[center][h1]TENKO MARIA THOMPSON[/h1][/center]
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"Wait, Miyuki, don't—"

Tenko spoke the moment she noticed Miyuki started moving, but even then, it was already too late.

Before she could finish speaking, Miyuki were slashed by Xaku's demon arts, each wound appearing near instantaneously. None were fatal, but considering the location of the wounds was not exactly that far off from major arteries, it wasn't hard to imagine that the fact they were not fatal was by intent.

The normal Tenko would have immediately come to Miyuki's aid and attempted to fight Xaku, but under her current state of mind, she was able to calmly assess the situation.

Having come to the conclusion that Xaku did not intend to kill Miyuki, she held herself back and let Xaku make her speech and posturing to Miyuki.

Antagonising her further would serve no purpose. Previously, after she had questioned her on justice, if she killed her, then that would serve as proof to the Demon Slayer Corps that Xaku cannot be trusted to remain in the current position she held in law enforcement. Clearly, she had no interest in actually upholding justice if she killed a surrendering suspect.

Her harming Miyuki was less severe, but it was the same principle. Miyuki did attack her, but in the end, as Xaku herself put it, Miyuki was no match for her. With such disparity in strength, she should be able to stop Miyuki without cutting her up.

Regardless, this was clearly not someone who should be in law enforcement. 

And that was the crux of the issue, wasn't it?

Considering how she talked to the other demons and how she was regarded, she was clearly a high-profile demon. So there should be little chance that the Demon Slayers Corps were not aware that such a high-profile demon had joined the police. So why weren't they briefed about Xaku? Better yet, why wasn't she a target for extermination?

...Clearly, tonight's events had shown her that there were many questions that needed to be answered by the Corps' leadership.

As Xaku ordered Mamushi to take Miyuki to a hospital, Tenko turned to Himari, "Tsugikuni-san, perhaps you should accompany them? Make sure Miyuki-chan get the treatment she needed."

She then turned to Gekido, addressing his question, "For the record, I wasn't trying to kill her, I was attempting to neutralise a possible threat in a non-lethal way to ascertain her intentions. As for my choice of words...yes, she is an unknown demon. Mamushi-san, as a demon, is a side of her that is unknown to me..." Tenko said, before turning to Mamushi, "As I suspect this Demon Slayer side of myself is an unknown side to Mamushi-san. Besides, even if we were classmates, I wouldn't say we were best friends or anything, so objectively speaking, I cannot say I know all facets of human Mamushi as well."

Normal Tenko would probably put it more tactfully, but at the end of the day, that was true. Tenko and Mamushi had talked and were amicable with each other, of course, but it wasn't as if they were particularly close enough for Tenko to have absolute confidence in her character even after turning into a demon.

Tenko turned back to Gekido, continuing her answer, "Demons and Demon Slayers have been bitter enemies for hundreds of years, we were—are—essentially at war. In that context, were my actions really unprecedented? If you suddenly encountered a casual friend that you had not seen in a while as a demon slayer, would you really not be at the very least wary? Especially when, after we have encountered several demons tonight, there is a high chance that this area is demon territory. There could be various complications that could happen, such as Mamushi possessing highly potent demon arts or that she was leading us to an ambush."

"I am not trying to justify my actions, as I doubt anything I said would be enough justification from the perspective of your side, but since you asked, that was essentially the rationale of my actions," she finished.

Mamushi may have stood up for them, but logically speaking, there was always a chance that the whole thing was a setup for Mamushi to ingratiate herself with them and act as a spy. It would be foolish to take her on blind faith now, let alone before.

She then watched as Gekido turned to Xaku, asking for a quick chat. As Gekido assured Xaku that her quarry won't run, Tenko added, "As I said, I am willing to turn myself in. As long as the rest of the Demon Slayer Corps are guaranteed passage out of this area tonight, I'll go along with whatever your side decides."

[@The Jest][@Aku the Samurai][@Dane][@King Kindred]