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

XIII: Dance

The car ride was pretty uneventful, mostly just adrenaline beginning to kick in. They were going to a party, a formal one at that, to assassinate a mafia family after all.

Kanao sat with the window on her right, with Rose on her left. She did another check to ensure that she had everything she needed, although she really didn't need to as she already had done so several times. It just made her anxious to sit and do nothing.

Tied around the waist of her gown, at first glance appearing to be a simple decoration, was a thick, sharp and silver wire (a garrote, in a way). Its purpose is to serve as a backup weapon to her knives if necessary, but can also be used to store information as the end can pop off to reveal a hard drive.

Under the gown, straps on her legs held her knives and gun. Beneath Kanae's butterfly hairpin, special hair clips could be used as lockpicks or files. Her heels each had hidden blades that could pop out of the end. Everything Kanao knew about hiding weapons was taught to her by Shinobu personally.

She knew she had everything she needed with her, so Kanao just stared out the window for the rest of the ride deep in thought.

.

After some time, a huge mansion came into view. To call it a castle wouldn't be too much of an overstatement. Elegantly painted white with black accents and having many large windows, the entire place gave off tones of grandness, dignity and luxury. Kanao could see from her window a vast garden complete with walking paths, several fountains, and every type of flower she could name. Everything was securely protected by a towering light grey fence that surrounded the entire estate.

Their car parked to the side of the house along with the other cars in a wide lot. Carefully opening the door, Kanao stepped outside. The air was warm and welcoming, although she knew it wouldn't be that way for long.

Tanjiro stood next to her. He stared at the house with a look of determination in his eyes, hands clenched into tight fists.

They had arrived.

.

Their group was led by a person who Kanao assumed was a butler into the house. A formal grand hall greeted them when they walked through the doors. A few fancy hallways later had them in a spacious ballroom with a ceiling so high that you had to crane your neck to see the top. Tables scattered one side of the room, while an empty space (for dancing, she thought) dominated the other. Against the wall of the empty section was a large stage.

As for guests, there were the disguised Demon Slayers among many people that Kanao didn't recognize, so she figured that they were regular people invited. Supposedly this party was for fundraising for some good cause, but Kanao knew that wasn't the case. Really, this banquet was for giving the mafia more money to work with.

After a while of patiently waiting for the festivities to begin, two women walked out onto the stage. The older one had long platinum blonde hair (nearly silver, but Kanao could tell it was dyed to be that way) left straight down, while the younger one had the same hair colour except hers was shorter. Both wore flowing white gowns with touches of red.

"We welcome you to the Aranea family charity event." The younger one went first. "I am Aranea Aiya, the eldest daughter." Her monotone voice made it almost sound like she was simply told to say what she did.

The other woman continued. "And I am Aranea Hikaru, the mother. We hope you enjoy the banquet." Her voice was nearly the same as her daughter's, without emotion.

With that, classical music started up and the two exited the stage. Since Kanao hadn't ever been to any sort of formal party, she wondered if it was always like this. The people around her began to move, being sent to their specific tables by the butlers.

Eventually Tanjiro, Kanao, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Rose, and a few other demon slayers were sent to a table together.

Staring at the many plates and utensils on the elegant table, Kanao felt somehow out of place. It was like she wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be somewhere else, particularly in the slums of the city with her family, working her life away with no good rewards-

"Kanao, are you alright?" It was Tanjiro, who sat next to her. He lowered his voice so that only Kanao could hear him. "You're staring into space."

She nodded. But she made him concerned. A small wave of guilt crashed over her, but she wasn't sure why.

Not being able to stand the silence much, the group began making small talk to pass the time (Kanao still stayed silent). Apparently when the family came out to mingle with the guests, the stealthier Demon Slayers would sneak behind their backs and briefly turn the lights out, along with triggering the sprinklers. Supposedly a few slayers had already been to the house to scout out the necessary routes and rooms that they would need to accomplish the task.

Dinner arrived, carried out to each of the tables. Kanao and the others all checked their expensive-looking food for any sedatives or poisons, just in case (although Inosuke just dug into his food without a care, with the reasoning that he was raised in the forest and became 'immune' to such things after a while).

Once they made sure there wasn't anything, they began eating. The main course consisted of steaks and other meats, along with saffron rice and cooked vegetables. Many other foods were scattered about the table. Kanao had to admit that the food was quite delicious, and that she'd never had that type of meal in her life before.

After the other courses, which had similar types of food, were finished, dessert came. Cakes of every flavour, chocolate fountains with bowls of fruit, pudding, and many other treats were placed onto the table next. Another round of checking for poisons, another round of eating the rich and pleasant food.

.. (Author's Note: I personally listened to "Affections Touching Across Time" from the Inuyasha soundtrack when writing this scene. If you want, you can put that on. Just search it up on Youtube, it should be the first option to pop up.) ..

Some time passed, and the plates were cleared away. People around her stood and moved to the empty half of the ballroom. Kanao heard the music change from lazy and background-style to a more dance type song. She saw everyone else either stay seated or also stand to go to the dance floor.

A gentle tug on her arm got her attention. She turned her head and saw Tanjiro, who instantly met her eyes with a slight blush on his face. "Um, Kanao, may I have this dance?"

She took the coin out of a small pocket she had sewn into her dress, and flipped it quickly. Revealing her hand, the Tails side was facing upward. That meant…

"Of course." She took his arm and the two began walking to an empty spot on the ballroom floor.

Little did they know, an over-excited Rose, a slightly jealous Zenitsu, and a confused Inosuke were watching the two leave the table. The bubbly brunette took out her phone from where it was stored in her purse (even though the teachers told the students not to bring their phones to the event), and snapped a few quick photos. "So cute…"

.

Kanao felt lightheaded, but not in a bad way. It was an odd feeling, but one that was almost enjoyable in a sort. She let herself be led to the dance floor by Tanjiro, who seemed to know more about what he was doing.

A slow song was playing as they got into proper position. Shinobu had taught her how to dance formally before the mission started, probably so that she wouldn't have to learn as she went.

Then they were off. Gliding across the hardwood floor in slow circles, neither stumbled too much due to practise. The light feeling that was present before only grew now, along with a hint of nervousness for a reason Kanao couldn't figure out. Still, it was… nice. She was happy to be there, in Tanjiro's arms.

For a fleeting second, the weight of her past lifted off of her shoulders. For just a single moment, everything felt as though it would be alright in the end. One blissful flash that seemed to last a lifetime. Unconsciously, she held Tanjiro just a little bit tighter to hold on to that feeling.

She could catch glimpses of the Aranea family (she knew it was them because of their distinctive hair colour) dancing and mingling with the other guests. She could even see the mother, Hikaru, talking casually with Shinobu. From across the room, Kanao and her sister briefly locked eyes. Shinobu smirked, nodding her head in approval.

Then Kanao met another pair of eyes, those being the deep red of Tanjiro's.

They both smiled a little.

Then the lights went out.

TTTTT

Hehe, cliffhanger time.

I apologize for last week, I took some time to plan out the story. I now have arcs that I'm confident with now, at least. I even said "See you next week" then never posted…

Well, apparently Tanjiro and Kanao forgot about the mission. Or was that the mission? Who knows… (uh oh, do I even know?)

I will update next week, and if I don't, please shoot me a PM to remind me that I need to write. I feel bad that I can't keep a consistent update sometimes.

See ya.