A new start
Guest review answer corner!
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Guest: Ok, here it is! Hehehe.
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Alright, we're past twenty five chapters, woohoo!
First of all, huge shout-out to my friends sparkles_writes and marchioness_elizabeth (both from AO3) for their help on this chapter; there was a certain part that I wasn't sure about and they gave me a helping hand, thanks so much you two!
Second of all, just a quick warning: This chapter begins with the Lower Moon meeting and, as you may remember, it's not a pretty sight so keep that in mind while reading that part.
With that said, on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Shortly after the death of Lower Moon Five, Rui.
'…what the…' Lower Moon 6, Kamanue, trailed off as he noticed the sudden change of his surroundings.
His skin is grey with green colored painting on his face and the kanji for 'six' is etched on his right eye, signaling his rank, wearing baggy black pants, a white shirt and a white kimono top that turned yellow at the sleeves; his hair black except for the tips that fade into orange.
'What is this place? A blood demon art?' As he pondered, he noticed he wasn't alone in this place.
The sound of a biwa drew his attention to a pale woman with a black kimono and long black hair, her bangs covering her face, sitting and playing the instrument.
'Is this place her blood demon art?' He wondered as the sound continued and the place distorted, looking like a strange amalgamation of buildings, hanging to each other in ways that no human could construct.
With each cord she played, he noticed a new presence appearing.
'Those are… the other Lower Moons?' Lower Moon Six thought as he saw his 'companions' walk in, most of them with a similar look of confusion as to why they are all here.
Lower Moon 4, Mukago, the only woman in the current Lower Moons, with short white hair and two horns protruding from her forehead, wearing a red kimono with a purple sash.
Lower Moon 3, Wakuraba, he looks like a thug, with three cross shaped scars on his face, one on his forehead and one on each cheek, short black hair and wears a simple light green kimono.
Lower Moon 2, Rokuro, similar in appearance to Wakuraba, except his scars look like 'cracks' on his face, starting from his forehead and reaching to his cheeks and his hair reaches his shoulders and wears a blue kimono.
Finally, Lower Moon 1, Enmu, arguably the most distinctive of everyone present, with blue eyes, three square shaped markings on his cheeks and black chin-length hair parted to his right that fades into a red-orange color at the tips; wearing a long, black-button up coat with a white dress shirt underneath, pale gray pants and shoes of similar color.
'A reunion of the Lower Moons? Has that ever happened before?' Kamanue wondered. 'Lower 5 isn't here yet.' Before he could dwell on that thought, a series of cords were played by the biwa demon and all the Lower Moons were suddenly standing on a large platform.
Another cord was played and a woman suddenly appeared at a different platform separated and slightly above the one the Lower Moons were standing at.
'What? Who is that woman?'
The figure that appeared looks like a woman with long hair tied back, red eyes and wearing a long black yukata.
"What are you doing?" The woman spoke. "Prostrate yourselves."
Kamanue isn't sure if it was an instinct or if something forced him but his body obeyed before his mind could process the words; kneeling with his head down.
'It's Kibutsuji-sama.' The demon trembled. 'He looks different than usual so I didn't realize it!'
"W-we apologize, Kibutsuji-sama." Mukago spoke. "Your appearance and aura are different-"
"Who said you could speak?" The progenitor of demons interrupted with a glare; Lower 4 immediately stopped talking, closing her mouth with an audible 'click'. "Do not tell me your useless thoughts, just answer my questions." Every Lower Moon was wise enough to not speak and wait. "Lower Moon 5 was killed." Muzan revealed, his tone flat. "Why are the Lower Moons so weak? Do you think just entering the Twelve Demon Moons is enough? You should be constantly eating humans and growing stronger." Muzan felt some of the demons flinch at his words. "The Upper Moons have remained the same for hundreds of years and have killed several Pillars while the Lower Moons have been replaced constantly."
'Even if you say that…'
"'Even if you say that…' what?"
Kanamue is eyes widened.
'He can read my thoughts?! This is bad!'
"Why is it bad? Speak." Muzan ordered with a snarl, his glare directed at the sole demon.
"I-I-I-"
Before he could think of anything, Muzan's arm morphed, turning into a giant, nightmarish red 'thing' made of flesh, with several mouths and eyes on it and lunged towards Lower Moon 6, catching him between its flesh and hoisting him in the air above the platform.
"Please, have mercy!" Kanamue begged, watching in horror as several fangs approached his body. "I didn't mean disrespect, I beg of you, mercy-!"
CRUNCH
With a sickening sound, Lower Moon 6 was devoured, his blood falling on the other Lower Moons and staining them and the platform.
"Does anyone else have something to say?" Muzan asked.
'Why? What did I do? I've done just as Kibutsuji-sama asked of me…'
'Am I gonna be killed?! After how much I struggled to get into the Twelve Moons?!'
'This can't be happening! Is he gonna kill us all?! I need to find a way to regain Kibutsuji-sama is favor!'
'Those screams were wonderful~'
Muzan is expression remained unchanged as he heard all of the remaining Lower Moon's thoughts.
"I'm thinking of dismantling the Lower Moons." He declared. "You have proved time and again that you're weak and have no value."
"Wh-Pleas wai-!"
"Silence!" Rokuro immediately did as ordered and looked down, his mind trying to come up with ways to 'regain his favor'. "However, I thought of a way to get rid of you that will be more beneficial to me than simply killing you outright."
Without any sort of sign or word, a cord was played and another demon appeared on the platform, a few feet to the left of the Lower Moons and kneeling in one knee, with black hair fading to orange and an orange kimono.
"As of this moment, all of the Lower Moons are to be tested." Without any more words, Muzan grew four appendages from his back, ending with a needle-like shape and stabbed all the Lower Moons in the neck.
"GAHHHHHHH!"
They all screamed in pain as they felt blood being injected.
"Only those that can adapt to the amount of blood I've just given you will be allowed the chance to redeem themselves." The first demon explained, completely ignoring their howls of pain. "After that, you will seek and kill one of the Pillars or the demon slayer with hanafuda-like earrings." He continued; not caring if they could actually listen through their screams. "Completing either of these tasks will earn you back the right to serve me, if any of you fail and still have the gall to show yourselves in front of me, I'll make sure you wish you died at the hands of one of those swordsmen."
Lower Moon 3 began to stand on one knee, his breath labored and coughing blood.
"I… I will do-gahhh!" Before he finished the sentence, his entire body convulsed. "Th-this is… GAHHH!" His right arm bloated and blood gushed out from it, the rest of his body soon followed until it, literally, melted, leaving only a puddle of blood in its place.
"So he couldn't adapt." Muzan said simply, completely unfazed.
…
"Hoh?" Muzan smiled slightly, except for Lower Moon 3, all the other Lower Moons had managed to survive.
"Ki… Kibutsuji… -sama." Rokuro spoke as he got his breathing under control. "May… may I speak?"
"You may."
"Thank you." He bowed, finally able to breath normally again. "I wish to ask, is there a time limit for us to achieve any of the tasks you have bestowed on us?"
"Four months. Any of you that has not fulfilled either of those tasks after that time, will be executed."
"May I ask one more thing?"
"That's Susamaru." He said after reading his mind, making the aforementioned lift her head and show her eyes, revealing the kanji for 'five' in her left one. "I named her Lower Moon 5 right after Rui died and thought it would be a waste to kill you all after naming a new member. She is under the same orders as all of you are." With that, he turned around. "Now go."
Several chords were played once more, forming an exit for Muzan while the ground beneath the Lower Moons shifted to an opened door and they all fell through it.
Four months until the Lower Moons are considered useless and are dismantled.
Two pair of hands moved, constantly getting in the other's way and trying to outmatch the other.
"Wow."
"Look at them go."
Zenitsu and Inosuke said as they saw Tanjiro and Kanao doing the reflex training, their arms looking like a blur to their eyes; the last time they saw them, Tanjiro wasn't even able to react but now he was going head to head with her.
A few seconds later, Kanao managed to raise a cup a moment faster than Tanjiro could block her.
"Stop!" Aoi called out, putting an end to their 'duel'.
"Phew, you're really fast Kanao." Tanjiro praised, sweat showing on his face from the exertion, unlike the girl that didn't look tired at all.
"You're tied at 10 wins each." Aoi said. "Do you want to call it for today?"
"I still have some energy, I'll go for a run." The Kamado answered before turning to his friends. "Are you coming with me?"
"While maintaining Total Concentration Breathing, right?" Zenitsu asked before suddenly being hit in the stomach by Tanjiro. "We have to maintain this the whole time…" The blond sighed, not affected by the hit.
"MONJIRO!" Inosuke yelled, lifting his shirt as to tell him 'hit me too'.
Zenitsu took him on the offer and hit him repeatedly in the stomach to no effect.
"I don't even feel it!"
"This muscle idiot." Zenitsu muttered.
"Come on, let's go." Tanjiro said as the three left. "Thank you for your help." He called out to the girls before they left the training hall.
It took some convincing from the Kamado but Inosuke and Zenitsu had started the recovery training once more after hearing Tanjiro managed to beat Kanao.
The red haired teen had tried to teach them how to use Total Concentration Breathing constant but his explanation was… poor.
It involved him saying things about how his lungs expand, how his bones go 'boom, boom' and how you have to stop them from doing that.
Neither Zenitsu or Inosuke could understand what he was talking about other than they had to 'put in a lot of effort', something the two admitted being bad at.
In the end, Shinobu chimed in and motivated them… first by telling Inosuke that is 'normal to use the breathing technique at all times but if he can't then that's it', he immediately answered with 'of course I can do it!', and then by telling Zenitsu to 'do his best, she is cheering him on', the blonde got really motivated after that.
It took them almost ten days but they managed to snatch a win from Kanao like Tanjiro had and now the three were training together to fully master the technique while waiting to be officially cleared for missions.
"Oh, I see you are training hard, Kamado!" The three stopped on their tracks and turned to the voice.
"Hm… Rengoku-san, right?" Tanjiro asked.
Standing at the garden of the Butterfly Estate was the Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyojuro.
"That's right, my name is Rengoku Kyojuro!" He said with a smile as he walked to the three. "Hmm, you three, you are learning to maintain Total Concentration Breathing at all times, aren't you?"
"That's right." Tanjiro nodded. "Ah, these are Inosuke and Zenitsu; this is the Flame Pillar, Rengoku-san." He introduced the three.
"…you are strong." Inosuke said.
"Thank you!" The man answered.
"Are you stronger than the girl with the fox mask?"
"Hm? The girl with… oh, you mean Makomo?"
"You know Makomo, Inosuke?" Tanjiro asked.
"So that's her name." The teen with the boar mask muttered.
"Makomo-san was the one that saved Inosuke from a demon and then made sure he didn't move until help arrived." Shinobu mentioned, walking up to the group. "It's nice to see you, Rengoku-san."
"Ah, Kocho, likewise!" Kyojuro nodded at her. "I wanted to see how Kamado is coming along with his recovery, it seems he still needs to rest a bit more."
"That's right, along with Inosuke-kun and Zenitsu-kun." Shinobu nodded. "I'd give them one more week before I can clear them for missions."
"I see, please send them over to my Estate once they've recovered!"
"To your Estate?" Tanjiro tilted his head to the side.
"Ah, that's right, I'm the one that is supposed to inform you!" The Flame Pillar said as if he suddenly remembered something. "After you left the Pillar Meeting it was decided that you, your sister and the younger Shinazugawa will be in a squad under my supervision."
"Eh, really?"
"Hm, really!" Kyojuro declared. "This is because a few of the Pillars weren't convinced that your sister won't become a danger for humans and so it was made as a compromise to keep an eye on her!"
"I… see." Tanjiro muttered. "Were you one of the people that weren't convinced, Rengoku-san?"
"Partially! I said I will give her the benefit of the doubt, which is why you were assigned to me!" The Pillar answered in his usual loud voice.
"I understand."
"DON'T WANNA!" Everyone flinched at the sudden scream and turned to Zenitsu.
"Z-Zenitsu?"
"DON'T WANNA! TANJIRO, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT ME UNTIL I MARRY NEZUKO-CHAN! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME TO DO YOUR OWN THING AFTER RUINING MY MARRIAGE!"
The Kamado could only sigh at this.
"Zenitsu, I'm really happy that you treat my sister like a human and I know you are someone that I can depend on when it counts."
"Tha… oh, hm… thanks."
"With that said; Nezuko is in no state to agree to any sort of relationship that would lead to a marriage-" The blond winced at this. "-and that girl from when we first met was very clearly upset and didn't want to have anything to do with you." He clutched his chest as if he was stabbed in the heart. "So please face reality and stop blaming me for something that didn't really happen."
"Ugh… the fact that I can't hear any malice from you makes it even harsher." Zenitsu muttered, his head hanged low.
"Oi, can I join that squad too?" Inosuke asked Rengoku, making everyone stare at him.
"Oh, you want to join?"
"Something tells me I'll be able to fight stronger enemies if I join it." Inosuke grinned. "And that you are someone that I want to beat."
"Oi, Inosuke, don't be rude."
"Hahaha!" Rengoku suddenly laughed. "I like your spirit! What's your name, young man?"
The teen crossed his arms in front of him and pointed at himself with both thumbs.
"Hashibira Inosuke! The king of the mountain!" He declared.
"Alright, if you have managed to master Total Concentration Breathing constant by the time you are cleared for duty, I'll let you join the squad!" Kyojuro answered.
"Eh, is that okay?" Tanjiro asked.
"Oyakata-sama said that I am free to choose more people to join the squad."
"That's great! Right, Inosuke?" The Kamado smiled.
"Then let me join too!" Zenitsu yelled, raising his right hand up to the sky. "I won't be separated from my Nezuko-chan again!"
"Hm, I don't mind, I'll put the same condition I put in young Hashibira!" The Flamer Pillar nodded.
"Alright, let's go! Kentaro! Monitsu!"
"Yeah!" For the first time, Zenitsu didn't try to correct him on his name, and the two ran off to train.
"It's Tanjiro!" The Kamado yelled. "We'll be going now, please excuse us." He said to the two Pillars before going after his friends.
"It seems you will have your hands full~" Shinobu said in a dry tone.
"Hm, it seems that way! But it's a good thing that they are lively!" Kyojuro answered earnestly with a grin. "Well, I better get going, see you later, Kocho!"
"Take care~." She answered as she saw him leave. 'Now then, I better make sure Inosuke-kun and Zenitsu-kun don't overdo it.'
For the next five days, the three continued their training so Inosuke and Zenitsu would be able to tie on wins against Kanao like Tanjiro.
"You're almost there Zenitsu!" Tanjiro cheered as the blond did the reflex training with Kanao.
The score for the day was five wins for Kanao and four for Zenitsu, if he managed to win this then he would have achieved their self-imposed objective.
Tanjiro had already gone against her earlier and tied like usual while Inosuke managed the tie for the first time.
Their hands continued to blur until Zenitsu tried to force it and grabbed the cup furthest away from both their hands, unfortunately, she managed to react in time and stop him from lifting it but they were now both in an awkward position to move again, making their next movement just a bit slower. That pause allowed Zenitsu to use his speed and grab a different cup, just before Kanao could manage to stop him.
"Yes!" He yelled. "I did it!" The blond jumped in the air. "Ah!" In his excitement, he forgot he had the cup in his hand so when he got up, the medicinal water flew upward and then splashed him on the way down.
"Kahahaha! Are you stupid, Genitsu?!" Inosuke mocked as he laughed.
"I don't want to hear that from you, boar head! And it's ZENITSU!"
"Now, now, let's just leave it at that." Tanjiro mediated.
"Congratulations for managing a tie against Kanao-san, you two." The caterpillars congratulated them.
"Do you want to try the gourds?" Kiyo asked.
"Maybe you can break the biggest ones now." Sumi added.
"Of course I can!" Inosuke boasted.
"We should give it a try but Shinobu-san said she wanted to give us another check-up after we're done with the recovery training for the day." The Kamado reminded them. "We'll go try the gourds after we see Shinobu-san." He said to the caterpillars.
"Alright, let's go!" Inosuke yelled before running off.
"There is no need to run…" Zenitsu mumbled as he said a quick goodbye and left the training hall.
"We'll see you later, thanks again for all your help." Tanjiro waved at the girls as he walked after his friends.
"The three are going to leave soon, right?" Naho asked a bit downcast.
"Yeah…" Aoi trailed off. "…Shinobu-san said it should be tomorrow or the day after, so how about we make a feast tonight?"
The three younger girls nodded with a smile before leaving the room.
"Can you handle the clean-up here, Kanao? I have to go hang the laundry to dry."
The Tsuguko nodded wordlessly and got up to begin her task.
"…see you later." Aoi said as she left to do her own tasks.
…
"Alright, say 'ah'." Shinobu said to Tanjiro as she held his chin.
The Kamado did as told and let her do her job.
"Alright, your jaw is healed, it seems you've made a full recovery, the demon you mentioned treated your wounds did a very good job." The Insect Pillar said as she let go of him.
"Yes, Tamayo-san is a very good doctor, thank you as well for following up on my condition."
"Don't mention it; I will clear you for missions tomorrow so you can go to Rengoku-san is Estate."
"I see, thank you very much. Ah, there was something I wanted to ask."
"What is it?"
"Do you know the 'Dance of the Fire God'?" He asked with an 'I'm sure she'll know something' look.
"Never heard of it." She said immediately.
"Eh…?" Tanjiro flinched in surprise, sure that she would have known something. "Then, what about the 'Breath of Fire'?"
"Never heard of that either."
"Ah… well… you see…"
Tanjiro explained how when fighting Rui, he remembered the dance his family has performed for generations and how he combined it with Total Concentration Breathing to avoid dying.
"I see… I'm sorry but I'm afraid I never heard of something like that." Shinobu said after hearing the whole story. "But maybe you should try and ask Rengoku-san when you go to his Estate, he uses the 'Breath of Flames' so he might know something."
"Is there a difference between calling it 'flames' and 'fire'?"
"I don't know all the details but it is very important to not confuse them; you must not call the 'Breath of Flames', 'Breath of Fire'."
"I see… I'll ask Rengoku-san when I see him then." Tanjiro got up. "Thank you for your help."
"Don't mention it, take care~. And please ask Zenitsu-kun to come in."
"Yes." He bowed before leaving the room and told Zenitsu, who was waiting his turn just outside, to go in. 'Alright, once Zenitsu finishes his check-up, we'll go and try to break the gourds; I'm sure we'll be able to this time.' His train of thought was interrupted when a crow landed in a nearby window.
"Caw Kamado Tanjiro, Hashibira Inosuke, your new swords are coming Caw" It said.
The Kamado smiled and quickly went to look for his friend, finding him at the training hall, balancing on top of a broom, while said broom was balanced on top of a gourd.
"Inosuke! Inosuke!" The teen turned to look at him while still balancing. "Our new swords are coming today!"
"Really?!"
"Yes, a crow just told me." As if on cue, Tanjiro's nose caught a familiar scent. "That's Haganezuka-san is scent, let's go!"
"Woohoo!" The Hashibira jumped to the floor and the two began to jog to the entrance.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Tanjiro cheered.
The two reached the entrance of the Butterfly Estate and noticed two figures walking on the road, Haganezuka and another man with a Hyottoko mask, black hair and a pale robe with a black haori.
"Ah, Haganezuka-san!" The red haired teen waved his hand. "It's been a while! How have… you… bee… EH?!" The swordsmith had taken out a knife and ran towards him, trying to stab him.
Tanjiro had barely managed to move out of the way from the surprise.
"Ha-Haganezuka-san?!"
"How dare you break my sword?!" The swordsmith roared. "How dare you?!" Tanjiro knows that is shouldn't be possible, but he could have sworn the eyes of the swordsmith's mask glowed red and a strange aura suddenly surrounded him for a second.
"I-I'm sorry about that but my opponent was really strong so…"
"No, it's your fault." Haganezuka interrupted, poking him with his finger at each word. "Everything is your fault, if you were stronger then my sword wouldn't have broken." He stopped the poking and prepared his knife once more. "I'll kill you!" He bellowed with tears in his eyes.
"AH! Please stop!" Tanjiro said as he dodged him.
It took an hour until the swordsmith stopped trying to kill the Kamado, he was still berating and poking him, though.
Now; Tanjiro, Inosuke, Haganezuka and the man that came with him were all sitting in a room next to the garden in the Butterfly Estate.
"Please excuse him, Haganezuka just loves swords more than anyone." The other masked man explained. "Ah, my name is Kanamori, I'm the one who forged Inosuke-dono is swords." He explained as the aforementioned took the swords from their package and held them.
They quickly changed color in his hands.
"Beautiful, aren't they? The dull sheen of that indigo-gray hue is so cool. It's a fine color for a sword." Kanamori said calmly, ignoring how Haganezuka continued to poke Tanjiro and how the boy ignored the poking.
"I'm happy for you, Inosuke, your old swords were chipped all over." Tanjiro mentioned.
Inosuke stared at the blades in silence.
"Is the grip alright? This is the first time I've made dual blades so…"
The teen with the boar mask got up, swords still in hand, and walked to a pond in the middle of the garden, surrounded by rocks.
"Inosuke-dono?" Kanamori asked.
"Ha!" The swordsman grabbed a rock and began to hit the blade with it.
"AAAAHHHHH?!" The other three yelled.
The dual wielder ignored them and continued to hit the blade until it was chipped like his old one.
"Better."
"I'll kill you, you miserable BRAT!"
"Sorry!"
"You bastard! Are you flaunting it?!"
"Sorry! We're so sorry!" Tanjiro yelled as he held Kanamori back.
Inosuke stared for a second.
"Ha!" And then did the same with the second sword.
"BASTARD! THAT'S IT! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"
"WE'RE SORRY!" Tanjiro yelled, hoping to be heard over the man's screams.
In the end, Kanamori left far more enraged than Haganezuka, constantly repeating how 'he can't believe Inosuke did that' as the two swordsmith left the Estate while Tanjiro and Inosuke saw them off and the former continued to bow and apologize for his friend.
"I don't get it, what's his problem?" Inosuke asked once the two swordsmiths were no longer seen.
"Inosuke, you purposely broke the swords he made for you."
"I didn't break them, I just made them how I like them."
"…could you specify that so Kanamori-san can make those… modifications himself next time?"
"Hah?! Why does it matter who gets to make them?!"
Tanjiro let out a sigh and hung his head.
"Alright… let me put it this way, how would you feel if you just finished fighting a demon, then someone came along and told you 'that's not how you do it, it should be like this', even though you managed to defeat it?"
"I would teach the jerk that said that a lesson!" The dual wielder declared, crossing his arms.
"That's how Kanamori-san feels, he worked hard on those swords only for you to essentially say 'they're wrong'."
The Hashibira stared at the red haired teen for a few seconds.
Tanjiro could almost imagine the thoughtful expression hidden behind his boar mask.
"…huh."
"Just think about it." He said before walking back inside. 'The sun is about to set… I'll go visit Nezuko.'
…
The younger Kamado had been resting in the room the Butterfly Estate lent her since they arrived.
'She probably won't wake up since she is recovering but….' Tanjiro frowned as he walked to her room. 'I have to tell her that we will be leaving tomorrow… I guess, worst case scenario, I'll have to wake her tomorrow so she goes inside her box; I have to thank Aoi-san again for fixing it.'
As he thought that, Tanjiro arrived to his sister's room and quietly opened the door, like he expected, she was lying on the bed, sleeping.
'I guess I'll have to wake her tomorrow after all.' Tanjiro sighed and walked forward and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I know you must be sleeping to recover your stamina but it does worry me if you don't open your eyes once in a while." He said, his eyes looking at the ground, and making sure to keep his voice low. "We'll be leaving this place tomorrow and go to Rengoku-san is Estate, we'll probably get more dangerous missions if we're going to be with a Pillar. I'm already healed and I've gotten a little stronger, too. And I'm still doing Total Concentration, Constant right now." He smiled. "Zenitsu and Inosuke said they'll come with us, too, it's reassuring to know that and Genya will probably meet us at Rengoku-san is Estate; I'm sure he is gotten stronger since training with another Pillar." The older Kamado waited for a few seconds but there was no response. "You think so, too, Nezuko? They're really good guys… I'm going to ask them if they can help me collect blood to turn you back into a human before we go into battle again." His expression turned thoughtful. "To turn you back into a human, I have to defeat strong demons and send their blood to Tamayo-san…" He trailed off there. 'Am I capable of doing that?'
'I know you can do it, Onii-chan.'
"Eh?" His eyes widened and he turned around to look at his sister; she was still laying there, her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face. "Thanks, Nezuko. You just encouraged me, didn't you?" He smiled. "I'll try my hardest."
Knock knock.
"Hm?" He turned to the door and saw Sumi peek inside. "Is something wrong?"
"I was looking for you, dinner is ready." She answered quietly.
"I see, I'll be right there."
She nodded and closed the door again.
"I'll come pick you up in the morning, sleep well, Nezuko."
At Kagaya's home.
The Ubuyashiki family had just finished dinner and the children had retreated to their rooms to rest while Kagaya and Amane moved to the porch and sat down to enjoy the night breeze.
"How is the moon tonight?" Kagaya asked.
"It's full." Amane answered. "It looks beautiful."
"I'm sure it does." He said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Sorry for delaying the conversation, I just wanted a moment to gather my thoughts."
"I don't mind at all." She squeezed his hand. "Have you reached a decision?"
"…yes and no."
"That's unusual." Amane mentioned with a small grin.
"You know it's not that strange." Kagaya answered with a chuckle. "Tamayo-san is letter… I can see a lot of good that can come from it if we accept her offer but I can also see a lot of bad." His wife remained quiet waiting for him to continue with a thoughtful expression. "Creating a cure for demons… it sounds almost too good to be true."
"Do you think she is lying about it?"
"No, I believe she is telling the truth, but the issue isn't whether or not she is lying."
"Then?"
"It's how the swordsmen will react to it." Amane frowned at this. "A lot of them lost family to demons, had family turn into one or have a deeply rooted hate for them for reasons of their own." Kagaya smiled a sad smile. "If I were to tell them to 'collect demons' blood in order to create a cure for them', I'm certain there would be backlash, even if we try to explain that demons aren't inherently evil and the one that should be blamed is Kibutsuji Muzan, it won't be accepted just like that."
"The corps has operated on the premise of 'kill any demons on sight' for many generations, after all."
"Exactly, even if we were to consider that they will, eventually, come to accept the idea and a cure is made, that brings another issue; will our members start to try and use the medicine on every demon they encounter? I'm sure most, if not all, demons, with the exception of Nezuko and Tamayo-san, don't wish for a cure and would choose to stay as a demon if given the choice."
"Not to mention the risk of attempting to capture a demon instead of simply killing it." Amane added. "The Final Selection only has low level demons for that reason as well, it's not so simple to capture them."
"Indeed; and that's not counting the reaction the Pillars would have."
"I'm sure they would respect your wishes."
"I am certain they will but I am also certain a number of them will not like it and would refuse to participate; and I have no intention of forcing them."
"…so what will you do?"
"For now… I think it would be a good idea to wait; once Nezuko is position as an ally is more wide-spread and accepted among the corps, I will bring this up." Kagaya confided. "In the meantime, I will talk with the Pillars one-on-one and ask if they would be willing to collect demon blood to create a cure, but only them; I can't bring myself to put the other swordsmen at risk when just defeating a demon is dangerous enough."
"That seems like a good course of action for now." Amane nodded her agreement. "Should I prepare a letter to be send to Tamayo-san?"
"Yes, let's write it tomorrow." He said before getting up. "But for now, let's go to sleep." He extended his hands towards her.
Amane smiled and took it before getting up and guiding him to their room.
The next morning at the Butterfly Estate.
"Nezuko, Nezuko." Tanjiro gently shook his sister to wake her up. "We have to go soon, can you get inside the box, please?"
She opened her eyes slightly and smiled at him under the muzzle before doing as told, groggily getting up and changing to her smaller form as she got in the box.
"I'll pick you up in a few minutes, I just have to go say goodbye to everyone before we leave." He saw her nod before closing the door.
Tanjiro left the room and went to look for the members of the Butterfly Estate, Shinobu said she would be out yesterday when everyone had dinner together so he had already said goodbye to her and the Caterpillars mentioned that they will prepare rice balls for them to take before they leave so that only left Aoi and Kanao.
He found the former at the garden, bringing down the clothes she had put to dry yesterday.
"Aoi-san!" The Kamado called out.
"Tanjiro-san." She greeted back. "Is something the matter?"
"We're about to leave so I wanted to thank you for everything."
"Is that so? It was only a short time, but I'm glad we got to spend it together. Please do your best." She turned back to the clothes. "Take care."
"Really thank you so much for looking out for us when you're so busy! Thanks to you, we can go back into battle." The red haired teen said happily.
"…"
'Hm? Did I say something weird?'
"No need to thank me." Aoi spoke quietly, her eyes fixed on the clothes. "After all, I survived the Final Selection only by luck." She clenched her fists. "And then I was too afraid to go into battle. I'm a coward."
"That doesn't matter." Tanjiro remarked. "You helped me recover my strength, you're a part of me now. And I'm carrying all of your emotions with me to the battlefield!"
"Eh?"
"Look after me if I get hurt again, okay?" With another smile, he waved at her, turned around and left.
While Aoi stared at his back with wide eyes.
…
Like many other times when she has free time, Kanao was sitting at the back of the Butterfly Estate and watching the garden.
"Ah! There you are! Kanao!" She heard a voice calling out her attention and saw Tanjiro walking towards her. "We're heading out now. Thanks for everything!"
"…"
"…"
The girl with the side ponytail turned to him with her usual small smile, not saying a word.
'Wasn't that all he wanted to say?' She wondered. 'Maybe he is expecting me to say something?' Her eyes then noticed the boy's nervous frown and the way his right hand began to scratch his cheek. 'Then…' She moved her right hand to a pocket of her uniform and retrieved her coin. 'If it lands 'tails', I'll talk with him, if it's 'heads', I won't.'
"Hm? What's that?" Tanjiro asked.
Wordlessly, she flipped the coin in the air, carefully eyeing it in doing so.
She made it spin a few times before it fell back down and she caught it on the back of her hand.
'Tails.' Kanao could tell even before she moved her hand to reveal that the result, as she had predicted, was indeed 'tails'.
"All I did was follow the Master's orders. There is no need for you to thank me. Farewell." Kanao spoke in a clear, light tone.
Tanjiro smiled widely, this being the first time he actually heard her voice.
"What was that you just flipped?" He asked, elated.
"Farewell." Kanao repeated.
"Money? It says 'heads' and 'tails', huh? Why did you flip it?" Tanjiro asked further as he sat down next to her.
"Farewell."
"You really made it twirl around!"
'…the coin landed on 'tails' so I'll speak.' Kanao thought, realizing that he won't leave yet.
"I flip this to decide what I haven't been ordered to do." She began to explain while looking at her coin. "I just decided whether or not to speak to you. 'Don't speak' was heads, and 'speak' was tails. It came out tails so I spoke to you." She looked back at him. "Farewell."
'That explanation should suffice.'
"Why don't you decide for yourself?" Tanjiro asked, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "What did you want to do, Kanao?"
"It doesn't matter." Kanao answered. "Nothing matters to me, so I can't decide for myself."
"I don't think there is anything in this world that doesn't matter." The Kamado replied with a smile before frowning, closing his eyes in thought. "I guess, the voice of your heart is really tiny."
'The voice of my heart?' She repeated in her mind.
"Sure, following orders is important, but…" The red haired teen opened his eyes and smacked his palm with his fist. "Hey, can I borrow that for a second?"
"Eh, yes." Kanao nodded with a confused expression on her features as she handed him her coin.
"Thanks!" Tanjiro got up and moved to the middle of the garden. "Okay! Let's toss this to decide!"
"Decide what?"
"Whether or not, you're going to listen to the voice of your heart from now on!" He declared before flipping the coin in the air. "Ah, I flipped it too high! Heads! Let's make it heads! If it comes up heads, Kanao, you're going to follow your heart!" Tanjirou exclaimed, his eyes still on the twirling coin up in the air.
'What? Is that… possible?' She pondered, then a sudden gust of wind blew, making her close her eyes.
"Huh? Where did it go?" Tanjiro fretted, having lost sight of the coin when the wind blew. "Oh, is that it?" He took a few steps back and managed to catch the coin in the back of his hand. "Got it! Got it! Kanao!"
The girl blinked a few times, confused at his jovial tone.
"Ready, Kanao?" Tanjiro asked, walking to her and moving his hand to reveal the result.
'Which is it?' She wondered, unaware of how nervous she felt. 'His back was in the middle so I couldn't see the moment it fell.'
Tanjiro revealed the coin and.
"It's heads!" He yelled happily, jumping and throwing his hands in the air. "Kanao!" Tanjiro called out, moving the hand with the coin to her.
'Why… does he look so happy?'
As Kanao moved her hand to receive the coin, suddenly it was clasped by both of his hands tightly.
"Good luck!"
"Eh?!"
"It's the heart that drives people." He declared with a wide smile. "So, your heart can grow as strong as you want it to!"
"A-ah…"
"All right! See you again someday!" Tanjiro released her hand and began to walk away.
When Kanao looks back on this interaction, she will realize that she did something very strange.
It was all strange to begin with.
She already decided to speak to him with the help of her coin, but that was just to answer his questions. What's strange, however, is that she never expected that this interaction would go further to... this, whatever it may be. She didn't have any intention of talking more, nor asking questions of her own. Even if she did, normally, she would flip her coin before saying more.
"H-how did you make it land on heads?!" But instead, she called out to him involuntarily.
Tanjiro stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her.
'I saw his hand when he flipped it. I'm sure he didn't cheat.'
"Just by chance." Tanjiro mused. "And if it was tails, I was going to toss it up over and over until it came up heads!" He gave her a radiant grin, tinging his words with mirth.
Ba-dump
'Eh?'
"Take care!" Tanjiro waved her goodbye before leaving.
'What… is this?' She gazed at her coin and then held it close with her two palms above her heart. 'This feeling… it's… warm…' She pondered as she sat back down.
Kanao wouldn't be able to understand it for now but, for a moment, she felt like she found something precious, something important within her that had been lost a long time ago.
It felt like a reunion, like something, or someone, returned this to her.
"Kanao-san! Shinobu-sama is calling for you!"
"Ah!" In her stupor, she lost her balance and fell forward to the ground.
"Are you alright?!" Kiyo asked worriedly.
And done!
-happy sigh- I love the coin scene.
Funnily enough, it's because I love that scene so much that I had a very, VERY, hard time writing it. I wanted to make it as good as I possibly can.
I want to thank sparkles_writes again for giving me their input on it and marchioness_elizabeth for proofreading it; they really helped a lot in having this ready.
I invite you to read their stories in AO3 if you're interested, they're very good~
By the way; I actually made an 'alternate' coin scene, that has Tanjiro flipping the coin many times like he said he would, I wasn't sure which one to put in the story so I just wrote both to see if it helped me decide, I went with the 'canon' coin scene, as you can see, but I was wondering if you'd want to see the alternate version.
If people say yes, I will probably post it as a different story.
Anyway, just wanted to ask.
As always, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a comment!
Also; THERE ARE MORE TANKANA MOMENTS IN THE EXTRA PAGES FROM THE FINAL VOLUME, YES!
Until next time!
PS: I will be putting this announcement at the end of all the chapters for this story and the end of my one-shots; feel free to skip it if you've already seen it or aren't interested.
ANNOUNCEMENT
I made a discord server for TanKana; if you're interested in joining, please send me a PM at my account (Manu259) or the twitter account 'TanKana Estate ( TankanaW)'
It has grown quite a bit since I made it and I'm sure you will enjoy it if you like the TanKana pairing.
Plus, you get to go there and ask me how the next chapter is coming along! Hahaha.
END OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
