Seven days passed quickly.
The Butterfly sisters stood side-by-side in the familiar alley.
They looked similar and dressed alike, but they felt different. Kanae was tall and graceful, gentle as water. Shinobu was small and cute, dignified and composed.
Kanae's injuries hadn't fully healed, but they didn't stop her from moving. She looked around.
"Shinobu, do you think Mr. Aomura will come?"
Shinobu looked at her helplessly. "Sister, you've asked that five times!"
"Really?" Kanae smiled gently, not embarrassed. "I'm just impatient."
Shinobu understood her sister.
Kanae had always hoped humans and demons could live together peacefully.
It had been an impossible dream, but Mr. Aomura made it seem possible.
"Mr. Aomura doesn't seem like someone who breaks promises. If he said he'd come, he will."
As she spoke, they both looked towards the alley entrance.
A figure had appeared on the empty ground.
"Sorry for the wait."
Aoki walked into the alley, glancing around to make sure only the Butterfly sisters were there. No ambush.
"We just got here," Kanae said with a gentle smile.
Shinobu rolled her eyes secretly.
"How's your body?"
"Thanks to Mr. Aomura's medicine, I'm mostly fine."
After a few polite words, Aoki got straight to the point. "So, Miss Kanae, what did you want to talk about?"
"Before that, may I ask, Mr. Aomura, do you eat people?"
Kanae looked at Aoki intently.
"I never eat people!"
Aoki's tone was calm.
He didn't mind discussing it and was willing to explain his situation. But he couldn't control whether others believed him.
Kanae took a deep breath and said seriously, "Then, Mr. Aomura, will you work with the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"No!"
Aoki shook his head. "What if you suddenly decided to kill me?"
Kanae said quickly, "That won't happen! I promise with my life, you'll be safe while we work together!"
Aoki glanced at her. "When did I say I was worried about my safety? I'm afraid I'll get annoyed and kill you!"
Unlike other organizations with hidden agendas, the Demon Slayer Corps was pure. It existed only to fight demons.
The leaders of the Demon Slayer Corps, including the Ubuyashiki family and the Pillars, were idealists and truly good people.
He didn't want to contact the Demon Slayer Corps because he was a demon.
If he were human, the Demon Slayer Corps would be very reliable. The Pillars valued ordinary people's lives more than their own.
Pfft!
Shinobu laughed, then turned serious when she saw her sister's look.
"Mr. Aomura, you're strong, but the Demon Slayer Corps isn't weak either!"
"Mr. Aomura, we're serious. Will you think about it?"
Kanae felt helpless.
Things weren't going as she expected. She didn't know what to do.
Aoki said, "Okay, I'll work with you!"
"Huh?"
Shinobu and Kanae were stunned.
That was too fast and easy!
Aoki smiled. "I was just joking before."
He had guessed their idea when Kanae said she had something important to discuss.
Coming here meant he was willing.
He needed more experience to level up. Demons were harder to find, and they gave less experience. He couldn't level up easily on his own.
He had suffered from a lack of information for two months.
Now that the Demon Slayer Corps was offering help, he had no reason to refuse.
He didn't care if it was a trap, or he was willing to risk it.
With his current strength, even all nine Pillars couldn't stop him.
Joking... Shinobu was speechless.
Kanae didn't mind. She said excitedly, "That's great! But, Mr. Aomura, I need to report this to our leader first."
"No problem. Discuss it," Aoki said.
Seven days later.
They met in the alley again.
As soon as they met, Kanae said, "Mr. Aomura, our leader wants to meet you in person."
Aoki was surprised. "The head of the Ubuyashiki family wants to meet me?"
Kanae smiled. "Master says, if we're going to work together, we need to build real trust."
"Brave!" Aoki said.
The Demon Slayer Corps knew his strength and abilities.
Kagaya was risking his life to meet him.
But that wasn't surprising.
Kagaya was willing to use explosives to kill himself, his wife, and his children to increase the chance of defeating Muzan.
In the original story, he had gone against everyone's opinion and spared Tanjirou and Nezuko, laying the foundation for defeating Muzan.
Wise and brave, Kagaya had no fighting ability, but he was the soul of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Kanae added, "Master also said, he has a feeling you'll be the key to defeating Muzan."
"A feeling?"
Aoki's eyes flickered.
The Demon Slayer world wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Muzan was from the Ubuyashiki family.
After he became a demon, the Ubuyashiki family was cursed. Their children were weak, and the family almost died out.
On the advice of a priest, they formed the Demon Slayer Corps, started fighting demons, and married women from a priestly family. They finally escaped their fate.
But no one lived past thirty.
Curses, prophecies, hell, reincarnation... The Demon Slayer world seemed weak, but it hid terrifying things.
Aoki looked at the sky.
Did this world have gods?
Muzan said he hadn't faced divine punishment, but Yoriichi Tsugikuni's birth, the Breathing Styles, Marks, Crimson Blade, and Transparent World were all weapons against Muzan.
If he replaced Muzan and became the ultimate being, would he face divine punishment?
Aoki thought for a while and shook his head.
Even if this world had gods, their power to interfere was limited.
Otherwise, Muzan wouldn't have survived for a thousand years.
It wasn't time to think about that yet.
Aoki looked at Kanae. "I look forward to meeting the Ubuyashiki family."
---
Hello there ShixT9 here, caught up already?
Extra Chapters in my patreon right now go check it out.
patreon.com/ShixT9
Don't forget to drop stones and a good review if you like the story so far ^-^