One evening, with no pressing duties to attend to, Kokushibo made his way toward Doma's Eternal Paradise Faith temple.
"Perfect… I'll go see those two."
When he arrived at the courtyard, the compound lay in near-total darkness. Only a single lantern glowed faintly in the distance Doma's chamber.
Kokushibo felt no concern about encountering anything troublesome. Even if something unpleasant appeared before him, he could simply close his eyes though with six of them, that solution was never quite as simple as it sounded.
Besides, there were still other Upper Moons to handle true chaos.
Without hesitation, he slid the door open and stepped inside.
The scene within was… peculiar.
Doma lay comfortably with his head resting on Kotoha's lap, listening intently as she told him a story. Tears streamed freely down his face, his expression exaggerated with emotion any outsider might have mistaken it for a poorly acted stage drama.
At the sight of Kokushibo, Doma brightened immediately, waving him over with childish enthusiasm.
"Ah, Kokushibo-dono! Come, come listen to this story. It's incredibly moving!"
Kotoha, meanwhile, stiffened and lowered her gaze, clearly uncertain where to look. With Kokushibo's six eyes fixed upon her, the act of maintaining eye contact became an impossible dilemma.
Unbothered, Kokushibo took a seat nearby, his voice calm and indifferent.
"What story has moved you to this extent?"
Doma sniffled loudly, wiping his tears with exaggerated flair.
"It's about a little pig… a truly heart-wrenching tale!"
Kokushibo's expression darkened almost imperceptibly.
…A pig?
What kind of absurdity was this?
Could such a trivial story truly reduce an Upper Moon to tears? His thoughts wandered briefly to ridiculous possibilities before he dismissed them entirely.
For a moment, he found himself at a loss for words.
Gathering her courage, Kotoha finally spoke, her voice hesitant.
"Um… Upper Moon One… may I ask… about my child? Is he safe? May I see him?"
Kokushibo idly brushed at his ear, his gaze shifting toward Doma.
"Has she attempted to flee again recently?"
Kotoha's hopeful eyes turned to Doma, who remained reclined in her lap. As expected, he responded without hesitation, his tone earnest.
"No, no. Kotoha has been very well-behaved lately. She doesn't run away anymore. In fact, she wakes me each day, sings to me, and tells me stories."
Kokushibo exhaled slowly, a trace of exasperation surfacing.
"…This is about finding you a wife, not a caretaker."
His golden irises flickered faintly.
"Must you behave like a child? Show some authority befitting your rank as Upper Moon Two."
Despite his bluntness, Kokushibo did not ignore Kotoha's question.
"It has not yet been three years only one. I will say this: your son is alive and unharmed. I have not turned him into a demon."
Relief washed over Kotoha's face, her shoulders trembling slightly. Though disappointment lingered, the knowledge that her child Inosuke Hashibira was alive was enough.
She was not particularly perceptive, but after all this time, she had come to understand one thing: Kokushibo seemed unusually invested in matters concerning Doma.
At times, it even felt as though he were deliberately trying to bring the two of them together.
The thought confused her deeply.
Yet for her child's sake, she could neither flee nor surrender to despair. Even the possibility of her child's death had crossed her mind but Doma, perceptive in his own unsettling way, had reassured her.
"Kokushibo-dono always keeps his word. A promise from him is absolute."
And so, she chose to believe.
After leaving the temple, Kokushibo paused briefly.
It had been some time since he last visited Tamayo.
Without further thought, he changed direction.
This time, he remembered the path clearly.
It was not that he lacked a sense of direction he simply had not cared enough to remember it before.
Arriving at the concealed residence, Kokushibo's Transparent World immediately pierced through the illusion cast by Yushiro's Blood Demon Art.
The hidden structure revealed itself effortlessly before his gaze.
He unlocked the door with ease and descended into the basement.
Just before dawn, Tamayo and Yushiro returned.
The broken lock instantly put them on guard.
"Lady Tamayo, please be cautious," Yushiro said, stepping protectively in front of her. "Someone may have entered."
With sunrise imminent, retreat was no longer an option.
They entered.
The door closed just as the first light of dawn touched the horizon.
As always, they moved to the basement, carefully ensuring that no sunlight could seep through the cracks or curtains.
Inside, Kokushibo sat cross-legged, his posture composed, a faint smile resting on his lips.
Yushiro reacted instantly, placing himself between Kokushibo and Tamayo, his entire body tense.
Tamayo, however, remained calm.
After all, she still carried traces of his blood within her he could find her whenever he wished.
Kokushibo's voice broke the silence, tinged with quiet amusement.
"Yushiro… your devotion is admirable. Tamayo, have you truly never considered him?"
Yushiro's face flushed with anger.
"Do not speak so disrespectfully!"
In an instant, Kokushibo's gaze sharpened. A suffocating wave of killing intent flooded the room, forcing Yushiro into silence as cold sweat formed along his brow.
Foolish.
Kokushibo withdrew his attention as quickly as he had exerted it, turning instead to Tamayo.
"How progresses the medicine?"
Tamayo prepared her instruments with steady hands.
"Not yet complete."
Her eyes lifted to meet his.
"I do not understand. As the elder brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, why do you choose to walk this path… alongside demons?"
For a brief moment, silence settled heavily.
Kokushibo inhaled slowly, then exhaled.
"…Jealousy."
His voice was low, stripped of pretense.
"I envied his talent. That is all."
Tamayo found herself momentarily speechless.
Such a simple answer… for such a profound fall.
She said nothing further, instead retrieving a syringe.
"Then please… allow me to draw a small amount of your blood."
Kokushibo extended his arm without resistance.
A single drop.
That was all she required.
Yet both understood the true purpose behind it: the eventual destruction of Muzan Kibutsuji.
As the needle withdrew, Kokushibo spoke again, his tone calm but edged with warning.
"I have placed my trust in you. Do not test its limits."
He did not know what to make of Tamayo.
He needed her her knowledge, her research if he was ever to sever Muzan's control.
And so, an uneasy balance remained.
The daylight hours stretched on in silence.
Yushiro never once relaxed, his eyes fixed warily on Kokushibo's six ever-shifting gazes.
Suspicion gnawed at him relentlessly.
He watched each eye open and close, tracking their movements with obsessive focus.
Yet the more he stared, the more disoriented he became.
His vision blurred. The overlapping motion of Kokushibo's gaze twisted his perception, leaving him dizzy.
Across from him, Kokushibo allowed the faintest trace of amusement to surface.
For all his power, there were still remnants of something almost… youthful in his demeanor.
After all, before becoming a demon, before becoming Kokushibo, he had once been human
Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
And some fragments of that past had never fully disappeared.
Tamayo observed him quietly, her thoughts conflicted.
Was this truly Upper Moon One?
A being who sought freedom from Muzan… yet displayed moments of immaturity so at odds with his status?
The contradiction lingered.
When night finally fell, Kokushibo rose.
After offering a few final, measured instructions, he departed without another word, vanishing into the darkness as silently as he had come.