(~Uncertain Hope Arc~)


As an atheist in my previous life and a begrudgingly, barely theist in this one, I sometimes couldn't help but think that God (or maybe life?) was trolling me.

"Don't fucking die on me, you get that?" I glared at the foul-mouthed Wind Hashira who glared right back at me, "I'm not here to babysit your fucking dumbass."

"I assure you that such an opportunity would not arise," I replied somewhat politely, "And even if it did, I do not think you are much proficient in handling anyone, let alone kids."

Or at least, formally.
I mean, I wasn't being outrightly rude, so that should be polite enough, right?

Well, Sanemi's glare didn't exactly seem to agree with me as he instead sprinted away after the crow rather than dignifying me with a response, which was fair enough, I guess.

I mean, I get it — I can't always get what I want but seriously? Is this how I'll be taught that life lesson, by sending me on a mission with that foul-mouthed, temper-throwing man who could barely tolerate my shadow falling on him?

I could almost feel the veins in my head throbbing as I imagined how disastrous our mission could go, given how violent he was with the demons.

And while I didn't blame him for his attitude towards the demons, he didn't treat humans much better either and that's where I started blaming him.
Even now he was rushing through at a speed which would have been very hard for me to follow if I was not as proficient in running as I was.

'Oyakata-sama sure did fuck me up here, I swear.'

I mean, while I didn't mind him allotting me mission personally, I did mind Hashiras being assigned with me as a means to essentially babysit me in case I somehow injured myself or worse, died.

But, then again, it's not like my track record has been much clean either, with how the Red District mission and that Train mission went. It's not my fault though that I came back injured both times — there were Demon Moons there! In each mission!

Not to mention, everyone came back injured in those missions, not just me! Why the hell was only I getting a babysitter?!

'Not to mention, Oyakata-sama was so fixed at that, too!' I thought bitterly as I looked back at my meeting with Oyakata-sama that afternoon, 'Yes, it's true I somehow got myself that ridiculousreputation as a Demon Moon attractor but so did Tanjiro! Why the fuck was only I not allowed to go on a solo mission?!'

I've never felt this bitter and salty as I did right now, even though I somewhat understood his point.

'Maybe it's because of my blood?' I mused off-handedly while adjusting the glasses up my nose to prevent them from falling off at the current speed we were going.

And yes, I remembered taking my glasses with me this time.

To be fair, it wasn't like I forgot to take my glasses with me on the Red District mission but rather avoided doing so since not many people wear glasses in the current era and hence, they would've just brought unnecessary attention to me which I didn't need at the time.

That's a very different fact that I almost forgot about it completely until I came back to Butterfly Estate today to get my trusted white satchel and got a lecture from Shinobu for not wearing my glasses for the past two weeks.

Again, not my fault that I ain't used to wearing them. Two months ain't enough to get used to such troublesome shit.

Not that I wore those glasses properly in those two months either.

"Here! Here!" The Kasugai Crow declared as it started circling above us, "Here!"

Sanemi silently looked around us before turning to the crow, "And what's the mission? How many demons are here?"

I frowned as I wondered what made him question that before I felt it at the edge of my consciousness: the coiled auras of the demons.
And yes, there was more than one.

I immediately closed my eyes and concentrated on my surroundings, noticing for the first time how eerily quiet the area was and no, it was not the silence one may come across while travelling at night.

No, it was the type of silence that one could only find when exploring a haunted house.
And the feeling of multiple demons with little to no human lives around only made that feeling worse.

A loud, gut-wrenching scream of a woman interrupted my thoughts, making both me and Sanemi rush towards the source.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I felt the demons around us; if the number of auras I felt was right, then we had about five demons in this area only, which was much more than a village this small should have.

'Demons don't usually band together,' I watched Sanemi jump on the demon attacking the human female inside a house, that demon's jaw still gripping the female's shoulder before Sanemi stabbed him and separated them somehow, 'Which means that these demons came here as they are and not as a group. That also means that there is a high chance they were looking or targeting for something or someone.'

That, or they were newly converted and were running around to find the nearest human possible.

I bent down to check the condition of the victim as Sanemi handled the rogue demon on his own, my mind assessing her wounds instantly as I noticed most of them were almost too severe to be treated.

The worst part was that a portion of the flesh of her neck and shoulder was already torn out, damaging the majority of her nerves along with her Subclavian Artery which only worsened her bleeding and put her into an epileptic shock. The only way to stop her bleeding was to treat her damaged artery but it was torn out in a way that would be impossible to treat even with an integrated surgical replacement.

In short, there was nothing I would be able to do for her except make her death a little less painful.

I silently took out a vial from my satchel along with an injection and injected the liquid into her bloodstream through the vein in her neck, giving her a last act of mercy as the painkiller in the poison gradually settled into her bloodstream. I silently observed how her body slowly calmed down and her face settled into a more peaceful expression.

"May your soul rest in peace," I murmured a silent prayer for her soul while bowing my head and apologising for not being able to do anything else for her.

The worst thing, however, was that I felt oddly numb as I laid the dying woman's body back on the ground. I couldn't even mourn for her properly as she deserved to be done so.

It was, as if, I was used to death now.
And the idea of that scared me a little.

"Is she...?"

"Yes," I replied blankly as I got up and turned around to find Sanemi looking down at the woman, "There was nothing that could be done. A major artery in her shoulder region was damaged, which would have caused her to die from blood loss in a few hours, if not from the pain of her nerves being severed open."

Sanemi suddenly took out his sword and pointed it at the woman's body, startling me as I instantly interrupted him, "I've medicated her! No need to cut her off or anything! She will not suffer in misery!"

His pale purple eyes met my bluish-violet ones before he nodded and stepped back outside again.

"Good job," it was odd hearing him say something decent for once, "I'll go out to find the other demons then. You look for the survivors and—"

"There are little to no survivors left in this village, currently," I admitted as I closed my eyes and concentrated on the auras around us again, "Hardly... two or three. And if what I feel is right, then none of them are not injured. In comparison, there are still four demons roaming around. It'll be better if we hunt them together—"

"Oi," Sanemi rudely interrupted me, "Didn't you listen to what I just fucking said? Just sit and tend to the surviving humans. I don't need your help, you get it? Just shut up and focus on what you're good at."

I silently glowered at Sanemi's back when he left as I felt my anger boil under my skin.

I would never admit it, but his words were sharp enough to sting and hurt my ego. And while I would love to go against his order, I knew he was right — he could handle the demons on his own.

The surviving victims, however, needed me.

I took a deep breath and brought my focus back on the faint human auras I felt, prioritising the ones I felt were flickering due to their unstable condition.

Unfortunately, there were only four actual human auras that I felt around me and the two that I found were already too far gone to have any chances of survival.

The best I could do was to euthanize them and pray for their souls before moving on to finding the next survivors.

'I'll come back later and give them a proper burial,' I thought absent-mindedly as I ran through the quiet snowy village, seeing little to no essence of life around me — only the traces of death.

My hope was quite low as I sprinted towards the house on the northwest side of the village, noticing once again how small the village actually was with hardly fifty or so houses in the overall wilderness.

My heart skipped a beat as I felt a demon approach the last two survivors, my hands immediately grabbing my fans under my haori as I attacked the demon blindly.

'A lower-level demon,' I assessed silently as I twisted the hilt of my fan and inserted more of my blood onto the demon while I cut through its flesh violently, 'More savage than coherent. Most likely newly converted, too.'

That would explain the attack on the village by five demons at the same time.

I looked down at the demon as it wreathed around and groaned in pain while my blood melted his body inside out. It was interesting to notice how it only took two or three minutes to completely eradicate the demon without any traces left behind with the new solution of my concentrated blood that I had been experimenting with recently.

'Maybe adding cow parsnip did help, hm?'

Then again, the herb cow parsnip should work better in sunlight, considering that the chemical furanocoumarin in it makes the skin much more susceptible to sunlight in humans. It should act similarly in the demons too, right?

Still, it's a surprise that it worked that well without any sunlight either. Maybe it also acted as an enhancer of the wisteria essence in the solution?

A light shifting nearby grabbed my attention as I focused back on my main aim again; the survivors.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked softly as I felt the auras of two humans hiding behind the bushes around the small house quiver, "I'm here to help," I bent down to look directly at the small eyes peeking through the bushes, "Hello there, dearie. I am Sarota Miyasha and I am here to help."

I smiled as a small girl finally moved out of the bushes; her brown eyes looking terrified as she kept looking around us tentatively.

"There are no demons here, I promise," I softly whispered, so as to not startle her, "My partner is taking care of them and I'll protect you if any come around, alright?"

"You, You promise?" I could hear the fear and scepticism in the young girl's voice as she still stood in front of the bush almost protectively, "Will you protect my brother too, please? He-He's injured and... and bleeding and it's not stopping—"

I immediately moved nearer to the bush to check up on the younger child once the girl stepped aside and allowed me to approach them.

The wounds on the boy, thankfully enough, were not as severe as I thought and only needed a few stitches and heavy bandages to treat them. Beyond that, the child only seemed to be cold and needed a warm environment to heat up.

"He'll be fine," I assured the young girl as I removed my violet haori and wrapped around the young brother before lifting him in my arms, "I promise. He only needs a bit of cleaning up and bandaging. Is there any place you would prefer me to do the treatment at?"

If what I assumed was right, then the girl in front of me (who didn't look beyond twelve) was the one who protected and sheltered her little brother, who looked barely five years old. The best thing I could do right now was to not startle them and gain their trust slowly.

And to do that, the best option was to let her decide where to take me and choose a space where she and her brother felt safe. Giving her the choice gave her a sense of security in all this uncertainty.

I smiled softly as the little girl guided me through the quiet village before stopping at a house and staring at its entrance.

"What happened, dearie?"

"I don't know i-if Otou-san is still inside or not," she gulped as she looked up at me in fear, "I, I don't want him to attack us again..."

I closed my eyes as I felt my heart break for these children.
These poor, innocent children.

I took a deep breath before kneeling down and looking at the young girl in the eyes, "Your... Otou-san is not in there. My partner has taken care of him, I promise. And if anything happens, I will protect you, alright?"

Brown teary eyes stared at me for a full minute, as if searching for something, before nodding and letting me lead through as we entered her home silently.

I stopped at the entrance silently, waiting for the little girl to feel comfortable enough to lead us into the room she wanted to and followed her before laying down her brother and finally focusing entirely on him.

"Dearie," I called to the unnamed girl, smiling as she sat down beside her brother diligently, "If I may ask, what shall I call you by?"

"Yukimura Akari," she introduced herself almost shyly before looking down at her brother, "And my br-brother's name is Yukimura Haru."

"Those are some very sweet names, Akari-chan." I gently complimented as I took out the needed equipment and bandages from my white satchel, "Now, Akari-chan, would you like to help me and treat your brother quickly, hm?" I couldn't help but smile at how the young girl perked up and instantly nodded, "Good. So, can you please bring me some warm water in a bowl with a clean cloth, along with some fresh clothes for your brother?"

I smiled as she ran past me into another room, looking for the things I asked as I quickly made my way through the child's wounds and cleaned them up with some alcohol.

Thankfully, there were only two wounds that needed stitching; one on the back and another on his shoulder, both being shallow enough to not cause any internal damage.

Once I was done stitching and basic dressing of the wound, Akari came running with a bowl of warm water and her brother's clothes over her shoulder.

I instructed her to sit down and wipe her brother clean while I prepared the painkiller so that Haru could tolerate the immense pain he must be going through. Once that was done, I instructed Akari to change his clothes before I got up and went to look around the house once.

'There are no corpses here, thankfully,' I thought almost wryly as I expected the children's mother's body to be lying around here somewhere, with how Akari talked about her father attacking them.

I came back once I was done checking and started treating Akari's wounds as well; she had much lighter injuries in comparison to her younger brother, with the most serious injury being her light head injury.

And while I treated her, I asked her questions about her family and everything that had happened before we arrived here.

Apparently, it was only her, her brother and her father living together since her mother died the year prior due to some sickness. Since then, her father took all the responsibility of the family alone while Akari tried her best to assist by helping him around the house.

She explained how her father left for work every morning as a farmer and didn't come back until late into the evening. However today, he came up much earlier, which she initially assumed was because of the cloudy weather and the snow that had started falling.

Unfortunately, it was not so since her father attacked them suddenly, harming her brother the most since he was the nearest and reaching out to her too before she screamed and ran away with her brother in her arms.

From there, she ran to her neighbour Mirai-obaasan's house, hiding there until a demon came in there too and attacked them. The only reason they survived was because the neighbour distracted the demon and told them to hide in the yard.

My heart ached for these little kids as I imagined them hiding there in the bushes for hours, waiting for someone to come and save them as they shivered in the cold.

"You have done a good job," I patted Akari gently, "I... I'm proud of you for taking care of yourself and your brother. Good job hiding and waiting for us. Now, we will protect you and keep you safe."

"Yo-You promise?" Her tired eyes met mine as I nodded.

"I promise." I caressed her head again, "Now go, change your clothes too, yeah? I'll go make something for you and your brother to eat, alright?"


It wasn't until the Sun was up that I managed to calm the kids down and focus on the other tasks. And it was mostly because it took me more time than I excepted to talk with them and stabilize their situation.

Since the brother was still unconscious, I avoided waking him up and focused Akari's attention on other tasks at hand — namely food that I made with whatever I found at their home.

Even then the little big sister kept staring at her brother as she begged me to sit and eat in the same room as her brother sleeping since she didn't want to stay away from him for much longer.

Of course, I agreed as I knew how she felt.

Currently, all I needed from her was to eat something and maybe distract her a bit from everything that was happening.
That's why, I kept conversing with Akari about her life and what she did, before asking her what she would like to do now, especially since the village itself was nowhere near how it was before.

There were no survivors except the two children, which even Akari seemed to have somewhat guessed as she kept looking back at her little brother.

"I can help you if you would like me to," I offered gently as I pushed a bowl of soup to her, "I know a place where people who have survived demon attacks gather. If you want, I can take you and your brother there — they would help you and teach you things so that you don't have to live alone and fend for yourself."

"You can?"

I smiled at her hopeful eyes, "Of course, I can, dearie. But for that, you have to pack your brother and your things first, yes? Can you do that for me?"

It was tragic how their lives were flipped upside down without a moment's notice and how they had to now completely relocate to somewhere they never even have been before; but, right now, that was the only option I could provide them with since leaving them alone like this in a ruined village would be no less than condemning them to death.

I watched wistfully as the young girl gingerly packed her and her brother's clothes, Akari's hands trembling as she went through some of the other sentimental things she was looking to bring along.

"You can bring as many things as you wish to," I stated softly as I looked at her contemplating hard, "It won't be an issue with me or anyone there. Also, I can carry a lot of stuff, so don't worry about the weight either, yeah? We can also come back here whenever you wish to, I promise."

My lips twitched as visible relief crept on the young girl's face before she went back to her task.

Once that was done, I urged her to go to sleep, which she refused for some reason before we noticed her brother gaining consciousness and calling out for her.

Watching her brother wake up and reach out for her seemed to be her breaking point as Akari completely fell apart and sobbed loudly into her brother's shoulder, hugging him desperately as she consoled herself with his warmth.

I could only watch as I didn't dare to interrupt them while they reassured each other of their presence.

It wasn't until the early rays of the Sun were pealing through the windows that the children fell asleep together; with Haru being securely wrapped in his elder sister's arms after crying for an hour straight, making both of them tired enough to exhaust themselves to sleep — especially Akari.

I couldn't help but stare at the children soundly asleep in the light of the dawn, which made me feel an emotion beyond words as I reflected back on everything that happened last night.

Or rather, the things I had to do.

'I essentially did nothing but roam around and euthanized the victims.' I huffed out a laugh at my own expense, knowing full well I could have done much more than what I did if only I had arrived a bit earlier. Or even let Sanemi leave me a bit earlier.

'If only I didn't damage my weapons back in the Red District.'

Fortunately enough, while I was inactive for the past two weeks, someone (most likely Uzui?) put up a request to forge a new pair of nichirin fans for me since I had completely wrecked my last ones while fighting against Gyutaro.

The unfortunate part of the fortunate thing was that we had to wait for a good few minutes to receive my new fans before we set out for our mission.

Which also meant that it was because of me that we essentially delayed our arrival here.

The only thing I could do now was to make good of the promise I made and bury their bodies following the appropriate funeral rites and rituals.

And that was the exact thing I set out to do once I ensured no demons were around with my spread-out consciousness. Maybe Sanemi had already hunted the rest of them down.

'Either that or he is still doing so,' I took another deep breath and tried to increase the territory of my consciousness even more, 'I don't particularly feel any demons nearby yet, nor do I feel Sanemi around.'

Maybe he was on the outskirts of the village?

Well, if that was so, then all I could do was wait for him to find me and do other stuff instead of waiting for him, like burying the villagers and praying for them.

I took a deep breath again and went out to do so, focusing on nothing else but the burial and the house where the kids were asleep. I kept my consciousness flared as far as I could to avoid any surprises while I worked on the simple but necessary burial ceremony.

And while the task itself was not that laborious, the sight and collection of the dismembered bodies and their remains made me feel heavy. Numb. Guilty.

By the end of it, I had to stitch most of the bodies through to make them less... dismembered and place them in the holes in the ground that I had dug in preparation beforehand.

The cold blood stuck on my fingers in a slimy consistency as I transferred the bodies delicately; my black uniform coating in the blood as I repeated the process again and again before all the holes that I had dug were filled and I had to dig a few more.

As far as Akari had mentioned, there were more than seventy people in the village, out of which I barely found the body of thirty-one.

For a brief second, I wondered if I should call Akari to identify the bodies and maybe name their graves as a last effort of a memorial before I shook my head in horror at my own thought. Akari was a child, who just went through a severe traumatic experience; asking her to do something like this was extremely heartless.

Asking anyone to do that after being attacked and surviving as they did was extremely heartless. I felt disgusted at even having that thought in the first place.

A sudden movement at the edge of my consciousness pulled me out of my self-disgust, making my heart skip a beat as I immediately tracked who exactly I was feeling.

I sighed in relief when I realized it was Sanemi rapidly approaching in this direction, my chest still aching from the sudden adrenaline rush that I got after feeling him approach.

"Oi!" His voice was as loud as his aura, which felt more like static or buzzing short winds that one felt during a fickle storm, "Sarota! Where the fuck were you?!"

"I was finding survivors, as Hashira-sama had ordered me to."

"How many were there?"

"...two kids," I felt guilty as I reported back to him, "There were only two kids surviving. The rest were—"

"What are you even doing here?" He interrupted me as brazenly as always, looking at me with a frown before (what I assume) realising what I was doing and looking away, "Forget that. Did you find any demons?"

"One while I was retrieving the kids. Hunted him and have checked the rest of the village — there's none left here." I felt extremely exhausted for some reason as I looked up at the grey sky, "I don't feel any demons around anymore either, so I'll assume you have hunted the rest of the three?"

"Yes," Ah, so he can answer properly, "They didn't seem to have been working together."

"How did they act? Incoherent? Animalistic in nature?" I asked as he gave me a questioning look, "That means they were most likely newly converted and attacked any nearby humans they could find."

"Not all demons are coherent," he pointed out with a sneer, "Even after a long time, some demons don't gain any intelligence back, no matter how much you think of them as humans."

"While I do agree with you," I smiled tiredly at his mocking tone, "The population of this village is supposed to be more than seventy, out of which hardly thirty remains have been found. So many humans consumed this rapidly? In a few hours? Can only be possible with the raging 'hunger' of the newly converted demons."

I looked away to the burial site I had made for the past three hours, "Not to mention, the two survivors also confirmed the identity of one of the demons as their own father; so, I'm more inclined to believe in my theory, if you may allow me to. It is understandable if you do not wish to agree with me, Hashira-sama."

I gave Sanemi a 'sincere' smile as he sneered at me, not daring to say any unnecessary shit since Oyakata-sama explicitly asked him to behave.

My heart skipped a beat when suddenly a Kasugai Crow came down and sat up on Sanemi's shoulder, making me feel almost upset that I failed to notice it.

"Good job! Good job!" It cawed loudly, "Urgent mission is done! Done! Done! Back to headquarters now! Caw!"

'That... won't do.' I frowned as I looked back at Sanemi; I needed to relocate the kids and visit Kamikochi once to test the blood and tissue samples I had collected from Oyakata-sama. Going back right now would only delay the whole process—

"Oi," Sanemi frowned as he noticed me hesitating, "What's your problem?"

"I, uh," his bluntness honestly left me flustered, "I cannot leave the kids alone here, in this deserted village. It is very dangerous, not to mention heartless. I know a shelter where I can relocate them if you don't mind—"

"The mission," I hated how he always kept interrupting me, "Was to only get rid of the demons. Relocation or whatever is not a part of it."

"And I'm not asking you to make it a part either," I firmly replied, "I'm not asking you to help or follow me, so please just let me do as I wish. You may leave as per the Kasugai's instructions since the mission is technically over, as you pointed out."

"And so is yours." He pointed out bluntly, "You think I can just leave you out here when you keep attracting all sorts of shit? Huh?"

"I cannot force you to do anything." I shrugged before turning around to place the stones I had collected for the last grave, "Please see to whatever you wish to do."

With that, I started ignoring Sanemi completely as he kept yapping in the background, his voice tuning out soon once he noticed I wasn't listening to his shit.

Thankfully enough, he didn't interrupt nor disturb me as I finally finished the burial ceremonies, with the only thing being left was to pray for each member.

I delayed the praying part for a bit as I wanted the kids to participate as well; they knew the deceased ones better than me and maybe, this could be their only chance at a proper farewell and closure.

Once the kids woke up and were ready to leave, we performed the last rites and prayed for the safe journey of souls to the afterlife.

The whole process of it felt somewhat disconnecting for me as I kept feeling like my consciousness was floating away from the present continuously; it almost felt as if I was not standing where I was standing and my head kept spinning in a very strange way.

'It's not low blood pressure,' I thought absent-mindedly as we kneeled on the ground to pray for the next grave, 'Nor is it low sugar. I think?'

It was a strange feeling that I wasn't quite able to understand, let alone express.

I decided not to ponder on it much as I tried my best to focus on my surroundings instead, flaring my aura in an attempt to feel more present when I noticed Sanemi hanging at the edge of my aura-vision.

'Ah, so he didn't actually leave, huh?'

That kinda felt amusing yet sweet to me as I felt him lingering and watching us from the background; as if, watching over us so that nothing happens to us.
And if he genuinely was doing it for that reason then it was very adorable of him.

Or maybe, dutiful?
Oyakata-sama did tell him to babysit my ass.

It wasn't until we were finished and ready to leave that he came out and outright followed us; his excuse being that he was responsible for me since Oyakata-sama told him so and couldn't leave me alone in between whatever the 'shitshow' I was going to get myself in.

I didn't dignify him with a response.

Thankfully, he did pick up on that cue and shut up his trap.


The thing about Kamikochi was that it was a remote place nearby a river, which was (for additional difficulty) surrounded by a dense enough forest to make anyone get lost if they weren't already a resident of this place.

That and the fact that it was quite far away from any kind of town was what I both liked and disliked about the place since depending on how one used it, its little bubble could be used to both protect and hide away things you wouldn't like others outside the village to know.

However, that also meant it was far enough to make the journey to reach there a painfully long one.

I looked at Sanemi who was following me silently for the past few hours; currently, he was carrying a sleeping Haru on his back while I was carrying Akari in my arms, making him look quite mellow and sweet for a perpetually angry man.

Then again, if what I remembered was right, he did have quite a few younger siblings before... well, before.

"There's a Wisteria House nearby," I started softly so as to not wake the tired kids, "Shall we stay there for the night or would you like to carry on?"

The Sun had already set as the evening approached us rapidly; travelling right now was quite dangerous, if not exhausting and the kids were already out cold halfway through the journey.

However, unlike the kids, both I and Sanemi were quite used to making such a journey and could continue to do still, even if it was tedious and tiring.

"How much more would it take to reach us if we continue?"

"Um, five to seven hours maximum," Sanemi gave me a look, to which I lightly shrugged, "That's not something I can do anything about. It's a very far away village."

"And why the fuck is that the only place you thought to go for a damn relocation?"

"First of all, language," I took immense pleasure in reprimanding him as he glared at me intensely in return, "There are kids here, Hashira-sama. Let's not forget that. Secondly, the reason why I chose Kamikochi is that there is already an established shelter there where I know the kids will be safe and not exploited, unlike in other places. And I would rather not leave them in any place that I am not sure of."

Surprisingly enough, Sanemi didn't follow up with any snarky questions, making me look at him curiously.

Unfortunately, his face was as blank as ever when he stared back at me.

"...so, we staying in the Wisteria House for the night, or what?"

.

.

...

Someone remind me to never travel with Sanemi ever again. Please. Cause this bitch really be grating on my nerves till the very end and I can't even kill him since he was very crucial to the plot.

"Hashira-sama," I gritted out as politely as I could while he gave me a sneering smile, "I thought we mutually agreed to stay here for the night, hm~? Then why are you complaining now?"

"When the fuck did I agree?" He taunted back, his language turning back to its crude sense immediately once the kids went inside, "I just didn't answer you and now you are wasting my time here while we could have travelled and finished it faster. Do you know how precious is the time of a Hashira?"

I could feel my vein pop as I gave him my best smile and replied, "Well, you can leave if you want to, no one is stopping you from doing that, Hashira-sama. Also, even if you didn't accept, you didn't reject my proposal either and readily followed me here, so you waivered your right to complain. I hope you are aware of that."

We both stared at each other fiercely, hating the guts and mannerisms of one another before one of the members of the Wisteria House approached us meekly to let us know that dinner was ready.

That made us both disengage immediately as we glared at each other one last time before separating to leave for our own rooms; well, technically I was leaving for the kids' room since I was planning to check on them once before doing anything.

Quite fortunately, the kids were doing better than I expected, with all the trauma they recently went through.
While they were still very quiet, they didn't seem much mentally disturbed and were recovering well physically, too.

What did worry me was Akari; while Haru didn't seem to remember much and was mostly recovering by sleeping for longer periods of time, Akari gave herself no such luxury as she either kept all her focus on her younger brother or kept quietly to herself.

Haru, on the other hand, had already cried out a lot about what he felt and was going through his exhausted phase of the grieving process.

I was worried that Akari was suppressing her emotions and diverting herself to instead focus on her brother — just like what I noticed Tanjiro once doing until he broke down and cried his heart out on the rooftop that day.

However, unlike Tanjiro, I wasn't quite acquainted with Akari much, let alone be a safe space for her to express her emotions. Thus, helping her out in this aspect was much more difficult for me right now since I didn't have enough time to get close to her and win her trust either.

'Maybe I should ask Hikari Obaasan to look after Akari instead of trying to push her into opening up to me,' I mused silently as I ushered the kids to eat after they bathed.

They looked absolutely adorable, especially Haru who kept staring at me openly but looked away instantly when I look back at him. I couldn't help but chuckle at his antics before I noticed how wet both the kids' hair still was.

"Your hair is still dripping, dearie. You'll get a cold if you keep it that way," I stated off-handedly, "Would you like me to dry it off for you?"

They exchanged a glance between the two of them before handing me the towel and turning their backs towards me; giving me silent permission to help them with their hair as I chuckled and gladly complied.

It was quite a serene atmosphere as I dried off Haru's hair first before moving on to Akari's longer hair; taking my time to slowly pat dry her hair so as to not damage it or hurt her.

"Um, Miyasha-san?"

"Yes, Akari-chan?"

"Why are you helping us?" I paused at her question, signalling her to continue speaking, "Um, I mean, you must have other things to do too, so why are you helping us so much?"

"And why should I not help you?" I ask her in return, "Aren't you still young? It is my duty as an adult to help and protect you two. So, why shouldn't I?"

"Is that the duty of every adult?" I smiled at Haru's innocent question.

"Absolutely," I answered softly, "However, not everyone does it. But I believe in doing so; that's why I helped you. I hope that answers your question?"

I smiled as both the kids nodded in unison, my hands automatically going to pat their heads before I paused and asked for their permission silently.

Only upon enthusiastic consent, I patted their head before weaving my hand through their unruly hair to somewhat make them look tamer.

"Now, sit down quietly for a bit so that I can quickly redress your wounds again, yeah?" It was quite fortunate that the kids were so obedient and sweet, listening to my every word quite sincerely.

Once I was done redressing their injuries, I ushered them out of the room to go eat, "We'll comb your hair after we eat, alright? Your hair will be drier then and it won't hurt as much." I added once when I noticed both looking at my hair.

"Miyasha-san, Miyasha-san, then why did you comb your hair when it was wet?"

"Because I had combed my hair before I went to take a bath," I laughed as Haru tilted his head, "Well, since my hair was not tangled as much as yours after the bath, I could easily comb it through without hurting myself. That's why I combed it even though it's wet. Your hair is still tangled though, so let's wait for your hair to dry, yes?"

I smiled as the kids obediently followed after me, their little footsteps on the wooden floor of the hallway made me oddly feel like I was leading a pair of ducklings behind me.

Even the imagery of that thought made me chuckle as we finally reached the dining room and sat down to eat. I ushered them inside instantly, trying to keep them out of the cold air outside with how wet their hair still was.

Sanemi raised an eyebrow at me from his position on the floor, his eyes watching me with the most judgmental look before he turned to look at the kids who plopped down beside him to eat.

And while I may not like Sanemi much, watching him sit beside the kids and interact with them made me feel oddly warm and happy. It was a cute atmosphere that really seemed to suit him.

"Oi, Sarota," I tilted my head in reply when he suddenly called out my name, "Why are you wearing your haori over your Komon?"

"...Because it's cold and I feel extra cold right now because of the nature of my body." I answered him honestly, kinda feeling glad that his aura didn't emit much of any temperature than some of the others I know, "And this haori is made with quite a thick material to fend off the cold."

My violet ombre haori was one of the few haoris the twins had gifted me when they first came to meet me at the Butterfly Estate. It was made and lined with tsumugi fabric, making it not only very expensive (since meisen clothing was more on the rise now) but also very warm and durable.

Ironically enough, I had already damaged one of the haoris and was already on my second one now.

"Why, is there any issue if I do wear them?" I asked cheekily as I knew that was not why he was asking me that.

Haoris are usually worn with outside wear, making it more of formal wear than anything. Thus, wearing it over a Komon, which was a more informal and casual form of kimono, looked quite odd and unconventional.

Then again, I was too cold to think much about it, honestly.

And it looked like Sanemi understood that as well since he gave me a strange look before completely ignoring my existence afterwards.

Honestly, this guy was a piece of work that I genuinely couldn't decipher.

Things were rather calm after that; we all had our food, followed by a basic checkup where I realised Sanemi had injured himself on his arm but somehow still managed to not disclose it too, for some reason.

I glowered at him as he got treated before I noticed the position of his cut once again and realised that the way it was done seemed to be self-inflicted.

'Don't tell me he cut himself to attract the demons to him?'
Because if he did that then it was genius — a self-harming one, yes, but genius nonetheless.

That also explained how he gathered and killed the demons that quickly even though they were no less than three he must have had to face together.

I sighed when I thought about it again later in the night while I was arranging my satchel, wondering if Sanemi always hunted demons like that — self-inflicting wounds to attract demons before slaying them. Because if he did, then it was very unsanitary and could result in an infection if left untreated for long.

'Should I give him some medications to carry with him?' I thought absent-mindedly as I noted down the children's condition and the progression of their wounds in my journal before gathering around the medications and writing the dosages they would need to take once I leave them at the shelter.

To be fair, it'll be better if I just leave Sanemi alone but I didn't want him suffering because of his reckless ways; that, and it pained me to think of him leaving his sword wound untreated for long as a practising doctor.

"Hoo! Hoo!" My mind jolted back to reality as Shiori suddenly hopped off towards the sliding door, making me wonder what happened.

I discretely let my aura expand, which let me know everyone's location in the Wisteria House — especially the children, who were already standing outside my door for a few moments.

I immediately got up and opened the door, finding two startled brown eyes staring at me with clear hesitation.

"Hey there, dearie, come in!" I called them in instantly, watching their expressions turn into one of relief as they came in and started looking around the room before noticing Shiori.

"O-Owl!" Akari exclaimed as Shiori tilted her head and looked at them with a confused gaze.

"Hoo-Hoo!"

"That's Shiori, my pet owl," I introduced the little white owl to the starry-eyed kids, "You can touch her, she won't bite. She's a very lovely and understanding little birdie, aren't you Shiori?"

The owl hoot-ed in reply while waiting patiently for the kids to approach her as she kept staring at them curiously with her tangerine eyes.

It didn't take long for them to follow up to her and gently attempt to pat her before completely taking her into their arms and snuggling with her.

I mean, how could I blame them; Shiori did look fluffy and absolutely adorable.

"She is so soft!" I smiled as I hear Haru declare that loudly, which was followed by a quieter 'just like the clouds' observed by Akari.

God, were these kids adorable.

"Akari-chan, Haru-kun," I called their names once their excitement had somewhat settled down, "What happened? Is there something you needed to visit me right now?"

That made the kids look at each other awkwardly before Akari decided to speak up, "We, um, can we sleep here please, Miyasha-san? We promise we won't disturb you!"

"Oh, why not?" I smiled at their sweet behaviour, "It's absolutely fine. In fact, use my futon for now — it's big enough for the two of you anyway, so no need to leave the room again."

"U-Um, but where will you sleep then, Miyasha-san?"

"Hm?" I looked away from the journal in my hand, pushing my glasses up my nose again as I gave them a reassuring smile, "Oh, I won't be sleeping for now, sweetie. I still have a lotta stuff left to do so I'll be doing that. I hope the light doesn't disturb you?"

I pointed towards the big candle that I was using, to which the kids shook their heads and reassured me they had no issues with it.

I quietly started doing my work again, doing my best to ignore the stares of the kids as they kept stealing glances at me.

It was adorable, I won't lie. But I didn't comment about it on the off chance it scares them away.

It hardly took a few minutes for those looks to fade away anyway as the kids fell asleep almost immediately — their soft breathing echoing in the room as I finally focused back on arranging the prescription for them and preparing the written part of the tests I had to do while I was visiting the shelter.

I was engrossed enough in my work that I couldn't hear the soft knocking on the door; that is, until Sanemi opened the sliding doors rudely and almost shouted my name before I loudly shushed him.

Yes, I shushed the infamous Wind Hashira who was looking at me like I was a joke while I pressed a finger against my lips and motioned towards the kids who were sleeping soundly beside me.

Sanemi opened his mouth once before closing it and coming in without asking for my permission.

He paused when he noticed the flat look I was giving him, "What?"

"At least close the door behind you if you are coming in," I shook my head at his strange behaviour, "And please lower your voice, Hashira-sama. It's already past midnight."

"Yes, then why aren't you asleep?"

I deadpanned at his stupid question, "I'm sorry Hashira-sama, but I don't think Oyakata-sama meant this when he told you to 'look after me'. Also, I'm not a child, so no need to worry about my sleeping habits."

"You never answer any fucking questions directly, do you?"

"Only when the questions are ridiculous." I gave him my most sarcastic smile, to which he replied with a blank look. Jerk.

'Why the hell is everyone coming here, all of a sudden?'

"What are you doing?" He asked after a beat of silence as he watched me organise my notes while leaning against the (now closed) sliding doors.

"Making prescriptions and lab notes so that I can run the tests smoothly and efficiently," I answered honestly, "I don't think you'll give me much time to stay there, so it's best I work through these to save time when I have to run the tests."

"Tests? What tests?"

"Something relating to demon blood and all," I swiftly lied, avoiding disclosing that I was going to test Oyakata-sama's blood and tissues to find a possible cure or at least a suitable prescription, "Well, more like making a more potent solution with my blood to affect the demons."

That wasn't a complete lie either, since I was planning to do it side by side, if possible.

"Sarota, your blood..."

"Yes?"

"It burns the demons? Corrodes them is what you said." I nodded affirmatively as an answer while he continued, "It should act as a repellent for demons, right? Then, why do you attract demons so much?"

"First of all, yes, it does act as a Demon repellent. Secondly, no, I do not attract demons — just Demon Moons since that bitch of a Muzan decided to hunt my ass. Well, that and I attract them the same way demons attract us; to eliminate the threat to their well-being and existence."

Sanemi nodded almost absent-mindedly as he processed my words, "Then how..."

"Hm?"

"You lived alone before you joined the Corps?"

"Uh, technically yes," I wondered why he was suddenly interrogating me about these things, "I mean, I hunted and travelled alone for four years or so before I met Tanjiro and his friends and joined the Corps."

"Why did you join the Corps then?" He asked honestly as his eyes zeroed in on me with an emotion I couldn't quite understand, "Because of that brat?"

"I..." His sudden question made me pause as I mused about how to articulate my reasoning properly without sounding weird, "Kinda? I mean, I do care for them but it wasn't just them because of whom I joined the Corps. They were one of the major factors, yes, but I had other reasonings too that I cannot disclose."

"Why didn't you join before, then?" He frowned, "You said you were afraid you couldn't 'save' everyone, but how was it any different if you hunted demons anyway?"

"I didn't mean it that way, to be fair," I smiled at his sincerely curious expression, realizing for the first time that maybe, just maybe, he could vaguely relate to me and was curious because of it, "But yes, you are right. It was no different before than it is now. At least not in the technicality. However, joining the Corps made it more... it endangered people around me more. Let it be because of my blood or otherwise."

"Is that why you travelled alone? Because of your blood?"

I shook my head, "No, I got to know about my blood while I was already travelling on my own. I had some other... reasons to do so."

"What were they?"

"That, I cannot disclose. I apologise, Hashira-sama."

Sanemi shifted as he turned completely towards me, "Forget that then. Tell me this: you said joining the Corps endangered people around you more, right? So, you knew you'll be targeted more if you join the Corps?"

"Of course," I answered honestly, "I mean, I'll be at the forefront in fighting demons, so of course, I'll endanger people more since I'll be targeted more. If I had continued on my own, then I could have acted more discretely and even avoid the Demon Moons I had to face in the previous few instances."

"Would you have ignored them if you hadn't joined the Corps?"

Now, that was a loaded question I didn't quite know the answer to either.

"Can I be honest, Hashira-sama?" I smiled sheepishly, "I don't quite know either. I... I am quite different now than I was before. It's not like I didn't care before and suddenly do now but rather that I didn't have the courage to care earlier. I used to think it'll be easier if I just don't attach myself to anyone — that it'll be easier to leave, to fight if no one relied on me and I didn't have to protect anyone since I wasn't even sure I could."

I don't know why I was spilling my guts over to this guy, but there was something in his eyes and that expression of his that made me think that he would understand this part of me more than anyone else out there.

"And... now?" Not to mention, it was strange seeing Sanemi being this attentive to my words.

"Now? Well, I realised that I was wrong," I smiled wistfully as I combed through my memories, "What I was doing was nothing but running away from the hard things; I was simply protecting myself from the pain rather than protecting others from... from anything. The thing is, while it is true that my blood creates a target on my back, it is also a tool to protect others — a double-edged sword that could be useful if wielded cautiously."

"It's not always possible to do that."

"I absolutely agree — it's not possible. It's not possible to not have any repercussions at all, but that doesn't negates the fact that it could be used beneficially too, with enough caution. That it could be used to protect others and fight with them rather than fighting alone. After all, only one individual cannot protect everyone."

I watched as Sanemi seemed to be deep within his thoughts.

"I know it sounds contradictory," I continued softly, making him look back at me again, "But I believe that sometimes, it's better to listen to those who you are protecting than completely disregard them and try to protect them on your own." I looked towards the sleeping children nearby, smiling when I noticed Haru had curled around Akari like a Koala, "As I said earlier, I cannot save everyone. But I've learned that I can help to protect everyone if I listen to them once, and rely on them once. Honestly, it was a hard lesson to learn."

It still was, in fact.

The fact that the only way I could change this fixed destiny of a plot was by telling everyone involved everything I knew was a very hard pill to swallow. And while I did understand the need behind it, the fear it brought still paralysed me.

"What if they still die?" Sanemi's question pulled me out of my thoughts as I blinked at his suddenly intense words, "What if I still can't protect them after listening to them? What if they reject me first?"

"The first thing my sensei taught me was that a single person cannot save everyone," I answered slowly, "The second was that a single person cannot kill everyone either — that one always needs another to continue the path and finish the task, let it be directly or indirectly; even if it meant the death of the other person. Sometimes, it's inevitable."

"Hah, you really believe that?" Pale purple eyes stared me down in a challenge.

"Well," I smiled, "It's not like we can change that now either way, so yes. It was inevitable. Even if it could have been avoided, it became inevitable the moment it passed and turned into the past from the present. Wondering about the 'what if's will only get us stuck to a moment that has already passed."

"And what if they reject you?" It was strange hearing him talk so softly as if he was exhausted.

"Honestly? I don't know," I chuckled, "I... I am quite afraid of that reaction, to be honest. Being more afraid of their rejection than their death — foolish aren't I?" I asked rhetorically, refusing to look up at his expression or even let him answer me in any way, "Anyway, if the other person rejects you, then all you can do is let them go. Let them go and... I don't know, maybe let them decide? It's their decision and no matter what you do, you cannot change it."

"I am not saying it won't be painful," I added once I noticed him frowning, "It'll be painful and scarring but there's nothing you can do to force them. Either they'll leave or follow after you — even if you don't want them to do so."

If what I guessed was right, then this part of the question was definitely about Genya.

"Even if I don't want to?" His face twisted into an ugly expression as his tone became angrier, "Even if following me would be dangerous? Then? You are saying I can't force him even if that fucking idiot doesn't understand that?"

'Ah, so I am right.' I smiled as I noticed how he slipped and gave away his thoughts pretty much openly.
Though, it's not like anyone who didn't know his backstory would understand.

"You are forgetting, Hashira-sama," I pointed out calmly so as to not provoke him further, "That the other person is also, well, a person. It is well within their freedom to decide what they want to do—"

"Even if it kills him?!"

"Even if it kills them," I admitted, "You cannot ignore their agency as a person. Thus, the only way to protect them is by allowing them to follow you rather than trying to discourage them since that'll only make them follow you in secret, where you won't be able to protect them at all." I smiled innocently as I told him directly what to do, "Won't it be better to just let them join you so that you can protect them beside you than watch over them from the shadows?"

The silence that followed made me feel quite nervous as Sanemi looked at the ground with a contemplating expression.

'I hope I didn't offend him—'

"Is that what you did with that Kamado brat?"

"Ah, um," his sudden question confused me before I shook my head; I really don't know how he got to Tanjiro with that, "Well, to be honest, that's, uh, kinda exactly what I did with Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke in my last mission."

I smiled as I briefly relayed what happened while I was trying to leave with Uzui for the Red District, making Sanemi look at me with disbelief and then (what I assumed was) slight amusement as I mentioned Uzui carrying me over his shoulder.

"Is that why no one died?" Sanemi fixed me a look when I titled my head in question, "In your fight with the Upper Demon Moon. Is that how you managed to kill it with no casualties?"

"In a way, yes." I shrugged, "It was a team collaboration — we all had a role to play and we all played it well enough to protect everyone together."

There was another beat of silence that followed after my words, but this time, Sanemi simply nodded and left the room.

However, he did thank me in a very quiet and gentle tone before he left the room, making my heart ache for him as I vaguely remembered the parts I had read about him in my previous life.

"A man scarred by his own kindness," I murmured to myself; isn't that how he was? Scared to hurt others so much that he pushed them away mercilessly so that he could protect them?
That was how it was, wasn't it? Or was I reading too much into it?

Oh well.

"Maybe he actually is a selfless fool," I huffed a humourless laugh as I packed everything around me; I had no mood to work anymore.

How could I anyway, with this many thoughts buzzing in my head because of that bastard?

'He's such a piece of work, I swear.' I thought wryly before blowing the candle out.


"Good morning, Sarota," a familiar rough voice greeted me in the morning as I got out of my room, "Did you sleep well?"

I opened my mouth to sass him back before I noticed that he wasn't being sarcastic nor was he even taunting me — he was asking me in genuine politeness, Sanemi, of all people!

"Good morning to you too, Hashira-sama," I almost yawned as I greeted him back while still rubbing my poofy eyes, "As for the sleep part? Not quite. Hope yours was better than mine."

"What happened?" I could almost hear his frown as I moved down the hallway.

"Just stuff," The itchiness I felt in my eyes annoyed me beyond words, "To be exact, the kids were a bit uncomfortable at night and kept waking up. So, had to stay up almost the whole night to console them. Thankfully, they feel a lot better now."

After I packed everything and finally retired for the night, Haru suddenly woke up with a scream, startling me and Akari awake as we calmed him down — with Shiori being a big help in that endeavour.

Unfortunately, it only got worse after that as Akari refused to sleep and kept staring at her brother in a strange daze that genuinely had me worried about her mental state.

However, even after I somehow convinced her to sleep a bit and that I would keep them both safe, Akari kept waking up again and again throughout the night; sometimes due to strange dreams and sometimes to just check on her brother, which, in turn, woke him up too.

It wasn't until I made them sit and tell me what was up with them that they calmed down somewhat and talked about their reoccurring nightmares of the day prior.

I felt bad for forcing them to tell me about it as they devolved into sobbing while I could do nothing but hug them.

Thankfully enough, that made them feel better enough to fall asleep again; though they refused to leave my arms due to which I resigned myself to keeping a watch on them while covering all three of us with the blanket.

They were still jitterish in their sleep after that but I could calm them down better this time without actually waking them up completely. Unfortunately, that resulted in my sleep being sacrificed.

I was glad they felt better, don't get me wrong there. But I felt like shit and I had a lot of work to do today, including running lab tests.

"Ah, you do look..."

"Sleepy? Dead? Demonic?" I provided with no less sarcasm as I found the host of the Wisteria House and approached her to ask if she had some spare ink.

"I was going to say tired but yes, you do look an inch away from crossing the Sanzu River."
I turned to glare at the white-haired brat while he smiled at me mockingly.

"You are lucky I am tired enough, Hashira-sama."

"Or else what?" The genuine curiosity in his voice grated my nerves more than I expected.

"I would cry," I gave him a sweet smile, "And then snitch on you. Remember what Oyakata-sama said last time, right? You shouldn't make girls cry~. What would Oyakata-sama think if he got to know you didn't follow his words, hm~?"

I almost snorted when Sanemi turned red because of my teasing, my mood instantly brightening up after watching him being embarrassed.

What made it funnier was that he didn't approach me at all for the rest of the morning till we left for Kamikochi, and even then he kept looking away from me in a way of avoidance that I found amusing as well.

'I should have teased him way earlier to shut him up, I swear. If only I knew !'

Honestly, it was amusing as hell and kept me entertained for hours before Sanemi had enough and snapped at me to stop smiling for no reason.

However, when I tried to tell him why I was smiling and it wasn't for 'no reason', he took Haru on his back and sped up like the ass he was.

That didn't mean I didn't follow him and kept trying to poke fun at him.

It wasn't until we reached the forest that I stopped teasing him and focused on finding the directions instead.
Since we had already reached the forest, that meant we were almost at Kamikochi — well, not exactly, since we still had to cross the forest to reach the village.

But, then again, my aim wasn't exactly the village but rather the Shrine hidden in the forest, which was surrounded completely by wisterias.

"Hashira-sama," I called out to Sanemi as I tightened my grip on Akari's hand, "Please listen to me carefully. This area, this forest rather, is quite dense and often infested with demons. Please be vigilant and let me know if you feel any demon near us, yes? I'll keep my consciousness expanded as well and will let you know if anything happens. I hope that's alright?"

Sanemi nodded as we finally entered the forest with me leading ahead.

"This shelter, where is it? In this forest?"

I hummed before replying, "In a way, yes. It's more at the edge of it, hidden away from the demons behind a thick wisteria garden."

"Oh..." I smiled as I knew what he was thinking, "It's not an orphanage, is it?"

"Nope," I could smell the thick smell of flowers as I led them forward with a smile, "It's a shrine; one of the only two shrines in Kamikochi, actually."

We were soon greeted with bright flowers and wisteria trees; their smell was quite strong even while being covered by a thin layer of snow. The slight sunlight curving through the leaves and branches of the trees before falling on the ground made the whole place look ethereal.

"Wow..."

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Haru-kun, Akari-chan?" I smiled as the children looked up in awe, "You can come here daily if you want! So, let's see the new place and then come back here later, yeah?"

We slowly moved through the garden as the kids (and Sanemi, surprisingly) enjoyed the sight. It was quite a serene and healing sight, after all, especially in the winter.

Kamikochi was a valley-like region where it didn't really snow beyond a week or two. That made this place a heaven for growing plants and herbs.

"Follow me closely, please."

It didn't take us too long to cross the garden and reach the Shrine embedded in between the winter-dried trees and surprisingly green vines.

"How the hell are those vines still green?" I mused out loud to myself before a loud voice pulled me out of my ridiculous thoughts.

"Nechan!" My lips tugged into a soft smile as a young boy ran into my arms, "Nechan! Nechan! You are here! You are finally here!"

"Of course, I am, To-chan!" I hugged the five-year-old before scooping him up in my arms as I stood up, "And you have grown so tall! Have you been eating your vegetables daily? Good job!"

I chuckled as I got an enthusiastic nod before the young boy leaned in to hug me again.

"I missed you..." I gently patted the little one as I turned towards the ones I was travelling with, finally noticing how all three of them were staring at me with questions in their eyes.

Unfortunately, before I could answer, I was interrupted again.

"Miya-chan?"

"Hikari Obaasan," I smiled as the older woman approached me with a surprised but happy expression, "I apologise for coming unannounced. I hope it's not an—"

"Oh, hush," I was engulfed into a hug by the shorter, older woman as she gently caressed my head while embracing me, "Stop being so formal to this little old lady! This is literally your home. What is this? Glasses? When did you get such cute glasses? Oh, and tell me quickly you will be staying here for the New Year's at least, right?"

"Um—"

"Oh wait," Hikari Obaasan suddenly released me and turned to Sanemi, her eyes gleaming as she continued, "You brought a boy home?!"

"He is a Hashira! My senior!" I declared hastily, noticing the trajectory her thoughts were taking, "And can we please go inside and then talk, Obaasan? The kids are very tired after that long of a journey."

"Welcome to our humble abode, honourable Hashira-sama," she bowed deeply to Sanemi, before straightening up and turning to me, " And, of course, Miya-chan!" She smiled with an edge of mischief hidden at the corners of her upturned lips, her eyes soon leaving me and focusing on Haru and Akari, "Hello there, little ones. Come follow me; this grandma will show you your rooms where you can rest. You too, Shoto-kun! Help me show your new brother and sister their rooms!"

"Hai, Obaasan!"

I let the young boy down from my arms as he wiggled his way down, almost sighing in relief as her attention was off me before Hikari Obaasan called out to me again.

"Ah, yes, Obaasan?"

"Please show Hashira-sama a room to rest, alright?" she smiled at me, "I'll be counting on you!"

"I—" That old woman ignored me and power walked towards the other direction while I stared apprehensively at the awkward position she left me in.

"That sly woman," I shook my head before looking back at Sanemi who gave me a confused look.

"What was that?"

"...don't worry about it, Hashira-sama," I decided to count it on my luck that he didn't understand what she was insinuating, "Anyway, would you like to stay in for a while or leave right now?"

"How much time do you need to do your tests?"

"Uh, might take some time," I admitted honestly, "I mean, I could do them as soon as I can and maybe leave by tomorrow with you but with how everyone is going to be, I'm not sure that's possible anymore."

I shrugged as he asked me to elaborate while following me in, "To be honest, I kind of forgot that it was almost New Year's. The kids would never let me live it down if I didn't stay the next two days."

"Why..."

My attention shifted towards the onslaught of voices that loudly called out my name as soon as we stepped into the Shrine, my heart swelling in warmth as everyone came out to greet me.

"Welcome back, Miya-chan!"

"Nechan! Nechan! Welcome home!"

"Miya-nechan! You are finally home!"

"Yes, I am home," I bent down to hug the kids as they gathered around me like a little herd of sheep, "How are you all doing? I hope everyone ate properly? Ah, what about Emi-chan? How is she doing?"

"She's doing great, Nechan," Akito answered instantly; my eyes widening in surprise when I noticed how tall he was now, "We took care of her and feed her everything as you instructed! Her belly is so big now!"

"That's amazing," I ruffled the thirteen-year-old's head, "I'm so proud of you all for doing so good and helping the adults so well in my absence!"

"We are proud of you, too, Miya-chan!" Hana gave me a closed-eye smile, "You are finally a Demon slayer too! Congratulations!"

The kids echoed her congratulations, making me feel awkward as I gave them a nervous laugh.

"Ah, uh, thank you, everyone," I gave them a grateful yet awkward smile before shifting the topic, "Anyway! I, um, I brought some new residents with me. Hikari Obaasan took them into Western households. Hana-chan, can you please check up on them once for me and let me know where the kids are staying?"

"Oh, would you like me to give them specific rooms?"

"Yes, preferably two rooms that are beside each other or just let them share one room if they so wish to. They have been through quite a few things very recently."

"I completely understand," Hana gave me a meaningful look before looking beside me, "What about your friend over here, Miya-chan?"

I coughed at her very direct words, "Ahem, this is Shinazugawa Sanemi-sama, the Wind Hashira." I watched in satisfaction as Hana stiffened at my introduction while the kids finally quietened down, "Please treat him with the utmost respect. Am I clear?"

"Hai!"

"I couldn't hear you properly. A bit loudly, this time?"

"Hai, Nechan!"

Hana simply nodded to me before bowing to Sanemi, who was looking very awkward and confused as he just stood there while everyone around him marvelled at his mere presence.

What made it funnier was when all the fifteen kids around us followed Hana's lead and bowed to Sanemi, making him feel even more embarrassed and awkward as he looked around us with barely veiled apprehension.

I barely covered my smile as I turned away to step out for a moment and call in Shiori.

However, I couldn't help but chuckle once I came back in to notice the kids surrounding Sanemi while asking him questions non-stop.
It was cute how Sanemi even tried to answer them before getting lost in their barrage of questions and loud voices.

"Oi," I loudly interjected, calling their attention to myself as I pitied him, "I know y'all are very excited to meet a Hashira for the first time, but is this how we show respect? No, right? Glad to see you understand. Now, take three steps back and let the man breathe, yes?"

I smiled as they followed my words silently, "Well done! Now, any important questions you would like to ask him before I introduce my little feathery companion here?"

The collective head shakes I got made me grin as the kids focused on Shiori instead with their sparkly eyes.

'Such cuties, I swear,' I thought absent-mindedly before scooping up Shiori from my should to my hands gently and bringing her down for kids to observe her properly.

"Now, don't rush in or crowd in, alright? Everyone can see and touch her, but only if they do it in an orderly manner, yes? And remember what I taught you about birds?"

"They get scared easily!" A short seven-year-old girl answered, making me smile.

"Well done, Kasumi-chan! Now, we don't want Shiori, our little friend here, to freeze in fear, yes? Then please maintain a decorum."

As the children followed my instructions, I looked up at Hana and signalled her to help Sanemi into a room for his temporary stay.

She smiled at me before respectfully guiding Sanemi into the Shrine.

Sanemi, on the other hand, looked at me with almost panicked eyes that made my lips twitch.
However, it wasn't until he was out of sight that I laughed at his misery.

"Nechan! Nechan! Can I touch Shiori-chan?"

"Me too! Me too! I want to touch the white birdie, too!"


Kamikochi, as I had mentioned earlier, was the place where I spent most of my childhood in this second life of mine.

And while the village here was quite remote and isolated from the other villages and towns, it was for the better since the number of marechi born in the village here was abnormally high; thus, making it one of the prime spots of the demon infestation.

Not to mention the thick forest surrounding the village.
This is the exact reason why Shigeno-sensei settled here after retiring from the Corps.

I added a few drops of Oyakata-sama's blood to the test tube before mixing it thoroughly, watching as the liquid turned into a brilliant shade of maroon.

'It's interesting how the villagers here figured out how to avoid demons themselves,' I mused silently as I spread out the sample of tissue I took from Oyakata-sama on a glass slide before pressing them over with a glass cover and setting them aside to set.

I remember being confused when I first noticed how there were no kids in the village — in fact, there were almost no young adults either if I remembered right. It made me feel paranoid the first time I noticed it since I wasn't still over the fact I was reborn in an anime.

And to make matters worse, it was Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Anyway, it wasn't until I was ten or so when I first visited this Shrine with Shigeno as I followed him along on one of his usual patrols.

"Miya-chan?" I hummed back in answer as Taro continued, "Would you like me to prepare the microscope? For the observation?"

"Yes please, Taro-kun," I smiled at the nineteen-year-old as he immediately took out the carefully packed microscope from its wooden casing, "And can you also prepare the mortar and pestle for me? I'm thinking about making a new prescription while I'm at it."

"Is it for the new residents?"

"Not really," I gently whirled the liquid in the test tube at hand before adding it to a beaker and rinsing it, "This one is for the person I'm testing the blood of."

"Oh! Is this your new patient?"

"You can say that," I smiled at the enthusiastic boy as he kept asking me about what I was doing, his question mostly intellectual as he tried his best to learn by observing.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Do me a favour and add this mixture," I showed him the brown bottle, "Into the liquid in this beaker drop by drop until it is reddish pink in colour, got it?"

Taro nodded as he immediately jumped to do his allotted task after wearing the silk gloves I had bought custom-made for him.

And while he was doing that, I focused on studying Oyakata-sama's cells and writing down my observations.

By the end of the tests, what I discovered matched mostly with what I had already assumed — the affected cells were half-rotting while still attached to his body. And while some cells had dried out as dead skin cells, they still somehow persisted to stay on the affected area of his body rather than falling out.

"Interesting," I said out loud, concluding that the rotting skin was most probably an immune response as I pushed my glasses up my nose.

"What is it, Miya-chan?"

"The cells that I am observing are still technically alive and yet, rotting as if it has died and stopped working." I adjusted the clips on the microscope as I repositioned the glass slides, "The actual dead cells are the dried ones, but even then they don't exactly peel off, you know what I mean? Usually, our body peels off the dead skin after producing a fresh layer of skin to protect our muscles and veins underneath. However, that was not the case for Oyakata-sama. His skin rotted while still being attached to his body and didn't detach itself or flake off as it normally should."

"Ah, then that means?"

"That means," I shifted to write down in my journal again, "That it is most likely caused due to a defect in the immune system or a mutation. Seeing how it is a genetic thing in the family, I'll safely conclude it as a genetic disorder of the immune system."

"Um," Taro gave me a sheepish smile as I looked up to see his expression, "I didn't understand it."

"Well, if I had to explain it in simple terms, then it means that his immune system is not eliminating these defective cells on its own since it is not able to see these rotting cells as anything unusual. Usually, our body sheds any and all dead cells of our body once they, well, die after producing a replacement layer for them. But, in this case, it is not happening. There is no replacement cell nor elimination of the rotting cells. That makes his body slowly rot away from the outside while unable to do anything."

I chuckled at the horrified look on Taro's face, "Don't worry, it's not a big issue if it has not yet spread to his whole body. And since that is not the case yet, a proper diet and some medicines can help a lot in decreasing the pain caused due to the condition."

"Is there no way to cure it?"

"I mean," I looked down at my journal once again, "In a way, I can remove such skin with surgery and graft another layer of skin from the other parts of his body but that won't necessarily stop the progression of the disorder."

The only way to prevent it from worsening was most likely to kill Muzan and get rid of that curse altogether. Once that was done, performing the skin grafting surgery would be much easier and beneficial.

Unfortunately, I didn't get more out of Oyakat0a-sama's blood than I got from his tissues since I didn't have the modern pieces of equipment needed to perform high-level blood tests.
What a shame.

"That's it then," I cracked my neck slightly after removing my gloves and disposing of them into a corner to wash them separately, "I'm done with the tests!"

"I'm almost done too!" Taro replied as he flattened out the medicated paste I made into its new and sanitized container, "What should I do with this medicine, Miya-chan? Would you like me to leave it in your room?"

"If you can, then please," I smiled at his kind gesture, "Thank you so much for your help, Taro-kun. I swear, I wouldn't be able to do this many tests in such a short period if you weren't there to help me prep for the whole thing."

"I'm glad I could help!" His boyish grin made me grin too as we cleaned up the lab together before leaving.

I didn't notice how long I was in the labs conducting the tests until I left the lab and saw the coral sky of the early evening. And last I remembered was seeing the clear blue sky of the late morning.

I apologised to Taro for keeping him too long as we entered the Shrine, for which he just waved me off before taking my journal with him as he pointed out he was going towards my room either way to drop off the medicines.

"Once again, thank you so much, Taro-kun." I smiled as the taller male only waved me off again before moving away.

"I hope your tests are done and you are not wasting time here by smiling like an idiot while standing in the hallway."

My expression immediately soured as my eyes turned to meet Sanemi's; both of us giving each other a displeased look as we stare defiantly at each other.

However, I couldn't help the smile spreading on my lips once I noticed the yellow shawl that was hanging around his neck.
It was definitely Hikari Obaasan's action, I swear.

"I'm done with them, Hashira-sama," I decided to declare firmly, before sighing and loosening up my stance, "Although I'll like to stay here a bit longer, we can leave right now, if you so as wish."

"Why?" He asked before continuing as he noticed my confused expression, "Why do you... what even is this place? Why are there so many kids? Is this your home?"

"Well, it's," I paused and wondered how to explain it in the best way possible, "This is a place the villagers nearby built to protect their younglings from the nearby demons-infested forest. And since most of the residents of that village are born with Marechi blood, this Shrine surrounded by the wisteria garden acts as a sort of protected haven for them."

"So, this is a shelter for Marechi?"

"In a nutshell, yes," I smiled at his surprised expression, "However, other, non-marechi people take residence here as well after their family being, well, killed by the demons."

"Are the kids then...?"

"Yes," I nodded as I looked away towards where I could hear the kids laughing in the distance, "They are all victims of demons-killings. Most, if not all, kids here are orphans or only have a few family members left. I relocated them here for their safety — at least, until they grow old enough to make their own decisions and incomes. Till then, I support them as much as I can."

"You support—" Sanemi choked on his words before he turned to me completely in disbelief, "You support this place? Financially?"

"Yes?" I didn't know if I should feel offended by his question or not, "I mean, I may not seem like it, but I do have many side incomes to help this place, I assure you. I wasn't living alone for four years on scrapes."

"Ah," it was funny watching him get embarrassed, "I didn't mean it like that. I was just asking because there are—"

"Way too many people here for me to feed?" I grinned as he turned his head away, "Well, first, my side hustles actually generate quite a lot of money, I assure you. Second, the caretakers of this Shrine, as well as the kids, often grow their own spices and vegetables as we made a small garden in the back area of this place. And third, many villagers also help sustain this place as well. Most of the kids here are also very enthusiastic about learning to do small crafts and sewing to help us, so we have a good system for both financial and physical aid."

Sanemi opened his mouth to say something before pausing and looking at me. I simply tilted my head until he became uncomfortable enough to say whatever he wanted to anyway.

"Is this your... Home?"

His question kinda faltered me for a bit before I answered, "I mean, you can say so? I did spend most of my childhood in Kamikochi, if that's what you are asking about, Hashira-sama?"

"No, I meant," his frustrated sigh kinda made me feel bad as he spat out, "Is this Shrine your home? Is this where you grew up?"

"Uh, no," I laughed awkwardly, "I actually lived with Shigeno-sensei, the former Snow Hashira, up on the hill beside the river. It's true I visit and stay here more often than anything now, though." I hesitated before asking him anyway, "So, may I ask you why you are asking me all these questions, Hashira-sama?"

Sanemi stared at me silently for a few moments instead of answering me, making me feel as awkward as I could be.

"Um, Hashira—"

"You remind me of someone," his words startled me as he smiled softly while looking away as if remembering something, "Anyway, if you want to stay here for the New Year, stay. I'll let Oyakata-sama know."

"Oh, thank you, Hashira-sama." I breathily replied at his sudden change in attitude as he looked down at me with an unreadable expression.

"Yes, and," he turned to me sheepishly, "Can you show me the exit?" I couldn't help but huff a laugh at his actions as I guided him to the outside of the Shrine.

It was snowing lightly as we exited, making me turn up towards the grey skies.

"Are you sure you want to leave right now? It's already snowing and..." I cleared my throat as I looked at him in guilt, "And um, it indeed is quite far away from your territory. You can stay here for tonight, if you want? I don't think anyone would mind."

"I can't," He denied firmly but didn't bother to give any reasoning, "I need to go anyways. I'll tell Oyakata-sama where you are and you should send your Kasugai with the notice of your stay, too."

"Hai, Hashira-sama."

"And mention till when you'll stay. I'm not going to come back here again to escort your ass, am I clear?"

"Hai, Hashira-sama!" I echoed like a parrot as I enjoyed him fussing like this. It was kind of amusing watching this side of him.

"And Sarota?" I hummed in answer he finally turned towards me, "You... do you know how long this Shrine has been a shelter like this? Was this something the former Snow Hashira created?"

"No," I answered him honestly, "The residents here created this space decades ago, even before Shigeno-sensei was born, apparently. The Marechi population has always been high here so the residents had to act themselves to protect their loved ones. After all, the Demon Slayer Corps can't reach everywhere, can it now?"

Sanemi seemed to silently agree as he didn't ask me any further questions and simply reached out to remove the shawl around his neck.

"No, don't!" I stopped him, making him frown at me as I explained, "Hikari Obaasan gave you that, right? Then keep it to yourself. No need to give it back."

"But—"

"She'll be very sad if you didn't take it with you! Especially since you are already leaving like this at night, not to mention it's so cold outside."

To be honest, I actually liked how ridiculous the all-in-whites guy looked with the bright yellow shawl wrapped around his shoulders. Though I didn't want him to freeze in the cold either, that was more of a secondary reason.

I watched as Sanemi contemplated his options before agreeing with me as he left silently. With his yellow shawl.
It made me laugh for a good while as I watched his yellow figure sprinting away from the Shrine.

And while there was nothing inherently funny in his appearance, it was just the whole ridiculousness of the situation and maybe my sleep-deprived state that made me giggle.

Ah, what a chaotic mission this was.
I hope to never have one like this again.


So, here we go with another long chapter! This time, with Sanemi dearest!

This chapter is about 15k words long and took me literally DAYS to edit. I swear, I was gonna smash something up before I finally was done with it.

Hopefully, you liked the little adventure with Sanemi! We will have a lot more chapters with other characters of KNY, focusing on a lotta things before moving to the main parts. Please do let me know if you liked how I wrote Sanemi or not!

》Taishou Secrets《

The voice actors I imagine voicing for my characters:
Ai Kayano for Miyasha
Seiichirou Yamashita for Hitoshi
Nobuhiko Okamoto for Hiroshi
Yuichiro Umehara for Shigeno Sensei

And that's it for this chapter, folks! Please leave a review if you liked it or even if you didn't — your reviews are what keeps me going! And trust me when I say I sometimes desperately need them nowadays, lol.

Stay safe and stay healthy!