"May I help you?"

She looked up at him with the same startled look as she did when he had woken up on her lap, about two weeks ago.

"Oh, it'll be really kind of you, if you could." She answered politely with a small smile, which made Tanjiro smile back at her as he slipped her arm around his shoulder.

Tanjiro really couldn't help but wonder who this female was— Miyasha was what the female demon from earlier, called her didn't she?

"Just leave me against that wall please," she pointed towards the wall beside the cabinet, "I hope you won't mind if I sit there, Tamayo-nee."

"I won't." Tanjiro could easily hear the smile in her voice, making him wonder if they really were sisters or the honorific was used just to display attachment.

'They look quite similar...' Tanjiro quickly stole a look between the two females, noticing the similar kind of hairstyle (though Miyasha's was parted in the side) and the rather pale skin. Though, nothing else could be exactly claimed to be similar between those two beyond that— even Miyasha's eyes were a more bluish shade than the demon's. But... 'They both are quite beautiful.'

"Ah, thank you, dear." She gave him a bright smile as he slowly deposited her against the wall.

Before he could ask her if she was the one who helped him a few weeks ago or not, Nezuko plopped down on the floor near them, grabbing Tanjiro's attention.

"Hey, Nezuko, that's bad manners!" Tanjiro scolded his younger sister, noticing how the older females in the room smiled at their exchange.

"That's quite all right." The demon's voice gently intervened, "Please make yourselves at home." Tanjiro smiled gratefully at her, taking a seat beside his sister as she looked at him with her pink demonic eyes.

"Does that offer extends to me too?" The raven-haired female asked, smiling playful at the demon in front of her, "Because if it doesn't, I really need it to. My body refuses to forgive me for the stunt I pulled back today evening."

"It's your fault only that you got hurt." the male demon taunted her, making raven haired female smirk at him.

"I agree, Shiro-kun, I really shouldn't have gone nea—"

"Stop calling me that!" He interrupted her, glaring at her intensely as she gave him a close-eyed smile and teased, "But Tama-nee finds it cute, do you not nechan~?"

The older female shook her head at their banter, smiling mischievously as she agreed, "Yes, I do."

He watched amusingly as the only other male in the room blushed red, and while one female shook her head and looked away, the other one chuckled in victory.

'How does she knows them?' He wondered as he peeked at the chuckling female against the wall. She was not a demon and he was sure of it— her smell was very odd but still of a human's.

She smelled of herbs and flowers— with a strange undertone of blood and something else he just couldn't place. But the most bizarre thing was that the smell of blood that originated from her, didn't scare him or rub him the wrong way at all. Maybe because it didn't smell copper-ish as normally human blood did, but neither did it quite smell like the musty odour of demon blood.

'Who is she?' He wondered, not for the first time that evening, as he noticed her smiling softly while she watched Nezuko crawl around the floor.

"Now then, I never introduced myself, did I?" The brunette demon started, drawing his attention towards her. "My name is Tamayo. And that boy is Yushiro. I hope that you'll be his friend."

Tanjiro hesitantly peeked at the demon sitting perpendicular to him. 'I don't think that's gonna happen...' he thought fearfully as he noticed the said boy glaring at the floor and hissing intensely.

"He'll gain friends only when he learns how to not squint his eyes at others while hissing like a cat." Yushiro glared at the owner of the voice, hissing even louder as he noticed the girl grinning back at him.

"Miyasha, don't be an instigator." Tamayo reprimanded her, making the said female pout, "And the girl sitting there is Sarota Miyasha. She has been our acquaintance for about three years and is also a very skilled doctor."

'Acquaintance... So, they really aren't sisters.'

"You're too kind, Tamayo-nee." Miyasha commented back, smiling genuinely at her. "And please call me by my first name, if you don't have any issues with it."

"Hai, Miyasha-san." He replied back, "I'm Kamado Tanjiro, and this is my sister, Kamado Nezuko. And please call me by my first name, too."

"It's nice to meet you, Tanjiro-san, Nezuko-san." She smiled down at the pink-eyed demon, "Ah, and Tanjiro-san, would you mind if I ask you about your and your sister's age?"

That took Tanjiro by surprise, "Oh, I am fifteen and Nezuko is going to turn fourteen by the end of this year." He noticed how her eyes dulled as he said this, an instant smell of strong anger and sadness invaded his nose—

"I'm sorry for asking about it so suddenly." She replied, straightening her posture as much as she could without flinching too much, "It's just, she looked too... young." She gazed at Nezuko with unreadable emotions in her eyes, though she still held a small smile on her lips which looked sadder than it did before.

"That's because she can turn smaller." He replied back, making her blink in confusion, "I ask her to turn into a child, so, that I can carry her in this box while the sun is out."

"That's... actually very smart." She praised him, making a strange bashfulness come over him. "Regardless," she continued, looking at Tanjiro with a softer smile, "Allow me to continue where we left of."

"I... have a distinct kind of blood, which I am not aware of any other human ever possessing before me. My blood turns corrosive in nature when it comes in contact with demon blood or flesh; thus, disabling my body from turning into a demon even when I was injected demon blood directly by someone as Muzan."

"Corrosive...?" Tanjiro asked tentatively, still not clear on that concept.

"Yes, corrosive." Her dark lavender eyes stared down at the palm of her hands, "It burns the flesh and blood of a demon, and disintegrates it just as sunlight does to one."

His eyes widened at that; Tanjiro somehow knew that she was not lying, and he didn't even need to smell her for that— her posture and the look in her eyes were strangely very genuine.

"But..." he asked cautiously, "How did Tamayo-san treat you, then? I mean, if your blood could..."

"Because she didn't need to 'treat' me," she continued, smiling at Tamayo as she gestured at the back of her neck, "My blood allows me to heal faster than other humans. That is why she didn't need to come in contact with it. The wound that Muzan gave me is halfway already healed, albeit, still pains a lot."

"So, the blood is what reacts with—"

"Yes." She confirmed, "I can touch a demon normally, but if I'm bleeding, then I'll rather avoid to make contact with any demons near me."

Tanjiro thought for a while, evaluating the information he just got, "That means the demon blood disintegrated in your body when it entered?"

"Most likely, yes. Along with damaging the nearby cells when it did, thus weakening my body in the process of it." Miyasha answered smoothly, "It affected me even more since it was the blood from a higher demon— or maybe I should say, the demon."

"What...?"

"She means," Tamayo explained, "That Kibutsuji's blood, as a higher demon and the first demon himself, is very concentrated in nature which resulted in it reacting even more with her blood."

"After all," Miyasha mused out loud, "Higher demons do have the ability to transform humans into demons as well."

"They can?" Tanjiro asked, thoroughly confused with the information he was provided, "But..."

"You are right," Tamayo explained, "It's generally held that no one but Kibutsuji can reproduce demons. That's more or less accurate. But higher demons can transform humans into demons as well. After more than 200 years, I was only able to transform Yushiro into a demon after all."

'Two... Two hundred years...' Tanjiro's mind raced with the thought.

"You were only able to transform Yushiro after more than Two hundred years?!" He yelled ad he slapped his forehead in disbelief, "Exactly how old are you, Tamayo-san?!"

Just as he asked that, he got a few brutal punches delivered by Yushiro on his diaphragm, making him breathless and not in a good way.

"Don't ask a lady her age, you ill-mannered scoundrel!" Yushiro poked his fingers harshly on the boy's chest as he yelled.

"Yushiro," Tamayo called out the angry male's name, "The next time you hit that boy, I'll make you regret it!" Tamayo warned, making Yushiro instantly sit back in his place with an obedient nod.

Tanjiro coughed from discomfort, trying to get back air in his lungs as he heard Miyasha calling his sister. He turned to see her signalling for his sister to come near as she waved a small bamboo bottle at her, "Give this to your brother so that it eases his discomfort."

Tanjiro instantly drinks the water in the bottle, easing a little bit of the discomfort in his chest. "Thank you, Miyasha-san."

"There's one thing I'd like to clear up with you." Tamayo started, effectively pulling him back into the conversation, "I'm not trying to create more demons. I only perform the procedure on the terminally ill or those who are so gravely injured that they don't have long to live. And in those cases, I always ask them beforehand if they wish to live on even as demons."

Tanjiro closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on her scent. 'The scent she's giving off is pure and devoid of any deception. She's someone I can trust.'

"But..." he hesitantly began to ask, fearing Yushiro's reaction at his question, "How do you treat humans—"

"—without giving into the temptation?" Miyasha completed his sentence, smiling at him as she readjusted her position against the wall, again, "Because Tamayo-nee has tweaked her body considerably, enabling her body to sustain on as little blood as she could and to also remove Muzan's curse."

"Yes," Tamayo agreed, "Just as Miyasha said, I adjusted our bodies so that we can live without devouring humans. A small amount of human blood is all we need."

"Blood? You mean..."

"You may find it distasteful, but what I do is buy blood under guise of transfusions from those unable to make ends meet. Of course, no more than what would impair them. Yushiro can get by with even less blood, since I turned him into a demon."

'I see.' Tanjiro mused, 'So, that's why I'm not picking up that strange scent unique to demons from these two. But they do need human blood after all. If blood is all they need, then Nezuko...'

"Tamayo-san, Miyasha-san," Tanjiro started, clutching his fists tighter as he set his resolve, "Is there a way to return a transformed demon back to human form?"

Miyasha and Tamayo exchanged a look. Upon a nod from Miyasha, Tamayo started hesitantly, "There is a way to turn a demon... back into a human."

Tanjiro gasped, finally finding a hope to turn his sister back to the way she once was, "Please tell me how!" He yelled, almost getting up in his desperation when suddenly Yushiro threw him back onto the floor.

"Yushiro..." Tamayo called him again, this time thoroughly unamused with his tactics.

Yushiro sat back onto his place, sparkling as he replied "Yes ma'am! I only threw him, Tamayo-sama. I did not hit him."

"Smartass," Miyasha commented offhandedly, "Though, he is not exactly wrong."

"Do not encourage him, Miyasha." Tamayo curtly replied, "And Yushiro, you mustn't do that either."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Tanjiro gently rubbed his sore neck and back, not finding any humour in the situation as Miyasha had, "Please tell me how." He repeated tentatively.

"For now," Miyasha began, "There is no exact way to turn a demon back into a human. However, a medicine can be made that can achieve this miracle, but that will need some time and a few... types of blood for her to study."

"To produce such an elixir," Tamayo continued after her, "It is necessary to study the blood of numerous demons. I have two favours to ask of you, Tanjiro-san. One, permission to study your sister's blood. Two, to retrieve blood samples from demons as closely related to Kibutsuji as possible."

Tamayo looked down at the younger demon rolling on the floor, "Nezuko-san's current condition is extremely rare and unique. I understand that she was asleep for two straight years, and I believe that her body underwent changes during that time. Normally, any demon who went that long without consuming the flesh or blood of a human or beast would unquestionably go berserk. And yet, surprisingly, she shows none of those signs. This miracle will be the key to finding a solution."

'Nezuko...' Tanjiro gently caressed his sister's face, watching soberly as she happily grabbed his hand with both of hers.

"The second request I ask of you is a harsh one." Tamayo declared, her eyes looking at him guiltily, "By the 'demons closely related to Kibutsuji', I meant demons whose powers are more on par with that of Kibutsuji himself. It won't be easy to extract blood from such demons. Are you still willing to go along with my requests?"

Tanjiro looked down at his little sister. 'There is no question about it.'

"If there's no other way, then I'll do it." He declared, "If it means you're going to research all these demon's blood and create this medicine... If that happens, then that means it won't just be Nezuko." He smiled at the two women in front of her, "Lots of other people will be saved, too, right?"

Tamayo's eyes widened. "That's right." She smiled kindly at him, making him blush at her immense beauty. Tanjiro instantly closed his eyes as he noticed Yushiro growling at him, ready to take any of his beating bravely.

Suddenly Miyasha jolted up, "Everyone, take cover! Get down!" She yelled as she instantly covered him and dragged him and his sister to the side of the room.

Yushiro jumped to cover Tamayo as a ball pierced the wall and wrecked through the whole room with an incredible amount of force.

That is when he noticed that it was not just one ball, but two. It broke through the wall back to its owner, crumbling the whole barricade which enabled them to get a good look on the two demons attacking them.

"Did you decide how to kill them?" The male one asked maliciously, which the female on replied with "Vindictively, of course!" as she threw her two coloured balls with a crazed look on her face.

Tanjiro's eyes widened as he noticed the orange-eyed demon cackle with glee, 'A tamari...! So, she caused all this damage by throwing that temari?'

"Yushiro," the lady covering him called out, "Go to the corner of the room and take cover, now." Tanjiro's eyes widened when he noticed her harshly ordering the lavender-eyed demon. "I'll cover you two for now, just go—"

Suddenly the two temari balls reappeared; changing their directions and bouncing off the walls as if the demon was controlling its movements.

"Don't move from here." He heard her whisper as clear as day when suddenly her comforting embrace disappear from around them.

"Miya—" his eyes widened in surprise when he noticed her retrieving two large folding fans made from some very sharp blades from inside the sleeves of her haori.

Tanjiro was pushed back harshly as he hugged his sister tighter when a ball passed just an inch away from their faces. "Tamayo-sama!" He heard Yushiro yell making him turn over to look as the male demon was attacked—

"Yushiro!" Miyasha harshly yelled, her fans blocking the temari just at the last moment, "Go. Hide. Somewhere. Right. Fucking NOW." He could almost see the veins in her neck popping as she harshly kept the ball away from the two demons.

"Tanjiro!" She called him out this time, her bluish-violet eyes shining with a strange seriousness, "Will you help me fight? I am in no actual condition to take them head-on, alone."

"Miyasha-san, you should rest and—"

"I can still fight," she cut him off blatantly, her gaze now focused on the two demons in front of them, "But I will need some major help, specifically for that male demon."

Tanjiro also faced forward, noticing the strange presence of the two demons. 'They are giving off a totally different scent than any of the demons! Are they stronger? It's a really thick scent! It feels so heavy once it enters my lungs.'

"Hm?" The orange-eyed demon hummed, smiling as she stated "The demon Hunter wearing hanafuda-like earrings... It's you, isn't it?"

Tanjiro's eyes widened as he heard that, 'So, I'm the one they're targeting?'

"Tamayo-san, Yushiro-san! Please go inside and hide!" Tanjiro declared loudly as he looked back at them, "I'm the one those demons are after!"

"Tanjiro-san," Tamayo soberly said, "I want you to fight without worrying about us. We'll be fine without your protection... Since we're demons."

"Tamayo—" Miyasha started with a notable irritation in her voice before Tamayo cut her off by saying, "Miyasha, you are the one who should take cover and hide. You are in no condition to fight! Do not try to over-exert yourself or you will die this time."

"—it's all over for you now!" The female demon screamed, grabbing both his and Miyasha's attention as she threw her two temaris towards them again.

'That temari will only swerve if you dodge it.' Tanjiro deduced, deciding to use the seventh form of water breathing technique, Drop Ripple Thrust-curve, to soften the temari's blow. Unfortunately, it still moved despite it being stuck on on his sword.

'How can that temari move around like that?' He thought as he looked at Miyasha beside him, who dodged the one trying to attack her, 'It swerved unnaturally before too, when it almost attacked Yushiro-san! It's not like it's spinning in any special way, and yet... What is this?'

"Tamayo-sama, didn't I tell you?" Yushiro suddenly yelled out, grabbing Tanjiro's attention, "That we shouldn't have gotten involved with that demon slayer from the start! My blindfold technique is still a work in progress! I may be able to conceal the presence of building and people and even their scent, but I cannot mask their very existence!"

'That's why I couldn't smell the demons until they already attacked us...'

"Yushiro!" Miyasha growled, "Quit bitching and start helping, if you want any of us to actually get out alive!" Her eyes flashed in annoyance as she noticed the demon in front of them cackling, "Only you are the one who can see those damn bloody directions! Help Tanjiro to see them while we—"

"What fun this is!" The orange-eyed demon's voice echoed, effectively shutting any ongoing conversations up. "To be killed by me, one of the Twelve Demon Moons... You should be honoured!"

"Twelve Demon Moons?" Tanjiro mused quizzically, as Miyasha explained it for him, "They are the strongest twelve of their kind," she narrowed her eyes on the demon in front of them, "Serving directly under Muzan as his own personal set of bodyguards. They are the ones with the highest concentration of Muzan's blood."

Tanjiro's eyes widened as he processed the information, looking even more troubled as he noticed the demon discarded her haori and opened her kimono to produce four additional arms, along with several more temari balls.

"Now then, let's keep playing! Until the morning comes!" She called menacingly, throwing all of her six temaris at them, "Until you all die!"

"Hey! Moron demon hunter!" Yushiro yelled, holding Tamayo tightly in his embrace as he tried to protect her, "Look at the arrows! You can tell which direction they are going if you just see the—"

"He can't see them!" Miyasha answered back, instantly cutting off three temaris which were approaching towards Tamayo and Yushiro. Tanjiro silently watched as those temaris disintegrated after came in contact with her fans.

'But, how-'

"Seriously, you can't even see them?" Yushiro growled as he produced a paper with his blood demon technique, "I'm going to lend you my sense of sight! That should at least enable you to behead that temari woman!" His eyes glowed as threw the paper towards him and stuck it onto his forehead enabling him to see the red arrows directing the movement of the balls.

'I can see now! She was using these arrows to control...' he noticed several of the balls approaching him, '...the trajectory of the temari!'

"Thanks, Yushiro-san," Tanjiro thanked the lavender-eyed demon, "I can see the arrows now, too!"

"Then hurry up and go outside!" Miyasha directed, "It is more dangerous for you to try to attack them in such a constricted place!"

"Hai!" Tanjiro looked back his sister, "Nezuko, let's go outside! Take care of the demon up in the tree!" As Nezuko nodded, both the Kamado siblings rushed outside, the temari balls following them behind. "Miyasha-san, please stay inside! We'll be able to handle it from here!"

"I'm the one you want to take on!" Tanjiro declared, ready with his sword in his hands.

"The demon Hunter wearing hanafuda-like earrings... no question." She grinned, "I'm going to bring that heads of yours to him." She cackled loudly as she saw him gasp, "What fun this is!"


This is the first installation of my double update today! Let me just edit the next chapter (and the last chapter of this arc) and then I'll reply to all your reviews and queries!

Hope you enjoy this chapter! And if you did, please review! They make me feel motivated to write more!