It took several days for Gyutaro to stop being in pain every time he moved. It seemed like he'd really pushed his body and breathing too far. Though he also lacked the energy to move much at all. Ume had been moved into the room Nezuko was in, both Demons now sleeping off the fight with Rui. He hadn't been able to visit Tanjiro yet, or write any of the letter's he'd planned to either. He had to write to his younger Siblings and let them know they were alright, because if any of them had heard that they were in the Butterfly Mansion, they were bound to panic. Even Takeo and Hanako. Not to mention that he still had to write a letter to Lady Tamayo, in case Sayuri hadn't arrived at her Clinic yet. He wanted to explain the situation, since it was their fault the Demon Doctor's now had a child to deal with.
But Sayuri's blood was mixed with one of the 12 Kizuki's, so he was also hoping that her blood might help develop the cure more. But now he could move his arms without being in pain so much, so he was going to write them today. He was just waiting for the Paper and writing Utensils he'd requested. Just then the three youngest 'Butterfly Girl's' as they were called, entered the room, holding paper, a pen and a wooden board, "here Gyutaro! We've got the items you requested!" Kiyo called, the girl wearing the pink sash and with pink butterfly clips in her hair. Gyutaro smiled at them. He'd been introduced to the three little girl's soon after arriving at the Mansion.
They were orphans, like all of the Butterfly Girls, and Shinobu had taken them in. Despite their similar appearance, they weren't triplets, but they told him that they had practically adopted each other as Sisters, and unless they had different tasks for the day, were never seen apart. "We asked Lady Kocho for some paper" Sumi, the girl with twin-tails and blue butterfly clips said. "Who are you going to write to?" the third girl, Naho who's her hair was in twin plaits and tied with green butterfly clips asked curiously. "I'm going to let my younger Siblings know what happened, so they don't worry about us too much" Gyutaro explained. "Okay" they replied at the same time. "Thanks for getting these for me. You three were a big help" he said with a smile.
"It was no problem!" Sumi replied cheerfully, as they left the room, "we'll come back later to get the letter!" Kiyo added, as they waved goodbye, and went to get back to their jobs. Gyutaro sighed, placing the board and paper on his lap. 'Dear everyone. The Hashira now know about Ume and Nezuko. Thankfully, after proving that she wouldn't eat humans, the Hashira spared both of us. I told them about Nezuko too, and how she doesn't eat humans either, but I'm not sure if they believed me. Our last Mission was a big one. The four of us got pretty hurt, so we're resting at the Butterfly Mansion. You guys might be able to come visit us in a while, but I just don't want you all to freak out upon learning that we're in the Hospital. I'll hopefully see you all soon. Take care of yourselves and don't worry about us too much. Love, Gyutaro'.
He placed down his pen, an interesting invention, as he was less likely to get ink places he didn't want it to be, and the letter would take less time to dry. Now, how was he going to write a letter to Lady Tamayo without looking suspicious? He took a new piece of paper and decided to just write the letter. Maybe he could play it off as a family friend? 'Dear Lady Tamayo. I hope you and Yushiro are doing well at your new Clinic. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Tanjiro and I encountered one of the 12 Kizuki in our latest Mission. It was Lower 5. And the bad news is that we almost died and didn't manage to get any samples. But we did manage to kill him with just the four of us, so that's something!
Another thing is that one of the Demons that were with Lower 5 decided to defect, so I've sent her to you. Or I would like to. Can you send Chachamaru to Mount Natagumo to pick her up? I'm hoping that you can alter her body like you did to yourself and Ume, so she doesn't have to eat humans anymore. Please be gentle with her. She may be a Demon, but she is also an abused little girl. I won't go into all the details now, but she might tell you herself eventually. Lower 5 gave this Demon girl his blood, to make her part of his "Family", so she may be able to help you with that sample instead. I hope things work out. From Gyutaro Kamado' he finished writing. Gyutaro looked out the window, he wondered when he would be able to send his letters.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Gyutaro winced as he walked down the hallway. He was going to check on their Sisters. He perked up as he saw Tanjiro also limping towards the room. "Hey Tanjiro! Going to visit Ume and Nezuko too I see" Gyutaro said with a pained smile. "Heh- ouch- yep! I can't believe Rui was so strong! That other member of the 12 Kizuki you and Ume fought before- was he also that strong?" Tanjiro asked. "Not as strong. Rui was a Rank above him after all" Gyutaro replied. Tanjiro nodded and sighed, "and they were just Lower Ranks! What must an Upper Rank be like?" he bemoaned. "Terrifyingly strong I assume" Gyutaro replied flatly.
Tanjiro cringed, before he shook his head, "the more of their Member's we fight and defeat, the more blood samples we can get for Miss Tamayo! Then the Human Medicine will be completed sooner! Gyutaro, we have to get stronger!" he declared. "That's the spirit!" an exuberant voice declared. They turned to see Kyojuro walking towards them, "hello boys! How are you today?" he asked. Tanjiro's expression fell flat, and he turned away without a word. Far be it for his younger Brother to ever be rude to someone, but it was obvious that the Flame Hashira's lack of trust in him during the trial had hurt Tanjiro deeply. So he simply decided to ignore the man until he got a sincere apology.
"So, how are you doing?" the flame-haired man asked. Gyutaro glanced at Tanjiro, who began to walk away, "let's go big Brother. I want to check on Ume and Nezuko" he said firmly. Kyojuro glanced between Tanjiro, who simply looked passed him, to Gyutaro, who gave him a glare as he passed. The younger man was obviously confused about Tanjiro's cold attitude towards him. 'Well,' the 27-year-old man thought, 'he can figure it out himself' he thought. Then they entered the shadowed bedroom that held their Demon Sister's. The two squinted in the dark room, seeing a figure sitting up in one of the beds. "Big Brother Gyutaro, T-Tanjiro, are you two a-alright?" Ume asked, as she got up from the bed and hurried over to her two Brother's.
She could probably see how they were straining themselves, with her superior night vision and everything. The white and green-haired Demon woman quickly helped both boys over to her bed and sat them down. "*pant* thanks Ume" Tanjiro said gratefully. "Just a little achey and tired" Gyutaro replied with a smile. Ume nodded.
"How are you both doing? Gyutaro told me about how that scarred Bastard stabbed you! He stabbed Nezuko too, and used his blood to try and get her to bite him so he could kill her!" Tanjiro exclaimed. Gyutaro smirked, "too bad he didn't believe me when I said that Ume didn't eat humans and only needed a little bit of human blood. He ended up looking like an idiot!" he mocked the scarred man. "He is the Oldest Brother of our younger Siblings newest friends, so we shouldn't mock him too much. After all, I did headbutt him" Tanjiro said, in satisfaction. Gyutaro grinned, "I would have paid to see that. I kicked him in the head when he stabbed Ume. It was so satisfying."
He then frowned, "but I do worry about his younger Siblings. If he stabs little girls, how is he treating them I wonder" he said. "I wouldn't worry about the Shinazugawa Siblings Gyutaro. When I was on trial, I smelt lots of fear and worry coming off of him, as well as protectiveness. I almost couldn't smell those things though, because the scent of hatred was so strong. I think his situation might have been similar to ours, though I'm not sure. Even so, anyone who stabs my Sister's is going to pay for it" Tanjiro growled.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
A month later, most of them were recovered enough to start doing Rehabilitation Training. And damn, was it gruelling! One day, Gyutaro noticed Zenitsu get a letter. Once he started reading it, tears welled up in his eyes, and he ran out of the room. Tanjiro noticed his hasty departure, probably smelling his tears and grief. His younger Brother hurriedly apologised to the girls who were training them, before running after his friend. Gyutaro debated going after them, but he really needed to train, so he let them go. He hadn't been as badly injured as Tanjiro was, so he so he should be ahead of his younger Brother. But somehow, he just kept falling behind.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
(Ume's POV)
Ume was brushing her hair when Zenitsu ran into the room she shared with the still sleeping Nezuko. Suddenly she heard something, running footsteps. The door opened, and Zenitsu ran in, before going to the corner and beginning to cry. The Demon woman blinked in confusion for a moment, before Tanjiro entered the room as well.
"Sorry for the interruption Ume, you look beautiful today" the burgundy-haired teen complimented his Older Sister. "Th-thank you. What, hha-happen-ed to him?" Ume stuttered. "I don't know, but I'm going to ask him" Tanjiro replied, as he began to walked towards the blond. "I can hear you both you know *sniff*" Zenitsu sobbed. Tanjiro paused for a moment, then continued walking over to the older teen, "sorry. Zenitsu, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Zenitsu was always whining or crying about something, but he could tell that these tears were different. The blond wasn't giving off the smell of fear, but instead horror and despair. It made Tanjiro worry about his friend.
Zenitsu sniffed again, "Gramps- my Master was the former Thunder Hashira, and he trained me. But no matter what I did, I could never learn more than the First Form of Thunder Breathing. *sniff* Gramps had another Student, named Kaigaku. He was so much stronger than me. He would berate and ridicule me often for being so pathetic and worthless" he cried. Ume clenched her fists. "No one is ever worthless" she said firmly, making Zenitsu look over at her. Tanjiro nodded, "that's right! I bet he was just insecure and jealous of you Zenitsu!" he reassured. Zenitsu shook his head, "Kaigaku became a Demon Slayer, and we never heard from him again.
Well, I just got a letter from Gramps. It turns out Kaigaku betrayed the Corps and became a Demon" he said. Both Kamados gasped in horror, "that's not all. Gramps committed Sepuku to atone. But he was all alone. There was no one to cut off his head after he cut open his stomach," now the Thunder-Breather was openly sobbing, "he died alone and in agony over a long period because of that Bastard" Zenitsu seethed, clenching his fists around the letter he still held. He raised his head, eyes full of tears, but also hatred and loathing, "I've always hated Kaigaku for one reason or another, but I tried to be civil and nice because Gramps' wanted us to get along. But no more. I am going to kill that filthy traitor for Gramps' sake. I swear it!" he said furiously.
Then he stomped out of the room. Tanjiro shared a concerned look with Ume, before following after the Thunder Breather.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
(Tanjiro's POV)
"Zenitsu, wait! You should calm down first! If you train like this, you could hurt yourself!" Tanjiro called, trying to catch up to his friend, who was using his Breathing Technique to run. "Leave me alone Tanjiro! This is my burden to bare, not yours! You wouldn't understand anyway!" Zenitsu called. "Of course I understand! Muzan Kibutsuji killed my Mom, and turned my Sister's into Demons! If we had all been home at the time, he would have killed everyone else too! I know how it feels to hate someone, and want to kill them, but if you train like this, you're only going to hurt yourself!" Tanjiro called.
"Oh, so you know how it feels to be betrayed by someone you cared about and have that person willingly become a Demon, do you? To have the only Father figure you've ever had kill himself, and finding out about it after the fact, knowing that you should have been there, but you weren't! That the first person in the whole world to care about you is dead, and you didn't even know! You know what that feels like, do you?!" Zenitsu demanded. Tanjiro stared in painful sympathy at his friend.
Zenitsu looked away, "Gramps made me his Successor. Me! The failure who couldn't even master more than the first Breathing Technique! The weakling who always runs away from Demons! The coward who can barely do anything!" Tanjiro grabbed his friend's shoulders, "stop talking about yourself like this! I don't believe you're anything like this! And your Master, who obviously cared about you a lot, didn't think of you like that either! If he did, he wouldn't have named you his Successor! He believed in you! So why can't you believe in yourself?" he asked. Then the Kamado released the blond with a sigh, "I know you're grieving. I'll give you some time alone, alright?" he asked softly.
Then he turned and walked away. Zenitsu collapsed to his knees, the letter still in his hands. "Gramps-" he whimpered.
To Be Continued