Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.

X: Wisteria

A little while later, Zenitsu and Inosuke came outside.

Of course, they started arguing immediately.

Kanao took that time to examine her fellow student. Inosuke wasn't wearing the uniform (she wondered how Zenitsu and Tanjiro managed to figure out who he is), and didn't even have a shirt on. His head was covered by a boar mask. She decided that his backstory would surely be interesting, to say the least. But she can't just say that aloud.

As for what the two in front of her were arguing about, she wasn't sure. It looked like Zenitsu was trying to protect something. Then his arms shifted slightly, and she saw what it was.

A small pouch, deep brown in colour and with black designs around the top and bottom. Then she paid more attention to what they were saying.

"No, you're not taking this! Tanjiro told me to protect it!" Zenitsu turned his body away to shield the object.

Okay, so the object, whatever it is, must belong to Tanjiro.

Inosuke fought him to try and get the pouch. "Don't you know what's even in there?!"

"Yeah, I'm aware that there's a-"

"What are you doing?!" Suddenly, Tanjiro came outside, 3 kids trailing him. He dashed up to Inosuke (who Kanao wasn't getting a particularly fond impression of), and stood between him and Zenitsu.

"You have to know what is in there, and yet you still carry it with you?" Inosuke proceeded to get brutally punched in the stomach by Tanjiro, which started their long fight. Kanao stood perfectly still like a deer in headlights, unsure of whether or not she should step in to break them up.

"I need it for my own reasons, ones that maybe you could listen to and let me explain!"

Kanao's hand reached into her pocket, pulling out her coin. Resting it on top of her thumb like she always did, she flipped it into the air. Heads is stop the fight, Tails is don't.

Seeing the outcome, she sighed and placed the coin back in her pocket. Then she watched as her fellow students clashed.

.

After a little too long, Inosuke was on the ground half-conscious. Tanjiro didn't look much better, and neither did Zenitsu. I guess this could be one reason I was put on this job.

Inosuke's mask was off, revealing an almost feminine face along with dark hair that had blue dye at the bottom. Where the odd boar mask was, Kanao didn't know.

She finally moved, rushing over to Tanjiro first to check him over. He had further broken his ribs thanks to the fight, but he was okay other than that. Zenitsu was in pretty much the same situation. Inosuke also had broken ribs, but he seemed to have a concussion too. She wouldn't know until he woke up.

Tanjiro then told her and Zenitsu about all the people he found dead inside the house. No wonder he looked a bit shaken.

After a lot of digging with some shovels they found, the three had made enough holes for graves. Then, after a quick search through the house to ensure there were no more enemies, they gently carried the people to the graves and rested them inside.

.

Inosuke had woken up to find them doing this. The first thing he did was ask Tanjiro what they were doing, and the second thing was ask him to fight.

Naturally, Tanjiro ignored the second thing.

Ultimately, they all managed to get Inosuke to help them out with the burial.

.

Now finished, they walked down the dirt road once again. Eventually the four stopped at a nice-looking house with a wisteria crest engraved on the front gate.

"Oh, I've heard about these. Apparently houses with this on the gate are always willing to help Demon Slayers out, since they were saved by us." Zenitsu explained.

Kanao took responsibility and pressed the doorbell.

An elderly lady answered the door, spying their uniforms and immediately allowing them inside. She showed them around the house, giving them a change of clothes and having a doctor come to check over their injuries.

Because Kanao wasn't injured, she decided with her coin to help out the lady with caring for her fellow students. They were all given a delicious meal, too.

Afterwards, she was shown her own room while Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were given another.

Pulling the covers over her, she fell asleep slowly.

TTTTT

Kanao stood in her apartment room.

It was freezing, and everything in her peripheral vision looked a bit fuzzy. It was also raining outside, but oddly she couldn't see anything out the window but the rain. No streets, just a black void.

The door creaked open by itself, revealing Kanae with her arms in front of her, hands folded together. "Kanao, let's work on our reading and writing. I'm sure you've gotten even better." Her voice was the same as usual, but something still felt very, very, wrong.

"You're… You're dead." Kanao stuttered.

Kanae smiled. "It was your fault, you know. The demon that killed me wanted to kill you."

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't want you to-"

"Sorry won't cut it." Kanae's voice turned ice cold, and her eyes narrowed. "You'd have to die if you want to repay me." She lunged forward, her knife in hand. The knife she'd given to Shinobu to give to Kanao.

Right before it pierced her heart, Kanao was thrown into another place she knew all too well. Her childhood home.

Except, something was different here too. Of course, she was there, being beaten by her father. But standing in the doorway was a young Tanjiro, in the same clothes as when she first met him on that crosswalk.

"My family is dead now, and my sister is in a coma. It's your fault. Maybe if we hadn't met, the demon wouldn't have killed them." His voice cut through her heart.

"Tanjiro, I-"

"You really should die. Who'd miss you, anyway?" He held up a gun aimed at her head, and a loud bang echoed before everything went black.

TTTTT

Kanao woke up with a start like she usually did. Cold sweat ran down her back as she thought about the new part to her nightmare. The information that Tanjiro's family was dead really didn't seem to be helping with her sleep.

She knew it wasn't her fault. There was no way it could possibly have been, and there was no way she could've prevented it. But even still, a feeling of guilt nagged at the back of her mind.

Unable to go back to sleep, she opened the window of her room, and after some maneuvering, found herself on the rooftop of the wisteria house.

Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, she saw that it was quite late at night. No one should be up.

Should being the keyword.

She heard a sound similar to when she opened her window, but she ignored it, lost in thought. Maybe… maybe it was my fault. If I had-

"Kanao? I didn't expect to see you up here."

Whipping her head to the side, she came face-to-face with Tanjiro, who sat down next to her.

She gestured to her phone, which she turned back on to show Tanjiro the time. Then she cocked her head to the side slightly.

"Well, I… couldn't really sleep."

Quickly flipping her coin, she decided to talk to him. "Me neither."

He looked happy that she spoke to him. "Often in my old home, I'd climb up on the roof if I had a bad dream so that I could- ...Kanao?"

She had gone pale at the words 'Old home', and started to do her usual shut down defense mechanism. Although, she'd never done it in front of Tanjiro before.

"Kanao, are you okay? Hey, can you hear me?" He waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she stayed in the same position, amethyst eyes in a faraway place. Her own hand was shaking slightly.

Tanjiro finally decided that there was nothing he could do about it, so he turned his head toward the stars. The two sat in silence for a little while, until Kanao managed to come out of her numb state.

"I'm sorry." She quietly said at his anxious expression. "It's a normal thing. Please don't be concerned."

At that, he just smiled sadly. "How could I not? You're my friend, Kanao."

Her breath stopped. She was… his friend?

He seemed to notice her surprise. "What, you didn't think that after all this time, I still wouldn't care about you at all?"

It wasn't that, I just… an image of the young Tanjiro from her nightmare appeared in her mind. "I just don't think I deserve it." She didn't mean to say it aloud, and regretted it a little when she saw his slightly hurt expression. "Of course you do. What have you done to not deserve it? You've helped me out so many times."

"Do you think I could have prevented it?" She locked eyes with him.

He knew exactly what she meant. "No one could have. If anything, it's my fault they're gone. Mine and the one who killed them."

She went quiet for a little while, turning her head back to the sky. Then, "It wasn't your fault either. You were just doing your job, and the person who killed them is fully responsible for this." It was simply a fact, nothing from her heart. Right?

Tanjiro closed his eyes, hands clenched into shaky fists. "I think- I think I really needed to hear that. Thanks, Kanao."

Her lips upturned into a small smile.

She glanced over, seeing him yawn. She silently asked tired?

"Mhm… I guess it's about time, anyway…" He gently fell against the side of her body, and was asleep within moments. Her eyes widened in surprise, then shone with something she would never be able to explain.

Not wanting to wake him up, she debated (with her coin) taking him to his room. She chose to do just that, but…

She knew it was selfish, but she wanted to be with him like this, for just a little while.

TTTTT

Credit to Bizcooitz for the inspiration for the entire last scene there.

Well, not much to say. I'll admit that Kanao is warming up to Tanjiro much quicker than I originally wanted her to, so maybe it's a tad bit OOC for her. But then again, this is an AU so I can do whatever I want :)

I am also now one chapter behind in my planning. It was really only because the last chapter carried out for a while, but honestly I'm happy that I am behind (somehow).

Next week's chapter will be another important scene for Tanjiro and Kanao, so stay tuned!