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WARNINGS: Minor Swearing, Slightly Irrelevant (This chapter can be skipped)

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You yawn, as your drowsiness did not subside. The morning sun kissed your skin as you sat up in bed. Your hair was like a bird's nest, a chaotic mess. You rolled out of the futon and stood up, it's time you start your day.

Despite it being a week and a half after you defeated the moon, you still could not go on missions. Shinobu said your muscles were still weakened and fatigue, pushing them too much would injure you again. To be honest, though, you didn't mind; it meant a break, which you needed. The only thing that irritated you was the fact that your brother could start going on missions after only six days. At the end of the fight, you were 100% sure he was more injured than yourself.

All you could do was let out a sigh at the thought, get undressed out of your nightwear, and get on the demon slayer uniform. You may be on break, but it doesn't mean you could get called in for an emergency.

"Good morning, Onee-chan!" You look over at the voice as you walk out. Senjuro was at the end of the hallway, broom in one hand and the other in the hand, waving. Ryuko may have left to live with Sanemi when he became his apprentice, but until the estate promised to be built for the two of you was done, you remained at the Rengoku Residence, it was a warm environment, you wouldn't have minded if they said you were stuck here. You smiled back and walked over. He noticed your uniform and looked at you, confused. "I thought you're still on break, don't you still have four more days until Shinobu-san is allowing missions?"

You nod and hum in response. "Yeah, but you never know..." Your voice slightly curled up at the end. You were hopeful. Senjuro shook his head and smiled.

"Onee-chan, you shouldn't be pushing yourself." He looked back up with his caring eyes. The entire Rengoku family had a way to make you brighten up and feel warm inside. Without even thinking, you were down on your knees, reaching the small boy's level, and hugged him.

"Thank you." You breathed under your breath. "Thanks for being concerned, but I assure you, I am fine." The boy accepted the embrace, hugging back. After a few moments of pure bliss, you pulled back and got back to your feet. "Well, I have to go visit the Shinazugawa residence. I want to check up on Ryu-chan." The boy nodded as you grabbed your sword on the way out. Today was a beautiful day. Small clouds dabbled in the blue sky, a huge yellow ball of light shining from the east. A soft breeze brushed your soft (S/c) skin and ruffled your (h/l), (h/c) hair. Springtime was truly a magical time.

As you made your way to where Ryuko was staying, you ran into Obanai, who gave you a short greeting. You and he had a unique relationship, not exactly friends, but the guy didn't hate you. When he was younger, Shinjuro also saved him, making you two have something in common. While he had a mutual relationship with you, it was a bit more complicated with your brother.

The serpent pillar would always eye Ryuko when he got too near Mitsuri, who you two always hung out with. The girl had such a cheerful demeanor; it was hard to not want to hang out with her, which you and your brother did a lot. She taught you how to make sakura mochi, made you sample dishes you were not familiar with prior to meeting her, and would take you all down near the Swordsmith Village to a hot pond to relax.

You snapped out of your train of memories as you approached your destination. You heard a noise from the back, making you pause from knocking. It was faint, but you knew it was Sanemi shouting at your brother. You cautiously stroll closer to the noise, entering without permission. "Honestly! That demon must have been as slow as a snail if it couldn't evade these pathetically slow attacks!"

"But master..." your brother moaned, only causing the Wind Hashira to yell louder.

"I don't give a damn that you're still recovering, nor do the demons, you idiot!" You glanced around, you didn't know what to do in this situation. Your brother noticed you within a few moments before calling you out.

"Onee-san!" He rushed over, causing a vein on Sanemi's forehead to bulge out, making you frantically push your brother away. "H-hey Ryu-Chan! I just wanted to check up on you. I can see it's going well." You lied terribly.

"Then you're blind." Sneered the white hair man, who had a wooden sword in his grasp. "His speed is lacking, and his endurance is dragging behind him." He walked over slowly, causing you to internally panic and take a step back. The man took the weapon he had and slapped your brother in the back, causing him to scream in pain. "Ow!"

"(Y/n)-san, aren't you still on break?" Sanemi looked over to you as his grasp on your brother's uniform collar only tightened. You nodded and explained to him that you wanted to see your brother and his progress in training. He just scoffed.

"His stamina is starting to drag behind him again. Looks like it's back to nothing but endurance and stamina training." The last sentence, in particular, made the boy in the man's grasp flinch and look at him, petrified. He hated that kind of training. The Pillar continued, "His speed needs brushing up on, but considering he just got out of the medical ward a few days ago, it's better than average. I'll give him that." Sanemi obviously wasn't too hyped about the compliment. Ryuko was getting all giddy, making the man punch him in the arm.

"As soon as I'm released from my break, I should train with you, too. If you think his speed is bad, I don't think you want to see mine." In terms of absolute physical abilities, Ryuko always seemed to beat you. Maybe it was the fact you were a girl, but it still made no sense to you. He was three years younger, it should even out the playing board! To be fair, though, you had something to even each other out. While Ryuko is strong physically, he was about as smart as a rock, which is where you come in. Coming up with plans, staying composed, You'd slightly enhanced it compared to the average slayer.

The man grunted, unimpressed, snapping you out of your self-flattery. His white knuckles loosen, dropping your brother to the ground, who stood up and waited for his next instructions. You watched their entire training session, which lasted all the way till dusk. There were a few breaks, but they were sparse, and there weren't many. The entire time, you watched intently, noting everything Sanemi yelled at your brother for.

When the day was done, you let out a long sigh. Sanemi has not murdered your brother..yet. You looked up at the sky, the sight made you frown a bit. Massive gray clouds were rolling in, blocking the beautiful sunset. Birds scattered in the sky, some escaping to the safety of tree canopies, while others kept flying until out of view. It's going to rain soon. You sigh and turn back to the two boys, leaving you to chuckle at the scene. A young teenage boy on the ground, limp, drenched in his own sweat, and looking like a possum playing dead. "Get up, we're going in." The Wind Pillar grabbed a hold of your brother's collar and started dragging him to the house.

All of a sudden, an idea popped into your head, happy that Sanemi would agree to it; you rushed towards the white-haired man. The sound of wood colliding rang out and something made your movement come to a halt, bouncing you back. "Ow~" You bring your hand to rub off the red mark on your forehead. Did he really just close the door on me?

"Go home." Though his voice was muffled behind the door, you swore you heard him add 'moron' at the end of his sentence, making your blood boil a bit. Dirt beneath you shuffled into the air as you twisted your body and stood up, a small smirk appeared on your face.

"Fine, I was going to say we could make Ohagi, celebrating a successful training session. I think we can both agree Ryu-chan did a good job today." That obviously got the Wind Pillar's attention. He slowly slid the Japanese-styled shoji doors open, revealing the man's intrigued facial expression.

"Ohagi?" A tight grip grasped onto your haori sleeve, and you blinked, missing it. You were now standing in the kitchen, quite a big one at that. Cabinets lined neatly and closely together in an "L" shape against a corner with a black stone counter right on top. In the middle were a newer-looking stove and a sink residing right beside it. Looking up, more cabinets and a microwave.

You've been in here many times, you knew where most things were.

"Get it done by the time I finish up my patrol." Sanemi looked back at you, staring daggers into your soul. "...or else." A chill ran down your spine at the threat, making you chuckle jokingly. The pillar scoffed at your response before taking his leave; however, the intensity in the room didn't drift away.

"Ryu-chan." You call out. A groan was the only response, making an irk mark appear on your forehead. "Hey, butt-wad! Get over here and help. If we don't finish this in time, Sanemi-san will have both our heads... literally." In an instant, your brother was by your side, already grabbing all the ingredients. Both of you knew, in the back of your heads, that Sanemi was not the type you wanted to anger.

Glutinous rice, red bean paste, salt, and all the kitchenware required was practically thrown at you, making you juggle them and set them down on the counter. A measuring cup was grabbed and placed under the faucet. Water droplets dripping slowly turned into a waterfall as Ryuko filled a saucepan up before rice was dumped in. After a lot of soaking, draining, and then more soaking, the rice was clean, so you did what you knew you needed to do.

You skip over to the stove and turn a knob to the right with a click and then a 'swoosh as a flame is lit. Slowly, not wanting to drop the pan, your brother set it over the fire and sighed when he was successful. He grabbed the timer and turned it, a clicking sound accompanying. "30 minutes on the clock." He sighed and set it on the counter.

"Guess I should prepare the bean paste then." You intertwine your fingers and flex them about and head over to Sanemi's pre-soaked red beans. He must like this stuff to have red beans constantly prepared. You take the bowl, grab another saucepan, and dump them in. "Turn on another section of the oven."

Ryuko looked away from the rice and turned a knob. A fire lit right next to the rice, which you set the beans in, along with some water. "Now we have to wait for two hours."

"WHAT?!" The brown-haired boy beside you almost jumped out of his skin at our statement. "Two hours?!" Your right brow raised in confusion. "Have you never prepared red bean paste?" He shook his head, the shock still plastered on his face.

~Time Skip~

You were on rice watching duty while Ryuko watched the red beans, his eyes dull from boredom. "I feel like 30 minutes should have passed by now." He complained, looking up from the pot. You hummed in agreement and glanced at the timer.

"We still have five more minutes."

"Seriously?" The brown-haired boy just huffed in annoyance. He went back to looking, this time glaring, at the bot of beans, to which you did the same with the rice. Making Ohagi was quite a lengthy process.

It only took moments before your eyelids started feeling heavy, and your yawn rang throughout the estate. The world faded away, which lasted only five minutes. The dinging of the timer rudely awoke you, causing you to jump back to reality and life overtake your brother.

"Finally!" He reached his hand out to grab rice out of the pot. Quickly, you slap it away. "Ow!" You turned the knob opposite from before and there were three deep clicks before the fire shut off. You turned to your brother and stared with disappointment.

"You idiot. That's boiling hot, and you forgot a step. Honestly, you live with Sanemi." After lecturing him about how to make his master's favorite treat, and almost wanting to slap him when his only response was eye-rolling, you took the handle of the pot and moved it over the sink. Diligently, the pot was shifted forwards, allowing the excess water to drain out, leaving behind the now sticky rice.

The sound of glass clinking against each other made you turn, your brother was on the counter, reaching for a big bowl on the top shelf. Your muscles tighten, your heart skipped a beat, and a sweat drop ran down your forehead. You set down the pot and ran behind your brother, ready to catch him if he falls back.

He successfully grabs the bowl and gets down, sparing you a puzzled look. You let out a breath you were holding, just glad he broke nothing. Your brother takes the pot of rice and shakes it to get the rice rolling out into the glass bowl. His face was scrunched up and jaws locked as he was now viciously shaking the pot, looking like some idiot. "Ugh! Come out!"

You roll your eyes and turn over to grab a wooden spoon before turning back and extending your arm, trying to hand it to him, which he eagerly takes. Banging and scraping sounds could be heard all around the house as your brother scraped out the last of the rice, with no mercy.

The two of you both grab a handful of rice and start rolling it into a ball, doing this many times over until all the rice is gone. The sticky residue left by the rice after he finished up his last rice ball slightly disgusted Ryuko, making him run right to the sink and washed it away under cold water.

You then had to sit and wait for another hour for the bean paste to cook and cross your fingers Sanemi didn't decide to come home early.

The vibe in the house was calm after the hour had passed. Ryuko's jumpiness subsided for now. When the timer went off, he didn't even jump with energy, just casually went over to the stove and turned off the fire. It was quite a surprise to you, especially when he went as far as to stir the melted beans until it was more of a creamy texture.

Guess he's desperate at this point to finish up the project.

"Okay, paste, ready!" He brought the bowl over, wiped off the sweat on his forehead, and placed the bow down. You pulled out two spatulas and helped him spread the paste all over the rice balls. Multiple times you had to stop him and smooth out his messy job of spreading the paste, at one point, feeling like you did your share and extra, fixing every one Ryuko did.

You sigh as you finish up and place the last one on the decorative plate your brother chose out. You pick it up and place it in the center of the dining table. The two of you both take a seat across from each other and gaze into each other's eyes, waiting for Sanemi to return.

~Mini time skip~

The room was tense. Very tense. The front door had just opened, the master had returned. You and Ryuko could hear his footsteps from the kitchen, subtly getting louder as he approached the room.

He was coming; he was walking into this room. Sweat came down your neck, your anxiety level was through the roof. You swear you could hear your heart thumping, pushing against your rib cage.

Sanemi turned the corner and both of you straightened up. "Something smells good." He mumbles. All of a sudden, a wave of relief washed over you. At least it didn't smell like crap to him. His eyes widened when he eyed the food on the table. "Oh wow, you actually could cook some in time."

In an instant, he was sitting on another side of the square table, put his hands together, and whispered his thanks. He snatched a pair of chopsticks from the center and stuffed a piece of Red Bean Paste Ohagi into his mouth. You and your brother let him eat most of it before he paused and looked at you both, confused. "Aren't you gonna eat?" Ryuko slowly grabbed a piece and slowly ate it, in a daze.

You flinched when he turned to you. "What about you?" Nodding at his offer, you took chopsticks and plucked one out, and ate it. A smile revealed itself on your face at the taste. It was, just as you remembered, delicious. You glance at your fellow pillar. Am I allowed to eat more? He noticed your signal and nodded, pushing away the dish and standing up.

"It sounds like there is a storm brewing, get your ass home (Y/n)." You blinked twice and stared up at Sanemi as you continued eating the rest of your ohagi. "Finish up and get moving."

"I'll walk with her home!" Ryuko volunteered and raised his hand enthusiastically.

"Do whatever the hell you want, just get back here uninjured." And with that, the night was complete. Sanemi left you and your brother to fight over the last Ohagi, settling with you, eating it. Your argument being your brother lives with the king of ohagi. You quickly wolfed down, making you frown that everything was gone.

"We better get going. I think Sanemi-sensei was right; a storm is rolling in." You nod, grab your sword beside you, and follow the shorter, brown-haired boy to the exit. He slid open the door, only to be greeted by the pattering of rain and the booming of distant thunder.

"Oh god." You murmur and step out. You took another step forward, and there was a flash.

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~Taisho Secret~

- Was this a filler chapter, yeah, do I regret going down this path, sorta

- Are Ryuko and Genya friends, hell yeah!

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