Branching Paths

by SkywardStrike

Fate is a funny thing. Switch up only a couple pieces and the results can be worldchanging. The Kamado siblings' separation was just such an event, one that led Nezuko to a darker path and turned Tanjiro into a legend reborn. The ripples of their actions, for better or worse, will change the course of history itself.

23. Nursing Wounds

Three days had passed since the incident at Natagumo and its events were still very fresh on everyone's minds. Aoi Kanzaki could easily attest to that. Just as they had left the previous day, all members of the recently dubbed 'Five Senses' had returned to the Butterfly Mansion the next morning accompanied by a troop of Kakushi, some Demon Slayers and even a Pillar in the form of Tengen Uzui. Kanao was virtually unharmed and Genya was already recovering from the wear on his body by then, but the other three boys seemed to have been very much so affected by their recent mission.

Zenitsu, though his state easily the most understandable of the three, was still suffering. The realization of his three missing fingers had hit him hard once he woke up, leading to panic and disbelief throughout the first day, but after that, he seemed to have fallen into a quiet depression. He rarely left his bed and spent a lot of time staring at his maimed hand, said routine only ever being interrupted when he went to the bathroom or ate. She had tried talking to him before, but it had barely gotten her anywhere. His responses, if they even came, were short and distracted, only ever speaking a couple of words at a time. The biggest piece of information she had gotten out of him was that he wasn't sure if he was gonna continue on as a Demon Slayer after this. Being a trained medic, Aoi knew that receiving maiming wounds on the line of battle usually resulted in lifetime compensation to the Slayer directly paid by the Ubuyashiki estate, but with him only losing three fingers, it didn't leave him fully unable to fight and thus didn't qualify, meaning regardless of his decision, Zenitsu would receive no compensation for his loss. She'd even tried to act flirty with him as he'd done so often to her, but even that hadn't gotten any reaction out of him. It surprised Aoi, how badly this made her feel. Once he stopped swooning at her at every turn and began talking to her like a normal person, the upbeat idiot had actually really begun growing on her. It made her very sad, seeing Zenitsu in his current situation.

Inosuke seemed to have the opposite problem. He too had a moment of depression, but as soon as that was over he would begin training nonstop, doing pushups, situps, running around the mansion grounds, whatever it was, he was doing it with hellish determination. Aoi had tried getting him to slow down his overtraining as it was clearly doing more harm than good to his recovery. Even without his boar mask though, he was still very thickheaded, seeing as her pleas for him to slow down had gone to deaf ears and he seemed to just push himself harder as time went on. Unlike Zenitsu, it wasn't quite as clear what really was wrong with Inosuke. Of course, she noticed the loss of his characteristic boar head, but it seemed to go beyond that. She'd heard his mutterings in between gritted teeth while he trained, things like 'you're pathetic' or 'gotta make it right'. Aoi, of course, couldn't guess from that alone what had happened to him, but it was very clear Inosuke blamed himself for something. The fact that he never sat to eat alongside Zenitsu, instead always waiting until the blond finished to stuff his face and immediately go back to training, told her he felt responsible for the boy's condition and was ashamed to face him. It made sense since they both had reported fighting together against a Lower Moon, the fight where Zenitsu's fingers were lost. Still, something told her his own grief went even beyond that but even approaching him to ask why felt like a pointless endeavor.

Tanjiro though was probably the worst of the three. At first glance, it was probably hard to tell, as unlike the other two he could keep up a conversation and put up a smile if need be. He would seem perfectly fine until you asked him if he was okay, and the one time Aoi had done so she clearly remembered his smile faltering for a second, a crack in an otherwise perfectly convincing mask, "I'm fine," Is what he had told her, "I just need to figure out some stuff." She had no idea whatsoever in what could be weighing him down so much and he absolutely refused to open up. Usually, she would have shrugged this off and focused on helping the two other boys since their problems were far more prominent. That is, if not for the fact that ever since returning to the Butterfly Estate, she hadn't seen Tanjiro eating nor sleeping even once. He refused to join in either Inosuke or Zenitsu for their meals claiming he 'wasn't hungry', and at night Aoi would just see him sat in his room with his back turned to the door and his sheathed sword behind him, staring off into the courtyard through the open door leading out to it, only to find him in the exact same position upon waking up in the following morning. She had also heard he was the only one from the Senses that had yet to give their mission report, something even Inosuke and Zenitsu had done. She knew Tanjiro had always been almost synonymous with to the strength and dedication he showcased to all of them, even to Kanao who was a prodigy on her own right, but something had very clearly affected him deeply, and he was doing nothing but pushing it down deeper while daily going about the mansion aimlessly or just sitting and staring off into nothing without ever truly being there.

The worst part was not being able to help any of them. Aoi was an apprentice to a Pillar just as much as Kanao, except instead of sword fighting and breath techniques Shinobu had instead taught her the medic's way. She could deal with most wounds, but not those of the mental kind. She intended to ask her mentor about it, but she had left for the Ubuyashiki Mansion to work in finding a cure for the mutated humans found in Natagumo Mountain just after a Messenger Crow had arrived informing them that the Pillar Meeting traditionally hosted on the first day of every even month would be rescheduled and had not been back since. The meeting was supposed to happen that very day, but for unknown reasons, Kagaya Ubuyashiki had decided to delay it by a week without much of an explanation, not something that happened very often from her experience. She also hoped Kanao or Genya might try and talk to them, but when she mentioned it to the former, she seemed almost nervous at the prospect, not something Aoi saw often, but she promised to try. On the other hand, Genya seemed to have his own problems, left anxious upon hearing the news of the Pillar Meeting being delayed. She'd tried to talk to the scarred boy too, but it was hard being communicative with him, in particular when heseemed to malfunction whenever they interacted, getting all flustered and babbly, leading to her eventually giving up.

Of course, being constantly around those three had taken quite a weight on Aoi as well, so much so she couldn't help but think about all that as she was hanging the laundry to dry outside the mansion. It was hard, having all that in her mind while knowing there wasn't much she could do about it. All she could do was let out a sigh, hoping someone else would be there to help the three boys.

---

Not too far away, Inosuke was currently in the courtyard on the opposite side of the house, doing upside-down situps while hooking his legs around the branch of a tree. His teeth were grit together and sweat was pouring down his forehead, every muscle on his body aching from keeping this up ever since before the sun even rose, but he gave it no mind. He had to keep going, because if he was not training, then the thoughts would return. Thoughts about his own failures, thoughts about what he could've and should've done differently back in the mountain. He ran through the same scenario of their fight against Lower Moon Four several times in his head the last two days, how he should've swallowed his pride and let Zenitsu take the lead, help him cut through the strings and use their combined strengths to end the demon just like how they'd use their combined strengths to cut through its threads. If only that was the case, Zenitsu wouldn't have lost his fingers, and Murata wouldn't have died for them.

But even then, he knew his mistakes went further back. Those spiders he slaughtered, not knowing they were actually humans. At first, he tried to convince him that he had no fault, any Demon Slayer could've made the same mistake...but that was not the case. He'd been face to face with one of those before facing the big spider freak, and he knew its immediate reaction to him was to run away. Going over that moment now with the knowledge that it was just a scared person trapped in that awful body, it made him nauseous. Inosuke was never bloodthirsty, he didn't like killing. What he liked was the thrill of a good fight, but those things were defenseless, controlled by a demon to fight against him. It would be no different than murdering those Demon Slayers being puppeteered by the first demon. Except he was hotblooded, and in the middle of the fight, and those spiders attacked him, and he just didn't think!

Those thoughts got to him though, breaking his concentration and causing his thigh injury to suddenly flare up in pain mid-situp, which in turn caused him to lose his balance, unhooking his legs from the tree and crashing down on the ground. Inosuke grunted, closing his eyes as he suddenly felt the pain in his body, seeming almost comparable to when he was carrying Zenitsu down the mountain still wounded from their fight with Rui. Training himself was the only way he could ever hope to take his mind off the consequences of his actions and his regret over them, but it was clear by now that it wasn't much of a sure-fire method either. Still, other than that, he only ever gave himself time to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom. Other than those, it was training all the time, and if he remained too stagnant the thoughts would inevitably come back to torment him. Maybe because when he was training he felt like he was getting stronger, maybe closer to a point where he was strong enough to where he could've made a difference back then. Even he knew deep down though that this was a pointless effort to make himself feel better.

He took a deep breath, giving his crying body a brief moment of relief before he rose again to continue his neverending training, only for something suddenly blocked out the sun from his face. Inosuke would open his eyes in slight confusion and be met with a towering figure staring down at him, staring down at him flamboyantly with both hands on his hips. He immediately recognized the figure from back in Natagumo Mountain, "...you're the Sound Pillar." He recognized, "What are you doing here?"

"Very perceptive there, boy." Tengen Uzui sarcastically commended him, "But to answer your question, seeing as the Pillars' Meeting was delayed and I had some time to kill, I came in to check on how your team was doing after that last mission."

"We're fine." He lied with a grunt as he sat up, not feeling like sharing his personal problems with this weird guy he'd just met days ago. "You should just go annoy someone else."

"That so?" The Pillar murmured, raising an eyebrow, "Cause you really don't look very fine to me."

Grunting, Inosuke turned to glare at the man, "The hell are you talking about?"

"Well, for one, your arms are bleeding." He noted, pointing at the arms in question with a finger and causing the boy to look down and noticed the bandages in his forearm being dirtied in blood, causing him to curse.

"Damn it, not again!" He grunted, frustrated at having to replace those bandages for the umpteenth time.

"Secondly, someone who is 'fine' probably wouldn't train themselves until they're bleeding like that, let alone several times, let alone in the kind of state you're in." Tengen pointed out, walking around the sitting boy and bending down to look at him in the eye while face to face, "So, why don't we cut the bullshit here and you spew what went down in that mountain?"

Unexpectedly enough though, rather than spewing his guts to the Pillar, he instead matched his gaze with a fixed glare and proceeded to shove his head away by pushing him up by the chin, "Well, I don't need to tell you shit, old man." He responded, managing to rise back to his feet while ignoring all the pain, "So why don't you go look for someone else to hand them some of your half-assed advice?"

"...I'm not old, I'm only twenty-three..." Tengen grunted out, to which the boy seemed to care little about as he began walking away without any response. Seeing that though. the Sound Pillar sighed, and spoke up again, "Fine, fine...I'll admit it, I haven't been fully honest with you."

This statement caught Inosuke's attention, causing him to pause and turn back to look at the man, "What do you mean by that?"

"I told you I came here to check on your team, but that's not really true." He admitted, walking towards the wild boy, "What I really came here to do though was to talk to you, Inosuke."

Inosuke blinked in confusion, his head tilting to the side, "The hell do you even have to talk to me about anyway?"

"Well, you and I are quite alike you see? So much so I couldn't help but notice it back at the mountain..." Tengen told him, narrowing his eyes, "you had guilt and regret written all over your face. Those are dangerous emotions...the kind that burrows itself deep into your mind and, if left unchecked, can completely take over you."

Those words were enough to give Inosuke pause, at least after getting over his momentary surprise at hearing the man so accurately describe his condition with words in a way better than he could. It made him second guess his earlier decision to just easily shake Tengen off as if he didn't know what he was talking about. If this guy could really help him, then he shouldn't be prideful and refuse it. Hell, his pride was a big reason why it all had happened the way it did in the first place, so until he could learn to deal with it better, all he could do was swallow said pride, which he did with a sigh before finally saying, "...fine, I'll hear you out."

"Good." Tengen said, walking past him and towards the Butterfly Mansion's entrance, "C'mon, let's go for a walk. I know you might want some privacy for the talk we're about to have."

Despite hesitating for another moment as he looked down at his bloodied arms, Inosuke regardless would follow after the man, deciding to deal with the bandages later. The two of them would make their way outside the butterfly estate and, from there on, they would walk across the surrounding forested area for a while until they were a fair distance away from the mansion, where no one else could bother them. Then, and only then, did Inosuke speak up again, "So what is it exactly that you wanted to tell me here?"

"...I'm not very good with beating around the bush, to be honest. Plus, it doesn't seem to work that well on you either, so let's go straight to the point" Tengen admitted, stopping by a tree at the side of the road where he leaned his back on while crossing his arms, turning an observant gaze towards the boy, watching closely for his reaction to what came next "You were the one that killed those spiders, weren't you?"

Even the warning of being direct beforehand, Inosuke wasn't expecting the man to ask such an accusatory question right off the bet, so his expression probably betrayed his surprise for a second. He looked down at the ground with his lips pursed, averting his gaze from the Pillar's, "...yeah, that was me." He admitted shamefully.

"Of course, I knew as much. I had access to all your mission reports, and matching your fight with the first demon you met with the ruined battlefield we found wasn't all that hard. Plus that look on your face when I first mentioned those were actually humans was enough to raise some eyebrows." The Pillar admitted and, before Inosuke could even ask what was the purpose of making a question he knew the answer to, he would add, "Of course, I had to know if you're being honest to me at least. Good to know you got some sense on you though. "

"Fine, you got me." He admitted bitterly, annoyed at the man's know-all attitude. He'd come there for advice, not to be told what he had already done.

"...hm, so much for being honest, no?" He inquired then with an accusing stare, "I saw you there, training your ass off. That doesn't seem like a logical response to that kind of incident. No...rather, I imagine there's something else also perturbing you here. I heard your friend was maimed during your fight together against Lower Moon Four, didn't he? Am I correct in guessing that's something you blame yourself for?"

"...yeah, yeah you are." Inosuke grunted, crossing his arms as he grew even more frustrated, "Are you just gonna make a list of everything I've ever done wrong or be helpful for once?"

"I need to understand what you're going through if I am to help you, Inosuke. I'm just making sure we got all the facts right." Tengen told him with a shrug, "But still...something still doesn't quite fit. I feel like I'm missing a piece of the puzzle here...care to enlighten me, now?" He inquired, glancing over at Inosuke curiously.

The wild boy met his gaze with a brief glare, but quickly averted it again, staring down at the ground silently trying to decide whether to tell the man or not about what ailed him so badly. More so than the spiders or Zenitsu, he had let someone else fight for him, die for him while knowing from the start he never stood a chance. He might've reasoned to himself at the time that he could do it just to save his own skin and not feel guilty about it, to continue dragging the wounded Zenitsu down the mountain. He hadn't even properly tried to convince Murata to go with them. After all, if he did, all three would've died. Deep down he'd known that from the start, but he was too busy then fighting to keep himself alive to even notice. Seeing the mix of expressions crossing his face though, Tengen would speak out, "Take your time there. After all, this can't be easy for you. Whenever you wanna talk, I'll be here, waiting."

After another moment though, Inosuke looked back at him remorsefully and shook his head, knowing he'd have to spew this out sooner or later. Might as well do it now. He took a deep breath before finally beginning to speak, "...you read our reports, so you probably know about the Demon Slayer we met when we got to the mountain. His name was Murata. He was part of the group that had gone there before us to investigate the place, and all his teammates were captured with the exception of him. We had to save the sorry bastard from one of the demons, so from the first time I saw him, I knew he was weak. And I told him that much. 'We don't need any advice from the kind of trash that would run on your own team.' Let alone their help...I thought so, anyway. We left him at the base of the mountain to heal and went up ourselves, but things ended up going south and, in the end, I ended up carrying a knocked out Zenitsu down the mountain while running from the Lower Moon demon we'd fought together. We met Murata again then, and he saw how bad we looked...so he offered to stay and hold it off. I tried to convince him how bad of an idea that was, but not nearly for long enough. In the end, I left him behind so I could escape and make it down the mountain. For a while, I thought he might've survived, but the Kakushi ended up finding his broken sword next to what remained of his body...that demon completely slaughtered him, and it's all because I was too cowardly to stay and help."

Tengen heard it all, showing no reaction to the boy's retelling of the events in Natagumo except an attentive silence. Once he was finally finished, the man only nodded before voicing his thoughts, "Mission report didn't mention that...but I guess that means I was right. We really are quite alike, you and I." This caused Inosuke to blink, looking at him questioningly, knowing it was the Pillar's turn to explain himself, which he did, "I'm a Demon Slayer nowadays, as flamboyant as a Demon Slayer comes, in fact." He stated while posing dramatically, further confusing the boy who didn't even really know what that word meant, "But before that...I used to be a ninja."

Inosuke raised an eyebrow, "A...ninja?"

"Ninja are basically mercenaries who are usually hired for espionage and assassination in the olden days. I come from a ninja clan, which my father was the Head of. I spent most of my childhood training and, as soon as I turned eight, they began sending me out on missions," Tengen looked at the boy intensely, "Do you realize what that means? Everything you blame yourself for doing, I did worse. You've killed a few mutated humans by mistake, yet I assassinated several men based solely on my orders. You've caused your comrade to lose some fingers and left a fellow Demon Slayer behind to die, yet I left my own little brother behind to be tortured and killed so I could get information back to the clan."

This, of course, shocked Inosuke. It seemed like such a dark confession for him to make so straightfaced, but he still never questioned the truth in the man's words. He could see from the direness behind his tone that the Pillar really meant it, "Why would you do something like that...?" He asked hesitantly.

"It's the ninja way. When you're in a mission, nothing but the objective should matter, not even your life or that of your family." Tengen explained, his expression finally changing into that of a bitter frown at his own words, "That was the way we were all raised, me and all of my eight siblings...by the time I was your age though, only one of them had survived, and he had become an exact replica of my father. 'Our subordinates are pawns, our wives are nothing but means to birth heirs, and those heirs must be made to serve the clan. Nothing matters but the clan'..." The Pillar sighed, "I didn't want to become like that...so when my father passed away and I was forced to take over the clan, I instead ran away and never looked back. And I'm glad I did because shortly afterward I'd meet Lord Kagaya and join the Demon Slayer Corps."

Inosuke looked down, realizing now what Tengen had meant when he said they were alike. He also didn't exactly have an easy childhood, being raised in the wild and all, but what the Pillar had just told him sounded far worse than that. All those things he'd regretted doing, the man had been forced by his very upbringing to do worse. It brought about a new light as to how he saw this odd man, but it still left him with one important question in mind, "How...how do you make yourself feel better again after doing all that terrible stuff...?"

Tengen gave the younger Demon Slayer a long, hard stare, his lips pursed his lips pensively, "...you don't. These things change you, but you learn to live with it, cope with what you've done, and try to redeem yourself by doing better. Being a Demon Slayer is a noble job, Inosuke. With every demon we put down, we're saving dozens of people who would otherwise be eaten by them, not to mention the very human they once were. I imagine though that this was not the reason you joined the Corps, but it might be something you want to think about from now on."

"So...you're saying if I slay enough demons, I'll be able to make myself feel better?" Inosuke inquired hopefully, seeing as that was something he really knew how to do.

"Not...quite," Tengen told him after staring at the boy silently for a moment, "What I'm saying is that you made mistakes, but we all do that, and we're all haunted by it. If you don't want these mistakes to repeat themselves, you should try to be better than before. You know what you did wrong, but you should also ask yourself why. In my case, it was the obedience to my clan enforced to me in my upbringing that I had to overcome, not to mention my fears of leaving despite wanting to for so long." He then motioned at Inosuke, "What would you say are your flaws?"

The blue-haired Slayer took a moment of thought, considering all his mistakes and what had caused them, "...I didn't think before I acted. I knew those spiders feared me and I knew they were being controlled, but I never stopped to think about them when I swung my sword. I only thought about how they were attacking me, and so I attacked back."

"Good, that means you have to learn to be more precautious." Tengen summarized, only for the boy who literally did not know the word to stare and him in confusion, "That means you have to think before you act." This only resulted in him changing from confusion to a blank stare seeing as that was literally what he had just said, "Anyway, what else do you think you should fix about yourself?"

After another moment of thought, Inosuke spoke again, "Back when we were fighting the Lower Moon...I realized at one point that Zenitsu was stronger than me...and that made me feel angry. I wanted to take the lead, to get the final blow on the bastard...so I did, I rushed in and tried to take him down all by myself, which was when the demon tricked me and got a blow in He would've killed me if Zenitsu hadn't jumped in. I was too hurt, so he fought the demon from then on, and nearly killed it too, but if I hadn't done that and let him lead, I know we could've done the fucker in...I didn't though. And so he lost his fingers, I lost my head, and Murata was killed."

"...that's pride. It's a common flaw among those who are strong." Tengen told him, earning the boy's attention, "It can be a good thing, to be proud of your strength or of what you have done. In moderance, it can motivate you to achieve new heights. However, it's never an emotion you should let guide your actions. Pride is what prevented my clan from letting go of the ninja ways and continue raising their children in such a despicable way."

"I don't get it..." Inosuke admitted, "So should I be proud or should I not?"

"It's not that simple. Pride is not an emotion you should completely deny yourself, but rather keep it in constant check." Tengen explained, "Let me put it that way, from the way you spoke I can tell you looked down on others who were weaker than yourself, but will you really keep thinking like that after someone you called weak sacrificed themselves to save your lives?"

Those words struck a chord in Inosuke as he looked down with a hard stare, once again feeling the guilt for his actions, "...no. But I should be the one protecting them then, not the other way around."

This actually managed to get a small smile out of the former ninja, "See? It's not that hard to take the first step towards betterment, is it? You're not a bad person, Inosuke, nor are you a coward for leaving that boy behind like your pride might tell you. You never forced him to stay, it was a decision he made by himself knowing the risks full well. Besides, you still carried your wounded comrade all the way down the mountain. A worse person might've left him behind and just run away to save his own skin. You made mistakes, but you tried your best to diminish the damage of your actions as soon as you realized that. I couldn't have said the same thing myself when I was your age..."

Inosuke took all that into consideration but knew this was no basis for him to judge himself. Had he left Zenitsu behind then after having his life saved twice over by the blond, then he'd truly be scum and the fact that if he'd worked with Zenitsu to end the demon in the first place, Murata would've never been forced to make that choice. Still, seeing this man before him with all he had gone through standing strong as a Pillar put his situation in perspective, and seemingly for the first time allowed for some slight reprieve of his guilt and regret, "...I guess you have a point. Murata gave his life so we had a chance. I can't waste something like that..." He stared down at his open hand and closed it into a fist, "I gotta become better...stronger..."

"That's a good thought and all, but with your body in its current state, I wouldn't go around abusing it as you've been doing." Tengen pointed out, "You should let yourself heal before you go back to intense training. For the time being, I'd tell you to focus on fixing those flaws we talked about, especially that pride of yours. It did cost you your fight against the Lower Moon, so you could see it as some sort of training to cover your weaknesses."

Inosuke nodded, as that was indeed a good way of putting it, making tackling something as unfamiliar as emotional issues far more relatable to him, but it still left one question hanging, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, that part is for you to figure out. You know what you need to fix, now you need to do identify it and find a way to control your pride, as well as learn to think before acting. I'm not saying it will be easy, but all I can really do is give you some perspective and make you think about it. When it comes to really fixing it, then that's all on you, kid." The Pillar informed him.

Hearing that, Inosuke frowned lightly, realizing this might be much harder than it sounded at first, but even then that didn't mean he wouldn't go through with it, "Okay, I understand."

Tengen narrowed his eyes, nodding as well as he pushed himself away from the tree, "In that case, I have managed to achieve what I came here for in the first place." He stated, turning his back on the watching boy and walking some distance away, "I wish you luck with your efforts. I'll be stopping by to check on how you're doing sooner or later. Until then, see ya." The Sound Pillar. stated with a casual wave before disappearing entirely in a blur. Inosuke turned his gaze away from where the man had been a moment ago, left with much in his head to think about. He sighed as, even though its loss seemed like something minor on the face of all his other issues, he still really wished he had the comfort of his boar head...

---

Kanao Tsuyuri was roaming the halls of the Butterfly Mansion with a distant look in her pink-toned eyes. With the state of the other Senses after the night at Natagumo, she herself had been left with a lot on her mind, not exactly in an adequate mental state to fully focus on her training. The fact that her sister was also not around didn't help either, seeing as Shinobu was the one the girl would normally go for advice in such emotional issues. Despite her not being all that far away, the Ubuyashiki Mansion was still not somewhere any Demon Slayer could visit without a prior invitation or a very good reason, which she wasn't sure she and her friends' problems really were.

Immersed by her line of thoughts, Kanao would barely notice as she was about to turn a right into her corridor in the house, but as she glanced to the side, would see someone coming around the corner another widen her eyes, quickly backing up to hide with her back to the wall opposite to the corridor's. She only heard as the footsteps grew louder, before reaching a peak as he walked past her. She was sweating nervously as she turned her head and eyed through the doorway at the corridor just in time to get a second-long glance of the crimson-clad back of Tanjiro, the bandages covering his forehead in clear contrast with his long burgundy hair even during that brief moment. She held her breath all the while, and wouldn't let it escape through her mouth until his footsteps were no longer audible.

It was hard, seeing them like this. She didn't like seeing Zenitsu so melancholic or Inosuke pushing himself desperately, but she especially didn't like seeing Tanjiro. She was the one who found him first, after all, and she had seen him at his barest. After leaving the other Senses to Tengen Uzui's care, she had made her way up Natagumo in search of Tanjiro until she found him at the very peak of the mountain. She remembered, first seeing him from behind while surveying the clearing from the opposite side of the mountain. She'd approached him, called out his name, told him help had arrived and that they could go. He had turned to look at her, and at that moment she hadn't even noticed the wound on his forehead, but rather what she saw was the emptiest look Kanao had ever seen in a person's eyes. At some point during their training together, she had noticed how, in his eyes, there was always a hint of kindness beneath all that composure, like a glint in his eye. Not something she had ever mentioned to anyone, and something even her in all her attentiveness took a while to notice, but something that nonetheless had made her relax around him and warm up to the boy rather quickly from then on. Looking into his eyes then, she realized that there was nothing in them, no feeling, nothing to read, just a black void.

Even thinking about it then made her uncomfortable, let alone at the moment itself. She froze, unable to do a thing as he rose to his feet and walked right past her without a word, making his way back down the mountain, and she trailed behind from a good distance, bringing with her the sword he'd just left behind. By the time they reached the other Demon Slayers and the Kakushi, no one was particularly reactive to his arrival, which initially confused her, but upon mustering the courage to get another look at his face, she'd understand why. Tanjiro looked at first glance to be no different than normal, his composure was all there, but she had immediately noticed how the spark of kindness in his eyes she'd grown so fond of had disappeared entirely. He was maintaining a straight face throughout, but she couldn't even look at him without immediately noticing he was not his normal self.

It wasn't until they were making their way back that someone else even seemed to notice what was wrong with him, which was when Genya attempted striking a conversation with him, to which the straight-faced Tanjiro was completely unresponsive to. Things had escalated quickly with the scarred boy's short fuse, and it resulted in an annoyed Genya finally hitting him across the face, knocking the red-clad boy down. All he did however was get on a knee, shoot a brief look at his attacker while wiping the blood off the corner of his mouth, and turning away to get up and continue walking. This had left even Genya in shock as he probably understood that something was terribly wrong with Tanjiro.

Kanao had watched it all from the sidelines, and as much as she wanted to interfere, a powerful hesitation had taken ahold of her with the still-fresh memory of meeting that cold-eyed Tanjiro atop the mountain. She had no idea how to approach him in that state, let alone say anything meaningful that might've helped him. Zenitsu was stuck in his depression and Inosuke was obsessed with training his pains away, and both were hard enough already, but Tanjiro seemed like he wasn't even really there. The idea alone of coming face to face with him again was so nerve-wracking she had been constantly avoiding him ever since they returned to the Butterfly Estate. Aoi had tried at one point to get her to speak to him, but even though she really felt she should, she'd still brushed her off with a weak promise to 'try'. And it all did make her feel bad, but it felt like something so completely out of her control Kanao had no idea what to even do. All she could do was hope that Tanjiro dug himself out of the hole he was in, but at the moment, there wasn't a person in the world who knew what was really going on in his head other than himself...

---

Tanjiro Kamado was not in a good place.

The last few days since the incident at the mountain had been a blur to him, going by with little real idea of the time that had passed. He felt hungry, but couldn't bring himself to eat without getting immediately nauseous. He felt tired, but couldn't even try and fall asleep without closing his eyes and seeing his dead family staring back at him in disappointment. He could not even muster the courage to draw his own sword again after finding it left by his door one morning. He was in an even worse state than back when his very family was killed. Back then he'd dedicated all his grief and regret to the intense training regimen he'd been assigned by his master and thus was able to take his mind of the incident itself, instead focusing only on the goal it had driven him towards. This was different. There was no goal or training that could fix this, he just felt...aimless.

Most of the time he'd spent since returning from Natagumo had been sitting around in his room or walking aimlessly through the large house's corridor for hours at an end. Currently, he was doing the latter, wearing a plain expression to hide his tire while making his way wherever his feet would take him. Aside from the Kakushi, from time to time, he would get glimpses of the others in his walks, be it Inosuke training restlessly in the courtyard or Zenitsu in his own misery after losing most of his hand. Both were obviously affected by the mission, and he felt bad at being unable to help them, but being far from his best days himself, he didn't feel like he even could. Other times he would get glimpses of Aoi doing her chores around the house or an awkward-looking Genya who would always look away when he was around. He knew the scarred boy wasn't exactly comfortable around him after their last interaction and how that had gone down, but he felt that was for the best at the moment. There was, however, someone he hadn't really seen during his walks...

This was perfectly exemplified when, in the middle of his walking, he would suddenly smell the sweet flowery scent easily recognizable as Kanao's own. Though he couldn't see her, he could tell she was hiding behind the wall opposite to the one on his left, probably trying to avoid coming face to face with him. He let out a small silent sigh at that but continued walking regardless. It wasn't the first time he had sensed her come near, but hesitate at the last moment. It was obvious their first meeting in the mountain, with her seeing him at his lowest point with his guard completely down, had shaken her. He had tried not to make the same mistake since. Unless he was sure he was all by himself, he always put on a mask, constantly mimicking himself in a better state to the best of his abilities in his day to die, trying to make others think he was fine. It could only work so well, he knew as much. His actions spoke louder than his words, so the likes of Aoi had also long realized something was wrong with him despite never seeing the worst of it firsthand like the other two had. Really, it was all an exercise in futility, but he still did so to keep them all away, which somehow seemed to have worked well enough so far, and that was also probably for the best.

He would continue his aimless walking around the mansion then until he eventually found himself back in his room. Stumbling his way in, Tanjiro absentmindedly slid the door shut behind him and turned to look to the side at the mirror in the corner of the room. In it he saw a disheveled reflection of himself, staring back with baggy eyes and a pale complexion, the unchanged bandages around his forehead having gone from their initial white color to a dirtier yellow after a few days. He narrowed his tired eyes before reaching out and ripping them off, dropping the bandages on the ground to reveal the reshaped scar on his forehead, a brownish-red mark with sharp edges stopping short of reaching his left eyebrow. His previous scar, the one he had gotten while protecting his younger brother from a falling brazier, had always been a secret motive of pride for him because the frayed patch of skin made him even further resemble his father and the birthmark on his own forehead. Now, with its new jagged appearance, it felt as if this link had been tainted by her flames, leaving it as it now was. After a few seconds, he grew uncomfortable staring at it, and turned his gaze away, walking up to his futon on the ground, collapsing back first onto it.

By now he knew sleep was no good. He'd tried it before and the one time he managed to actually fall asleep it wasn't long before he was woken up by the nightmares. Even while unconscious he couldn't really take his mind off it all. So, Tanjiro just lay there, letting the usual thoughts take him over like they had constantly as of late. He'd tried to fight them off before, but it all proved pretty useless, so by then he'd long given up and let them just swarm his mind. Take over, for the lack of a better word. After all, how was he supposed to even begin dealing with something like that? How was he supposed to cope?

He had seen Nezuko, alive before his very eyes as a bloodthirsty demon, corrupted by Muzan Kibutsuji, and turned against him. His reencounter with his sister was not something he had mentioned to anyone, nor did he feel like he could bring himself to. That moment alone had changed his perspective about his constant endeavors in a way he knew couldn't be reversed. Ever since starting his journey as a Demon Slayer, he had a final goal. To kill Muzan Kibutsuji and end the threat of demonkind with him. But along the way, another idea had blossomed in his mind. He had seen humanity overpower a demon's instincts once before with his very sister, so he knew it wasn't impossible that amidst all the cruel, maneating beasts he would come to fight, there might be some whose human side might still shine through. Killing the progenitor demon, according to his own master, should cause a chain reaction that would lead to the simultaneous death of every other demon under his grip, but he knew that if there were any lost souls amidst them that could still be saved, he had a duty to find them and try to do so before that day came.

He was wrong though. Nezuko was not uncorrupted, she had a moment of humanity, but had somehow survived and fallen right back into the vices of demonhood, as evidenced by the Demon Slayers she had killed before his very eyes. Tanjiro couldn't claim to know how or why, but she had. In theory, that should simplify things. No good demons meant no souls worth redemption, and yet it all still pained him on a very personal level in a way he just couldn't shake off. He would be killing Nezuko by killing Muzan, and heavy a burden as that was, what truly bothered him was something beyond that. She was his sister, part of his family, and the hardest death he had to come to terms out of any of them. Yet she wasn't dead, she was taken from him, remodeled to fit a mold and made into a cold-blooded monster. There was still something of the Nezuko he knew in her, or else she wouldn't have shown any hesitation or surprise when he first uttered her name, but that just made it worse. She was trapped, buried deep down in a mind that was no longer her own to be used by Muzan as a weapon against the Demon Slayer Corps. It made her earlier death seemed dignified, and it made him regret not being able to prevent it all the more.

Now knowing full well that his sister was somewhere out there hurting others and that there was nothing he could do weighed on him like nothing else. Tanjiro had known from the moment he had found the corpses of his siblings and a still-breathing Nezuko that he had to protect her at all costs. Failing like he did had been something he had to work very hard for very long to forgive himself for, and even then it wasn't really a wound that had truly healed, just one that would bleed out from time to time and give him a taste of the guilt and regret that had since become so familiar to him. He realized though that when his time came and he finally got to see them again, his family would forgive him, even the very sister he failed. The Nezuko he knew had always said that he took the full responsibility for the family in his shoulders far too often as if trying to stand in for their ailing father, even back when he was still a child, but she told him that this was wrong, that this responsibility should be shared equally amongst them, especially with herself, the oldest sister. Those words had brought him back from some very dark places in previous times, but this time wasn't one of them. The wounds that for the longest time only ached him from time to time seemed to have opened up fully again, and they just wouldn't stop bleeding. He couldn't even safely say his family would really forgive him for his failures anymore if he even got to see them again. He couldn't exactly blame them, seeing as it was his failures that had left Nezuko on the hands of a fate even worse than death.

Maybe if he had managed to drag Nezuko down when Giyu Tomioka tried to cut her down, he could've avoided it all. Maybe he would've convinced the Water Pillar of what he saw, how she was different from other demons. He knew that with the way things had happened, his only choice then would be to become a Demon Slayer regardless, but he could've stayed with her by his side. Tried to fix his sister, turn her back to human. It was a nice thought, one he spent way too long wondering about, and for a moment there he forgot all his issues and everything was back to normal, a better normal even. It was a comforting thought, but little more than that, and by the time he came to realize that, his regret had intensified even further by the idea that it all could've been different if not for his lack of action when it really mattered.

Tanjiro would continue on staring onto the ceiling for a while, unblinking with how entranced he was with his own thoughts. Until that is, he eventually blinked, and only then realized how it had suddenly gotten darker. Turning to look outside, he'd be somewhat surprised to see that it was already nighttime and that he'd spent hours in his futon thinking. Not exactly unusual since he'd done very little else recently, but still worth some surprise. Groaning, he would sit up, and have his stare drawn to the open doors leading to the courtyard, more specifically to the open-air wooden passageway that went the whole way around the mansion, and his sheathed katana lying out there on the floor.

After a moment's hesitation, he rose to his feet and made his way outside, his eyes locked on the weapon all the way. He stood above it for a while, staring directly down unsure if he should even try, but eventually, he'd purse his lips and slowly kneel down before the sword. He would then stay knelt before it for some more time, pursing his lips before eventually reaching out and gripping it with one hand at the hilt and the other at the scabbard. A Nichirin katana, the Demon Slayer's Weapon, not something to be taken lightly. His grueling two-year-long training was all about earning his right to wield it, and yet at the moment, he didn't feel the least bit worthy. Nonetheless, he tried drawing it, and immediately the first image that came to mind was the several Demon Slayers burning to death before his very eyes by Nezuko. Noble people who gave their life for their war with demonkind all because of her. And thus, because of him. His hand shook, but he tried drawing it further. He remembered Giyu, arriving swinging his katana at his sister's neck, and herself swinging a katana of her own at his. He could've prevented it, but he didn't, so it was all on him. He had saved many people as a Demon Slayer, but something told him that she had killed more of them. And it was all on him.

He quickly pushed the blade back inside its scabbard and dropped it to the ground, eyes closed tightly shut as he panted slightly. That blade held with it all the responsibility entrusted onto him by Yoriichi, and he'd always carried it proudly, but with all his good deeds being weighed against his sister's bad ones, he no longer felt worthy, neither of his blade nor of the Breath he had been entrusted with. So how was he supposed to keep on fighting when he couldn't even bring himself to draw his sword again...? The question itself made him feel even worse. There was so much responsibility in his shoulders, so many expectations, be it from his Master, his friends or even Kagaya Uburashiki himself, and finding himself unable to meet those made him feel as if he was being slowly crushed by them. Narrowing his eyes, he would reach out for each of his ears and, one at a time, take off his two hanafuda earrings. With both on his palm, he would gaze down at them with a hard stare. If he wasn't worthy of a Demon Slayer's blade, was he really even worthy of wearing those either? The heirloom of a family he'd been told to protect by his dying father as he was given them, but had spectacularly failed in doing so?

While he was wallowing in his own misery, he would feel the wind suddenly change, allowing a previously undetected smell to reach his nose that caused him to suddenly turn his head to the side in surprise, the hand with the earrings closing into a fist to hide them. He hadn't expected this twice in a day and, while normally he'd just ignore it, this time he had been caught with his guard down. It bothered him that he had allowed himself to be seen in such a sorry state, so much so that for a brief moment those emotions overwhelmed his own creed of conduct, with him directing the frustration he felt at himself at the girl he knew was hiding just around the corner out of his sight, "What do you want, Kanao?" Tanjiro asked in a mixture of tiredness and annoyance. There was a moment of silence before Kanao emerged from around the corner, looking down flustered, her gaze averting his own. She approached him, but continued staring at the ground and away from him, "What is it?" He inquired impatiently, pressing her further out of nothing but his own lack of patience at the moment.

"..." The girl stared down to the side at the grass, her left hand grabbing onto the right one's wrist nervously before she suddenly paused and turned to meet his gaze, her expression steeled, but with an evident melancholy in her eyes, "...we're all worried about you, Tanjiro." She told him quietly, "You're not acting like yourself lately."

His momentary frustration was immediately replaced by guilt at lashing at Kanao like without any real reason when she was just worrying about him. It was his turn to look away now, trying to regain his composure in order to convince the girl he was fine. This had nothing to do with her, after all, "...I'm sorry. I've been a bit stressed lately." He tried to force a reassuring smile as he looked back at her way, "But it's fine, I just need some time to think things out."

She pursed her lips, clearly not convinced by his answer, "I know that's not true, Tanjiro...the way you've been acting is completely unlike you." She hesitated again, before adding, "...something bad happened back in the mountain, didn't it?"

Tanjiro was caught off guard by this, not having expected her to persist past his reassurance. His expression would shift from the empty smile to momentary surprise to a grimmer look, one in which himself turning his gaze back forward. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, not at all. It might as well be the last thing he wanted to do right now. Thus, even knowing it was wrong, he would once again turn a cold shoulder to Kanao, "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think." He told her bluntly, "This is a passing thing, trust me. You've got nothing to worry about."

He didn't look directly at her as to not break his own facade, but he could tell that Kanao was hurt by his refusal to open up and the cold words that came with it, and yet she still refused to back down, "Tanjiro, please...I know something's hurting you, but you need to talk to someone about it." She tried convincing him, "Whatever it is, it isn't something you need to bear alone."

"You don't know that." He immediately said, the truest words he had yet to speak in this conversation. Sighing, he leaned forward with his head hanging down, yet to look back at her, instead choosing to open his hand and look down at the two earrings in his palm, "...besides, who is gonna talk to me? You? Who barely even understands feelings?"

"...yes." She decidedly stated after a moment, earning a curious sideways glance from him, at which point he noticed her gaze had also been drawn to his open palm, "You might think you don't have anyone else, Tanjiro. Your family is all gone, I know...but we're all here for you. We're your friends, and none of us want to see you like this. I want to help you, but I can't help you if you keep pushing us all away..."

He sighed, pinching the base of his nose and rubbing his tired eyes with his fingers, "You wouldn't understand..." He muttered despondently, "Save yourself the trouble and let me be. I don't need help."

"I know you don't mean that." Kanao stated with certainty, "You're a kind person, Tanjiro...and that's why you're trying to push us all away. You don't wanna burden anyone with your problems...but it's okay to rely on someone else." She sat down on the floor beside him, "I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as I did without your help, and I just want to pay you back for it...so please, tell me what's the matter..."

Tanjiro paused in thought, before taking a deep, long breath, letting his hands fall down numbly to leave hanging on his legs. He knew she had a point, of course she did, this whole thing was slowly tearing him from the inside out, and so far dealing with it by himself had done nothing but make it worse. Still, he hated the idea of laying all this upon her, as if he was afraid to become her own emotional burden in the process. "Are you sure you wanna know...?" He asked quietly, his facade fully dropped.

"Of course." She said without a hint of hesitation, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The red-clad boy glanced at his shoulder where her hand had been placed, silently wondering when was the last time he had even experienced this kind of warmth in human contact, small as it might seem. He looked up at the sky at the gibbous moon partially hidden in the clouds and, without turning to Kanao, asked her, "Do you remember the other Lower Moon Demon? The one with the mask, wielding the sword?" He inquired.

"...well, I wasn't there with you and the others, but I heard from their reports about her." She admitted, "I also heard you went chasing after a demon, but...back when I found you in the mountain, there were no signs of her anymore...does that mean you managed to slay her?"

He sighed, shaking his head, "It wasn't...that easy..." He murmured, "I did get to fight her, but I couldn't finish her off. She was strong, very strong, used breathing techniques I've never even heard of...but that's not what really bothered me. At some point, I broke her mask and...there was the face of my dead sister."

Kanao blinked in confusion, "Your...sister?"

"I guess I never did tell you that part..." Tanjiro noted with a sad smile, "My family was all killed by a demon, I told you as much already but my sister...she survived as a demon." This visibly surprised her, seeing as every Demon Slayer knew there was only one man who could really turn humans into demons, "She attacked me, of course, but when I spoke to her...I felt like there was still something of Nezuko there. I never had the chance to really find out, since a Demon Slayer came along and cut her down, and I saw her fading away before my eyes...until when I saw her again in the mountain. It was her, I'm sure of it, but at the same time...it wasn't. Not like I knew her anyway. Seeing Nezuko again like this...I just couldn't take it. I can't cope with it." His voice broke for a second there, his sad smile long gone and replaced by a look of complete mental exhaustion.

There were a few good seconds of silence that followed that confession both of them just standing side by side, Tanjiro having just opened his heart and immediately beginning to ask himself if he had done the right thing while Kanao just sat beside him without a word to say upon hearing all that. After what seemed like the longest time, the silence was finally broken as she quietly spoke again, "I'm sorry...I...didn't know..."

"It's not your fault, Kanao." He said, bluntly but truthfully, "It's mine. I could've saved her back then, but I made a mistake, and it didn't just cost my sister her life, it cost her very humanity. She's killed people. I've seen it with my own eyes, Demon Slayers too tired to even hurt anyone burned alive by her not even for sustenance, but on a whim. And that's all on me."

"But...it isn't," She disagreed then, regaining her composure after being stunned silent by his story, "You can't blame yourself for what they did to your sister, Tanjiro. The only one to at fault here is Muzan Kibutsuji for doing this to your family, you know that..."

"I do, but it doesn't change the fact that I failed her." Tanjiro raised his hand, opening it to reveal the earrings again, "These were given to me by my father right before he died. He told me to take care of the family when he wasn't around. I know there was nothing that I could've done for them, that being there would've just meant me dying alongside everyone else, if not worse. But...I really did have a chance at saving her, and somehow things still turned out the worst possible way...am I really even worthy of wearing them at this point?"

Kanao stared herself at the earrings in his palm before frowning lightly, "...I actually ask myself something similar quite often." She admitted then, earning a glance from Tanjiro as she reached out to the side of her head and undid the green butterfly ornament holding up her hair, letting it fall down to her shoulders as she held the butterfly carefully at eye level with a somewhat morose look, "This used to belong to my big sister when she was still alive. She was the Flower Pillar, even stronger than Shinobu. I only ever learned the Breath of Flowers by watching and mimicking her. By wearing this, I'm carrying with me a piece of her, just like with your family in those earrings. Sometimes it feels like it's a lot though...I know I can't replace her, but that doing anything less than my best to catch up as best as I can would be disrespecting her sacrifice. Is that how you feel about your earrings?"

Tanjiro turned his glance back down at the earrings pensively, "...yeah, I do." He admitted, "I'm sure your sister would've been proud to see what you've achieved...but I don't think I can really say the same about my family." The boy let out a short, humorless chuckle at the thought.

"I'm sure they would be proud if they saw you now, Tanjiro." She tried to convince him.

"I'm sure they wouldn't if they saw my sister." He retorted without missing a beat.

"But you shouldn't think like that!" Kanao then exclaimed, "You may be hard on yourself Tanjiro, but that still doesn't change the fact that you're an amazing Demon Slayer and an even better person. You can't let yourself be defined by a single mistake of years ago..."

"No? Not even when that same mistake has and will cost the lives of other humans? When it cost my own sister her humanity? Can I really feel fine with myself after all this happened because of me?" He asked, turning to her for an answer even when he didn't really expect one of her.

It took Kanao a moment as she stopped and stared off at the ground silently, but right when he thought his suspicions had been confirmed, she spoke again, "I...don't know. I don't know, Tanjiro. Those are hard questions, and I haven't lived through the same hardships as you did, but...I am certain that you are better than the person you were when you made that mistake."

Tanjiro would turn over to look at her in surprise, not having expected her to manage an answer, let alone make such a good point. "...well, I guess you're right." He conceded but still narrowed his eyes with the usual sorrow, "My progress so far doesn't redeem me from those mistakes though. I was too weak to save her then, and the blame for that falls solely on me."

"Maybe so, but there is nothing you can do to change that." She pressed on with the same conviction, "But you still have a say on what's yet to happen. If you remain stuck in your past mistakes, you'll just end up building up regrets and never be able to live in the present. You might not be able to ever change what happened, but you'll never redeem yourself if you don't get back up and try again."

Following that declaration, Tanjiro would stare at her silently with a half-open mouth and unblinking red eyes for a while, to the point where it would visibly make her uncomfortable by the time he blinked himself out of his momentary daze again, "...shit, you're right." He cursed quietly, the realization in his voice clear, "The longer I stay like this, the more I'll have to regret. Nezuko is still out there, somewhere...and I have to do something about that. Even if I'm not sure what that is right now, I know the worst thing I could do is do nothing about it."

"...that's right, Tanjiro. You can't let something like this drag you down." Kanao stated after shaking off her discomfort, seeming relieved now that her words seemed to be working, "Your sister is out there still, and regardless of what you decide to do about it, your family wouldn't want you to just turn their back on her, would they?"

"...no, of course, they wouldn't." Tanjiro agreed. It seemed crazy obvious on respective. He thought he needed time to make the right decision, but in the end he just ended up sinking into his own pity, and it would only get worse the longer he was in that state. Just like he was after his family died, before he met Yoriichi, before he was given a reason to keep going. And now, he saw that this wasn't an obstacle, just a reason to push him onwards. All it had taken was an untainted perspective to see that, something he'd failed to have for the longest time. Realizing that didn't make it stop hurting altogether though, but for the first time in a long time he felt like he could get up again, "Thanks, Kanao. I really needed to hear that.

She smiled, but shook her head, "You don't have to thank me...just know it's not something you have to burden yourself with. We're all here for you."

Tanjiro let out a small smile himself, the first one in a very long time, but paused for a second as said smile faltered, "...you know, I never told any of you this, but the time I spent at the Butterfly Mansion...it's the best I had in a very long time. It almost feels like I have something like to a home again..." He chuckled under his breath, "After a while, I even started seeing my other siblings in you guys...Zenitsu is scared and fidgety like little Rokuta, Inosuke is bold and brash like Takeo, Genya is tough and silent like Takeo...and you, Kanao, always reminded me of Hanako. She was kind and gentle, like you..." He opened another sad smile, sighing at the memory of his brothers and sisters, "...you're all very different people though. I know that...but sometimes I can't help but miss them."

Kanao frowned, looking at him in worry for a moment, but the sadness in him now was clearly different than what he was feeling before, "Tanjiro, I-" She was interrupted, yelping when the boy suddenly hugged her, his slow, shaky breaths giving away his need for some human warmth in that moment despite the fact that the girl couldn't see his face. Despite hesitating, she would still hug him back, awkwardly but comfortingly. It lasted a few seconds before Tanjiro let go of her and pulled away, donning a flustered smile as he rubbed his eye with his palm, "That...just came out."

"It's fine," Kanao said quietly, her lips pursed and her gaze turned down. It was dark, so he couldn't make it out fully, but for a second there her face didn't seem as pale as usual. She stood up quickly then, "Uh...I should get going now. It's getting late."

"Yeah, guess so." He agreed, still somewhat sheepish, but pausing before suddenly shifting his tone, "Uh...if you could keep the thing about my sister between us for now..."

"Yes, of course." She said, quickly but quietly, already turning away and walking in a hurry, "I didn't hear a thing."

Tanjiro raised an eyebrow at her strange demeanor, but nodded, "Alright...goodnight, Kanao."

"...night!" The girl squealed before taking a quick turn around the corner and going out of view.

"...weird. But I guess she's always been a bit weird." Tanjiro reflected silently, "Who would've thought she would be the one to talk me out of it though. She's really becoming quite the girl after finally opening up..." That thought though was interrupted when he stared down and noticed the earrings still in his hand. Frowning slightly, he decided to put them back on, "I mean, it's not like I feel all better about it..." He narrowed his eyes, turning his gaze down to his sword, taking a firm hold of its scabbard and tightly gripping the hilt before drawing his katana in one swift motion, "...but this is definitely better." Resheathing his blade, he would fall on his back, hands crossed behind his back as he watched the sky above, eyes fixed on the moon, "You wait, Nezuko...I'll find you, no matter where you are..." He quietly but determinedly, only that declaration to himself was broken when he couldn't resist the urge to suddenly yawn, breaking his focused gaze at the sky, "...but not now."

It wouldn't be long after that when Tanjiro eventually dozed off in that very position just outside his room, finally managing to get some well-deserved sleep.

---

Kanao reached her room after a short jog around the house and quickly slid the door in it shut, leaning back against it and collapsing slowly until she was sat on the floor with her back against it. She was undoubtedly glad to help Tanjiro through his hardships, even if she was forced to approach him rather than building up her courage for it as she had intended. Not to mention, it really felt like she knew him so much better after seeing the boy in his worst and having such an earnest exchange with him. What happened back there had been a very personal moment they shared.

However, she really hadn't expected that hug. Tanjiro was not someone to open up like that, and given the burden he had been carrying, the boy had probably been in need of real human contact and that hug was his way of showing his gratitude for caring in a moment of emotion. She knew that, of course she did. But what Kanao didn't know was why she felt so weird about it. Reaching her hand up to her cheek, she could tell it was still warm, her entire face reddened and her heart pounding heavily in her chest, an odd feeling on the pit of her stomach. She was learning more about the emotions she'd once discarded by the day, but this was totally different from anything she'd felt ever, and the more she thought about the hug that had led to this odd feeling the worst it seemed to get. Sighing, she hugged her knees closer by the chest and sunk the lower half of his face on her legs, raising with a hand the butterfly ornament left to her by her sister while drifting off in her own thoughts, but try as she might, she wouldn't be able to take her mind off Tanjiro for the rest of the night.

A/N: So...this was a long chapter. Longer than anything I've ever posted. Even the word count for the chapter itself pre Author's Note is longer than anything else I posted in this story, so in total this should be quite a long read. It would've been longer if I didn't cut it short, I intended to do Inosuke, Tanjiro and Zenitsu in this chapter, but turns out delving deep into the characters and fixing them back to a working state takes a lot of words. Before I get to the chapters itself though, I gotta mention that a reader by the name of Utagawa has begun writing a Spanish translated version of Branching Paths on Wattpad under the name of Caminos de Ramificacion, so that's my shoutout to that guy throwing any Spanish speaking readers who might be interested in that his way.

Something I forgot to add last chapter which is kind important is that, in my eyes, last chapter was the end of Act 1 in this story if you can even really separate it that way, making this the start of Act 2, the middle. Given the way this story structure works, that would mean I am a fourth of the way done here, meaning a total more of eighty-four chapters being my predicted size of this story, which seems like a reasonable guess given my long term plans in this story. More likely than not though, its a low estimation, seeing as the middle portion might be more than 50% of the story as the model would state. Who knows.

Going into the chapter itself, its initial name was 'Nurturing Wounds', but that is apparently grammatically incorrect according to Reddit, so the more accurate but duller sounding 'Nursing Wounds' it is. This is, of course, referring to the fact that the characters here are kind of patching up and rising up after the Heroic BSOD they all suffered from the last arc. Not overcoming it completely, god no, but getting into a form where they can once get up and start doing stuff again after going through some emotional trauma. There will be more of that next chapter with Zenitsu, but sticking to Tanjiro and Inosuke in this chapter works too, seeing as their problems are, in a way, similar but opposites. Similar as in both of them regret things they did previously and are given some perspective in order to begin overcoming that, but opposite because one of them has to accept the fact that he has to take more responsibility for his own actions while the other has to learn to share the responsibility he carries as a burden with others.

For Inosuke the person who gives him the pep talk here is Tengen, which might seem like a weird choice, but he did have the toughest life out of any pillar, comparable only to Obanai. Not only did he have to watch his family die like other pillars, but he devoted himself entirely to something he didn't really believe for the sake of his family and probably did some very bad stuff during that time as a ninja. Which is why I thought he'd be the best possible character to talk to Inosuke, seeing as Tengen's own burdens make his look lighter in comparison and that is a good way to believably getting someone so hardheaded as our pig boy to begin accepting some change to himself. Speaking of Tengen, I also mentioned the Pillar Meeting was delayed a bit. Regarding...some plans were revised, so I gave myself a bit of an out. We're getting into that in the next chapter.

Then there is Tanjiro, who now finally has a scar more akin to his canon self's post Final Selection, which just plainly looks cooler than the patch of bruised skin he previously had. For him, its Kanao rather than Tengen, and I don't have much to say on their interaction or Tanjiro's thoughts that weren't that clear in the chapter itself already. The aftermath is something I feel the need to comment on, since we're at the point out slow-burn romance finally starts actually showing a hint of a blaze with Kanao finally beginning to develop some feelings for Tanjiro beyond the friendship they've forged so far, even if she doesn't really realize it yet.

With all that said, I don't wanna make the long chapter any longer. Thanks to DownwardDive but no, man, you cannot have my story. I think people seem pretty happy with me writing it.

Anywho, anyhow, anywhat...the reviews.

KermitDaFwog: I've been binge reading this entire fic and made an account just to review it, so needless to say, its great.
I've been wondering though, when another lower demon moon falls, wouldn't Muzan just disband them? I remember reading in one of your author's notes that you were planning to give spotlight to the shafted lower demon moons, but I'm stumped as to how you plan to do it. Guess I just gotta wait and see how it pans out.
P.S: Personally I really enjoyed the ending and feel like if it focused on the people who survived the battle, the ones who died would be robbed of their happy ending (especially Obanai and Mitsuri)

Wow, an account made just to review this, I feel honored.

Maybe in canon, yes, but to be honest that would be a waste of manpower in this case, especially when Chihime challenging the other Moons is something done solely at his request. As for the other Lower Moons, well, all I can say is that we'll be getting back to that pretty soon.

I liked the ending too, it's pretty solid in a genre where satisfying endings are less often than not. Just not what I would've done, much less what I will do, that's all.

Sun dud737: Will Tanjirou be apart of the pillar meeting so he can confront Giyuu about nezuko

Well, you're gonna have to wait some time longer to see how that goes.

The Empty Hollow: Another great chapter. Inosuke development is going to be quite changing; admitting he isn't the strongest, and starting to REALLY care about other people's lives. Hell, he might actually start saying their names right. He only does that in emergencies, which is hilarious, if a little sad.
Blood Battle between Moon Demons was glossed over in canon, even though the difference between a Lower Moon and an Upper Moon was stressed over, and the idea of making the winner swallow the eye (yuck!) is a good way for it to go.
Genya mentioned the Pillar Meeting, which means his turn for development may be getting closer with the upcoming meeting with his brother.
All of that, and more, to come. I really can't wait.

Inosuke is indeed developing. If the sequence last chapter was about really triggering that development, then this one is a means to begin establishing it. I think I'm too amused by it to ever fully abandon the Kamaboko Gonpachiro gag though.

Good to see you liked the Blood Battle. I'm actually a bit proud about the eye thing, to be honest.

Genya's getting his turn for sure, but right now Tanjiro and the other boys are still at a crucial point in their development, so I wanna focus on them a bit longer before getting back to him. Things really are gonna kick off for him once he meets back with his brother though.

Leo828: Will Tanjirou and Giyuu will ever be friends or be okay with each Tanjirou just found out about nezuko being alive and all.

Well, Tanjiro is still just recovering from even meeting Nezuko again, but I do wanna address their complicated relationship when we get to the pillar meeting.

Guest with Gusto : Love how you had Chihime straight up do a Bakugou move to finish off her fight with RUi

Poor Murata though

Someone caught onto that, wow. Yeah, I kinda ripped that one moment straight out of the Deku vs Bakugou ending.

SpineCricket: Alright, what a treat to get another chapter. (I am the one who left the long review last chapter, with a formal account now).

So, we start off strong this chapter huh? First thing to notice here is Murata's death. Well shit, I definitely did not see you pulling that one. I should have been prepared for it seeing how you are not scared to maim even our main characters, but combine it with sad demon slayer music in the background and his death, you actually got me to tear up(Yet again something the original story did a lot to me every week). I am very glad his death was not meaningless, as it should be. His death carries weight to Inosuke, and he managed to save two persons he believes can turn the tide of the war. A very well written moment to be honest. RIP Murata, his sacrifice will not be forgotten. Now I know to prepare tissues every chapter of yours just in case.

Then we have Chihime's fight against Rui. Yet another amazingly written fight, I can't help but admire the choreography you manage to express into it. It is great to see your representation of what a blood battle would be, something only mentioned in the original story. Now we see Chihime straight up hand Rui his ass and take his spot in the Lower Moons. I can't help but think that this story will be quite the very long one, because we do not just have all the moons that Tanji and the senses will probably fight now(Not counting those that could get in later on), but also Chihime on her own quest to go up the moon ranks(I wonder how high she'll get), after all Kokushibou trained her. It also leaves me to wonder, her link with Muzan is weaker, but she also seems to follow him loyally, he did save her and is all she remembers after all. I wonder how that will develop as she remembers more.

Next we have Inosuke and Zenitsu. These two definitely had it bad this arc. Inosuke lost a valued possession and carries with him the thought of killing mercilessly what used to be humans(to his defense he did not know), and also with Murata's death after he stalled Rui enough time for them to escape and Chihime to end Rui's chase. That will be a lot to cope through. Then we have Zenitsu, who even lost almost a 'few' fingers even after doing his best against Rui. Must admit, I thought they would get him then. Aoi will be mad at him after what she told him...I believe more than physical, it will be more mental and emotional challenges they will have to overcome. Genya will probably meet with 'Nemi soon, so that is also a harsh one for him, probably will not end good.

Then we have the not so kind anymore Tanjiro. Damn, he just got the heart wound open again. Not much to say about him as he was not the center of this chapter. He is probably more emotionally damaged than anything, he had been filling that gap left by his family with the new friends he has been making, but with Nezuko appearing like that to him, I wonder how it will affect his development until now. Can't wait to see more of that. Kanao showed some concern for Tanji interestingly enough, if I had to guess she finally is opening up more into the whole having friends thing, after all Tanji is also the one to trust her with protecting the others and suggesting her to open up more. She will find a wrecked boy though, can't wait for more interaction between those two too. And about her not having much development this arc, well there is a time for everything, I am sure you will give her, her own spotlight later on. Everyone got to progress through these hardships afterall.

Great chapter as always, loved it and thanks a lot fo continuing this amazing story. Looking forward for next chapter!

Wow, an even bigger review. I'm by no means complaining. Its impressive, if anything.

Well, Murata's death above everything else is meant to set a tone here. It's obviously way too early to kill someone of significance, but it's important to establish what this is and what can happen, even if it should be implicit given the series I am writing for really likes to kill off people in very sad ways. That said, its good to see you thought it was effective.

Chihime vs Rui was a fun fight to write in just how different it is from everything else before it. It's pure demon vs demon, crazy power vs crazy power. That said, its by no means a long fight, since it very quickly establishes and follows through with Chihme's dominance, due to in no small part to a bad match in Demon Blood Arts. Still, it sets her objective independent of Tanjiro. Also, if you read my earlier estimations in the star of the author's note, you know the statement about this probably being very long is pretty accurate. As for her link with Muzan…well I wouldn't say its weaker than others, only a lot less one-sided.

Zenitsu and Inosuke suffer for the sake of their development, really, as this chapter would've made even clearer if I didn't cut Zenitsu's POV, but well, you'll have to wait for next chapter for that. Its also STILL gratifying when someone says they believed the boys would win that fight in a review, seeing as that was something I tried really hard to convince the reader of. And yeah, though Genya's meeting with his bro was pushed back a bit, that's gonna be another gut punch for a character, predictably enough.

Regarding Tanjiro and what became of him…well, you now got a full look at that. By the end of the chapter, he might've overcome the immediate depression that came after it, but this will still affect him for a long time to come. Kanao also got her own development from their interaction here, in a different way, which I see a pretty big step in her own character arc seeing as that is all about coming to understand and get in touch with her own feelings.

Anyway, thank you for the long review, its highly appreciated. Can't wait to see another one…no pressure..

AnikaSukino 5d:I LOVE IT!
This story is great and sublime! the narrative structure, the development of the characters! and the AU that you use is ... ufff I'm speechless!
Take me time to read each chapter and it was worth it.
You know? The idea of what would have happened if Giyu had killed Nezuko (Although in your case you saved her in the last second to be part of the moons) is interesting. I go with the same idea to make a fanfic BUT how different it would be if Giyu DID kill Nezuko and Tanjiro not only was traumatized for life and yearns for his death to be reunited with his family, but while looking for a way to die, someone encourages the revenge. I want to do at least one-shot but first I want to end with Curse Blood which is a short story of an AU from the Kamado brothers.

Anyway, I just wanted to write that I love your work and your idea of how the story started inspired me!
I look forward to a new chapter! See you!

I really like the idea of an ACTUAL 'what if Nezuko died?' story. For me, there was obviously way more narrative potential in having her thrown to the other side, but a story like that could really go into Tanjiro's grief and his mentality. It's totally something I'd read at the very least.

Anyway, great to see you're enjoying this so much. Hope you stick around to see how it goes.

Cieszesi Niezmiernie: So you decided to go with the blood battle after all. And the idea of eating an eye with the number is very good idea in my opinion. After all you can tell someone is demon moon from his eyes. I think Nezuko will be able to climb to nr1 lower moon but I wonder how will she go from there. The power difference between nr.1 lower moon and nr.6 upper moon is way greater. She will need to eat a lot humans if she wants to take Daki place. Plus there is still Gyutaro.

There is also Rui case. I wonder what do you want to do with him. Kinda doubt he will die here, maybe he will also start climbing with blood battles after nezuko? It would be kind of interesing if Rui will one day become upper moon too.

Now that the manga is over fanfiction is the only thing left for me :P and this is the only KNY fanfic I really like, so I hope you won't burn yourself out on this story. Good luck :)

Yep, Blood Battles turned out to be way too good an opportunity to pass by once I figured where I could fit them into the story. I'm especially proud of the touch with the eye-eating thing, to be honest. As for Nezuko, she has a lot of potential as a demon, and is very well trained at that. To be honest, if anything, I'm limiting her in this story. Nezuko, without ever eating any humans, somehow still achieved a level where she could overpower the faux Upper Moon Six Daki. Who knows what would've actually happened if she started humans when you consider something like that.

As for Rui...well, I don't think he'll come back too soon. But he's still out there, and by the time he returns he might be very different from what you last saw.

Also, high praise saying mine is the only one you like. I will admit that there are only a few others which I accompany, and most are more out of curiosity than interest. My dissatisfaction with that was one of the reasons that pushed me into writing this, so yay I guess.

Wolvmbm : Amazing update as it seems that there are parts of Nezuko that are buried deep within her subconscious. It will be interesting to see what would happen next when the siblings reunite again.

Plus I do wonder: How long will the others see Tanjiro's point of view and assist him in saving Nezuko ? It just seems like an uphill battle for him to deal with on his own.

Overall this was a great showing of where Nezuko has been and how she has changed..

Nice character development for Inosuke too as it seems that his brash actions nearly got him and Zenitsu killed. Now he needs to rethink his actions and try to know when to act when working with a team. Right ?

Wonderful job on this tale. I can't wait to see what happens next now that Tanjiro knows that Nezuko is alive.

Nezuko does still have a bit left of her, how much and how that might emerge is not really something I can say though. I'm glad to know you liked that short dive into her character though.

Kanao at least did, but for the time being, he is keeping that from anyone else since he's still figuring things out.

More or less, yeah. As you might've noticed, Inosuke had his own character dive this chapter, and the two things he realized he wants to fix in his own character going forward are his precocious nature and his pride.

Anywho, glad you liked this chapter, and I hope you did this one too.

HamburgerLife: Well, DaMn dO I hAvE mIxED fEeLinGS

First of all, I feel horrible and astonished that Inosuke has to take that huge wave of guilt in all at once, that's so mean yet so interesting. It will definitely be more than enough for character development.

Second of all, excited for Kanao seeing Tanjiro's stunned state and how she'll react.

Third of all, Damn that's one flamboyant ninja

Love the Chihime's point of view. Made my heart skip when she actually cared for and avenged the sister demon.

STILL WHY MURATA OUR PRECIOUS BB ToT

Regarding Inosuke, I hope you liked on the follow up to that realization and the conclusions he got out of it..

Sorry for kinda skipping over Kanao and Tanjiro's reunion and leaving the shortened version, but I hope their interaction here made up for that.

And yes, that is a flamboyant ninja. As we also established, a very melancholic one too.

Chihime's POV was something I was waiting for a while to get to, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Now, regarding Murata...well, whatcha want me to say, someone kinda had to go.

thestormwriter123: Great chapter, as usual. I'm extremely eager to see where you're going to take inosuke character from here, considering that you just dumped a bucket of ice water over he blames of his personality. Keep up the great work!

Well, we took another big step with Inosuke this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed the direction he's heading there.

lordpurgatory23: epic chapter, i like how every little event pushes the character in a very real way and the actions actually have weight, also i guess the fights have to be like that so eh. well good luck on writing your next chapter

Thanks, I'm glad you understand about the fights.

DEMONEZUKO : All the skaters are going to walk on Tanjirou questioning his existence. At least? Rui is still alive. Hope he actually takes Nezuko's advice so when he (eventually) dies he won't get disrespected.

Keep up the good work. I'm glad we get lots of Chihime screen time this update. :D

Kanao did, and it was hard on her. And yeah, Rui's alive, but we won't be seeing him for some time now.

Glad you also liked Chihime's POV.

gogo bananas: I like the way you set up Inosuke for some real good character development. Still, how are you gonna even out Zenitsu.

I set him up, but now we start actually digging into it and triggering some changes. As for Zenitsu, again, wait and see. He's far from done yet.

And with that, we're done. This should put the whole thing over fifteen thousand words when all is said and done. Like always, don't forget to review so you can get them replied at the end of next chapter. Good day, afternoon or night for y'all, Sky signing out.