One look at Kuwajima Jigoro's baby daughter sent Zeno reeling.

It was like he was back in the Ryumaki family house surrounded by wisteria, still holding a 1-year-old Hinoe in his arms as a 3-year-old Zeuxis nagged that he wanted to be held too.

"̶A̷n̷i̷j̸a̸ ̴l̶o̴o̵k̵! ̶It̶'̶s̴ ̴a̴ ̵b̸u̷t̶t̴e̸r̷f̴l̵y̵!̸"̶ ̸Z̸e̴u̸x̷i̷s̵ ̴s̵m̷i̴l̶e̵s̸ ̴a̴n̵d̶ ̴l̷e̷a̶n̶s̶ ̶i̵n̵.̵

Setsuna was a carbon copy of Ryumaki Hinoe, the only difference he could find in appearance was that Setsuna had Zeuxis's brown eyes. And more modern clothes too... otherwise the same black hair, same bright smile and button nose of a 1-year-old.

And so, Zeno went and searched the house. When he found nothing apart from a very ancient looking locked cabinet with only barely seen kanji used in the Ryumaki surname carved on the top, he knew he would have to talk with someone of the Kuwajima family.

Kuwajima Jigoro's father was a man in his late 50, Kuwajima Hiroshi also happened to be a very reasonable man.

He talked with said man, and after inquiring about 'the Ryumaki's' the man just straight up led him to the cabinet. Then Hiroshi gave him the key, before promptly leaving the room. Zeno had been mildly surprised at his willingness. The man had seemed almost happy to give the key to him.

Zeno curiously fiddled with the key, and observed the cabinet. The brown color was faded, and the whole thing looked older than Zeno's real age. The upper corner is about to fall off and Zeno bet that if he shook the cabinet the whole thing would just simply fall apart.

Zeno looked over the intricate golden key and then inserted it to the cabinet and turned it. He heard the signature opening click and then carefully opened the door of the ancient looking cabinet.

Zeno blinked once... twice... inside were some papers. And at the very back something familiar could be seen. Zeno's eyes widen, and he quickly reached for the very back, grabbing the sososososo familiar item. He opens his palm and feels his eyes strain when he looks at the object in his hand.

A small, gray bow. Age had obviously taken its toll on it. It didn't look like the same bright gray nor at all new as it had before, the day Zeno had given it to Hinoe. The day Hinoe had been just 3 and still calling him Ai-ue with bright smiles.

He grabs it to his chest and stifles any kind of noise he is about to let out. Cradling the slip of fabric that had stayed in this cabinet for who knows how long. He opens his eyes that he didn't know he had closed and wipes his sleeve over them. If the sleeve feels wet then it's probably just sweat from the heat of the room.

But it's almost winter, his mind whispers

Zeno turns his attention to the papers still sitting in the cabinet. Bringing them out and a puff of dust later he gets a better look. The most eye catching is the largest paper, which Zeno instantly recognizes fondly as his mother's painting. Additionally, to the painting there are 2 longer letters and 1 shorter letter. Zeno cautiously decides to read the shorter one first.

Dear Zeno- the paper begun and Zeno recognized the handwriting as Ubuyashiki Kameki's. How did a slip of paper from the wavy haired Oyakata end up in a cabinet in the house of the Kuwajima's, who knows?

I will leave behind this note for you, whenever you wake. I have told my son Kiyome much about you, and he promised to make sure knowledge of you passes down. - that's why Kareki and his father knew so much.

So, whenever you wake, when I am long gone, the Ubuyashiki family will always welcome you. I hope you are well, after all you too, are still one of my precious children- Zeno choked as tears came out forcefully, Zeno feels as his hand trembles and lips quiver, sneakily letting out a small whimper. It has been so long. He wasn't supposed to sleep that long. Kameki was so so so so kind.

With hopes for a bright future and no more lost children in pain.
-Ubuyashiki Kameki

The note ended there, in a simple elegant wish. And Zeno brings it to his chest, feeling how the paper was so frail it was basically crumbling in his hands. He lets the tears fall freely this time, taking a breather until he calms down enough to read the next one.

He takes one of the longer ones, the one that looks more damaged than the other. Zeno closes his eyes and breathes slowly in, and out before starting to read. He opens his eyes and sees the world isn't so blurry anymore.

To my dearest Aniue, Ryumaki Zeno, From Ryumaki Hinoe

Zeno breathes and thinks, this probably will give Zeno some kind of reason for why Kameki's note is with Kuwajima.

The night you left on the mission, Onii-sama got angry. I was still young, but now I'm old and I finally understand the panicked eyes Onii-sama looked at the door with. His yelling and shouting at mother and father. You left for a long mission, and when I first realized you weren't coming back, I cried until I fainted.

Zeno grips the note, feeling his eyes strain from trying to decipher the words on the damaged paper. He caused them pain. He caused them so much pain.

Onii-sama was mad at you, for a long time after Oyakata-sama came and told us you were gone. He was angry that you understood risks and still went on a mission that would surely kill you. He hated you for leaving us so early. But I was just sad. So so sad. I wanted my Ai-ue back- Zeno forces a violent sob back down. Flashes of a smiling Hinoe calling him affectionally Ai-ue.

Oyakata-sama told us to write you letters, to afterlife, so you know how we feel. That if we preserved them somewhere with an object you had owned at one point you would hear them in afterlife. So here I am, 55 years old and finally writing to you. I have three sons; I married a wonderful man. Onii-sama became a Hashira, but he was too bitter to marry he said, I think it's a waste for him not to marry. Mother and father were angry at him for that decision too, after all it's quite preposterous not to marry. He wanted to die during a mission like you.

No. Nononono. Zeno feels his breathing escalate. Zeuxis was supposed to life a wonderful life in a happy family with a loving wife and children. They were supposed to be happy.

I tell you, I miss you everyday. Mother died with tears in her eyes, father with a proud smile. Zeuxis is still alive, and his bitterness has dimmed. And we hope to join you in heaven soon.

With love, Hinoe.

No... Hinoe would not be joining him. Ever. Because he wasn't there. He wasn't waiting for her in heaven like she thought. Because he was cursed to dwell forever in mortal realms. With an immortal body, aiding different heroes.

Zeno feels his knees give out under him, collapsing to the floor. He tries and tries but the tears won't stop flooding. How could he? But how could he not? This was one of the reason's he usually wasn't born in happy families. He would get attached and end up sobbing on his sister's descendants' floor.

He feels a coughing fit wrack through him, snot dripping down his chin and tears soaking his orange oldoldold haori.

Zeno glimpses at his haori, the orange with white lighting strikes at the sleeves and the bottom. His mother sewed this for him when he first became a demon slayer. And although the clothes under the haori have changed more times than he can count, the haori is still the same one. So maybe it's about time to give up the falling apart article of clothing. Even the tears he just shed are damaging it.

Good distract your mind, calm down, then read the other one. It'sNoTtHAtbAD

Breathe in, hold, out, in, hold, out- just like how you read up this helps you calm down. HelpS.

Zeno shifts his gaze from his haori in his hands towards the last letter, the one that was surely from Zeuxis.

Moving his hand at a snail's pace towards the paper. Picking the old paper up with shaking fingers and bringing it closer to him. To reading distance. His eyes are much clearer, and the paper is not as damaged as the previous ones so he doesn't need to strain his eyes as much as when reading Hinoe's letter.

Zeno takes in another shaky breath, resolving to finally reading the letter

To Anija-

T̶̘̘̹̰̜̖̋̑͑̿́͒͛ḩ̴̨̣͔̇͛͌͠ͅȇ̷̹̳̪̱̬̺̘́̇̃̈͌̅T̸̝̮̰̀̎̓͊̀́̎́́̉́̚̚̕̚e̵̮͔̼̲̔̌͑̐̾͜͝͝͝A̷̳̣̱̞̟̅̂̾͘͝R̶͚͊͂̒͋s̸̝͉̟͝W̴̡̧̧̹̞͎̠͖̫͚̉̊͋͠O̷̧̰̘̺̝̖̣̼͔̊̊n̷̨̖̯̮̮͍̟̤̲͉͉͌̇ͅŢ̶̻̥̈́̍Ş̷͙̬̤̻͈̗̙̎t̷̢̟̠̼̦̞̝̄̒͂̚͘͝Ǫ̸͓̺͍̥̻͕͔̭̠͕͑͒̈͗̃̀̐͒͝p̵̢̧̥͓̱̱̹͉̼͓̙̏͂

ARC 2 END