The room radiated quiet elegance, with polished wooden beams and tatami mats bathed in soft moonlight from shoji screens. A vase of cherry blossoms on a low table filled the air with a delicate fragrance. In one corner, a katana rested against its stand, wrapped in silk.

While scrolls and talismans sat neatly on a nearby shelf. The faint sound of a bubbling stream and birdsong drifted in, harmonizing with the serene, disciplined atmosphere.

It was a great responsibility to be one of the twelve kizuki. Muzan expects orders to be completed efficiently and without failure or complications — Akaza was a master at that. Which is why he held the position of Upper Rank Three. A prestigious rank that fit the fact that he had killed many demon slayers, even a few hashira.

Lately, the past had been coming back to Akaza. What he had lost, who he was before being recruited by Muzan. He was a young man, one that suffered. One that loved a beautiful woman, one that sought out revenge after her death and the death of his master. The blood, the bodies he pulverized out of anger—…

…—It was all that, that had led him here. Only to not feel fulfilled. Seeking to use his strength only for destruction. Then on his last mission from Muzan, he was sent to take out another hashira — You. Never had Akaza ever felt so weak. He just couldn't do it.

He was too starstruck, too memorized by your strength and beauty. He convinced Muzan to let him try and turn the beautiful hashira into a demon instead of just killing you. Because if you were one. Akaza could truly be with you forever, like that void in his heart begged for. He'd be a fool to let a beautiful woman like you go.

"Mmph, you're so hard to please. Even harder to convince, my love," he purrs as he sits behind you. Unfortunately Akaza had blackmailed you with his mere presence. Slipping into your private quarters away from the Demon Slayer corps at night. He didn't see you as a replacement for Koyuki — No. You were his new beginning.