The Flame Estate

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Guest review answer corner.

Guest: Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

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Before we begin, there is something important I wish to say.

(In AO3 this story has the Zenitsu/Nezuko tag, please keep that in mind as you read this next part)

Some of you may or may not have noticed that the Zenitsu/Nezuko tag is no longer among the pairing tags for this story.

There is nothing definitive yet but I am strongly considering the idea of Genya/Nezuko.

The original plan was to have ZenNezu but the more I added Genya to the story the more I began to think 'but what if Genya and Nezuko…' so now I'm considering which route I'll go.

Once again, there is NOTHING definitive yet but, in case I do choose to go the GenyaxNezuko route, I wanted to be upfront about it and say it now instead of blindsiding everyone.

I also wish to apologize to everyone; I am aware that making a change like this (if I do indeed go the GenyaxNezuko route) may make some of you upset and you have every right to be, I won't make excuses about it, my plan for the story simply (may) have changed, if you don't like said change, I respect your opinion.

While I enjoy getting comments as much as everyone, writing fics is something I do for fun; if I try to force myself to write one thing when I want to write something else then I won't enjoy it and it would lead me to me just not wanting to write anymore; and I don't want that to happen.

Just to clarify, IF I do end up going the GenyaxNezuko route, Zenitsu WON'T be side-lined as a character or lose importance in the story, he is still an important part of KnY and, in my opinion, a good character.

That's it, like I said before, I just wanted to be upfront about it, thank you for reading.

With all that said, I leave you with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.

On with the chapter.


"Stop it already, Inosuke!" Zenitsu yelled as he dodged the aforementioned is charge. "Kiyo-chan, Naho-chan and Sumi-chan made these rice balls for the three of us, it's not my fault you already finished your share!"

"I'm still hungry so give me yours!" The masked teen bellowed, preparing to charge again.

"NO! These are my rice balls!" He held the box with food away from him as he dodged again.

"You two…" Tanjiro shook his head as he looked at the scene. 'I already offered Inosuke some of mine but he seems determined to steal them from Zenitsu for some reason.'

"Give them to me!"

"No!"

'I better stop them before things get out of hand… hmm?' Just as he thought that, his nose caught a familiar scent, he stopped walking and turned around, seeing someone with a purple yukata top and what he recognized as the corps' uniform. "Genya!" The teen called out, waving his hand.

The other teen looked up from the book he was reading and saw the three ahead of them, his eyes widening for a second before he smiled, he put the book away in a pocket and picked up the pace to join the others.

"Hey, Tanjiro, it's been a while." He greeted.

"Likewise, how did your training with Himejima-san go?"

"Great, actually, I learned something very useful."

"Ah, it's scar-face!" Inosuke chimed in, looking at him even while he had his right hand on Zenitsu's hair and was trying to get the box with food while the blonde was keeping it away in one hand and his left one on his mask, pushing him away.

"It's Genya." He answered. "Wait… what are you two doing here?"

"They're joining Rengoku-san is squad along with us." Tanjiro answered. "Oh, did Himejima-san tell you about it?"

"Not him, but Rengoku-san came to visit one day and told me about it, a crow came yesterday saying that you would be going to his Estate today and that I should go as well."

"I see, Rengoku-san also came to the Butterfly Estate and told me about it; Inosuke and Zenitsu asked him to join the squad that day." Tanjiro explained. "Ah, let's keep talking while we walk, we don't want to make him wait too long."

"True." Genya nodded before looking at the other two who had started to fight over the food once more. "…what are they doing by the way?" He whispered to the Kamado.

"I'll tell you while we walk, don't worry, they will keep pace with us even while they fight."

"Alright."

"I will get those rice balls from you, Monitsu!"

"It's Zenitsu! And no, you won't!"

"Rice balls?" Genya raised an eyebrow.

"The girls at the Butterfly Estate made them for us before leaving." Tanjiro began. "Inosuke already ate his share and now he is trying to steal some from Zenitsu." He looked into the box and took out one rice ball. "Here, would you like one?"

"Thanks." He took the offered food and took a bite, his eyes widened. "This is delicious!"

"Right?" Tanjiro smiled as he took a bite of another rice ball. "I will have to thank them once more when we see them again."

"I'll do the same." Genya nodded as he finished the rice ball. "So what happened after I left? Did you manage to master Total Concentration Breathing?"

"I did!" The red haired teen beamed. "It wasn't easy but being able to focus solely on training helped a lot, I feel like I'm a lot stronger than before."

"Give me the food!"

"I said no!"

The two ignored those yells as they continued to walk.

"What about you, Genya? How was training with Himejima-san?"

"It was…" The taller teen trailed off with a frown.

"Something wrong?"

"No, just… let's say that his training is effective but he is not the best at teaching others." He settled for that answer. "It did help, though…"

"What is it?"

"Hey, Tanjiro, would you mind if we arm-wrestle?"

"Eh? I don't mind, but why?"

"I just want to check something."

"…alright." Tanjiro smiled and nodded. "Let's get off the road and try." He looked back at his other two friends. "We're gonna stop here for a second!"

The two didn't show any signs of hearing him but their 'game' of cat and mouse continued while they remained around the same area.

"Alright, let's do this."

Tanjiro and Genya lay down on the ground in front of the other and grabbed the other's right hand to prepare.

"Who should give the signal?"

"You do it." Genya answered.

"Ok." He consciously took a deep breath and prepared. 'Hm?' Before he could say anything, he noticed Genya muttering something to himself. 'Strange…' Mentally shrugging, he focused back on their match. "Ready… go!"

The two began to try and overpower the other and, after a few seconds, Tanjiro started to win out; slowly, Genya is arm began to fall to the right until it finally touched the ground.

"Tch, damn, I thought it would happen but still…" He muttered before shrugging. "Thanks for indulging me, Tanjiro."

"…that training really paid off, didn't it?" The red haired teen said with a smile as he got up and offered a hand to help him. "You made me struggle even when I can use Total Concentration Breathing, constant; that's amazing."

"Heh, thanks." Genya answered as he accepted the help and got up.

"What was that?! I want to do it too!" Inosuke suddenly appeared next to the two. "Oi, Gunya, let's do that arm thing!"

"It's Genya and I only wanted to check something."

"Come on! I will fight both you and Jonjoro at the same time!"

"It's Tanjiro." The Kamado corrected. "And we shouldn't make Rengoku-san wait any longer, we can arm-wrestle after we get to his Estate, alright?"

"Tch, fine! But don't think you can escape!" The masked teen turned around. "Let's go, Pig Assault!" And began to run down the road.

"He has no attention span." Zenitsu said as he walked to the two. "At least he didn't get my rice balls." He muttered the last part.

"Let's go! Oh, and I want to ask about your training with Himejima-san if that's okay, Genya."

"Sure, I'm curious about your training at the Butterfly Estate as well."

The four, after Inosuke ran back so he could 'guide them as the leader' (something that started another argument with Zenitsu) walked the rest of the way while exchanging stories of their training and missions.


"So this is the place." Tanjiro thought out loud as the Flame Estate came into view.

Much like the Butterfly Estate, it's a spacious mansion-like house with an outer wall separating its garden from the rest of the area and the house proper in the center of the terrain.

At a first glance, the only real difference the red haired swordsman could tell was that there seemed to be less trees and the scent of medicine didn't come from it unlike the Insect Pillar's home.

After taking a moment to stare, the four resumed their walk towards the entrance of the house.

Standing there with a broom was what looked like a small version of the Flame Pillar, same hair and eye color, although his expression didn't match the swordsman Tanjiro and the others met; he is wearing a white yukata with grey hakama pants.

"Ah." The kid said when he saw them. "You must be the people my brother told me about." He fidgeted for a moment before bowing. "My name is Rengoku Senjuro, I'm Kyojuro is younger brother."

"…how can that guy's brother look so small and frail?"

"Oi!" Tanjiro immediately hit Inosuke on the top of his head with a chop after that comment.

"What the hell, Gonpachiro?!"

"Sorry about that." He apologized to Senjuro, ignoring his friend's outburst.

"D-don't worry about it." Senjuro assured them. "My brother told me about the squad and asked me to take you to him when you arrive; please, follow me." He gestured to the house before walking inside, the others following him.

Like Tanjiro had suspected, the inside looked a lot like the Butterfly Estate, only real difference being the garden didn't have nearly as many flowers and it was smaller by comparison.

It was still a very large house but it clearly wasn't doubling as an 'unofficial hospital'.

The inside was tidy, with no obvious spots of dust or dirt on the walls or the floor.

"The place looks really clean." Genya said to fill the silence.

"Thank you, I try to help out by keeping it that way." Senjuro smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I'm sure your parents appreciate the help." Tanjiro added with a smile of his own; only to frown when he saw the kid flinch. "What's wrong?"

"Ah… my mother died a few years ago…" He mumbled, averting his eyes.

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, you didn't know, it's been a long time."

"What about your dad?" Zenitsu asked next.

And once again, Senjuro flinched.

"Ah… i-is he…?"

"Oh, no, he is alive." He quickly assured the blond. "Ah, we're here." Turing towards a door, Senjuro knocked loudly. "Brother, your squad members are here."

There was the sound of footsteps from the other side before the door was suddenly slid open, revealing the Flame Pillar in his uniform, minus the haori.

"Thank you, Senjuro!" Kyojuro said in his usual boisterous tone.

"Don't mention it, I still have a few things to do so I'll leave you to it." The younger Rengoku smiled and bowed to the four before walking back the way they came.

"Come on in, you four! There are a few things we need to talk about!" Kyojuro prompted them to step through the door, they all complied and entered what looked like a training hall, a few wooden swords were resting on a rack on the walls, one of them missing and held on the oldest swordsman's right hand, tatami floor covering all of the room and a door on the opposite side that led to the garden of the Estate. "Sit down, I'll explain what we'll be doing!"

The four did as told, sitting in a line in front of the Pillar.

"We all know each other so I'll skip the presentations and explain why you're here; the main reason for forming this squad was because of a compromise Oyakata-sama proposed since there were still Pillars wary of Kamado's sister is existence." His smile had disappeared as he said this and stared directly at the red haired teen. "I was chosen to supervise you because, while I'm still wary of her, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt."

"I understand." Tanjiro said before frowning in thought. "But… if it was only to keep an eye on Nezuko, why not just ask the two of us to come here? I understand that Genya was already included in the squad and you accepted to let Inosuke and Zenitsu join."

"It's because the Corps needs to keep an eye on them as well." Kyojuro answered as he turned to Genya. "Shinazugawa here has a strange ability that I don't think anyone ever heard of." He then turned to Inosuke and Zenitsu. "And your friends knew of Kamado Nezuko's existence but kept quiet about it; they would have been sent back to missions with a higher ranked demon slayer so they can keep an eye on them had they not asked to join my squad."

Genya frowned, Zenitsu looked away and Inosuke titled his head.

"I see…" Tanjiro trailed off.

"If there are no more questions, I will continue to explain what we will do." After a few seconds, no one said anything. "As part of the squad system, Oyakata-sama proposed the idea of Pillars having a squad of their own that they can train in order to further lower the casualty rates!" Koyjuro exclaimed, his smile back in place.

"Eh, what do you mean?" Zenitsu asked.

"In simple terms, you will go to missions alongside me." The smile was still in place but his tone was deadly serious for the next sentence. "Missions that require a Pillar is presence are without a doubt the most dangerous in the Corps, this will allow you to gain experience and improve; then one day you will go to other squads or even lead your own and help those gain experience and improve, then the members of those squads will go to other squads and so on."

The four stayed quiet for a moment after the explanation.

"Heck yeah!"

"NOOO!"

Until Inosuke and Zenitsu broke it.

"I'm gonna get so much stronger, next time I'll teach that fox girl!"

"I don't want to go to more dangerous missions!"

"You two, calm down!" Tanjiro called out, raising his hands in a placating gesture to try and get them to calm down.

"We still need to hear him out!" Genya added.

"Before we go to any missions, though!" Kyojuro's voice cut through Inosuke is celebration and Zenitsu is whines, earning everyone's attention once more. "Oyakata-sama gave me a week without missions in order for me to assess your strength." He raised his right hand and gestured to the swords hanging on the wall. "Kocho told me that you three have learned Total Concentration Breathing constant and Himejima-san told me a bit of Shinazugawa is training; for the next week, you will fight me in order for me to get a grasp of your strength."

"Eh?! No way! No way! You're a Pillar, there is no way we can win!" Zenitsu shook his head repeatedly.

"Shut up, Monitsu! You won't know that unless we fight!"

"I'm not telling you to defeat me, I just want to get a grasp of your strength!" The Flame Pillar answered before his smile disappeared once more. "But, if I find your strength lacking, then I'll have no choice but to dismiss you from the squad."

That got the four to stay silent.

"Kamado and Shinazugawa are to stay in my squad so I can supervise them so I can't dismiss them but I won't let you go on any missions unless I deem your strength acceptable."

Tanjiro flinched.

'I can't collect blood if I don't go on missions!'

"Oyakata-sama gave me a week without missions in order to gauge your skill and prepare." He stood to his feet. "Come at me!"

"Let's do this!" Inosuke smirked under his mask and quickly ran to the rack of swords.

"Dismissed… won't be… with Nezuko-chan…" Zenitsu gulped but slowly made his way to the wooden swords to grab one as well.

Genya took a deep breath and followed after them.

Tanjiro had moved to one corner of the room and let Nezuko on the ground.

"…I'll turn you back into a human as soon as possible." He smiled before doing the same as his friends and grabbing a wooden sword.

"Good! I like your resolve!" Kyojuro bellowed as he prepared his own sword. "Show me what you've got!"

As soon as those words left his mouth Inosuke charged, jumping in the air with his two wooden swords poised to strike, he brought them down to strike-

And suddenly went flying past the other three, rolling on the ground a few times before stopping.

"…huh?" The teen mumbled, looking at the ceiling of the training hall, a baffled expression under his mask.

'What did just…?' Tanjiro, Genya and Zenitsu all thought at the same time as they looked behind them.

"What's wrong?!" Kyojuro's voice brought them back to their senses. "I told you to show me what you've got!" He repeated, pointing his weapon at them.

He was still smiling but the pressure he suddenly exuded was almost enough to freeze them in place.

'It's true, he did tell us that.' Tanjiro took a deep breath and steeled himself. 'I couldn't see the moment when Inosuke got thrown back but it's safe to say he was countered, then…' Holding his sword with one hand, he moved his right foot back and held the sword with the tip pointing at the Flame Pillar. 'I'll go with speed; Water Breathing, Seventh Form, Piercing Rain Drop!'

Tanjiro dashed forward, quickly closing the distance between the two.

He fainted the thrust towards Rengoku's face but moved the strike towards his left leg at the last second, hoping to catch him off guard.

Kyojuro lifted his leg and stepped down, trapping his sword.

"Wha-?!" Before he could recover from the surprise, he felt something hit the side of his face and was sent flying to the side; his sword still on his hand as Kyojuro had lifted his leg again the moment after the impact.

Just as Tanjiro was sent flying, Genya appeared behind the Pillar, having moved after his friend in the hopes of catching the swordsman off-guard.

He swung his sword in an horizontal slash aimed at Rengoku's neck only for it to be blocked when he moved his sword in the middle, holding it with the tip to the ground, and then moving it up to break the Shinazugawa is balance before turning around and striking his chest with the palm of his left hand; sending him flying like the other two before.

"Bastard!" Inosuke yelled as he charged after recovering from the first counter, this time aiming at Kyojuro's legs with his swords. "Ugh-!" He never even managed to start his move as the Pillar struck him with a downward slash to his back, making him crash on the ground with a loud 'thud!'

"You! The one with the blond hair!" Zenitsu flinched when he was called out. "Why haven't you joined on the attack?!" Kyojuro bellowed.

"B-but-"

"If you're not going to fight then leave."

Zenitsu flinched again, taking one step back.

"Ha!" Then he saw Tanjiro come from the side and attack again, this time with a different technique that was once again easily parried. "Zenitsu! There is no need to rush! Wait until you find an opening and then strike!" The red haired teen called out, attempting to feint a horizontal slash and turning it into an upwards one that was, just as before, easily parried.

"Your style is better suited for that anyway, isn't it?!" Inosuke called after Tanjiro, attacking him from the opposite side of Tanjiro.

'My style… I can only do one thing…' Zenitsu thought downcast.

"I know you can do it!"

"Eh?" Tanjiro's words cut through his self-deprecating thoughts. '…they believe in me.' Zenitsu thought. 'When I hear those types of words, they usually don't match the sound I hear coming from the person but these two… they're not lying.' He was still trembling and he still felt reluctant to attack but, for the first time since his time training (and without being asleep), Zenitsu felt like swinging his sword.

Kyojuro attempted to send Tanjiro flying with a horizontal strike but, luckily for the Kamado, it was aimed at his forehead; he was still caught off guard by the sudden strike but managed to brace himself and just take a step back instead of being sent flying like before.

The Flame Pillar's eyes widened slightly and Inosuke is attack from his blind spot forced him to take the first step since the battle began, moving back to avoid the hit.

Genya had prepared and was poised to strike him from behind but Kyojuro turned around and parried his sword.

He was about to follow-up with another strike when he suddenly turned around once more, his left hand shot out and caught Zenitsu's arm in the middle of his quick-draw motion.

"Wha-?!"

The Flame Pillar then turned around once more, hitting Genya with Zenitsu and sending the two crashing against a wall.

Not wanting to give him time to recover, Tanjiro and Inosuke attacked from above and below respectively; the former with an overhead strike and the latter by swinging both his swords like scissors against his legs to break his balance.

Kyojuro stabbed his sword on the ground right in the middle of Inosuke's swords and took a step forward to then move his left hand up and stop Tanjiro's swing.

He then grabbed the Kamado's arm and threw him down to hit Inosuke, to then move his sword in an upward slash and send the two flying back.

'Hmm… not bad at all.' The Flame Pillar thought with a smile, although it looked the same as the smile he is almost always seen with. 'They attacked me from several directions and tried to continuously attack me to overwhelm me.'

As he thought that, the four boys moved to their feet.

"Good resolve!" He repeated his earlier words. "Let's keep going!"

The four didn't need to be told twice before lunging again.

'He is so strong.' Tanjiro thought as he used the wooden sword to help him stay on his feet.

Zenitsu was sprawled on the floor near a wall, saying something about 'my bones must be broken' in a surprisingly quiet voice; it's possible he is so exhausted he can't even manage his usual volume.

Genya is on his knees, his arms wobbling as he tries to get up and his wooden sword a few feet away after the Flame Pillar disarmed him.

Inosuke seems to be the only one standing on his feet although, if his ragged breath and the way he seems to struggle to take a single step is any indication, he is no condition to fight anymore and it's just stubbornness that's stopping him from falling face first to the ground.

"Hm, you all pass!" Kyojuro declared.

"Eh?"

Everyone looked up in surprise.

Rengoku Kyojuro had handled them all with so much ease it was almost absurd; he had continuously dodged, parried or blocked all of their attacks, even when they tried to attack him from different angles at the same time, then countered with swings of his own practice sword, not once did he start an attack.

Even more, he hadn't used any of his Breath Style's techniques, just simple swordsmanship; which says a lot about how much of a difference there is between him and them.

"We pass?" Tanjiro repeated.

"That's right!" Kyojuro nodded with a smile.

"But… we couldn't even land a hit." Genya thought out loud.

"I never expected you to!" The Pillar confessed in his loud tone. "All of you have been members of the corps for less than half a year, expecting you to measure up to a Pillar would be nonsensical!"

While he certainly didn't mean that as an insult, the four couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged at his words; especially after having trained Total Concentration Breathing constant, and repetitive actions in Genya's case, they thought they had at least closed the gap a bit.

That clearly wasn't the case.

"But, I can tell all of you have potential!" Kyojuro continued. "Your current strength is enough to accompany me on missions and I guarantee that you will only get stronger from now on!" His smile widened. "I am the Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyojuro, I look forward to working with all of you!"

Tanjiro, Genya, Inosuke and Zenitsu stood in silence, their senior is words weighing on them and, after a moment, they chorused as one.

"Yes!"

"Brother." The five turned and saw Senjuro standing at the door of the training room. "Dinner will be ready soon, everyone might want to take a bath before eating."

Kyojuro looked at the window and noticed that it was dark outside.

"It seems we lost track of time! Thank you for the heads-up, Senjuro!"

"Don't mention it, I'll wait for you at the dining room." With those words, the younger Rengoku closed the door and left.

"Everyone leave your training swords on the rack and take a bath, we'll talk more over dinner!"

"Hell yeah, food…" Inosuke started to bellow but suddenly fell face down on the floor. "Ahhgg…" Was the only sound he made as he lay there.

"I think the fatigue finally caught up to him." Tanjiro muttered, not that he was in better shape himself, even using the wooden sword for support it was difficult to stand upright.

"Everything hurts… I'm just gonna lay here… don't mind me…" Zenitsu said, completely immobile and looking at the ceiling. "Ah… I feel like I've been in this situation before."

Genya wordlessly continued to try and get up but could only manage to move to a sitting position.

"I think… we may need a few minutes." Tanjiro said to the Flame Pillar.

"Hm, I understand! It's not the first time it happens!" Kyojuro nodded. "I'm sure Senjuro prepared a meal to help you with the fatigue so just take your time and come eat when you're ready! I'll let him know!"

With those words, the Flame Pillar left the training hall.

"Is everyone okay?" Tanjiro called out.

"…barely."

"Hngg…"

"Do I have broken bones? I think I have broken bones."

Genya, Inosuke and Zenitsu answered in turn.

"What about you, Tanjiro?" Genya asked him.

"More or less like you guys." The red haired teen answered when he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. "Ah, Nezuko!" He managed a smile despite his fatigue. "I didn't hear you get out of the box."

The younger Kamado looked at her brother, then her eyes moved to the other three, first Zenitsu, then Inosuke and finally Genya; before going back to her brother, a worried look on her face.

"Ah, remember how I told you we had to go to Rengoku-san is Estate? We're there right now, the four of us just finished a spar against him." He explained.

"…hn." She nodded after a few seconds.

Her gaze then turned to Genya and she titled her head to the side for a moment before walking to him.

"Eh…? Ah, hey." The Shinazugawa greeted, still trying to get his strength back. "…is something wrong?" He asked when he saw her stare at him.

"Hn…" Nezuko mumbled before presenting her right hand to him.

"Ah, I still need to rest for a bit before getting up so…"

"Hn, hn!" She shook her head. "Hn!" She pointed to her right plan with her left index finger before making a slash motion without touching her palm.

"…are you… offering me your blood?" Genya asked cautiously.

"Hn!" Nezuko nodded happily.

"Ah… thank you but… I'd rather not use that ability unless it's necessary."

"Hn…" Nezuko's expression fell but nodded after a moment.

"I appreciate the sentiment, though, thank you." Genya smiled making her perk up again.

"Hey… what's this… about Nezuko-chan is blood?" Zenitsu asked, his face looking at them with half-closed eyes.

"Ah, right, you don't know Zenitsu." Tanjiro remembered. "Genya…"

"I'll tell him, we'll be going on missions together so he'll find out eventually." He said before turning to Zenitsu and explaining what he knows about his ability to gain demon-like traits.

"…Scary!" Zenitsu yelled, apparently having recovered enough to use his usual volume. "That's so scary! Isn't that dangerous?!"

"Well, I've been fine so far but I'm keeping an eye in case I feel anything strange happening to my body."

"That's still too scary! Will we be okay?! You won't get an urge to eat humans will you?!"

"Zenitsu!"

"Of course not!"

Tanjiro and Genya yelled.

"Hn! Hn!" Nezuko nodded in support of the two. "Hn!" And, considering her expression, it looked like she was scolding the blond.

"…I'm sorry." He said after a second. "Really, sorry."

"…it's fine." Genya said with a sigh.

"Come on, we should take a bath and go eat." Tanjiro said to break the awkward silence, having recovered enough to move without needing the sword for support.

"Yeah…" Genya followed suit. "Can you two move?"

"No." The blond said simply.

Inosuke just continued to lie face down on the ground.

"Come on, Zenitsu, I'll give you a hand; can you help Inosuke, Genya?"

"I… want to say yes but I'm not sure I can carry him right now…"

"You could just drag him from a leg, he is so tough he won't even notice." The Agatsuma offered.

"…hm."

"Genya, Zenitsu, no." Tanjiro reprimanded, making the two let out a awkward laugh.

"Nezuko, can you help Genya carry Inosuke?"

She nodded happily.

"Ah, wait, then help me…" But he could only trail off since the two already got to work on helping the teen with the boar mask. "…lucky bastard."

"Come on, Zenitsu." Tanjiro said as he lent him his shoulder and helped him walk. "Ah… does anyone know where the bath is?"

Silence was his only answer.

"…guess we'll have to explor-"

"Ah, you're still here!" Everyone turned to the door and saw Senjuro panting slightly. "I'm so sorry, neither my brother nor I told you where everything is in our house yet and it just occurred to me that you don't know where the bath or dining room is."

"Good timing, we were just talking about that." Genya mentioned.

"Please follow me to the bath, I left some clothes for you to change; I'll wait until you're ready and guide you to the… i-is that…?" His word died in his throat when he finally noticed Nezuko's presence.

"Ah, she is my sister Nezuko, did… did Ren- I mean, Kyojuro-san tell you about her?"

"Y-yes, he did." Senjuro nodded, swallowing. "I… apologize, I know her situation, it just… I just have to get used to her."

"I understand." Tanjiro assured him.

"I-in any case, follow me." With that, the younger Rengoku turned around and began to guide them; although he kept glancing back every now and then.

Tanjiro chose to think Senjuro is just making sure they are following.


After relaxing in the bath, everyone moved to the dining room where Kyojuro and Senjuro are, the latter having given them directions so they can reach it, and sat down to eat. Nezuko had gone back to her box and Tanjiro placed it behind him in the dining room.

"Everything looks delicious." Tanjiro mentioned.

"Thank you." Senjuro smiled sheepishly.

"Oi, at least wait until everyone sits down." Genya reprimanded Inosuke, who began to eat from his plate as soon as he sat down.

"It's alright! No need to hold back, dig in!" Kyojuro said happily.

Everyone did a quick 'thank you for the food' before doing just that.

The dinner was surprisingly quiet considering Inosuke was there, he didn't once tried to steal food from someone or made any comments.

'I guess he is tired and just wants to eat.' Tanjiro theorized.

"Nii-san, I'll go bring father his food." Senjuro said, getting up from the table.

"Alright! Feel free to go rest after, I'll clean after we finish talking!" Kyojuro smiled.

"Alright, have a good night everyone." The younger Rengoku said before grabbing a tray with food and leaving the room.

"Is your father ill or something?" Tanjiro asked worriedly, making the other three glance at the Pillar.

"It's… complicated." Kyojuro answered with a frown. "He used to be a Pillar but lost his drive to fight demons and retired… I have to ask that you don't bother him while you're here, he mostly stays in his room so you shouldn't run into him unless you go near it."

"Why can't we go there?" Inosuke asked, resting his head on his palm, an expression of 'I'll go if I want to' on his face.

"I just don't wish for him to be bothered or for any of you to get hurt." Kyojuro answered, his expression serious. "I mean it, do not go near my father is room."

The four gulped at the deadly serious stare the Flame Pillar gave and nodded a moment later.

"Good!" As if the previous interaction didn't happen, Kyojuro was back to normal. "Now, before you retire for the evening, there are a few things we still need to talk about regarding the missions and how we will approach them." His gaze moved to the Kamado. "Kamado, you delivered a letter to Oyakata-sama from that demon that helped you during your trial, remember?"

"Eh? Yes." He said after a moment of surprise.

"Are you aware of the contents?"

"Tamayo-san said that it was a 'proposal' of sorts but didn't give me any details and I didn't ask after she requested that we don't give it to anyone but Oyakata-sama."

"Very well, then let me tell you now that Oyakata-sama shared the contents of the letter with me and the other Pillars!" Kyojuro revealed easily.

"…eh?"

"Ah, please don't worry, I'm not sure if he revealed everything but the part he told me about is one that… Tamayo." He seemed to have a bit of trouble saying the name, whether that was because he didn't remember it or some other reason, only he knew. "Wanted him to reveal, it involves developing a cure for demons."

Despite their tiredness, the four is focus sharpened at those words; even Inosuke seemed curious about what they were talking about.

"Correct me if I say anything wrong but you have a tool to extract blood from demons, then you send that blood to Tamayo for research and this should, in theory, allow her to develop a cure, correct?"

"That's a good summary, yes." Tanjiro nodded.

"You see, Oyakata-sama told me…"


Flashback

In the garden of the corps HQ, Kyojuro kneeled in front of Oyakta-sama as he waited for him to speak.

"My apologies for calling you so abruptly and so soon after the last Pillar Meeting, Kyojuro." Kagaya began.

"It's of no issue! How may I help you?"

"There is something that I have to ask you but you must not talk about it with anyone but the ones that need to know or already know."

"Oyakata-sama?" Kyojuro frowned in confusion.

"I will talk to all the Pillars about this but I wanted to tell you first since you will be the one looking after Tanjiro and Nezuko." He moved his hand to the right and Amane gave him Tamayo's letter. "This is the letter from Tamayo that Tanjiro delivered, in it there is a proposition regarding the corps; to put it simply, she requests our help in creating the cure for demons Tanjiro mentioned during the trial."

The Flame Pillar's eyes widened and he raised his head to look at his leader.

"I was surprised as well but I don't believe she is lying when she says she can make one." Kagaya answered calmly. "In order to do this she needs to research demon blood, she says in the letter she has given Tanjiro a tool to extract demon blood and asks that anyone willing would carry it with them and, after they extract a demons' blood, give it to Tanjiro so he can send it her way; she also says that if we require more, have Tanjiro send her a letter saying so."

"That is… complicated." Kyojuro said after a moment.

"I agree, this is why, for now, I will only reveal this information to the Pillars." Kagaya began. "I'll ask them all if they are willing to do this but this is not to be revealed to the rest of the corps."

"Of course! You have my word!"

"Thank you, Kyojuro." The leader of the corps smiled. "In your case, you will be going on missions along Tanjiro and he will undoubtedly wish to collect demon blood; whether you wish to cooperate with him or not is up to you."

"I understand."

"There is something else I would like to ask but first I would like to hear your opinion on this matter."

The Flame Pillar closed his eyes, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Unlike many other members of the corps, I haven't lost a loved one to demons, I consider myself very fortunate in that sense." Kyojuro began. "With that said, I've seen many demons attack and kill people without any hint of remorse, some even enjoyed it; if you had told me all this before the trial and meeting Kamado Nezuko, I probably would have disregarded the entire thing and refused to cooperate from the start."

"And now?"

"I still dislike the idea." The Flame Pillar said honestly. "Even if a cure is made… I can't imagine a demon that would agree to take it willingly, with the exception of Kamado Nezuko of course."

Kagaya's smile widened slightly at his clarification.

"I'm not comfortable with the request… but I won't interfere if Kamado Tanjiro or anyone else wishes to extract a demon's blood; whether or not I will help them… I can't answer that at the moment."

"You are a very honest person, Kyojuro."

"Thank you!" He exclaimed.

"I understand your position, the other thing I wanted to ask was precisely about if you would be willing to help or not; you already gave me an answer." Kagaya said. "Please explain this to Tanjiro when he goes to your home… oh, and tell him that this is something that Tamayo allowed me to reveal."

"Understood!"

End of Flashback


"…and that's what he told me." Kyojuro finished explaining. "Like I said just now, I won't interfere with anyone collecting blood but I won't actively help, at least for the moment."

"I understand, thank you for telling us this, Rengoku-san." Tanjiro answered with a nod.

"With that said." He turned to the others. "What will all of you do?"

"I already said I'm putting my life on the line for Nezuko so of course I'll help collect blood if I can." Genya answered.

"I'll help as well! I'll make sure Nezuko-chan becomes human again!" Zenitsu said next.

Tanjiro had already explained about Tamayo to both him and Inosuke during their stay at the Butterfly Estate.

"I'll just kill the demons, do what you want with them later!" Inosuke declared.

"Of course, we'll do the hard part; it's simpler to just kill them after all." Genya mentioned.

"…huh? What does that mean?"

"Hm? Exactly what I said."

"I'll show you! I'll collect more blood than all of you combined!" The masked teen bellowed.

Tanjiro glanced at Genya from the corner of his eye, he grinned and did a discreet thumbs-up.

The red haired teen had to fight back a chuckle at that.


In a small town away from the Flame Estate.

"…this should be enough." Rokuro thought out loud, sitting on top of a human and licking his bloody fingers as he looked around.

All around him were human bodies scattered, some of them missing parts.

"Oi, you!" He looked at a boy in front of him, not older than thirteen that he had purposely left alive. "You remember what I told you, right?"

The boy nodded frantically, his eyes wide and tears falling freely.

"Repeat it to me."

"G-g-g-go a-a-and spread th-the word of wh-wh-what happened here!" He managed to say, his body trembling non-stop.

"Good, now get out of here and remember what will happen if no one like whom I described appears in the next two weeks." The Lower Moon ordered.

The boy quickly did as told, sobbing as he ran, trying to not look at the bodies scattered in his way.

'Well, I doubt they'll send a Pillar at first but I just have to kill everyone until one appears.' Rokuro thought idly. 'Better start preparing, the last thing I need is to get caught off-guard.'

With that, he got up from his 'seat' to being working.


And done!

Phew another chapter ready and just in time because TanKana week starts the next week and I'm going to be focusing on that for a while, haha.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, until next time!

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.