Obanai would be lying if he didn't say pure relief coursed through his veins at the sight of the mansion. It was as big and as welcoming as he remembered it to be, and the snake pillar found his shoulders unconsciously loosening as him and the kid looked up at the metal gates currently keeping them out.

With a soft creek and a light clicking noise, the metal bars protecting the estate from the outside world fell open; welcoming them in. For just a moment, Iguro almost reached behind him to grip the kid's haori like he'd been doing the first couple of hellish days in their journey, but thankfully stopped himself in time. The brat was fine. He could move on his own.

He'd been doing it for the past few days, hadn't he.

The snake pillar started walking without looking back, and after a momentary pause in-between, his ears registered the soft patter of familiar footsteps following behind him. A wisp of unrest flickering in his stomach subsided. Obanai didn't care to try and decipher the reason why.

Silently they made their way through the long trek up to the front doors, and before the pillar even had the chance to lift a hand to knock, a click was heard and both doors slide open. Revealing an old man with slightly crouched over figure, but the most kindest of smiles painting his lips.

Obanai couldn't help the slight curl of his own mouth to match the man standing in front of him. "Yamaura-san," he muttered; tone tilting up in warmth. "It's good to see you again."

The old man reached out to touch his arm. Iguro let him, and when the old man's smile widened even further, the snake pillar found himself covering the wrinkled fingers with his own dirty palm.

"It's been too long," Yamuara-san muttered. "Welcome back Iguro-sama."

Frowning, Iguro pats the old hand twice, before gently scolding his friend. "It's Obanai," he huffs. "I thought we agreed to drop the formalities." Yamaura-san's eyes-only twinkle with mirth and a short nod of his head indicates he's only agreeing as not to upset him. Obanai just shakes his head in amusement and allows himself to be led into the mansion; the kid following close behind. The brat had yet to say anything after their last training, which was approximately six hours ago. The pillar would have been concerned if he'd cared enough about the kid in the first place. He didn't, so he wasn't.

"Who is your little companion?" Yamaura-san asks as he leads them through a series of corridors and down a series of more.

"He's Kuwajima-san's former student. Sadly Kuwajima-san passed away during a demon attack, so I brought the kid here to be cared for till further arrangements can be made." He says all this with a straight face and a slight frown shadowing his mouth. For some reason, the decision isn't bringing him the relief he thought it would.

No matter, he had accomplished what he'd set out to do and now it was up to Yamaura-san and his wife to take care of the rest.

"I see," his old friend hums. "Then it is good that you brought him here Iguro-sama. I promise me and my wife will take good care of him." Here he turns around to look back at them both; eyes focusing on the kid standing slightly behind him. Yamaura-san's smile is gentle. "You have nothing to be scared of anymore child," he says. "You are safe here."

From the corner of his eye, Obanai sees the kid nod. A tiny jerky movement of his head, but it was a deliberate action to confirm he was listening and was understanding. That's more than Iguro had hoped the kid was capable off in his current zoned out condition.

It looked like he hadn't fallen back into his old catatonic state then.

Muscles that the pillar didn't even know were tense, slowly relaxed in his body, and the snake pillar breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

"Good good," the old man mumbled, turning around to walk ahead of them again.

Nothing else is said between all parties until they reach a large white room that is from wall to wall decorated with all types of medical equipment.

Obanai's eyes grow soft at the sight. Of course, the old man was worried. He always was.

"I'm fine Yamaura-san," he says, even as he allows his friend to lead him by the arm over to a lady clad in white; waiting patiently by a hospital bed.

"Let us determine that for ourselves," Yamaura-san fires back. Going over to Zenitsu and leading him over to the other bed by the window. "I would feel much better knowing you're both ok if I hear it from a qualified medical professional, Iguro-sama. Now if you will allow these doctors to take a look at you both, I would be entirely grateful."

He'd never managed to say no to Yamaura-san or his wife before and Obanai was certain he wasn't about to manage that feat now, so he keeps his mouth shut and let the lady examine his wounds.

Nodding in satisfaction, the old man gives them both one last warning look before walking out the door. "I'll make sure to inform Fuyuko to prepare two adjacent rooms for you both"

With those final words, he disappeared around the corner and left his visitors in the hands of his staff.

XXXXX

The kid's examination was done and over with faster than Obanai could get out of his outer clothes. And although that was a relief. Said feeling of finally having something go his way, quickly goes down the drain as the face of his doctor becomes more and more sour with each untended injury she discovers on his body. "Honestly you slayers," she grumbled; cleaning up the shallow cut under bruised ribs. "It's a wonder you lot don't just keel over by yourself without the help of a demon."

Obanai opted to keep his mouth shut during the whole rant. It wouldn't do to protest his innocence when this woman was currently holding a needle to his arm; stitching up a deeper and almost festering cut that she'd spent the better part of five minutes cleaning. But nothing compares to the utmost horror carved across her face when her attention is finally directed towards his leg.

"Dear God," she whispered, slowly taking in what she later called almost too infected to save. "What are you kids doing to yourself out there."

The snake pillar had closed his eyes at this point. Relaxing to the best of his abilities as he let his mind drift to the objectives he had to accomplish; while his wounds were currently being treated. He'd refused any sort of pain numbing medications, and even if his skin burned at every prod and piercing of the needle, he was still relieved that his mind was still his to control during the whole procedure.

XXXXXX

Eventually he was let out. He was however, not let go until he had suffered through an earful of not putting any unnecessary pressure on his right leg. "You could have lost it," Hanako-san had said; the barely visible wrinkles by her eyes deepening in worry. "You need to be careful or I won't be able to do anything next time."

Obanai nods; a cane supporting most of his weight. "I understand Hanako-san. Thank you." The gratitude comes out flat, but the doctor doesn't seem to mind all that much, only giving him a hard stare, before finally nodding and opening the door for him.

"Well then," she says. "You're free to go for now. But please do check in with me tomorrow and try not to aggravate your fractured ribs either."

He hums in agreement and tilts his head towards the door at the brat, indicating that it was time to go. The kid had barely made any sound the whole time they'd been here. Choosing instead to sit silently by the corner as Obanai's examination was carefully being conducted. The only time he'd looked up was when the older had hissed loudly in pain when the alcohol had been applied to his infected leg. The utter paleness of the kid's face had made the pillar make a visible effort to bite back his pain even when he'd wanted to curse out loud and snap at everyone and everything. The brat didn't need any more trauma added to his current pile of issues. God knew Obanai couldn't handle another three days of wondering whether the kid would ever recover from the vegetative state he'd been in.

The demon slayer's gut twists at the memory of those days. Of those unseeing blank eyes.

As long as he kept the idiot from ever going back to that, Obanai would allow himself the chance to pretend he hadn't yet let down Kuwajima-san.

"Let's go kid," he ordered; hobbling with all the grace of a wounded animal as he slowly made his way towards where he hoped Yamaura-san and Fuyuko were waiting for them.

Zenitsu hopped down from the bed where he'd been swinging his legs back and forth absentmindedly and; with his head down, trudged of silently after him.

They find Fuyuko by herself in the kitchen. "Iguro-sama," she exclaims; brightening up nine times more than should be humanly possible, as she shuffles over to him and wraps her frail arms around his waist "Dear boy," she mutters into his chest. "We have all missed you so much."

She doesn't let him reply; quickly letting go to embrace the kid behind him with the same vigor. "Oh, sweet child," she fuzzes; cupping the surprised Zenitsu by the cheek and looking at him up and down. "I heard about Jigoro-san. I'm so sorry hun." Each of her words felt as if it broke something lose within the kid, because by the time Fuyuko mentioned the old man, the kid's lips were quivering, and his eyes were glassy.

"You knew gramps?" he asks; words hitching in his throat and tears finally breaking free behind their barriers to roll down his cheeks in waves of grief.

"Oh, my dear boy."

Fuyuko hugs him again, and it's as if that's exactlywhat the kid's been needing all this time, because Zenitsu sobs loudly and buries his face in the crook of the old lady neck; arms coming up to circle around her waist and shoulders shaking with uncontrollable grief.

It hurts, Obanai realizes then. It hurts for reasons he can't fully understand to see this kid suffer through so much pain because he hadn't been able to arrive even a week earlier. Hadn't been able to keep the kid's family together. He-

As he watches Fuyuko shush the brat with gentle words of love and kindness, he lets his eyes wander to his own arm resting lifelessly by his side and nods to himself.

He'd done the right thing. Bringing Zenitsu here.

It was the right thing to do.

Leaving him here.

Fuyuko and Yamaura-san would take care of him, he knew they would.

Turning around, he walks out of the kitchen to find his old friend.

It wasn't his place to intrude upon their moment of shared grief. He had business to conduct and messages to send out before he left for his next mission. Before he left Zenitsu behind.

XXXXXX

He's in his room, finishing up detailed analysis about the unusual massacre that took place in Zenitsu's village for Oyakata-sama, when he hears a soft knock coming from his door.

"Come in," he calls out; quickly noting down his thoughts about the upper moon demon, what he'd concluded about her and her abnormal her behaviour and what that might mean in the grand scheme of things.

A blonde head pops through the gap between the door and the wall. Obanai can see him from the corner of his eye, and so doesn't turn around to look at him. The kid fidgets in place for a couple of seconds, before finally deciding to say anything of note.

"Obanai-senpai?"

Briefly the snake pillar wonders why he's letting the kid call him by his first name so casually, but he pushes the thought aside for another day, and continues to write; letting out a soft hum to indicate he was listening.

"Um," the kid mumbles; clearly nervous by the way he's yet to fully step into the room. "Fuyuko-chan told me to tell you that di... that dinner is ready?" It comes out as more of a question than a statement, and Obanai contemplates calling him out on his indecisiveness, but dismisses it just as quick.

It looked like the kid had somehow managed to break out of his shell for the time being. It wouldn't do to push him right back in. So-

"I'll be there in a few," he says; not taking his eye from the paper in front of him. The kid lingers for just a second longer, before excusing himself quickly and scuttling away. Realizing Obanai wasn't about to say anything else to him.

Sighing, the snake pillar jots down a couple more words, but not wanting to offend Fuyuko and Yamaura-san, he puts everything away soon enough and dragging himself back on his feet; careful not to aggravate his injured right leg.

When he finally arrives at the dining hall, all parties are seated and waiting for him. Bowing to them in short apology, he takes his place across Zenitsu and puts his hands on his lap. Fuyuko is already filling up plates for everyone. She's currently mounting heaps of food on the kid's plate, and Obanai isn't paying too much of an attention to it all, when he spots the light grimace that passes over the kid's face. Turning around to look at Fuyuko again, he sees her adding seeded rolls onto the kid's plate. 'Looks like the kid doesn't like it,' he thinks absentmindedly, watching the blonde barely keep the expression of disgust off his face.

Obanai would have been almost amused by the kid's dilemma, if he didn't sympathize with the kid when it came to those abominations. He didn't like them much either and Fuyuko had never figured out that he'd been forcing himself to eat the rolls for weeks, while he'd lived with them.

Now the kid was going to suffer through the same horrifying experience, unless-

When all the plates are served, and all the seeded rolls are distributed to the four occupants around the dining table, Obanai takes a deep breath, steels himself and without allowing himself the chance back down, reaches across the table with his chop sticks and pilfers three out of the four rolls from the brat's plate.

The blonde stares at him in surprise and Fuyuko frowns at him in disapproval; not voicing her opinion despite clearly wanting to. The expression eases of her face however, when Obanai takes some of the meat and rice of his own plates and dumps them into the kid's.

That should do it.

He doesn't say anything else. Just takes of his bandages; making sure to have them right next to him – fingers resting atop of them to keep any old memories from resurfacing, as he takes his first bite out of the abomination of a roll.

Chewing with jaw locked, Obanai looks up and sees a sort of happy little smile dancing across the kid's face as he chews on the extra meat on his plate, and-

Swallowing down the dry thing in his mouth, the pillar licks his lips and takes another bite.

He could do this. He'd done it before.

So what if he was eating more of these things than all the other times before? Iguro could handle it, and maybe - maybe seeing the kid look just the tiniest bit happier; sitting there, across the table made it kind of worth it in the end.

Maybe.