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"You have such cute children, sir."
Giyuu blinked at the unexpected remark from the inn owner. She was smiling at the coal seller kids, who were hiding behind his legs. They had to make a stop at the inn because the sun would rise in an hour and he couldn't possibly give beef jerky to Nezuko.
"My, look at them! They're so shy," the inn owner tittered, before crouching down to coo at the siblings. "What are your names?"
"N-nice to meet you. My name is Tanjirou and this is my sister Nezuko," Tanjirou bowed politely, while Nezuko attempted to follow suit. Giyuu had to grab her by the scruff before she could fall over. "Please take care of us."
"Pleasure to meet you too, dear," the inn owner smiled, before standing up to pick a key for their room. "I hope you enjoy your stay here. Though if I may ask, where is your wife…?"
"They are not my children," Giyuu finally had the chance to say.
The inn owner froze. Slowly, she retracted her hand holding the room key.
"Then, whose children…?"
"I don't know." He didn't know who their parents were aside from knowing that they were coal sellers.
"D-Did you take them from their parents?"
"Yes." Because their parents were dead by the time he found them.
"A-A-And what are y-you going to do with t-them?"
"Bring them to the organisation where I work." Because he had just received a reply from Master Urokodaki to bring them to the Headquarters instead, as Master Urokodaki had decided to inform Oyakata-sama about these children's current predicament.
The inn owner gasped. Her face paled even further when she belatedly noticed the sword he was carrying. She shakily walked backwards and opened the back door of the lobby.
"T-Then, please w-wait here, sir," she stuttered, before bolting out of the room, leaving him and the two children alone in the lobby.
"Uh, Tomioka-san?" Tanjirou tugged his hand to get his attention. Giyuu blinked at the boy, who was frowning in confusion. "She smelled scared."
"... Why?" Giyuu wondered in bewilderment.
Tanjirou shrugged, before pausing. "Wait, I smell many angry people outside—"
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. The entrance doors of the inn burst open, before police officers flooded the lobby. Nezuko squeaked in surprise while Tanjirou stood protectively in front of her. Giyuu only frowned at the scene, feeling déjà vu for some reason.
"Put down your sword and raise your hands!" One of the policemen yelled at him. "You're arrested for child trafficking!"
Giyuu blinked in surprise. He didn't understand how things had escalated like this. He followed the order obediently, nonetheless, and placed his sheathed sword on the ground.
However, the Kamado children disagreed.
"W-why are you tying Tomioka-san up ?" Tanjirou cried out, pulling on Giyuu's haori sleeve together with Nezuko as the policemen tied his hands with a rope. "Where are you taking him?!"
"Shh. It's okay, kid! You're safe now," another policeman assured him. "We will take this bad man away from you—"
"But Tomioka-san is not a bad man!" Tanjirou argued vehemently. "He helped me and Nezuko when our parents p-passed away last night—"
"Don't worry, kid. We're here. He won't be able to do anything to you, so you don't have to lie—"
"But I'm not lying!"
Giyuu's eyes widened. Tanjirou, in his emotional outburst, had begun to lose control of his demonic appearance. The policemen hadn't noticed it, but his claws had grown a little sharper and his eyes slowly turned slitted. If he went on rampage here, things would not end well for everyone.
So with a sharp inhale, Giyuu was about to tear the rope around his arms apart—
When all of a sudden, Nezuko burst into tears.
"T-T-T-Tomi-taaann—-!" She bawled pitifully, as fat tears rolled down her chubby red cheeks. "D-D-Don' goooo…"
Everyone stopped in their tracks. Nezuko waddled towards Giyuu and clung onto his leg, smearing tears and snot on his pants. She looked up at the policemen who had tied him up with big glassy tears, pleading for them to let him go.
"Don' take our Tomi-taaannn…" Nezuko continued to wail.
"P-Please don't take T-T-Tomioka-saaann…" Suddenly, Tanjirou also began to sob. "He's a-a-all we have, so don't t-take him…"
"Waaahhhh…"
"Waaahhhh…"
"Waaaaahhhhhhhh…"
The sound of two children crying loudly reverberated around the room. The policemen unconsciously let go of Giyuu's bound hands, feeling immensely guilty for making them cry.
"A-Alright, calm down please," one of the policemen tried to appease. "I'll let T-Tomi-tan? I'll let your Tomi-tan go, but we have to make sure he's not a bad man first."
"P-Pwomise?" Nezuko blubbered, sniffling. She had stopped bawling, at least.
"Yes. So don't cry, kid," the policeman sighed, before turning to Giyuu. He untied the rope around his hands before asking, "Your ID, please."
Giyuu handed him his documents. The policeman checked them thoroughly.
"You are a… Demon Slayer?"
"Yes."
"Is that a political official or…?"
"No, our organisation is non-political."
"Ah! I remember!" another policeman exclaimed. "You know Old Man Saburo? I've heard stories about Demon Slayers from him, so it must be true."
"Wait, that's a legit job?!"
"Yes," Giyuu confirmed impassively.
The policemen looked at each other in confusion. "Then, why are these kids with you…?"
"We've decided to follow him," Tanjirou answered. "Tomioka-san helped us when our parents passed away. He's not a bad man."
"Tomi-tan no bad," Nezuko echoed after him, bobbing her head in agreement.
Faced with the twin testimonies, the policemen decided to let him go after finding nothing wrong with his documents. The sun was about to rise when Giyuu and the two children finally reached their room to rest.
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