-Off to the butterfly estate, via detours and insights-

What a sweet scent... Baffled, I now concentrated more on my craft and fancied the trail of blood that ran through the cold water as I washed, but which also reached my nose in a fragrant way. Normally, this would have made me sick and nauseous - who could smell a large amount of iron blood and find it delicious? But this time... This time was different. My mouth was watering and I realized that I was getting hungry. The last time I had such a craving was when I could still eat ordinary food. But just now... I wanted to take a bite.

"Well, how far along are you?" Tengen's bright voice interrupted me from right behind me as he placed his hands firmly on my shoulders, startling me.

I instantly felt caught out and shabby. As if I had just done something forbidden.

"Uh- almost done," I replied, caught off guard, and crumpled the fabric in my hands as if to cover it up. Another wave of blood flowed out.

"Is everything okay?" he asked me in surprise - no doubt at my unprepared answer as well as my behavior.

Shit!

"Yes-a," I said in confusion, Tengen kneeling down next to me.

He lovingly placed his index finger on my chin and made me look into his fuchsia eyes, his left eye adorned with a striking mark. He seemed serious.

"I didn't offer you my help for nothing, Kaori."

"Yeah, I know," I let my lips roll affectedly and turned my gaze away from him.

"Hey, stop feeling bad. You didn't do anything. Besides, you mustn't forget that it's unfortunately yours now. What's important is what you make of it. You didn't attack anyone. It was your own blood and you didn't taste it either."

His confidence in God's ears...

"I'm aware of that, Tengen, but what if it catches up with me on the mission. And I'm not talking about my own blood. I know myself far too little in my new form. But the fact is that I won't hurt anyone!" I confessed honestly and with full strength of will not to break my plan or my promise to myself.

"Then you'll fight it, and I'll stand by you. I have my eye on you. I'm aware of what I'm getting myself into. I'm also prepared for the fact that things could get difficult and unforeseen situations could arise."

His words relieved me. Suddenly it was much easier for me to approach the unknown. Of course, the awe and great respect could not be completely dispelled, but they could still be put in their place to some extent.

"Thank you, Tengen."

Together we walked the short distance back to my cottage, where I hung up my wet uniform on a taut line and gave my companion my full attention.

"So, I say we put me through wisteria hell," I suggested, Tengen putting on a surprised face.

"What a load of crap! You can't get out of here... I didn't even think about that! So you can't come with us after all..."

I raised an eyebrow promisingly.

"As you noticed earlier, I try to stay human at all costs, and I wouldn't be Kaori if I hadn't already tested the effects of the wisteria on myself. There's only one way from this estate to the very bottom, where the last trees are, that I can get through quickly," I explained with a raised index finger, symbolizing this one way, "I may get sick and dizzy, but I can get through it."

"You're really crazy," he said, grinning broadly.

"Well, listen. When you have nothing else to do but gardening, you get crazy ideas. But we have to be quick."

"Nothing could be easier!"

So I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him behind me to the spot where it was least unbearable for me.

"Good, get ready, Tengen. We're off in three, two, one." Before I could even finish my sentence, the column of sound was already speeding away. He was supposed to say again that I had been haphazard... I did the same. I blindly shot after him and almost caught up with him, but didn't quite make it. In a few minutes, we had already left the seemingly endless path behind us and arrived at the foot of the mountain. I was exhausted! No, not just in terms of the path, but also physically. With my hand raised in Tengen's direction, indicating a pause, I bent my upper body forward and rested my other hand on my thigh.

"I'm ... Nauseous!!!" I complained, my stomach extremely queasy and out of breath, looking down at the ground, "okay... Wait... It'll be okay... Again!"

I concentrated hard on my breathing to get rid of the nausea that was stuck in my throat. I was also dizzy and shaking as if I had poisoned myself.

"But at least you made it. Are you all right?" Tengen stood by me awkwardly and put his big, warm hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, taking a deep breath, "mhm."

That was certainly a picture for the gods. Tengen must have noticed that my shoulders were starting to shake, because I couldn't hold on any longer and burst out laughing.

"What's going on now?" he said, unprepared, "is everything all right?"

"Oo-h man!" I regretted with amusement, 'I loved wisteria and now it just makes me dizzy and harms me,' I laughed at myself, "yes, everything is okay, but I could still throw up."

I thus elicited his suppressed laughter too, "I could have sworn it was a lot worse than it looked.... This can only be a splendid adventure..." Tengen let his doubts be heard.

"If I remember correctly, you've always had fun with me."

Had I just seen correctly that he looked surprised for a moment before putting on his glamorous face again?

"Yes, that's right. I have nothing to counter that. Very well, but before we set off for the joy quarter, I'd like to take some more troop members from the butterfly estate with me."

I looked up at him in horror.

"Didn't I just mishear you? How many more do you want to take with you? Besides, I don't dare go near this estate. Maybe as a human, but not like this!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'll go in, get two more supporters and then we'll go hunting," he glared at me confidently, as if it had already been agreed, "you can wait nearby until I come out again. I don't expect you to come in with me."

"I certainly won't do that either. You know the others still want me dead more than they're looking forward to seeing me."

"Nonsense. Not everyone is against you."

"But most of them... All right, then. You go in and come out with more troopers. I'll stay in the immediate vicinity of the estate."

I exhaled gloomily and put on the hood of my haori. At least a little extra protection to avoid being seen directly.

"That's exactly how we do it."

Together with Tengen, I made my way through the deep forest to one of the estates of our demon hunter troop - Shinobu's. The cool, fresh air embraced us gently. The singing sound of birds and the cracking and crackling of branches beneath our feet resounded through the dense trees and quiet surroundings. It was unspeakably good to experience a change of scenery and not just sneak into the next small village unseen to steal sake and hurry home again.

"Tell me, Kaori, have you heard anything from your brother?" Tengen's voice broke the pleasant silence between us.

I faltered. I wasn't prepared for such a question.

"N-no. And I'm quite happy about that. I don't want to see that monster anymore either."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't. Your question is perfectly valid. It just caught me off guard."

"It certainly wasn't intentional."

Kaoru...

It was fall, almost winter. Together with my twin brother, I had collected wood and coal from outside to heat up and cook in our modest little home. Our parents had not been with us since our late childhood days because they had been haunted and killed by demons. After finishing our work and a delicious dinner, we lay down to rest and slept soundly. Suddenly we were rudely awakened by a terribly loud noise and three hungry and bloodthirsty demons were already standing in the middle of our bedchamber.

Two of them laughed derisively and mockingly. They made perfidious plans as to which of us they should eat first and, ultimately, how. I was immensely afraid. Of the situation, of my brother and also of my own life. I could still remember too well how unspeakably cold it became. A demon emanated a powerful aura, you didn't even dare to blink in its presence. His blood-red eyes flashed at me again and again, as if they wanted to slit me open just by looking at me. He was calm, seemed annoyed by his two comrades-in-arms or perhaps subordinates? In any case, they subdued him in an instant as soon as they even noticed him take a breath to start speaking.

Without even batting an eyelid, the two of them had pounced on my twin brother in no time at all at the command of the black-haired demon, biting courageously at his large body. His arms, legs, stomach and chest were literally torn apart by these hideous creatures. Screaming in pain, they bit into everything without pause, even tearing off his arm completely. Wine-red blood flowed and spurted incessantly from the gaping wounds. They smacked and mocked him incessantly, raving on and on about how delicious he was and how amazingly long he had been alive. I sat there in complete shock, unable to move or even act. I had thoughts of grabbing a knife or an axe, but I was so controlled by the hideous scene and the searing screams, as well as the powerful third demon, that I could only watch from a blurred perspective.

"Very well. Let go of him. I will make this fine specimen my own!"

That was the cue and they let go of his almost destroyed body. His gaze was blank and fixed on the wall. His arm and legs lay trembling in an unnatural and painful position. His breathing was shallow and intermittent. The demon cut its finger with its sharp fangs and threw a single drop of blood onto one of Kaoru's numerous wounds. His body began to twitch uncontrollably. His injuries began to dry up within a few seconds. His amber eyes turned ultraviolet in the moonlight and I was aware that his transformation had just begun. His severed arm grew back in the blink of an eye and his large wounds had disappeared from one moment to the next – as if they had never been there. His copper-red, medium-length hair turned midnight blue and sky blue at the tips. He got up without further ado, as if he had only been asleep.

"And now you take your twin sister as your first morsel to complete your final transformation!"

"Kaori?", Tengen's troubled voice color snapped me out of my cruel thoughts.

"Yes-a? What is it?" I answered hastily.

The question about my brother threw me off track more than I would have liked. Tengen grabbed my hand and forced me to stand still. Only now did I realize that I was looking at him with a blurred expression.

"I certainly didn't want to bring back painful memories for you. I didn't mean to."

And then I noticed how he pulled me into a comforting hug. I pressed myself completely against him and buried my face in his strong chest.

"Tengen..." I whispered softly against him, "thank you for saving my life back then. If you hadn't come, the four of them would have attacked me. All priority Kaoru. I'm sure he was also intent on torturing me in the same way he had before, before he would have made me a demon too."

"I would have prevented that at all costs that night. It was just a coincidence that I was nearby, but believe me, Kaori, even if I hadn't already been a hunter at the time, I would have rushed to your aid. And I would have killed your brother too if he hadn't been such a coward and run away."

"That would probably have been for the best..." I muttered heavily.

It had been six years since that terrible evening. At that time, Tengen was a demon hunter of the Kinoe rank, the first rank among the pillars. Which did not make him seem weak even at the time. He was only a tender seventeen years old, whereas Kaoru and I were fourteen. He had dispatched the invading demons effortlessly and with the same speed as he did today - with a one-sword style at the time. Of course, as a pillar he had now grown by leaps and bounds in his abilities, but even then I found him to be an excellent fighter.

I sorely missed my twin brother. Not only was he the last of our family that I still had, but Kaoru had been a very gentle boy. Extremely sensitive, the typical strong brother and my rock. He radiated the calm and composure that I had learned from him with ease. An optimist on top of everything else. And that evening he turned into a man-eating monster, ready to attack me as well. However, he managed to escape with Muzan before Tengen arrived, so he was unable to catch my brother.

Nevertheless, Tengen's successful efforts were rewarded with his ascension to the pillar. Meanwhile, he had persuaded me to learn a special breathing technique - his sound breathing - and to take the entrance exam to become a demon hunter. The path there was anything but easy, because I had never intended to become a slayer, let alone a pillar. Today, however, I was grateful to him for insisting so stubbornly on having me as Tsuguko and allowing me to teach him. But Tengen was certainly not a gracious teacher...

After we had walked on and the pleasant silence had rejoined us, we soon reached the Butterfly Manor. A place that I also had to visit very often. Especially after fights, which had really taken their toll on me. The group around Shinobu had all been so welcoming to me that I really enjoyed the forced visits. Nevertheless, the insect pillar was also against my remaining in the demon hunter group at the time. I gave Shinobu a lot of credit for at least not wanting to see me on the funeral pyre as well, but merely no longer in the ranks of the pillars.

"So, here we are. You stay here and I'll just go in and round up my troop," Tengen instructed me, who immediately stood in front of me and put his hands on his hips.

"All right, I'll wait here for you."

So he disappeared and I thought it was safe to stay at the end of the fence, away from the entrance. The large butterfly estate - it was the largest of all the estates surrounding the headquarters. This was certainly partly due to the fact that the infirmary was also located here. Shinobu, Aoi and the assistants Sumi, Naho and Kiyo could be found here, as well as a few Kakushi's from time to time. We pillars were allowed to call the elemental estates our home. Obanai and Giyu lived in the water estate. The fire estate was home to the flame and love pillars - Kyojuro and Mitsuri, although Mitsuri seemed to live there alone. The earth estate was inhabited solely by Gyomei. Sanemi and Muichiro were up to mischief in the air estate, while I had lived under the same roof as Tengen and his wives at the time - the thunder estate. The buildings were all at different distances from each other, but they were not too far apart. There was also a training ground and a hot spring a little further away.

"Stop it now!" I heard Aoi protest loudly from nearby and a joint 'Help!' from Sumi and Kiyo.

"Put me back down," Aoi pleaded, almost in a panic, "I didn't... do anything. I-I-"

"Calm down," Tengen objected, "be quiet, brat!"

"Stop, please!" Kiyo pleaded.

"Why don't you put her down," Sumi complained tearfully.

What had that muscleman been up to? Was it not agreed that he would take other members with him on the mission?

"Help, Kanao, please!" Aoi tried again.

Kanao? Did they have someone new at the Butterfly Estate? I didn't know this girl.

"Kanao!"

"Please Kanao!"

Immediately, I heard Tengen's shallow footsteps gradually approaching the exit of the estate. He wasn't seriously planning to kidnap the girls, was he?

"Thank you, Kanao..." I heard Aoi say with relief.

Had the aforementioned Kanao decided to intervene after all? Tengen's footsteps also fell silent.

"What's it going to be when it's done? Was my instruction not clear enough?" Tengen grumbled deeply, to which he received no reply and let him roar, "Come on, spit it out! And stop tugging at me!"

The cute little helpers Sumi and Kiyo shouted at the same time, "go on the attack!", "attack!" That's how I heard them hurrying towards Tengen.

I didn't really know whether I should have laughed or helped. If I had rushed to help, who would I have helped?

"Pull yourselves together, you little brats!" yelled the one who was looking for troop members.

"Damn it, what are you doing with those girls?" came the stern and loud voice of someone I didn't know, "let go of them now!"

Reflexively, I retreated further behind the fence so as not to be seen. This meant that my question was resolved in an instant. For a moment, nothing was heard at all. What was going on there? And who was the new boy who had appeared? Strangely enough, there wasn't just one aura emanating from him. There were two that I couldn't define. I furrowed my brow. I saw him standing upright, but the other aura was small and seemed to be crouched at his back...

"He's planning to kidnap us," Kiyo explained the situation, "please, help us!"

Unfortunately, I was already of the same opinion. That was so typical of Tengen. That was exactly how he had got me out of bed early in the morning for our training when I was his tsukugo. It brought back terrible memories.

"You little snot!" Tengen retorted angrily, whereupon Kiyo screamed fearfully, "aaaaah!"

I heard the boy running from the entrance into the estate and must have jumped. I also heard another jump before I heard the sound of falling to the ground.

More and more question marks began to line up in my head. At that moment, however, I saw Tengen kneeling on the archway. Together with Aoi stretched on his shoulder and Naho clutched under his arm, both still struggling against it. He was crazy... Shocked, I put my hands to my face.

"Everything all right up there?" I heard the stranger ask, to which Kiyo replied 'yes'.

"Hey, you blockhead," Tengen insulted the boy who had appeared, "Tengen Uzui is standing in front of you. Former shinobi. No one in this area can hold a candle to me! Do you think you could bring me down with a headbutt?"

"You should leave the girls alone! You miserable kidnapper!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Kiyo agreed with him.

"What's this all about anyway?"

"Pervert, pervert!" Sumi croaked.

Tengen obviously burst his bubble and replied angrily, "You've got a nerve! How are you actually talking to me? I'm in charge here! I'm one of the pillars, damn it!"

"But I don't recognize you as a pillar! Mmh!"

I slowly had to stifle a snort. I would have loved to see this confrontation up close. At the time, I hadn't dared to take on Tengen. He would have cut my head off mercilessly.

"What do you mean, mmh? Do you think I care whether you recognize me? Are you still in your right mind? Is your brain going moldy or what? I need more female troop members for my mission and apart from Shinobu's Tsukugo, I don't even need permission!"

Shinobu had a tsukugo by now? Could it have been the little girl with the jet-black hair and purple eyes that she had adopted? I thought she had called her Kanao, hadn't she? I couldn't remember exactly, but it was slowly dawning on me.

"But Naho isn't a troop member! She doesn't even have a uniform on!" Kiyo stood up for Naho, who was tucked under Tengen's arm.

Tengen then looked at his hostage, dressed in innocent white, who gave him a frightened look and threw her off the entrance arch without further ado.

"Well then, off you go!"

"Tengen!", I reprimanded quietly to myself, although I would have liked to shout at him, but I kept my head down. Nevertheless, that was enough to know that he had heard me. Just like him, my sense of hearing was much more developed than our other senses.

Naho must have been caught, because fortunately I didn't hear a painful thud.

"Are you out of your mind, you monster?" the boy sneered at Tengen.

"Woah, he threw me away," Naho whined.

"Fine, but I'll take this one with me for my mission," Tengen decided for himself, ignoring the others, "I doubt she'll do me any good, but at least she counts as a troop member."

Aoi didn't like that at all, and I could see that in the look of fear and shock on her face. Although she had passed the entrance exam back then, she claimed that it had been pure luck. She knew how to breathe water, just like Giyu. However, Aoi had not spent any time training to fight the demons. Without further ado, she decided to help out at the butterfly mansion and treat the injured demon hunters.

"Don't drag them into your problems!" the boy hissed sharply at Tengen, "Do you think you can just show up here and get away with everything? Hand Aoi out!"

Completely unimpressed, Tengen gave him his attention, "Well, well. Is that all you have to offer? If that's really all you've got against me, then things are really going downhill for the new demon hunters."

"... Release Aoi and take us instead!" he suggested boldly.

Us?! Did he mean Kanao and him? Please, Tengen... Say no. Aoi was at least one of the ones who had known me!

"And who are you, please?"

As if on cue, two more boys jumped onto the fence to Tengen's side. One of them wore a sun-yellow kimono running into warm orange, as did his medium-length hair, while the one behind wore a wild boar mask? Or boar's head?! I also noticed that he wasn't wearing any upper-body accessories. But he was also using a two-sword style. Both were dressed in the demon hunter uniform - so I could conclude that these two had also passed the entrance exam. At the same time, they also jumped inside the manor and out of my field of vision. So were these three new demon hunters that Tengen had just seemed disappointed with?

"I asked who you were. Speak up!"

"I've only just got back, but the power in me is boiling over!" said one of them in his striking grating voice, "you can count on it!"

Could that have been the boar boy? Would at least fit better than the gentle blond.

"Take your stylus from Aoi right now! Ha-did we understand each other there? ... A-even if you're a real muscle monster, I won't ... take a step ... back," the other boy instructed Tengen reverently.

He seemed to be thinking about it. And I didn't like that look at all. He was genuinely interested and was considering accepting the offer...

"If that's the case, I guess I'll be forced to take you three with me..."

"... Hö-ö?!" I heard in astonishment from the group of boys, and I would have liked to join them.

"Woe betide you if one of you tots gets out of line!" Tengen glared and immediately gave Aoi a mischievous slap on the bottom.

I shook my head, ashamed and smiling, and lowered my eyes. No question, it was unnecessary, but I would have been lying if I hadn't found it funny. Sorry, Aoi, but Tengen was just Tengen...

One to zero for the sound column. Instead of two group members, he now had three. No female hunters and none I knew at all, but he had halfway achieved his stubborn goal. How would they have reacted to me? I was not at all happy with this and I thought I would have to have another serious word with the redneck about it. This only put me in even more danger.