Hinokami's Blessing


Chapter 26

12Thirtypain03

WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering makes you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into demon/human, or more will be labelled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.


Tanjirou's POV (Butterfly Mansion)


A brown, solid wall. Tanjirou was looking around, as he noticed his figure.

"I-I'm on a bed?" Tanjirou asked himself, as he continued to look around. There were no windows, making the room a lot dark.

Despite this, Tanjirou could tell that this was a room.

He was clearly trying to remember everything that had occurred that resulted in him being here.

"W-Where's Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked himself in his mind.

He tried to contact Nezuko through their mind link, only to hear nothing.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Tanjirou worried once he was unable to contact his sister.

It took Tanjirou around 5 minutes before he realized someone was in the room with him.

It was the butterfly girl he and Nezuko had saved from the Lower Moon, and the one they saw during the Mugen Train.

The girl was Kanao Tsuyuri, if Tanjirou remembered.

What was she doing in his room? Tanjirou was curious.

Before he could ask, however, the butterfly girl saw that Tanjirou was awake.

"H-" Tanjirou couldn't even say anything. His voice felt sour from the lack of using it. But he pushed through.

"N-Nezuko…?" Tanjirou asked. It seemed that Kanao could tell what he was asking for.

She merely nodded before she ran to get Nezuko.

After a bit, Nezuko came in a rushed to hug Tanjirou.

"Brother! Why did you sleep for so long?!" Nezuko asked, as she began to cry.

Tanjirou smiled sadly. It really remembered how he felt when Nezuko had finally woke up after just under four months.

"How long… was I asleep for?" Tanjirou asked his sister, clearly curious as to everything that was happening?

"Two months." Nezuko sighed in relief, as she seemed focused on the fact that her brother was finally awake.

"How've you been?" Tanjirou asked, as he tried to get up. His body felt sore, but he was forcing himself up. His whole head begun to spin at the sudden position switch up, but he held himself up with the wall.

"You alright, brother?" Nezuko asked.

Tanjirou nodded after a bit, "Just a bit dizzy, but I'll be fine."

And so, both Nezuko and Kanao helped Tanjirou get a proper footing up, due to being dizzy from sleeping too much.

"How's training been, Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked.

"Oh, it's been great!" Nezuko beamed, "Kanao here has been teaching me how to do that breathing thing you were taught with Urokodaki! Also, Giyu and I are performing our own training, that he wants me to do with time!"

"Wow, that's great, Nezuko. You've gotten stronger, I can smell it." Tanjirou gave a warm smile to Nezuko, that with the calmness of his voice, reminded Nezuko too much of her father.

It seemed that Tanjirou was developing and acting more like their father now.

Nezuko could tell that something changed in her brother while he slept.

"Do you remember what you did to make you sleep for two months?" Kanao asked. Nezuko immediately was surprised that Kanao had spoken, but quickly realized she was in the process of putting her own coin back in her pocket.

This was something Tanjirou took note of when he was observing everything.

As they were maneuvering across the butterfly mansion, Tanjirou opened a door that had surprised both Nezuko and Kanao.

"Brother, don't!" Nezuko exclaimed, as she knew that the daylight would pierce through and strike Tanjirou, causing him to be in pain from the sudden onslaught.

However, to her shock, while Tanjirou quickly shut the door, he didn't scream. Nezuko herself had instinctively covered herself quickly behind a table that she pushed down.

Nezuko took note of this, but it seemed that Tanjirou didn't. Nezuko looked at Kanao, as if to confirm that her suspicions weren't in vain. Thankfully, it seemed Kanao had also caught something strange.

"Brother, you alright?" Nezuko asked, clearly wanting to know if Tanjirou held it in, or didn't get hurt.

"I'm fine, Nezuko." Tanjirou smiled, "I felt the heat, but I closed the door before it could burn."

With that, Nezuko was confused about why Tanjirou acted like that. Usually, it took the slightest bit of sunlight to really hurt her. She knew that, for sometimes she would accidentally stay out longer than she should have.

Therefore, the fact Tanjirou in that split time wasn't hurt by the sunlight, it was noteworthy for Nezuko.

However, that was something for a different time.

For the meantime, Nezuko wanted to show Tanjirou all of her progress that she had made over the two months while he was sleeping.

Tanjirou could tell that she was wanting to show him. Oddly enough, it seemed that while Tanjirou had been asleep, both Nezuko and Kanao had developed a rather nice friendship, as Kanao seemed relatively comfortable being around her.

That was not the case with Tanjirou himself, as he could smell the uncomfort Kanao was giving towards him. It did upset him, but he didn't blame her, since he was a demon and she hadn't yet to talk to him much.

For the time being, while Nezuko went one way with Kanao, perhaps to their training area, Tanjirou wanted to look for one specific individual.

When Tanjirou approached that of Zenitsu and Inosuke, Tanjirou realized a problem.

He didn't really have that many friends.

And so, Tanjirou only found himself around Giyu.

Giyu was the only one who didn't mind having Tanjirou near him. The result was that Tanjirou asked Giyu if he could train with him.

Giyu, of course, nodded, as he motioned for Tanjirou.

"This is the training that I've been doing, and one that Nezuko will be doing soon." Was all Giyu explained.

Before Tanjirou knew it, Giyu began to bring what appeared to be a large boulder.

For Tanjirou, this wasn't anything new. He had to cut a giant boulder that Urokodaki had set for him.

What Giyu did next, shocked Tanjirou.

Giyu pushed the boulder into the river, and then he jumped into the river. Tanjirou could see that over the course of two minutes, Giyu had managed to push the boulder quite a bit through the river, before he gasped for breath jumping out, letting the air get into his lungs.

"What was that, Giyu?!" Tanjirou asked, very shocked.

Giyu panted, "That, is my new training regimen…" He was clearly still trying to get through it.

"What is it for?" Tanjirou asked.

"It's for a new breathing constant." Giyu explained, "I was watching Nezuko sleep while she was mastering her total concentration breathing, constant, and I discovered that I could perhaps alter it to benefit myself for specific purposes."

"So, you do this vigorous training regiment to achieve it?" Tanjirou asked.

"Exactly. As for you and Nezuko." Giyu explained, "Whilst I'm unsure if you want to do it, I am hoping Nezuko will eventually be able to perform it."

"O-Of course I'll join you in doing it!" Tanjirou explained.

"It takes an experienced water breather to perform it, something I've noticed you've strayed away from, in favour of your Hinokami Kagura." Giyu explained, "Whilst I'm not going against you, I will be warning you it will be more difficult than how Nezuko will go through."

Tanjirou smiled, "Hey, you and Urokodaki both thought I wouldn't have been able to do water breathing with all of the side effects I went through, and look how I turned out? Even if it is more difficult for me, I don't think it's impossible. I can do it."

Giyu eyed the determination in Tanjirou's eyes, before he sighed.

"Very well, Tanjirou, I will be waiting for both you and your sister when you are ready to start this new training." Was all Giyu said, before he jumped back into the river.

Tanjirou could only look on in shock at what Giyu was doing. Despite this, he knew this was something Giyu would do.

As Tanjirou walked around for the evening, as the sun had just managed to set. Tanjirou enjoyed the entire atmosphere. It felt to have his body moving.

Gripping his own blade, he began to swing his moves, as he gritted it tightly, and finally unleashed his own breathing style.

"Nice to see I still got it." Tanjirou smiled inside his head.

He realized that it was around the time it would be getting colder. Despite this, Tanjirou felt himself being warmer. He felt at home.

Whether or not that was comforting for him, he wasn't sure. For the time being, he focused on practicing his own breathing style, and swings. He wanted to make sure he was still on the top condition.

He smelled someone approaching him. Thankfully, it was someone he was familiar with.

"You alright, Nezuko?" Tanjirou asked his sister.

"You heard about my progress from Giyu?" Nezuko asked her brother back.

"I did, and I'm glad. To see my younger sister becoming much stronger, it's very appreciating, to see such a strong person in you." Tanjirou smiled, as he gently patted his sister on the head.

Nezuko smiled, "You really know how to make me feel good about myself… it almost makes me feel jealous of your own traits sometimes…"

Tanjirou chuckled, "Never get jealous over what others have. Just be glad for what you possess."

Nezuko sighed, "I know… There is one thing I want to do, though."

"And what is that?" Tanjirou asked.

"I want to ask that butterfly woman about her breathing style." Nezuko explained.

"Which one?" Tanjirou asked.

Nezuko described the individual she was referring to. The tallest of the three, the one who was the Hashira.

It was Kanae.

"Why do you need to see her?" Tanjirou asked.

"Well, her breathing style looks very familiar… Remember that time we were sparring when we were residing in Asakusa?" Nezuko asked. "When I used that other move when I was trying to breathe like you?"

"Yes, actually. I do remember." Tanjirou had a flashback memory. It was certainly unexpected.

"Well, that girl uses the same breathing style. Apparently, it's Flower Breathing, and it's derived of water breathing." Nezuko explained.

"I'm assuming you asked Giyu about it?" Tanjirou asked back.

"Yes, but he said that is to be expected I could do the other forms, like Flower, or even Serpent Breathing." Nezuko explained.

"That's cool. I do like the two breathing styles I use, but if the time is required, I don't mind learning new styles." Tanjirou commented. "I think you should go for it."

"Thanks brother!" Nezuko hugged her brother, before she went off to talk to Kanae.

Tanjirou sighed as he sat down. He was glad that Nezuko was able to make a lot of friends, but he felt alone.

After he woke up, he was interrogated by some of the other Hashira.

Tanjirou apologized, having remembered everything now, he explained that he found himself in a trance or mindset trying to survive fighting against Upper Moon One.

Almost all of the Hashira, plus Ubuyashiki gave him to greenlight to be apart of the corps, with the exception of the white haired boy, Sanemi.

He, assuming he did the same thing for his sister, he cut his arm to see if Tanjirou could pass the test they set for him.

Thankfully, Tanjirou was able to avoid it. However, he did have a harder time resisting, as the smell was amplified by tenfold or more.

Tanjirou sighed. For the time being, Nezuko was with three others, including Kanao, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, training.

However, he did find someone who was willing to talk to him.

Genya.

Ironically, the younger brother of Sanemi, the only Hashira who denied him the right to being in the corps, Genya was more respectful to Tanjirou, and was willing to be around him.

The two begun to hang around, especially so when Genya wanted Tanjirou to hang around Gyomei.

The sheer figure of Gyomei alone almost terrified Tanjirou. He could easily be crushed by this human, and Tanjirou felt very small.

Even if Tanjirou felt a bit taller after waking up, he still felt short, especially since he was the shortest of the three.

"Thanks for hanging out with me." Tanjirou gave the two a smile, before he went off on his own.

And so, Gyomei had got the two to sit down, meditating, before he then made the two of them chant to improve their repetitive action technique. For Tanjirou, he wasn't really sure what he was doing, but he followed the chant.

"Now Tanjirou, from what everyone who was at the train had told me, you were talking about Hinokami in your trance and repetitive action. Would you like to tell me about who this Hinokami is?"

Tanjirou nodded, not minding. If anything, he was glad that someone else was into the Hinokami Kagura. If others knew about the tradition, it could give Tanjirou more reflective knowledge about it. All he knew, was that one of his ancestors passed it down as a dance, when in reality it was Sun Breathing.

Because Gyomei was among the most powerful and experienced Hashira in the current times, he had decided to give Tanjirou a complete run of all the breathing styles that were present. Considering Tanjirou was being exposed to quite the amount of breathing styles, and with both him and his sister learning more than just one breathing styles, Gyomei found it right to explain everything to Tanjirou.

As for Sun Breathing, Tanjirou only knew that it was very varied and all around, being flexible in almost every field, emphasizing unpredictability, at the expense of body strain, the most out of every other breathing style.

When Tanjirou asked Gyomei about Sun Breathing, he was clearly quite surprised, and told Tanjirou about the quirks that he knew of. Gyomei didn't consider Sun Breathing the strongest form, because it caused the most strain on the user's body, and it took a lot of experience to learn, but the reward was clearly massive. Despite Sun Breathing being known, it was only through history.

By contrast, Water Breathing focused on the defensive and endurance of the user, with the flowing of water and flexibility of flowing their bodily movements, alongside pretty good speed. This alongside a respectable coverage in swings proved for being amazing for counterattacking demons.

Flame breathing was more powerful, emphasizing decisive strikes instead, with the flames of fire being known as a powerful force. It was more concentrated in their special coverage, but was among the most powerful offensive breathing styles.

Wind breathing placed more emphasis on aggression and overwhelming force of wind, with emphasis on speed. Like fire, wind was a powerful force, but it was more overwhelming but less powerful and more spread out.

Stone breathing was built to center around being as unmovable as possible, which allowed the user to strengthen their offensive and defensive capabilities, at the expense of speed. It represented the stone material, with it being very sturdy. A stone had to be balanced, firm, and aware.

Then there was Thunder Breathing, a purely speed based breathing style, that clearly placed all its perks into speed. Tanjirou had seen Zenitsu's incredible speed, almost impossible to see with the naked eye sometimes. Even in the Transparent World, Tanjirou had to act quick and almost on reflex to see the trajectory of the path of Thunder Breathing. However, it was quite poor in both defense and offense, meaning it was only good for striking demons right in the neck to eliminate them.

The derivative of water breathing, there were three.

Serpent Breathing, was perhaps the most like water breathing. Both utilized stringent movement to mimic snake movement, that in tangent with Sun Breathing, focused on the unpredictable nature of their movements. The slithering movements made up for the coverage, at the cost of some offensive power, since the body had to focus more on extending itself beyond what was capable of normal humans.

Then, there was Flower Breathing, which focused interestingly on their sight to gather intel about their opponent. They too retained the elegant movements like in Water and Serpent Breathing, but was more concentrated on their strikes, which was an intermediate between Serpent Breathing's movements, and Water Breathing's raw power. It did have the risk of damaging their eye if used too excessively, however.

A derivative of Flower Breathing was Insect Breathing, which unlike the rest of the family of breathing styles, whilst still focused on elegant movement and piercing strikes. This gave it little coverage, but the elegance allowed for very quick strikes that could overwhelm a single enemy. It was coated with poison to incapacitate demons.

A derivative of Flame Breathing, Love Breathing. Ironically, Love Breathing was much stronger than Flame Breathing, because of Mitsuri's extraordinary muscle concentration. Especially with the whip-like blade she had, it still retained the flexibility, dexterity and coverage of Flame Breathing. It was unpredictable for some. Who knew love hurts…

A derivative of Thunder Breathing, Thunder Breathing focused on hearing the opponent out, before using speed and offensive capabilities to overwhelm the opponent, similar to Wind and Flame Breathing. The sounds give could be able to provide intel for the opponent.

A derivative of Wind Breathing, Mist Breathing focused on sudden, stealthy, and unpredictable movements. It almost mimicked the unpredictability of Sun Breathing, and the speed of Thunder Breathing, placing an emphasis on stealth to create a rogue-like style.

Genya briefly mentioned that the boar-head, named Inosuke used his own version of a breathing style, called Beast Breathing, that mimicked animalistic moves.

However, Tanjirou had asked Gyomei about the breathing style the Upper Moon One had used. This made sense that Gyomei would be shocked to hear about a demon using a breathing style unheard of by the Hashira. And so, Moon Breathing became a mystery, only for Tanjirou himself to explain what it felt like to face.

Tanjirou realized, that despite the sheer coverage the crescent-like breathing style gave, and how fast it could be, Kokushibo rarely ever moved from his stance. It also wasn't strong on it's own. It was only strong because of the blood demon art he had added onto it.

"So he mixed the biggest flaw of his own breathing style for his demon art to fix… That's impressive and smart…" Tanjirou sighed.

In a strange twist, Tanjirou found himself being very similar to the Upper Moon One. They both had blood demon arts that seemed to be adding onto their current breathing styles.

Once he was done with both Gyomei and Genya, he bid them a goodbye, giving the two a smile before he went on his own to find Nezuko. Well…

He knew where Nezuko was.

He sighed. They probably thought that Tanjirou was just unapproachable, which was not the case.

Tanjirou knew he had to be the one to approach them. Even if the boar head attacked him, or if the thunder boy started crying, he had to at least try consistently.

Knocking gently on the door, he noticed Nezuko greeting her brother.

He had to do it now or never, as they would probably go to sleep if he was any later.

Giyu was still performing his own technique, that Tanjirou was really considering doing. He wanted to, to be stronger.

The others, including the Love Hashira wanted to see him awake, and when she did, she hugged him incredibly tight. Tanjirou shuddered, remembering how tight her hug was.

He also remembers what he thought, "How strong is this woman?!"

The other Hashira's mostly left him alone. He was observing the others through the building of the Butterfly Mansion, as he was inside watching the other's asleep.

This was the downside of being a demon, especially one that was sleeping for two months.

It took Tanjirou around two days to finally approach them all.

He smiled as he approached them, as they clearly were all looking at him.

He cleared his mouth, as he scratched his head, "Can I join you?"

The room was silent. Nezuko wasn't there, for Kanae was teaching her more forms of Flower Breathing. According to Nezuko, she wanted to fully complete the total concentration breathing, constant, then Flower Breathing, and then finally Giyu's training.

Tanjirou would wait for her, obviously, but in the meantime, he had to get along with the group in front of him.

"Sure." The girl said after a bit.

"ONLY IF YOU FIGHT ME!" Inosuke yelled after a bit.

"A spar, fine." Tanjirou corrected the boar, as he sat down and watched the two other demon slayers play some weird cup game.

Tanjirou was looking intently at the cup game, as he was intrigued. Specifically, how the butterfly girl was always beating them.

The reason was obvious to Tanjirou. The two were still not properly learning total concentration breathing. They must have tapped out for some time, before joining back into the fray. But now, they were probably playing catchup.

The girl seemed to know it very well. This made Tanjirou somewhat curious.

"Would I be able to beat her?" Tanjirou was never a competitive individual, but he was a curious one.

He was a bit insecure. He didn't want to accidentally break a glass, either by gripping it, or by accidentally smashing it on the girl's head.

And so, Tanjirou spent his time watching the two, as he instead practiced his swinging.

And he knew he would definitely show his breathing constant, for the months were getting shorter, at least the day, allowing him to go out more. But what also came with that, was winter, and thus the annual dance Tanjirou had to do.

It was somewhat funny. Despite their ordeals, Tanjirou did not let tradition fall.

However, before he could ponder more, he was approached by the two.

"You try and beat her!" Both the yellow hair and boar head exclaimed to Tanjirou. "You seem strong, almost on par with her." The yellow hair added.

Tanjirou eyed Kanao, who stared back with an insincere smile. One that, for some reason, got on Tanjirou's nerves. He didn't feel like this girl was being honest.

Regardless, he approached the girl.

"Are you ready?" Kanao asked.

Tanjirou nodded.

Tanjirou ended up losing.

However, he kind of realized that would have happened. But even for a first timer, Tanjirou did exceptionally well.

The three onlookers, looked in shock as both Tanjirou and Kanao had continued to pass and try and stop each other from grabbing the cups full of the medical drinks.

In the end, after 12 minutes, Tanjirou had decided to give up. Not because he was bored, but because he didn't want to keep going and interfere the training of the other demon slayers.

And so, he took the medical drink to the face, as he sighed.

"Good game, Kanao." Tanjirou smiled as he got up to clean his face of the smell and liquid.

"That was amazing!" The yellow head exclaimed.

"YEAH! HOW YOU SURVIVE FOR TWELVE AND A HALF MINUTES?!" Boar head asked back.

"It took me two months just to last at most ten minutes against her…" Nezuko pouted.

Tanjirou chuckled, "I've already learned total concentration breathing involuntarily a while back."

And so, he merely looked at the rest of the demon slayers, including his sister, and watching their progress now. It took them a bit before they wanted Tanjirou to join them.

Needless to say, he gladly joined. Within a week, Tanjirou had gotten along well with the two other demon slayers, whom he learned were named Zenitsu and Inosuke. Apparently, Nezuko had already knew them and were relatively close, but was closer to Aoi, Kanao, and the other Pillars.

"So, how did you two meet each other?" Tanjirou asked.

"Well, I was trying to ask a pretty girl to marry me, when Kanao approached me. She was with that mohawk looking guy and pulled me away from her." Zenitsu chuckled.

Tanjirou looked to Kanao to confirm to story, to which she nodded. She flipped her coin, and she spoke. "I met Genya shortly after our Final Selection pitch, as we both spotted each other in the vicinity. We eventually realized we both had connections to the Hashira, and eventually we sometimes saw each other when our missions intertwined." Kanao explained.

"That's nice." Tanjirou smiled. "And how about Inosuke?"

"We met him in a mansion when fighting some lowly demons." Zenitsu explained.

Immediately, Tanjirou and Nezuko both went back to the memory of the former lower moon that the slayed.

"So there were some demons remaining… Thank god they didn't find the children when we were fighting the other demon…" Both of them thought simultaneously, as they heard the story further.

"What about you two?" Both Tanjirou and Nezuko looked shocked at what Zenitsu asked.

"What about you two? How did you two become demon slayers, even when you both are… well…" Zenitsu sighed, clearly not wanting to speak the elephant in the room.

"Demons?" Tanjirou asked, and he nodded.

"Well, we were spared by Giyu, and sent to train by his former trainer. He saw something in us, how we were different from other demons, especially when newly transformed, and we trained to become demon slayers." Nezuko shrugged.

"We had our problems, like not being able to attend the Final Selection, but Oyakata-sama had given us an exemption, instead prematurely going through missions to prove our worth." Tanjirou explained.

"That explains the masks you both wore for quite some time…" Zenitsu mumbled.

"Yeah, we were in the middle of the fray. Hunted by both demons and demon slayers. Demons hated us because we were traitors to Muzan, the very being who slaughtered our family, then tortured and beat us to the ground when that happened." Tanjirou growled as he thought of the bloodied remains of his family. "And also the demon slayers, because we know despite who we are, all they will see us for are monsters."

At this, the rest of the demon slayers' faces said it all. They all were wary of them, and for the right reason, however, they now knew better.

Eventually, after everything occurred and their training was complete, the rest of demon slayers began to head out.

Nezuko had told Tanjirou that she was going to talk to Kanae to get into the respective moves of Flower Breathing. After all, it was something she seemed affluent in,

That left Tanjirou alone, in the massive room. The rest had decided to go to bed, leaving Tanjirou alone in the room.

He sighed, as he begun to think about everything. He was tempted to go with Giyu for the new training regimen that he was probably doing at the moment. He does see Giyu come for medical assistance more often. After all, Shinobu would merely give Giyu a disapproving look.

However now, Tanjirou focused on himself. He had grabbed his own, charcoal black nirchirin blade, and began to twist and slash around, mimicking not just the breathing style moves, but also the modified ones he was using.

He also knew he had to improve the use of his own blood demon art. In that battle with Kokushibo, the demon was able to use his blood demon art throughout the entire battle, while Tanjirou was only able to use it as a last ditch effort to avoid damaging himself.

Tanjirou knew that he had to practice his blood demon art, so that when he fought stronger demons, he would be able to use it to the best of his abilities.

He knew his blood demon art acted as a poison to Muzan's own demons, as he had seen with Lower Moon One, Enmu. That only occurred if his blood had seeped into the demon either through direct injury from his blade, or by injecting it into their blood demon art.

Naturally, it covered his entire body as a defensive, corrosive shield.

However, Tanjirou knew his blood demon art was able to be projected into his Sun Breathing. The extra flares that would protrude out of his sword, that was concentrated in crimson flames, because of the concentration of Tanjirou's blood inside the flames, and covering his sword, meaning he could potentially kill a demon without even having to decapitate them in the neck.

For now, Tanjirou was only able to do it using Sun Breathing, but he would have to practice combining his blood demon art using Water Breathing, to see what it could do.

Alongside Giyu's training that both he and Nezuko were to do, they both had their work cut out for them.

Tanjirou's mind was interrupted when he smelt someone within the same room as him.

He turned around to see Kanao, eyeing Tanjirou.

"Oh, hello Kanao, is there anything you need?" Tanjirou asked.

"I was just wondering what the commotion in this room was. You aren't going to sleep?" Kanao asked.

"I slept for two months, I'm in no rush to, plus I want to make sure I'm fit for fighting demons." Tanjirou explained.

"You gave up on the cup game." Kanao explained bluntly, that caught Tanjirou off guard.

"Y-yeah, I did. I didn't want to interfere too much in their training." Tanjirou explained back, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I see. But in a fight with demons, you shouldn't do that." Kanao responded, somewhat sternly. Tanjirou was a bit stunned that this girl was giving him quite the talk, but he figured she was left unfulfilled.

"What, do you want a real match since we have no interruptions?" Tanjirou asked Kanao at last.

This surprised Kanao, who tried to grab her coin, only for Tanjirou to grab her arm gently.

"I didn't ask the coin, I asked you." Tanjirou explained.

Kanao was clearly shocked, not knowing what to do. She tried to reach for the coin, but Tanjirou persisted.

"I must use it." Kanao mumbled.

"You don't need to. I've seen you talk to Nezuko and respond without the coin. I've seen glimpses of you acting out how you want." Tanjirou commented, "You should do that more often."

This made Kanao uncomfortable, something Tanjirou noticed.

"Sorry, Kanao… I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, I just want what's best for you." Tanjirou smiled sadly.

"You didn't make me uncomfortable… I was just worried you were going to take my coin away." Kanao revealed.

"I'm not going to. I can smell that it has important implications and symbolism for you. I won't force you to get rid of it. But I think you need the extra push to not rely on it." Tanjirou explained, "You can keep something symbolic without it defining you."

"But I can't make my decisions." Kanao explained, "Not since Kanae and Shinobu adopted me."

"Your biological parents were abusive to you?" Tanjirou asked, clearly feeling remorseful and regret for having to ask her straight up like this. He really didn't want to be this triggering to her

At this, Kanao's eyes widened. Tanjirou knew he had caught Kanao.

"H-How d-…" She was unable to speak, and was getting a bit hysterical.

Immediately, Tanjirou gently grasped her hand in his own, with the coin safely inside. He gave her a comforting smile, as Kanao found herself managing to calm down, especially after looking at Tanjirou's face.

"That face he's giving me… It almost reminds me of the face Kanae gave me the day she saw me… The day my life brightened up… The day I found myself comforted and safe…" Kanao thought as the tears in her eyes dried up.

Tanjirou sighed after a bit. "Sorry… But one day I was in a village. I remember Nezuko asked a demon what their name was… The demon's name was Miyasaki Tsuyuri… Both you and that demon's last name is the same, not to mention both you and that demon had the same purple eye colour and hair."

Kanao's eyes widened. "T-That was the name… Of my biological father… The one who…"

Tanjirou again calmed Kanao down. "H-How does he know how to calm me down… Wait… Nezuko told me he was the eldest sibling… So he probably knows how to calm down crying individuals…"

"You don't have to tell me… Needless to say, the environment was terrible, and almost apathetic. Seeing kids move around, I could smell the hopelessness on them, from the conditions they lived in… It hurt me to see that…" Tanjirou looked down.

Kanao gripped the coin in her hand, but she managed to not flip it this time.

"H-How did you get through your tragedies?" Kanao asked.

Tanjirou sighed, "I never did…"

Kanao raised an eyebrow.

"I instead, wore them on me, making sure I never forgot them, for they made me resilient. When father died, while the rest of my siblings and mom mourned, I had to take up the manual labour. When the rest of my family died, I had to train to stay strong for Nezuko… If I didn't, we would just be like the other demons, probably dead, or down a murderous path." Tanjirou sighed.

"Regardless of your tragedies, they all teach you to be resilient. Being stressed is natural, but chronic stress is the root of all illnesses, and through life events, you learn to adapt and become resilient to everything." Tanjirou added.

Kanao's eyes widened at what Tanjirou was telling her. It really was motivating and hopeful for her.

"I know that coin must be important, but I trust you to challenge yourself to be out there, and to talk to others. At the end of the day, it is . At the end of the day, it is you who decides your fate. You wear the scars on you proudly, and you move on." Tanjirou explained, "I know I had to, for I had to be a role model." Tanjirou sighed. "I couldn't even cry… I was too busy with rage for the person who killed them… When I was burying their graves, I was in a trance, unable to cry… I don't know why…"

Kanao put a hand on his shoulder. "I…"

Tanjirou smiled. Even if Kanao wasn't able to say anything on her own now, she was trying.

And that was all that mattered.

"Thank you Kanao." Tanjirou smiled.

Her eyes widened. "I-I didn't do anything…"

"You tried to talk without the coin. That's all you need to do. Eventually, your heart will get stronger." Tanjirou smiled.

"My heart? What does my heart have to do with this?" Kanao asked.

"You are letting your heart being dictated by the thoughts of your brain and the coin. It's a pattern. You tell yourself to flip the coin, and your brain decides the next action. You need to let your heart dictate it. When you talk to people, your heart in how you talk determines how people see you." Tanjirou smiled at Kanao.

"They can see how determined you are, but also when you are irritated, and feel the best to leave you alone. The heart makes people understand your motivations, and your feelings." Tanjirou explained. "So give it a try, alright?"

"Even if I can't flip the coin?" Kanao asked.

"Especially so. As long as you try, that's all that matters, alright?" Tanjirou asked.

"O-Okay…" She mumbled, looking at the coin.

"I'm confident you can find your voice again, Kanao." Tanjirou beamed.

Kanao's eyes widened, once she saw Tanjirou smile like that. "H-He's looking at me… Like Kanae…" She wasn't sure what to do.

"Here, can I borrow your coin?" Tanjirou asked.

"Uh… Sure… Kanao mumbled as she gently gave Tanjirou her coin.

"I'm going to flip to see what decision I should make for you." Tanjirou began, "If it lands heads, I want you to begin speaking using your heart. If it lands tails, I will let you continue using this coin, alright?"

Kanao's eyes widened, before she nodded.

"Good!" Tanjirou exclaimed as he threw the coin into the air.

As Tanjirou threw the coin in the building, Kanao watched intently to see what the coin would determine for her.

Once it landed in Tanjirou's hand, he covered it, before he looked.

He then smiled, "It's heads."

He showed Kanao the coin, to ensure his integrity of his claim.

"It is now up to you to speak using your heart, alright, Kanao?" Tanjirou asked.

"How did you know it would be heads?" Kanao asked Tanjirou intently, clearly confused, "Aren't you ordering me around by asking the coin?"

Tanjirou smiled, "Well, I don't think I'm ordering you around, I'm just guiding you. And the coin was head because it was always going to be my choice."

What.

Tanjirou chuckled, "I mean, even if the coin was tails, I would have just rolled it over and over again until I got the result I wanted…"

Kanao's eyes widened for the millionth time today after what Tanjirou was telling him.

"W-What… How can you do that?" Kanao asked.

"The way I see it, Kanao, you are now a student, in need for rehabilitating." Tanjirou smiled, "You and I will work on rehabilitating your heart."

He then pointed to his, "My heart was strong enough to overcome the decisions the coin made. It overpowered and was confident in making its own decisions. While your heart is the first thought of decisions you make, you let your brain alter the response and style of it, so that it is deemed acceptable, got it?" Tanjirou told Kanao. "Eventually, your heart too will be able to overcome the coin's decision, and when that happens, your brain will follow and become synchronized to make the proper decisions."

"But how do you know my brain will sync with my heart?" Kanao asked. "Are you saying my heart and brain are disconnected?"

"Yes." Tanjirou nodded, "You let your brain decide what to do based on your coin, with no input from your heart. But with enough time, those connections will grow stronger. Just like how total concentration synchronizes the mind and body, this will synchronize your heart and brain together."

Kanao was flabbergasted. She was in disbelief at this boy.

A demon, out of all people was the one to talk to her with such sincerity. Such care, such… passion… She wanted that passion. She wanted to be like him. He reminded her so much of Kanae, in how caring they both were.

And so, without the help of the coin, Kanao made her first decision from her heart.

"T-Thank you, Tanjirou… I won't forget this…" Kanao bowed her head down to Tanjirou, as she felt her own heart beat faster, and her face melt.

"I-Is my heart already wanting me to make decisions for myself?" Kanao asked herself, as she placed her hands over her chest.

However, she quickly found herself embarrassed and scared to ask Tanjirou the feeling her heart and face were giving right now.

"P-Perhaps I should ask Nezuko…" Kanao told herself.

And so, Tanjirou waved Kanao a goodbye. "And remember our lesson, alright? We'll continue this lesson tomorrow!" With that, Tanjirou left the training room, leaving Kanao to look up thinking, with steam coming out of her own body, her face red, and heart beating the fastest it ever has.

"T-That boy…" Kanao didn't know how to describe him. "We never even got to spar…"

And behind that room, who was listening to everything, was Nezuko and Kanae, both having finished their spar, where Kanae was teaching Nezuko some Flower Breathing forms.

Needless to say, the two grinned, as they planned to perform matchmaker on the two.


Giyu's POV


*pant* *pant* *pant*

It had been quite the time since Giyu was approached by some of the other Hashira. After the death of Urokodaki, Giyu had mostly spent his time with a few, select individuals he personally found himself actually wanting to be around.

The first two, were the Kamado siblings. Both were rather intriguing, as Giyu himself was the one to spare both of their lives.

The reason? Both were demons. The supposedly enemy of the corps Giyu was in. The very people who killed those he cared for and loved. The very beings he should have hated.

But Giyu knew that was never the case. He didn't hate demons. He hated himself.

Especially after the death of Urokodaki, he felt very guilty. Even with the title of Hashira, he felt undeserving of it.

He felt like even with the role, he still couldn't deliver. He couldn't save those who needed it.

He couldn't even save his own master and sensei, who had been trying to get him to see him more often. Giyu had only gone through and visited Urokodaki when he was busy training Nezuko and Tanjirou. The additional aftermath visits were for them to confirm with Okayata-sama that the two were allowed to be with Tanjirou and Nezuko.

But besides that, there was nothing else Giyu could do. After that, he had no plans to revisit Urokodaki again.

How he regretted that.

He wished he could see him again. He wished he could see Sabito again. He wished he could see his sister again. Heck, even Makomo. He wondered what kind of girl she was for her to be important to Sabito and Urokodaki.

Otherwise, he couldn't do anything to help them. They were all dead, and there was nothing Giyu could do.

He sighed, as he caught his breathe. The training he was enforcing himself, with the river and boulder was clearly pushing his limits.

But that was something he needed. He had to push his limits. He had to remove everything hesitance he had in his mind.

To master this new resonance he was developing, and observing the effects of it all, he was making progress.

Actually no, he wasn't just making progress. He was mastering it. He had practiced it, and was now gaining the effects, as he felt himself breathing at an incredibly slow pace. It was the lowest possible breathing he could do. The lowest, that didn't hurt his body, but also able to slow down and allow his body to survive longer without oxygen, at least without losing unconsciousness.

In spite of this, he was able to move quicker, and strike faster and stronger. He was able to be more vicious, and become aggressive, like the torrent tides and tropical storms that could form in the bodies of water. He could also theorize that poisons and wounds would deal less damage to him, as he would be able to stall either the poison running through his body, or the blood from falling out any potential wounds.

However, the biggest change he could make was the sheer speed in which he could think. This quick thinking could then allow him to dodge and block attacks, or dash especially quick at such speeds that it could potentially kill a demon within one shot.

Plus, with the endurance water breathing users need, it made for a persistent threat overall.

While he felt a bit content with his accomplishments, he was ultimately left unfulfilled. Just, what could he do?

In the end, he was left on his own devices.

That was, until the same mosquito chose to approach him.

"Moshi Moshi!" Shinobu's voice enveloped Giyu's own mind.

Seriously, whenever Giyu was alone, his mind was mostly blank, unless he was thinking to himself, or fighting demons that were strong enough to make him have to think of strategies.

But it was usually his own thoughts that enveloped his mind. It was about himself.

Only Shinobu was the one to change that.

She was like a crashing wave that came upon the calm beach. Usually, he was able to feel at peace, until Shinobu was approaching him, wanting to talk to him.

Giyu was somewhat annoyed, as Shinobu was the only one to do this.

No matter what, Giyu had to focus his attention on Shinobu. Shinobu was just that much of a wave for him to react.

"What is it, Shinobu?" Giyu asked, clearly unimpressed.

"You really look lonely, shouldn't you hang out with the rest of us?" Shinobu asked the normally lonely individual. "Also, you do know that we all have seen you before outside of your mask?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then, why do you still wear it?" Shinobu asked. "It's kind of ugly."

"It's to commemorate my sensei, who was killed by a demon not too long ago." Giyu explained, "He always wore a mask."

"Oh…" Immediately, Shinobu's tone took a hit, as she was aware of the sensitivity of everything. "I'm sorry…"

"It's fine." Giyu nodded.

He wasn't sure why, but whenever Shinobu was speaking to him, he was always brought back to two statements Shinobu had said to him.

"This is why nobody likes you, Giyu."

"You are a Hashira, until your death."

Those two statements from Shinobu brought very mixed feelings to Giyu.

On the one hand, the first statement, just wasn't true. At least, he hoped.

The other statement, however, brought more confusion to him. While he was glad that someone acknowledge him as a Pillar, it wasn't ultimately enough to rid his own hesitations.

He still felt unworthy. He still felt weak. He still felt unsure about himself.

No matter how he felt, he was always not worthy.

Perhaps it was a feeling he was destined to suffer through. Ever since he witnessed the death of his elder sister, he's always brought himself down.

And he never questioned it. He just went with his life, slaying demons, with the intent of causing as much damage as possible until he died.

And that was his plan.

"Actually…" Giyu mumbled, earning a sudden look from Shinobu.

If it was any time other than now, Shinobu would have gone back with a snark remark. But now, she knew him better. She knew how broken the guy was, and how unsure of himself he was.

"Do you want to hang out? I'll be with Mitsuri and Obanai." Shinobu warned.

Giyu sighed, "I guess I'll join…"

Shinobu looked a bit mad at that, and Giyu's resonance was now on full alert.

"Why are you mad at me?" Giyu asked.

"What?" Shinobu asked, clearly a bit shocked at the sudden question.

"You looked a bit annoyed when I agree to say yes, and I that much of a burden to be around?" Giyu asked.

"What?! NO!" Shinobu shook her head, "Geez, you are kind of hopeless…" Shinobu sighed, before she smiled. "But anyways, so you will join us?"

Giyu nodded, "Yeah, I guess we can try to enjoy each other together."

Shinobu blushed mildly at that, silently cursing Giyu's own obliviousness before she sighed.

It was the next day when Giyu was finally able to see and hang around the others.

Specifically, throughout the day, Shinobu had to deal with Kanae and Nezuko being too close. Apparently, Nezuko had a natural affinity for Flower Breathing, and thus with the help of Kanao occasionally, Kanae was teaching Nezuko the forms of Flower Breathing.

"Those demon siblings are really something huh?" Shinobu asked Giyu, who nodded.

"Both were taught with Water Breathing, and now they are branching off, it's nothing new." Giyu explained, "Many water breathing users are able to branch themselves out of water breathing."

"So why didn't you?" Shinobu asked.

Giyu was unsure, but for the time being decided to let it remain silent. He actually was unsure, but perhaps it was to keep Urokodaki's memory alive, Giyu decided to put it on that.

And so, while Shinobu was getting angry about seeing Kanao getting close to a certain red-haired demon boy, Giyu decided to lead her away, and make sure she wasn't eyeing the two.

"Ah! Hey Shinobu! Hey, you brought Giyu? What did you have to do?!" Mitsuri's energetic voice immediately bombarded Giyu's mind as he was not really used to the energetic tone of Mitsuri.

Giyu sighed, "She just invited me, and I came. That's it."

"You must have a reason if you said yes though?! Was it because you wanted to be with Shinobu?" Mitsuri continued to bombard Shinobu with questions about her and Giyu.

Giyu could only sit in the corner to avoid being in the crosshairs of Mitsuri. But knowing the stubborn lady, it was only a matter of time.

To Giyu's surprise, Obanai was also here, choosing to be next to him.

Now that was weird, why was Obanai chilling near Giyu over Mitsuri?

"I don't like you, but I'd rather enjoy some quietness over Mitsuri contstantly talking about love." Obanai mumble.

Giyu raised an eyebrow. Seems that unless that love was directed towards Obanai himself, he wasn't a fan of Mitsuri talking about it.

"Fair enough, if I had someone I loved like Obanai, then maybe I'd be overprotective like him." Giyu thought. Unbeknownst to him, Kaburamaru was eyeing him, once again trying to approach Giyu.

However, this time, Obanai noticed and allowed for the snake to chill around Giyu. After all, it seemed the snake, by all odds, liked him.

"Oh, Obanai…" Giyu tried to gently give Kaburamaru back to Obanai, but he put his hands up.

"Kaburamaru can hang around you for a bit, I'm fine with it." Obanai spoke, as he continued to eye Mitsuri.

"Just keep my snake company whilst I look over Mitsuri and Shinobu, you can at least do that right?" Obanai asked.

Giyu nodded

"Good."

While the actual hangoug wasn't anything too memorable, besides getting stuffed by food by Mitsuri, wanting an eating competition.

Shinobu was the first to fall, followed by Obanai, and then Giyu. Giyu was only able to hang around because he chose to have the salmon diaku near the end. It was like dessert for him, before he tapped out.

Once again, Mitsuri won that, and all they could do was congratulate them.

All of this beside, Giyu did enjoy the little hangout he did with the four.

And so, once the two went out, Shinobu eyed Giyu. He looked a bit at ease.

"Thank you for the experience, Shinobu." Giyu bowed to Shinobu before he went back to his mansion.

All the while, all Shinobu could do, was eye Giyu.

"He sounds different. Almost like he was at ease… I hope he retains that." With that, Shinobu gave Giyu a genuine smile as she went back to the butterfly mansion.

She then sighed, her smile gone. "That red-haired demon better hope he survives after getting too close to Kanao."

The butterfly mansion was then filled with the pleas to stop from both Kanae and Nezuko, whilst Tanjirou and Kanao both looked in confusion. Tanjirou was even unsure why Shinobu was trying to poison him.

"Did I do something?"


A.N / Well, first off, sorry for the little delay. I've have some examinations to perform and study for, which meant I had to take a little break from this story. However, in this process, I've been able to map out the next few chapters and the course of this story to hopefully reduce the time of thinking on the spot. As for updates in the future, expect it to slow down a bit, but I'll try to keep everything moving at a pace.

Another important thing to mention, is that Chapters 1-3, have all be updated. They may include a bit more stuff, as well as grammatical fixes to make sure there aren't any errors. For the time being, I hope everything that was spoken was good. I hope the talk between Tanjirou and Kanao was good, and while Giyu's own monologue was a bit rushed, it does set up a different plot for him altogether later in the story.

With that being said, I'll talk to you all later.


Character Profile:


Giyu Tomioka: Male, 19 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'10" (178cm)

Weight: 155Ibs

Shinobu Kocho: Female, 18 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'0" (152cm)

Weight: 85Ibs

Kanae Kocho: Male, 20 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'7" (170cm)

Weight: 130Ibs

Obanai Iguro: Male, 20 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'4" (163cm)

Weight: 120Ibs

Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 15 years old.

Status: Alive, Demon

Height: 5'8" (172cm)

Weight: 142Ibs

Nezuko Kamado: Female, 14 years old.

Status: Alive, Demon

Height: 5'2" (157cm)

Weight: 120Ibs

Kanao Tsuyuri: Female, 16 years old

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'2" (157cm)

Weight: 122Ibs

Zenitsu Agatsuma: Male, 15 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'7" (170cm)

Weight: 130Ibs

Inosuke Hashibira: Male, 15 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'5" (165cm)

Weight: 135Ibs

Aoi Kanzaki: Female, 16 years old.

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 5'3" (160cm)

Weight: 127Ibs

Gyomei Himejima: Male, 26 years old

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 7'3" (222cm)

Weight: 292Ibs

Genya Shinazugawa: Male, 16 years old

Status: Alive, Human

Height: 6'1" (183cm)

Weight: 162Ibs


Abilities: Breathing Style


Giyu Tomioka:

Water Breathing Style

Emotional Control

Extraordinary Endurance

Extraordinary suppression, potential selfless state

Omnipresent Rage

Aqua Resonance

Shinobu Kocho:

Insect Breathing Style

Extraordinary Agility

Medical Expertise

High Intellect (IQ)

Kanae Kocho:

Flower Breathing Style

Extraordinary teaching skills

Demon Slayer Mark (Upper Two, not known by anyone).

Obanai Iguro:

Serpent Breathing Style

Kaburamaru

Heightened Vibration Sense

Extraordinary Endurance

Tanjirou Kamado:

Sun Breathing and Water Breathing Styles

Transparent World (From Upper One)

Heightened sense of smell

Selfless state and repetitive action (Just started)

Demon Slayer Mark (From Upper One).

Nezuko Kamado:

Water and Flower Breathing Style

Heightened sense of wavelength vision

Heightened Perception

Extraordinary hard kicks.

Kanao Tsuyuri:

Flower Breathing Style

Increased Visual Awareness

Emotional Suppression

Extraordinary suppression, potential selfless state.

Zenitsu Agatsuma:

Thunder Breathing Style

Heightened Auditory Awareness

Advanced Speed, even amongst other slayers, except the best.

Able to fight even when asleep

Inosuke Hashibira:

Beast Breathing Style

Animal Imitation

Enhanced Flexibility and Sense of Touch

Repetitive Action (Process of learning)

Poison Resistance

Dual Wielding

Aoi Kanzaki:

Medical Expertise

Water Breathing Style

Gyomei Himejima:

Stone Breathing Style

Transparent World (Supposedly)

Enhanced senses, except for vision

Repetitive Action

Genya Shinazugawa:

American Breathing

Consume Demons for their Powers

Repetitive Action

Dual Wielding