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 for TungstenCat who has advised me with the romance aspect of the story!
This chapter and the next chapter (chapter 12) will focus on the events occurring in a year, starting from after Kanao's departure from the Kamado house. There will be many time skips. Don't worry, they are arranged chronologically so hopefully it's intelligible.
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It had been a few days since the Demon Slayers' departure.
The Kamado family had gone back to their usual lifestyle, as if the past few weeks did not happen. After all, it was winter now, thus there was a higher demand for charcoal from the village. They worked together as usual, chopping wood and loading logs into the charcoal pile, focusing their energy on surviving the rest of winter.
Though, it felt as if there was something...missing. A presence behind him. The ping of a flipped coin. An extra bowl of rice. A constant smile.
Tanjirou sighed and looked up at the clear sky, devoid of a crow's call.
It had only been a few days, but he already missed her.
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They heard no news from Kanao until a month later.
Tenma was a rather quiet crow unless she was agitated, so no one but Tanjirou realised that she came. The strong wind blew up the mountain, carrying her scent. Tanjirou perked up, scanning the sky and catching sight of a black spot a moment later.
The children were too busy playing to notice Kanao's crow landing on their oldest brother's raised hand.
"Hey girl. How're you?" Tanjirou chuckled when Tenma rubbed her head on his cheek affectionately. "Glad to see that you have recovered. Why are you here?"
Tenma hopped onto his shoulder before whispering into his ear, "Report."
"Report?" Tanjirou glanced at the crow in surprise.
Tenma answered by sticking her left foot out, where a rolled-up letter was tied. Tanjirou's smile widened when he realised it was from Kanao.
"Thank you very much, Tenma," Tanjirou beamed before bringing the crow inside. "It must have been tiring to travel here. Are you hungry? We still have some red berries from this morning."
While Tenma enjoyed her treats, Tanjirou carefully extracted the letter from her foot. His heart beat rapidly in anticipation as he scrambled to open it.
Tanjirou read the letter. Blinked, before tilting his head in confusion.
"Oh, what do you have there, son?" At that moment, Kie entered with Rokuta in her arms. "Isn't this Kanao-chan's crow?"
Upon noticing Tenma, Tanjirou's youngest sibling squealed, squirming to get away from his mother. His yell alerted the rest of his siblings. Soon enough, four more children crowded around the flustered kasugai crow, celebrating the fact that Tenma was now well and healthy.
"What is it, Tanjirou?" Kie asked her son, who was still staring at the letter with furrowed brows.
"It's a… letter from Kanao?" Tanjirou replied, unsure. He showed the letter to his mother.
Kie snorted upon reading it.
"'Made contact with a demon. Demon was terrorising the Ueda Temple. There were 5 casualties in total. Demon has been neutralised through decapitation'," Kie read it out loud. Fortunately, the kids were too busy cooing over Tenma to overhear. Kie chuckled quietly. "Did Kanao just send a mission report to us?"
Tanjirou shrugged. He was happy that Kanao had written to him, but this was not what he had expected. "Maybe she doesn't know how to write a personal letter?"
"Knowing Kanao-chan, that is most likely the case," Kie handed the letter back to him. "You should show her how to write a letter. After all, it would be rather strange to talk to each other about decapitating demons."
Tanjirou laughed uneasily at that.
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Kanzaki Aoi frowned at the arriving kasugai crow in displeasure.
"Kanao is sleeping. Recovering from her injuries," she grumbled, eyeing the rolled-up piece of paper tied to Tenma's claw. "She is not at her full strength yet, and the demon at the temple was taxing enough. They should really give her a break."
Tenma nipped at the missive before shaking her head. "No mission."
"Huh? It's not?" Aoi blinked in confusion. She didn't recall anyone who was close enough to Kanao to send her a letter. Nor the fact that Kanao had never received a normal letter and not a mission. "What is it, then?"
"Friend letter."
"Friend…? Ah! Are you referring to the family of coal sellers whom Kanao had encountered some time ago?"
Tenma nodded eagerly.
Aoi was intrigued. Seeing how Tenma was carrying the letter, the crow must have just been with the coal sellers. Meaning, Kanao had sent the letter first. That was unheard of; Kanao wasn't exactly someone who'd send anyone a personal letter. She had never even sent a letter to Aoi, and they were best friends.
Just then, a familiar scent entered her range. Aoi smiled before turning to find Kanao at the end of the hallway.
"You're awake?" Aoi approached Kanao, who had her hand extended for Tenma to land on. "Just in time. Tenma has brought you a 'friend letter'."
Kanao blinked before smiling her usual smile. She untied the letter on Tenma's foot and unrolled it. Aoi saw that the letter was two pages long, though for some reason Kanao immediately moved on to the second page.
"Not reading the first page?" Aoi couldn't help but ask.
Kanao glanced at her. Then, she passed Aoi the first page before going back to read the second page.
Aoi read the letter in her hand. Or rather, the mission report written by Kanao herself.
"Wha—? Why is this with the letter?" Aoi looked at Kanao, incredulous. "Don't tell me, you sent a mission report to them?"
Kanao tilted her head, seemingly confused. "I thought it's the same as a letter."
"Well, it is a type of letter, but..." Aoi looked up in exasperation. "You're supposed to write a personal letter to your friend. Not a mission report. Heck, even if this was not a mission report, it's still too short and formal. Why did you even talk about decapitating demons…"
Kanao nodded, still engrossed with the second page of the letter. Aoi assumed it was the real letter. "Tanjirou-san also said the same."
"I bet he did," Aoi snorted. She was amused by the way her best friend's eyes were glued to the letter. "Is his letter that interesting?"
"I didn't know you could talk about mundane things in a letter," Kanao's smile widened. "Tanjirou-san told me that the weather has become warmer recently. That Spring is coming. Now he doesn't have to sell as much charcoal to the village as before, since the worst of winter is now over."
"Yeah, you should write a letter like that," Aoi nodded. "Just talk about anything interesting that happened in your daily life, or what you are feeling now. Well, as long as it's not demon-related; they are civilians, after all."
"I understand."
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"Hm? What are you doing?"
"... Writing the reply."
"You're still on it? It's been days already."
"I don't know what to write that is not demon-related."
"You can just talk about your daily life then…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... Yeah. You're a Demon Slayer. Of course your daily life revolves around demons. Silly me."
"So, what should I do?"
"Well, I guess you can talk about demon-related stuff. Just leave the gory details out."
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"Playing tag?"
"Yeah," Tanjirou grinned at his excited little siblings, who were crowded around him. He showed them Kanao's letter and pointed at a line. "She says that she plays tag with other 'hunters' to train her body back to peak condition."
"That's so fun!" Rokuta exclaimed.
"Doesn't her injury hurt though?" Hanako frowned in concern.
"Maybe it doesn't hurt anymore?" Shigeru suggested.
"It should be like an exercise," Takeo hummed in thought. "You know, she was bedridden for weeks, just like Dad—"
"Takeo," Nezuko interjected, glancing at their oldest brother.
Tanjirou smiled sadly. His siblings were too young to recall their father, but he and Nezuko remembered. He was especially close to their father, who had taught him Kamado's charcoal-making and the Hinokami Kagura. It still hurt whenever he remembered his father's frail body worsening day by day.
So he moved on. "We can play tag with Kanao once she visits."
"Yeah!" Takeo grinned. "I'm the best at tag. She won't be able to run away from me!"
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"What are you reading, Kanao-chan?"
Kanao glanced at the blond Demon Slayer. Agatsuma Zenitsu's expression immediately turned smitten when she turned her face towards him. His dopey smile widened when she stared at him for longer than usual. He couldn't help it; she was just so cute.
Kanao flipped her coin.
"A letter from a friend," she answered before going back to reading.
"He~eh. Cool," Zenitsu beamed, not minding her curt reply. They had known each other ever since taking the same Final Selection five years ago. Zenitsu was used to her indifference, and Kanao was used to his attraction to her. They were often paired up for missions as well. "What's your friend's name?"
"It's Tanjirou."
"He~eh." Zenitsu nodded in understanding. "A boy?"
"Yes."
"How old is he?"
"About the same age as us."
"That's nice," Zenitsu looked out of the window towards the setting sun with a faraway look. A vein popped on his forehead. "I wanna be his friend too."
Kanao did another coin flip.
"You can come with us next week," she said. "I am planning to go there with Himejima-sama to check on something."
"Really?" Zenitsu leaned forward excitedly, though he deflated soon after. "No, wait. I can't. I have already promised my Master to visit him next week. Maybe next time."
"I see," Kanao said, unconcerned, before returning to reading the letter.
"... Is it that interesting?" Zenitsu asked after a few moments of silence, jealous that something other than him could hoard Kanao's attention for so long, but at the same time intrigued. "I have never seen you so absorbed like this in anything unrelated to combat."
Kanao nodded distractedly. "Takeo-kun, Tanjirou-san's little brother, is asking me to play tag with him and his siblings the next time I visit."
"Tag," Zenitsu repeated, face paling. It was a rather ordinary topic to talk about, nothing that interesting, but 'tag' to Kanao could mean a different thing. "Your civilian friend's little brother is asking you to play tag with him."
"Yes."
"Are you going to play?"
"Yes," Kanao answered, blinking her eyes innocently. "Is there a problem?"
"Yes," Zenitsu groaned. "You'll definitely end up breaking the poor kid's bones when you 'tag' him."
Kanao opened her mouth to protest. Closed it again a moment later. It seemed like she finally understood the fundamental problem behind playing tag with civilians. 'Tag' for Demon Slayers was not only about chasing each other for fun, but also about exercising Breathing techniques to attack and dodge. Total Concentration Breathing had become part of Demon Slayers' autonomic system, which meant it would not be easy to turn it off during physical activities regularly done by Demon Slayers, such as playing tag. For heaven's sake, Kanao had fractured his bones when she pushed him a little too hard! Zenitsu shuddered at the memory. The kid's bones would definitely break to pieces when Kanao 'tagged' him, alright.
Kanao let out a small sigh in disappointment. "That is unfortunate."
"... To be fair, it's fortunate that I asked you about it," Zenitsu deadpanned. "Why don't you suggest the cup game instead? Now might not be a good time since the weather is still quite cold, but maybe you can ask them to play the cup game with you in the summer."
"Sounds good," Kanao nodded in agreement. "The cup game is quite safe to play with civilians."
"... So long as you don't slap their hand, Kanao-chan," Zenitsu smiled, though a tad forced. "Anyway, why is the Rock Hashira coming with you?"
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"We are here to see the talismans," Himejima Gyoumei smiled towards the group of children, who had generously offered to escort him and his companion to their home. "Tomioka Giyuu-san has informed me that the talismans are quite mystifying."
The children let out a chorus of oohs, hopping around him excitedly.
"You mean the flower talismans!"
"Are you also a hunter?"
"...Who's Gyuu-san?"
"Are your eyes okay? They seem a little too white."
"My eyes cannot see," Gyoumei gestured at his own face, not minding the rather rude question. "But my nose, ears and skin are more sensitive than other people. That's why I can still walk around without falling down."
"Cool! Maybe you can smell stuff like our older brother!"
"Can you hear the birds from the other side of the mountain?"
"Are you actually a hunter even though you can't see?"
"You look strong though. And big! Bigger than a bear!"
"Is that so?" Gyoumei laughed. He swooped up the smallest child, a boy who had introduced himself as Rokuta, and placed him on his broad shoulders. "Well, now you know how it feels to ride a bear."
The little boy squealed at the sudden drastic increase in height. The rest of the kids converged around Gyoumei even more, demanding to also be carried. It felt nostalgic to have children surrounding him, with the peal of laughter constantly following them wherever they go. Years had gone by and his own adopted little siblings were no longer with him, but children were the same everywhere. It made him tear up a little.
Soon after, the wind shifted and the echo of their laughter gradually became less severe. It seemed that the footpath had widened into a clearing. Gyoumei could smell burnt charcoal coming from the other side of the glade. Must be where the charcoal kiln was.
"That's our house!" Hanako, the girl who was holding hands with Tsuyuri Kanao, exclaimed before dragging along the older girl. "Mummy, Nii-chan, Nee-chan! Kanao-nee-chan is here!"
The sound of footsteps emerged from the house; a middle-aged woman, a young man and a young woman. Gyoumei raised an eyebrow in surprise; the young man smelled of burnt wisteria. A flicker of fire, though unlike that of the Flame Hashira. How peculiar, to find a civilian who practiced a Breathing Style in such an isolated place.
"My, what a surprise!" the middle-aged woman exclaimed in joy as she greeted his companion. "Didn't think you'd arrive here so soon, Kanao-chan. We thought you'd come tomorrow."
A shift in Kanao's posture. More opened, more… relaxed. A rarity, considering that this was not the Butterfly Mansion. Perhaps this child considered the Kamado house her second home.
"It's been awhile," Kanao greeted them, short but warmer than usual, before gesturing at him. "This is Himejima Gyoumei-sama, the person I told you about in the letter."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said, bowing low to the matriarch of the family. "Please call me Himejima. I am Tsuyuri-san's senior, the Rock Hashira."
"Likewise, Himejima-san," Kie replied. "I am Kie, and these are my eldest son and daughter, Tanjirou and Nezuko. Seems like you're already acquainted with the rest of my rowdy children."
"I don't mind. Children are always a beautiful sight to see."
"Indeed. Oh, where are my manners? Please come in. We have just made some gyouza, so have some while they're still warm."
"Thank you. Pardon my intrusion, then."
As he entered the house, the temperature became much warmer and more pleasant. The delicious smell of cooked food wafted through the Kamado home as the sound of children scrambling to get to the hearth at the centre of the room reached his ears. It truly brought him back to the old days when life at the temple was harsh but fulfilling, the genuine camaraderie warming up their freezing bodies and easing their fears. Gyoumei was once more moved to tears.
The two Demon Slayers spent some time in the Kamado residence, sharing stories from the city and successfully enthralling the children with the magic of modern technology. Gyoumei understood their disbelief very well; he, too, had hailed from an isolated place, far away from the cities. The idea of having multi-story stone buildings, colossal metal carriages fueled by coals and lamps that brightened the streets all night long was simply overwhelming.
(As he regaled the tales of the city, Gyoumei noticed Kanao passing Kie's eldest son Tanjirou some training gourds. Judging by the flicker of flame he had perceived in the young man, Gyoumei could hazard a guess as to why she was giving the civilian the gourds, especially with the way Tanjirou accepted those with dread. He must have known very well that those gourds were not for storing water.)
Unfortunately, the Demon Slayers were here for a mission, even though there was no demon to slay. So once lunch was over, Kie's eldest Tanjirou immediately brought Gyoumei and Kanao to see the rumoured talismans.
Gyoumei began to frown as they got closer to the site. He had presumed that the Kamado talismans used burnt wisteria to repel demons, just like what he had done in the temple years ago. But, for some reason, the scent and sound indicated that not only wisteria was used but also demon's blood. A very familiar demon's blood.
"Namu Amida Butsu…" he whispered in shock upon realising what it was. "Yes, I believe your family talisman truly works to hide your home from the demons, Tanjirou-san."
"Ah, that's good then," Tanjirou said in relief. "How do you know that, though? Kanao and Tomioka-san told me that it contains demon's blood, so shouldn't it attract demons instead of repelling them?"
Because the talismans were made not by man but by a demon. The blood acted as a conduit for Mekakushi, a Blood Demon Art which had the ability to mask a presence from demons. Gyoumei wanted to tell the young man that, but it was highly-classified information that only few high-ranked Demons Slayers knew about.
So he pointed at the talisman, where the traces of the demon blood was most concentrated, and said, "The Ubuyashiki estate as well as the Butterfly Mansion are also using similar talismans as this one."
Kanao shifted in surprise. "But I have never noticed their presence."
"Neither do most Demon Slayers, Tsuyuri-san," Gyoumei smiled. "As I recall, even Tomioka Giyuu-san is not aware of their presence as he did not recognise the Kamado talisman. I do not know how it works exactly, but those talismans are also used to hide the compound from demons. It's just that there is another layer of those talismans which also hides itself from human's senses, as not all Demon Slayers would be comfortable with relying on demon's blood."
Especially with this generation of Hashira. When Gyoumei was made aware of this, only Oyakata-sama, the late Flower Hashira Kochou Kanae, the former Thunder Hashira Kuwajima Jigorou, as well as the former Water Hashira Urokodaki Sakonji had been in the know. Most Demon Slayers, especially the Hashira, were unforgiving towards demons and were uncompromising with carrying out their primary task. If they were to know that one of their nemesis was actively involved in the protection of the headquarters, things would not end well.
"You said that your late father had commissioned these talismans some years ago?" Gyoumei asked Tanjirou, because the Kamado talismans unmistakably had the same demonic trace as the ones Gyoumei was familiar with.
"Yes," Tanjirou replied. "Mum said Dad used to be acquainted with the Demon Slayer Corps even though he was not a Demon Slayer."
Gyoumei frowned. That could be any civilian who had come across Demon Slayers. Did the Kamado patriarch obtain the talismans through someone in the know from the Demon Slayer Corps? Or did he know the demon who had made these talismans on a personal level? The Kamado was a civilian coal-seller family, so what made them so special to the point they needed the talismans to hide from the demons?
That flicker of fire...
"Tanjirou-san," Gyoumei turned to the young man. "Are you a Breathing Style practitioner?"
Tanjirou shifted, clearly surprised. He glanced at Kanao uncertainly. "Um, I don't know if it could be called that, but for generations, our family has been performing Hinokami Kagura dance on every New Year's Eve."
"I would say they are," Kanao added, humming in thought. "I have seen you dance. The Hinokami Kagura requires Total Concentration Breathing to be performed. If you were to wield a Nichirin blade instead of the wand, I believe you might be able to slay a demon with your Kagura dance."
"Is it a Flame Breathing Style?" Gyoumei asked.
"... No," Kanao said, hesitant. "They are too different. The focus is not on fire, but rather…"
Kanao looked up. Gyoumei could not see what she was looking at, but he could guess.
Hinokami Kagura. The dance for the bane of all demons.
"The sun."
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