Quietly, I closed the door behind me to Uzui-sensei's house. Not only did I not want to disturb him and the girls, but the migraine that was very thoroughly making my head throb didn't need to be worse than it was. It would be my luck that they would hear me anyways, if Uzui-sensei was home at least. Even if the girls were kunoichi, they didn't have the keen sense of hearing that he did.
I was lucky that Mio noted that I had a migraine, since she was quiet while we traveled. I wrote her a note to bring home, telling everyone that I wasn't feeling the greatest. They were always understanding with the migraines, but if anything, I'm pretty sure I worried them a bit. They had started a long while ago, but they hadn't been this severe until a couple years ago. It was nice to have someone worry about my wellbeing, but the migraines were something I could handle myself.
Today, however, was different.
Before I could even take a few steps into the house after taking my shoes off, I had stumbled so badly that I had fell into the wall, causing a loud sound that made me wince when it made the migraine worse.
"Naoto-kun?" I heard Suma call out as quietly as she could, still causing me to to wince with the sudden twinge of pain. Feeling a set of cool hands on my slightly eased the ache, but it still remained. I could hear more footsteps following, luckily they didn't come with voices. I felt my bag being taken off my shoulders and being guided down the hallway to where my room was, but soon enough, I was lifted off my feet with ease. In the back of my mind, I had a thought that it was Uzui-sensei subtlety showing off that he was taller than me, but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was my soft, warm futon, and sleep.
Once I was safely delivered to my room and everyone quietly left, I blindly took off the mask and scarf duo, placing my haori on top of them haphazardly. It wasn't too often I slept in my uniform when I was home, but it seemed like tonight was one of those nights. And without wasting time, I passed out.
...
After many, many odd dreams, I groggily stumbled out of my room and to the kitchen. I hadn't seen Uzui-sensei today, which confused me. Usually, he or one of the girls would come by and drop off some water for me to drink and the medicine that Shinobu had made for me. I think I was awake a few times for no more than a few minutes before falling asleep once more. On a few occasions, one of the girls would stay in my room with me, making sure that there was a bowl of cool water and a few towels that I could put on my forehead if the migraine got worse.
Walking into the kitchen, I was met by three confused stares.
"What're you doing here?" Hinatsuru had asked with a raised eyebrow. "Tengen left about two hours ago."
"For what?"
Makio looked at me like I was an idiot. "The Hashira meeting?" The kitchen was silent for a moment, minus the sizzling of the eggs Suma was making.
"SHIT!" I yelled, scaring all of them. Rushing back to my room, I gathered my things in record time. I was lucky that I changed out of my uniform at some point while I was passed out, so it was clean and waiting for me. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I quickly passed the girls in the kitchen, muttering a 'thank you' when Makio handed me a small box of food to eat on my way there.
It didn't seem like it was too late in the morning, so I would hopefully make it to the Hashira meeting just barely. Whenever I got there, I would have to ask Uzui-sensei how long I was asleep and why exactly he decided that I didn't need to be woken up earlier than when I did. No doubt I would be teased by Uzui-sensei for being late, but I had a damn good reason as to why.
To say I was confused by what I was seeing in the outer garden when I finally got to the headquarters would be an understatement.
There was a child with his hands bound behind his back, screaming about his sister or something of the sort. Everyone was here, Oyakata-sama and two of his children were standing in the shaded part of the manor, while my fellow Hashira were already down on one knee. The odd part of the sight I was witnessing was a young boy with a green, checkered haori and a small box with a demon inside...?
"Naoto-san has arrived." One of Oyakata-sama's children announced, catching me out of the corner of their eye as I walked over to crouch down by Mitsuri-chan.
Oyakata-sama's blank gaze, along with everyone else's attention, turned towards me. "Naoto, I'm glad that you're able to join us." He greeted me with a soft smile.
"My apologies for being late, Oyakata-sama. I would have been here earlier, but I was bedridden with a severe migraine." I explained, getting down on one knee. "I don't even know how long I was in bed, if I'm being honest." Hearing Uzui-sensei click his tongue, I looked over to him holding up four fingers. Which seemed to mean that I had indeed been in bed for four days, making this the longest time a migraine had taken me out.
"If I'm not out of line for asking, but was there anything important I missed, Oyakata-sama?"
Oyakata-sama shook his head. "You're fine, Naoto. I was about to announce this, but the child on the ground and his sister, Tanjiro and Nezuko, I had sanctioned their situation, which is Tanjiro being a Demon Slayer while Nezuko is a demon that he travels with. And I would like you to accept that as well."
Himejima-san put his hands together in prayer as tears ran down his face. "Ah... Even though it's what you request, Master, I cannot consent."
"I, too, must firmly oppose! A demon traveling with a Demon Slayer is unacceptable!" Uzui-sensei shouted.
"I shall do whatever it is you wish for, Master!" Mitsuri spoke with a smile, making me smile from behind my mask.
"I'm alright either way, since I'm probably going to forget about it anyways." Tokito-kun muttered to himself.
Both Shinobu and Giyuu were silent, making me get the feeling I was missing something.
"I'm not trusting him, no way am I trusting him. I loathe demons." Iguro quickly rejected the notion.
"Although I respect you with all my heart, that's an incomprehensible notion, Master! I oppose it with everything within me!" To my left, Kyojuro responded with his usual smile and booming voice.
"It is our mission to hunt and kill demons. I request that you punish both Kamado and Tomioka." Shinazugawa-san interjected, his request sounding more like a demand.
I hummed. "I think I'm going to stay neutral for now, since I'm honestly not too sure what's happening in this moment." I sheepishly said, really regretting the fact that I missed the beginning of this meeting.
"Well then, the letter?" Oyakata-sama said to one of the children. The the child with the red hair ornament pulled out a letter from their kimono, carefully unfolding it. They read the letter aloud, the contents truly interesting. To hear the fact that the girl, Nezuko, had been asleep for two years after she was turned into a demon and hadn't had a single nibble of human flesh.
"So what if they commit seppuku? If they want to die, then they can rot for all I care! It doesn't guarantee anything!" The Wind Hashira yelled after a moment of silence.
Kyojuro hummed in agreement. "That's right! If she kills and eats a human, it's irreversible! The dead won't come back!"
"But you'll ignore the fact that the girl hasn't attacked a human in the two years she's been a demon?" I interjected, looking at Shinazugawa-san. "That's a little closed-minded of you."
"You do have a point." Oyakata-sama finally settled on, considering all the comments that his children had made. "We can't guarantee that she won't attack humans; we can't prove it. That being said, we also can't prove that she will attack humans. Like Naoto stated, the fact that Nezuko has refrained from eating humans for more than two years, and also has three people risking their lives on her. To reject that, those who reject it must offer a more convincing argument."
"Do you all intend to do so?" Amazingly, no one could respond to Oyakata-sama, not even Shinazugawa-san.
"But there is something I'd like to relay to you, my children. Tanjiro here has crossed paths with Kibutsuji." I couldn't stop myself from gasping in shock. "Kibutsuji has sent pursuers after Tanjiro. Though his purpose maybe be to silence him, now that he has shown his tail and we've grabbed it, I don't want to let go. I also believe something has happened to Nezuko that Kibutsuji never saw coming. Can you try to understand?"
I could have sworn that I heard Shinazugawa-san growl. "No, I do not understand, Master. If it were a human, I'd be okay with letting it live, but not a demon! Not after all that us Demon Slayers have gone through in battle, after the many people have lost their lives! It's unacceptable!"
At some point, I had stopped listening to what was happening, not seeing what was going on. I tried to focus on controlling the sudden pain from an oncoming migraine, but I was slowly loosing that battle. I couldn't help but let out a groan, reaching a hand up to the side of my head. Out of nowhere, the pain got incredibly worse. I used my free hand that was resting on my leg to catch myself from falling on my face.
"Naoto?" I barely heard the Master call out my name, sounding worried.
"Sorry, another migraine-" I muttered, speaking only making the pain worse. "I think I'm going to-" I couldn't even finish the sentence before promptly faceplanting onto the small garden rocks.
...
"Crap, Oyakata-sama, my apologies, this has never happened before." Uzui quickly apologized, quickly moving to check on his student. Tanjiro was not only confused, but worried for the masked stranger; landing in a way that their face and mask was facing away from him. Not even a moment ago, they seemed fine. When he craned his head over to see how the masked figure was, Tanjiro noticed the loud blond, antsy pinkette, and the flamboyant silver haired man were worriedly checking on them.
"What happened?" The man with black hair asked one of the children by his side.
"Naoto-san suddenly collapsed to the ground, he's now unconscious." The white haired girl announced, watching Uzui bring his student into a sitting position.
Oyakata-sama hummed. "He did send me a message not too long ago, saying that his migraines were getting worse."
"Naoto-kun can recuperate at the Butterfly Mansion, Oyakata-sama." The girl with the butterfly hairpin suggested. "Should we wait until he wakes up, or continue with the Hashira meeting without him?"
"How long was Naoto bedridden, Tengen?"
The man, Tengen, looked up to the Master of the manor. "He was down for four days; the only time he was really awake was when me or the girls helped him hydrate and take his medicine."
"I think we should wait until he recovers! Naoto wouldn't want to miss our on the meeting!" The energetic blond said, finally taking his eyes off the unconscious Naoto.
The angry, white haired boy scoffed. "We have no idea how long it'll take him to even wake up, and we still have missions to do."
Before anyone could put in another word, the person who they were talking about sat up with a deep, loud gasp. Naoto grabbed at his stomach, as if he was hurt. "I..." He rasped out, his voice extremely shaky. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Oyakata-sama held up his hand, politely silencing the Melody Hashira. "Please, don't push yourself too hard, Naoto. Are you alright?"
"Yes, I-I'm okay. Again, I'm sorry for interrupting. We can continue the meeting." Naoto carefully pushed himself out of his mentor's arms.
"If you're sure, since we have tested the idea of Nezuko eating humans or not, Tanjiro and his sister will be taken to the Butterfly Mansion to recover. Once our semi-annual Hashira meeting is concluded, you can go with Shinobu and rest there, Naoto." Oyakata-sama reasoned, his voice making it sound like that this decision wasn't a direct order.
I sighed, excusing myself from the one on one talk Oyakata-sama had requested after my fellow Hashira had left. He was truly worried about my fainting spell during the young boy's trial, asking me if I thought I would be able to continue missions. I eased his worries by saying I would talk to Shinobu about a stronger version of the medicine I had now for the migraines, something I actually was planning on doing. Uzui-sensei said that he would meet me back at the house, tell the girls that I was (mostly) fine, and would send his crow my way if he needed anything.
Kyojuro was kind enough to walk with me to the Butterfly Mansion since Shinobu left ahead of us to check on her patients, thankfully taking extra care to keep his voice to a lower level.
"You really caused a scare when you passed out like that, Naoto-kun." Kyojuro commented, unable to stop himself from thinking about the event. "Uzui-san said that it hadn't happened before."
"He's correct, I've never lost consciousness like that. I'm sorry that I worried you, Kyojuro-kun." I lightly teased, knowing full well that he wasn't the only one that was caught off guard. "It came out of nowhere, too. If I was really in bed for four days, you would think that I wouldn't have a spell like that for a little bit longer than four days."
He looked down at me from the corner of his eyes. "Maybe you're over working yourself. Uzui-san mentioned that you had just come back from a mission at that time as well."
"Maybe so." I muttered, leaning into Kyojuro. "You're really warm."
I wasn't able to see it, but Kyojuro's cheeks flushed to a rosy pink. "Naoto?"
"Sorry, I'm all of a sudden tired."
Within the blink of an eye, I had been lifted off the ground and was being carried. "You're lighter than I remember, maybe the lack of nutrition is the reason for you passing out today!"
I didn't even try to argue, crossing my arms while I put my ear against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. "I've been eating fine, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma always make sure that Uzui-sensei and I are eating three meals a day."
"And you're drinking enough water?"
"Yes, I am, Kyo-kun." Closing my eyes, I started to hum to myself off and on. "Did I ever get around to telling you about the different songs and lullabies I learned while I traveled? Well, some of them I learned from my mother and father, but most of the songs I use in my Melody Breathing are ones that I learned from different people after traveling."
"What about the lullaby you're humming now?" Kyojuro asked, sounding truly interested.
"Well, this one is from a secluded part of the mountains. The family who sings the lullaby use it to sing their priestesses to an eternal slumber after having their whole body covered with snake and holly tattoos." I recalled, remembering the time I was lucky enough to experience this family's traditions. "They let visitors come into their shrine to lament their grief to of their lost loved ones to the priestess; taking their pain and tattooing that pain into the priestess's skin until they cannot hold anymore tattoos or pain."
He hummed. "That's very interesting, Naoto-kun. I don't remember you telling me about this lullaby. Despite it's haunting origin, it's a soothing lullaby. I can see how someone can fall asleep to it."
"I learned it after my family passed away, so I didn't get a chance to share it with them." I sleepily commented. "I'm glad I can share it with you, though. You're the closest thing to family I have now."
"I feel the same way, Naoto-kun." Kyojuro responded quietly, almost as if he didn't want me to hear him say it. I tapped him lightly on the chest, letting him know I did in fact hear him. "If you want to sleep, please feel free. We're still a little ways away from the Butterfly Mansion."
"No need to tell me twice.." I mumbled, quickly dozing off since I had permission.
If you can tell where some of the lullabies I use in this story are from, I will be very impressed and I want to be your friend!