(~Red District Arc~)


"Your skills in close combat are exceptional, Miyasha."

I dodged the incoming hand towards my neck, ducking down to twist my body to get out completely from the semi-hold Tomioka had almost trapped me in.

"I had to be, senpai," my voice came out breathily as I turned back to aim an axe kick at his head, "I grew up with two rowdy brothers, after all."

Tomioka dodged my kick at the last second, stepping back a few steps before I lunged forward to attack him again.

"Not to mention," I decided to continue as I felt him duck and turn in for a roundhouse kick — most likely aiming for my gut, "My primary weapon is made for close combat."

I jumped back and raised my arms to block before his kick slammed into my crossed arms, sending me sprawling.

"However," I tilted my head as I felt Tomioka's aura move away from me instead of attacking again, "Your defence is better than attack."

"Eh, that's mostly because I lack the strength for the offence part." I admitted as I gradually stood up to dust my clothes, "So, we done for the day? Or are we just taking a break?"

"Three hours."

"Huh?"

"It has been three hours since we started, Miyasha." Tomioka's exasperated voice made me huff a laugh in disbelief.

"Wait, seriously? It's already evening?" I asked in disbelief since I genuinely couldn't believe time went by so fast. Maybe it was because we started our training in the afternoon today?

"The Sun is setting," he replied almost seriously before continuing, "I know you can't see it but it is."

"Ouch, damn." A smile spread on my lips as I could imagine the Hashira shaking his head at my theatrics, "I understand, no need to poke at my injury, boss."

I wasn't dignified with a response at that as I sat down on the porch, feeling the aura of my companion step inside for a moment before returning.

"Throw the flask from where you are, senpai." I instantly spoke out, making Tomioka pause a few steps away from me, "Come on, throw it. I can catch it, trust me."

Thankfully, he did as I asked — passing out the bamboo flask as carefully as possible. I caught it without any issues as I concentrated on the aura lingering around the flask.

"See?" I proudly grinned while swinging the flask in my hand, "Told you I can sense lingering aura on things too. It's not that strong, but it works fine for the initial few moments."

"Initial few moments?" His quiet voice asked softly as he sat down right beside me.

"I mean, right after the detachment from the host of the aura," I explained briefly before drinking a few gulps from the flask, "Like, until the aura fades off from them since they can't retain it due to their lack of own aura."

"And how long can you detect them for?" His voice coupled with his warm aura comforted me a lot as I almost leaned back on him before stopping myself.

What is wrong with me? Since when did I become this touch-starved?

"A... few minutes?" A sigh escaped my lips, "I mean, I'm not sure. It's still a skill in progress, so." I shrugged off-handedly as I removed my hair from the messy ponytail, noticing how long it had turned out to be.

It was already past my shoulders at this point and, if my past experiences were anything to account for, will reach past my breasts within the next week or so since they already were almost there.

'Then comes the whole new issue of finding hair from the areas around the under-boobs and butt-cracks.' I sarcastically thought as I leaned back and laid down on the porch, feeling the occasional cool wind blowing through.

My heart skipped a beat when I felt Tomioka lay beside me too; his warm breath almost fanning over my face as I felt him turn towards me and reach a hand out to my face.

"You will get them removed tomorrow?" His quiet voice was all I could hear as I became extremely conscious of his gentle touch just at the edge of my bandages.

"Y-Yeah," I hated how I stuttered; it was all because of his gentle touches that always left me feeling breathless and guilty and yet I still couldn't bring myself to push him away, "I mean, it has been three weeks since they've been there, so yeah."

"How are you feeling?"

"I... I don't know," I answered honestly as his hand slowly rubbed circles on my cheek, "I just feel numb, I guess. I mean, I'm not scared since I know I can still function without them but somehow I still hope I can get my eyesight back. Pathetic, I know."

"It's not pathetic," I stopped resisting to myself and leaned onto his touch as he continued softly, "I wish you can get your eyesight back too."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his adorably innocent statement, "You are really sweet, you know?"

"Am I?" I liked how he had caught more and more of my playful attitude as he helped me train.

Maybe I wasn't a good influence on him after all.

"Yep," I chuckled again as I answered honestly, "So much so that it can give people the wrong idea, senpai." I couldn't help but admit as I got up to move away from him despite my heart not wanting to.

'I wish I am the only one to whom you do this.' I shook my head at the selfish thought, the feeling of guilt I was previously feeling returning with a vengeance, 'Honestly, you pamper me so much that I forget my limit...'

"Miyasha?" His worried voice made me give him a soft smile.

"Come on, let's go." I turned back to collect my weapons and haori, "Or else we'll be late for dinner and Shinobu-san will give us the side-eye look, again."

Tomioka followed me without a word of complaint; helping me put on my haori and fans before we left his Estate.

I know feeling guilty like this was not going to help me sort out my feelings either way — Tomioka was a sweet guy with almost next to no social and romantic skills. His actions were just as innocent as they could be on their face value; taking them any deeper would just end up hurting my feelings.

And I know that.
But I still couldn't help but lean in a bit more, crave his warmth a bit more and just want him to myself a bit more.

I was through and through selfish as well as stupid and it showed.

"Miyasha?" I hummed in answer as Tomioka called out my name, "Will Shinobu remove your bandages in the morning, tomorrow?"

"I think so, why?" I asked curiously as I felt him shift more towards me.

"I was given a mission for tonight," His voice came out regretfully, making me smile softly as I rubbed his arm to comfort, "I won't be able to see you..."

"Ah, it's alright," I couldn't keep the smile off my face at his adorable behaviour, "I mean, you can meet me once you are done! Don't worry too much about it, okay?"

I felt him nod as his long hair brushed my hands, making me smile even more.

This guy had been training me sincerely for the past few weeks — always finishing his missions in record time to get back to me as soon as he could. I didn't even know he was doing all this until Shinobu scolded him for straining his body too much, making me feel extremely guilty.

And yet, this bastard still had the audacity to apologize to me and tell me that he did all that because he wanted to spend time with me.

At this point, I no longer knew how to deal with him or even interpret his actions.

"Wait," I paused as his words finally clicked, "You were given a mission for tonight? What the hell are you doing here then?! Don't you have to leave immediately for it then?"

Tomioka looked the other way and increased the speed of his walking instead of replying to me, making me yell back at him for his apparent childish antics.

"Oi, senpai! Stop running away and answer me!"


"Miyasha-san, now I need you to slowly open your eyes and focus on my hand, alright?"

I took a deep breath and replied affirmatively, feeling quite nervous after the bandages were finally removed from my eyes for good.

The nervousness in my chest increased as I slowly opened my eyes; my heart rapidly dropping as my vision was met with the same darkness as before — or maybe it was lighter?

"Can you see my hand?" Shinobu's voice broke me out of my thoughts, making me finally notice the fingers gently moving in front of my eyes.

"Y-Yes," I couldn't help but stutter as I completely focused on the one thing that was in my vision in all of the darkness, "But I, uh, I can't see anything else...?"

"Is it because it is dark?"

"Yes?" Shinobu's question confused me as I closed my eyes automatically when she suddenly covered them with her hand.

"Then you don't have to worry about that, Miyasha-san~ Just keep your eyes closed and slowly open them again when I ask, alright?"

I nodded obediently as I heard Shinobu direct the Trouble Trio to remove the curtains while Nezuko seemed to have climbed up on my lap in her younger form.

"Hey there, sweetie," I smiled down at the demon girl as my heart calmed down a bit after hearing the darkness I was seeing was not because of my damaged eyesight.

Wait, does that mean my eyes are...?

"Alright, now slowly open your eyes again, Miyasha-san!" Shinobu amiably directed.

I followed through without asking any questions but flinched as the brightness overwhelmed me all of a sudden.

"It's okay," Shinobu soothed me and Nezuko, who was squirming worriedly in my lap, "Take your time to slowly adjust your eyes to the light."

I did as she asked, gradually opening my eyes little by little as I blinked away the blindness caused by the sudden light. I almost couldn't believe that the world was previously just as bright as it was now after getting so used to the constant darkness for a good few weeks.

"Shinobu-san," I heard Zenitsu's voice ask somewhere from behind me, "Why did you ask us to put curtains on the window earlier if we had to remove them anyway?"

"Because my eyes are still sensitive, Itsu-kun," I replied instead of Shinobu as my vision cleared and I slowly took in the scene around me before focusing on the girl in my lap, "That's why she asked you guys to darken the room to first see if my eyes are well enough to open there first before jumping onto the normal light, right Shinobu-san?"

Nezuko peered back at me as I looked down at her; her pale pink eyes smiling up at me softly as she reached out with her small hands to touch my cheeks.

I instantly caught her small hands and nuzzled them; a chuckle escaping my lips as the younger girl leapt up to embrace me completely in her small toddler arms.

"Absolutely~" Shinobu's reply made me turn to her with a smile, "I hope there are no aches around or in your eyes?"

My heart skipped a beat as I was met with her soft caring smile; she looked relieved and somewhat thankful as she looked at me and Nezuko, making me feel rather shy as I looked down again.

"Not any as of now—" I was interrupted by three pairs of arms wrapping around my torso, followed by three rowdy teenagers yelling to get my attention.

"Oh my God, your eyes are working alright—"

"Aneki, can you see me now?!"

"Oi, I knew you would heal completely! Tell me how many fingers I am holding!"

A laugh escaped my lips as Zenitsu reprimanded Inosuke for his insensitive remark, the whole scene making me feel warm as I enjoyed the familiarity of it.

"Yes, I can see you three," I replied as I reached out to hug all three of them surrounding me, "Yes, my eyes are working alright and you are holding two fingers, Ino-chan — hope that helps!"

I laughed again as Zenitsu grumbled at me for humouring Inosuke; my heart feeling full and relieved as the three stooges engulfed me into a hug before dissolving into petty banter again.

"Miyasha-san," Shinobu's voice swiftly broke the banter between the three as they focused back on her, "If you feel any pain, let me or Aoi know immediately, alright?"

I nodded silently as she continued, "And please don't strain your eyes or your body for the next few days. We would need to do an eye checkup as well, so please stay here for the day, Miyasha-san."

"Hai, Shinobu-san," I nodded again as Shinobu stood up from her seat and brought me a glass of water and some medicines before moving away to leave, "Um, wait!"

Shinobu turned to me and tilted her head as I gently detached Nezuko from my arms and placed her on my seat instead.

I instantly approached Shinobu and gave her a hug; surprising her most likely as her arms straightened up but didn't quite reach to hug me back.

"Thank you so much," I softly said as I gently patted her stiff form, "For helping me so far and even listening to all my worries. I genuinely owe you one."

I had almost detached myself from the hug when Shinobu wrapped her arms around me in a hug — her embrace feeling more intimate as she caressed my hair, weaving through my tangled strands in an oddly gentle manner.

"Ara, ara, Miyasha-san~" her playful voice made me smile even more as we mutually stepped away from the hug, "It was my duty to help you~! No need to feel like you owe me anything, hm?"

I could only nod as Shinobu continued to pat and reassure me how this was the least she could do — her face feeling brighter and more open than I remember seeing previously.

But, then again, it could be the fault in my memory or maybe she was always like this and I never really noticed.


It was a day later when I went for my eye checkup with Shinobu — sitting quietly in the empty clinic for the majority of the time as my eyes scanned the pristine place; I could feel the effort put in to make the clinic as clean and organised as possible.

"It's quite homey," I said to myself absent-minded before I looked ahead at the alphabet sheet hanging in front of me.

Now, that thing uncovered a dilemma I never thought I would have.

But, then again, I should have expected it too — I mean, getting my eyesight back completely unharmed was literally impossible. Until and unless I was a Mary-Sue in a fanfiction.

Then that would have been an interesting issue. Or advantage, who knows? Maybe I could have used some of those Mary-Sue abilities to kill Muzan myself and disappear into thin air.

I shook my head at the ridiculous thoughts I was having before focusing back onto observing my surroundings. It has been a while since I've seen things and seeing things through made me realize how blurry my vision had actually become.

I didn't quite notice it at first, but it was evident now — I definitely needed glasses.

'I wonder how Tomioka would react to seeing me in one,' I thought absent-mindedly before shaking my head; why did I keep thinking about him again and again?

Was it because of my still-forming crush on him or was I really missing him?

'Or maybe it is because I expected him to be back by today but he isn't.' But, then again, that was a futile hope too since many missions took quite a few days to wrap up due to both their complexity and distance away from the headquarters.

Wait, since I've almost recovered completely, would I start getting ordinary missions too now?

As that thought wrecked my brain with even more thoughts, I heard the sound of the door opening and Doctor Urameshi coming in with Shinobu.

"So," I started light-heartedly as they looked at me a bit grimly, "How thick are my glasses gonna be? Hopefully, they ain't heavier than my face!"

Shinobu cracked a smile at my lame joke, making me feel somewhat better before she nodded towards the doctor and started speaking.

"Miyasha-san, your eyesight..."

"It's temporary?" I interjected as she paused due to her hesitance, "I will be losing it over time, won't I?"

"Unfortunately so," Doctor Urameshi replied curtly, adjusting his own glasses as he continued, "Currently, your eyes are straining to see anything that is farther than a few meters and there is a high chance that it may worsen as time goes by."

"That's understandable," I leaned on my chair as I looked up at the two figures standing gravely in front of me, "Since nearsighted people hardly recover once diagnosed. Please correct me if I am wrong, but if I can see as much as I can right now, that means my case isn't the absolute worse, is it?"

"No, but it can be later on," Shinobu replied to me this time as the doctor left the room once again, "Miyasha-san... your recovery was very unlikely if expected at all."

I nodded in agreement as I knew how true that was; the way Akaza's blood directly came in contact with my eyes, I was lucky enough to even open them let alone see — it was most likely because of Nezuko's immediate intervention, coupled with Rengoku's quick thinking while separating me from the ongoing battle.

"How long do I have, then?"

"A few years," Shinobu answered honestly as the doctor returned abruptly, "Or a few months, at worse."

"So, I'll become blind sooner if I strain myself too much?" I asked rhetorically as Doctor Urameshi handed me a round pair of glasses, low-key reminding me of Harry Potter's glasses.

Was I becoming an off-brand Harry Potter now?

"Yes," Doctor Urameshi replied shortly before adding, "To avoid that, you should wear these glasses at all times and avoid focusing on faraway objects without them at any cost. You should also eat healthy food and rest whenever your head aches."

I nodded as the doctor gave me a few other instructions — from my medications to a few more precautions concerning extreme headaches and possible pain in my eyes.

"If that happens, don't hesitate to approach me," Shinobu added after the doctor covered the aspects of the serious aches I may get in the future when I would strain myself too much.

I finally proceeded to wear the glasses given to me, observing how sturdy the thin metal frame was — making them look uncannily like the glasses I remember Harry Potter wearing. Quite infamously so, if I may add.

"How are they?"

"They are... good?" I looked around once before focusing on Shinobu, "My vision is much clearer than before — and not just of the farther things. I can't believe I never noticed how blurry even the things nearer to me were."

"What about the frame, is it to your satisfaction?" Doctor Urameshi asked as I nodded to him affirmatively in answer, "Good. What about your eyes? Any aches? Uncomfort?"

"None as of now."

"Then that'll be all from my side, Sarota-san, Kocho-san." He concluded with a smile as he turned to us with a polite smile, "If you face any further issues with your eyes or the glasses, please don't hesitate to visit me."

"Thank you, Urameshi-san." We bowed before leaving after a short farewell — the whole while I was fiddling with my glasses as they felt awkward on my face.

Not to mention, they kept sliding down, making me readjust them every ten minutes. How the hell was I expected to fight demons with these glasses, again?

"I hope you like the frame of your glasses, Miyasha-san," Shinobu started as she brushed her shoulder with mine while we walked out of the clinic, "Because you look quite adorable in them~"

I huffed a laugh at her genuine compliment, feeling rather shy as she walked almost hand-in-hand with me.

"You're too kind, Shinobu-san."

"Too much humility is poison, Miyasha-san~" she pointed out quite directly as we passed through the bustling town; the whole scenario making me appreciate my sight once more, "I hope you can start appreciating yourself the way you appreciate others."

Her soft words left me in a very awkward position as I avoided replying — what could I say to that anyway? Especially when they don't know how much I truly could do and wasn't doing?

Would they still accept me if they knew how much I knew about their lives and their future?

Thankfully enough, I wasn't left alone with my thoughts again like before as Shinobu dragged me to a chemist she was familiar with. Apparently, she needed to restock some of her medical supplies since we have been running her dry for the past few weeks.

With a wry smile, I accompanied her and familiarised myself with them as well, commenting wherever I was needed as Shinobu restocked on medicines and herbs that she could use to make new medicines using my blood.

"Maybe we can also develop a poison using it?" Shinobu asked while referencing my blood, making me shrug off-handedly as I internally agreed with her.

"We can," I answered softly so that no one could eavesdrop on our strange conversation, "But you might find me quite useless at that since medicine or poison-making isn't exactly my fort. Even the balms and medicines I made were quite... well, they took me years to perfect, so."

"You're too humble, Miyasha-san."

"No, Shinobu-san, you expect too much from me," I replied jokingly as the chemist returned with the samples of the herbs we asked for.

I felt her eyes linger on me before dropping back to the herbs, making me wonder what was actually going on in her mind.

Shinobu had always been my favourite one out of all the Hashiras due to her complex backstory as well as mindset and yet, it was now the very thing making me wary of her.

She was like a village that looked calm and serene from the outside but was bustling and chaotic from the inside — however, I wasn't even close enough to understand how chaotic it actually was inside her.

I could only wish to know one day but even that wish seemed too greedy to me sometimes.


"Miyasha—!" I and Shinobu almost reached the entrance of the main gate of the Butterfly Estate when I was tackled by two enormous bodies crashing into mine.

Or rather, two enormous dumbasses, to be more exact.

"Oof!" I smacked Hitoshi's shoulder before I hugged those two idiots, feeling frustrated at how I failed to notice their auras as I was wrapped up in my conversation with Shinobu, "Get off, you monkeys!"

"Careful," Hiroshi teased as he let me go first, his blue-green eyes meeting mine with clear excitement as he brushed my hair back after briefly greeting Shinobu who seemed more amused than anything, "You won't be getting any boys with that attitude, Miya."

"I don't need any either, senpai," I grunted as Hiroshi ruffled my hair, "Oi, stop it!"

"How can I, when you look so adorable with those glasses, hm?"

I blushed as Hiroshi complimented me genuinely; my flush deepening when I noticed how shell-shock Hitoshi looked at my appearance.

"Toshi-senpai...?"

"Oh God," His hands engulfed my cheeks with his huge hands as I looked at him strangely, "How can someone be this cute?! This must be illegal!"

"Oh Lord, please no" my cheeks were pulled like they were expected to be made out of marshmallows, making me irritated with each passing second while Hitoshi played with my face as he pleased.

"So cute!"

"Stawp!"

I could hear the laughs Shinobu and Hiroshi were sharing, making me even more annoyed as I attempted to smack away Hitoshi's hands pulling at my cheeks.

However, that brute refused to move, even after quite a few harsh smacks.

It wasn't until Shinobu intervened that Hitoshi left my cheeks alone; making me jump away from those three as I rubbed my poor tortured cheeks.

"Those fucking brats," I murmured as Hiroshi cracked over on the sidewalk, making me glare at his stupid ass.

"Are you okay, Miyasha-san?" Even Shinobu's sweet words felt like an attack on my leftover pride as the Insect Pillar did her best to hide her amusement behind her kind smile.

"You all are so mean — bullying your junior like this, shame on you."

This caused a new wave of laughter between the Hashiras as I playfully turned away from them. It was better to end such an event with laughter than to show my embarrassment over it.

It wasn't like I was going to leave them alone after this either — I will have my revenge over those two asses, but showing them all my cards right now would be a waste.

"But honestly, you look too adorable," Hitoshi hugged me from behind before he caressed my head, making me feel like a child as I looked up at his tall figure.

"Your small stature doesn't help that notion either," Hiroshi added jokingly before dodging the smack I was aiming at him.

"How does my height have anything to do with my glasses?!"

"It just makes you look like an adorable doll," Hitoshi explained before glaring at Hiroshi as he continued, "And don't mind Hiro; we are just happy to see you back to normal." He pushed my slipping glasses up my nose, making me wrinkle my nose at him as he laughed.

"That was a very unique way to show it then, Kinomiya-san~" Shinobu's words made me snort as the twins became embarrassed and started to defend their torture on me; the whole scene making Shinobu even more amused.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I felt the aura of the Trouble Trio approaching us from the other side.

The chaos that ensued after that was something else entirely — from Hitoshi's shout of surprise when I yanked myself out of his grip to the Trouble Trio slamming me into a hug the second time that day.

It got even worse when they unanimously started talking about the glasses, their compliments bouncing off me as I tried to calm down the chattering while the twins egged them on and encouraged them to be even louder.

"Okay, enough! Kids!" I yelled out at them, resulting in them quieting down immediately before I continued, "Yes Tanjiro, I can see properly now, thank you for worrying. Zenitsu, thank you for your compliment and yes, I have to wear these every day now. And no Inosuke, just because I wear glasses doesn't mean I'm still blind."

I took a deep breath before glaring at the two instigators, "And Hiroshi, Hitoshi — stop adding to the ruckus. You both are adults now and yet you keep causing chaos like small kids. If not your age, then at least act according to your positions!"

"Yes, mother."

The flat look that I gave only made the whole lot of them giggle like idiots — even Shinobu was laughing as she urged everyone to go inside.


"Don't you dare pick up such shenanigans from the twins," I warned the Trouble Trio as they obediently followed me back to my room, "Those two are good for nothing," I muttered to myself as we entered my room, its sight after almost three weeks making me feel oddly nostalgic.

"Aneki," Zenitsu's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as I turned to him almost automatically, "How do you know the Snow Hashiras?"

"Oh, I actually grew up with them." I answered off-handedly as I removed my hair from the messy ponytail, "We had, uh, studied under the same teacher for years — the former Snow Hashira, actually. That's how I got to know them. I thought I told this to you guys before?"

"You did!" Zenitsu answered sheepishly as Tanjiro sat down alongside him on the floor beside the bed, "But I didn't connect the twins you were talking about previously were the Snow Hashiras."

"Ah, that's understandable but why are you sitting on the floor? Sit on the bed like Inosuke," I pointed to the boar-boy lying face-first on the bed "Or take a chair."

"We are comfortable here," Tanjiro answered honestly as Zenitsu leaned on his figure; making me notice how tired they actually were that I had somehow missed earlier.

"Hm, are you guys alright? You seem quite tired." I asked curiously as I weaved a hand through my unruly hair.

"We are alright, Aneki. Just a bit tired." Tanjiro almost yawned as he answered while Zenitsu added, "Yes, especially after what happened today."

Before I could ask what happened to make them this tired, Inosuke jumped up on the bed and yelled, "That good for nothing drunkard!"

"Inosuke!"

"Wait, what happened?" I interrupted them before a ruckus could start over, "Drunkard? Who?"

I had a bad feeling — have they already gone ahead and met Rengoku Senior?

They wouldn't do that without telling me, right? And weren't they supposed to go within the next two days?

"We actually went to Rengoku-aniki's Estate in the morning," Tanjiro started, making me pinch the bridge of my nose, "We tried to find you to go with us but—"

They actually went ahead and did it. Without telling me.

I felt a strong sense of betrayal as Tanjiro narrated how they went to meet Rengoku as they missed him a lot after his release and how he had asked them to visit him quite a few times now.

I let them continue without interruption for now as I tried to piece through their narration about how it went down exactly.

"That's when the previous Flame Hashira showed up and started yelling suddenly!" Zenitsu piped up in between Tanjiro's narration, "He was so heartless, Aneki — calling Rengoku-aniki a disappointment and what not before he came up and attacked Tanjiro without any reason."

"He was saying something about the Breath of the Sun when he attacked me," Tanjiro recollected as his frowning gaze focused on his hands, "But I didn't get to ask him about it because Rengoku-aniki stopped him and made him go back inside."

"So, he hit you and then went inside?" I asked suspiciously, trying to assess how much my actions have caused us to diverge from the original plot.

"Yes, without even apologising!" Zenitsu seemed quite angry himself as he pointed that out.

"He was screaming when Aniki dragged him inside," Inosuke added his own two cents, "That inferior bastard."

"Language, Inosuke," Tanjiro lightly reprimanded him before turning to me, "But yes, he was... he was quite angry. He thought I was full of myself and looked down on him. How could I when I was just..."

I gently reached out to the burgundy-haired male when he looked down sadly, patting him gently as I sat down in front of them.

"Hey," I calmly started as he leaned in on me, "Remember what we discussed last time, hm? It's alright to not be ready and it's perfectly fine to still have some room to grow. Now, tell me what else happened — did he hit you somewhere else? Are you still hurting?"

"He didn't hit me exactly," Tanjiro reluctantly admitted, "I mean, he just grabbed me and slammed me against the ground but he didn't hit me! I'm not hurt anywhere, I promise, Aneki."

I sighed at how he was defending someone who had gone as far as attacking him.

I know Rengoku Senior was still dealing with his wife's death and his overall inferiority complex but taking it out on someone else was just too much. In fact, whatever he was doing right now was unjustifiable regardless of his deteriorating mental health.

"Did he hit anyone else? Zenitsu? Inosuke?"

The three of them shook their head unanimously before Inosuke started, "He only lunged at Monjiro."

"Aniki stopped him before his drunk ass could do something more embarrassing," Zenitsu muttered darkly before saying out loud, "He was just spewing shit without any provocation! I wish Tanjiro could have headbutted him once before he was dragged back inside."

I nodded absent-mindedly as I sat back and recounted whatever they had told me up until now — so, they visited Rengoku's Estate, met with Rengoku and his brother before their father came in and interrupted them?

"So, the former Flame Hashira, uh," I stumbled over my words as I thought about how to address his acts as politely as I could, "Interrupted you guys when you were coming back or...?"

"We were training when he came in the yard," Inosuke answered me this time as his boar mask peeked from the space between Zenitsu and Tanjiro's head, "Aniki was teaching us how to increase our strength with each swing when the drunkard showed up screaming!"

"Ah," that completely changed the whole scenario then, "What about the, uh, breath he was talking about? Did Ren-senpai know anything about it?"

This time Tanjiro shook his head and replied, "He didn't. Even the generational records of the Flame Pillars, that could hold a clue to what the breath might be, were torn to shreds..."

"I'm telling you, it was definitely done by that old moron," Zenitsu pointed out, which I internally agreed with but didn't say anything otherwise.

What could I say anything, anyway? I wasn't there to actually see it happening nor could I tell them I knew about it from a manga I read in my previous life.

"And Rengoku-sama refused to tell you anything about it except its name?" I asked instead, trying to get the full picture of the incident.

"Yes," Tanjiro sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned on my shoulder, "I don't get it, was he talking about the dance of the Fire God that my father used to do? But if yes, then how would we learn something like that — this dance has been in our family for generations!"

"Maybe he was, who knows? He seemed crazy to me." Zenitsu off-handedly commented before smiling sheepishly as I and Tanjiro fixed him with a look.

"Whatever it might be," I patted both the boys before standing up from my position, "It's better to ask him directly than assume ourselves, hm?"

"But how can we do that when...!" I smiled kindly at Tanjiro's defeated face.

"People change, dearie," I replied softly, "Sometimes, all they need is a chance and a little push out of their comfort zone. I'm sure that's the case with Rengoku-sama too."

"But why should we do that for him?" Inosuke asked bluntly, making me chuckle at his very valid question.

"No one said you need to do it — all I'm saying is that we shouldn't give up on him without giving him a proper chance to redeem himself. In the end, it would be completely on his own discretion if he wants to get better or not."

"And how would we do that then?" Zenitsu asked suspiciously, to which I gave him my most innocent smile.

"Take me with you next time," I widened my smile almost sarcastically as I noticed them ready to protest, "Since you three didn't even bother to bring me with you when you visited Ren-senpai, I think this is the least you three can do — especially after how you ignored your own word."


I took a deep breath as I rubbed the tight muscles of my face, still feeling the ghost of those metal frames on my nose as I sighed from the tiredness of everything that had happened in the last few days.

Apparently, the boys (read: Tanjiro, since the rest of the trio were incompetent with words) were exchanging letters with Rengoku for the past few days or so after his release, in which Rengoku asked them to visit him too many times to count.

And while I was aware that they were supposed to visit him sometime now, I didn't expect them to do that today — especially since they were aware of my appointment.

Well, at least that's what I thought.

Another sigh escaped my lips as I shook my head at the whole miscommunication we had. It was almost funny how the boys thought I was supposed to visit the doctor in the evening and not in the morning while I thought they were going to visit Rengoku in the next two days, not today — both reasonable confusions that took root because of one simple reason.

And that reason laid on Inosuke's shoulders, who forgot to relay their plans to me, as designated by Tanjiro.

It was collectively decided that Inosuke will not be given any such jobs regarding communication ever again in the future — not even in emergencies.

'I can'tbelieveI missed such an essential plot point, though,' I thought almost wistfully as I nuzzled onto my pillow before turning over.

The current part of the plot is one of the most essential ones yet, considering how this is where Tanjiro gets his first clues about the Breath of the Sun and pieces together the whole of it before facing the other Demon Moons.

Unfortunately, my involvement had already messed up a huge portion of it, and I genuinely didn't know how to clean it up or somehow compensate for it.

'What can I even do to sober that drunk man up?'

Now, wasn't that the million-dollar question?
Unfortunately, neither did I have an answer for that question nor did I even have a plan.

The only thing I could possibly do was attempt to talk some sense into that thick, colourful skull of his — which was a high-risk task in itself, I swear.

But what choice did I have anyway?

I rubbed the itchiness off my eyes before pausing and continuing more gently than before.

It won't be good treating these newly repaired eyes of mine this badly — even if I wasn't quite used to dealing myself with care, yet.

That made me sigh once again. Honestly, nothing was going my way and I really didn't know how to handle it anymore — the uncertainty of the future sounded bad but the certainty of the plot was even worse.

I was literally trapped between a rock and a hard place.

'The only option I have is to walk in between them for now, I guess.' I thought sarcastically, before focusing back on the issue at hand — trying to plan ahead so that I can fall back on it if something goes wrong.

With that thought in mind, I recollected everything I remember about this part of the plot; recalling whatever I could about the Rengoku family and Tanjiro's interaction with them.

Once I was certain about a few details that I thought would be useful later on, I got up and took out my notebook to note them down — the same notebook in which I used to write plot points I somehow remembered, just in case.

And since they were written in a mixture of Hindi and English, they were comparatively safe and better for remembrance; at least more than recollecting and memorising.

I flipped through the pages of the notebook as I read back at my previous notes, noticing how initially they were more about the sequence of events of the manga but somehow ended up with my small entries about my dreams about my past life and possible names for my breathing forms.

My heart ached as a few memories of my sister passed through my mind, making me feel nostalgic and a bit helpless while I just stood there in the middle of the room.

'I wish I could share about it with someone...' I snorted at the selfishness of my thoughts, hating how I had the guts to feel like this after all that I have done. Or didn't do, to be more exact.

As if anyone owed me anything after how I refused to tell or do anything that could actually help them to save people or maybe even hunt down Muzan.

"Ah, fuck it." I placed the notebook back in my satchel and dived back into my bed — it's better to sleep and get ready for tomorrow rather than waste time on my own guilty thoughts.

After all, I've only learned how to run away from them instead of actually facing them.

However, while my mind did know that, my body refused to understand my need for sleep; my freezing body doing nothing to aid no matter how much I covered myself in thick blankets.

'I have to train tomorrow and handle RengokuSenior'sass — I need sleep for that but...'

But I couldn't sleep without a heat source; like the sunlight or an electric heater that didn't even exist yet.

'Or maybe Tomioka.' I blushed at my own thoughts before rubbing my warm cheeks in embarrassment.

What is wrong with me — it's not like I never had any crush before, so why am I acting like this now?

Especially for a guy as innocent as him who deserved none of this shit I was thinking about him!

'He'll be disgusted if he found out I was thinking about sleeping with him,' I thought absent-mindedly before correcting myself, 'No, maybe he won't even understand the meaning behind my thought — taking it as innocently as he could since he took everything at face value.'

Not that I was thinking of anything inappropriate about him either... despite how it may have sounded.

'Okay, that's enough!' I got up from the bed and took out my fans before changing back to my uniform, 'Get a grip, Miyasha! We have a lot left to do — let's just start my training and maybe gather some wisteria while I am at it.'

After all, I was running low on my blood 'potions' and considering how the red district mission was just around the corner, it would be better to make a more concentrated and potent one.

'Maybe I can get a few from the garden Tomioka showed me last time—?'

I almost slapped my forehead in frustration as my mind went back to Tomioka.

Lord, what was wrong with me?


Heya!

So, I'm back after two months instead of two weeks, lmao.
Yeah, I'm disappointed in myself too, oof.

Anyways, since the anime has finished up this arc nice and slow, I'm gonna now cover this up and try my best to finish this one as soon as I can too — especially considering I have some free time now after all those exams and presentations.

However, since we are finally reaching the point where the fanfic would completely diverge from the manga/anime plot, it's gonna take me a tad bit more time to plan things through and complete the arcs.

Please have patience with me, like you always do, thank you so much for supporting me up until this point. I read every review here and it genuinely makes me excited to see people enjoying my work.

》Taishou Secrets《
Inosuke dreamed of Miyasha as a boar in his dream that he had during the infinity train arc — portraying her as a family or someone to protect.

And that's it for this chapter, folks! I'll be replying to the reviews in my next chapter and upload that I can hopefully get out soon, lol. Please review this one too if you want to— I love reading from you guys, and honestly, it motivates me like no other ^^

Stay safe and stay healthy!