The Demon Queen

Douma's Unexpected Visit

"Sakura-sama, I killed two Hashira up by the mountains and Hantengu killed another one!" Gyokko joyfully reported to me, standing before me and towering over me in his larger form that resembled some kind of nightmarish fish-mermaid.

"Ehm ... great," I said. I smiled. "And I'm sure it was an artistic slaughter."

Gyokko laughed. "It was done by me. There's no other way it could be described. Oh, how beautiful their corpses were before I devoured them!"

I looked over Gyokko's body. His scaled skin was slimy and water dripped from his webbed hands and feet. "Gyokko, you're wet," I said. I sighed. "You're always extensively wet in that form of yours." I got up and walked over to where one of his pots were kept on a low table.

"The water from my body is blessed with my creative sweat and tears from the hours I've slaved over my pottery in the name of art," he said proudly. "Sakura-sama, you know how fruitfully my pots sell in the city. You and Muzan-sama have made a lot of earnings from their value. And Douma-dono --" He brought his hand to one of his mouths and gave it a dramatic kiss. "He is the best salesman a demon artist  could ask for."

As he spoke, I walked over to him, holding the pot in my hands. "All of that is true," I said with a praising smile. "But, make sure you have that creative water of yours evaporate, too. You don't want Kokushibou to come by this end of the castle and slip on it again, do you?"

Gyokko gasped. "No, no, I must not anger Kokoshibou-dono." He evaporated the puddle of water forming underneath him.

"Good idea," I said. "Now then --" I rubbed the pot I was holding. "Why don't you shrink and come in here? It's such a beautiful pot."

"Oh, Sakura-sama, I must express my gratitude again and again for the appreciation you show for my work!" Gyokko exclaimed and then transferred himself to his smaller form inside the pot.

"Ah! Perfect!" I said and carried Gyokko with me to where I could take a seat. I put his pot on a cushion in front of me. "Where's Hantengu gone off to?"

"He decided to go west towards Osaka," Gyokko replied. "He said there was another group of slayers sent over there. No Hashira, so he said he can handle it himself. But between you and me --" Gyokko looked around to be sure no one else was there to listen. "I think he also has his eye out to steal something out there."

"I guess if he can do that and wants to, why not? It's not like someone can capture him and lock him up to await execution anymore."

"Ah!" Gyokko exclaimed. "That's right! They were going to put Hantengu to death when you and Muzan-sama met him!"

"Yeah, well, things like that happen," I said. "You know that Muzan and I have a tendency to choose criminals for our candidates to turn into demons."

Gyokko laughed. "That's why we're such a fine and unique group," he said. "Aah ..." he continued in a nostalgic fondness. "I can still remember the day I stuffed that wretched child that mocked me into a pot and killed it ..."

At that moment, just as I was about to laugh in agreement with Gyokko, I suddenly sensed Douma's presence in the castle. Along with him were the faint scents of two humans.

"I thought Douma-dono wasn't allowed to come here!" Gyokko said, laughing a bit.

"Well, technically he isn't, until he's able to bring the Blue Spider Lily back with him," I said.

Gyokko slapped his gill-like hands to his nose. "What's the need for him to bring some smelly humans in here! Ugh! If Muzan-sama finds out they're here, he'll kill them all!"

"Gyokko, shut up." I held the pot he was in up to my eye level and looked at him. "And you're not going anywhere to tell Muzan. That's an order from me, your Master. Got it?"

The mouths where Gyokko's eyes should have been turned into pouting frowns. He then disappeared completely into his pot.

The scents of Douma and the humans quickly grew closer, until Douma shoved open the sliding door to the room I was in and barged in.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" he called, walking into the room, holding a young-looking human under each of his arms.