DAY 7: Investigation
Time: 13:00

The incident didn't halted the journey. Everyone in the ship who knows the real story including the girls, informed everyone that it was an accident.

The waiter was drunk and he slipped because of the ice that had fallen from the floor thus resulting of his horrible death.

The dead body was cremated as soon as it was cleaned and they used a float to send the burning body away. Everyone easily believed the story they made up and sent their blessings and prayers to the dead waiter.

After that, everyone minds their own businesses. Some rumors have been spreading but none was proven truth. No one have seen the body closer than Captain Watanabe and the girls. Even the crews are not allowed to go too close with the dead body and it made it easier for the girls to hide the truth.

A week has passed already and the death just became a long forgotten history. But for the girls, it was a warning that demons are riding this ship. After the crime, Kanan, Dia, Chika and You started patrolling around the ship. They are checking each rooms and facilities every now and then but they can't find any signs of demons inhabiting the ship.

It was noon and it was Dia and Kanan's turn to roam the ship. The younger girls already volunteered to enhance their clothing and weapons that's why they take their shifts most of the time. The couple passed by Chika and You's room and an idea came out of Kanan's mind. She knocked on the door with a smile.

The door sooner opened and You came out. She was wearing a plain white shirt and darkblue skirt. There are threads all over her shirt and skirt so Kanan brushed them away from her.

"You know you don't have to do that. "You sheepishly chuckled and Kanan took her hand away after taking all the threads away. "I got used to this ~"The indigo-colored hair grinned.

Behind Kanan was Dia who was smiling softly. She was used to this relationship between Kanan ,You and Chika. They look like siblings with different mothers for her. The young sailor noticed her and she saluted. "Hi Dia san!" The girl excitedly greeted. The brunette just returned the greeting with a gentle smile.

"How was it?"Dia asked, pertaining to their uniform.

"I was still trying to minimize the weight because I added a certain kind of silk inside. It covers your scent from demons." You said and Dia nodded.  "It will be done for a week or so."

"Don't worry.  We're not rushing you."

"How about the weapons? "Kanan asked next and You opened the door wider which revealed a sleeping Chika on her bed. "Well...Chika gets easily tired nowadays so--- she's taking a break. "

Giggles escaped the couple's lips. Kanan shook her head a bit and clicked her tongue to stop herself from eliciting more giggles. "As expected of her."

The girls continued to chitchat. The tension from the incident slowly fading away because of You's energy. The conversation is full of compliments about the ship's interior, You's determination, Kanan and Dia's temporary Uniform which looks like the crew's uniforms and any other things.

"Hey.. did you noticed something at the waiter that time..? " You opened up the topic and it made Dia and Kanan blink in confusion. The girls remained silent so You continued. "I mean.. Demons are supposed to eat their preys right?What I mean is---"

"the dead waiter didn't lost any limbs nor organs."

The girls came into a realization.

It was true. The body looks like it was just pushed from the upper floor. The only reason that they came into a conclusion that the suspect was a demon, was the claw mark on the waiter's neck. There's not a bite or missing limb. If a monster tried to assault him, he will surely shout. But the girls didn't heard anything.

"Shall we go back to the promenade to check?" Kanan suggested. She was about to turn around but someone suddenly bumped to her. She almost fell because of the unexpected impact but she gained her footing. She looked up to see the Cabin boy looking down at the ground.

"I- I'm sorry! The captain sent me to take care of a passenger. "With that, he immediately left."

Kanan's eyes blinked a few times and Dia held her hand.
"Let's just go now.. "Her girlfriend said and dragged her away, also bidding their goodbyes to their Younger companion.

The couple silently went back to the promenade. It was empty as expected due to the new rules. 'No one shall be seen outside their rooms by 5:00 pm'

"I think the body fell.. " Dia walked around the middle of the promenade where she and Kanan danced and where the body had fallen. She could still smell the lingering scent of iron and flesh from the spot. "Here.. " Dia kneeled on one knee and glides her finger on the ground. There are no remaining droplets of blood anymore but she can still inhale the blood and rotting flesh and ash of a demon.

"Hey Dia!" The brunette snapped her head to where the sound came from and she saw Kanan in the upper floor of the promenade. The girl was now only wearing her tank top with the hem rolled up to her under bust to expose her abdomen. Kanan was in the same position as Dia but her eyes are now closed.

"The birds said they are just water demons.. But I think there's something more to it.." Kanan said with closed eyes. The setting changed inside her brain. The walls of the ship changes shapes from time to time like water following the waves. She can feel the footsteps of the passengers and even their heartbeats. She can feel Dia approaching her but she stayed focus.

Her senses roamed around more and she saw an odd image walking down the hallway. It was a female demon.. She can't see it's colors but it looks human. No horns,no fangs and sans amphibian eyes. But it also looked unreal because the image fades away.

"Kanan.." A calm voice called out for her as the female vanishes from her vision.

"Kanan..!" Her crew uniform covered her body which finished her own investigation. She opened her eyes and looked at Dia who was looking worriedly at her.

"Is there something wrong..?" Dia asked as she she pulled up Kanan. She thought it would be easy but Kanan suddenly felt heavy. The blue haired girl was also shocked because she suddenly felt weak and tired.  'Was it because of that girl?'

"Illusion ..They can control illusion" Kanan grunted and leaned on the railings. Dia rubbed her back.

"Let's go back to the captain."

Time: 18:00

"So you saw the demon but you're not able to catch it?" Gritting his teeth,Mr Watanabe gripped at the table while looking down on it ,avoiding Kanan and Dia's worried eyes.

"We didn't really saw it, sir..but we saw an illusion made by them.. I can't really figure out where they are because the ship was in water and it's their domain.. They covered up themselves with the waves." Kanan tried to explain. She have seen Mr.Watanabe's rage before and his reactions right now are the earlier signs of it.

"But sir.. I think the demon was not a normal passenger at all.. " Dia said as she walk in front of Kanan. " I think he's also a crew.."

Mr. Watanabe finally looked up and he stared at Dia who took a paper from under the desk. She placed it down on the table and started writing down names using a quill.

Curiously,Kanan peeked and she noticed every name of crews on board being written on the paper. Dia's memory was still amazing as usual. The girl started crossing out names leaving five or three names uncrossed.

"The crossed ones haven't had any contacts with the dead waiter. Most of them are from the storage room. The demon can freely roam around like us." Dia folded the sheet of paper and she placed the ink on top of it. "And .. I can also smell the demon all over the bridge of the ship. You have to be careful.."

Kanan was amazed. She didn't knew how Dia got all this information because she was too focused on their mission, does she gained all that by just patrolling around? Dia's enhanced sense of smell doesn't just allow her to feel danger,sense a demon or inhale someone's emotion. She can also find traces of demons and humans alike.

Mr. Watanabe gulped and picked up the paper,he read it and stared at Dia. "Does it mean I should trust no one..?"

"Exactly." Dia nodded. "We can't really guard you here since there's a lot of defenseless passengers and they will surely attack them when they realized that we're here."

"I-it's fine. I still know how to wield a sword." Mr. Watanabe stuttered and he swallowed hard while staring at the names stated in the sheet of paper. He never thought that he mistakenly trusted a demon. "I'll also see what I can find and search in here." He sighed and stiffened his shoulder.

"We'll excuse ourselves,sir. We'll tell Chika and You about our current investigation. For now,please keep an eye on your surrounding."

"Please do so. I'll call out the other staff and investigate on them individually."

Kanan and Dia bowed down and nodded before turning around and walking towards the exit.

"I haven't hold you about my hunch but you were able to figure it out. You're so amazing!" Kanan whispered shouted and she held the door knob.

"I saw it in your journal but you were having a hard time so I helped a little." Dia proudly said and she chuckled.

Kanan was about to twist the knob when someone from the other side opened the door for them. Both parties stepped back and blinked.

"Oh Hi ,Ms.Kurosawa and Ms.Matsuura." The cabin boy tipped his hat. Kanan blinked for a second.

"Hello..?"

The cabin boy just smiled widely at them with closed eyes before heading in inside the bridge.

Kanan blinked again and she followed her gaze to the Cabin boy who stood in front of the captain.

"Our shift is almost done! C'mon!" Dia pulled Kanan's wrist and tugged it with her as she walk away from the bridge. "We still need to patrol for a bit!" It was Dia's turn to whisper at Kanan.

Kanan let herself get dragged but a part of her doesn't want to leave..

______________________

Mr.Watanabe faced the window to have a 180° view of what's ahead of them. He can still see no land so he was worried about the demon lingering in his ship.

"Is there something bothering you ,sir?" The cabin boy asked as he stood by the table.

"Where's the real one..?" Mr. Watanabe held the hilt of his old nichirin blade which is in shape of katana with blue blade.

"Huh..? " Innocently,the cabin boy tilted his head and held his hand together on his back.

"You're the only one whom I can suspect.. " Mr.Watanabe finally turned around and faced the cabin boy. He drew his Katana out and held it with both hands.

The cabin boy smirked and he let his bare fang be in seen. It made Mr. Watanabe narrow his eyes and grind his teeth. "So.. You know it already?"

"Let's keep quiet ,shall we?"

"Aye aye captain ~"

______________________

Kanan was still worried for some reasons. She doesn't want to go out of the bridge nor stay far from it. The urge to guard the place was strong but she doesn't want Mr.Watanabe to look weak. He was once a Hashira after all.

Unconsciously, Kanan was grinding her teeth which was noticed by Dia. The brunette was also worried but she has faith on Mr.Watanabe.

"Hey.. It's fine. Let's head back to the girls ,okay?" Dia held Kanan's hand and softly rubbed the back of it with her thumb. Kanan finally sighed the breath she was holding before turning to Dia. "Thank you.."

After visiting Chika and You's room to talk about their current findings,the atmosphere become lighter. The younger girls never fails to brighten up their moods and it was enough for them to relax and calm down.

They headed back to their room and changed into pajamas and night gown. Being the one who was the first one to get dressed into her night gown,Dia was the first one to lie down on their bed.

"Hey.. Are you tired?" Dia asked as Kanan walked out of the bathroom while wearing pajamas.

"Hmmn.. Not really.. My body is somewhat recovering from the sudden exhaustion earlier. I'm glad Mr.Watanabe didn't noticed it."

Dia just smiled softly at Kanan and she opened her arms wide. Gladly,Kanan crawled over Dia and buried her face on the girl's chest. "There there.. He'll be fine."

Kanan's sigh got muffled on Dia's collarbone which made the lass giggle. "I hope so.." Dia rubs her girlfriend's for comfort until both of them falls asleep in each other's arms.

// I'm sorry everyone qwq this is not really a content filled chapter and I've made you guys wait for too long. I was busy with drawings. And BTW have that Dia Kurosawa in Demon Slayer uniform that I drew a few weeks ago.

Imma make some Kanan Matsuura soon qwq and also  imma draw the other girls if I can. If you want to support me,you can like Verochika in Facebook. I love you all💕