Despite the fact that the streets are busy, the red light district has never sounded more silent to Uzui.
Not even the cicadas, which he heard just as much as Zenitsu did, truly sound in his ears.
He focuses on finding the demon, but comes out with empty hands.
It must be hidden, Tengen thinks, because he doesn't sense anything at all.
"What a surprise to see you here."
Kaede Fujioka's white head of hair appears behind him. Tengen narrows his gaze.
"Aren't you a little bit too old to be up here? You're gonna catch a cold, hag."
In response, he receives a hit with her wooden arrow right on his forehead. Tengen hisses.
"This is such an ugly place, so much black," she continues, looking down at where he was previously doing the same thing.
"I don't know about the black, but in that, we can agree." Tengen stands up. This way he's much taller than her. "What are you exactly doing here?" He raises a single eyebrow. "With me?"
"You're not gonna be able to sense them," Kaede ignores him. "Not even I can see them."
"That's pretty arrogant, isn't it?"
"It's just the truth."
Tengen huffs a little, but doesn't stop talking nevertheless. "By them you mean the demons, right? Is it really more than one?"
Kaede smiles with a half lidded gaze. "I'm not telling you anything."
"What an annoying old lady..."
"Either way," she completely and utterly ignores Tengen again. It's starting to piss him off, "I would be able to see them if I were to be in front of them, but that's not the case so I'll have to trust Aya for that."
"The demons... so they're in the houses? Are they maikos? Some oiran?"
"Man, you're really lost, aren't you?" Kaede squints at him and turns to leave. Tengen tenses his jaw at that. "Good luck surviving the massacre."
"I'm not the one with a fake leg, you know," he hisses. She stops on her tracks at that, looking back at Uzui. "You kicked me in the face, how did you expect me not to figure it out?"
She scrutinizes him with a glare. "Yeah, I guess that was my mistake."
"A bow is a very bizarre weapon choice for a demon slayer."
He hears a stifled laugh coming from her. "I just wanted to pissed off my parents back then."
"You know, I've tried looking into you." Her gaze remains unmoving, Tengen wonders what it might take to make her tremble. "The Fujiokas were a demon slayer family fifty years ago, but suddenly, not only did all the children died in missions," he believes to see her breath stop, and knows he's won this one, "but the parents, who had already retired, died not much time later in a fire that destroyed the family mansion that had been passed down for generations. And only you were left."
They wait in silence, there is not a single word.
So this is what it takes.
"Am I wrong?" Kaede doesn't answer that, either. "Now you're not so chatty, huh?"
"You're an asshole," she picks up her voice again, lunging at him with much more strength than she would have in any other occasion. "Don't think I don't know you, don't think I can't guess what kind of bratty son you are. The Uzuis are just as rotten as the Fujiokas, don't forget that."
"Don't talk to me about my family," Tengen brings his hands to his swords at the same time as Kaede does to her bow.
Suddenly, they hear chuckles.
"Hey," he blinks. "Doesn't that sound like the kids?"
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The fickle flames of the candles weakly light up Sanemi's kitchen.
He had tried to ask for a mission on his specific date, but to no avail, Oyakata-sama gives him some free time although he absolutely dreads it.
So he tries, he gets himself a cake, buys some expensive meat for dinner and even some beer to go with it, but the truth is that he's irredeemably and completely alone, and today isn't gonna change that.
He whistles and soon enough, a little set of paws come rushing to where he is. The small dog that is 'Ohagi' looks up at him with adorable obliviousness.
"You want some?" He says, gesturing to the cake, and he's wise enough not to wait for an answer, pouring the leftovers of the cake on his dog's bowl in a corner.
Ohagi eats the leftovers of his birthday meal while Sanemi scratches behind his ear. The calendar on the wall, with a field of stone lotus on a red background, reads 30th, November.
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Her birthdays have never been special.
"Dad, where are you going?" She would ask, six, seven, eight years old. And her father would look back from the door, one foot already outside, and then he would smile at her.
"Sorry, but dad has to work." Her mother looked tired as she prepared dinner, sweat on her brow and dirt in between her fingernails.
"Mum," Aya would say every time, without the need for anything else. "I love you."
"I love you too, A-chan. Be good and help me peel these radishes, okay?"
"Okay." And she would not mention what day it was.
Only once she left, did her parents remember.
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Inosuke doesn't keep track of many things, but this time, this one and only time, he does.
A few days before the big date, he buys a little cake and tries very, very hard not to eat it by himself. Then he goes fetch Zenitsu and Tanjirou, and even reluctantly tells Aoi who is busy on their house.
At first she threw him a suspicious stare, probably wondering if he wants to get back at them, somehow, for all the competition they've had to do.
But her and the girls' mocking a few days back doesn't take that much focus in his mind now, and it seems like it doesn't on theirs either, at least, not in Kanao's, who purses her lips at first, but accepts the proposition with the question of 'would this make Aya happy?'
Inosuke exclaims that it would, certainly. Like hell it wouldn't.
The place Tanjirou suggests is a little corner, hidden in between roofs where one could easily hide from other's stares, but see everything from above. It was, truly, the perfect place for a secret meeting.
It's unfortunate that they have to do this here, of all places, but Inosuke is too stubborn to do it later because it was the 30th, he had made sure to remember, so it should be on the 30th.
Tanjirou offers to be the one to tell Aya where and when to be and assures them she'd show up even if Zenitsu hissed that Aya was "too uptight with rules to do such a thing".
But when she does, late at night and close to sunrise, they welcome her with a smile.
In turn, Aya bursts into tears.
"You made her cry!" Inosuke exclaims at Zenitsu, because there's no way Tanjirou, Kanao or Aoi could ever. And it's not gonna be him either.
But Aya wraps her arms around Inosuke, and he embraces her almost as naturally as he eats or drinks and fights.
"Sorry," she said after a while, pulling back. "Sorry, sorry, I'm not... I'm not used to this."
Her eyes shine when she looks at the cake in Zenitsu's hand again, but she smiles nevertheless and grabs onto Inosuke's arm, looking at everyone in the little scene. "Thank you."
Simultaneously, they all say, "Happy birthday, Aya."
And Aya tries very hard not to cry again.
They slice the cake with a knife she always has somewhere in her pockets and share drinks and tales, sitting in a little circle.
No one pays any mind to the bustle of the people and geishas down on the streets, not even Zenitsu complains about the sounds of the cicadas' eggs.
Although Aya reassured them she didn't need any presents, as celebrating together was enough, everyone pulled out something from their pockets.
First came Aoi who, predictably, left a book in her hands.
Zenitsu's candy was, very likely, from the kitchen in the Kyogoku house. Aya nervously tucked it in her pocket, with the intention of putting it back later. She appreciated the sentiment, though.
Just like in Tanjirou's birthday, Nezuko and Kanao made a paper flower together and Aya replaced the slightly wilted lily on her ear for this artificially colored one. Tanjirou's kicked puppy expression seemed to speak volumes though.
Inosuke was practically jumping on his feet when Aya walked up to him.
"So? What do you have there?" She said, trying to sound uninterested in Inosuke's hands behind his back.
Triumphantly, Inosuke showed her a rock.
"You already have the best of my acorns! So I wanted to give you this!"
He placed it against the red light and, slowly, Aya realized with a smile that the rock Inosuke was holding shone a million colours. "It's my most treasured rock, you have to take care of it!"
"Have I ever mentioned how lovely you are?"
"I'm not lovely, I'm strong!" Inosuke replied, and Aya only chuckled.
"I'll have to give you an even better present next year in exchange!"
"I'd like to see you try!" More chuckles.
She waits for Tanjirou to come to her in a corner as the others finish the cake. Just like she thought, not much time goes by until a pair of arms circle her shoulders from behind.
"Aren't you gonna give me a present?" She playfully starts. Tanjirou seems very comfortable with his chin on her shoulder.
"Later." And his breath crashes against her cheek. Aya hopes he doesn't notice her shivering. "When the others leave."
She raises a single eyebrow. "Oh, so you're going for the mysterious vibe? Got it."
"Yeah, but I'm a little greedy, so..." Tanjirou turns his head to her. "Don't expect me not to take anything from you in the meantime."
He presses a kiss against her cheek and walks away just as fast as he came, leaving Aya even colder than she was at first without his presence.
She's sure that Tanjirou would be the death of her one of these days.
Of course, only just as much as she would be his.
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The party is no big feast by any means. But Aya doesn't mind at all.
'Is this what happiness felt like?' She wonders, smiling when Inosuke ruffles Zenitsu's hair. 'Because if so, I could get used to it.'
It's the middle of winter and yet here she is, feeling warm and bubbly as if it were a sunny day, out with her friends. She never thought it could be possible, not before melting and becoming something soft instead of the harsh cold she wore for so long, and it gives her so much hope. For her and for everyone else. For all the people she can see now and all the ones she won't look away from.
That includes a lot of people she knows, but she guesses she should start with the ones closest to her.
"What the hell are you punks doing!?"
"Ah, shit," Aya hears Zenitsu whisper.
"You see," Tanjirou walks up to Kaede and Uzui, who have appeared from a corner. "Since it's Aya's birthday... we thought that..."
"Oh, I forgot" Kaede says, suddenly losing all harshness on her face. "Happy birthday, Aya."
She smiles nervously. "Yeah, thanks grandma..."
Aya scratches her cheek and glances at Uzui by the corner of her eye. He remains frowning. "I want this little party done with, now!"
"Is it really that bad that we met up here?" Kanao scratches at her knee with a finger. Inosuke follows her. "Yeah! Don't be party poopers!"
"It's not like we stopped competing," Aoi continues, squinting. "Tomorrow we'll go back to normal, you guys just love overreacting because you hate each other's guts."
Kaede and Uzui side eye one another and scowl.
"You're just ridiculous at this point," Zenitsu whispers with that tone he uses sometimes when Inosuke, Aya or Tanjirou act like children.
"Shut up, Monitsu," Uzui hisses.
"Not even Inosuke calls me that anymore! Now you're just being petty!"
"Hmmm," Aya hums lowly, unsure when she gets up from where she is and walks up to the huge pillar she's not sure if she likes. "You can stay if you want... There's cake left and it'd be a pity if it went to waste, although I'm not sure if you'd like that... It's chocolate."
The Pillar eyes her in silence. She squirms uncomfortably under his careful glance, and sees Tanjirou beginning to give a step to reach her somewhere behind her back.
"Sure! We'll stay," her grandmother finally agrees for both of them. "It's your birthday, after all."
The target of Uzui's gaze changes in favour of her and Aya can finally let out the breath she had been holding. Tanjirou's arm around her shoulders is comforting.
"Thanks," she whispers, squeezing his hand.
"No problem." He says, squeezing back. "Why are you scared of Uzui-san, though? I thought you admired his strength."
"Yeah, I did." Aya doesn't feel like she can say anything, so she doesn't. "Sorry, uh, it's not like I don't like this, but can you let go of me?" Tanjirou looks at her in confusion but does so nevertheless. "I want to ask my grandmother for her birthday present."
"But she said she forgot?" Tanjirou questions, and she's delighted to see her absence affects her just as much as his does her.
"It'll be a last minute present, then." Although it will be more for her grandmother than for her.
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Writing Kaede is like writing early Aya, they were just so symilar
everyone, wish Aya and Sanemi happy birthday! Coincidentially, it's today too! Although I may have confused the date in the text, haha