Before they knew it, Winter had arrived, and with it lots of snow. Muzan and his Demons had been suspiciously quiet for a while now, but no one argued with getting a break. A notice went out to everyone, that as soon as the snow melted, they would begin a new training regimen, and all Demon Slayers began getting recalled for just that reason. With this in mind, everyone had decided to enjoy the time off while they could. While Nezuko's Kimono had shrunk to fit her, her Haori and boots were far too big for her right now, so Gyutaro went out to buy a new Haori for the current youngest of their Siblings. Tanjiro was still recovering, slipping in and out of consciousness due to the sheer exhaustion he'd accumulated fighting Upper Rank 4.
He probably wouldn't be able to enjoy the snow with them. Oh well. This new training that Kagaya had set up sounded brutal, he was glad that his younger Brother was getting more time to recover before starting that. But there was the issue of Takeo. The 13-year-old was determined to participate in the training with the rest of the Corps, and despite how dangerous it sounded, he would not be dissuaded. "If Muzan is going to come after Nezuko because of her immunity to the sun, that means the rest of our Siblings will be in danger as well. If I'm not strong enough to protect them, then why am I here? The whole point of me becoming a Demon Slayer in the first place was so I could protect our Siblings when all of you guys weren't home Gyutaro" Takeo said firmly after the Oldest Kamado had pointed out how deadly the Hashira Training could be.
The green-haired young man sighed, before ruffling Takeo's hair. "Hey! I'm not a baby!" the teen squawked, knocking Gyutaro's hand away. "Just promise me you'll be careful when you take part in it, okay? The Hashira go to brutal lengths when training themselves, and I don't want you to break. Alright?" he asked firmly. Takeo sighed, but acknowledged the warning for what it was. "Now, let's go have some fun while we can, okay little Brother?" Gyutaro asked. Gyutaro had used some of his money to order custom Winter clothing. That is, a larger version of the clothes their parents had gotten him back when they'd first gotten to their home on Mt Kumotori. Ume always wore those Winter clothes, so she didn't have to worry. Soon, everyone was ready to enjoy a fun day in the snow.
"I always love it when it snows here!" Shigeru said with a giggle, "it reminds me of our old home!" he said, as he jumped into a pile of snow. Rokuta was sad that he couldn't go play with Kiriya while it was snowing, but Gyutaro reminded him that the other boy had a fragile constitution, and he wouldn't want his best friend to get really sick, just to play with him. "I don't want him to get sick" Rokuta agreed, but he still seemed morose. So Gyutaro came up with a way to include the Ubuyashiki boy in the fun. With the help of Amane, Gyutaro and Rokuta set up a mini Winter landscape in Kiriya's room, with the boy wrapped up in several layers of Winter Kimono and Haori. Gyutaro brought in a few buckets of snow and, with his parent's permission, dumped them into their Son's bedroom after moving his furniture out of the way.
The smiles on the two boy's faces as they played in the snow were so bright. After playing as long as they could, building snowmen, having a snowball fight and making an Igloo that collapsed on top of Rokuta as soon as he crawled inside it, the two went and had hot baths while Gyutaro scooped the snow back up to take it outside again. As he did so, Amane came to speak with him. "I appreciate what you did today Gyutaro. Because of how frail he is, my Son has never been able to play in the snow like his Sisters. But you found a way to include him in these activities, despite how exhausting it must have been. Thank you for letting Kiriya feel like a normal boy for just one day" she said with a smile. "It was no trouble. I was happy to help. All kids should be able to know how fun playing in the snow can be.
I know I didn't used to see it as fun. Snow was dangerous, something that Ume and I barely survived in the Entertainment District. It was something we always dreaded because it made us sick, and we hardly ever had medicine to help with those times. It was dangerous because, if you couldn't keep yourself warm enough, you could die. It was our Parents that showed us that snow could be fun. And I wanted Kiriya to have that experience with his friend as well" Gyutaro explained. "You are a truly kind young man Gyutaro. Thank you" Amane said with a small smile. After dumping the now back outside, Gyutaro took Rokuta home. "Even though Nezuko grew up around snow, she doesn't remember it. I just bought her some Winter clothes. What do you say we take her for her first play in the snow tomorrow Rokuta?" Gyutaro asked as he carrying the boy home.
"You mean her second-first play in the snow?" the 7-year-old asked sleepily, leaning his head on his Oldest Brother's shoulder. "Yeah" the green-haired man agreed. "Sure. Sounds fun for tomorrow" Rokuta replied, as he fell asleep. Gyutaro smiled at his youngest Brother, glad that he could give the two boys such a fun day.
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The next day, Tanjiro dressed Nezuko up in her new Winter clothes and the Kamado Siblings stepped out into the snow. "It's cold!" Nezuko whimpered, clinging to the burgundy-haired teen. "Don't worry Nezuko, you'll get used to it" Tanjiro said reassuringly. And she did get used to it, upon seeing all of her other Siblings racing around and excitedly playing in the cold fluffy white stuff. Soon she was wanting to be put down to play with it herself. Gyutaro and Ume joined the play, since the sky was cloudy enough so that the sun wasn't an issue. Ume was, of course the Queen of Snow play, since she had her Demonic strength and speed, and no fear of the sun to stop her.
Everyone, except for Nezuko, ended up pelted with snowballs to the point that they looked like snowmen. Nezuko laughed so hard upon seeing this that she fell over. Gyutaro easily shook off the snow, and scooped the toddler up into his arms, "having fun Nezuko?" he asked. "Yeah!" she cheered. "We should go back inside soon though, we don't want you getting sick" Hanako said with a worried frown. And so, everyone went inside, and the 12-year-old girl made everyone Hot Chocolate, except for Ume, who hadn't been effected by the cold at all due to her nature as a Demon. In fact, as soon as they got inside the house, she went to bed. Everyone had nice hot and filling Stew for dinner, and Gyutaro complimented his youngest Sister, "wow Hanako, this is so good. You're getting really good at cooking, I bet when Nezuko goes back to normal, she'll be really impressed as well!" he said with a grin as he ate some more Stew.
"Thanks Gyutaro" Hanako replied with a smile. Soon, it was bathtime, then bed. "So, the new training won't start until the snow melts, right Gyutaro?" Tanjiro asked as he got ready for bed. "That's the notice that went out. I hope everything goes well. I don't have any bad Premonitions right now, but still. I can't help but think that something bad is going to happen." Gyutaro replied.
Tanjiro was silent in contemplation, before he spoke again, "whatever happens, I know we'll be able to get through it. Just like we always have" he said determinedly.
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The next day, Tanjiro went out to buy some supplies for them for the Winter. True, they no longer lived on a mountain, with the only sign of civilization being hours away, but still, it was better to be prepared. So he stocked up on wood for their fireplace, and food. New, warmer blankets, and supplies to use to reinforce their windows, just in case of a blizzard. None of them wanted smashed windows if the weather got too out of control. Tanjiro couldn't help but think of how a blizzard was much more to a Demon's advantage than a humans. They weren't effected by the snow and ice, or the cold. And the storm would protect them from the sun, so anyone could be attacked at anytime.
Gyutaro noticed his little Brother's worry as he was reinforcing the windows. "What's wrong Tanjiro?" he asked. The 15-year-old shivered, but not because of the cold, "aren't you worried Gyutaro?" he asked. "About what?" the Older Kamado asked. "About a Demon attack!" Tanjiro hissed. "A Blizzard is the perfect time for a Demon to attack people, and humans would have nowhere to run! I never thought about it until now, but if one did attack us, we'd be sitting ducks" Tanjiro replied, shuddering. "Yeah, except we're Demon Slayers. That's the whole reason we joined the Corps. We'll be fine Brother. Between your sense of smell and my Premonitions, if a Demon turns up, we'll deal with it" Gyutaro replied calmly. "Now help me with the windows" Gyutaro continued.
The two Brother's continued to get the house ready for a storm. Rokuta wandered over to them as they were finishing, "Big Brother Gyutaro, Tanjiro, do you really think we'll get a Blizzard?" he asked nervously. Tanjiro turned back to his baby Brother, "we'll be fine Rokuta. That's why we're fixing things up, so if anything does happen, we'll be safe and warm inside our home. Okay?" he asked, patting the boy's head. Gyutaro smiled softly at them, 'Tanjiro's always been good at hiding his own worries in order to reassure our younger Siblings' he thought. "Now, it's time for lunch. Why don't you go help Hanako with that?" Gyutaro asked. "Okay" the black-haired boy agreed, before leaving to go do as asked.
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Nezuko was very Hyper once she woke up from her nap, running around the house. They had no choice but to wait for her to get hungry before they ate. Thankfully, the toddler ran out of energy quickly, and everyone was able to eat their lunch together. The days of Winter passed slowly, and yet, somehow far too quickly. Soon, the snow began to melt, and the Hashira began to get ready to train the weaker Corps members. Every Demon Slayer below Hashira level would be training under each of them for 20 days at maximum, before switching to the next to train under them. Despite Gyutaro's premonitions, this was in an effort for as many Demon Slayers and Hashira to get the Mark that would increase their abilities as possible.
After all, the Demons would get stronger the more humans they ate, and Muzan Kibutsuji was far too strong for them not to take the power-up when it was available. It was during this preparation that Gyutaro and Nezuko were taking a walk. Nezuko had wanted to pick flowers, and Gyutaro had offered to take her into the forest outside the Demon Slayer Headquarters so she could.
'I hope I'll be able to handle this Hashira Training. Well, it doesn't matter if I can or not. I have to protect my family. Getting stronger is the only thing I can do' Gyutaro thought. As they stopped so Nezuko could pick some flowers, As Gyutaro waited for her to get all the ones she wanted, a sensation began to pick at him. It wasn't a bad Premonition, but he could feel that something was coming.
"Blood Demon Art: Release!" the same kind of sheet that turned Nezuko into a Toddler was thrown over the 2-year-old once again. Gyutaro drew his Chained Sickle from where he hid them, as Nezuko flailed under the sheet. He raced towards where the voice had come from, slashing the air where the Demon woman had just been, as she dodged by a hairsbredth. For someone who looked like an old woman, the Demon was definitely spry, dodging all of his attacks. Suddenly, Nezuko, in her 12-year-old Demon form, burst out from under the sheet, snarling furiously. She kicked the other Demon into the ground, where Gyutaro smashed her in the back with his weight. 'Now!' he thought, "Stone-Breathing, First Form: Serpentine Bipolar!" he cried, tearing the Demon head clean off with the force of the violent attack.
The Demon woman dissolved without any fanfare, and Gyutaro turned to look at Nezuko, who was still growling at the spot where the other Demon had been, "Nezuko? Are you okay?" he asked. The girl stopped growling, turning to look at her Oldest Brother with light pink eyes, seemingly calmed down now, "are o-okay" she stammered, her fangs showing as she talked. Gyutaro sighed and moved to hug his little Sister. He was relieved that she was a frail, vulnerable 2-year-old child anymore, but a bit disappointed that she was a Demon once again. "Come on. Let's go home Nezuko. Everyone is waiting for us" Gyutaro said, holding out his hand.
Nezuko took it with a smile, and the two walked out of the forest together. Gyutaro know that, now that Nezuko was a sun-immune Demon once again, Muzan Kibutsuji wouldn't stop until he got his filthy claws on her. He clenched his fists. He swore that he would never allow that to happen. He would keep Nezuko safe from that Bastard.