Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

[Seiji's POV]

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I've heard about you many times and even seen you a couple of times, but I've never introduced myself properly," Mitsuri started, her words coming out rapidly in a mix of nervousness and excitement.

"My name is Mitsuri Kanroji. It's an honour to meet you, Miss Kanae," Mitsuri said and bowed at a right angle. Kanae was higher ranked and older than her, so she was immediately entitled to respect from Mitsuri.

Kanae let out a whiffy chuckle that matched Mitsuri's energy. "I would say it's nice to meet you as well but actually, it's not,"

"Huh?!" Mitsuri was flustered at what she perceived as rejection.

"Of course, that's only because I can't see you," she said, "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Mitsuri. My name is Kanae Kanroji and likewise, I've heard a lot of good things about you,"

"Really?" Mitsuri asked, excited before she deflated, "I hope they are only good things,"

"Great things actually. I've heard from Rengoku how talented you were and from Seiji, more than I would've liked," she said.

Mitsuri smiled brightly hearing that.

Kanae secretly poked her sister and Shinobu who was standing beside her leaned down to present an ear.

"Shinobu, is she as cute as she sounds?" Kanae whispered, unknown to everyone else except my eyes.

"Yes," Shoinobu said and then she paused, hesitating to say the next part, "And I don't know how but her heavies are also bigger than ours,"

"Damn," Kanae bit out.

Then they returned to their normal state as if nothing transpired between them. I had to do my best to hold back my laughter.

"Why don't you join us for breakfast? I made a portion for you as well since I heard from Master that you would be coming," Kanae said with her closed-eyed smile.

Mitsuri and I looked at the containers that held the food in synch and we smiled a brittle smile. Mitsuri could eat all the food, including the containers and the tables and she wouldn't be satisfied.

Shinobu made extra but that was only a portion enough to feed one ordinary person. Mitsuri's appetite was anything but ordinary.

"I think..I'll pass," Mitsuri said.

"Join them," I said.

She turned towards me quizzically, "Make sure you eat slowly, I'll fetch more food for you,"

"Thank you!" Mitsuri beamed at me. Now I was willing to dig through thirteen layers of famine to get enough food for her.

"You girls wait for me," I said and left the house to get more food. I was not sure what I was going to do yet. Would I blitz towards the nearest village and buy out a restaurant or steal from the normal residents of the mansion?

In the end, I decided to follow the initial plan as I blitzed towards the nearest village like the fastest Hashira I was. I came back with a huge sack on my shoulder.

When I entered the room again, I was met with the lovely scene of four girls, Kanae, Mitsuri, Kanao and Shinobu chatting while they had breakfast together.

When good-hearted people met, harmony was the inevitable result no matter the issue. I took a moment to enjoy the scene and imprint it in my mind.

They were all important people in my life, and they were happy. The scene also brought out a very protective nature in me that wouldn't have happened while looking at my male friends.

Kanao and Shinobu were like my little sister while Kanae and Mitsuri were the closest thing I had to a wife. Men go to war for this, I thought to myself with a chuckle.

"You're back," Shinobu said, "Thanks for covering for me. I wasn't expecting Mitsuri to be like you,"

She meant in terms of appetite when she said that. Heh, if only she knew Mitsuri was in another league. She'd learn soon enough.

We had a lively breakfast after that.

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(Two days later)

"Are you sure you have the permission from Ubuyashiki?" I asked the little boy who came to my room in the middle of the night.

"Hn," Muichiro nodded.

I took a close look at him. The way his chest shrunk and expanded rapidly as if he had been running the whole way. The dirt and leaves on his hair as if he had run through the forest to get here instead of going along the road.

Finally, the nervousness he hid behind a perfect stoic face and the fact that he came in the middle of the night. They all point towards the conclusion that he had sneaked out and came to me in secret.

Without permission.

I looked towards the direction he was coming from and I could see the path he took to come here. It was through the forest, hidden from the main road.

If I had to take a guess, Ubuyashiki still intended to keep him a few more days to make sure that he recovered fully before sending him off to train with me. But Muichiro could not wait any longer to come to me, desperate to learn.

"Are you sure?" I asked again, narrowing my eyes.

"Hn," he nodded again.

"Are you lying,"

"Hn," he nodded again, only to realize what he did and he shook his head.

So obvious. His lying skills were as good as you would expect from a nine-year-old.

"Okay, we will train in the morning. But now it's time to sleep," I said and walked back to my futon.

"Continue walking in the hallway and turn right, you should find the guest room there," I said and snuck inside my warm fabric and returned to sleep.

Muihciro kept standing there, watching me intently.

"Go," I said again and finally, he went out of my room.

He could find my room amidst all the the giant mansion, I was not sure how. But he could find the guest room the same way.

I went back to sleep.

..

..

The instinct clock in my body woke me up before dawn. When I opened my eyes and regained full consciousness, I felt a weight beside me that I hadn't felt a few hours ago.

My eyes snapped open to see a small boy lying beside me all curled up. He was not even in the futon and under the sheets. He was on top, like a small cat that slept on top of you in the morning.

"Good thing I opened my eyes first instead of cuddling with him immediately, thinking it was Mitsuri," I said to myself.

I didn't want to be Pillar of Diddy, P. Diddy.

I stared at the young boy for a while, observing the peaceful rhythm of his sleep. My first thought was to wake him up since he was so excited to train but I decided against it.

Because it looked like this was the first peaceful sleep he had in a while.

He was a child that went through a traumatic event. He didn't remember what happened in detail but his body was never in peace since.

The body had memories of its own, you could call it muscle memory of instinct. His sleep after that event was filled with nightmares and irrational stress.

But those disappeared when he was beside me. Just like how the body knew instinctively that it could be in danger and stayed alert, it knew instinctively how strong I was and that I would protect him.

So finally, the body granted the boy peace after the trauma.

Mitsuri told me this before as well, she felt safe and peaceful when she was around me and she swore that it was not only due to her affection. I guess being the strongest unlocked some aura in me.

I allowed Muichiro to sleep as long as he wanted. The lazy part of me was glad to have an excuse to sleep in.

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[Image]

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