Kanae helped Kie back to her house, as Tanjiro walked with Nezuko. "S-sorry for this" the woman said, trembling. "It's fine. I'm more worried about you. Are you alright? And what was that back there?" Kanae asked, easily supporting her student over her shoulder. "The Hinokami Kagura. It's something my husband taught me. The breathing technique for it allows the user to dance *pant*continuously for as long as- they need to with no repercussions, when it's fully mastered. But I can *pant* only dance for 2 hours, when using it for that. I can also use it for normal things that I *pant* need more power or speed for- but I've never tried to use it to fight. I- I just needed to protect my children. So I kind of used it on instinct. *sigh* But it made my lungs feel like they were going to explode, because I had to take so many breaths so quickly. Thank God I made it in time, I thought I was going to lose the only family I had left" the woman sighed, tears of fear and relief coming to her eyes.
"Incredible. Though I've never heard of that Kagura before, you're truly amazing to be able to do that even without any training" Kanae replied with a beaming grin. Kei flushed slightly and looked away. It felt strange to be complemented about something like this. She had always been a normal woman, Housewife and Mother. Nothing interesting about her, or praise-worthy. Well, her family of course thought differently, but still. "I-It wasn't that impressive. Not really" Kie replied modestly. Kanae giggled, "well, weather you think it's something to be praised or not, you still managed to defend against attacks from most of the Hashira within seconds of each other and protect your children while doing it- with a stick. So I'm going to praise you for it" she replied, looking forwards again. Kie shook her head and fell back to check on her children, "Tanjiro, how is Nezuko?" she asked softly. The burgundy-haired 13-year-old looked down at his little sister. Shortly after they began to leave, Nezuko had clung to him, as their Mother was unavailable.
Kie had managed to convince her daughter to shrink in size and let her Older Brother carry her. Now the young Demon was whimpering and clutching tightly to his Haori. Tanjiro also noticed the drool soaking his clothes dripping from his sister's mouth. But, he sniffed lightly. He could smell salt. That wasn't just drool. Tanjiro held Nezuko closer, rubbing her back soothingly, "it's okay Nezuko. It's over now. You won't have to do that again, okay?" he whispered softly. He didn't know why his little sister would be crying. He didn't realise that Nezuko had remembered what had happened to their family. 'Couldn't, protect them. My- family.' She thought miserably, haltingly. Those children had been her family, hadn't they? However, upon feeling the gently touch on her back, the young Demon opened her eyes to see her brother looking down at her in concern. 'Brother' she thought, sure. This human was brother. Glancing to the side, Nezuko caught sight of the two women. 'Mom' she thought as her eyes fell on the one being carried.
'Protect. I will protect. Keep family safe. Keep humans safe. Not eat, never hurt' she remembered the man who had killed her siblings and felt hatred well up inside her, 'protect from him. Never let him hurt them again' she thought. Nezuko's stomach growled as she began to feel hungrier than ever as the toll of everything hit her all at once. She felt like all of her energy was fading. Her stomach let out an even louder growl. Everyone stopped to stare at the young Demon. She moaned, refusing to eat anyone. Panting, Nezuko closed her eyes, 'won't eat. Never eat, bad' she thought. Exhaustion hit her then, and she felt her body relax. The hunger faded away as her consciousness gave was to sleep, 'tired. Safe. Will sleep now. Not eat' were her last thoughts before sleep claimed her completely. Tanjiro blinked in shock, did Nezuko just fall asleep again? He frowned, it had probably been hard for her to resist biting that man. She might have been exhausted by the effort. He smiled gently down at his little sister, holding her better, "that's fine. You rest Nezuko. Mom and I will take care of everything" he said softly. Both Kanae and Kie smiled over at the siblings. "They can both rest when we get back to the Mansion" the Mother whispered. The Hashira nodded back, "definitely" she agreed.
PF
After returning and setting her daughter up in a futon, Kie began getting the second one ready as well. "Okay, this one is yours Tanjiro" the woman said. Tanjiro nodded with a yawn, "thanks Mom," he said tiredly. The 13-year-old lay down, but, despite being exhausted from everything that had happened that night, his thoughts were whirling, 'I wonder how soon I can start training with Mr Rengoku? Or, maybe I should call him Master? Mom exhausted herself to the point of hardly being able to breathe when she used the Hinokami Kagura before. I want to help her. And make Nezuko human again. I have to help and protect my family this time, no matter what' Tanjiro thought, before sleep fully consumed him.
PF
A few days later, Nezuko was still asleep and wouldn't wake up. "Nezuko? Baby? Please wake up dear!" Kie called, starting to become worried. The young Demon continued to sleep. Tanjiro frowned worriedly, "why is she still sleeping? She was fine before?" he asked. "Tanjiro, go get Kanae-San. Tell her that something is wrong with Nezuko" his Mother ordered. Tanjiro nodded and immediately went in search of the Hashira. Meanwhile, Kie took Nezuko's hand in hers and held it close, "please be okay Nezuko. I can't handle losing you too!" she whimpered, soft sobs beginning to escape now that they were alone. A few minutes later, she'd calmed down, and Tanjiro returned with her Master. She looked up, "oh Master, I'm so glad you're here" Kei said in relief. "Tanjiro told me that Nezuko won't wake up. Let me take a look at her" Kanae ordered gently.
Kie nodded, moving back to stand by her Son, who frowned. The Flower Hashira examined the young Demon girl thoroughly, checking her temperature, pulse, breathing and even her pupils with a small flashlight. Then she leant back on her knees, "well, I can't find anything wrong with her. Nezuko's blood pressure is a bit high, but that's normal for a Demon. I do have a guess as to what might be happening though" Kanae began. "Yes? What is it? Is my little sister okay?" Tanjro demanded, since he was starting to get really worried. Kanae stood up and turned to the concerned Kamado's, "I believe that Nezuko is healing and recovering her energy through sleep, instead of eating humans. Most Demons, at least all the ones I've met never sleep. They just hide out and wait for the sun to set. But Nezuko is actually sleeping. I think that she kept herself awake while you two, her family, were potentially in danger from other Demons. But now that we're here, and she realises that you're safe here, she can now sleep and fully recover" she explained.
Tanjiro stared in amazement, "wow. So Nezuko can survive without eating humans! That's incredible!" he said happily. But his Mother was still worried, "so, how long will she sleep for this time? Days? Weeks?" Kie asked in concern. The Flower Hashira shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't know. But I do know this. If Nezuko shows no signs for starvation when she eventually wakes up, she will be the first Demon to not require human flesh to survive" the other woman explained. Kie still looked worried, but then she sighed, "alright. If this can help my daughter, then I'm okay with it" she agreed. Her Master nodded and turned to go, "Kie, if you wouldn't mind starting your training again. Nezuko will be fine here. I'm going to go and report to the Master about this" The Mother frowned worriedly at her daughter, before Tanjiro spoke up, "don't worry Mom. I'll take care of Nezuko. And there are lots of people to help here too!" he exclaimed. Kie smiled, "thank you so much dear," she began, before her smile turned into a frown and the woman pressed a hand to her Son's forehead. "you feel a bit warm Tanjiro, you might be coming down with something. Try to get some rest too, alright?" she said, worried.
The 13-year-old nodded, "of course, don't worry" he replied with a smile, but on the inside he cringed, 'I don't like lying to my Mom like this. But I need to become stronger! If anything happened to either Mom or Nezuko, I don't know what I'd do!' he thought. As soon as his Mother smelt like she was far enough away, Tanjiro sighed. He knelt down next to his sleeping sister and stroked her head while taking her hand in his, "if you could just wait for me for a little while Nezuko, I promise I'll be back soon. But I have to do this, so please, be patient. Of course, being patient is all you've ever known," he muttered, remembering the hours his little sister had spent constantly repairing her old Kimono. The older Kamado held her hand a little tighter, "I swear, I'll protect you and our Mom. I'll turn you back into a human and then I'll buy you a brand-new Kimono, with beautiful colours!" he said softly. Tanjiro gave Nezuko one last longing look, before standing up and leaving the room. He then wiped some sweat off his face, "I am a little hot. But I'm sure it's nothing. I've dealt with worse while making charcoal" he said to himself.
Then he began to leave the Butterfly Mansion.
PF
The young teenager followed his nose to where he could smell Rengoku, eventually finding himself at another large Manner. He gaped at it in shock, 'are all these Hashira rich or something?! There houses are all so big!' he yelped in his mind. Suddenly Tanjiro's attention was drawn to a young boy that came out of the house. He looked a lot like Rengoku, only his hair was shorter and of course he was younger. He was dressed in a kimono top and hakamas and held a broom. "Excuse me!?" Tanjiro called out, going over to the young boy, who he could only assume was the Flame Hashira's younger brother. The boy stopped what he had been doing and looked up at Tanjiro as he came over. The teen smiled kindly at the boy, "my name is Tanjiro Kamado. Kyojuro Rengoku wanted to see me?" he asked. The boy's eyes widened slightly, "oh! You must be the one my Older Brother was telling me about. "The Kamado boy who wants to be a Demon Slayer" is about how my Brother described you" he explained with a smile.
"Sorry, my name is Senjuro Rengoku. It's nice to meet you Mr Kamado" the boy, now known as Senjuro introduced himself, holding out his hand. Tanjiro took it and shook it, "it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on Senjuro" he said with a smile. "Alright, I'll take you to my Brother now Mr Kamado" the younger boy said. "Ah, it's okay, you don't have to call me Mr. I don't think I'm that much older than you" Tanjiro replied, rubbing the back of his head. Senjuro cocked his head to the side, "I just turned 13" he replied. "Oh! I'm 13 as well" Tanjiro replied with a smile. Senjuro smiled slightly. With the way they lived, he didn't get much of a chance to spend time with other children his age. "Please, come inside. I'll take you to where my brother is training" the younger Rengoku offered politely. "Thank you very much Senjuro" Tanjiro said gratefully. The two walked down the hallways of the Rengoku Estate. Deciding to start a conversation to escape the ringing in his ears, Tanjiro spoke up, "so Senjuro, are you training to become a Demon Slayer like my Mom?" he asked. The other teen smiled slightly, "I've been trying, but so far I don't seem to be making much progress. What about you? You want to become a Demon Slayer too, right? That's why you asked big brother to train you?" Senjuro asked.
Tanjiro nodded seriously, "yes. To protect my Mom and little sister Nezuko, and to turn her back into a human, I will do anything!" the burgundy-haired Kamado replied. The young Rengoku smiled, "you must have a good relationship with your family." He said, before continuing on in a whisper: "I wish I could have that with my Father too". Tanjiro didn't notice this because his head was starting to hurt, 'what's wrong with me? I can't really be sick, can I? I'm used to living in much colder area's than this, and I hardly ever got sick!' he thought, trying to shake off the forming headache, 'It's probably just the stress' he told himself as they finally reached the area where the Flame Hashira was training with a wooden sword. Even to an untrained eye like Tanjiro's, the teen could still tell just how much mastery the older Rengoku had over his Flame-Breathing. "Wow" he breathed, awed. Kyojuro lowered his Bokken and turned to look at the two young teens. He waved, "Senjuro, young Kamado! It's good to see you both!" he cried.
Tanjiro hid his wince at the loud voice, and walked towards his new Trainer. Kyojuro looked down at him with his arms crossed over his chest, "so! You're Mother agreed to let me train you then!" he cried. Tanjiro again hid his wince at the reminder that, no, he hadn't gotten his Mother's permission to train and that he'd snuck away when no one was looking. "So, how do I start?" the Kamado asked, deflecting the question. "HA! HA! HA! I like your eagerness to train! Let's start at once!" Kyojuro decided.
PF
Several hours later, after Senjuro had left them to train, Tanjiro collapsed to the ground, gasping harshly for breath and trembling. "Well! you did a good job for your first time training! I was right to accept you as a student Kamado! You will make a fine Tsuguko!" Rengoku cried, laughing. But Tanjiro wasn't listening. He felt like he was melting, he was so hot, and his breaths came out uneven and laboured. His whole body was covered in sweat, drenching the clothes he wore and his head was pounding and spinning. The teen struggled to pushing himself to his feet, but his body finally gave out and he collapsed into a dead faint. Kyojuro stopped and turned to look back at the boy to find him laying on the ground, flushing red with fever and gasping for breath. He blinked down at Tanjiro before blanching, "oh no".
PF
Kei returned to the Butterfly Mansion, exhausted as usual, but feeling proud of herself. She knew that she was nowhere near even starting to train properly, but she had managed to complete her exercises again, so that was a win in her eyes. Deciding to check on her children first, before having a bath, the woman walked to Nezuko's room, expecting to find both her children sleeping soundly. Only to find Nezuko, sleeping in her futon, but no Tanjiro. 'Perhaps he went to the bathroom' she thought to herself. So she sat and waited for a few minutes. But when nearly an hour had passed, she began to get really worried. 'Tanjiro had a high fever! Where could he be?!' she thought frantically. The Mother left her children's room, beginning to look everywhere in the Butterfly Mansion. But there was no sign of Tanjiro in the building.
Kei was starting to get extremely worried. Where in the world was her Son! She decided to search outside. After a few minutes she saw a blur rushing towards her. Before she could panic, the blur stopped to reveal the Flame Hashira with- Tanjiro on his back?! "TANJIRO!" Kei cried, running to take her Son as Rengoku took the teen off his back and let her take him, "I'm so sorry Ma'am! I swear I did not know that young Kamado was sick!" he appologised sincerely. Kei checked her Son's temperature. Her eyes widened, "oh my God! He's burning up!" she cried fearfully, rushing to take her Son into the Butterfly Mansion. Worried about his new student, Rengoku followed her inside. He hoped the young man would be alright.
PF
Kanao was walking down the hallway, when she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Turning around to look, the girl found Kie Kamado hurrying down the hallway, still with her shoes on and Tanjiro carried in her arms. The teen appeared to be unconscious. And behind the woman was- Kanao's eyes widened slightly- the Flame Hashira? Upon seeing the girl that Tanjiro had started talking to, Kie gasped in relief, "oh thank God! Kanao, I need you to do something for me, right now!" she demanded. "Tanjiro is very sick! I need drinking water, a bowl of water and a clean cloth. As well as fever medicine, right now!" she ordered. Taking out her coin, Kanao was about to flip it. But then she caught sight of Tanjiro's condition. His skin was pale and clammy with sweat, his clothes soaked. His face was flushed bright red and he was gasping for breath. Eyes widening, Kanao for one forwent her coin and nodded, immediately rushing off to get the necessary items for treating the other 13-year-old.
Kie reached their room and opened the door. Nezuko was still sleeping peacefully in the futon. It was a stark contrast to her eldest child's condition. Kyojuro stopped at the door, looking down at the peacefully sleeping Demon for just a moment, before the voice of his new student's Mother snapped him out of his staring, "Hurry up and fix up the futon!" she hissed impatiently. "Yes! Of course!" he replied, voice only slightly quieter than before. Tanjiro moaned at the pain in his head, "and can you please talk quieter, Tanjiro needs to sleep and recover!" Kie cried softly as the Hashira got the futon ready. "I apologize, but I have trouble hearing. My ears were damaged during a mission a few years ago, and so I cannot hear myself properly if I do not talk loud enough" Kyojuro explained. Kie gasped in shock, "oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that you were hurt! Just, do your best then, okay?" she asked. After he was settled next to his sister, the two watched Tanjiro worriedly, as his breathing was labored and he trembled harshly. A few minutes later Kanao and the 'Butterfly triplets' as they were called returned with water, clean cloths, fever medication and drinking water. "Thank you so much, all of you. I'll take it from here" Kie said gratefully, taking the items from them.
"Alright. Please take care of Mr Tanjiro" Sumi replied, as the three girls left. Kanao was the only one left. She stared at Tanjiro for a moment, before turning and leaving the room. "Could you open the window please?" Kie asked the Flame Hashira. The man did as he was told, still feeling guilty for pushing the young Kamado so hard when he was already sick. The Kamado Matriarch wet one of the cloths and began wiping the sweat off of her Son, taking care to dry the skin afterwards as well. previously having had six children, she wasn't a stranger to this type of activity. After she'd finished that, Kie lifted Tanjiro up and helped him drink some water, before wetting a new cloth and placing it on Tanjiro's forehead. She frowned worriedly. This reminded her too much of the night her family had been killed. She just hoped that she could break the fever soon.
PF
Tanjiro was so hot. He was burning. Where was he? He couldn't remember. His head hurt. However, something was nagging at him. Slowly opening his eyes, the teen blinked up at the ceiling. He knew this ceiling, didn't he? His head was pounding. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. However, that same feeling persisted and he couldn't go back to sleep. Slowly, Tanjiro stood up, slowly walking to the door. He walked through the building, that feeling of familiarity growing stronger. Eventually the sound of children's voices reached his ears. His heart pounded hard in his chest- he knew those voices. Knew them as well as he knew his Mother's voice, as well as he knew his own voice. Reaching a door, Tanjiro shivered at the feeling of cold air blowing in from under it. However, he knew that this was the place that he was being led. So he reached out and pulled the door open.
The teen was temporarily blinded by the bright light, before his vision cleared. When it did, his heart leapt into his throat. All of his dead siblings were playing together in the yard. The one outside their old house. Tears filled the boy's eyes as he watched Shigeru and Takeo having a snowball fight, while Hanako helped little Rokuta make a pile of snow that might have been meant to be a snow-man. "Tanjiro" a familiar voice said from the porch next to him. If he had felt overwhelmed before, it was nothing to how he felt upon hearing that voice. The 13-year-old slowly turned to the side with wide eyes, to find his Father sitting in his Futon in the room in front of the yard, so he could watch his children play. "Father" Tanjiro said breathlessly, suddenly feeling like a very small child again. The urge to run over to the man and cry on his lap was strong and he found that he couldn't fight it. Tanjiro rushed over and buried his face into his Father's chest, crying his eyes out, "Father! I'm so sorry Father! I-I tried so h-hard to- *sob* b-but I couldn't- *sob* I'm sorry!" he wailed. The boy felt gentle arms wrap around him, rubbing his back and cradling his head as he sobbed hysterically, "shh, shh, shh. It's okay Son. It's okay," Tanjuro said soothingly.
Tanjiro cried his eyes out, clinging desperately onto his Father's haori, the strength radiating from the man, despite his frailty soothed the boy's frantic Soul. Slowly he calmed down, gasping and crying, but no longer hysterical. "Easy now Tanjiro, breathe" his Father instructed. The 13-year-old slowly calmed down, wiping his eyes, "I-I'm sorry Father. I'm just so happy to see you again" Tanjiro laughed slightly in embarrassment. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Son. Your feelings are perfectly natural" Tanjuro replied with a smile, wiping his Son's tears away with his thumbs. Tanjiro lay his head on his Father's lap like he used to when he was young, "Father, what's going on? Is this a dream? Or are you real?" the teen asked now that he was calm. "It's hard to explain," his Father began, looking out over the yard, and his playing children, "I suppose you could call this a dream, or a vision. But as for weather I'm real?" the man chuckled, "well, who knows?" he asked. His Son dead-panned, "Father" he said. "The only thing that you need to know is that I'm here to help you" Tanjuro replied gently. "Help me? How?" Tanjiro asked curiously.
The man stroked his Son's hair, "by telling you this: what happened wasn't your fault Son. If you don't stop blaming yourself, you'll never be able to grow as a person or a Swordsman. And I know that you don't want that. So please, try, okay Tanjiro?" his Father replied. The teen looked down, tears of sorrow and frustration glinting in his eyes, "I know how hard it is for you. You feel like you could never forgive yourself for letting everyone down. But if you had been at home with our family, you would have either been killed too, or turned into a Demon like Nezuko. Because of your choices, you and your Mother can be their for each other and for your sister. And I'm so glad that that is the case. I don't even want to imagine just how painful it would be for you to be the only one left with only your Demonified sister as company.
At least you're both alive and can take care of Nezuko together" Tanjuro continued. The 13-year-old then looked up at his Father, tears streaming down his face, "then what am I supposed to do now?! I'm a failure! I can't even complete a day of training without getting sick and collapsing!" Tanjiro demanded to know. "You can. You're stronger than you know Son. Don't give up on yourself, and don't let anyone make you give up. Not even your Mother. I believe in you Tanjiro. You will do great things. Just keep fighting! And keep living. That's all you can do" the Kamado Patriarch replied, before he disappeared into darkness. "Father!" Tanjiro cried, looking around in fear as his younger siblings faded away, and he was left surrounded by darkness. The teen stood up and looked around frantically, before he closed his eyes, 'no. calm down. Just breathe. See if you can smell anything' he thought to himself, forcing his fear down. Tanjiro took deep and even breaths, before sniffing the air, 'I smell, Mom. And water. Wait- is that Nezuko's new scent? And- wait- Rengoku?' he thought, confused, as he felt himself move closer to the scents.
But he was still so hot-
Tanjiro came too with his head pounding and feeling like he was burning up. He groaned. Kie gasped, "Tanjiro? Baby? Are you awake Son?" she asked leaning over him and gently wiping his face with a cool, damp cloth. The 13-year-old leaned into her touch and the coolness on the side of his face, "Mom?" he asked softly, eyes still closed. But it was defiantly her. He could never mistake her scent. "Mom, I saw F-Father" he said softly. Kie nearly choked on her breath. "Oh? That sounds like a lovely dream dear. Considering the fever you have right now, I'm surprised that it wasn't something worse" she eventually replied kindly, happy that he'd been able to have such a nice dream while having such a high fever. "Not, a dream. It, was him- I'm sure," Tanjiro got out, exhaustion overwhelming him again, "it was him" he whispered, before falling asleep once more. His Mother stared down at him, pondering the conviction in her Son's words. He was sure, with his whole heart, that he had really talked to his dead Father. Suddenly an old memory returned to her. When Tanjiro had been a child, and her Mother had died, he'd sworn that he had been talking to his Grandmother three days later when no-one had been their?
Maybe her Son really could see and talk to ghosts. Kei smiled gently, glad that of all ghosts, it had been her husband to speak to Tanjiro today. Maybe when he recovered, he would even be willing to tell her the truth about his activities today with Rengoku. But for right now, he needed his Mother. And so, Kei continued to care to her Son and treat his fever.
To be continued