(~Drum House Arc~)


'Just... how am I in this situation, again?' I stared at the box in my hand, looking very intently at the handwritten note on it.

"That balm will help in blood clotting." Tamayo said absent-mindedly as she handed me another similar box from her cabinet, "And this one enhances healing abilities in humans. It may not be as good as the pastes you make, but are very effective. Maybe if you can use them alongside your own pastes, it would increase the healing process even more?"

"Maybe..." I trailed off, staring at the variety of boxes handed over to me.

"Are they... too much to carry?" Tamayo hesitantly asked.

"No," I disagreed, "They aren't, don't worry. None of them are bigger than the palm of my hand, and I can easily carry some in my haori too, in case it doesn't fit in my satchel."

"You should buy a new one." Yushiro added haughtily, "This old thing looks it could snap any moment!"

"My sensei gave that to me seven years ago when I started collecting herbs." I wistfully confessed, smiling sadly at the old white satchel. "For me, this carries more than just my daily essentials... that's why I am hesitant to discard it." I smiled at Yushiro as I started packing the small medicinal boxes into my satchel, "Thank you so much for all the medicines, Tamayo-nee. I'll make sure to use them to the fullest."

Tamayo smiled softly at me, her eyes softer and clearer than I've ever seen before, "Please take care of them."

A shiver went down my spine at the reminder, my mind still conflicted over the whole ordeal. "I... will try to." I answered cautiously as I slowly got up from the floor.

My body hissed with pain as I stood up— reminding me of my unfortunate meeting yesterday. Fortunately, the pain seemed more bearable now, since I had gotten a bit used to it. Unfortunately, I had gain a sprain in my right wrist and a nasty wound on my left heel during last night's fight, adding to my misery.

I sighed loudly as I adjusted the satchel over my shoulder. I wore it diagonally across my shoulders, making it feel less heavy than it actually was.

"Take care, and be safe, okay?" I looked at Tamayo and Yushiro with sombre look, making sure they understand the implication of my words. "If you need any help, do not hesitate to contact me."

"We will." Tamayo replied, smiling as she noticed my sullen look, "You take care as well. And please look after Tanjiro and Nezuko, at least till Tanjiro recovers from his broken rib, alright?"

I shook my head at her statement, knowing full well what she was trying to do. "No need to fool me, Tamayo-nee. I know exactly what you are trying to do."

Tamayo simply smiled, making me shake my head again and give her brief hug. She hugged me back tightly and patted my back just like how I often did to to her before when we hugged.

"We will meet again, okay?"

"Of course we will, Tama-nee. You ain't getting rid of me that easy."

"That's exactly what I was afraid of."

"Yushiro..."


"Arigato, Miyasha-san," Tanjiro thanked me again once we started our journey, "For travelling with us. I understand how difficult it must be for you—"

"It's nothing like that," I dismissed his 'thankful apologies', "Don't worry about it. I normally wander around anyway, so do not feel like you are interrupting anything important for me."

"Are you sure it is okay for you...?" Tanjiro hesitantly asked, the genuine worry in his question refraining me from snapping at him.

"Yes, dear. I am—"

"South-southeast!" The crow flying overhead yelled, making me jump at his voice.

'T-The crow talks?!' I almost smacked myself at my stupid thought, shaking my head at my own forgetfulness. 'Of course it does! Every demon slayer has their own Kasugai crow which are especially trained to guide their owners to their next mission.'

"South-southeast!" The crow loudly yelled again, flying around in circles as it kept repeating the same thing, "Your next location is south-southeast!"

"I heard you!" Tanjiro relayed with a tired smile, "I heard you, so give me a break and quiet down!"

I couldn't help but smile as the crow came down to Tanjiro's level, almost yelling at his face as he kept begging the crow to politely shut up. The crow seemed to even increase its efforts as I started chuckling at the whole incident.

"Please!" The sudden yell made us momentarily pause— Tanjiro and his crow's eyes widened when they heard it, while I flinched at the loudness and in cringe for what was about to happen.

'This is low-key the most embarrassing part of the whole anime...'

We three (yes, I'm counting the crow as well) looked in the direction of the shouting, and noticed a young man kneeling before a girl, clutching her shoulders as he yelled 'please' again and again.

"Please marry me!" Zenitsu pathetically begged, "I could die any day, you know! That's why I want you to marry me! So please! Please, I'm begging you!"

I could feel myself get agitated at Zenitsu's behaviour— this kind of approach always annoyed me and watching it in the anime (I skipped the manga portion of this scene) was difficult enough, but in real life...

'May God help me.'

I marched towards the commotion, feeling my agitation changing into annoyance as I heard his loud whining.

'Calm down, Miyasha,' I internally tried to reason with myself, 'It's not exactly his fault that he is like that... he never had any family or anyone to love and that's why he wants to feel loved before he—'

"Please help me! Please marry-" I instantly grabbed the back of his bi-coloured haori, pulling him away from the distressed female he had been harassing.

"Oi!" I glowered at his crying face, vaguely noticing how smooth yet sad looking face he had, "Stop harassing the lady! What has she warranted to get this kind of treatment from you?!" I reprimanded him, pulling the girl behind me to put some distance between the two.

The girl with twin braids immediately hid behind my back, clutching my haori with a gentle grip.

"Stay out of my way! That girl is going to marry—" Zenitsu tried to jump ahead, but was immediately pulled back by Tanjiro.

"What do you think you're doing right in the middle of the road?" Tanjiro yelled, the annoyance in his voice was as clear as day. "Can't you see she wants no part of you? And don't go around making trouble for your sparrow, either!"

Zenitsu finally stopped crying; instead, he looked at Tanjiro intently before claiming he knew him from Final Selection which Tanjiro immediately denied, yelling at his face as I focused my attention back onto the female standing behind me.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" I kindly asked, giving her a close-eyed smile to make her feel comfortable with me.

"Hai." She smiled back brightly.

"Now, go back home. We'll take care of him from here on, okay?"

"I will. Thank you very much!" She bowed to me, when suddenly we heard Zenitsu yelling again.

"Hey! Stay out of my way! That girl is going to marry me! Because she's in love with me, all ri—" Zenitsu was unfortunately interrupted by a strong slap from the girl, making him kneel on the ground to protect himself from the incoming assault from the girl. "Hey! Ouch! That hurts! Stop it! Stop it! Ouch—"

"Ma'am!" I instantly caught her arms, dragging her away as gently as I could, from the blond boy, "Calm down, ma'am! Please!"

"When did I ever tell you that I loved you?" She yelled at Zenitsu as I held her back, pointing aggressively at him as he hid behind Tanjiro, "You were crumpled up on the side of the road looking ill, and all I did was speak to you!"

Zenitsu loudly gasped, yelling back, "You mean you didn't reach out to me out of love because you were worried?" It kind of broke my heart when I realized that maybe he never had that many people in his life to care about him in the first place, which made his perception about love so... simple and clingy.

"I already have a fiance, so not on your life! With all that energy, you must be fine now, right? Goodbye!" The girl finally turned to leave, making Zenitsu reach out to her but left being ignored.

"Look, cut it out!" Tanjiro insisted, seeming tired with all this sudden amount of craziness.

"Wh-Why'd both get in my way? This has nothing to do with you!" Zenitsu yelled at us, getting an expression— which was somewhat a cross between disgust and pity —from Tanjiro. I simply deadpanned at his theatrics, quickly evaluating how to handle this situation in the best way possible.

'I don't want to scare him— after all, I would have to handle him for a few days... Not that it would be any longer than that.' I thought with wistful relief as I looked down at the whining blond boy.

"What's with that look on your faces?" Zenitsu yelled at us, "Stop that! Why are you staring at me like I'm a creature or something?" This time, he yelled at Tanjiro as he pointed aggressively at him.

"You both are responsible for it!" He kept screaming, "Since it's your fault that I missed out on getting married!"

I simply shook my head at this whole ordeal, wondering how I should handle Zenitsu. It's not like I hated him— I understood why he was so misguided and I knew all he needed was some actual guidance and maybe a bit scolding, but I don't think he'll ever listen to me, would he? I mean, I'm not Tanjiro—

Zenitsu suddenly looked at me with a strange look, making me immediately realize my position. But before I could say anything, Tanjiro pushed me back and glared at Zenitsu, "Don't even think about hitting on Miyasha-san. She is not interested in you and you will not pester her with your begging, alright?" Tanjiro muttered darkly, surprising both me and Zenitsu— though he looked more scared than surprised, if I were to be honest.

"I-I won't!" He defended himself with teary eyes, "I was just—" I interrupted him, trying to defuse the situation.

"First of all," I started him, "Stop screaming, please. Talk like a human and we will look at you like one. Second, stand up and stand apart! Aren't you a man? How do you expect anyone to marry you when you have no courage to even stand on your own?!"

Zenitsu stiffened, looking a bit conflicted. "But I'm horribly weak—"

"That is a temporary position. Anyone can become strong if they put their mind to it." I said encouragingly, trying to make him at least a little bit confident.

After a few beats of silence, I decided that it is high time we introduce ourselves. "I'm Sarota Miyasha," I began, smiling kindly at Zenitsu as I continued, "And I'm a... doctor, you can say. This young man here with me, is my travelling partner— and a demon slayer, as you already deduced —Kamado Tanjiro."

"Is that right? My apologies!" He yelled again, before sobering down as he looked at me, "I'm Agatsuma Zenitsu..."

"It's nice to meet you then, Zenitsu-san." I smiled gently at him, "Please refer to me by my first name, if you don't have any issue with it, okay?" I kind of felt bad for scaring him like that.

"Tanjiro-san," I started, "I think we should start moving. Your next mission is a bit further away, not to mention that standing here, wasting time can very well mean jeopardizing someone's life."

"Hai, Miyash—"

"W-Wait," Zenitsu interrupted, "Y-You guys are going? To a mission? Please don't!"

"Why so, Zenitsu-san?" I frowned, not exactly remembering anything like this happening in the plot.

'I actually am altering many things though...' I thought bitterly, as Zenitsu explain how we needed to save him. 'But all these are minor things, right? It won't affect much in the long run, would it?'

"What was your reason for becoming a swordsman, Zenitsu?" Tanjiro asked soberly as he placed his hands on Zenitsu's shoulders. "Why are you being so blatantly shameless?" I could barely contain my laugh as Tanjiro unintentionally roasted him.

"That's a harsh way to to put it!" Zenitsu went into hysterics again, "I got swindled by a woman and racked up all this debt! The old man who took over for me was a cultivator!"

Zenitsu kneeled down after that, clutching his hair as he continued, "Day after day, I had to go through hellish training! It was so bad that I thought I'd be better off dead! I was hoping I could die during Final Selection! But since I was lucky enough to survive, I'm still going through hell every day!"

"I'm so scared! Scared! Scared! Sca—" I kneeled down and gently gripped Zenitsu's face, making him stop his hysteria instantly. He was still gasping as I looked over his tear stained face.

He had very down-turn features with these very sad droopy-looking brown eyes that almost made me pat him. 'Such a child...' I thought as I smiled at him absent-mindedly, taking a handkerchief out of my satchel to clean his face.

"Stop crying, please?" I said gently, still feeling his body shiver as I held his chin in my hand. "We... will 'save' you, okay? But first, please allow me to clean your face, okay sir?"

When he didn't gave me any response, I gently rubbed off all the tears and tear stains on his face. I offered the handkerchief to him to clean his nose, which he didn't accept as he shook his head in refusal.

"You sure? I do have many other, so you can keep it for the while until I can clean it...?" He shook his head again, making me a little bit confused.

'I really hope all this doesn't affect their dynamics too much...'


"How are you?" Tanjiro asked kindly as we started walking through the fields again.

"Yeah..." Zenitsu replied, calmer than he was before, "Now that I'm calmer, I'm getting hungry."

"Don't you have any food on you?"

"Nope..."

"Here, take this." Tanjiro kindly offered the onigiri he was carrying in his haori, "Would you like to eat it?"

Zenitsu accepted the onigiri, thanking Tanjiro as he took a bite out of the onigiri.

"Why are you not eating, Tanjiro?" I asked skeptically, "Don't tell me that was all you had..."

Tanjiro gave me a sheepish smile as Zenitsu looked at him guiltily.

I shook my head at him, rummaging through my satchel as we walked down the road, "You could have asked me... I do have something eat. And Zenitsu, no need to divide that onigiri in half, I have some more packed with me, okay?" I said as I noticed Zenitsu about to do so.

I gently got the small bento out of my satchel and handed it to Tanjiro, who was on my right. As I packed my satchel back, I heard Zenitsu gasp.

"Miyasha-san?!" He suddenly yelled excitedly, "Did you made these yourself?"

"I did...?" I answered unsurely, as I watched him turn to me with sparkling eyes.

"They look amazing!" Tanjiro commented with Zenitsu vigorously nodding in the background, "Are these... Salmon onigiri?"

"The one in your hand is." I replied to Tanjiro as I took out my bamboo bottle to drink some water, "And the one in your hand is Sujiko, Zenitsu. The three small onigiri in the middle of bento are the Kombu ones. Forgive me for their small size though— I made them with the leftover rice from the other onigiri."

"These are really good, Miyasha-san! Thank you for these!" Tanjiro praised as he took a bite, smiling brightly as chewed through the food.

"You are welcome!"

"Thank you for these, Miyasha-san." Zenitsu thanked quietly, "Um, why are you not eating? Here, take one—"

"Ah, it's okay!" I quickly replied back as Zenitsu tried to hand me an onigiri, "I actually ate a few before we started, so don't worry about me. You both finish it up and we'll buy some food while we are on the road, okay?"

"You sure?" Tanjiro asked one last time, thanking me again when I repeated that I was good.

It was a comfortable silence between us as we walked, enabling me to dwell on my thoughts about the future.

There wasn't much I actually remembered about this part— the only thing I could recollect from my memory about this was that we would go to one of the ex-lower demon moon's mansion to save the elder brother of the two siblings, who was a marechi, if my memory served right. In the end, I was not sure what I could do in all this.

'Go with them in the mansion?' I mused, though not really considering it. 'I'm getting too involved in the plot already and that's... Not actually good. Not to mention my wrist hasn't healed much yet— using my fans would be really difficult if I somehow get it even more... injured.'

I sighed, feeling tired about the whole situation.

"Chu!" Suddenly something landed on my head, making me look up. Zenitsu's sparrow looked back at me with the same fascination as I did at him, moving slightly onto my forehead as I moved my head upwards to look at him.

"Hey there little guy," I greeted the little bird, offering my palm to him as he eagerly jumped onto it, "Chu, chu, chi!"

I gently patted his head with my left pinky finger, avoiding my forefinger since I still had a cut on it.

The little sparrow leaned onto my touch, chirping loudly as if thanking me. I smiled at his sweet behaviour, absent-mindedly listening to Tanjiro as he began lecturing Zenitsu.

"I know what you mean when you say you're scared of demons, but you can't make trouble for your sparrow."

"Eh? Was it distressed? The sparrow?" Zenitsu asked quizzically, genuinely confused over the whole thing. "How can you tell?"

"Well, he says that you're always whining about not wanting to go to work, and you're always hitting on girls and that you snore so loud, he's had it!" Tanjiro said innocently as he pointed at the sparrow sitting on my palm, "So he says."

"Chu!" I almost smiled at the way the bird agreed with him.

'This world is crazy... and Tanjiro is even crazier— though, I shouldn't be one to talk either.'

"He's saying that?" Zenitsu asked in disbelief, looking at the little bird in my hand intently, "You can understand bird language?"

Upon Tanjiro nodding, Zenitsu scowled even more. "You're lying, right? You're just trying to trick me!"

"In a world full of demons," I commented, making both the boys look at me, "You are questioning the ability to understand birds?"

As if agreeing with me, Tanjiro's crow came up circling in the air. "Start running! Start running!" It yelled, making the blond's eyes widen, "Tanjiro, Zenitsu, run! Both of you head over to your next destination!"

Zenitsu sprawled onto the ground, rolling in hysteria as he tried to process the whole situation. "That crow is talking!"

"Come on, calm down!" Tanjiro requested, trying to calm the blond boy and move forward.

I just stood there and shook my head again— why the hell did I accept Tanjiro's request, again?


Kind of a filler chapter— I know, but I really wanted to give Miyasha a break before jumping into the craziness of the plot again, not to mention that I'm not going to rush the whole relationship building just because.

I am planning some good relationship building conversations between Miyasha and almost all the characters, and will try my best to explain all that in a way that you guys can get an idea what kind of girl she is and what kind of relationship she is building with everyone.

Now, onto the review replies!

Einklley: I... I'm honestly speechless. Your reply honestly made me so happy and proud to actually start working on this fanfic... You have no idea how much your words mean to me, dear. Thank you so much for all the support you have been showing me for all these months. Thank you so much. I promise that I'll get to the editing part once I get to a certain arc, and I'll even erase that grammatical error issue. Thank you so much for being there for me...!

2004em: Aww! Your reviews really made me squeal and smile so much! xD Especially since I remember doing that myself, and hearing that someone liked this story enough to get this excited just makes me cry tears of joy! I really hope you like this chapter and yes, you are right, Miyasha is the type to reject Tanjiro on his offer but then again, she just can't get over how young he actually is. it may not seem clear in this chapter, but I'm planning on highlighting it in the next! So do stay tuned ;)

Guest: (I really hope you are the same one reviewing for the past few chapters) I'm really glad that you felt it as natural! I was kinda afraid that it won't, but I'm glad it did! Thank you so much for reviewing!

Thank you so much for your reviews guys... Your kind reviews just make my day! You all are too sweet and I don't have enough words to appreciate you all.

Please review if you want to— I love reading from you guys, and honestly, it motivates me like no other :D

Stay safe and stay healthy!