✦ EPIPHANY - BY -C3NTURIES ✦

― "KANROJI!" sanemi, the wind hashira, calls to mitsuri, who runs over to him.

"shinazugawa-san! what happened?" mitsuri questions.

"look at this." sanemi says, lifting up his hand. he showed mitsuri a disconnected eyeball hanging by a few nerves, its iris inscribed with the kanji for "upper four".

mitsuri gasped in horror.
"what is that?!" she exclaims.

"i don't know, but it seems to be connected to upper four of the twelve kizuki." sanemi says lowly. "if this is some sort of blood demon art that's spying on us, we're in deep shit. we can't let them find okayata-sama's mansion, or that kamado boy."

"you're right.. what are we going to do, though? if there are multiple of these and they're this small... there could be hundreds of them situated around here!" mitsuri noted.

"we'd just have to keep a look out, i guess. tell some of the others, but if they're already training people then keep them out of the loop for now. we can't have them getting distracted if strong demon slayers is the one thing we need to defeat kibutsuji." sanemi thinks out loud.

"right. i'll tell the hashira who aren't training people, that's iguro-san, tokito-san, and kocho-san. thank you, shinazugawa-san." mitsuri nodded seriously, bowing before quickly leaving.

luckily, it wasn't long before she ran into the serpent pillar, who was absentmindedly wandering around the garden of the love estate.

"obanai-kun!" mitsuri calls excitedly, waving. she sees him wave back, and skids to a halt in front of him.

"hi, mitsuri-san." he says, giving her an invisible smile.

"hi! shinazugawa-san told me to tell you something really important." mitsuri says, putting a hand near her mouth and whispering to the pillar.

"shinazugawa-san found a remnant of a spy from the twelve kizuki. he thinks because of how small it was, that there are multiple stationed across headquarters. he said to tell you to look out for them."

obanai gasped in horror, his invisible smile fading.
"a spy? was it sent by kibutsuji?" he asks, to which mitsuri nods with worry.

"oh, obanai-kun, i'm so worried! i wasn't supposed to tell anyone this, but okayata-sama told me he thinks there's going to be a final battle between humans and demons, and i don't want that to happen!" mitsuri trembles.

"hey, it's alright." obanai puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "if that does happen, i won't leave your side the entire time. we'll fight together. and we'll end the demons together."

mitsuri's eyes shone with tears, and she wrapped her arms around her fellow pillar.
"i don't want to die, and i don't want you to die either! if there is a final battle, i want us to win, and be victorious!"

'and if we die, i hope we are reincarnated in the same world, and we can finally spend our lives together like we should have done from the very beginning.'

✦ EPIPHANY - BY -C3NTURIES ✦

― "KANROJI-SAN!" tanjiro called to the love pillar ahead of him. mitsuri turned around, smiling at the sight of the boy.

"tanjiro-kun! what are you doing out here? surely you should be resting!" she says as she waves. tanjiro approaches her with an uneasy look on his face.

"kanroji-san, i have a bad feeling... i can't help but think something's going to go wrong soon." he says hesitantly.

"why do you say that, tanjiro-kun? what's troubling you?" mitsuri tilts her head.

"there's an odd scent in the air... one that fills me with dread. it makes me feel like there are demons around every corner.." tanjiro's voice trailed off.

mitsuri gasped, having completely forgotten tanjiro's impressive sense of danger. she looked up, realizing the darkening sky and the impending sense of doom that came with it.

"tanjiro-kun, you should head back to the butterfly mansion and rest... it's getting late and you need to be awake and ready for training tomorrow.." she said, to which tanjiro nodded slowly and bowed before leaving.

'i don't want to fight a final battle against the demons... i want to eradicate them, of course, like anyone in the corps would... but i fear it would result in so many deaths... i would lose so many people i care about, and maybe even the person i love..'

'i'll have to keep fighting for the sake of those who can't, even if it means i die at the end of it. at least i can hope i'll be reincarnated as a human in my next life, and be with the one i love the most.'

'and if i'm not, at least i was able to live this life as much as i could.'

✦ EPIPHANY - BY -C3NTURIES ✦

― "OKAYATA-SAMA! THERE'S A-" 

"kagaya ubuyashiki." muzan's voice echoes through the estate. "i cannot believe the leader of your family has been reduced to a corpse. you truly are a disappointment to the human race."

"i don't understand why you care so much about the human race if you aren't a part of it yourself, muzan kibutsuji." kagaya says back calmly. "my goal this whole time has been to dedicate my life to defeating you. you never knew or even took this into consideration, but you were once part of the same family as me."

"why is that significant to anything you have to say?" muzan snaps.

"you, muzan kibutsuji, are the curse to my bloodline. you became a demon, and therefore no children of the ubuyashiki family could survive unless they atoned by dedicating their entire lives to ending you." kagaya explains, his expression not faltering.

"i have not once been punished. i have killed thousands of people and nothing has come back to haunt me. i think your illness is sending you into a ramble, kagaya." muzan argues.

"what do you dream about, muzan kibutsuji?" kagaya asks after a few seconds of silence pass.

"i dream to be immortal, and i will be when i take that girl of the kamado family." muzan answers, malice laced in his words.

"i believe only human thoughts are truly immortal. the murders you committed over your lifetime only serve to fuel the anger of those who hate you. the demon slayer corps will destroy you, and your kind will end tonight."

"silence yourself, you moron!"

"i am undeservingly loved by the hashira, and my death would only drive them further to killing you and ending the race of the demons for good. you know, i must warn you, the hashira will be arriving soon, and you will be engulfed in a storm that will kill you."

"are you finished?!"

"yes. thank you for listening."

suddenly, a loud explosion sounded, and the mountainside went up in flames.

✦ EPIPHANY - BY -C3NTURIES ✦

➥TAISHO ERA SECRET
☆ don't hate me guys, this is just how it's gonna be except it's gonna focus on the otp because obviously-
PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE INFINITY CASTLE ARC OF THE KNY MANGA!! THIS SHORT STORY WILL INCLUDE MAJOR SPOILERS!!