Warning: heavy spoilers for the manga. Read at your own risk
After the disaster of the shopping trip, Gyutaro, Ume and Tanjiro were wary about letting their younger Siblings leave the house. So when Rokuta came up to Gyutaro and asked if he could go over to the Master's house to play with Kiriya and his Sisters, the young man was understandably worried. "Please? I haven't seen him for a while. And I promised him in my last letter that I'd come play again soon!" Rokuta pleaded. "Plus he said he'd introduce me to his Sister's the next time I came over". Gyutaro sighed, as Tanjiro walked up, "he would be safe with the Master, so I don't see a reason why he couldn't go, don't you agree Gyutaro?" he asked.
The green-haired Kamado looked down in thought, "I guess you're right. Maybe we should take Hanako and Shigeru too. They might be able to make friends with the Master's other children. And if we're taking them, we might as well bring Takeo too. We always take Ume and Nezuko with us, so they're obviously coming. Okay, let's get everyone ready then" Gyutaro decided. Rokuta cheered, quickly going to grab his Temari ball. Everyone was excited to meet the Master and his children, and quickly got ready to go. Tanjiro and Gyutaro got their Sister's into their boxes, and away they went, walking to the Leader of the Demon Slayer Corps Mansion.
"I wonder if Kiriya would play with me too?" Shigeru wondered as he walked. "He can't play much because his body is very weak and he gets tired easily. But we can play together a bit. I can't wait to meet his Sister's. I haven't yet, but I've seen them around the house sometimes" Rokuta replied. Tanjiro smiled at his younger Siblings, but couldn't help looking over at his Older Brother, "hey, Gyutaro?" he began, making the green-haired 27-year-old turn to look at him from where he was pulling the Cart. "Yeah? What is it Tanjiro?" he asked. "Well, I was just wondering if you could feel anything wrong with today. I just want to have a peaceful playdate today, no Demons. Do you think anything will go wrong?" the burgundy-haired teenager asked.
Gyutaro took a deep breath, focusing on how he felt. He couldn't feel any unease or bad feelings at the moment, and he told Tanjiro so. His younger Brother sighed in relief, "that's good, because I wouldn't be able to do anything to protect our Siblings if something did happen. The most I could do right now is head-butt them and use myself as a human shield to protect everyone. Right now, Takeo would be more effective at protecting the rest of our Siblings than me" Tanjiro replied, wilting in self-condemnation. His Older Brother frowned, "hey, come on. It's not like you broke your Sword, or did it on purpose, the Demon did that" Gyuatro replied firmly.
"I didn't even notice that it was cracked though! I should be more attentive about these things! I don't even know how to maintain my sword!" Tanjiro groaned. "Then learn. No one can blame you for the things you don't know. Only if you try to improve, can you learn" the oldest Kamado said. Tanjiro smiled a bit at that, "did you learn that from the Stone Hashira? Mr Himejima?" he asked. Gyutaro shrugged, "not really. That one was all mine. It does sound like something he'd say though, doesn't it?" he asked with a chuckle, before he frowned, "I need to see if he'll keep me as his Student, then start training again. I won't fail our Siblings". Tanjiro nodded, "yeah, you're right. I should start training again too" he agreed.
The two Brother's then walked together in silence.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Eventually, the Siblings arrived at the Ubuyashiki Estate. The children who hadn't seen the Master's house were in awe. Gyutaro stepped forwards and knocked on the door. Amane answered it, "oh, hello Gyutaro, Tanjiro, Takeo. To what do we owe this pleasure?" the white-haired woman asked. "We were wondering if it would be possible for our Siblings to play with your children. Rokuta is really the only one who's met them, and that's mostly only Kiriya. We thought it might be good for all of them to have some more friends" Tanjiro explained. Amane nodded, "I see. I'll ask the Master if that's alright. Please, come inside to wait" she replied, leading them inside the gate.
Eventually, the group reached a small dining room, "please wait here, I'll go ask if your request is possible today" the Ubuyashiki said with a polite bow, before leaving the room. The Kamado children looked around, examining the room. Everything, from the decorations, to the quality of the Tatami mats and the wooden table, spoke of just how rich this family was. "I didn't realise that the Master and his family were so rich" Shigeru whispered- well, he said, but at least he tried to whisper. "All of the money for the Demon Slayer Corps comes from the Ubuyashiki family. They pay for everything, from rehabilitation of surviving victims, to reconstruction of any damaged buildings from battles with Demons. At least that's what Kiriya told me the last time we talked." Rokuta explained. Tanjiro was impressed, "wow, you've learned a lot Rokuta." He said in awe.
The little boy blushed at the praise. "I can't believe the family is that rich. It seems impossible!" Hanako said in awe. For a family like there's that only ever had the bare minimum unless they managed to sell a lot of charcoal, something like this was amazing. A few minutes later, Amane came back with five children, four girls and Kiriya. All the girls looked the same, except they had different coloured Obi. They bowed, "my name is Hinaki Ubuyashiki" one of the older white-haired girl's introduced herself. "Nichika Ubuyashiki, nice to meet you all" her twin added. Kirya then bowed, "as you all know, I am Kiriya Ubuyashiki" he said politely. The second set of twins, looking identical to their Older Sisters bowed to the Kamado's, "Kuina Ubuyashiki, a pleasure" Kuina introduced herself. The last girl bowed, "Kanata Ubuyashiki, likewise".
The Kamado children followed their example, bowing at the waist, "thank you for your hospitality. I am the Eldest, Gyutaro Kamado. My younger Sister Ume is in the box on my back" Gyutaro introduced himself and Ume. "Tanjiro Kamado! My little Sister Nezuko is also in the box on my back! Thank you for being Rokuta's friend Kiriya!" Tanjiro said. "Takeo Kamado, it's nice to meet you all", "Hanako Kamado, likewise" Hanako said. "I'm Shigeru Kamado! Thank you for our house!" Shigeru said gratefully. Rokuta smiled at his best friend, "Rokuta Kamado. It's nice to finally meet all of you" he said happily. Amane turned to her children, "the Master is giving you all a day off to spend time with the Kamado Siblings. We expect you all to be good Hosts" she said calmly.
"Yes Mother, we understand" Kanata said with her usual calm smile on her face. "We promise to be on our best behavior" Kuina added. The woman nodded and left, probably to tend to her Husband. "So, what should we play first?" Shigeru asked. "How about a board game? We can take turns playing against each other" Kuina suggested. "I don't know many board games. We mostly played together" Shigeru replied. "We can teach you. How about Kurata? It's a game where you have to find matching cards" Nichika asked. "sounds fun" Shigeru agreed.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
The children played together, taking turns to go against each other. And the younger Kamado Siblings became fast friends with the Ubuyashiki's. Gyutaro was glad that his Brother's and Sister were making more friends. Amane came to see them soon after, "would anyone like some snacks and tea? Or milk?" she asked. Everyone took some, happily snacking away and talking. "How have you been Kiriya? You haven't put many details in your letters" Rokuta asked the other boy. "Well, not much is different. Father teaches me the things I'm going to need to know to become the Leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, and we help Mother with looking after him-" Kiriya fell silent for a moment, and Rokuta looked over at him.
He was disturbed by the look on the other boys face however, "Kiriya? What's wrong?" he asked. The Heir of the Ubuyashiki family looked out at his Sister's playing happily with Rokuta's Older Siblings. As they watched, Tanjiro, who had put Nezuko's box next to Rokuta on the Engawa, gave Kanata a piggyback ride. "My turn next!" Shigeru cried excitedly. Suddenly Kiriya spoke up again, but it was too soft to hear unless Rokuta strained his hearing: "Father is going to die soon. He told us. And it's obvious just by looking at him, even if he hadn't. The disease he has- the curse, is spread over so much of his body. He's too weak to move anymore, and has to stay in bed. And he coughs up blood a lot. I'm scared. I'm scared Muzan won't be killed in time, and Father will die.
And I'm scared because he has spoken with us about plans- plans to use himself and Mother, and possibly our Elder Sisters, Hinaki and Nichicka to lure Muzan into a trap. To kill him, along with themselves" Kiriya clenched his fists around his Kimono, trembling as he spoke. Rokuta gasped in horror, unable to take his eyes off his friend. "What?!" he cried, after finding his voice again. "Shhh!" Kiriya hissed, gesturing to keep his voice down. He looked back at his hands again, while Rokuta was trying to process what he had been told. "Why- why would your Daddy do that?! And why take Mrs Amane and your big Sister's with him?!" he whispered franticly, grabbing the other boy's shoulders.
"Parents are supposed to protect their kids! What's the point in killing Muzan if his daughters aren't alive to be free as well?!" Rokuta demanded. "Our family has given everything to wipe Muzan Kibutsuji from the face of the Earth, including our own children. It's how we're raised from birth. We have to. It's the only way our family will ever be free of this curse." Kiriya explained softly. "But why your family? Why the kids?" Rokuta asked, extremely worried about his best friend. He knew exactly what it was like to lose his parents, and even though his Older Sister's were still alive, it was like they were dead for a while.
"Because," Kiriya swallowed and looked up at Rokuta, "he is a member of our family. That's why we became cursed. We're the only ones who can kill him. We have to do it. Otherwise we will die" he explained.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Rokuta stared, speechless with horror at Kiriya, unable to process what he'd just said. "What? That's- Kiriya, what do you mean?" the 7-year-old asked. The young boy swallowed, "Muzan is a distant Ancestor. By becoming the first Demon, Muzan cursed our family. We, and the Demon Slayer Corps by association, must kill Muzan, otherwise our family will eventually die out. That's why the Corps was created. We are all raised knowing of this Mission, and we never get the chance to be children because of it. If we must die to fulfill this duty, and finally cleanse our family of this parasite that has clung to life for a thousand years, we will sacrifice anything. Even our own children.
We have no other choice" Kiriya explained gravely. Rokuta was silent. All he could do was cry. Cry at how unfair the world was. How truly cruel, to curse an innocent family for something one distant relative did- he suddenly wrapped his arms around the other boy, sobbing quietly into his Kimono. "Rokuta-" Kiriya said softly, as the Kamado gripped onto him with shaking arms, "you will kill Muzan. Your family, along with everyone else! And then, none of you will have to die! You can't!" he cried. Kiriya stared at his friend, as tears welled up in his own eyes. He hugged the Kamado boy back just as tight, "what if we can't? What if I die too?" he whimpered, scared.
"If you die then, I'll be there with you! I won't let you be scared and alone! I promise!" Rokuta swore, "but that won't happen!" he pulled back, still holding onto his best friend, "because everyone will kill that monster, and your family will be free! You hear me?! Your big Sister's, and your parents won't die! And you'll be able to grow up, while they watch! We have to believe that, otherwise we'll have no chance!" Rokuta said, sniffling. Kiriya smiled, wiping his eyes and nose, "how do you do it Rokuta?" he asked softly, confusing the boy. "How do you manage to make me believe in your words so completely that I really think that my Parents and Elder Sister's will survive?" Kiriya asked. His friend smiled softly, "it's a family trait. We get it from our Daddy" Rokuta replied. The Ubuyashiki let out a huff of laughter, "your Father must have been even brighter than Tanjiro then" he replied.
Rokuta looked down, "he died when I was two, so I don't remember too much about him, same for my Mommy, who was killed the year after. But I do remember always feeling loved whenever I was with them, and my Older Siblings tell me lots of stories. It will be okay. I promise, everything will be okay" Rokuta said, hugging the other boy, his best friend, again, before grinning. Kiriya couldn't help but smile back.
To Be Continued