To celebrate reaching many milestones on Quotev (700 hearts, 1k hearts, 2k+ hearts, 3k+ hearts (I straight up just added these every time the milestone was reached. That's how long this has been in my drafts and how long I planned to release it)) and many milestones on Wattpad (100k reads, 200k+ reads, 10k+ votes)! Here's to more to come in the future thanks to all of you!

This is purely a spinoff, non-canon chapter. It has no relation to the main story and it's just a little thing (i.e. what happens in the chapter stays in the chapter). Don't take things too seriously although it's a relatively serious chapter. I wrote it because I wanted to test out how a few other love interests would play out (as per a request from a reader. It was only one so if you're still reading this fic, you know who you are).

Severe manga spoilers for the entire chapter.

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Upper Moon One gazed into the reflection that stared back at him, six eyes unwavering in their mellow gaze.

I suppose I should change that.

With a blink, he now stared into a pair of soft dark purple eyes that were far too familiar to him. He quickly turned away from the mirror, unable to look into those eyes any longer.

Upper Moon One was not emotionless. He believed that what he felt was devotion towards his master and a small sense of comradeship with his fellow Upper Moons. He'd felt the traces of emotion he had as a human when looking into the mirror and saw his brother's face looking back. Or so he'd like to think. The truth was that nothing ever seemed to matter to him. His long life had dulled his emotions, and he couldn't bring himself to care about anything his master did fully. He couldn't tell the difference between jealousy, anger, and frustration. He couldn't tell whether his jealousy carried him forward to be stronger than his brother, or the anger of never being able to truly confront him, or the frustration of never being able to prove himself in the only way he knew he could.

Upper Moon One was tired. The five hundred-odd years he'd spent roaming this country had all been for the sake of his master. For his master, and for his own dreams. Every time he killed and ate humans, his brother's ghost would linger in the back of his mind, filling him with the anger that drove him to become a demon in the first place. The anger and the fear.

The fear of never being able to see the same sights his brother saw, the fear of his human body perishing before he could fully embrace the potential he had. He did not want to die before he became strong.

Upper Moon One was tired. Every hundred or so years, he'd become lethargic. For a brief instant in time, he'd wonder whether it was worth it. Was it worth becoming a demon? Was it worth killing humans? Was it worth serving that man?

These moments were fleeting, and in his immortal life, it was but a small second.

Whenever these occur, he'd disguise himself as a human and stay amongst them for the day. He'd see all the dark and dirty things the weak humans did to survive, and he'd feel reassured in his decision to become a demon. He'd feel proud of his strength and his dominion over those pathetic creatures. He'd feel proud of his demon blood and the power he possessed that these weak humans lacked. He'd feel proud that he followed the one man who could get rid of these pests and bring a world of powerful beings.

In these situations, it was the only thing he could do. Telling his master would result in death, and telling his inferiors would result in attempted insubordination. He could only tell himself that he was better than all those humans, that the only strongest one was now dead.

Kokushibo could only tell himself that Yoriichi had died and left him with a goal. A goal to reach the pinnacle of strength. A goal to finally beat his brother. All these years he'd spent chasing after a goal that was set far too high for him to reach, and a part of him still hadn't realized that fact.

The dullness inside him seemed to fade slightly as he neared a human village. Festival lights were strung up along tall wooden buildings, lanterns hanging just above his head. He could feel the heat of the humans, their blood pumping with fervor through their bodies. The craving for food hadn't struck him in a long time, and this night was no different. His senses were running haywire in the crowded area, but the time spent learning to not lose his sense of self helped him, and he approached a stall selling snacks.

These stalls were prone to robberies, fighting, and all sorts of trivial, desperate acts humans used to villainize themselves. It would show him that humans shouldn't be held in the same regard as demons, especially those like himself who have more of their leader's blood, those with greater strength and power than any human could imagine.

That was what he told himself as he approached it, but something else seemed to have drawn him to the stall. He couldn't tell what it was. All his eyes saw were humans clamoring for food. The sight reminded him of the many newly made demons he'd seen pouncing on a human.

Upper Moon One shook his head.

These humans do not have the strength of a demon. I can't compare the two.

As he neared, something caught his eye. The other humans around him had weak muscles and stamina, but one of them seemed to be relatively strong. Her muscles were well-developed, her lungs were strong, and she seemed to have an immense amount of stamina. She could have easily pushed away all those humans and gotten to the stall herself, but she remained near the back of the crowd, carefully navigating herself toward the center.

Why doesn't she push them away? She has the strength to get what she wants, so why does she conform to the humans?

He watched her for some more time. His height made it easy for him to peer over the heads of the other humans. It took another few minutes for the girl to get her snack, swiftly leaving the throngs of the crowd, holding the skewers tightly in her hand.

Ah, I see.

Her familiar body structure made him recall an unpleasant feeling.

She's a demon slayer.

Just as he'd noticed it, he glanced at her waist, surprised to see the absence of a sword. No doubt, she knew it was suicide not to carry her sword with her, especially in a crowded place during nighttime. Even he, Upper Moon One, was here and she was eating chicken skewers without a care in the world.

What a strange girl.

Upper Moon One knew that as a demon serving directly under that man, he had a duty to kill this demon slayer and prevent her from coming in the way of his future plans. But right now, he couldn't be bothered. He did not come here to kill. He didn't feel like drawing his sword on someone else. He came here for another task.

"Excuse me?" He blinked, looking down. The demon slayer girl was looking up at him, still chewing. "You were looking at me earlier. Can I help you?"

"No," He stated, "It was . . . a mistake." At his words, she blinked. He could see her heart start to beat faster. She couldn't have recognized him. His appearance accurately imitated a human's, and he was not carrying his sword, so there should be nothing to tip her off.

But even as her heart beat faster, it wasn't out of fear. He could see that she was not scared in the slightest, her limbs were steady, and her eyes were completely focused on him. It was like she was in shock.

What does she know?

None of the other demon slayers he'd met ever had this kind of reaction. Admittedly, he was in his demon form, but he suspected that even that wouldn't phase her.

Something this slayer knew made her react in this way.

Her heart started to calm and she let out a breath. "Anyway, do you want something?"

"No," He immediately replied. He wasn't really interested in eating human food. "I already ate."

"Don't be like that!" The girl protested, grabbing his arm and pulling him to another snack stall selling sweets. "My friend introduced me to these pretty recently. They're so good!"

He watched as the girl gazed at the sweets intensely, her eyes almost sparkling.

How could someone who put so much dedication into training their body be this easily distracted? Is she aware that I could kill her without a second thought at this very moment?

"Hey, what's your name?" She suddenly asked. "I'm (L/N) (Y/N)."

He stilled, looking away from the girl.

At his silence, the girl added, "You know what, never mind. Names are just words, right?" She grinned as the stall owner gave her the sweets and she paid for them. Then, holding the sleeve of his kimono, she pulled him through the crowds.

"Hey look! There's a parade!" He followed her finger to see a procession coming down the street. Humans moved to the side, several of them pushing him back, the girl moving a little bit closer with her grip on his clothes still tight. Music flared from the humans in the front, followed by costumed characters, dancers, and a small shrine.

He was silent for a moment.

"Why do they pray?"

Truthfully, he couldn't remember why humans had festivals like these. If they had time to pray to a god for a good harvest or more wealth, why not take it upon themselves to gain those things for themselves? Why did humans act like there was a higher being with more power to grant what they desire? If they wished for a good harvest, take care of the crops better. If they wished for more wealth, make smart financial choices.

Humans truly are groveling creatures.

"Well, I think it has to do with their mindset." He looked down at the girl, not expecting a reply. She watched the procession with the same eyes she looked at the sweets with, a small smile on her lips.

"Praying to someone else is like asking for someone else to solve your problems. Or no . . . maybe more like asking for someone who's more knowledgeable in the area for a hand. Like you don't know how to paint a picture, so you ask someone else for help and they happen to be a painter and they can help you. I think praying is just asking for help."

What an interesting perspective.

"But their gods do not exist. No one will come and help."

"That is true, but praying could also be a way for them to help themselves. Some people get the courage to face their problems themselves after praying, some people run into people who can help them solve their problems by chance, and some people gain the strength to endure their problems until they have the means to solve them." A small child wearing the mask of a goblin passed by the duo. He caught the girl's eye and she waved at him. The child saw her and started jumping in the bubbly excitement that all festivalgoers had, waving back enthusiastically. The boy quickly moved on with the rest of the procession and the girl put her hand down.

"Personally, I think praying gives them the hope that someday they'll be able to do the things they wish to do and the things they wish to have. People don't really like confronting the present, so they like the idea of good things happening in the future that they believe were deserved."

The procession died out, people crowding the streets once again, the girl pulling him. She momentarily looked back at him, her eyes darting over his face before smiling again.

"That was strangely deep. Forget about that, let's go have fun!"

He didn't know why he followed this girl around. He didn't know why he didn't kill her immediately. He didn't know why he watched her run around the street with food in her arms. He didn't why he started to share the smallest bites of food with her. He didn't know why he went against every order his master had given him. He didn't know why his thoughts on humans hadn't changed despite the hours he'd spent amongst them.

Upper Moon One didn't know why he had a strange feeling in his chest. He didn't know why he found himself wanting to ask the girl more questions. He didn't know why he found her so interesting.

The girl — a demon slayer who didn't carry around her sword at all times. The girl — who seemed completely oblivious that he was a demon. The girl — who looked at everything around her like they were the first things she'd ever seen in the world.

What was so special about her?

Truly, there was nothing he could think of off the top of his mind. Nothing about her stood out. The only reason he noticed her was that she was strong, but even among the demon slayers he'd met, compared to the Pillars he'd fought, it wasn't even that impressive.

What about her makes me want to stay with her?

"Do you know what that says?" She asked, pulling him to a sign. It was a sign advertising the fireworks that were scheduled to go off at seven o'clock.

Is she illiterate as well?

"Fireworks," He stated, and once again, her eyes lit up.

"Really? We have to watch them then! Where does it say they'll go off?" He looked at the sign again.

"The riverside."

"Great! Let's go quickly so we don't miss them!"

He followed the girl to the riverside. Many other people were already there and sitting on blankets and mats, chattering excitedly about the fireworks.

"I don't have a mat, but I hope it's alright," She stated before sitting on the damp grass, smoothening her clothes and gesturing for him to sit beside her. He haltingly sat beside her, his back stiff. He'd rarely sat on the bare ground before and it was uncomfortable to feel the moisture from the grass soaking through his clothes.

Is she comfortable with these things?

He glanced at her, seeing her resting her hands on the ground and looking up at the dark sky in anticipation.

Upper Moon One recalled the moment he saw her, patiently moving with the crowd until she reached her goal. Why did she not use her strength for her benefit? Why was she complacent? What was the point of her becoming strong if she couldn't use it to get what she wants?

"You are strong," He stated, "So why do you get pushed around?"

"I get pushed around?"

"You did not take what you wanted. You waited for it to be given to you. You have the strength to take it, so why didn't you?"

"You're saying that I'm strong, so I should take what I want." She hummed. "Well, maybe if that was my reason for becoming strong, I would have done that. But truthfully, that's not why I became strong."

Upper Moon One couldn't understand. She became strong, but not because she wanted things guarded by those stronger? She didn't become a demon slayer to become stronger? She didn't diligently train her body with the drive to take what she wanted, to be who she wanted to be? How would she have driven herself without those flames of envy?

"Then . . . why? Why did you become strong? What drove you to become this strong?"

The girl started to trace her fingers over her knee. "The reason why I became stronger was to protect the people I know and love. I know that they are going to face many hard times in the future, and I couldn't sit by their side knowing this. I had to do everything I could to ensure they all end up happy."

"But why did you train to protect their happiness? Why not your own?"

"Their happiness is my happiness. If I can protect their happiness, that will make me happy."

"Would you protect mine?" The question slipped out before he could stop it. He quickly turned his head away.

But how could he not ask? He met a demon slayer who doesn't fight to kill demons on pure hatred, who doesn't fight because they were handed the obligation, who doesn't fight because they wanted to get rid of 'blights'. He didn't know the last time he'd met a slayer with the same drive as her. He didn't know if he ever had.

The lethargy still existed in his bones. The tired ache of not wanting to draw blood, of not wanting more death. He became strong to become a samurai, to beat his brother, to be his brother. He did not want to become strong to just be the very thing his brother fought so hard to destroy. He did not want to become strong and be the type of person who would kill children for the sake of one man's fragile sense of security.

He did not want to become strong and do the opposite of what his brother would have done.

This made him wonder. Were a human's ambitions stronger than a demon's? Was this girl's drive to protect her loved ones stronger than that man's desire for a perfect world? If that man's ambitions were stronger, if his dreams were bigger, if he was right and the humans were wrong, why were they still fighting this war? Why was this thousand-year war not over? If his master was the supreme being with the power to crush bugs, why wasn't the Demon Slayer Corps not defeated?

If a demon's drive was stronger, why did the Corps not die off when he beheaded the head of the Corps hundreds of years ago? If they saw how easily a demon could defeat them, why were they not filled with dread? Why did they not give up? Why were they still fighting?

Was it possible that their drive was stronger? Could it be that a human's intense emotions made them feel more strongly? Did it give them the strength to continue to fight? Did it give them hope that they could defeat the demons? Did it give them strength and courage and hope?

Were their passions their god? Did they rely on their passions to solve their problems? Did their passions give them the drive they needed? Did it let them meet people who would help them? Did it give them the strength to endure?

Was a human's passion their faith?

Was his master wrong? Was Upper Moon One more human than he'd ever realized? Was his hope in the girl's answer stronger than the loyalty he felt towards his master?

"Would I protect your happiness?" The girl repeated. He didn't reply, staring at the river's dark waters, hoping that by not meeting her eyes, the girl couldn't tell just how much he relied on her answer to decide his own fate. Somehow, he knew that she was aware of his identity. Perhaps it was the constant glances at him, wary yet welcoming. Perhaps it was the way she stayed close to him throughout the night, the warmth and excitement of the festival making the human part of him wonder if he could dare to hope. The human part of him that cared for his human family (but clearly, not enough). Perhaps it was the way her words had seemed targeted to him, to the man almost five hundred years old, to the demon who was listlessly flowing along the stream of time, to the dream that he fruitlessly chased after.

The fact that she hadn't tried to attack, that she wasn't paralyzed with fear, that she still looked at him the same way as she did in the beginning, gave him the smallest, most desperate hope that she may be different.

"I would," She replied without hesitation. "We've only known each other for a few hours, but I'll remember these conversations forever. I'll remember the man at the festival and I'll wonder how he's doing. I'll wonder if he's happy at his job, if he's eating well, if he's safe, and if he's surrounded by people he loves and cares for. When I think of these things, I want to protect that." She turned to him and looked straight into his eyes. "I want to protect your happiness. I will protect your happiness."

Kokushibo had lived his life with a weight on his heart. His brother's strength in life and his overwhelming presence in death, his master's almost passionless drive, and his juniors' blind loyalty to such a man. A man who couldn't accomplish something in one thousand years that had taken humans far weaker just a few decades.

Would Yoriichi feel this way?

Would his brother have felt this weight? Would he have let such a relieved sigh escape his lips? Would he have listened to this girl with such feelings?

No . . .

His brother would have listened to this girl with every feeling he felt and more. He would have empathized with her, conversed more about her drives, and maybe even teach her more. Yoriichi would have been someone this girl could easily look up to. But now, he was the only one with these feelings. Ultimately, these were his own feelings. His brother was not here to do things in his place.

All that was left was Michikatsu, and he decided that he was okay with that.

Maybe following (L/N) would bring him closer to his brother. Who knows what would happen? Whatever it may be, he looked forward to it.

A low whistling filled the air as a streak of fire rose into the sky.

"Oh!" (L/N) brightened, turning to the sky once more. "It's starting!"

With a resounding bang, red sparks erupted. (L/N)'s face was briefly illuminated in bright red before they faded. He turned to see the rest of the fireworks. He'd seen these while he was human, but for some reason, they never felt the same as they did now. Watching them as a child felt different compared to watching them with (L/N) now.

"My name . . ." He started, watching the fireworks with his eyes that saw more than just his previous master's orders, saw beyond the animosity between humans and demons, that saw a new light within humans.

". . . Is Michikatsu."

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Bonus Scene:

Around the time the fireworks started — Yoriichi sat at the base of a tree, staring at the lights radiating from the celebrating festival. His eyes were blank as he waited for the sounds of commotion, of shrieks and screams, of panic and chaos. But no matter how much time passed, all he heard were the sounds of laughter and excitement.

"It can't be . . . "

Yoriichi never wanted to see his brother commit such heinous acts, but he could do nothing to stop him. He'd left too soon for his brother to follow. In the beginning, he wanted to stay by his side no matter what, but even as a ghost, the passage of time eroded what was left of his soul. In the end, while his estranged brother rampaged across human villages, killing indiscriminately Yoriichi would distance himself until he felt that his brother had calmed down.

But this time was different. For one reason or another, his brother hadn't destroyed the village. He decided to look for him, finding him on the riverbanks sitting next to a demon slayer. They were peacefully chatting and Yoriichi could not detect a hint of blood lust or hunger from his brother.

Perhaps that girl is the solution.

Taisho Secrets:

— You didn't let Kokushibo go away on his own because you weren't sure what he was going to do, so you wanted to keep an eye on him even if you couldn't do anything to fight him

— The author never knew that they'd ever do a festival chapter even as a special chapter and partly cringes, but they're still happy with the way it turned out

— Bearnice went to the forest while you were at the festival and collected some food for your travels. She even caught a few rabbits and small animals, but the Wisteria house you were staying at wouldn't let her in with the blood on her, so she gave them the catch and went to wash up in the river and saw you with Kokushibo. She then stayed there until the two of you went on your separate ways and playfully ambushed you on your way back

— To any readers who have read/watched Spy X Family, the author asks you to relate the difference in (Y/N)'s personality in Kokushibo's perspective to how Anya looks very different in Damian's perspective because it seems very funny and very accurate to them

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