothing but she wanted to know.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." Tsunahisa replied with a smile.

Tamami and Izana shared a secret smile as they watched them walk away.

"So you live up on the mountain?" Akira asked as they walked together.

"Yes." He really replied with a smile. "You really don't have to accompanye, you know?"

"It's fine. I was actually curious about something." She confessed. "See, you look so much like somebody else I know."

This made him regard her with curiosity.

"Really? That's interesting." He said with a smile. "I've always heard that that can happen but I've never really met anyone who looked like me. Except maybe my brother."

As he spoke he suddenly had a sad smile on his face.

"You have a brother?" Akira asked him curiously.

"I had one. But that was a long time ago." He replied sadly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Akira said.

"Oh it's fine." He said, smiling cheerfully at her once again. "Well, it's a bit of a walk to the mountain top. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not." She replied cheerfully.

They continued to walk along the path towards the mountain. She learnt a lot of things about Tsunahisa. He had been raised by monks by the temple at the top of the mountain but he wasn't exactly a monk.

They shared many stories and she got to learn about him but none of these stories he told her solved the biggest mystery - how it was he looked so much like Kokushibo.

It took close to an hour before they reached the mountain top. Like he had said, a temple stood proud and glorious underneath the sunlight.