━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Chapter 19 ━☂

❁ཻུ۪۪ ━ ❝ Future encounters

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Nightfall rolled in with a few wisps of clouds littering the sky, few of them covering the differing sizes of the twinkling stars winking from up above, both the moon and the stars beaming warmly down at the walking figure, the boy's posture rigid with his head drooped to the side, his expression glum.

Hours have passed since (Y/n) last saw Tanjiro when they parted ways to their divergent missions, and to say that he didn't miss his presence was a lie, for he genuinely longed to have a pair of friendly eyes to look up at him in content as conversation was made of fond things, but the only living being near him at the moment was Sho, but that loveable crow was too busy sleeping away his flying tiredness from traveling all those hours.

Sighing, (Y/n) glimpsed down at his comrade and smiled affectionately at Sho. Moving his hand to caress Sho's head, said crow snuggled closer to the tender hand in his sleep, this making (Y/n) silently chuckle in amusement. Looking away from the dozing crow (Y/n) recalled the discussion that he had with the ex-demon-sama who he murdered only a few hours ago with his blade. Sudden and painless, (Y/n) made sure it wasn't much discomfort to deal with for the demon-sama.

Though his words... they didn't leave his thoughts for a second after parting ways with Tanjiro and Nezuko-chan.

(Y/n) was positive that he didn't have any jealous thoughts against Tanjiro, he was certain of it. Though demon-sama had to claim otherwise, for even when his comments seemed to spew nothing but witless lies, (Y/n) found some truth in those words.

Did he truly envy his dearest friend—his only friend, now—Tanjiro?

Of course not! He thought, but the consistent measuring of himself to Tanjiro was noticeable. (Y/n) did think Tanjiro better than him. Tanjiro was faster than him and swifter with stable responses. Tanjiro also knew how to better use his keen sense with smell to detect incoming threats or anything at all better than himself.

'I wonder, how long has Tanjiro been training for? I bet it was longer than mine, with him being so quick and powerful and all.' Smiling sadly to himself, his thoughts drifted over to Kazumi—the one who lost his fiancee one pleasant night because of a—now killed, demon.

'Kazumi-san must have thought of me as pathetic; requiring the aid of someone else to slay a weaker demon. I almost got killed by one of them if it wasn't because of Tanjiro's interference and him defending me, so I have thought to thank him. I am in his dept, after all. Kazumi-san must have thought at that moment—"Oh, how pathetic. Someone who was prepared to assassinate needs the support of someone far better than him—than that Katsuo (Y/n)"'

'If my Sensei saw that, what would he think of me then? A pathetic, no-good student? Someone who can do nothing at all, and is better off remaining in bed? The gods—oh, the gods—they definitely saw that!' Frowning heavier at the realization, (Y/n) slapped his cheek brutally with his hand, the nauseated feeling of having allowed himself to be weaker than someone in something seared his heart.

'I must be nothing in their eyes! A boy, taught by one of the finest teachers out there, bested by someone else! I'm so wretched—and Tanjiro must think so, too.' Tears fell down his cheeks before quickly slapping himself once more, his flaming cheek color identical to that of his hands glow. 'I can't believe I was so weak, to be bested by someone else. Yet I have the audacity to get jealous of someone else and not think about how to get better! Pathetic!'

"From this point on, I'll become the best I can—no—the greatest Demon Slayer ever! Then, I'll be able to stop Muzan and all the other demons and make the gods, and my Sensei, proud!" Pumping his fist into the air, (Y/n) grinned broadly to himself as his sudden outburst scared and awoke Sho, startling him off as he shot up high away from (Y/n).

"Caw! Master!"

Recognizing what he's done (Y/n) stopped walking and smiled apologetically up at his companion, knowing that he's overlooked that he was relaxing on his head. "Sorry about that, Sho! Just got a little too... excited at getting better with demon-killing, is all." Catching himself from lying, (Y/n) bit the inside of his cheek to disciple himself from how close he was to lying. As a child, he was always told to never lie, so how could he possibly disobey that?

"Master! Caw! Chiharu!"

Widening his eyes in revelation, (Y/n) looked forward once more only to recognize the lit-up city of Chiharu. Red lights were seen from far-off as they glowed with grandeur, enlightening the synchronizing colors from all around the city that also paired the same crimson spectrum. Buildings rose high and towered over the people below as it was decorated out with decorations, all of them some kind of red coloration.

From (Y/n) point of view, all that he could see were the towering buildings of Chiharu and the recurring theme of red pasted all over the city grounds. Smiling cheerfully at the new people and new foods that he would come across (Y/n) began his walking and speed it up, almost running with how thrilling the city looked to him.

"The City of Chiharu... I wonder what it's like!"

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Well, to put it simply, the renowned City of Chiharu was not what (Y/n) expected at all. In fact, if you ever made him guess what the city was most well known for, he would have never got it right.

City of Chiharu: The City of Pleasure.

Enormous crowds rumbled up and down the extensive and lengthy streets of Chiharu as characters with unfamiliar faces and varied articles of clothing intermingled together. Rich and poor, both not minding who they were with, for they all had the same purpose for even being there: to get their insides scrambled.

(Y/n) was in the middle of everything; the middle of the crowd, I mean, and to say that he wasn't distressed would just be a lie, for he would like nothing more than to leave and never come back. Left and right, wherever he looked (Y/n) could see people making out and doing things that would make people yell, "Get a room!"—but this was the City of Pleasure, and no one cared where you did it as long as it wasn't on their food.

Covering his eyes the best he could with his long hair, (Y/n) struggled to avoid anyone with lustful eyes or who was currently making out with their companion of their choosing, which was somewhat working on his part.

Though the city was beyond charming and had numerous things to visit and cite-see, most of those things were brothels and such—and if (Y/n) wandered too far away he would have found himself in the Red-Light District that was far worse than where he was now in his conclusion.

Gulping down his displeasure (Y/n) shuddered in revulsion as dozens of people looked at him in lust and yearning as he walked by hastily. While (Y/n) was young—and many people liked that there in the City of Chiharu—he was also beyond beautiful and alluring, his looks beyond limit; and everyone wanted to put that beneath them in the City of Chiharu, some even on top of them—or both.

'God's, please help me!' Crying on the inside was what (Y/n) had been doing in the past couple of minutes that he's been in there, and at that point, he would have liked to get out of that place more than anything, but he knew he couldn't at the moment—he had a mission to finish.

Eluding the hand of an old man that went to snag his waist (Y/n) hastened his footsteps, hoping to find some kind of inn to shelter him for the night. Well, not shelter, but more like some place where he could have some time to recollect himself and get his nerves down for then he could finally jump on top of a building and scan the area without getting spotted, unlike now where everywhere that he went he was being checked out with needy eyes.

After a few more minutes of uninterrupted walking (Y/n) finally discovered an enormous, neon red letter of an inn that seemed to give rent for a cheap price. How would I know? Well, the architecture and condition of the building were straight horse-shit.

'Well, it's not like I'm going to be residing there for long, so the cheaper, the better!' Smiling optimistically at the newfound dwelling that would help him avoid the unrelenting eyeing that everyone was doing, (Y/n) ran his way through crowds as he made his way in front of the inn.

Going inside (Y/n) surveyed the check-in room only to find—to his astonishment—that it was a lot more tastefully adorned than the outside. Though it wasn't the most remarkable designs, it was certainly charming to the eye with lukewarm colors coating the walls and furniture. It was adequate for an inn with regularly given poor expectations.

Looking over to the front desk (Y/n) walked over to it and saw no one to his dissatisfaction. Even so, (Y/n) cried out for anyone who was there only for the sound of stumbling to turn into his response. Bewildered by the sound (Y/n) didn't think too much of it only to see a disheveled lady come out with her necktie wrapped around her neck, nowhere near where it should be. The lady's hair was all bungled up with some lipstick smudged across her mouth, though the lady didn't seem to mind it at all.

Smiling gently at the lady, (Y/n) went to open his mouth only for the hand of the woman to stop him. "Shut it, hot stuff. Here's a key, take it and fuck off." Throwing the frozen (Y/n) a key, the lady ran off back inside the room where she first came out from and took off her shoes, and so, the door closed as another crash was heard.

Standing there for a few seconds (Y/n) rigidly wandered away and down the hall and turned a left, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes wide as he inserted the key into the lock and twisted it, opening the door as he slid it open and later closed it behind him.

"What... what did I just interfere in?" Taking a minute to collect his thoughts (Y/n) shook his head, preferring to no longer think about the interaction that he had with the lady. Sighing (Y/n) put down the key on a small basket and walked over to the bed. Sitting down, (Y/n) eased out his hair and tied it in a ponytail.

'I shouldn't be thinking about such inappropriate stuff! It's not my business, so I suppose I should just forget about it. Besides...' Glancing up at the large and radiant moon that beamed its lights inside of his room, (Y/n) expression hardened. '... I'm here on a mission.'

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The night was cold and restless; the stars shining as they typically did with the moon as their leader, shining down upon the Earth. Though their light caught many, it didn't catch the running figure of a certain male as he jumped on top of buildings left and right, his speed unimaginable as the naked eye could never catch sight of them.

Though in the rare times that some moonlight caught his figure, his features could be presented. The man's hair was black from the root as it descended the owner's body until approaching the waist, and when it did, it could be seen that the tips were a green mint color. The owner's eyes were an opaque mint green—like his hair, only slightly dimmer. The man's expression was impassive, unsympathetic, and slightly whimsical, as if he was continually in the clouds, his mind elsewhere.

Proudly did his uniform remain as it shone seldom under the moonlight, and so fascinating did his sword flash as it was drawn out—killing the last demon.

Seething back his sword, the man's eyes looked back at the moon as he stood standing on top of a random building, the head of the demon rolling off the edge as it dropped to the ground, dissolving altogether.

The man huffed. His mission was complete.

"Caw! Your next mission destination: City of Chiharu! Caw!"

So, he turned around and sped off. The moon no longer reaching his flowing figure. The man was there. Others thought he could be touched, but when reached out for—their hand went through. Like mist.

That man's name was; Muichiro Tokito.

𑁍┊𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐑 ˎˊ˗

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ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴅᴀʏ/ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴍʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ!

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