None of the Lower Moons could answer that. They didn't even dare to think. Anything they said, no matter how much they tried to turn it into praise for Him, would just be turned right back against them. Their silence seemed to be what Muzan was wanting.

"The only reason you lot are alive is because I am allowing it. If you three are still alive when I have found a suitable replacement for Dabi, Compress, and Himiko I will make sure that you pay for your cowardice," he said.

They were immediately thrown back to where they had come from. Shigaraki was back in his cave. He looked over to the area that held his vials and chemicals. In rage, he slammed his fist into a wall. Cracks spread along it until the wall collapsed. Behind it was another cavern in the large cave complex which was previously only accessable through a tunnel.

"Summoned in the middle of my most promising test. Damn you, Master," he grumbled.

Crying in one of the further caverns caused him to smile.

"Oh, don't cry, kid," he said to himself, "soon you'll join my demon ranks. I just need to isolate the part of His cells that will kill me from mentioning His name and prevent me from making more of my own Demons."

*

Denki returned from his mission to the south as the sun rose. As soon as he walked into the Todoroki estate, he was greeted by Kyoka. Remarkably her skin that was burned was beginning to flake and peel off.

"Does the burn ointment work that fast?" Denki asked.

"Apparently so. According to Rei I can return to work today," she said.

"That's good."

Denki smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was really happy that she looked like she was getting better. As he went in for food, he talked to Kyoka about his mission. Some demon with extendable teeth was terrorizing a village. He took care of it easily, though. She talked about some of what she had learned about the Todorokis and Momo. Momo used a modified Wind Breathing technique. She and Shoto met when Momo had just ended a mission with a broken arm. The Kakushi were several hours out, so Shoto just took her back to the Todoroki estate. They bonded, and have been together ever since.

Their crows descended through one of the windows.

"West! West! Demons have been seen in the west! Near a town with a large mansion!" Their crows said.

"Multiple? That could be a problem. And that description kinda sounds like--" Denki said.

"Could just be a coincidence. Plenty of towns are next to large homes. Mine was the same," Kyoka interrupted.

Denki nodded. But he could hear the apprehension in her voice. Though she hoped it was just a coincidence, she wasn't fully confident it was. They finished eating and began their trip following their crows.

When the sun was high in the sky, they were walking through a road that was causing Kyoka to look around nervously. Denki didn't ask, but he could hear her saying that this was all beginning to look familiar. He decided to look at her. Her face was showing fear. He understood why. After all, if the mission was to her hometown, then she would inevitably run into her father.

"Kyoka Jiro? Is that you?" They heard behind them.

They turned around. There was a man with blonde hair standing behind them. His eyes seemed to be hidden, but they had a strange brilliant blue glow to them. He was someone Kyoka recognized.

"Mr. Yagi! It's nice to see you!" Kyoka said.

They shook hands.

"I see you brought a young man with you. Does that--" Mr. Yagi began asking.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, we're not-- I mean, what we are is-- we-we're Demon Slayers. Coworkers. We aren't really involved in that way," Denki and Kyoka tried to explain to him.

He just smiled as they tried explaining they were just working together and they weren't together together. He chuckled when they finished attempting to explain.

"Little word of advice, avoid your father's house. He's... not been the same since he forced you out," Mr. Yagi said.

"How so?" Kyoka asked.

"He's taken up a... Hobby that isn't singing?"

When Kyoka looked a little confused, Denki chimed in.

"Day drinking?" He asked.

"Day drinking."

Kyoka looked down. She was saddened by that revelation. Denki placed his hand on her shoulder. He has a reassuring look on his face. She took it as he meant it: him saying it was going to be okay. And if she had to confront her father she wouldn't be alone. They bid Mr. Yagi farewell and continued to the town itself. They walked into the town and Kyoka felt a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. There was so much here that hadn't changed.

She went store to store, saying hello to people she hadn't seen in a long while. She stayed in one store for some time, talking to someone who was wanting to just talk. Denki heard a ruckus from a nearby building that was open for anyone to walk into. Curiosity got the better of him and he began walking that direction. He got there and saw it was a saloon. And there was only one person making the ruckus. A man with long dirty blonde hair.

"I'm telling you," he said, his speech heavily slurred, "my daughter will come back soon. And I'm almost certain she will be begging me to help her find someone."

Everyone groaned at what the man was saying.

"This is the ninth time this hour you've brought her up, we get it you miss her," the bartender said.

"Miss her? I want to be able to rub that I know what's best for her as her parent. After two years, I know she'll return soon, begging me to help her find someone if she hasn't found someone already."

The bartender finally noticed Denki standing at the open entry.

"Sorry, young man, I'm going to have to ask you 1, to leave your sword outside, and 2, to tell me how old you are. Policy is to not serve saké to anyone under 18," the bartender said.

"Oh, I'm not here to drink," Denki said, "I'm looking for a Demon."

"Demons don't exist," the drunk man said, looking Denki over, "why don't you come over to my place. I have (hic) excuse me, had a daughter about your age. You could see a portrait of her and see if you'd like her."

"Maybe later. Let's play devil's advocate here and say Demons do exist. Where would I find it?"

"Up Mount Olympus next to the Yokai."

Denki was completely confused. Yokai were dark spirits, what some might call superstition. Then what was Mount Olympus? Several of the patrons were laughing at Denki's confused face.

"I don't think the kid knows about your travels, Jiro," one of the patrons said.

Denki had to keep his mouth shut. Without even trying, he had met Kyoka's father. Seeing as how he wasn't getting anywhere here, he decided to just leave. Kyoka was coming his way from the store. He walked up to her and began trying to usher her to the back side of the building.

"Not this way, the other way. Nothing to see in there, I've already been in. Trust me you don't want to go that way," he said, rushed.

"Wh-Denki what are you, this is the long way, why are we--" she asked.

He placed his hand over her mouth.

"Just trust me, okay?"

They entered the alley and began making their way around. When they reached the far corner, Denki finally removed his hand from her mouth.

"Care to tell me why you kept my mouth covered and why we're taking the long way around the saloon?" She asked, annoyed.

"Your father's in there," he said.

Her eyes widened. She let out an "oh" in response. As they got around to the other side of the saloon, they both heard something neither wanted to hear.

"Kyoka? You're back?" It was her father.

They both turned around. Her father was holding a bottle of saké and wasn't standing up straight. Kyoka let in a shaky breath.

"Hi, dad," she said.

"So you have come back after all. You ready to try and get married now?" He asked.

"I'm not back. I'm just here on a mission, then I'm gone."

Kyoka's dad looked from Denki to Kyoka.

"You chose that guy? He thinks Demons exist."

"They do. I've killed like a half dozen of them."

"So that husband of yours has poisoned your mind to common sense?"

Neither her father nor Denki could anticipate what she did right after he said that. She bolted forward and slammed her fist into his forehead. He flew back, flipping until he landed on his stomach.

"He's not my husband. And don't bad mouth him," she said quietly.

Denki didn't hear her. She rejoined him saying they needed to keep looking before night fell.

Several hours before the sun was to set, they ended up at a little sushi bar. They sat down, ordered some food, and waited.

"Not too much longer before the sun goes down," Denki said.

"And still no word on the demon. All we've been hearing is heavy hearsay about a small, fast creature that apparently stalks the ladies of this town before they go missing," Kyoka said.

"Which I guess explains why there aren't many women around here that don't appear to be married."

"But where could they go? And where is the demon?"

As they sat thinking about it, a bottle dropped on the table they were sitting at. They both looked at the person to whom the bottle belonged and were instantly annoyed.

"Do you know how rude it is for you to attack your own father?" Kyoka's dad asked, sitting at their table.

"Do you know how inconsiderate it is to just plop down uninvited?" Kyoka asked.

"Well, I'm your father. I don't need to be considerate when it comes to you and your husband's personal space."

"We're not married. We're coworkers," Denki said, his face turning a light shade of pink.

"Coworkers? Coworkers who share in fantasies of demons existing?"

Denki opened his uniform enough to where he could show his scar from Lower Six.

"Where do you think I got this from?" He asked.

"If I had to guess, you pissed off a swordsman."

Kyoka brought her knee up to show her scar.

"And this?" She asked.

"Dropping a knife tip down on yourself. Seriously, Kyo, a female swordsman who believes demons exist? Don't kid yourself. Neither can be real."

Kyoka wanted to knock him out again. She clenched her fist. Before she could do anything though, Denki slammed his fist into the table, causing cracks to spread underneath where his fist made impact.

"You listen here: Kyoka is a great swordswoman. She is strong. She is making her own life without you telling her who she can become. She doesn't need an alcohol dependent father to tell her who she is or who she can become. And most importantly, she doesn't need a drunk like you to tell her what's real or not," Denki growled.

Kyoka was surprised. It was the first time she had seen Denki actively pissed off. It almost made her heart flutter, him coming to her defense. That wasn't lost in her father either. He unevenly made his way back to standing up.

"Well, you have my consent for her. It takes real ones of steel to stand up to me on her behalf. Just don't screw it up with her," he said.

Neither one took what he said as anything other than him still wanting to determine her life. But after he left, Kyoka let the words Denki had said sink in. Her heart fluttered even more. And it seemed what Denki had said was sinking in for himself. They sat in awkward silence as they enjoyed their food together.