Asakusa.
Madam Tamayo extracted the blood and exclaimed, "I didn't expect Aoki to get Upper Moon blood so quickly."
Yushiro said sourly, "He actually did pretty well."
"This will speed up the poison production again."
Anticipation filled Tamayo's beautiful face.
The Upper Moon blood had a very high concentration of Muzan's blood.
She took out her microscope and got back to work.
...
Meanwhile, Aoki had started wandering.
Traveling by day, hunting demons by night.
He had no specific goal.
When he heard rumors of demons, he rushed to check them out.
Sometimes he found something, but mostly he found nothing.
This was partly because the rumors were wrong, and partly because the demons were already taken care of.
He had a strong rival: the Demon Slayer Corps.
Aoki could only grit his teeth.
He was gathering information alone, which was nothing compared to the Demon Slayers.
Time flew, and two months passed quickly.
Shiroi was a small, plain town.
That day, a dusty figure in a bamboo hat came to town.
Aoki looked at the peaceful streets and smiling people, and sighed, "Doesn't feel like demons are here."
Two months, a full two months, and he hadn't even leveled up once.
This feeling was familiar and strange.
It was familiar from his "Hunter" class days.
Back then, he often couldn't level up for two months.
But his "Aberrant Demon" class had leveled up fast, reaching level 12 in about three months, like a rocket.
After getting used to that speed, going back to the old way felt strange and painful.
"I thought I'd get feasts, but I'm barely getting scraps."
Aoki looked sad.
He walked around town, found a sake shop, and gave the owner his demon sake gourd.
"Boss, I heard rumors of demons eating people here?"
The owner smiled, "No demons here! Just two drunks fighting, and they fought too hard and bled a little."
Aoki was prepared and wasn't too disappointed.
There were many rumors like that.
He asked if the owner had heard anything similar, and when he said no, Aoki left with his full gourd.
His leveling was slow, and he wasn't finding Tanjirou's family either.
He had been going into the mountains and asking about a charcoal seller, but he had no luck.
"Maybe I should change my mood. Should I chat with Tamayo?"
Aoki was thinking when he suddenly stopped.
Not far ahead, two women were walking slowly.
One was a young woman around eighteen, with long cyan hair. She was beautiful even without makeup.
The other woman looked like her mother, and she seemed gentle and kind.
The mother was smiling and talking, and the daughter was listening and nodding.
It was a warm scene.
They walked from one end of the street to the other and disappeared.
Aoki stepped out of the shadows and watched them go.
"Takina, Aunt Rie!"
He had been so distracted that he had come to the town where Takina and Aunt Rie lived without realizing it.
After a moment, Aoki went back into the shadows and vanished.
On the edge of town was a simple house, with brick walls around a gray building and a small courtyard.
Rie and Takina lived here now.
Across from the courtyard, a middle-aged woman waved when she saw them.
"Rie, Takina."
"Aunt Kaori!" Rie and Takina replied.
Kaori looked at Takina and smiled, "Takina, you're getting more beautiful. The man who marries you will be very lucky!"
Rie smiled and said modestly, "Kaori, you're too kind. Takina is pretty, but she's too serious sometimes, which worries me!"
Kaori said, "Does Takina like anyone? Should I introduce someone?"
Takina bowed slightly and said seriously, "Aunt Kaori, I'm already engaged!"
Kaori was surprised and said, "Really? The man Takina likes must be great. When can I meet him?"
Takina said, "If there's a chance, I'll introduce him."
She nodded and went inside.
Kaori's smile faded, and she sighed.
She had noticed this mother and daughter since they moved here.
Takina was beautiful, smart, and kind. She was the perfect daughter-in-law.
Today, she tried to ask about it, but Takina stopped her before she could say anything.
"Never mind, my son doesn't deserve such a good girl." Kaori shook her head.
...
Rie and Takina went home and started working.
They prepared food, cleaned fish, cooked rice... Smoke rose, and the smell of food drifted out onto the street.
From far away, Aoki watched them and said to himself, "So much food. It's not even a holiday. Are they having guests?"
"If I went over and said, 'I'm back,' how would Takina and Aunt Rie react?"
Aoki smiled, but it quickly faded. He watched them quietly.
After a while, he stood up.
"I should go!"
Aoki looked at them one last time and started to leave, but then he stopped.
A small girl in a butterfly haori, with a sword at her waist, came to the gate and knocked.
Aoki's eyes went to her.
The girl seemed to sense it and turned her head sharply.
"What's wrong, Shinobu?"
Takina came out and smiled when she saw Shinobu.
They were close in age and got along well. They had become friends on the way to moving.
"It's nothing."
Shinobu looked away.
She had felt something strange, like someone was watching her.
"Maybe it was just someone passing by."
She didn't feel danger.
"Come in!" Takina said.
Shinobu followed her into the courtyard.
"You're here, Shinobu." Rie, who was cleaning eels, looked up.
Shinobu took out a bag, "Long time no see, Aunt Rie. This is a gift."
---
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