Akatsugi approached the gate to the Ubuyashiki household, almost shaking in trepidation. Fortunately, when he got there, the area stood empty (part of him hoped he wasn't too late… the other part of him prayed he was). The morning sun had begun to lighten the horizon and… he marveled for a minute, as he found himself doing so often lately, that he wouldn't have to hide from that light. It was… mind-boggling.

He'd been waiting for about five minutes when the door to the estate opened and a white-haired child dressed in a rich kimono showed Kamado Tanjiro out of the house.

"Thanks, Hinaki-san," the boy said happily. "It looks like I'll be off!"

"May you have safe travels," the girl said, a little mechanically. Akatsugi still found them a little creepy… ironically.

Tanjiro faded off as he met Akatsugi's eyes. The older demon wasn't fooled. Tanjiro had known he was there.

The girl, Hinaki apparently (he could never keep the kids straight), bowed to both of them, then waited just inside the threshold for several seconds before Tanjiro stepped out of the doorway. Either noticing the tension between the two demons or simply following instructions, she eventually slid the door closed, leaving the two of them alone in an awkward, uncomfortable silence.

The former Waxing Third had never seen Kamado Tanjiro look so… blank. It was obviously a mask, but he couldn't figure out if that mask hid panic or worry or a cold anger. At least with Muzan, it hadn't been that difficult to tell. On the boy, the blankness was… unsettling, and far worse than any look the current demon king had ever given him.

Tanjiro continued to stare coolly at Akatsugi, who hated that he looked (and likely felt to the boy) uncertain. For several seconds, neither of them said anything as the former Waxing Third didn't know where to start.. Finally, Tanjiro sighed and walked right past him, eyes on the road ahead.

Yeah, he couldn't let that go. It was, after all, why he was here.

"Wait," Akatsugi said.

"What?" the younger demon asked shortly, turning to look over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. This wasn't Kamado Tanjiro the demon slayer he was dealing with, Akatsugi suddenly realized. No, this was Waxing Zero. Oh. He consciously had to stop himself from swallowing and opened his mouth instead.

"You… know why I did it, right?"

That… was not the right thing to say, apparently, as the boy's expression cooled even more. Akatsugi tensed, his instinct screaming at him to be very careful.

"Because you didn't trust me."

Wait… "What?"

"You didn't talk to me about your suspicions or theories." The kid shook his head. "Look, Akatsugi, I can't make you trust me. That's all up to you. But when you start pulling stunts like that – when you decide to stop giving me a choice despite me doing everything I can to give you one I just…" he took a deep breath and looked away.

Oh.

He hadn't thought of it like that. It had been an idea for more power… and who would turn that down? Certainly not Muzan…

But this wasn't Muzan. Had he somehow forgotten that… again?

Tanjiro met Akatsugi's gaze again. "Muzan tricked you. He blackmailed me and held my family hostage. He… never gave me a choice, whenever he could help it. He took pleasure in it.

"I… just didn't expect it from you."

The boy's shoulders slumped and he rubbed the back of his head tiredly. "But I guess that's more on me than you."

Wait, that was not what Akatsugi wanted the kid to get out of this.

Which meant there was only one route to take…

He swore silently. He hated this 'route'.

"No… you… should be able to trust me. I… took advantage of that for my own ends so…" he grit his teeth, "I'm… sorry."

He looked down, hating how his face flushed.

Tanjiro just blinked at him, expression having gone truly blank – no mask in sight. "You… what?"

"I'm sorry, alright?! I… I'll talk to you… if I get another idea like that." More silence that Akatsugi had to fill. "I won't act without your say so."

The boy continued to stare, but eventually spoke cautiously. "You… promise?" Why did his voice sound so small? It was at that moment that Akatsugi realized this kid was just that: a kid. He may have lived 100 lives or whatever, but he was stuck with the mind and body of a teenager. It was a… sobering realization.

"Yeah. I promise."

And, for the first time that conversation, Akatsugi saw the old Tanjiro as he smiled so widely it almost hurt to look at.

"Thank you, Akatsugi-san! I forgive you."

Just like that.

This kid…

"Train hard while I'm gone. Get your breath style down! I can't wait to see what you do with it!"

His breath style. Well, Rengoku's breath style… fire and wind were supposed to go together, right? So why was he having such a difficult time applying his demon art to it? He had no doubt it could be very powerful if he could figure out how to get the two to work together. Maybe he'd have to try the wind style of breathing, though… but that was if he ran into a dead end. He hadn't given up Rengoku's route just yet.

"Right," he said, a little reserved, wondering how the kid had turned everything around so quickly… again. Then he grinned. "Good luck figuring out your training." He very carefully didn't mention anything about shockwaves or air punches. The kid would approach that if he had to. Akatsugi just had to believe that for now. "Keep practicing changing your shape and regrowing and reabsorbing."

The kid's smile faded a little, but he nodded firmly. "I will. Keep people safe."

The former Waxing Third nodded solemnly.

"Then I'm off!" Tanjiro said with a smile as he turned and began to walk away. Why he didn't just start running or leaping, Akatsugi didn't know, but it was what it was, he supposed.

"Yeah. Get there safe," he said and was a little surprised to see how much he meant that.

"Of course," Tanjiro said. Because of course he did.

Akatsugi watched the kid's figure grow smaller and smaller until he disappeared around a bend in the road. Then, shaking his head, the demon turned to go find the training field… again.

He had promises to keep after all.

xXx

Obanai frowned as he finished with his investigation of the strange happenings in the town he'd been assigned. Yet another dead end. He'd come across a lot of those, recently. They weren't demon related, but usually caused by some human problem. This one was most certainly a human crime ring, probably revolving around gambling, that had gotten too out of hand. He suspected use of drugs and kidnapping to explain the missing humans as well. But now he had a choice. He could hunt those kidnapped people down with the intent to free them, or he could return to get another mission that might be demon based…

In the end, the idea of a child being left in captivity as he'd been drove him to begin his search for their head base. At the very least, he could drop the information off at the local police station. And if he freed a couple of kidnappees along the way (whether or not it was against the law), well, no one really had to know.

Five hours later, the sun had set, he'd dropped the information off, returned a couple of prisoners to their homes and was feeling fairly good about what he'd accomplished when his Kasugai Crow, Yuan, descended with some notes in his beak.

The crow didn't speak at all as he waited for Obanai to read the missive. As he did so, his face began to turn red. Kaburamaru hissed in curiosity at the change of temperature in his human, but Obanai couldn't answer. He didn't even trust himself to open his mouth for fear of what would come out.

Dear Obanai-san,

The following is an invitation for you and Mitsuri-san to meet at the Akuboko Restaurant, near where you are stationed currently. I've given you the address and the map on the back of this paper. If you take me up on this offer, I have already paid for your meal. You just need to show up tomorrow for supper. If you wish to pursue her after that, I'm sure she could help you arrange it – and she would also be thrilled. Just… please take care of her?

Good luck, if you decide to send this!

Kamado Tanjiro

He eyed the second paper; a little scroll tied up with a ribbon. In a bow.

This… this wasn't right! Shouldn't he be talking to her family to set up an omiai?! Or… or… um… well, that seemed like an extreme measure to jump to immediately but… but still! And marrying Kanroji?

His face darkened even further. He didn't know whether he wanted to sing the demon Hashira's praises, or kill him slowly for this.

"Master?" Kaburamaru hissed. Well, it was a hiss that meant more or less the same thing, but still.

He flipped the paper over and found the map Kamado had drawn. At the bottom, he found another note.

You can do it! You're awesome, Obanai-san!

He stared at the note for several seconds. The Sun Pillar thought he was… awesome? His face grew hotter and he felt a little dizzy.

"Master?" Kaburamaru asked again, brushing his cool scales against Obanai's cheek. It helped.

Focusing back on his constant concentration breathing, the Serpent Pillar reached up and patted his snake's head.

"I'm fine," he muttered. Kaburamaru should be able to understand the tone, if not the words. Then he looked down at the rolled invitation, then back at the map. That happened a couple more times before he took a deep breath, straightened to his full height and then turned to his crow.

"D-deliver this to Kanroji-san!"

"Caw, yes sir!" Yuan said. Was it just Obanai, or did said crow sound smug?!

No, he would not blush again! And… and he'd… wait! What was he supposed to do now?! Should he get her a present? Or would that be too forward? And what kind of present should he buy? Something expensive? Or something small? Should he head over there now? It was a town or two away… he could stay there for the night. But…

Should he ask someone about these things?

He thought about all the other people in his life, and only the Hashira seemed remotely close enough to even consider asking such personal questions to. Kanroji and Kamado were out of the question. He couldn't ask either one of them, he felt, for obvious reasons. He didn't know Tomioka, the new kid was just that, a kid who probably had no experience, and he doubted going to a Buddhist monk was a wise idea here. Shinobu and Shinazugawa were harder 'no's than the rest of them, as Shinazugawa was still having demon issues and Shinobu wouldn't let anyone who came to her live it down. Ever. That left Uzui, because he was already married and Rengoku because he knew Kanroji… and to be honest, Obanai wasn't close enough with either of them to feel remotely comfortable writing to them.

No, he needed to calm down. This was… this was just him meeting with a coworker. That was all. Yes… that was all.

But he could grab some flowers once he got to the right town anyway. Right?

(Why was this so hard? Give him a demon to fight over this any day!)

With a nod he hoped was firmer than he felt, he began to make his way towards his next meeting, realizing he would have to completely rethink everything he'd concluded about one Kamado Tanjiro on the way.

xXx

Tanjiro decided that tying a blindfold around his eyes before he got to the Swordsmith Village would probably go a long way in preventing panic from erupting, even if they knew he was coming. A waxing moon, former or not (and allied or not), just appearing in their village would probably not be received well initially. And they did know he was coming. He'd made doubly sure of it. But still...

So he decided to go with that idea, though not before poking holes in said blindfold so he could still see at least a little.

He arrived at the village in the late afternoon to find it bustling with activity. Far more activity than he remembered, actually.

Frowning, he stopped one of the passing villagers, a masked man a little taller than him, what was going on.

"Oh! Hashira-san!" the man said with a bow. "We are packing up the village to move as the Corps has reported that we may have been discovered! We are moving as a precaution, hence why you did not need to be carried here. We no longer need to keep it secret!

"It should take us about a week to move everything we need to, though, so enjoy your stay here! We have been expecting you, after all." That might explain why the man seemed so nervous and polite.

Tanjiro blinked. "Oh. Thank you." He returned the other man's bow and watched him head off, very quickly, before he continued his walk down the road. He wasn't sure the Swordsmiths had been discovered yet, but it wasn't a bad precaution. Especially as they were expecting an attack by Kizuki in the near future. He wondered if them moving would work, though. Or would an empty village just alert Muzan that something was wrong? Would he hunt and track down the villagers so he could find the new village? He hoped not.

A strong presence, along with the smell of wet earth and stone, brushed his senses and he looked up to see Himejima walking towards him. He grinned despite knowing the other man couldn't see him.

"Himejima-san!" he called out. Several people near him gasped, likely due to spotting his teeth, but he ignored them and hurried towards the Stone Hashira.

"Kamado-san," the man said politely, if coolly. Then said man tipped his head, likely listening, and then frowning. "Are you alone?"

"Oh, yeah," Tanjiro said, rubbing the back of his head a little nervously. "Oyakata-sama said he trusted me to come on my own and that he didn't have any Hashira or Kinoe available to accompany me."

The larger man didn't look happy at that, but he merely let out a soft, 'hmm' before turning and stalking back down the street. "This way."

"Hai, Himejima-san!"

"You are here to train under me, correct?"

"Yes, sir!" Tanjiro said as he hurried to keep up with the tall Hashira's long strides.

"Because you want to perfect your style, which is where my style supposedly comes from."

"Yup!"

"Hmm. As I cannot see your stances or any mistakes you may be making, I will simply have to teach you my style and allow you to fix any problems in your own style yourself."

Tanjiro actually stopped walking as that hit him, mouth dropping open in shock. Then he ran to catch up with the man.

"You would do that?" he asked quietly.

"Oyakata-sama has specially requested that I help you, so I will."

The time-traveler felt a bubble of warm hope begin to form in his heart. "Thank you so much, Himejima-san!"

"Sensei. If you are to learn under me, you must do as I ask. Therefore, call me 'sensei'."

Tanjiro couldn't help his beaming grin. "Hai, Himejima-sensei!"

The older man seemed to slump a little, like he wasn't looking forward to their future interactions. So Tanjiro hadn't convinced him of his intentions yet? Fine, he'd just have to work extra hard to do so.

"You should know that this is not me declaring you as a Tsuguko. I know you will not be using the Stone Breathing form in the future, and thus you are simply a student, much like Shinazugawa Genya."

Tanjiro blinked and paused for a moment before hurrying to catch up again. He hadn't thought of it as Tsuguko training himself as he was already a Pillar, but it made sense that Himejima-sa… sensei would want to establish something like that from the beginning.

"Of course, Himejima-sensei. I thank you for your willingness to help me."

"Hmm," the man nodded. Silence fell between them for a moment before the taller man spoke again.

"I do have one request while you stay here," the Stone Pillar said slowly, and if it had been anyone else, Tanjiro would have thought 'unsurely'.

"Oh?" the Sun Pillar asked.

"Genya is here. Please… try to stay away from him."

Tanjiro's beaming smile faded and he looked down sadly. Genya was his friend. It hurt to be on such bad terms with him. Still, the request was probably for the best, after all.

"Hai, Himejima-sensei."

The taller man nodded firmly. "Good. Let me show you to the rooms you'll be using."

"Hai, Sensei!"

xXx

Akatsugi wasn't quite sure what to think of the new arrivals. One of them was a Tsuguko, and the other a prodigy, having been raised in the mountains and somehow developed a breath style of his own. It wasn't a small feat but…

"You have to train harder!" the boy with the boar head yelled at the crying blond. Really, no one outside of a demon should have hair that bright. Even Kanroji's hadn't been quite like that.

"Harder?!" the second boy shrieked. "I've been training years longer than you!"

"You have not! Besides you fainted on the way here! Again!" the first boy shrieked, stomping his foot on the ground angrily. "I had to carry you, again!"

Akatsugi turned to Kyojuro who stood beside him, also watching the boys interact with that insane grin of his. It did look more contemplative than usual. Was he learning to read the guy?

"Are… Tsuguko's always like this?"

"Of course not!" Rengoku said boisterously. "I most certainly wasn't like this!"

Somehow, the demon didn't quite believe that.

Before Akatsugi could say anything else, though, the first boy's voice cut through their conversation. It seemed he'd spotted them because he stood facing them, knees bent and swords out as he pointed one at the pair of them… specifically, at the former Waxing Third. Huh.

"Hey you! Demon! Fight me!"

Akatsugi blinked in surprise, then glanced at Kyojuro. The Flame Hashira just shrugged. "Don't kill them. Or permanently maim them." He still sounded so… upbeat. How did he do it?

The demon stared at his companion for several seconds before he shrugged. Why not?

"Sure. This way," he said, heading towards the more open back of the estate.

The boar-headed boy laughed in delight and hurried after him. Well, he had guts and motivation in spades. Perhaps this would be an entertaining fight after all.

Once they reached the open yard, Akatsugi turned to the boy and took a stance. "Give me everything you got!"

The boy grinned. He could sense it under the boar mask. "I will!"

The following fight would have been a slaughter had Akatsugi actually been trying. He beat the boy easily, but he had to admit he was impressed. The kid had come up with his own breathing style, and it had a lot of potential.

"You said your style of breathing is the Beast Form?" he asked as he leaned over the kid sprawled on the ground.

"Yeah… what… of it?" the boy answered between heaving breaths.

Akatsugi grinned. "Reminds me of the Wind Pillar's style. Would you teach it to me?"

"I made… it up… myself!" the boy (who still hadn't introduced himself) insisted, but then he calmed and forced himself to sit up. "Sure I'll teach you. Just acknowledge me as best boss!"

The demon blinked, then snorted softly, not seeing much harm in humoring the boy. "Sure… Boss."

Once again, he could almost feel the grin on the other's face as he got to his feet.

"Alright, this is how I do it! I breathe in like this! And breathe out like this!" Then he fell silent.

Akatsugi's face fell. That was… supremely unhelpful.

"And what do you do with those breaths, though?" he pushed.

"I make my arms and legs stronger, of course!" The kid lifted his arm in a square and squeezed the muscles on his upper arm.

Akatsugi just stared at him for several seconds before he sighed. This would be… harder than he thought.

xXx

AN: Thank you to Quathis, TimeLordTim, Kaylessa and Found for this! I'm... catching up on my stash. You guys get one chapter a week. Those guys get like 4 to 6 chapters thrown at them and then maybe one for the next three months. I'm catching up on my chapters. TT_TT Only about 10 chapters ahead now. If I catch up, then you guys will be subject to sporadic updating like that so... I'm working on it, I swear, but I'm also working on other fics and my own original story.

Anyone up for previews?

In any case, thank you for reading!

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)