The Memory Remains

Life was not going to be normal anytime soon. Muzan may be gone, but threats would rise to follow. Not to mention, there were now hundreds of other demons out and about that now had nothing to fear. No master to disappoint, no rules to follow.

An executive decision was made by the remaining Hashira to appoint Tanjiro as the new master of the Demon Slayer Corps. As the new Master, Tanjiro made Zenitsu, Inosuke, and his girlfriend Kanao, all Hashira to lead the new generation.

Zenitsu was the new Thunder Hashira. In the time he had fought demons, he had begun to perfect the other thunder breathing forms and could now use seven efficiently.

Inosuke became the first Beast Hashira. His new and different techniques were going to be an asset for the future. However, he had only one request. He wanted to teach Aoi exclusively till she no longer needed training.

Kanao lived up to her sisters and became the Flower Hashira. However, she could not fight much due to her eye, but she could still train recruits.

Nezuko was to teach the recruits all about the demons and what they can do. She also was able to make a mass quantity of the cure with Aoi's help. She was also one of the lead caretakers of the butterfly mansion.

Tanjiro was the Master. He could fight, a little, and he could teach. However, as much as they all wanted, he would not take the title of Water Hashira or Flame Hashira, not in his condition. He was sure that someone would rise to that place.

The new Demon Slayer Corps worked a lot like the old one. Swordsman training with custom blades and taught the breathing forms. However, Tanjiro's way of training and recruiting worked a lot like his own master's. The local mountain had been trapped from top to bottom as well as low oxygen. He would send recruits to an easy part and let them learn. Then, the better they did, the further up they went. All this was still in beta testing as no recruits had been drafted yet.

Today marked the first day of Aoi's real training with Inosuke. The Beast Hashira had his signature boar hide sitting beside him as he waited for her to make a move. They stood about ten meters apart with blades drawn. However, Inosuke was using only one blade. He figured two would be tough to defend.

"Alright, come on then." He taunted with a cheeky smirk.

"You asked for it, boar head." Aoi smiled as she jumped forward.

As a limiter, Inosuke could not use his breathing techniques, only his sword. So far, it looked like this was going to be over quick, but that soon changed. Inosuke's eyes widened as Aoi bounced side to side rapidly to throw off this sight.

Calmly, he breathed in and out. Not using his breathing techniques but relaxing himself. He closed his eyes and held his blade up horizontally and parallel to his chest. He listened to the Earth around him. Left, Right, left right. It was all timing. And then… she struck.

*CLANG*

Aoi's blade smashed into Inosuke's on serrated sword. Her blade locked into one of the teeth. "You've gotta try harder." He scolded as he threw her back a bit. He wasn't going to hurt her, but she needed to learn. "Fine, let's try defense."

A quick dash and he was up in her face. Aoi was quick to put up her own sword to block an easy downward strike, but her legs were exposed.

Inosuke's mouth formed a smirk and before she could react, Aoi was in the air. He had kicked her legs out from under her and sent her airborne. He moved his sword to its sheath in the blink of an eye and caught her in his arms.

Aoi felt dejected. She hadn't landed a strike, and she couldn't block his attack. "I'm a failure." A tear escaped her eye. She didn't want to disappoint him. "I'm sorry Inosuke. I'm not a good student."

"No, you're not."

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You didn't let me finish." He pulled her to him as he sat down on the porch ledge. "You may not have the sword skills to be a slayer like me and Kanao, but the fact you want to train to fight makes you a Slayer to me." He planted a small kiss on her forehead. "You've been trying, that's what matters."

Aoi didn't know what to say. When she first met the boar, he was broken and depressed. Then he was wild and careless. Now, he was wise, he was kind, and best of all, he loved her. It wasn't too long ago that they both confessed what was painfully obvious. Tanjiro and Kanao had been together for a while now, and Nezuko was with Zenitsu a lot more.

"Th-Thank you, Inosuke." She wiped another tear. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"Are you kidding me? I would rather train you than a bunch of guys. I made that deal with Gonpachiro because I knew it would take a lot of time to train you."

She raised her arm and smacked his shoulder. "You're using me to get out of work."

"Partly, yes. But I also want you to be able to defend yourself should something happen here." Another kiss hit her head. "I love you Aoi. And I pity the one that ever thinks of hurting you."

Aoi shifted in his arms. Carefully, she leaned up and kissed him. After a few seconds she pulled back. "I love you too Inosuke." They sat there together for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile

Zenitsu and Nezuko had been getting along a lot better than when they first met. That basically meant that Zenitsu wasn't in dreamland every time her name came up or he saw her. Nezuko was always nice to him, even when she was a demon. Now that she was human again…

The two were currently out walking through the forest and checking the traps that Tanjiro had commissioned. They weren't really a couple yet like the Inosuke and Aoi or Tanjiro and Kanao, but they were the closest possible thing.

Nezuko was skipping along since they hadn't reached the base of the mountain yet. She found a flower patch and her inner child came out. "Zenitsu look!" She pointed to the bright yellow section of flowers.

The boy, now man, in question turned to follow her to the yellow patch. As she ran through the dirt path that ran between the two sides of it, Zenitsu couldn't help but feel like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Her pink kimono and her once again purple eyes contrasted perfectly with the yellow around her.

He ran to catch up as she stopped in the middle of it all. "That's funny, I though pink was your favorite color."

Nezuko blushed. Over the past few years, she had come to love Zenitsu. He was always there for her like Tanjiro is. The memory of that night after the final battle still stuck with her. The warmth of his chest and his arms as she cried. There had been a few more nights like that, and he was always right there when she woke up. She would have memories of her time as a demon. The constant resistance of blood and her battles and injuries.

The worst of her memories was before she became a demon, rather, just before. Once she regained all of her memory from the transformation, flashes of Muzan killing her family stayed with her for a little while. She was there when Muzan ripped them all to shreds. She saw it all. She remembered it all.

But even through all of the pain, Zenitsu was always there to comfort her. His hugs made her feel like there was no pain, no bad memories. It was all simply lifted off of her shoulders.

"Nezuko?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking." She tried to play it off, but it didn't work.

"About your favorite color?"

"No, just the memories associated with this." She pulled at the bottom of her kimono to look at the color.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. "It's ok Nezuko. I know it hurts, but I'm here to help you."

That did it for Nezuko. She had heard this countless times, but this time felt different. This time, she heard all the love and care flow from him. She turned and held him close. "I… I love you Zenitsu."

Those were words he had wanted to hear since he met Nezuko. His superhuman hearing allowed him to know that this was a genuine confession. "I love you Nezuko." He pulled her close in a loving and warm embrace to show his feelings for her.

They stayed this way till Nezuko felt okay enough to pull away. Before Zenitsu could react, Nezuko popped up on her toes and kissed him.

Zenitsu was stunned. First a confession, then a kiss. This day was amazing.

As he stood, Nezuko grinned sweetly before turning and picking a yellow flower behind her. She then put the flower in her hair. "There, now you're a part of me." Her adorable smile warmed her new boyfriend's heart.

Everything was tough these past couple of years, now it was time to relax and enjoy life.

Back at the Manor

Kanao was hanging the laundry out to dry. She had seen Aoi do this hundreds of times when she trained. Now that Aoi was training, she did the laundry. Tanjiro had asked her to look after things while he went back to his childhood home. He had wanted to do so without Nezuko. Zenitsu had told them both about what Nezuko was remembering in her dreams and Tanjiro feared what she would do if she went there.

While Kanao initially disagreed with the thought of leaving her behind, she saw the determination in her lover's eyes. He had his mind set, and she wasn't able to change it.

Earlier, before he left, Tanjiro asked Nezuko and Zenitsu to go to the mountain and check the traps to make sure they held. This was going to be the easiest way to keep Nezuko from going with him. Kanao stayed silent throughout that conversation.

Focusing back on her current task, she hung the bed sheet she had in her hand. First, however, she held it to her nose and smelled it. It smelled like Tanjiro. The two has started sleeping in the same room not long after they came back. She knew he was going to be gone for at least two days, so to have his scent around was comforting. Without any of her other family around, things got lonely when he was away.

At that moment, two butterflies came out of the tree in front of her. One was purple and white, the other, pink and white. The purple one landed on her left shoulder and the pink one, her right. She stood still for a moment and took in what this could mean. Both of her adopted sisters were close to nature and Shinobu was the Insect Hashira. Perhaps…

Kanao took a step back and kneeled. The butterflies never moved. They sat perched atop her shoulders.

"Is that you, sisters?" She choked out. Her eyes became cloudy with tears and her hands shook.

The pink butterfly flew up slightly and landed on her forehead. The other hovered in front of her face and sat atop her nose a second before hovering again. It was no secret that she had always been able to attract the creatures but these two seemed especially friendly. Neither showed any signs of leaving her. So, she returned to her chores. Both butterflies moved from her shoulders to the top of the clothing rack and watched from above.

The idea that her two sisters were watching over her in the form of butterflies was amazing. She would glance up occasionally, up to where they were perched, only for them to still be there. They stayed there till she was done.

As a test, Kanao turned to go inside without a word, but just before she entered, she called out. "Shinobu, Kanae, come on." She talked like they were kids, but it felt natural. To her surprise, as she said that, both butterflies followed her inside. The two insects danced gracefully around her head as she walked along through the manor. A bright smile lit Kanao's face. Her sisters were there to watch over her when the man she loved was away.