When Nezuko woke in the Butterfly Mansion, she couldn't say she was terribly surprised. Relieved almost to a point of tears, and thankful to her brother, the Corps and Shinobu-san, but not surprised.
What did worry her was the hunger burning in her stomach, like she hadn't eaten in days. Although, to be fair, she probably hadn't. That was all it was, surely. And yet her mind wouldn't let it go. She remembered back to her fight with Waxing Six and shuddered. Her shoulders shifted unconsciously at the memory of the burning spreading through her body, and the hazy memories that followed.
The subsequent hours (days?) after the fight felt more like a fever dream that she could only recall parts of. She remembered being helped away from the destruction by one of Uzui-san's wives, but she also remembered saying something about how she wasn't sure if she could control herself. A haze of old walls and worn tatami mats later, she'd been shut into a dark room and told very firmly not to leave.
That… that had been hard. She knew she'd had to fight to remember herself, and reluctantly recalled a presence trying to ensnare her that she'd had to consciously back away from mentally. She remembered feeling her body change and how she would convince the change to go back to normal, only for another part to shift. Sometimes she could smell other people (food!) and sometimes she could hear their heartbeats (so thirsty…) but in the end, she'd managed to curl into a corner and refused to move an inch until Nii-chan had come.
And then pain. She'd asked him to do it, but feeling him burn the demonic cells out of her (and actually being awake and aware for it this time) would be a memory she would have to come to terms with because even now she felt her pulse speeding up and it was getting hard to breathe. So she made sure she stayed in her rhythm of constant concentration, forcing herself to remain calm.
The only other thing she did was compare the memory of the hunger she'd felt back then to the hunger she felt now. That did a lot to calm her because there wasn't even a true comparison. And her nails looked normal (if a little sharper and harder, but still normal) and her teeth felt fine so she was fine.
Right?
It was in that general state of mind that Aoi-san found her, walking into the room with a tray full of food that made Nezuko's mouth water.
Seeing her awake must have startled the apprentice because she paused for a moment, eyes wide, just inside the door.
"Oh. You're awake." Then she nodded firmly. "Good. I'll tell Shinobu-san. In the meantime, please eat."
Nezuko thanked her gratefully as the girl set the tray on her lap, gently, and left. Then she went to dig into the rice and fish and soup in front of her. Before she realized it, she'd scarfed down every last grain of rice. Honestly, she could eat more, but that had helped her feel much better and had finished putting her mind at ease.
Unfortunately, now she really had to use the toilet.
That was the final point that calmed her down. Demonic bodies didn't create waste like that. She was human, and she would have to use the toilet. She'd never dreamed such a thought would make her so happy. Especially because she really wanted to use the toilet they had in the estate. She hated going in chamber pots…
She knew where the toilet was. She'd just have to visit it. Nodding to herself, she pulled her legs out of the blanket and stepped on the cool floor. Not a minute later, she'd slipped out through the doorway and hurried down the corridor. If she remembered… yes. This hallway, this door. She hadn't lost her way in the large estate.
A couple of minutes later, she was hurrying back down the long passageway and feeling much better. She turned down the hallway that would lead to her current room and paused when she saw Aoi rush out of the door she'd been aiming for, looking a little panicked.
Nezuko winced. They probably hadn't known where she was.
Oops.
Maybe she should have waited for Aoi-san before she went? But she wasn't an invalid.
Repressing a sigh, she braced herself for some unpleasant conversations.
"Aoi-san!" she called out. The girl looked over at her, and seemed to slump in relief.
"Nezuko-san!" she said crossly. "Where did you go?"
She bit her lip. "Um… to the toilet."
The pig-tailed girl put a hand to the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You should have told me before."
"I didn't realize until I finished eating," she said sheepishly.
The girl just huffed angrily, shook her head and then opened the door again. "I found her. She's right here."
"Oh, good," a voice from inside said, relieved.
Still a little sheepish, Nezuko followed Aoi inside. "Forgive me," she said with a bow. "I had to visit the toilet."
"Understandable," she heard Shinobu-san say, "although in the future, when you are a patient here, if you could let someone know, that would be preferable."
Nezuko nodded as she straightened up. "Of course." Just then, she saw Tamayo-san at Shinobu's side, standing in front of her bed.
"T-Tamayo-san?" she asked, eyes wide.
"Hello, Nezuko-chan," the woman said with a warm smile, her soft voice smooth and reassuring.
"Tamayo-san is here to help research a poison for Muzan and a cure for demons," the Insect Pillar said with a smile Nezuko couldn't read (although it definitely wasn't happy).
"O-oh," Nezuko said, surprised. She hadn't expected Tamayo-san and Shinobu-san to ever work together, but she couldn't say she was unhappy. If anyone could figure out something to give them an advantage over Muzan, it would be them.
"We just need to examine you before we discuss anything," Tamayo-san said, cutting right to the chase.
"If you're okay with that?" Shinobu-san said, tipping her head to one side.
Nezuko blinked. "Yes. That's fine," she assured.
"Then if you would," the Hashira said, gesturing to the bed.
Right. Nezuko nodded and walked determinedly past them, sitting on the edge of the bed before looking back up at the two doctors. "What do you need me to do?"
xXx
Tanjiro couldn't really pace on the stairs, they were too narrow, so he traipsed up and down them multiple times, knocking on the big, metal door at the top every two or three ascents. Apparently, Shinobu-san had already collected Tamayo and Yushiro earlier, leaving Tanjiro, Sanemi and Kimiko sleeping. The other two remained unconscious even after Tanjiro had woken. He quietly left them to continue to rest, wishing he'd woken earlier and wondering just how long he'd slept. He also wondered why they hadn't tried to rouse him, but ultimately decided it didn't matter as long as they came to get him soon so he could find out what happened with his sister.
Eventually, Shinobu came and let him out. She acknowledged him with a nod and… wasn't smiling. She didn't smell angry either, more thoughtful than anything. She also seemed distracted, but she was leading him to the wing he'd left Nezuko in the night before, so Tanjiro decided not to draw attention away from whatever occupied her mind.
When they got to Nezuko's room, she knocked. Tanjiro wondered why until Tamayo-san's voice called out that they could enter. Right, she must have examined Nezuko again.
Once inside, he rushed over to his sister, who sat on the edge of her bed, smiling at him. He immediately wrapped her in a hug.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I am so, so sorry." He wasn't sure he could ever forgive himself for putting her through that kind of pain, no matter how necessary it had been.
"I know," she replied, voice equally quiet. "I know, Onii-chan. I asked you to. Please don't carry this," she leaned back and put her hands on his face. "You do so much and I'm grateful you did that. I'm okay, and I'm not a demon. That's what's important."
He nodded and took a deep breath, gathering himself, before looking over at Tamayo-san. "Is that true?"
She blinked at him.
"She has nothing connected to that man left inside her?"
Tamayo and Shinobu traded glances before the former nodded, albeit reluctantly. "It is true…"
"To an extent," the Insect Pillar added on.
Tanjiro felt Nezuko tense in his arms and he stood straight, turning to face them. "What do you mean?"
"We are only telling you this because Nezuko-chan agreed that she wanted you to hear it," Shinobu said firmly.
Tamayo-san nodded, a bit absent-mindedly as she focused on the two siblings. "This is the second time she has almost been transformed into a demon. As you know," she nodded to Tanjiro, "this affects more than the body. I would say it affects the soul, but Shinobu-san isn't entirely sure that is the term we should use."
The shorter woman nodded thoughtfully.
"Whatever term we do use, it affects something more than the physical body. The final form of your blood art, Tanjiro-san, gives proof that there is something more than just memories coming back in time – something more than the physical and mental planes being affected."
"The marks… in my eyes," he muttered softly. He lifted his hand to his cheek, resting his claws just below his eye. Nezuko grabbed his palm and squeezed in reassurance.
"Precisely," Tamayo-san agreed. "Whatever it is that is affected…" she paused, glancing at her fellow doctor again.
Shinobu sighed. "We believe that whatever the transformation affected inside you, Nezuko-san, has had to adapt. It remembers the changes in your body and has either forced your body to develop more defenses against those potential changes or has simply been unable to change completely back."
The demon doctor nodded. "While we have found no demonic cells besides a larger abundance of those we've discussed earlier," she paused, then decided to clarify, likely for Shinobu's sake, "that have little affect on your body except to help you fight a transformation off – the anti-demon cells – we have discovered some… residual effects."
Nezuko sucked in a breath and Tanjiro squeezed her hand tighter.
"Like what?" he asked.
Shinobu was the one to speak up again, eyes fixed on Nezuko. "Your muscles are denser than they were in your human state before, conveniently giving you more strength, and you may have some minor transformation powers – although we cannot confirm that currently. That is just a theory as many demons gain a form of shape or flesh transformation at some point, but with the changes in your body and how quickly they happened, it is a possibility."
Tanjiro frowned. "That's it?"
Shinobu nodded. "Yes. Nezuko-chan, you still eat human food, you still expel waste as humans do, and you don't feel any craving for human flesh, correct?"
Tanjiro glanced at his sister in time to see her shake her head frantically. "No."
The Insect Pillar nodded. "In that case, I believe all you need to do is get used to the newfound strength in your body. It shouldn't be an enormous difference, but it may be something you need to work with before you go into another battle."
Silence fell over them for several seconds as the siblings processed that. Then, before Tanjiro could speak, Nezuko groaned.
"This means more training, doesn't it." She didn't say it as a question.
Shinobu smiled. It looked (and smelled) surprisingly genuine. "Indeed, it does. Since your physical state and Kanroji-san's are surprisingly similar, I have sent a crow to ask her to give you a brief run-down of potential problems and pitfalls you may run into."
This time it was Tamayo's turn to look at Shinobu-san, surprised. "You know someone else like her?" She looked at Tanjiro. "One of yours, Tanjiro-san?"
He shook his head frantically. "No. I have Akaza, Sanemi and Kimiko. That's it."
Tamayo blinked at him for several seconds before smiling softly. "I'm proud of you for admitting it."
Tanjiro spluttered. He hated it when people pointed out that he had any forced control over people. Before he could get anything coherent out, though, Tamayo turned her attention back to Shinobu-san.
"So this 'Kanroji-san' is the Love Hashira and not someone else?" Once she received confirmation from her fellow doctor, she continued, puzzled. "What of her, then? I did notice some interesting traits about her when she stayed at my clinic, but I didn't think they were demonic in nature."
Shinobu-san shook her head. "They're not. She was born human to two human parents. Her… unusual situation isn't remotely demonic as far as I know."
Tamayo frowned, contemplating that. "And yet…" she glanced at Nezuko, "I see your point. She did say her muscles were denser than a normal human, and that her grandmother had a similar condition before she died."
The Insect Pillar looked a little uncomfortable, likely regarding talking about her patients without them there, but eventually she nodded, although she didn't say anything else.
Then something seemed to occur to the older woman. She turned to stare at Nezuko as if she'd never seen her before.
"Tamayo-san?" Tanjiro asked slowly as Nezuko shifted uneasily.
Instead of answering, she turned to stare at Shinobu. "Does Kanroji's family have any personal or local legends of youkai?"
The Insect Pillar looked surprised, blinking. Then she frowned.
"Why?" she asked.
Tamayo seemed to take that as an affirmative, nodding as she glanced back at the siblings.
"I have long suspected that something about the concoction that Muzan was given when he initially became a demon had something to do with youkai. Some people use the terms interchangeably, but I would define Oni as a type of youkai. But… I think the doctor treating Muzan at the time of his own transformation was looking for some way to give people youkai-like traits – or perhaps turn them into youkai – to treat them or their ailments. Perhaps he had some ulterior motive for doing so, but I couldn't say.
"I did see some of the notes Muzan had from him. They were old, falling apart and barely legible more than two hundred years ago. Mostly they spoke of the different ingredients he used and how he prepared them, but one in particular caught my eye: youkai blood.
"Muzan has dismissed it for centuries as those were common terms to use in medicine back then, but were often some ingredient otherwise deemed socially foul or obscene*. In this case he figured it was the blood of a human, or perhaps another large animal. He is positive that the true ingredient he needed to find and study was the blue spider lily.
"But what if it wasn't?"
She had the rapt attention of everyone in the room at that point as she continued to work through her thoughts.
"Red Spider Lilies symbolize final goodbyes and our connection to those we will never see again, often in death. What if Blue Spider Lilies are a binding agent of some kind, allowing a connection between humans – or the mundane – and the supernatural? If that doctor truly had found some kind of youkai blood and knew what he had… or even if he didn't and simply mixed it incorrectly in an experiment of some kind. Or maybe it was the wrong kind of youkai blood to use because that was all he had access to. Either way, I believe that his objective may very well be what we see before us now in you, Nezuko-san. And perhaps in Kanroji-san?
"You both have unusual hair colors, muscle density and large appetites from what you said, Nezuko-san. Your bodies are naturally stronger than humans and may very well have other unusual traits as well."
More silence fell over the room as she stopped talking, looking to be thinking more about her theory herself.
"That is… definitely an interesting hypothesis," Shinobu said slowly, also looking thoughtful. "There are certainly jumps and leaps in logic, but… that doesn't make it wrong. I will speak with Kanroji-san and see if her family has any legends about youkai."
Then she turned to the siblings again. "In the meanwhile, you have a clean bill of health, Nezuko-chan. You can choose to stay here to train or I can send you back to Urokodaki-san's. Which would you prefer?"
Nezuko thought about that for a couple of seconds before smiling warmly. "As much as I appreciate the offer, Shinobu-san, I don't think I see my family often enough as it is… and I would like to show Urokodaki-sensei my new style."
Shinobu didn't seem remotely upset by her answer at all, simply nodding. "Very well. I will let Ubuyashki-sama and Urokodaki-san know.
"As for you," she turned her attention to Tanjiro, "I am not entirely sure what to do about the two demons currently sleeping in my basement. Do you plan on taking them with you to your next training? You were going to go to Himejima-san, I believe."
The older Kamado sibling nodded, even as he winced. The idea of taking a demon child to Himejima-san's place… That would not turn out well. But he couldn't very well leave them here either. Not when Shinobu left so often with only Kanao, Aoi and the triplets to take care of the estate. Neither one of them could stand up to Sanemi if he went on a rampage (not that Tanjiro thought he would, but better safe than sorry). He didn't want a potentially dangerous Sanemi traveling with Nezuko either and didn't want to leave Kimiko alone, so where Sanemi went, so would she.
"Um… are there… still Pillars at Ubuyashiki-sama's estate?" he finally asked, a little sheepishly.
Shinobu just stared at him for several seconds before sighing. "Since they cannot stay here, I will write Ubuyashiki-sama and ask him. If nothing else, he will have an idea of what to do with them."
"Thank you, Shinobu-san," Tanjiro said, standing and bowing to her earnestly.
Tamayo nodded along in approval before looking at Nezuko. "I would like you to write about anything you find new about your current condition. There should be few real problems, but this is vital information. Can I count on you to do this? Daily if at all possible."
Nezuko blinked, but then her face hardened and she nodded. "Hai, Tamayo-san."
The demon doctor smiled. "Thank you, Nezuko-san."
"Well," the Insect Pillar rose from her seat. "I have several letters to write and Tamayo-san has some experiments she would like to check up on, I'm sure."
The older woman nodded and stood as well. She shot them both a smile before elegantly walking out of the room. "It was wonderful to see both of you again. Please stay safe."
"Of course, Tamayo-san!" both of the Kamado siblings said, bowing to her. Then they looked at each other for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter. Even Shinobu looked amused.
"Tanjiro-san," the Insect Pillar began once the giggles had died down, "would you like me to write to Himejima-san that you will be coming by for training after you've delivered Shinazugawa and… the demon child to the Ubuyashiki estate – assuming, of course that we get the permission to do so?"
Immediately, Tanjiro felt his smile fade away and he glanced warily at his sister. "I was hoping I could escort Nezuko home…"
At that, the younger sibling huffed. "I've traveled there multiple times on my own. I'll be fine, Nii-san."
"But you shouldn't be getting into fights until—"
"It's a little over a day's journey if I use my breathing style. I'll leave early in the morning and won't run into any demons. I'll be fine. Your training is important." She shook her head, looking both fond and tired. "Take care of yourself for once, Nii-san."
If only she knew…
He was terribly selfish. He always had been…
Still, she wasn't wrong that his training was important if he was to ever stand up against Kokushibo or Muzan. So, after a couple of seconds of weighing the decision in his mind, he slumped.
"Alright, you win, Nezuko." He turned to Shinobu. "As a tentative plan, I'll escort Sanemi and Kimiko to the Ubuyashiki estate and then leave for Himejima-san's."
She nodded. "Do you have your kasugai crow with you?"
"Yes," he replied. "I'll go ahead and write to Himejima-san myself when I get confirmation from you."
"It shouldn't take long," the Insect Pillar said with her usual smile. "We should know within a couple of hours. Which is good because I'd like to do a more thorough check-up of my own, if you don't mind, Nezuko-san."
Tanjiro saw his sister blink and slump a little. He didn't blame her. Getting poked and prodded was not a pleasant experience. She still nodded.
"Yes, Shinobu-san."
"Excellent!" the older teen's smile widened. "I'll see you in, say, an hour? In the meantime, perhaps you should rest?"
Nezuko didn't look happy at that suggestion, but she did swivel on the bed, lifting the covers and tucking her legs back inside as Shinobu sent them an approving nod and left.
Tanjiro just grinned at his sister now that they were alone. It was so good to have her back.
(That thought never got old.)
xXx
Hanako hugged Takeo as tightly as she could before stepping back near Rengoku-sensei.
"Be careful," she said sternly.
"Sleep during the day, and don't be afraid to partner up," the former Hashira advised kindly.
The boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I kind of wish Kaa-san could have come now that I'm here," he admitted.
Rengoku-sensei shook his head. "Oyakata-sama was adamant that you both have to pass on your own merit. We know that having her here would have been a comfort to you, but you will not always have that in the field."
Hanako frowned as she remembered back to when their mother had been informed of that. Kaa-san hadn't been happy, but Urokodaki-sensei had seemed… relieved? Hanako was positive she'd missed something there, but didn't know what.
She shook her head and focused on her brother again. "I'm sure you'll do great!" she assured.
"I agree," Rengoku-sensei said, nodding his head. Then his expression turned stern. "However, remember that it's more important to stay alive than to pass. You can take the test again the next time. You're young, and while passing the test before you reach your teens would be impressive, remember that you have time. Even now, you probably won't be sent on many missions and even fewer alone until you turn fourteen."
At that, Takeo pouted. "I don't want to be held back! I want to help Nii-san and Nee-chan," he practically whined. Hanako nodded sympathetically. She understood because she felt the same way.
"Then use that time to train more and become even better! You may become the youngest Hashira yet!"
The older man's words seemed to lift the older Kamado sibling as he smiled back gratefully.
"You'll do great, Nii-chan!" she assured him again, wanting to make sure he knew she'd be fine.
He nodded. "Yeah, I will!"
"You should go if you want to be there before nightfall," Rengoku-sensei said with a pointed look up at the golden sky. The sun would go down shortly and he had to be there by then.
Takeo straightened his spine and nodded. "I'll make Sensei and everyone proud!" With that, he turned and began his climb up the stairs set into the mountain side.
"Bye, Nii-chan!" Hanako called one last time. They watched for several minutes, until Hanako could barely see him.
"Will he be okay?" she asked quietly. "Really?"
"Well, since Oyakata-sama instigated having multiple Hashira at the lessons, we've seen a large upturn in both people taking the test and passing it. We have more people coming back who failed it once and would have died a couple of years ago."
Hanako bit her lip, wondering why it had taken them so long to do something like that, but she was glad it was there now.
"We should go before night falls. There's a town near here with an inn that I know of."
"Hai, Sensei!" Hanako said with a grin as they started off down the road.
Neither of them saw the strange eyeball watching them from the shadows. It said 'Waxing Three' in place of a pupil and the tendrils trailing out of the bottom split into four spider-like legs. The eyeball looked between the child disappearing up the steps and the pair walking away down the road. Then it looked up at the sky.
Then it settled in to wait and watch for any more visitors, even if she highly doubted anything else would interest Muzan-sama as much as what Nakime had just seen.
xXx
AN: *I totally made this up. I can see it happening, but please don't take it as truth.
Well, now that I've rewritten the next part again, I can finally post this! Hope you all enjoy! :D
Thanks to TimeLordTim, Quathis, Found and Kaylessa for their help on this!
Also, thanks for almsot 700 alerts and almost 600 favs! I appreciate it!
Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)
