Staring hard at Kokushibo, Kiyomi temporarily forgot about the pain on both her stomach and her neck.
She knew that she couldn't do anything if Kokushibo really wanted to do anything to her, but she would die trying to stop him.
Kokushibo is a pale-skinned, tall man with long and spiky, black hair that he kept in a ponytail. He has three sets of eyes on his face with the red sclera and yellow irises. His middle set of eyes featured the kanji of Upper Moon One, and red markings resembling flames were seen on his face and neck.
He wore a purple-and-black-patterned nagagi kimono and black hakama pants tied with a white cloth. He carried a sword at his waist that had eyes in the space between the tsuka wrapping of the handle of his sword. The guard and blade were also revealed to have eyes and veins.
Before letting Kiyomi see his appearance though, Kokushibo had decided to hide his three pairs of eyes, his grotesque sword, and turned into his human form. Kokushibo's appearance was nearly identical to his Demon form, with the exception of the number of eyes, his prominent eyebrows, and notably less pale skin. His eyes had brown irises and normal, white sclera as a human.
Weirdly, he felt that he didn't want to scare Kiyomi, and wanted to have a good relationship with her.
Sadly, he didn't know that he had just been labeled as a pedophile by the young girl in front of him and took a step towards Kiyomi.
Seeing Kokushibo move towards her, Kiyomi panicked, shrunk herself into a small ball, and involuntarily let out a small whimper.
Leaving her vision unobscured, her cute and fluffy tails curled around her entire body. Allowing only her head to be visible.
"...???..."
Seeing the small ball of floof, the dazed Kokushibo scratched his head in confusion and gently picked her up into his arms.
"Wuuwuu..hmph!"
Feeling the cold icy hands touch the most sensitive part of her body, the tails, Kiyomi stared aggrievedly at the unintelligible Kokushibo and pouted.
For some reason, Kiyomi didn't feel nervous that he was a demon. Instead, she felt a small connection between herself and Kokushibo.
The only reason why she was acting defensively towards this wooden man was that she was afraid that Kokushibo was a pedophile.
Not that it was Kokushibo's fault, but the imaginative mind of Kiyomi is really just a little too silly.
But being stared at by a demon who is supposed to eat people, you have to wonder whether they have other motives, no?
Kokushibo, not feeling the emotions of Kiyomi, found the fur he held in his hands surprisingly warm.
Unconsciously holding the tails a little tighter, the unprepared Kiyomi squirmed in his arms and slapped his face with one of her tails.
Stupified, Kokushibo could only tilt his head slightly to one side with confusion.
Seeing the dull Kokushibo not understanding what he had done wrong, the timid Kiyomi who was held in his arms could help but roar at his face.
"Stop touching my tails, they are very sensitive okay!?"
Finally understanding why Kiyomi was feeling so aggrieved, Kokushibo nodded with understanding.
"...Oh."
*poke*
"Eek!" Feeling something poking her tails, Kiyomi couldn't help but let out another scream.
*poke*
"Eep! Stop It!"
*poke*
"Wuu~wuu~Stop bullying *Sniff* me~ waaa~!"
Bewildered at the crying kitsune girl, Kokushibo quickly stopped poking Kiyomi's soft tails and tried comforting her.
"...Sorry."
Crying even louder at the lack of response from Kokushibo, Kiyomi started slapping him with all six of her tails.
*spoof* x6
"That's it?! *hic* You cold unfeeling man! I hope you will lose all of your hair and become bald!"
*spoof* x6
Listening to the ranting Kiyomi, Kokushibo quietly listened without interrupting.
With every few sentences, Kiyomi would slap Kokushibo with her tails to vent all the grievances, fears, and anger on him.
Five years of adapting to a new world took a toll on Kiyomi's mind, having to keep many things secret from her parents and siblings, was only one of her problems.
Holding up her majestic image of herself to Tanjiro, the kind yet stern sister to her other siblings, the mature, smart, and caring daughter to her parents, she unknowingly created a lot of pressure on herself by creating different identities for herself.
Knowing the future direction of this world, Kiyomi also wished to prevent the deaths of many noble souls that contributed to the defeat of Muzan.
It wasn't that she didn't want to live a life without worries, it's just that she knows that if she doesn't do anything, everything she ever loved in this world would disappear.
Spewing out information that she deemed useless to Kokushibo and the demons, Kiyomi only addressed the human side of her problems and nothing about her future problems.
But even that took a long time to finish. By the time she finished her rant, the need to sleep hit her, hard.
Kokushibo, feeling that Kiyomi had finally finished her rant, sighed helplessly.
For the first time in a few millenniums, he felt that he had emotions again.
Giving the sleeping Kiyomi gentle head pats, Kokushibo took her to the area that belonged to him within the Infinity Castle.
Realizing that he only had training equipment in his place, Kokushibo placed Kiyomi down next to a pillar and quickly disappeared.
Within a few minutes, he came back with a bed, a table, chairs, and some other furniture that he thought Kiyomi would need for a long-term stay.
He could create an artificial pond by asking Douma, the Upper Moon 2, to use his demon art to freeze some water and bring the ice back.
Though he might have to trade for that ice to be able to make Douma do something so insignificant.
... 1 day later ...
Yawning, Kiyomi woke up groggily.
Lifting the bed sheets covering her, she slid her legs out of the sheets, stretched, and rubbed her blurry eyes.
she came face to face with Kokushibo, who was sitting on a chair next to the bed.
"..."
After yesterday, Kiyomi's stress and anger had already dissipated by more than half, and she no longer felt resentful.
But now, feeling embarrassed, she didn't know what to say to Kokushibo.
"..."
So, the two began a staring contest, again.
"...Did you sleep well?" Breaking the deadlock, Kokushibo was the one to talk first.
Remembering the embarrassing moments yesterday, Kiyomi's tsundere side came out once again.
"I slept very well! Thank you for asking! Hum!" Kiyomi pouted while crossing her arms and turning her head away from seeing Kokushibo. Her tails swung from one side to another swiftly.
"...Oh."
Kiyomi was now curious, and seeing that Kokushibo had nothing else to say, she started to ask questions.
"Hey..."
"...What?" Kokushibo replied, as emotionless as ever, just like Tomioka Giyu.
"...You are a demon, right? Why did you not eat me? And why did you bring me here?" Resisting the urge to slap Kokushibo with her tails again, Kiyomi finally understood why Tomioka Giyu never had any friends.
It's because this kind of socially inept people are really infuriating!
Of course, this, like many other things, only applies to men. If it were a girl, many people would probably think that it is normal and be sympathetic.
"...Because you are my descendant." There was one more reason Kokushibo decided to hide from Kiyomi, but he knew that he would not be able to resist telling Kiyomi one day.
Shocked by the statement given by Kokushibo, Kiyomi quickly realized that what he had just said actually made sense!
Why else would her body be able to adapt to the thin air on top of a mountain, and even managing to learn breathing techniques along the way?
Why else would she be able to use the Breath of the Moon so smoothly? Even with the Manual that was given to her by the system, she managed to learn and use Moon Breathing without much difficulty and any repercussion?
You must know that as one of the Original Breathing other than the Sun Breathing, the Breath of the Moon brings up the same amount of pressure on one's body as the Sun Breathing!
Concluding her analysis, Kiyomi didn't know what to think of Kokushibo anymore.
Should she call him from now on Ancestor, or what?
"You don't need to think so much... Just call me.. brother," said Kokushibo, as if reading her mind.
"Okay... Uhm... brother." Kiyomi shyly called, quickly adjusting to her new role in the Infinity Castle.
However, as if a lightning bolt suddenly jolted her mind, she quickly remembered her original goal.
Kiyomi anxiously told Kokushibo, "Wait! I still need to go back to my family! I can't stay here!"
Grabbing the wooden box right next to her bed, Kiyomi quickly rushed into the distance.
Kokushibo just sat there, looking at her with a sad face.
...
.
.
.
'I cannot let you go. I simply can't.'
Watching the anxious Kiyomi, Kokushibo contacted Muzan in his mind.
'My lord.'
'What is it, Kokushibo?' Muzan's monotonous voice resounded in Kokushibo's mind.
'...I believe that the girl that Daki brought would be of great use to you.' Kokushibo's usual emotionless voice responded.
'Oh~? That little girl? How so?'
'...She has a trace of Moon Breathing on her. I'll be able to instruct her so that she will become more useful to you.'
Pausing for a moment before continuing, Muzan now has a slight interest in his tone.
'Are you sure it is not because she looks a little too much like her? Hmm, ~?'
'...'
'..Well, just bring her to my study room.'
'Yes, my lord.'
Ending the conversation with Muzan, Kokushibo turned into his demon form and followed Kiyomi.
"Even if I must force you to stay by my side, I will do so. You cannot leave me again. Death will not take you away from me."
Without Kiyomi noticing, Kokushibo silently came behind her and chopped down at her neck with his hand.
*Crack*