It has been awhile but I'm back. In that time, I finished my Re:Zero story, added onto my DxD story and started a Date a Live and SAO story. Now that I've reached good stopping points on those, I can re aim my efforts here. Also, now that season two has started coming out, I may need to go edit some things into the previous chapters. Now, into the Pacific Theatre.

Aces High

White and brown. Those were the only colors that Tanjiro saw as he sprinted down the mountain. Snow and trees had clogged his path so he jumped to the skies above and ran across the tree limbs. A normal person's body would have frozen or collapsed from exhaustion and the cold by now, but the sun breathing helped warm his body to keep him pushing. That and the image in his head. Kanao. The Flower Hashira was the main driving force that was keeping him pushing non stop.

"Faster."

He jumped across a 40 foot gap between trees with little effort.

"Faster."

The snow around him began to pummel his body and haori.

"Faster!"

His heightened sense of smell let him know that he was closing in on the nearest town. From there, it was about 30 to 35 kilometers back to the Butterfly Mansion.

"Faster!"

The trees shook violently as he leapt down from the branch, rolling on the ground to ease his fall. The speed he'd achieved over the years thanks to his training was really proving fruitful now. Above him, more machines battled. Some were in a formation while other little ones charged from multiple angles.

"Kanao, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke. Please be alright!"

The Butterfly Mansion was riddled with bullet holes. Planes had been running low flying burst shots for around 15 to 30 minutes nonstop. Giyu, being the loner he was, stayed outside through it all and watched from the roof. The butterfly that had visited him earlier had returned to his shoulder and simply watched with him. He may not have felt anything for Shinobu when she was alive, but he was glad she was with him now.

Sanemi was sitting on the front porch of the manor. While he was looking for the adversaries above, a pink butterfly landed on his head. He knew that many creatures didn't like him due to his anger and loud personality, but this one didn't leave. Not after five minutes, not after ten. It stayed right there with him. The more he thought about it, the more his heart warmed. During his time there, he'd seen two butterflies following Kanao around while she did her chores. At first he didn't think anything of it, but now... "Kanae?" He looked up to the insect, which in turn crawled to his forehead. "I-Is that you?"

Another voice answered his question. "I like to think so." The voice belonged to Kanae's little sister, Kanao. "That one is Kanae. Shinobu must be with Giyu."

Sanemi turned back to the mistress of the mansion. "How are you so sure?"

"They like to follow me around. And when I call them by name, they come." The butterfly left Sanemi and fluttered to Kanao's outstretched finger. "Kanae wants to protect you now. So she will stay here." The butterfly returned to her perch atop Sanemi's hand.

"Amazing. Very fitting for the two of them." He said as he looked down on the insect. "Thank you, Kanae." The butterfly flapped it's wings a few times before settling back down and sitting still.

Across the grounds in the bunker, Nezuko and Zenitsu were watching over the town's folk that had run to the mansion for safety. The Thunder Hashira and former Demon were talking about anything to get their minds off of what was happening above ground.

"So how did you get your yellow hair?" Nezuko asked as she ran her hand through it. Zenitsu had told her that it used to be black but never said what changed it.

Zenitsu just chuckled. "Yea, that's not very cool. I got struck by lightning." He rubbed his neck and tried to laugh off the embarrassment.

At first, Nezuko was speechless, then she just laughed into the back of her hand. "Only you could do that." She leaned over on his shoulder. "Do you think he'll be alright?" The thought of her brother not returning was constantly in her head. It made it worse that, to her knowledge, he was still without the use of his arm and eye.

There was no one answer for that. Even if they were fine in the bunker, Tanjiro was still out there somewhere. "If there is one thing I know about your brother, it's that he's very hard headed. Literally and metaphorically. He'll see to it that he returns to protect us. To protect her."

While Nezuko and Zenitsu were in the bunker, Aoi and Inosuke were in the hospital wing of the mansion. It was only the two of them there since the villagers were in the bunker. They had been in almost complete silence since they walked in.

After she finished with the bandages, Aoi spoke up. "Inosuke. Please take it easy. I know you want to fight, but you're not 100% healed yet."

"I don't care. No one attacks the one I care for and gets to live. That will not happen." He picked up the dual notched swords and threw them over his back. "I'm going out there to scout around."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're staying here. I can't look for them and protect you at the same time."

"Oh really? The great Inosuke Hashibira can't hunt for enemies while protecting his girlfriend?" The way he was getting riled up was playing into her hands.

"Of course I could protect you!"

Aoi pouted and turned away. She grinned triumphantly. This was too easy. "I don't believe you."

Normally, Inosuke would erupt at the challenge, but instead, he breathed a heavy sigh. "Then don't believe me. That's fine. I'm not risking your life for this. I'm sorry Aoi." He stood, grabbed his twin nichrin swords and walked out the door leaving Aoi absolutely stunned.

She didn't think that he would just let it go. Inosuke was the type to take on any challenge and not let up till it was over. "Wait! Inosuke!" She sprinted out the door behind him, but found an empty hallway.

Aoi ran as fast as her legs could carry her to reach the outside. 'Where is he? Where is he!' Her eyes scanned the courtyard. Nothing. Then she ran to the bunker. Nothing. "Nezuko! Did you see Inosuke?"

The petite demon sat atop a box with tears in her eyes as well. "H-He was just here. They went out there. They went after Tanjiro."

Surprisingly, Tanjiro had crossed the 30 kilometer run very quickly. It only took him around an hour to pull it off. Luckily, the sun breathing was keeping him going without exhausting his strength. Finally, he rounded the corner to see the walls of the mansion. As he ran down the path, the gates burst open followed by a flash of tan and yellow. Inosuke and Zenitsu sprinted outside and began racing toward him. Right before then hit the end of the wall, they spotted him.

"Gonpachiro!" Inosuke yelled as he ran up to his friend. Zenitsu followed. "You're back. That was fast."

"Yes. Thanks to a new friend, I was able to make it." Tanjiro sighed as he took a moments' respite.

Zenitus stared at him. "What happened? Your arm, and your eye. They're healed!" Right as he was about to reach out to touch it, Tanjiro shook him off.

"No, we need to get back. I need to see her." The other two understood completely and took off, leading the way. The gates once again slammed open to reveal the battlefield that was the Butterfly manor. The first thing was that Aoi and Nezuko came running out of the bunker to chase their boyfriends.

Nezuko stopped when she saw her brother. "Tanjiro!" She sprinted past Zenitsu and hugged her brother. "I was so worried! K-Kanao said you'd be fine, but she was unsure."

"I missed you too Nezuko. Where is she?"

"Inside. Tanjiro, what's happening?" Aoi stood next to a hide covered Inosuke and gripped his arm.

"War. Japan is at war with America. American invaders have begun to attack using planes. We need to be prepared." Tanjiro looked around at the war torn grounds. He then looked to the sky where he spotted one of those he saw as an older brother. Giyu stood watching. He nodded his head slightly and Tanjiro returned it. "I can explain my healed state later, but I need to see her."

"Go, we've got it here." Zenitsu pulled Nezuko to him so she wouldn't chase her brother.

"Thank you." Tanjiro raced into the house and almost bumped into the triplets. "Ah! Naho, Kiyo, Sumi! I'm sorry, I almost ran into you."

All three girls turned and smiled. "Tanjiro! You're back!" They all simultaneously jumped on him. "We missed you!"

Sumi spoke next. "We were so scared."

Naho followed. "We didn't know if you were okay."

Kiyo went last. "Lady Kanao is out back with Sanemi."

"Thank you so much." He walked past them and out to the back door.

As he entered the hallway to the door, he saw her. Kanao was walking back, humming a song to herself as she was taking bloody clothing and getting it ready to wash. She didn't seem to notice him since he was on her blind side. From a distance, he just simply admired her. Her singing voice was contrast to his own in that it was absolutely perfect whereas his was atrocious. Her form was slim yet curvy enough to please anyone's eye. Her purple eyes were like a void of wonder. Spiraling into the depths of her mind. Lastly, her voice. It wasn't that of a child that was starved for attention and became loud over time, no. It was that of a broken flower on the road to healing. She was talking more, but her voice was still as soft as ever.

Finally, he had enough. He had to talk to her. He needed to hold her to him to prove to himself that she was alive. "Kanao."

The Flower Hashira dropped her basket at the voice of the one she loved more than anything. "T-Tanjiro. I-Is that you?" She was more near sighted now without her other eye to tell depth, so she wasn't sure.

"Yes. I'm home." He couldn't move. Kanao wasn't dressed in her traditional uniform, but a white and purple yukata. It was tied in the front with a pink sash that made her look exquisite.

Seeing that he wasn't going to come to her, she started to run to him. "Tanjiro!" Kanao's arms outstretched and jumped into his arms. "You're home! I was so worried. T-The planes a-and the bullets! I was so scared you'd been... been."

He ran his hand through her midnight black hair. "Shhh... shhh... I'm right here and I'm okay. Actually, I'm better than okay. Look." He pulled her back gently and had her look at him.

It was only then that she realized he hugged her with both arms and not just his good one. Then she saw his eye turned from its sickly pink back to its deep magenta. "Y-You're healed!"

"Yea. I learned the history of my family and my true breathing style while on the mountain. The breathing allowed me to heal myself. Kanao, I'm the next Sun Hashira."

That was a name she'd heard once before. Kanae had mentioned something about a sun Hashira many many years ago. It wasn't much of anything more than a reference, but she said they were powerful. "You healed yourself?"

"And I can heal you too. Come outside with me." Together, they walked out past Sanemi who was staring at the butterfly on his hand. "Hello, Sanemi."

"Welcome back, brat. Nice to see you didn't die. Wait... Your arm is healed." Sanemi stood up, being careful of Kanae, and inspected it. "Yea, it's healed completely. The hell?"

"Sun Breathing is a wonderful thing. If you want, I can heal your hand too. But after I heal Kanao's eye."

"T-That would be nice. Thank you. I will get Tengen as well." Tengen was with his three wives down in the bunker. Makio, Suma, and Hima were attending to him as best the could. "I'm sure the girls will be grateful."

Tanjiro simply nodded and let Sanemi leave. The butterfly that was on him flew off and up to Giyu. There, it met with its sister and they both returned to Kanao. Both of them wanted to see this.

Kanao was led out to a bench in the garden where sunlight hit the best. Tanjiro sat next to her. "Alright, I'm going to place my hand across your eye. Are you ready?"

"Y-Yes. I'm ready." She was blushing at how close his hand was to her face. His eyes closed and his breathing became deep and concentrated. Just as she was going to question, she felt a tingling flow from his hand to her eye. It was as if bubbles were all popping over her face at once.

After a few more seconds, he pulled his hand away. "There. Open your eyes."

Doing as asked, Kanao opened her eyes and let them focus. The first thing she saw was the man she'd come to love sitting before her with the dopiest grin on his face. "I can see you."

"Can you see out of your eye now?"

"I can see you."

"But can you see out of your right eye?"

"I can see you."

This was going nowhere. "Kanao. I need to know if you can see me out of your right eye. Can you please tell me."

"I can see... I can see I love Tanjiro." She instantly leaned forward and kissed him.

Despite them being a couple for a few months now, they hadn't really done anything like this very much. Both times they've kissed, Kanao started it. He could feel the love flowing from her to him as they enjoyed the bliss of the contact.

"Ahem."

Both teens separated to find that all of their friends were staring. Sanemi, Tengen and his wives, Nezuko, Aoi, Inosuke, and Zenitsu were all just staring at them. The two butterflies were sitting above them on a low hanging branch.

Tanjiro flashed a grin while Kanao's face turned a deep shade of red and she hid behind him. "Hey guys."

Nezuko and Aoi giggled. "We knew it was just a matter of time before she opened up that much."

Right as Tanjiro was about to comment something silly, the sound of whirring engines assaulted their ears.

Inosuke pointed up to the sky. "Here they come!"