"Kamado-san, it's good to see you here early," Healer Takaishi Tamayo speaks softly, dressed in her normal dark purple kimono and white scrubs. Her hair was neatly tied back in a bun and her soft purple eyes held a gentle blank look.

Tanjirō releases a small breath of relief as the infirmary doors close behind her. She smiles brightly and walks forward, holding her satchel in front of her.

"I'm glad! I was worried I'd be late. The professors aren't pulling any punches with homework this week..." Tanjirō speaks brightly, sitting on the hospital cot Tamayo waves a hand towards.

"Kamado-san, this is Kochō Shinobu. She'll be the one to cast any healing on you this year, if you are ever in need of it," Tamayo introduces the 14 year old teenager standing next to her.

Tanjirō brightens in recognition of the name and gives a small bow. "I heard so much about you from Kanao-san! It's great to finally meet you, Kōcho-senpai."

"Hmph. Don't expect me to be at your beck and call. And call me Shinobu. You call Nēsan Kanae-senpai all the time," Kochō Shinobu states, uncrossing her arms and placing a hand on her hip.

Tanjirō heard a lot about Shinobu from other students, and from Kanao when she rarely talked. Brash and blunt, but incredibly gifted in medicine and potions. She was 14 years old, but really small for her age.

Shinobu wore the standard student uniform with a dark purple tint, and bright blue robes. Her hair was pinned up in a bun by a purple butterfly clip and two strands fading into purple hung on each side of her face, tucked behind her ears. Her eyes were a beautiful purple gradient color, almost like an insect's eyes. She was really pretty...

Tanjirō flushes a bright red and tugs at a few loose strands of her hair. "Of course, Shinobu-senpai. I'll try to keep out of my friend's antics to save you the trouble."

"Agatsuma and Hashibira?" Shinobu sighs harshly before sitting down across from Tanjirō. "You're friends with those two? They're loud and rude... not to mention blunt..."

"Well you're known for being blunt too..." Tanjirō mutters under her breath without much thought. Her eyes widen and her face bursts into shades of crimson, almost matching her hair. Tamayo giggles behind her hand while Shinobu stares at her with incredulity.

"I–I am so sorry, Shinobu-senpai! I–um... it just slipped out," The crimson haired girl stutters out, making herself blush even more.

"I'm not blunt!" Shinobu defends herself before huffing with a small amount of pink dusting her cheeks.

"Kamado-san, this'll be your first annual medical check-up. Please answer truthfully and as thoroughly as you can. It's alright if you don't know the answer," Tamayo changes the subject with a genuine glint in her eyes. Tanjirō calms down and slowly nods her head, still flustered.

Shinobu was still frowning at being called blunt, but rolled out a blank piece of parchment and held it in front of her with a small intricately designed blade.

"Please prick your finger. Only three drops of blood are needed to touch the paper. Do you have any pre-existing conditions? Muyo or magical?" Shinobu asks, fading into her healing mode. Tanjirō blinks in slight awe at the sudden change. Definitely a healer mindset.

"Not that I know of... Kāchan said I had an accidental magic incident when I was younger. The healer didn't think anything would pop up in the future," Tanjirō recalls quietly. She gently shakes her head from her memories and grabs the intricate blade from Shinobu. She gently pierces her finger and squeezes out three drops of blood.

"This will show any and all injuries you received since you were born, so please don't worry about how long the list is," Tamayo states softly before the ink explodes onto the parchment.

"...relatively healthy. It says you had a brazier fall on your head. Is that where your scar came from?" Tanjirō instinctively touches the flame-shaped scar on the left side of her forehead.

"Yes. My head broke it, but the heat of the metal made the scar," Tanjirō explains with a fond smile. "Hanako and Shigeru tell the villagers the craziest stories about it."

"Your head broke a brazier?" Shinobu asks in the form of a statement. Tanjirō laughs and taps her forehead with a small flush.

"I have a hard head." Tanjirō shrugs. Shinobu stares at her incredulously before focusing back on the parchment. Her eyes narrow and she tilts the parchment towards Tamayo.

"Is there a history of respiratory problems in your family. Things like asthma or bronchitis?" Shinobu asks eventually. Tanjirō tilts her head in thought, absentmindedly swinging her legs back and forth.

"My family are charcoal burners. Have been for centuries. I took over the charcoal burning when Tōsan's health got worse a few years ago. Would that have anything to do with it?" She answers curiously. Shinobu presses her lips in a thin line, eyebrows furrowed.

"We'll do an extensive check on your lungs just in case..." Shinobu blushes bright red and quickly glances at Tamayo. Tamayo sighs fondly and gives the 14 year old a small look.

"You'll need to get used to asking it, Shinobu-san." Tamayo smiles softly at a curious Tanjirō, hands clasped in her lap. "It's alright if you don't know the answer to this one, you're still young. Have you started your bleeding?"

Tanjirō blinks at the question before frowning. She slowly shakes her head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"No? What is my... bleeding?" Tanjirō asks, Tamayo patiently smiling.

"It's something all females go through when they reach a certain age. Usually they start their bleeding around 13 to 15 years old, but there have been some that started as early as 10. You'll start to bleed from your lower region. Many feel cramps in their lower stomach. It's nothing to be scared of. If you ever start, just come by the infirmary. I'm sure if you ask your mother, she'll explain it more in-depth. If I'm not mistaken, Muyos call it a period," The healer explains casually. Tanjirō places a hand on her stomach and pales slightly.

"...I-I won't die from it, will I?" Tanjirō asks worriedly. Tamayo smiles and shakes her head.

"No, you won't. If you're curious, I have a few pamphlets about it. It's good for females to educate themselves about the functions of their body. Let's continue the check-up," Tamayo says, making the crimson haired girl sigh in relief.

"We'll skip the next question. Do you have any allergies?"

Tanjirō hums a soft tune under her breath, revising her notes. She sits in a seiza, sitting in the corner of the library, slightly hidden from view. Her textbooks, multiple pieces of parchment, multiple quills, and many writing brushes surrounded her as a cluttered halo.

"Onēchan? Are you over here?" Nezuko whisper shouts from the end of the bookshelves. Tanjirō snaps her head up and smiles brightly when she sees her little sister peeking her head from around the corner.

"Over here, Nezuko!" Tanjirō states in a normal tone, raising her hand in the air. Nezuko brightens up and skips over, her arms filled with parchment and textbooks.

"Onēchan! I was looking everywhere for you!" Nezuko sits down across from her big sister, careful to keep herself out of the walking path in case anyone else came by. "Are you hiding from Inosuke and Zenitsu again?"

Tanjirō smiles sheepishly with an awkward giggle. "I needed to get some homework done. They don't think they can do it and I need to motivate them by competition."

Nezuko playfully rolls her eyes with a giggle. She sets down her own homework and leans forward to read her big sister's notes.

"Hm? What're you working on? Is that Charms or Potions?"

"Charms. It's a theory paper. We're gonna learn the Disillusionment Charm," Tanjirō explains, tilting her paper towards her little sister. Nezuko's eyes gleam in excitement and she tilts her head to skim over the unfinished essay.

"So cool! Will Onēchan teach me and the others?" Nezuko asks brightly. Tanjirō laughs softly and gives her little sister a small look.

"Onēchan can't teach Nezuko or the younger ones, because none of them have their own wands yet." Nezuko pouts, making Tanjirō laugh again. She gently raises her hand and pats the 10 year old girl on her head.

"Do you need any help with your homework? And where's Takeo?"

"Takeo's hanging out with Yūchirō-kun and Senjurō-kun and making sure Yūchirō-kun doesn't bring Senjurō-kun into any of his crazy plots," Nezuko explains as she takes out a textbook on Transfiguration and a barely written essay on a piece of parchment, "and I need help with this. It's Transfiguration. Ayaki-sensei wants us to make a theory paper on the needle lesson we'll be doing next year."

"She really likes to read theories on the possibilities of the needle lesson, as long as you fully understand..."

Disdain-anger-hatred-jealousy. Tanjirō snaps her head up with wide eyes. She takes a deep breath, eyes flickering between the shelves.

"There it is again. Where–"

"–chan? Onēchan!" Tanjirō startles out of her focus, hitting the back of her head against the wall behind her. She rapidly blinks before looking at an incredibly worried Nezuko.

"S-sorry, Nezuko! I just... thought I smelled something off." Tanjirō grabs the paper from Nezuko's hand. "Where was I? Oh! As long as you fully understand what the lesson is about, you can have your theory paper over anything that can relate to it."

"How can someone have so much hatred? Maybe they're having a bad day..." The crimson haired girl pushes the thought to the back of her head. Help her siblings first, then be nosy.

"Tanjirō-chan~!" Zenitsu's shout was Tanjirō's only warning before she was tackled to the ground by the boy. Tanjirō squeaks in surprise as she topples over.

"Tanjirō-chan~! Where were you? I had to deal with boarhead by myself!" Zenitsu cries loudly as he hugs the 11 year old girl tightly.

Tanjirō rolls her eyes and tries to get Zenitsu off of her. "I was in the library. Doing homework, like you and Inosuke should be doing."

"Why do we need to do homework when we're going to fail anyway?!" Zenitsu asks as he starts to cry dramatically. Tanjirō gives up trying to get the yellow haired boy off of her and lays on the ground with a heavy sigh.

"Kamado-chan, Agatsuma-kun, is everything alright?" Gyōmei's voice breaks through Zenitsu's dramatics and makes Tanjirō lift her head.

"Oh, hello Himejima-sensei!" A faint pink blush appears on her cheeks. "Ah–yes. Everything's alright! Are we making a ruckus?"

"Not at all Kamado-chan. There just hasn't been such spirited children in Yosamu in quite a while," Gyōmei states with a soft smile, clasping his hands together as if he was praying. Tanjirō blinks before she forces herself to sit up with Zenitsu still hugging her.

"Tontarō!" Tanjirō looks up at the loud shout before her face pales.

She whips her head around and brings up her hands. "Wait, Inosuke–"

The feral boy slams into Tanjirō and Zenitsu, making the crimson haired girl squawk at the added weight. She groans loudly and roughly pushes Inosuke off of her.

"Inosuke! You can't tackle me to the ground every time I disappear! I'm going to come back!" Tanjirō scolds with a frown, crossing her arms despite Zenitsu still hugging her.

"You left me alone with Monitsu! Where'd you even go?!" Inosuke asks loudly, crossing his own arms. Tanjirō rolls her eyes and points at her bag that Zenitsu had made her drop when he first tackled her.

"To complete my homework, that both of you should be doing too." The crimson haired girl gives her friends a look, causing them both to avert their gazes with different amounts of embarrassment showcased to the world.

"You should listen to Kamado-chan, Hashibira-kun, Agatsuma-kun. You must put in the work to do what you most enjoy, even if you dislike it," Gyōmei gently coaches with a nod. Tanjirō feels her cheeks warm as she ducks her head and tugs at a few loose strands of her hair.

"Y-yes, Himejima-sensei..." Zenitsu says, face turning bright red. Inosuke just huffs loudly and glares off to the side with a pout.

"I'll make sure they do their homework, Himejima-sensei. If they want to win the bet, they'll have to," Tanjirō reminds her friends of the bet they had made at the end of the year before. Both boys straighten up and turn to face each other. They bolt up and race towards opposite directions, Inosuke towards the exit and Zenitsu towards the dorm rooms.

"Don't even bother trying, Monitsu! I'm the king of the mountain and I'm gonna win!" Inosuke shouts before he slams his head into the closed door. He crashes through the now open door and disappears in a cacophony of shouts and laughter.

Tanjirō sighs with her shoulders sagging, standing up. "That'll get them motivated. Oh! Himejima-sensei, I was wondering about the duties of–"

Hatred-hatred-hatred-hatred-HATRED. Tanjirō whirls around with a gasp. Her hand twitches to reach for her leg holster, everything around her disappearing except the putrid scent of hatred.

"Who–who has that much hatred? Where are they?" Tanjirō releases a shaky breath as the scent quickly disappears.

A sudden weight on her shoulder makes Tanjirō startle. "Kamado-chan, are you alright? What's wrong?"

The crimson haired girl looks up with wide eyes before averting them to the ground. She clears her throat and looks around one more time.

"I think... I think someone's just having a bad day. They have a lot of hatred and I keep smelling it," Tanjirō says slowly, forcing a smile on her face. She steps out of Gyōmei's hold and gives him a small bow.

"Sorry, I'm sure it's nothing. Thank you, Himejima-sensei!" Tanjirō walks away, gripping the strap of her bag. She bites the inside of her cheek, gazing down at the grass-covered floor.

"I need to finish my homework." Tanjirō shakes away her worry and straightens her shoulders. "I'll probably be finished before dinner!"

The repeated scent of hatred is pushed to the back of her mind once again.

"Are there any movements to report, Kyogai? Or are you wasting my time with another useless update?" Koizumi Kyogai clenches his fists around his pants to stop himself from instinctively grabbing his wand. His fingers twitch minutely, wishing desperately to tap a beat on one of his tsuzumi drums.

"Ubuyashiki Kagaya has become the Headmaster of Mahoutokoro. He has tightened security over those with gold robes and has appointed his wife and one of his Pillars as professors," Kyogai reports quietly, carefully keeping his gaze pointed at the ground.

"Hm... you have some use after all. But, you have already wasted it all with this report," The voice through the Floo insults with no emotion in his tone. Kyogai barely bites back a flinch, but couldn't keep his breathing normal.

"Kimio will be sent to do what had been planned. You are to keep him hidden and safe until everything is set in motion. Afterwards, you will return for your punishment. I am disappointed in placing misguided faith in you once again. You've reached your limit."

Kyogai snaps his head up, face becoming pallid. "Milord, I can still be of use to you! I haven't reached my limit yet!"

"You will return when the year ends for your punishment." The Floo is cut off, leaving a terrified and frustrated Kyogai.

"Muzan-sama... Muzan-sama, don't give up on me! I can prove my worth! I am... I am not useless to you!" Kyogai's shoulders shake as his nails pierce his skin through the fabric of his pants. He was given power, given a chance to prove his worth... and yet, and yet he's still useless! Why? Why?!

"Lower Moon 6... I will regain my position! This is my only chance... Milord, I am useful to you, I swear!" Kyogai mutters aloud. He has to be. If not, the punishment... is a suffering death.

Tanjirō scrunches her face up as a faint scent of an absolutely foul smelling hatred breezes through the air. She turns around, her back facing Aneko, relaxing once more.

Aneko watches her fall back into a restful sleep before looking down at her letter. Her hands shake as she continues to write her report to her "little brother".

Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! I'm not dead and neither is this story!

I'm sorry for taking so long to post! I had a minor writer's block, and then I got busy. It's out though! So, woot woot!

Also, Tamayo's last name is completely made up. I couldn't find any information on if she had a last name, real or fake, so I picked one for her. I'm pretty sure I picked Kyogai's last name too? I'm not sure. I had planned out many names for many canon characters that didn't have a confirmed surname/name for this story a long while ago, and I have forgotten.

Either way, I just wanted to let you all know! I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.


WhovianWhoudini