Been considering entirely reworking the fic just to generally improve the shit out of it, so lemme know if I should in a review or something.
The main reason I want to do that is because I feel like this fic is… not exactly on-par with a lot of the fics I read, I don't know, might just be an inferiority complex.
Yeah, if I do that'll take ages.
Well, the trip over to wherever the Kakushi were taking them wasn't exactly uncomfortable, despite being in a makeshift bag to protect him from the sun Tanjiro couldn't really call it a rough ride..
Though, he would like the trip to be over soon, considering his nose was still getting clogged partially by the scent of the bloodstains on his clothes which were making him somewhat light-headed now that his airflow had become limited by the bag, specifically the stains on the Kimono he was still wearing.
Speaking of, he couldn't wait to get a fresh change of clothes because to be fair this Kimono really wasn't his style, and all that white just made him feel like a sheet of paper somewhat.
Even through all of this Tanjiro decided to be patient, he was being carried by normal people afterall and he really didn't want to strain them or hurry them just so they could tire themselves out, and he had more important things to worry about such as how Zenitsu was doing or how that other Slayer was doing kept chasing him around, speaking of that Slayer who was he exactly, he has shown up at that Demon's mansion too and he still wore that odd boar-mask that completely covered his face, and he was hell-bent on killing Demons out of what seemed to be just straight up competitiveness or joy, something about him just left an incredibly strong and odd impression on Tanjiro.
Speaking of impressions, that woman on the mountain left one on him too, she just had this aura of anger about her that Tanjiro's nose picked up so easily yet she just kept on smiling, or the fact her blade reeked of Wisteria that gave him the impression of poison, which was only confirmed by the woman's comments.
Actually that reminded him, most of his things were probably still on the mountain.
If he would be given the chance he'd ask for them to be retrieved pronto.
In the meantime, Nezuko's own trip was also pretty reasonable, being carried on the back of one of the Kakushi by herself she could easily take in all the scenery they passed by, which she would gasp at continuously, the shock of the Trial had by now long left her and she felt much better, especially now that her brother wasn't in as much danger anymore regarding the corps and getting found out so she was totally absorbed in the environment for the time being, the Kakushi mutually and silently agreed that that was actually pretty endearing.
Speaking of the Kakushi's opinion, they were surprised the Demon they were transporting wasn't causing a fuss or generally being difficult during the trip, sure Shinobu had explained what they'd be transporting and how they'd go about it, and the fact he was supposedly not something to be afraid of considering her own experiences, but still he was a Demon and Demons weren't exactly that trustworthy by default.
After arriving at the Butterfly Estate the Kakushi made their way into the garden in order to ask for permission to enter the mansion properly, Aoi had been stationed to wait for them and ushered them inside after their arrival although as per request she wasn't informed about the bag's contents despite the fact she was rather suspicious, she had been told to specifically clear out one of the back rooms of the mansion, one of those smaller guest rooms that don't have a lot of windows, but she didn't have many reasons to ponder over it for too long considering Shinobu probably had good reasons.
While Nezuko was taken to one of the Hospital Wards to recover from her recent battle, again, the bag was taken to that guest room where upon arrival the Kakushi quickly opened the door, placed the bag inside, and rushed back to the door as they watched the contents of the bag squirm for a bit and then exit the bag.
After exiting the bag Tanjiro stretched for a bit and took in fresh air to get rid of that clogging scent, he looked around the room he had figured was designated as his own before locking eyes with the Kakushi still present at the door, Tanjiro gave them a warm smile as he waved to them and barely got a response, "Uhm, t-thanks for… Bringing me here." he said, the Kakushi quickly bowed and ran off, probably still incredibly wary of him, he didn't mind considering it was an expected response.
Tanjiro continued to eye the room he had been given after the Kakushi had left, it was a simple room, not too small and not too big with some rather basic western furniture, a table with a chair, a rather almost-empty bookshelf, and a bed.
Tanjiro's eyes locked onto the bed for a moment, he hadn't really slept for two years by now and granted he actually hadn't really tried to either after the first many nights had failed on him, "Well… If I'm giving it another shot I probably shouldn't sleep with these clothes, I should just ask for a change first…" he thought, so his face turned to look at the door of the room and he approached it, after the first five steps or so his nose picked up a rather unpleasant scent, and a second later he realized what it was, Wisteria.
He winced from the sensation and retreated further into the room where the smell wasn't as strong, "Nevermind… I guess they don't want me wandering the premise for the time being.", with nothing else to do his eyes scanned the rest of the room, he walked over to the bed to sit down while doing so and then his eyes caught something he hadn't seen initially, there was a letter on the chair, so he logically moved the chair a little to grab the letter and began to read it.
By the time you're reading this you're probably already settled in your room for the time being, I had Wisteria hung up outside of the door as an extra precaution which I hope you don't mind.
We'll probably get rid of it after the two of us had a proper face-to-face which we weren't able to do back on the mountain.
Regardless, make yourself at home for now and I'll show up sooner or later.
Signed, Kocho Shinobu.
Tanjiro didn't really know who 'Kocho Shinobu' was, but considering they mentioned a 'face to face on the mountain' it was probably that woman that pinned him and threatened him back then, the one that had that strange stench of rage about her which already gave Tanjiro shivers when he thought about it.
Then something struck Tanjiro, he hadn't written a letter to his family ever since Urokodaki told them to back when they started training with him so he might aswell do that, does this room have any writing utensils?
So he began rummaging around, finding exactly what he needed around the room and so he began writing.
Upon arriving in the Hospital Ward, Nezuko immediately recognized Inosuke standing in the middle of the room looking like he had been waiting for her, "Hey, Inosuke." she said with a smile, the boar-headed boy just kept staring from underneath his mask before he pointed at the girl and gave a response, "You, what took you so long!? I have been waiting all day!"
"...Sorry, I got caught up in something big."
"Big!? I can get caught in something bigger! Just you see!"
"You're always so competitive, what's up with that anyways?"
"Hmph! Testing my strength against other people is my only hobby!"
"Would you shut up and get back to bed?" a girl's voice blared out, both Nezuko and Inosuke basically looked at the exact same time, Aoi had entered the room so she could check up on Nezuko and was already approaching the loud-mouthed boy, "You're even worse off than last time, you shouldn't just run around until you've recovered."
"Try me." Inosuke replied, and immediately after a short skirmish broke out that resulted in Inosuke somehow pinned on the ground, obviously not able to fight at all thanks to the injuries the Father Spider inflicted onto him.
"Is this normal?" the Kakushi asked while he watched on and only got a short chuckle from Nezuko as a response, so he allowed Nezuko to drop off his back and get on her own feet, after which she was immediately approached by Aoi who gave her a sort of check-up, "I see you took a beating too." she said after, "Yeah, sorry… My opponent was pretty strong." Nezuko responded.
"You know, you seem to have a knack for finding strong opponents."
"Kind of, the one I last fought was the same from last time, actually. So I feel great now that I managed to get some revenge!"
"I see, the one responsible for your sibling's death, right?"
"Well… About that…" Nezuko sheepishly responded while she broke eye contact, "...Let's talk about that another time." she continued after, she wasn't a very good liar or that good with keeping secrets, that's what growing up in a loving household does to you, so she wanted to shut down that topic as fast as possible until she was sure Aoi would be okay with Tanjiro and his 'condition'.
"I see." Aoi responded with a mild bit of suspicion, but mostly understanding.
There was a lot to cover in a single letter but Tanjiro effectively had all the time he needed to get in onto the paper, for now he decided to fold the paper and put it at the edge of the table and he'd ask later if it could be delivered, and right on time too because just as he finished doing that the door to his room opened and a familiar voice called out "Yoo~ hoo~", Tanjiro grimaced a little from the scent that followed by didn't let it show too much, the woman stepped in and stood next to him while he sat on the chair, she then sat down on the bed and faced him, she still had that ever-present smile that masked her rage and it made Tanjiro decently anxious to just be around her.
They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, before the woman, who Tanjiro guessed was the Shinobu in question, started, "So, I think you already know why I showed up, right? Because I have a feeling you already read the letter I left for you." she said, to which Tanjiro simply nodded, "You know, you're really an anomaly as far as the corps is concerned, a Demon that refuses to eat humans and even slays Demons themself.", she fell silent after that and just stared at Tanjiro, it felt more like she was staring right through him to be honest, like she was barely acknowledging his presence, "Y-Yeah…" Tanjiro said to break the silence.
"Well, I have a few more personal questions if you don't mind." Shinobu then said to which she got another nod in response, "For how long have you been a Demon, exactly?"
"...Around… Two years."
"And you haven't eaten a single human in that timespan?"
"N-No… Well… Uhm."
"Hard topic?" Shinobu asked while Tanjiro was still sputtering to get his response out, the question made Tanjiro light up a little considering it was very much so, he was forced to eat with the Spider Family afterall and he wasn't sure if that actually counted, or the time he had bitten Nezuko when he wasn't exactly himself, "Yeah." he said in response.
"Actually… Can I ask a question?" Tanjiro suddenly asked, initially Shinobu wasn't sure whether to say yes or no considering this did just come out of the blue, and he was a Demon, the thing he could ask could range from all sorts of topics, including those Demons shouldn't know.
Although he did very much act human, like he didn't want to be a Demon in the first place, and the fact he had joined the corps and had slain Demons alongside his sister made Shinobu settle, so he responded, "Yes, but just one."
So, Tanjiro asked the biggest question he could come up with, the one that nagged him every time this woman came to mind.
"Why exactly are you… So angry?"
Shinobu didn't respond initially because she was completely taken off guard, he could tell? For how long had he known? She thought she was doing such a good job hiding it too and yet this boy saw right through it, "I-I'm sorry, you don't have to answer." Tanjiro said after realizing how hard the question struck Shinobu, "It's just... You smile all the time and yet there's always the scent of anger around you.", she took a deep breath and sighed, "No, it's alright." she said.
She seemed to recompose herself, and began her little rant, "Ever since a Demon killed my beloved elder sister… Whenever I see a Demon or someone who's loved ones have been stolen by a Demon, the anger in me grows deeper and stronger. Deep inside my body there's a hatred that I can't keep quiet. It's the same for the other Hashira.", Ah, a hatred for Demons, Tanjiro could've known.
Actually, hearing that made him feel sorry for her, alot, having your family taken by a Demon must be a real hit to the psyche, the same happened to old man Saburo afterall.
"Oh, I'm not exactly talking about you." Shinobu suddenly said, "Sure, you're a Demon. But from what I could see you still act very much human. You care very much for your sister, don't you? She cares a lot about you aswell, and speaking of her… My sister had a dream, a dream I entrusted upon her. My sister wanted to be able to get along with Demons, to see a world in which humans and Demons could live together, even when she was dying she pitied the Demon that had just put her on death's bed, she was really something else."
After she was done there was another short silence allowing Tanjiro to digest the information he had just been given, before Shinobu clapped her hands together and spoke again, "Well, that's enough about me, I still have a few questions about you afterall."
"R-Right!"
For now, I'm going to stick with ~2000 word chapters because those aren't as taxing on me.
