Kaiyo registered the dull throb in the back of her neck and head first. Ouch…

She pried her eyes open and saw the white-walled room with wooden floors and…

Oh.

No…

Adrenaline shot through her and she flailed for a moment, trying to push herself onto her hands and knees, and then hopefully she could get out of bed and get out of here and…

"Oh, good! You're awake!"

She froze, terrified to find the same young woman there as before as she slowly lifted her head up to see… a boy instead.

He couldn't be older than fourteen, with red-brown hair and a wide smile that showed no teeth. He also had his eyes closed. Even then, he looked so friendly.

Then she noted his black outfit, just like the woman's had been, and the apprentice's (was she really an apprentice?!) under a green and black checkered haori. She jerked away from him.

"S-stay away from me!" She began to look around for something to use to defend herself.

"What's wrong?"

"You all kidnapped me!" That had to be it! That's the only thing that made sense. "I-I don't know what you want with me but—"

"Suzuki-san," the boy said, voice somber. She whipped her head up to see him looking directly at her and her breath caught in her chest – as if her lungs simply refused to work. Because his eyes glowed a bright red and they had kanji written in them.

Waxing Zero.

A Waxing Moon…

One of the elites…

And she knew it, down to her very bones.

She didn't know what was worse, the realization that her memories were indeed real – and that she could not deny it any longer – or the fact that one of the strongest demons in existence stood before her…

Her mouth wouldn't work and her jaw sort of just flapped up and down. She was shaking and couldn't stop, but couldn't make herself move other than that either.

Then he opened his mouth and she saw further proof because he had huge canines that no human would ever have.

"Shinobu-san didn't lie to you."

She couldn't blink or look away, and her cheeks were wet. She always hated the ticklish feeling of tears dripping down her skin, but could find no will to move her hand to wipe them away. She could only clutch at the smooth, white linens on the bed, her thoughts in a muddled mess of anguish, terror, and sickness.

Eventually, he sighed and dragged the stool he'd been sitting on closer to her. She still couldn't find it in her to move back. It would do no good… she also knew that with every fiber of her being.

If this 'boy' wanted her dead, she would be. There was nothing she could do about that.

The helplessness undermining everything else made the whole situation infinitely worse.

"My story is a pretty long one," he said with a sigh. "And I can't tell you all of it, but I hope what I can tell you about it helps. My name is Kamado Tanjiro. I was born on a mountain and lived there happily with my family for thirteen years. We weren't rich, but we didn't really care.

"Then he came along… Kibutsuji Muzan." Her eyes widened again. He… he'd said that name? The full name?! And he wasn't dying? That seemed… so wrong. She still didn't speak as Kamado continued.

"Due to some foresight, I was able to send my family away before he got there and distracted him enough to catch his attention so that he turned me into a demon.

"Those… first few memories I have after…" he stiffened, closed his eyes and shuddered.

For the first time Kaiyo felt as if she could move – as if she were actually safer than she realized. Oh, this being was dangerous, sure, but somehow, she didn't think he meant her any harm.

Which made absolutely no sense… but she wasn't in the right state of mind to think further into that. Slowly, warily, she moved her stiff and already sore arms, shifting herself so she sat up in bed, eyes still glued to the boy as he didn't even acknowledge her moving.

What a relief.

"I killed them, you know… my… the family I was staying with at the time. They were my family and certainly just as close as my siblings and mother and…" He closed his eyes again and covered his mouth with one clawed hand. Then he looked away, shamed and sickened.

Kaiyo could relate…

She hated that she could relate.

"Fortunately, I came around in time to stop myself from devouring my younger siblings. Even then, it was still so hard. I've only recently stopped drooling when around humans. But stopping myself was the single most physically difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life."

A sigh and his eyes looked so sad… "That's what he does, you know. He takes away any good sense and reduces his victims into little more than animals with the potential for higher thought. Newly turned demons have little to no conscience and that hunger is so… overwhelming."

He put a hand on his stomach, still not meeting her gaze. His mouth had flattened into a grim line.

For several seconds, he didn't speak and they sat there in a tense silence until Kaiyo finally decided to break it, her shaking voice hoarse and rough.

"And Waxing Zero?" she asked.

He snorted. "I rose through the ranks quickly. I suppose I ate more than I realized to begin with, or maybe it's because I sleep to gain energy and doing so constantly gave me consistent growth. I don't know. But I eventually got the strength I needed to challenge a Waxing Moon. I was hoping if I got information on them, then I could give it to the Demon Slayer Corps and even if they wouldn't work with me, they could at least use that to take Muzan out. But he caught me and was so amused at me and how I wanted to walk in the sun again – and he thought I could do it – he made an entirely new rank for me."

He took another deep, calming breath before looking up at her. "I spent that time trying to throw off his connection – his curse – instead of learning to walk in the sun. Eventually I succeeded and then I took my information to the Corps as I had initially intended.

"Many people are still… wary at my presence in the Corps, but Oyakata-sama gave me a chance, and for that I will be forever grateful."

He faded off, a warm smile coming onto his face.

"So now… you fight… other demons?" Kaiyo asked, incredulous.

He nodded and his smile turned melancholy. "I've been trying to find a cure."

Understanding began to click into place. "For yourself?"

He opened his mouth, then paused and closed it for a moment before opening it again. "I suppose so, to an extent. Hmm…

"In any case, my blood art allows me to make fire and control it – or control what it burns. So I can burn a poison out of someone… or the demon out of someone."

Oh.

"You healed me," she said, almost whispering and not entirely sure of what she should think of that.

He nodded. "I'd tried before, but… he died. I'm happy you didn't."

Her thoughts and feelings began to coalesce and she honestly had just one question on her mind.

"Why couldn't you just kill me?"

He seemed taken aback by that, but the pain in her chest that had nothing to do with her breathing, just kept growing with every connection her mind made – every realization.

"Excuse me?" he choked.

She took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I… I killed him," she let out a sob, more tears streaming out of her eyes. "Ezume… my dear, sweet Ezume… I killed him and I… I…"

A clawed hand suddenly covered the one of hers that remained in her lap and she looked up to see those glowing eyes that looked so, so kind…

"I know," he said softly. And she believed him. After everything he'd said… "But what about your girls? Shinobu-san said you had two of them?"

She swallowed hard and shook her head, more sobs breaking free anyway. "I… I've been a demon for forty years. My… my daughters are older than I remember being, if they are even still alive." Her heart hurt so much. Her children had had to grow up without parents. How had they fared? How much had Kaiyo missed out on? All for a miracle cure that would save her life…

She never should have accepted that offer.

"A-all of my f-family," she realized, her voice coming out breathy. Her parents, her husband's parents, her brothers and sisters…

She looked up at Kamado's eyes again, tears blurring her vision and making it difficult to see the details of his face. "I have no one left.

"No one."

She had died forty years ago. Her life had effectively ended.

She didn't know what she expected from the boy. Exasperation? Frustration? More consoling words?

What she got was two warm arms coming to wrap around her.

"I am so sorry," he whispered. She felt herself sob again… and again… and then a mournful cry escaped her and she found herself rocking back and forth in his arms as she cried and screamed her pain out.

She'd become a monster and because of it, had lost absolutely everything…

She didn't know how long she sat there crying, but he never let go, although she felt he would if she would have pushed him away.

He didn't even know her…

Eventually, her tears slowed and then stopped, leaving her feeling empty, wrung out and dejected. Maybe a little lighter, but nothing compared to the prospect of what she had lost, and her future. She had no idea what she would do now – what she could do…

It was a terrifying prospect. Overwhelming didn't begin to describe it and she was just so… tired.

She didn't want to talk anymore, so she didn't. He still didn't leave. He didn't speak either, just sitting there in silent support.

What a remarkable boy.

How could someone so kind and generous be a demon? Be a Waxing Moon?

It was funny, she felt so much safer in this demon's presence than she had in any of the humans' presences she'd met since she'd woken up.

Eventually, her eyelids began to droop and she fell back into a deep sleep, driven there by her mental, physical and emotional exhaustion.

The last image she remembered before oblivion took her was of the boy's sad, but smiling face looking down at her.

xXx

"Hmm, that went rather well," Shinobu said as K… Tanjiro quietly closed the door and stepped into the hallway.

The boy sighed. "I don't know if I'd say 'well'." He shook his head and just stared at the door as if he could see through it. "She's so hurt… and lost… and broken. And I know exactly how she feels."

Shinobu frowned at that.

"You've mentioned that before. You said in your earlier lives, you became a demon and remembered very little?"

He closed his eyes, as if bracing himself and she almost regretted asking.

"You can't understand the hunger of a demon until you've experienced it," he muttered. "It literally overpowers your mind and all you can do is act on instinct. The only person I know who could break through that was my sister. And even then, she was still wild, growling and thrashing like an animal."

He snorted in a sort of sad but wry amusement. "I think Muzan likes doing that to people, watching them revert to base instincts, then kill and eat the ones they love. He gets some sick, perverse pleasure out of it." He sighed. "Sadistic psychopath."

Shinobu frowned, having not heard those words before. She opened her mouth to ask after them when a shriek caused them both to whip their heads around. Exchanging a glance, they turned and sprinted down the hallway. The sounds came from the front entrance and Shinobu got there first.

A bare-chested boy with a boar's mask – of all things – over his head stood inside the open doorway…

No, not open, Shinobu realized as she saw the door had been broken and pieces littered everywhere. On top of them lay a yellow-haired boy whose eyes had rolled into the back of his head, although he seemed to be breathing at least.

Aoi stood right behind them, looking about ready to murder the bare-chested boy, who was paying no attention to her. A poor choice, in her opinion. No, he was focused on yelling at another demon-slayer, a long-haired girl in a pink haori. The ends of her otherwise jet-black hair had faded to a rust color.

"I got inside the house first! I'm the boss! And I'm the best boss! I totally won!"

The girl just smiled at him, eyes closing in emphasis. "But I reached the manor first. I technically win your challenge."

Oh.

Shinobu knew who that was right away.

This should prove interesting.

"No! I was ahead the whole time! You just pulled ahead at the last second!"

The girl's expression didn't change and she just nodded. "That was my strategy. If I would have pushed myself the hardest all the way, I wouldn't have been able to put on that last burst of speed."

"AAARG!" the pig-headed boy yelled, stomping around and generally throwing a tantrum.

"Master! I don't know what to do with… with him!" Aoi practically growled as she stomped up to Shinobu, fire in her eyes.

In the background the other girl finally frowned disapprovingly at the boar-headed boy. "You shouldn't have broken their door, Inosuke-kun. That was incredibly rude of you. And you changed the goal. That's not fair."

The boy practically froze.

"You should apologize to the head of the estate and fix the door in amends." The Kamado girl crossed her arms and shook her head in disappointment.

"But… but… NO! I'M THE BOSS! I'M THE BEST! YOU SHOULD FIX THE DOOR!"

"But I didn't break it," she said. "If you ask nicely, maybe I can help you—" she cut off as beside Shinobu, she heard Tanjiro chuckle.

"That's Nezuko."

The girl's eyes found them and then her whole face lit up. "NII-SAN!" she shrieked and rushed forward, throwing her arms around her brother.

"Nezuko!" he said back, opening his arms and catching her, a grin of pure sunshine on his face.

His sister smiled and took a step back, ignoring the boar-headed boy in the background, still yelling at her. The girl's face fell almost immediately.

"Your eyes… Oh, Nii-san," she said softly, putting a hand to his cheek.

He smiled sadly. "It was this or die… or let someone else die."

"Nii-san…" she said again, so quietly Shinobu wondered how anyone could hear it over the continuing yelling of the boar-headed boy.

The Insect Pillar rubbed the bridge of her nose. This needed addressing.

She let out some of her warrior's spirit and only let her smile look about half as real as it usually did.

"Excuse me, Boar-san," she said, stepping forward. "Can you explain why you decided to barge into my house, break my door and harass my assistant?"

The boy stopped speaking again, seemed to look Shinobu up and down, as if sizing her up, then he took out his sword and yelled, "FIGHT ME!"

Shinobu was reaching the end of her patience.

"Inosuke!" Nezuko yelled and stomped up to him. Then her hand moved, very quickly, and whacked him over the head. Shinobu could hear the 'thwap' sound it made. "You can't fight other demon slayers!"

"Ow!" he yelped, then he turned to Nezuko and roared wordlessly. Before this could escalate any farther, Shinobu found herself jumping as quickly as she could behind the boy and going in for her second neck chop that day. She made sure to use extra speed so she could get enough momentum to hit the pressure point through the mask.

He collapsed on the ground next to the yellow-haired boy.

Nezuko sighed and bowed to her. "I apologize on his behalf. He was raised by boars, so I do not think he knows much better. I thought he'd started to act differently more recently."

Shinobu just smiled down at her. "My name is Kocho Shinobu, the Insect Pillar. And you are?"

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, one hand coming to cover her mouth before she hurriedly bowed again. "Kamado Nezuko. Kamado Tanjiro's sister. Pleased to meet you, Shinobu-san!"

She had absolutely no doubt they were siblings.

She just nodded. "Well, I'm sure you have some catching up to do with your brother."

"But I need to help fix this," she protested, gesturing to the very messy entry way.

"Did you destroy it?" Shinobu asked.

Nezuko paused. "Well, no… but I was part of the wager that spurred him to." She gestured to the unconscious boys this time.

"I see. Hmm," the older woman made a show of thinking about it. "Well, I do think you had a point about modifying the goal. He initially lost because you successfully out-strategized him, correct?"

The girl blushed a little and looked down. "It wasn't anything big. Just simple…"

"You still analyzed the situation and adjusted it. He… threw a tantrum because he didn't win."

"I think it's more complicated than that," she protested weakly.

"Perhaps, but that sort of behavior should not be rewarded, and so he will fix it on his own." She smiled again, thinking that would win the girl over.

She really should have known better.

"I… don't think he knows how to fix a door," the younger demon slayer replied. "Like I said, I… don't think he grew up living in a house."

"He didn't," Tanjiro said in agreement. "And I'd be happy to help too!"

This… was going nowhere fast. "If worse comes to worst, I'll help him and show him how to fix the door," Shinobu insisted. She knew she would have to be on top of this one from the get go.

The two siblings' eyes widened.

"You shouldn't need to do that!" Tanjiro protested.

"Yeah! You're a Pillar!"

Shinobu's eyes rose in amusement. "So is your brother," she said to the girl.

They were going to argue some more, she could tell, so she held her hand up (these kids were entirely too earnest) and they both closed their mouths.

"I know you two have been looking forward to seeing each other. Go speak for a while. I will have one of the girls come and find you for dinner." She paused, then looked at Tanjiro, "Will you be joining us?"

"Sure," he returned, smile grateful. She wasn't quite sure why he looked grateful… "Just because I can't eat doesn't mean I can't be there!"

The Insect Pillar nodded and smiled. "Then run along," she insisted. She could actually use a little break away from everyone and she needed to assess the two unconscious boys laying across her threshold anyway.

The two siblings looked at each other for a second, and then they bowed as one. They really were so similar.

"Thank you, Shinobu-san," they said simultaneously. Then the girl looked over at her brother excitedly.

"I would like to show you my new Vine-style, Nii-chan!"

He looked utterly delighted. "You've finished it?! Already?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so, but… I'm close. I still think I can do more with it though. Maybe you'll have some ideas?!"

"I can't wait to see it! Let me show you the practice yard!"

They turned and began to hurry off, but before they got far, Nezuko stopped and looked back at Shinobu and a still fuming Aoi.

"Oh! We passed some other demon slayers on the road not too far away from here. They should arrive soon. I'm pretty sure one of them is a Hashira."

Ah, that would be Himejima-san and likely Shinazugawa Genya.

"Thank you for letting me know, Nezuko-san," she said.

The girl just grinned the signature Kamado smile. (It had to be a family secret… that was the only thing that made sense.) Then the two siblings continued on their way around the side of the house.

Shinobu sighed and looked back at her Butterfly Estate and the broken – almost shattered – door. With another Shinazugawa coming, she somehow got the feeling that the mess in front of her wouldn't be the only pile of broken wood that once belonged to her home by the end of the night. Perhaps she could go and intercept them so she could set some ground rules? She wanted to make sure she still had an estate by the morning…

She also got the feeling she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight either.

Great.

"Aoi," she said with a sigh, "stop picking everything up and take the yellow one to a recovery room. Our pig-friend here should wake up shortly and I'd like to have a talk with him."

Half an hour later, the Kamado siblings came back, chattering excitedly, looking for some water to drink. Tanjiro couldn't stop bragging about how amazing his sister's new style was. They both stopped when they saw Inosuke hard at work, cleaning up even with no Insect Pillar in sight to keep an eye on him.

Nezuko froze and blanched a little. Shinobu had gotten Inosuke to work… like that… quietly…

That was the first time Nezuko really understood how dangerous Kocho Shinobu could be.

xXx

AN: More Genya next chapter, guys. Thanks to TimeLordTim, Found and Quathis! Awesome beta readers!

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