Worries

Guest review answer corner.

.

Guest: Thank you~

And yeah, if Tengen is going to show up there ready for a fight against three Breath Users, it only makes sense he would bring back-up; he is flamboyant not stupid, hahaha.

Had a bit of difficulty writing the Nezuko and Kagaya part… not even sure why, it just didn't click how I first wrote it so I had to redo it a few times; I like the result, though.

What can I say? I like SabiMako.

Oh trust me, Genya is not done getting some spotlight, not at all, hehehe.

Thank you for the wonderful comment and stay safe as well!

Until next time.

Guest: Glad to hear that! Like I answered above, I like SabiMako, hahaha.

Thank you for the comment!

Zoya: I can understand you so don't worry too much about it!

Glad to hear you like the SabiMako moment and Ito's name, like I told the friend that came up with it, it just fits.

Thanks for the comment, until next time!

.

Ok, chapter number 22 everyone!

I hope you enjoy it~

Disclaimer: I don't own KnY.


Tanjiro slowly opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and the feeling of a soft bed.

Taking a moment for his eyes to adjust he looked around as most as he could without moving his head; the room looked almost empty with only the bed he is resting on, a lamp and a desk being the only furniture. The Kamado also noticed that there weren't any windows.

'Where am I?'

"Ah!" A voice to his left said, making him turn. "You're awake!"

He saw the white haired demon woman he met back at the mountain; she immediately turned around and opened the door.

"E-excuse me! Tanjiro-san is awake!" She yelled into the hallway.

'This scent is…' The Kamado recognized the scent of the person that was approaching and smiled slightly.

Rui's 'mother' moved out of the way to let someone come in.

"Thank you, Ito-san." Tamayo said before her gaze moved to the red haired teen.

"Hello, Tamayo-san." Tanjiro greeted her, his voice raspy.

"Hello, Tanjiro-san." She greeted back with a smile. "How are you feeling?" The black haired woman asked as she approached and began to examine him.

"My whole body is sore." He answered. "And my jaw hurts."

"It's not surprising; your jaw was broken when you got here." She explained. "I already treated your injuries as best as I could so now you just have to rest and let your body heal; the demon you fought must have been really strong."

"Yes… wait, Nezuko!" He jumped to a sitting position, his body immediately protested and he grimaced but he forced himself to ignore the pain. "Nezuko, she is-"

"Relax." Tamayo interjected. "Genya-san has told us what happened, Yushiro already sent Chachamaru to look for her." She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently moved him back so he was lying down. "I'll tell you as soon as we know something."

"Alright…" Tanjiro agreed, looking reluctant but knowing he didn't have much of a choice, when he remembered something else. "Tamayo-san, where is my haori?"

"We left your things on that desk, there has only been a few hours since you got here so we haven't had the time to wash them."

"Please check the pockets of my haori, I got the blood of a Lower Moon."

Tamayo's eyes widened and, after a moment, she nodded.

"That explains the extent of your injuries." She thought out loud before moving to the haori and taking out the container. "Thank you, Tanjiro-san." The woman smiled.

"No, I should be thanking you." Tanjiro answered.

"You should rest; Ito-san, please call me if something happens."

"Y-yes." Ito nodded as she left, closing the door behind her.

"Your name is Ito-san then?" Tanjiro asked to break the silence. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you back in the mountain."

"N-no, that's alright... I didn't have that name back then anyway." She answered, earning a confused look from the Kamado.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't remember my human name but on the way here Genya-san-ah!" She stopped mid-sentence. "I almost forgot, he asked me to call him when you wake up, I'll be right back."

"Alright."

With that, Ito left the room to look for the other human.

A few minutes later, Tanjiro recognized their scents getting closer and heard their footsteps.

"Hi, Genya." The Kamado greeted him.

"You're a heavy sleeper, you know that?" The taller teen said with a grin.

Tanjiro chuckled as the two moved closer, grabbing two chairs and moving them next to his bed to sit down.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, all things considered." He answered. "What happened after I passed out?"

"Well… not much really." Genya began. "We had to wait in a cave for the sun to go back down and then we arrived here. That Yushiro guy doesn't seem to like us, though; he scowls every time I see him."

"That's just Yushiro-san…" Tanjiro trailed off, remembering his first interactions with the green haired demon. "By the way… what are those clothes?"

"Ah, mine were a bit ragged so Yushiro lent me some." Genya explained, currently wearing a grey kimono top and pants that looked a size short. "He said he would get me clothes that fit me later and to 'make do with this for now'."

"And Ito-san?"

"This is Tamayo-san's." She answered, wearing a dark blue kimono, the sleeves long enough to cover her hands unless she holds them back. "I'm using my strings to keep it from touching the ground while I walk but Yushiro-san said he would also get something for me."

"I see." Tanjiro nodded before turning to Genya. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

"Ah… yeah, don't worry about it." The Shinazugawa answered with a shrug. "It was my choice to help you."

"Thank you." He said before looking at Ito. "Did Tamayo-san or Yushiro-san explain everything?"

"Yes, she also gave me the treatment so I only need some human blood to survive instead of… in any case, she explained to both of us that she is trying to find a cure for demons and how you met."

"I see…" Tanjiro trailed off, feeling his eyelids close.

"You should rest some more, you really took a beating." Genya mentioned.

"Yeah… I think I will…" He trailed off again. "Please… wake me up if you find anything about Nezuko."

He saw the two nod before falling asleep again.

.

.

"…"

"…"

"…so, I'm… just gonna go back to what I was doing." Genya said, breaking the awkward silence. "Thanks for letting me know he woke up."

"R-right, you're welcome." Ito nodded.

The two stayed silent for a second before Genya got up and left the room.

'…well, that was awkward.' He thought with a sigh as he walked away. 'I know this is the place Tanjiro sent Ito-san and I don't think Tamayo-san was lying about what she is doing but… guess I still need to get used to being around demons.' The black haired teen couldn't help but give a sardonic chuckle at that thought. 'If someone told me one day I would be thinking that, I would have punched them.'

Genya shook his head and walked up the stairs of the house's basement and into the room Tamayo and Yushiro had lent him.

It was a lot like Tanjiro's, with only a bed and a desk as furniture and a lamp lighting it, except this one had windows; considering the two house owners told him they act as doctors, he guessed this was a room to leave a patient if they ever have a need to.

Shaking his head, he plopped down on the bed, moved his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

'It's a good thing he woke up.' Genya thought idly. 'Now… what the hell am I supposed to do?' Even after spending an entire day and almost two nights awake, sleep continued to elude him because of that question.

What he did was without a doubt a violation of the Demon Slayer's code, so being dismissed from the Corps was very likely; heck, he was probably already dismissed or being chased, or both.

'Still, Tanjiro trusted that woman with the fox mask to protect Nezuko, there is probably something I don't know… I should have asked him earlier.' Shaking his head, he let that go, he can ask Tanjiro once he wakes up again.

Letting out another sigh, he began to think about another thing.

"A way to turn demons back into humans…" Genya muttered. 'Could my ability help?'

That was the second thing that has been keeping him up.

Genya will be the first to admit he doesn't know how his ability works, he doesn't even know how it is possible for him to turn into a 'half-demon', for lack of a better term, but every time he has turned, he goes back to being a human some time later.

He knows that the time depends on how much he has… consumed but, by his count, he never goes more than a few hours at most.

'It's a good thing Murata-san doesn't have Tanjiro's nose, there was no way I could have hidden from him until it wore off that one time.' The Shinazugawa thought idly. 'In any case… should I tell them?'

Regardless of whether or not his ability can help Tamayo to develop a medicine to turn demons into humans, the real problem was that he is not sure if he should tell her in the first place.

Yushiro's obvious dislike of him aside, there is no reason to suspect that he and Tamayo are tricking him or Tanjiro… but he can't simply say 'alright, I can trust a demon, no problem' like it's nothing.

Letting out a groan, he stretched and moved to lie on his side.

'I'll think about it later, I need sleep right now.'

It took him a long time before his body finally succumbed to sleep as his mind continued to wonder what to do.


Tanjiro wasn't sure what time it was by the time he woke up again but judging by the smell that made his stomach rumble, it was probably close to either lunch or dinner time.

Feeling at least well enough to walk, he got out of bed and, slowly, followed the scent, walking up the stairs of the basement and reaching the ground level.

Tamayo's new home looked a lot more traditional than the one where the Kamado first met her, with tatami floors and sliding doors, paper lamps and with only one floor, not counting the basement, instead of two.

The red haired teen looked out a window and noticed that it was dark, only the moon providing light.

'Dinner then.' Turning away from the window, he followed the scent of food to another sliding door and opened it.

Inside, he saw Tamayo and Ito with a tray of miso soup each; the former was taking it to a table in the middle of the room where Genya and Yushiro were sitting in seiza, the green haired demon glaring at the swordsman and him looking away, while Ito looked like she was walking towards the door before Tanjiro opened it.

Everyone froze for a second when they saw him until Yushiro spoke.

"Tanjiro? What are you doing up?"

"I woke up and smelled the food."

"I-I was going to bring it to you but…" Ito trailed off, looking back at the others in the room.

"Would you like to eat here?" Tamayo asked. "If you're able to walk then there shouldn't be any issues."

"I'd like that, thank you!" The Kamado answered with a smile.

Everyone moved back to the table and sat, with Genya on Tanjiro's right, Yushiro on Genya's, then Tamayo and finally Ito.

The two humans took the trays and said a quick 'itadakimasu' before digging in.

"Hm, it's delicious." Genya muttered.

"Thank you, it's been a long time since I cooked anything so I wasn't sure if I did it correctly." Tamayo answered, her lips curved in a smile.

'Tamayo-sama's smile is beautiful!' Yushiro thought, staring at her.

"U-umm…" Ito stuttered, earning the room's attention. "What… are you two going to do now?"

Tanjiro and Genya exchanged a look before the latter sighed.

"I'm honestly not sure, it's not like I can just go back to the corps like nothing happened." He looked at the Kamado. "It seems I wasn't the only one that knew about your sister, though."

"Yeah…" The red haired teen nodded. "Once I recover enough, I'll go back there, have you gotten any leads about where Nezuko might be?"

"Not yet, Chachamaru is still looking into it but there wasn't much to help track her in the first place, even with what this guy told us about another demon hunter helping you out." Yushiro answered, pointing at Genya for the last part.

"I've been meaning to ask about that, who was that woman with the fox mask?" The black haired teen asked.

"Oh, I never told you, did I?" Tanjiro thought out loud. "Her name is Makomo, she is… I'm not sure if they're married but she is with the current Water Pillar and a, skill wise, Pillar level Demon Slayer."

"What?!" Genya yelled. "Wh… why did she help us then?"

"That's a long story…" He trailed off. "After I met my master…"

Tanjiro told them everything; from his first encounter with Giyu, how he met Sabito and Makomo, how they helped him learn Total Concentration Breathing, the 'test' they gave to Nezuko and why they agreed to keep her existence a secret.

"I see." Tamayo said with closed eyes. "I… am honestly surprised; I didn't think there would be more demon hunters willing to give a demon a chance."

"Sabito told me that there wouldn't, I've just been fortunate enough that the ones to find out have been." The Kamado answered.

"Do you think… they would be open to help us collect more blood?" She asked, very softly.

"I… honestly don't know, I never got a chance to tell them about you and Yushiro-san… but I'm sure they would at least consider it."

"Excuse me." Ito raised her hand, once again earning everyone's attention. "I don't know the process to develop a cure but wouldn't it be a good idea to ask Genya-san for his help?"

Tanjiro and Genya immediately flinched at her words, while Tamayo and Yushiro looked at her in confusion.

'Oh, no…' Ito brought both hands to her mouth as if she had just uttered something despicable.

"What… do you mean?" Yushiro asked slowly, looking at Genya suspiciously.

"…did you tell her, Tanjiro?" The swordsman asked, his eyes not leaving Ito's frightened ones.

"I… didn't."

"…you were the demon that was making the other demon hunters kill each other, weren't you?"

The white haired demon visibly flinched and, very slowly, nodded her head.

Everyone stood silent at this, looking between Genya and Ito, waiting for anyone to do or say anything.

Eventually, the human grabbed his bowl with both hands, brought it to his lips and gulped the rest of the contents in one go.

"Thanks for the food." He said simply before getting up and quietly exiting the room.

Once his footsteps could no longer be heard, Yushiro turned to Tanjiro.

"What was that about? How can he help?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you." The Kamado answered.

"What?"

"It's up to Genya if he wants to tell you, not me."

"You-"

"Yushiro." He immediately shut up and sat down.

"I'm sorry." Ito whispered, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Tanjiro called out, making her look in his direction. "I know you didn't mean anything bad by it." He assured her with a smile.

Tanjiro did the same thing his friend did and finished the rest of his food.

"I'll go talk to him, thanks for the food."

With that, Tanjiro excused himself and walked after Genya.

.

.

Tanjiro followed the scent to what he can only assume is the room Genya is staying at and knocked on the door.

"Genya, it's Tanjiro." He called out. "Can we talk?"

"…come on in."

With his permission, the Kamado opened the door, walked in and closed it behind him.

Genya was sitting on his bed, his body facing the door but his head down.

"How do you do it?" He asked before the Kamado could talk.

Tanjiro was a bit surprised, he was ready to have to wait for a while before the Shinazugawa would talk to him.

"Do what?"

"How can you see demons as something more than an enemy to cut down?" Genya clarified. "And don't tell me it's because of your sister, I'll believe that it's part of the reason but you should know that she is a one in a million exception."

"But…" The Kamado trailed off, trying to find the right words to explain.

"You've been on missions, did any of the demons you encountered looked like they regretted their actions? Or smelled like they did, in your case?"

"I… can't say they have, there were a few that looked relieved after I cut them down but… they had their circumstances." Tanjiro answered, grabbing the chair on the desk and moving it to sit in front of Genya. "This is about Ito-san, right?"

"…I'm not an idiot, I saw her summon spiders, use strings and she said that she learned about your sister through her Blood Demon Art before we got here so I had my suspicions but… I just didn't want think about it at the time; there were other things to worry about." The black haired teen explained before letting out a sigh. "I don't think she is lying when she says she wants to turn over a new leaf but I can't forgive her for what happened just like that."

"I haven't forgiven her, Genya." Tanjiro spoke, making him look up curiously. "It's not my place to forgive her, all I did was offer her a chance; forgiveness is something she'll have to earn on her own."

"That's just it, I'm not like you; I want to believe in second chances, I am begging for a second one with my brother, but I'm not able to just look at a demon without immediately thinking of attacking it."

"…have you ever seen the moment when a demon turns?" The red haired teen asked.

"What?" Genya frowned. "I… haven't."

"I did." That made Genya's eyebrows shoot up. "I was sent to a mission on Asakusa when I caught a scent… the scent of the demon that killed my family... and turned Nezuko into a demon." The Kamado clenched his jaw, the anger making him numb to the pain that should appear from such an action. "And when I found him… he struck a man, he was just walking with his wife but I saw him nick his neck with its fingernails… then he turned."

'This… it's about when he met Tamayo-san.' Genya realized.

"He went feral and almost killed his wife… all because that demon used him to escape."

The Shinazugawa gulped, he didn't need a supernatural sense of smell to tell that Tanjiro was beyond enraged.

"I managed to stop him, Tamayo-san even made it so he just needs blood to survive." He continued, calming down slightly. "But that just cemented an idea I had in my head." Tanjiro looked back up with a sad look. "Demons aren't inherently evil; I'm certain that most of them never asked to be turned in the first place."

Genya stood still, his face going completely blank before taking a deep breath.

"So… you think it's okay to just give them a second chance and forget about the people they killed?" There was no judgement or anger in his tone, only curiosity.

"I'm not forgetting." Tanjiro shook his head. "And if they truly want that second chance, then they won't forget either."

"…"

"…"

"…I see." Genya finally spoke. "I need to gather my thoughts for a while."

"I understand." The Kamado got up, put the chair back in its place, and walked to the door. "Good night."

"Good night."

With that, Tanjiro left the room.

.

.

The Kamado walked back to the dining room, noticing that Ito was gone.

"How is Genya-san?" Tamayo asked.

"He said he needed to gather his thoughts." He answered. "And Ito-san?"

"She went to her room." Yushiro answered him.

"I see…" The red haired teen trailed off before turning to the brown haired woman. "Tamayo-san, how long do I have to rest before I can train again?"

"Hmm… considering the extent of your injuries, I'd give it three days before I can let you move around without worry; I used a few personal medicines to help your recovery but even those have a limit."

"Thank you." The Kamado said.

The three talked for a bit more before Tanjiro went to his room to rest.

.

.

'Hm?' The Kamado realized there was someone inside his room even before he opened the door.

"H-hi." Ito greeted him, not meeting his eyes.

"Hi, Ito-san!" Tanjiro greeted back. "Do you need anything?"

"N-no, not really, I just…" She trailed off, fidgeting in place. "I… wanted to ask how Genya-san is."

"We talked, he told me he needed to gather his thoughts."

"I-I see…"

"You could go talk to him if you want to know more."

"…"

"Ito-san?"

"I'm scared…" She said, hugging herself. "I… I killed many of your comrades and… I used their bodies to try and kill Genya-san… I'm scared that if I go to him he'll cut off my head…" Her fidgeting turned to trembling.

"He won't do that." Tanjiro said calmly, taking a few steps closer. "He was upset and… I can't say if he will look past what you did… but I'm sure he wants you to have this second chance."

"How can you tell?"

"Because he said so!" The Kamado said happily, making Ito look up at him. "He is upset about what happened and said he has a hard time thinking of demons as anything but enemies but… I told him what I saw happens when someone first turns into a demon and I think that got through to him." He offered her another smile. "At the very least, I can assure you that he won't attack you."

Ito still looked frightened but her trembling had stopped.

"I-if you say so…" She trailed off. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." The Kamado said before stifling a yawn.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'll let you go to sleep." Ito said, moving to leave the room.

"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."


Tomioka Giyu finds days off boring.

Ever since surviving the Final Selection because of Sabito's help, he has devoted himself to accomplishing his missions for the corps; in his mind, that was the least he could do to repay his friend for almost getting him killed.

Even during his days off, he would use the time to train as much as he could, and he wanted to do that now, but a wound he got on his shoulder made it difficult so he had given up on it… after Makomo threatened to tie him to the bed if he didn't took the time to heal.

So, without a mission and not being able to train, he didn't have anything to do. Sabito and Makomo had both gone out and, even if he wanted to try to talk with Nezuko, she was sleeping.

He had lunch a few hours ago and was currently drinking some tea he made. Giyu was considering going to his room and sleep the rest of the day away when someone suddenly knocked on the door.

'Who could it be?' He wondered before going to the door and opening it.

"Ara~, good afternoon Tomioka-san." Shinobu greeted him; her ever-present smile on her face.

"Kocho." He said back. "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you going to invite me to come in before asking that?" She asked.

Giyu took a moment to consider it before moving to let her enter.

"What are you doing here?" He repeated after closing the door.

"You are keeping that demon in here, right?"

The black haired man's eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

"Oyakata-sama ordered to leave her alone."

"Oh don't worry; I'm not here to attack her." Shinobu said, but her expression had yet to change at all since she greeted him. "I just wanted to meet this demon that won't attack humans."

Tomioka stared at her for a few seconds before.

"She is asleep right now; she'll probably wake up at night." He informed her.

"Oh, I see, I guess that makes sense since she is still a demon after all." The Kocho brought her left index to her chin.

"You can come back later if you want."

"The sun will go down soon, by the time I get back to my home I would just have to turn back around, don't you think?" She answered him. "Do you mind if I wait here? I'll make sure not to be a bother~"

"…alright." Giyu nodded, walking to the living room with the girl following.

"Where are Sabito-san and Makomo-san?"

"They had to go on a mission."

"So you have the house to yourself?"

"Yes."

"What were you gonna do before I showed up?"

"Sleep."

"…sleep?"

"Yes, sleep."

"…you're a really boring person, aren't you, Tomioka-san?"

Giyu decided to ignore that comment.

"I would train but I'm recovering from an injury." He said back.

"And your only other option is to go to sleep?"

He kept silent, walked into the living room and went to the kitchen to grab an extra cup of tea while Shinobu sat at the table.

"Here." Giyu offered after filling it.

"Thank you." She took the cup and brought it to her lips. "You can still go to sleep if you want, I don't mind."

"I'm good." Giyu responded, taking his cup with his left hand.

"Is that so?"

The two stayed silent for a while, only the sound of drinking tea being heard.

"So, the letter Oyakata-sama sent everyone said that you were the one to first encounter this demon."

"That's right."

"Would you tell me about it?"

Giyu looked at her.

"Didn't the letter explain?"

"Yes, but I would like to hear it from you."

He poured some more tea for both of them.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The Tsuguko didn't answer. "I want to know why the Tomioka-san that has always denied that we can get along with demons decided to spare one; surely you can understand why I would be curious about such a thing."

"…it was around two years ago." Giyu began. "There were reports of demons in a town and I was sent there to investigate; I learned that, aside from the people in town, there was a family that sells charcoal living up the mountain, alone."

"Sounds like the perfect target for a demon." Shinbou commented, taking a sip of her tea.

"I rushed there hoping they would be alright when I saw them."

"The family?"

"No, Tanjiro and Nezuko." The blue eyed man answered. "The latter looked to be attacking the former, I could tell she was a demon the moment I saw her so I lunged to cut off her head; Tanjiro moved her out of the way and covered her."

"Did he now? Even though she was trying to eat him?"

"He claimed that she would never hurt another person, even after that." The Tomioka answered. "I didn't believe him of course."

"So how come you didn't just cut off her head right there and then?"

"…"

"Tomioka-san?"

"I wanted to make him move."

Shinobu tilted her head in confusion.

"It looked like he was still in shock about his family, he kept saying that he would find a way to turn her back into a human… at the end, he kneeled and begged me not to kill his sister." Giyu took another sip of his tea. "I told him, more like yelled, that the weak don't have a choice but to be crushed by the strong and that, even if there was a way to turn her back into a human, a demon wouldn't listen to his request before stabbing Nezuko in the shoulder."

"That is rather… insensitive."

"It worked."

"Oh?"

"He got up, grabbed an axe he brought with him and threw a rock at me; he moved to some trees and used them to hide that he had thrown his axe in the air after throwing another rock, then hid his arms behind his body as he rushed at me."

Shinobu's eyes widened at this.

"I knocked him down with the hilt of my blade and then noticed he didn't have his axe with him, I heard something from above and moved my head out of the way just before the axe came down right where it used to be."

"He managed to catch you off guard?"

Giyu nodded.

"Nezuko took advantage of my shock and kicked me away, I thought she would lunge towards Tanjiro and eat him."

"But she didn't."

"But she didn't." He confirmed. "She then tried to attack me but… it was strange, it didn't look like she was trying to eat me but to make sure I don't get close to her brother…"

"And then you decided to let her live."

"Yeah." He moved to pour some more tea but realized that the pot was empty. "I knocked her out and waited for Tanjiro to wake up, then told him to go to Urokodaki-san and left."

"Just like that?"

"There was nothing else for me to do there."

The Kocho shook her head at that.

"I told Sabito what happened, who then told Makomo; the rest should be explained on that letter."

"About that, you didn't go to see the two in those two years?"

"I didn't."

"…Tomioka-san."

"Hmm?"

"This is why everyone hates you."

"I am not hated."

"You left a kid, with his turned to demon sister, with only instructions of where to go and then didn't see them again for two years." Shinobu said, her ever-present smile on her face. "Are you certain they don't hate you~?"

Giyu flinched at that.

"Even so, not everyone hates me." Tomioka answered.

"I guess that's true, Sabito-san and Makomo-san don't hate you." She conceded.

'Do you?' Giyu bit his tongue before that thought came out. "Do you want more tea?" He asked instead. "I'll have to make some more so it might take a bit."

"I'm good, don't worry about it." She answered before letting out a giggle.

"What is it?"

"You said you 'yelled'?"

The blue eyed man nodded.

"I find that hard to imagine, whenever I see you, it always looks like you're trying to make the least amount of noise possible."

"…I just don't have a reason to raise my voice."

"Is that so~?" Her smile seemed to widen slightly. "Then, would you raise your voice if I give you a reason?"

Giyu squinted at that question, trying to think of an answer.

"I suppose." He settled for that.

"I'll have to keep it in mind." She let out another giggle.

Giyu almost smiled at the sound.

'This one doesn't sound fake.' He thought before getting up. "I want some more tea, are you sure you don't want more?"

"Hmm~ Well, if you're making it anyway, I'll take you up on that offer."

.

.

A few hours later the sun finally disappeared giving way to the night.

Giyu lead Shinobu to the room they were keeping Nezuko and quietly opened the door.

She was resting on a futon, the covers up to her neck and her eyes closed.

"Looks like she is still sleeping." The Tsuguko whispered.

Shinobu looked around him and caught sight of her.

"Is she gonna wake up soon?" She asked, also whispering.

"She doesn't wake up at all sometimes."

"…Tomioka-san?"

"Hm?"

"Couldn't you have told me that before I waited three hours here?" The Kocho was still smiling but it was obviously strained.

"I wasn't sure if she would wake up or not and thought you would wait even if I told you."

"…" The insect Pillar stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. "Do you think she will wake up?"

"…I don't know." Giyu answered honestly. "The nights she wakes up, she is usually up by this hour but I can't be certain."

"Oh, well." Shinobu shrugged and turned around. "It's late so I guess I can come back another day."

The swordsman silently closed the door and moved to follow her, eventually reaching the doorway.

"Well, give my regards to Sabito-san and Makomo-san." The purple eyed woman said as she put on her sandals.

Giyu nodded with an 'hn'.

"Until we meet again, Tomioka-san." She spoke, leaving the Water Pillar's residence.

"Until we meet again." Giyu whispered after she closed the door.


After walking for ten minutes, Shinobu allowed her smile to fall from her face and let out a heavy sigh.

'I suppose I should have thought about this more before coming here.' The Pillar thought as she continued walking to her home. 'Nee-san… I am not as kind as you were, thinking that humans and demons can get along is not something that I ever truly believed but…' Her mind went to the sleeping girl. 'I can't help but wonder if your dream wasn't so impossible after all.'

Letting out another sigh, the Insect Pillar schooled her features back into a smile.

'Well… at least the tea was delicious.'


Here is another one!

So, how long do you think it will take for Tanjiro to go back to Nezuko? Will Chachamaru be able to find her? What will happen between Genya and Ito?

And, probably the most important question of all, why am I asking you? I'm supposed to be the author! Hahaha.

Alright, (bad) jokes aside; this was mostly to wrap up the last loose ends from the Natagumo arc and start the next arc the right way, as well as some interactions between characters.

More canon divergences are approaching!

Plus, we're getting closer to Tanjiro and Kanao properly meeting and, if you've read any of my other stories for KnY, you'll know I love that pairing with a passion.

I can't wait!

In any case, as always, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a comment; it makes me smile every time I see a new one~.

Until next time!