Gyutaro was resting on the bed, his leg in a splint again. Ume was staring at him, deep in thought. Tamayo entered the room, "is there something wrong?" she asked. Ume looked at her, before starting to write. She wrote for a while, before handing the pad to Tamayo. She read the note: 'thank you again for helping my Brother. what would altering my body be like?' she asked. "I would switch your need to eat human flesh to only needing a small amount of human blood instead. You would no longer be in danger of losing control and eating anyone. Since you can recover and regain energy through sleeping, you would only need a small amount of blood to survive. Even a Marechi's blood would not entice you to eat the person, and in that case you would only need a drop or two of their blood, and that would sustain you for months" Tamayo explained.
Ume's eyes widened, did that mean she could live without the muzzle? At least until she became human again? Ume slowly wrote in the notebook, showing Tamayo what she had written: 'I would like that, but I think we should wait for Gyutaro to recover first. Ask him what he thinks of this idea.' The older Demon woman nodded in understanding, "Alright. We can do that" she agreed. Ume nodded in thanks, before turning her attention back to her Older Brother. She hoped he would recover fully. Then her thoughts turned to her younger Siblings. 'I wonder how everyone is doing?' she thought.
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Back at the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa was reading a letter that had been sent to him by the Master. 'Dear Sanemi. I realize that you might be training, but I was wondering if you might be interested in taking your younger Siblings to play with the Kamado Siblings. They are the family that just moved into the Headquarters recently. Their Older Brother's are Demon Slayers and their youngest Son is friends with my Son already. I do hope that both groups of children may befriend each other due to this meeting. Regards, Master Ubuyashiki.' Sanemi thought about it. His Brother's and Sister's may enjoy themselves in they went to visit these other kids. "Oi, Genya. Wanna take our Siblings to the Kamado's house? The Master recommended it!" he called.
The 15-year-old teen walked into the room, "hm, yeah, okay." There was a heavy silence, "Big Brother, can we talk-" he began, only for the white-haired young man to cut him off, "just go already! You're burning daylight! I don't want to have to come and get you because it got dark and you can't even use Breathing Styles!" Sanemi snapped. Genya frowned in defeat and went to go get their Siblings ready to go.
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The Shinazugawa Siblings walked to the Kamado's house, the younger ones chatting happily with each other. "I'm so excited! We haven't had any kids to play with for ages!" his younger Brother Koto said excitedly. "Yeah, me too!" Teiko, his younger Sister cheered, "you think there are any girl's who'd like to play dolls with me?" she asked curiously. "Ooh! Maybe we can all play dolly's!" the youngest Sister Sumi cried. "Ew, no! too girly!" Hiroshi said, while his younger Brother Shuya stuck out his tongue at the girls. "Hiroshi, Shuya, be nice to your Sisters" Genya chided, giving his younger Brothers a light glare.
"But I don't wanna play with dumb dolls, I wanna hunt some animals for our dinner!" Shuya replied. "Don't be silly, we aren't anywhere near the wild Shuya! And you can do a lot of things with dolls you know. You can even pretend to be hunting" Koto agreed with his Sisters. "Yay! Our little Brother wants to play with us!" Teiko cheered. Genya chuckled to himself. He was so lucky to still get this chance, to spend time with all his younger Siblings. What happened 3 years ago was still a nightmare he didn't want to think about. He shook his head as he pointed, "look! We're almost there! That's the Kamado family's house!" he called out. The younger children cheered, running towards the house. "Careful! You'll hurt yourselves!" Genya called, before sighing. The 16-year-old hurried after them.
Finally, the Siblings stood in front of the house that had been built for the Kamado's. "So, this is it, huh? I'll knock" Genya said. He knocked on the door and a younger boy answered it. He looked like he was around 13 or so. Genya bowed, "hello. I'm Genya Shinazugawa. These are my younger Siblings. Are you the Kamado's? The Master of the Demon Slayer Corps suggested that I bring my Siblings here to play with you guys" he explained. "Oh! The Master did? Sure, come in," the young teen said, stepping aside to allow the other kids in. As they entered the house, the teen smiled slightly, "I'm Takeo Kamado. I'm currently the oldest one here while my Older Siblings are gone" he explained. "Ah! Nice to meet you Takeo" Genya replied with a smile. "In here's the Sitting Room. Guys! We have guests! Come and meet them!" Takeo called into the house.
Two other boys came running out of different rooms, and a girl left another. "Come on guys, don't run! You'll trip and hurt yourselves or break something!" she said in annoyance and worry. the girl was older than them, but younger than Takeo, and she had long black hair down to her waist tied into a plait. The older of the two boys had short, black, spikey hair and red eyes while the younger one had straight black hair down to his shoulders. All four of them had red eyes. "Hello. I's nice to meet you all. Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Hanako Kamado" the girl introduced herself. "I'm Shigeru! Nice to meet ya!" the younger spikey-haired boy said with a wave. The little boy waved as well, "hi! My name's Rokuta" he added.
Genya nodded, "my name is Genya Shinazugawa. These are my younger Siblings. My little Brother's, Shuya, Hiroshi and Koto, and my little Sister's, Teiko and Sumi. Our Oldest Brother is back at home" he introduced them. "Our Older Brother's and Sisters are away too. we have two Older Brother's and two Older Sister's" Hanako said. "Wow. Looks like we both have big families" Genya noted. Northing was said about the Parents of either group of Siblings.
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Soon the two groups of Siblings were all playing together. Shuya, Hiroshi and Koto were running around outside with Shigeru, while Teiko and Sumi played with Hanako and Rokuta. Takeo, who was too old to play little kid games, sat on the Engawa and watched them. Genya watched over them as well. There was silence between the two boys as they sat. "So, I guess a Demon attacked your family too, huh? Why else would you be living at the Demon Slayer Corps with your Siblings?" Takeo asked. "Yeah. Same thing happen to you?" Genya asked. Takeo made a noise of agreement, "killed our Mom. Nearly killed our Older Sisters. We're only alive now because we were lucky enough to be out of the house that night" Takeo replied.
Genya winced, like that hit too close to home, "yeah. We were lucky too" he said. Takeo glanced at the older boy. "Hey, uh, Takeo? Do you think a Demon could be, well, good? Like, control themselves, and not eat humans, even if they had just been turned, and were right in front of one?" Genya asked. Takeo's eyes widened, because that was exactly what had happened with Ume and Nezuko. "Why do you ask that?" he asked, suspicious.
The older teen stared at his younger Siblings, "because it happened to us" he replied seriously. Takeo gaped at him. Genya glanced over at the Kamado and frowned, "you don't believe me either" he said with a sigh. Takeo shook his head, "no, no! That's not it, I believe you, really. But what made you ask that?" he asked curiously. Genya looked down, "3 years ago, our Mother was turned into a Demon. And she attacked us. I thought we were all going to die. But she stopped. For just a moment, she stopped, when she was about to attack our younger Brother Hiroshi. And she just knelt over him, staring at him. 'Nemi said that it was impossible for a Newborn Demon to resist eating when food was right in front of it. But I know what I saw.
She was just crouching over him, staring at him. Maybe she recognized him, maybe not. But the fact is that she stopped. Then a Demon Slayer burst into our home and cut Mom's head off. We were devastated, but when she started to turn to ash, we knew something was off. The Demon Slayer explained what had happened, just as 'Nemi got home. We were all grateful to be alive, and I told our Big Brother what I'd seen, but he didn't believe me. He still let us mourn our Mother though, and we even buried the clothes she'd been wearing for her funeral. Then we packed up and the Demon Slayer who'd saved us brought us here. 'Nemi started training to become a Demon Slayer, and he even became a Hashira. I-I felt so useless that night. If that Demon Slayer hadn't come when he did, there's a chance we might have all died. I want to be strong, to protect my family, but big Brother doesn't want me to be a Demon Slayer." Genya explained.
Takeo looked over his younger Siblings, happily playing with their new friends, without a care in the world. "You probably think I'm crazy too, don't you? A Demon that doesn't eat humans. You can say it" Genya sighed. Takeo said nothing for a moment, "maybe your Mother really wouldn't have killed any of you" he said. The mowhawk teen did a double take when he registered what the Kamado had said, "huh?" he asked, surprised not to be mocked or dismissed. Takeo turned to look at him, "you can't tell anyone about this Genya, but our two Older Sister's were turned into Demons a few years ago, when they and our Mom were attacked. Our Mom was killed. When they first turned, our Older Sister's attacked us, but after we called out to them, they calmed down" he began. "They recognized us. Even tried to protect us when one of the Hashira, Giyu, was trying to kill them.
Neither of them has ever hurt us, or even tried to since that day. They don't eat humans, period. So no, I don't think you're crazy. I think your Mom recognized your Brother and stopped because she refused to eat her own children. I think, if she had been given a chance, she could have been like our Older Sister's. It's incredibly lucky for you that your Mom had such amazing willpower, to keep herself from eating any of you, even when she was starving. Then again, our Sister's did it. and I think our Mom might have done the same, if she had been the one who was turned into a Demon" Takeo said seriously. Genya swallowed and his look turned serious, "I swear I won't tell anyone about your Sister's, especially my Big Brother. He despises Demons after what nearly happened to our Siblings. But you can count on me to keep your family's secret Takeo" the 15-year-old replied.
Takeo actually smiled at the older teen, "thanks a lot Genya. Our Older Brother's are doing everything they can to turn our Sister's back into humans. And we are going to turn them back, then go home together. No matter what" he said firmly, no doubt in his voice or expression. Genya nodded, "I think your Brother's can do it. You don't give up either!" he said firmly. Takeo smiled, "thanks. I won't" he replied. And so, the day passed with the two sets of Siblings each making new friends.
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Gyutaro woke up to a numb sensation in his leg, and a pressure on his stomach, making it hard to breathe. He glanced down to see what was going on, to find Ume laying her head on his stomach. He smiled softly, now mostly unbothered by the pressure. Seeing his little Sister like this reminded him of when they were young, and living together in the Entertainment District. He would often get beaten up by drunks, and come home to patch his wounds. Ume would help him as much as she could, before laying near him like this as he slept. He would grumble about how he couldn't breathe or sleep properly, but he would still let her do it. He doubted she even remembered those times now. Maybe it was something her body remembered, but she didn't.
Gyutaro grimaced, where even were they? He remembered the fight against the Lower Moon Demon, but not coming here, wherever here was. He lay his head back on the pillow, struggling to keep his eyes open. A weird thing was dripping a liquid into his body and he was sure that was what was making him feel so tired. He would have panicked, but his Sister seemed calm and unharmed. Gyutaro tried to relax too, but his head was too full of thoughts and half-remembered images. At least Ume was here, so they had to be somewhere safe right? "Ume?" he called, making the Demon woman blink sleepily, before realising that he was awake. Ume sat up quickly, beaming at him. She hugged Gyutaro gently, humming happily. The green-haired Demon Slayer hugged her back, "thank God you're okay Ume. You're all healed, right?" he asked worriedly.
The white and green-haired Demon nodded. Gyutaro sighed, "that's good" he replied. Just then Tamayo and Yushiro entered the room, "oh good, you're awake" the Demon Doctor said with a smile. Gyutaro looked at them, "are you the ones who helped us? Sorry, I was a bit out of it before" he asked. "We are. How are you feeling? Any pain?" Tamayo asked. "No, my body is pretty numb right now. Are you Tamayo? Our younger Brother, Tanjiro said that and Nezuko met you. And that you were working on a cure for Demons. I was hoping I'd get to meet you soon, but I didn't think it would be like this," he bowed his head, "thank you so much for helping them, and for your help in turning Ume and Nezuko back into humans" he said gratefully. After all, anyone who helped his Siblings, and were going to turn his Sisters back into humans again was someone who would have his eternal gratitude.
"It was no problem. And Tanjiro is helping us too. We've been trying to create a cure for Demonization for many years now. We just didn't have the resources or ability to gather those resources. Having a Demon Slayer help us allows us all to benefit". "She smiled, "allow me to introduce us properly. My name is Tamayo and this is my assistant Yushiro. You're lucky we were nearby when you were injured. Your wound might have gotten infected and then there's a high likelihood it would have had to be amputated" she said. Gyutaro smiled, "thank you for all of your help, both of you. But, how long will I need to stay here exactly?" he asked. "A few weeks at least, I'm afraid. And you won't be able to walk on your leg during that time. But don't worry. I've studied the human body extensively. I promise you, that if you do as I say, your leg will heal with no lasting damage" Tamayo promised. Gyutaro sighed, "I guess there's nothing else for it. We'll have to stay here until I'm fully healed Ume" he said.
Ume nodded in understanding. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your Sister. She has made a big decision, but I advised her to talk to you about it" the Demon Doctor said. The green-haired Kamado turned to look at his Sister, who picked up a Notebook and began writing in it. "We'll leave you alone to talk. Come with me Yushiro. We should look over those samples Tanjiro sent us" Tamayo said. "Right! Coming Lady Tamayo!" The other Demon Doctor agreed, following her out of the room. Ume looked at Gyutaro with worry in her eyes. "I'll be alright Ume. Hopefully we can go home soon. Then we can see the others" Gyutaro said, as his Sister finished writing. He read the page over once she'd handed the Notebook over to him, "Lady Tamayo has altered her body to only need a small amount of human blood, and offered to do the same to me.
That way we won't have to worry about me losing control and accidentally eating someone. Plus, I won't need my muzzle anymore. But we thought it was better to ask you about this first" Gyutaro read. He frowned, "I don't know Ume. Having your body altered is a big step. What if something goes wrong?" he asked. Ume wrote more, then gave the pad to her Brother. "I'm going to become human again anyway." He read. Gyutaro frowned at his little Sister, "you're really worried about this, aren't you?" he asked. Ume looked down at her Brother worriedly, He sighed, "alright. If this is really what you want, I won't stop you Ume. It's your body, and your choice" the oldest Kamado replied. Ume smiled through her gag, 'and I can't deny that I miss hearing my little Sister's voice' he thought.
Tamayo came back into the room, "have you told you Brother Ume?" she asked. "She has. If my little Sister can live her Demon life without starving all the time, or having the threat of losing control if she gets too hungry hanging over her head, then yes. I agree to allow you to perform the procedure." Gyutaro said firmly. Tamayo nodded, "I understand. We should go get you ready Ume" she replied. Ume looked at her Older Brother in concern, who smiled reassuringly at her, "I'll be fine. we can talk later when you don't need your muzzle anymore, okay?" Gyutaro asked. Ume nodded and followed the older Demon out of the room. Once they were gone, Gyutaro frowned, "I really hope this works" he said quietly to himself.