As usual, a very big thank you to euphoricimage who has helped me beta the chapter, as well as LittleDoot and Nobody(Super_NovaGrey) who have helped me proofread. Also, thank you TungstenCat, for giving me advice on how to write romance :)

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Three days later, Kanao was well enough to be able to walk short distances.

Not forgetting her promise, Kie asked if she wished to see the talismans. Kanao agreed.

But then the Kamado matriarch smiled slyly and told Kanao she could not go out at the moment because she had to do some house chores. Kanao was a little disappointed, until Kie called for her eldest son to accompany Kanao to check out the talismans.

"Sure," Tanjirou shrugged and smiled at Kanao. He didn't see Kie and her widening smirk behind his back. "There's one not too far from here. We can go there after lunch."

Kanao smiled back and agreed. Then she spent three hours teaching Rokuta, Shigeru and Hanako how to flip and smoothly catch a coin as Tanjirou went out with Takeo to chop some wood.

The sun was high in the sky when Kie called them out to have lunch. Immediately, the young children abandoned Kanao and scrambled to the living room. Nezuko, who had been helping her mother in the kitchen, came to the room to help Kanao up. When they reached the living room, Tanjirou and Takeo were already seated together with their siblings around a small low table, chatting with each other.

Kanao sat down gingerly between Nezuko and Tanjirou. Kie passed her a bowl of rice, and Kanao had to hold it in her hands because there was simply no more space to put hers on the table. It was pretty cramped and her personal space was being constantly invaded, but huddling together like this curiously provided her with warmth and comfort.

The hospitality of this family was quite strange, Kanao thought. She had been in the care of the Butterfly Mansion and some Wisteria Houses before, and they always provided the patients their own space. Here, however, everyone shared the same space (and, if Kanao had to be frank, the house was simply too small to house a mother with six children) and did everything together. Sometimes Kanao was even asked to help fold clothes together with the younger children. As if she was already part of the family.

Kanao honestly didn't mind. The Butterfly Mansion sometimes felt too big for her anyway. Every member of the Demon Slayers Corps, be it the Slayers, the Kakushis, or even helpers like Aoi, had their own emotional turmoil. But the Kamado family was completely carefree, as if they were living in their own world untainted by the horrific existence of demons - inhuman or otherwise. Was this how 'ordinary life' felt like?

"Are you ready?" Tanjirou asked her with a smile once they finished eating lunch. Kanao idly noted that his smile was different from Shinobu's or her own. The kind of smile that reached the eyes, just like Kanae's. "It's cold outside, so wear this. And this. And this. The snow is quite deep, you see. Oh, wear this too. Honestly, I don't know how you could walk around this area with such a short skirt."

Kanao wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer, so she just silently wore whatever Tanjirou handed to her. By the time Tanjirou was done fussing, she had on a pair of straw boots, a haori, a pair of mittens and two scarves on top of her already double-layered kimono and socks. Almost every inch of her skin was covered by warm clothes. It was a bit suffocating since Kanao was used to relying on her breathing techniques to keep herself warm.

Kanao tried to walk. Hmm. Perhaps this could be used as a new training regimen.

"You okay?" Tanjirou asked.

Kanao smiled at him and nodded. Finally, they departed.

Snow crunching beneath their straw boots, they went downhill into a pine forest. There were no signs and the path was covered by snow, but Tanjirou seemed to know where he was supposed to go. He sniffed the air a few times before turning, guiding Kanao deeper into the forest.

Ding. Ding.

As they trudged through the snow, Kanao began to see ropes tied from tree to tree, lined with suzu bells. They seemed quite old and worn out. Were these part of the talismans as well?

Tanjirou must have sensed her curiosity because he explained, "It's to warn us if a bear comes too close."

"A bear?"

"Yeah. Sometimes bears roam around this area. When I was a kid, I found a man attacked by a bear here. A few years later, another bear ate six villagers. My dad killed it, but the villagers chose not to remove the bells in case another bear comes too close," Tanjirou said with a frown. "Maybe we should install another one in the area where you were attacked."

Kanao blinked at him. "For what?"

"For bears," Tanjirou replied, raising an eyebrow. "Weren't you attacked by a bear?"

"That was…" Not a bear. "You sure those were bears?"

"Well, I saw the bear that ate six people, though I didn't see the one that attacked the man or you," Tanjirou looked at her strangely. "Besides, what else could have done such damage?"

He didn't know. Which was surprising, considering that Kie knew how to treat demon-inflicted injuries and was aware that demons existed. She had even mentioned that Tanjirou's late father had had a connection with the Demon Slayer Corps. Then again, they were technically civilians, so it wasn't that strange for Tanjirou to know nothing about it.

Still, Kanao took out her coin. The mittens made it hard for her to flip it, but she managed just fine. Tanjirou watched her curiously as she caught the coin.

"... Demons."

"Huh?"

Kanao smiled at Tanjirou and said, "Demons can do worse than bears."

Tanjirou blinked at her. Then, he turned to stare at the suzu bells before looking up, thinking deeply.

"... I see," he finally said after a few moments of silence. "That's possible, though I've never seen one before. What are demons like?"

"They are immortal man-eating monsters that always prowl the land once it gets dark. They prey on people, indiscriminately devouring whoever they can get their hands on. Men, women, children. Friends, family, lovers," Kanao explained, still smiling. "They are much worse than bears, Tanjirou-san."

"Is that so?" Tanjirou also smiled, though with a hint of unease. "So how do we chase them away? How to fight them?"

"You can't. They'll tear you apart in an instant."

"Um, okay. Can't we hide from them?"

"You can't either."

"... But they wouldn't come inside your house, would they?"

"Nope. Demons will force themselves into your house," Kanao replied patiently. "You can't run away from them, Tanjirou-san."

Now Tanjirou was visibly worried. "Then everyone would get eaten up by the demons."

"That is why I am here," Kanao's smile widened. "Only Demon Slayers can kill demons."

"... Oh! So that is what metsu means," Tanjirou exclaimed in understanding. "I was wondering what the kanji on your clothes stood for. A Demon Slayer, huh. That's amazing!"

… Kanao had a feeling that he didn't fully believe what she had just said. She didn't say anything, though, and just gave him another smile.

"You sure like to smile, Tsuyuri-san," Tanjirou suddenly remarked. "Even when you're talking about scary stuff. Still pretty, though."

Silence fell between them.

All of a sudden, Tanjirou slapped his own mouth. The smacking sound was so loud and abrupt that the birds perched on nearby trees were startled and flew away, squawking.

"Did I just say that?!" he squeaked, face beet red.

Kanao… decided to flip her coin.

"... Say what?" she asked, pretending not to have heard.

Tanjirou visibly relaxed in relief. "N-nothing. C'mon, the talisman is over there."

Blinking in bewilderment, Kanao followed the still-blushing Tanjirou to their destination.

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Just like Tanjirou's sense of smell, Kanao's eyesight was 'special'.

She could see things much further than normal humans could in great detail. Her eyes were capable of noticing the subtle movements of moving targets, such as the flexing muscles of a demon about to strike. But what made it truly incredible was how her eyes could perceive intangible things, such as supernatural mist left behind by demons.

Which was why she could tell that the dark markings on the talismans were drawn in blood.

Specifically, a demon's blood.

Was it a shaman's work? But Kanao had never heard of a human capable of performing such an intricate art. Total Concentration Breathing could enhance a human's physical capabilities so it could be considered a supernatural power, but their only purpose was to aid humans in slaying demons. Not to imbue talismans with the power to hide people from demons.

Kanao squinted at the talisman. It was essentially a small bag filled with wisteria flowers and markings drawn on the inside, which constantly emitted blue demonic mist. It hung low from a tree so that people could replace the flowers easily. Tanjirou had said that his father had set up the talismans to repel evil spirits years ago.

"Or maybe it's to ward off demons," Tanjirou hummed in thought as he sniffed the talisman. "Now that I've come here again, it has a similar scent as your sword and your wound, though much older."

"That might be the case," Kanao agreed. Kie had told her its purpose, but how the talisman worked was beyond her knowledge. Perhaps the Hashiras might know something. "We can't move the talisman, right?"

"Yeah, I don't think we can," Tanjirou smiled apologetically at her. "But you can just come over anytime if you want to study it."

"Thank you," Kanao said with a nod and turned to look at the talisman again. She was still skeptical, but for now, she should memorise the markings and redraw it once she was back in the Butterfly Mansion. At least something good came out of her near-death experience this time.

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