the little paths we find ourselves upon

By: Aviantei

[Twelve Shots of Summer: DECK 3/12]

[Parameters: "IV-Emperor" & "V-Hierophant"]

March

Friends are returning,
memories are lingering close,
the sun gives us hope

While we'd known it was coming, it was still strange to think that the Demon Slayer Corps were gone—so read the letter I'd received from Kiriya. Despite all I'd griped about their dumb policies and even dumber shōnen manga structure, I still felt some strange sense of melancholy at the prospect. I gave Tadashi some rice from my breakfast in thanks for bringing in the mail, and turned to Zenitsu to share the news—

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

—and was treated to one of his very enthusiastic screams before I could even begin to speak.

Zenitsu also had a letter in his hand, though I was having a tricky time seeing so with all his flailing about. Chuntarō was chirping at the top of his tiny little sparrow lungs, which, when combined with Zenitsu's own panicked shouting, made quite the racket. "Rairi, holy crap, holy crap! This is big! Huge! We gotta go, like, today, Senpai!

"You don't need to call me 'Senpai' anymore," I said less to scold him and more in the hopes that mentioning it would make him realize just how worked up he was. "I also need you to slow down a minute. What's going on?" If Zenitsu said we needed to go, I was inclined to believe him, but I at least wanted to know what we were getting ourselves into first.

Zenitsu gasped, seeming to have realized just how ahead of himself he'd gotten, and even Chuntarō gave another angry chirp to reprimand him. Even so, that didn't stop him from shoving the letter in his hands right into my face and shouting, "Tanjirō's woken up!"

It took a few beats for me to process the words—and then I'd almost knocked over my breakfast tray in my haste to stand up. "We gotta pack up and go, then!" Lucky for me, I'd already taken my time to attach my prosthetic that morning, so it wouldn't be hard to walk to my room and shove together a bag. "Sorry, sweetie, I'm gonna have to ask you to piggyback me this time, too." I may have recovered enough to make it around the house, but taking a long run to Butterfly Manor was not on the table.

"Of course!" Zenitsu was on his feet, too, leaving our breakfast behind for our birds as he raced ahead of me to the hall. "I got you back home, didn't I? I can handle this, too." I smiled a bit. Considering I hadn't recovered enough to go the whole way myself, you might think hiring out a cart might have been better, but even with my weight added to the occasion, Zenitsu using Total Concentration and his unique speed would get us there way faster, and all the more so when you accounted for how out of the way Butterfly Manor was to help keep it safe from demons. Now I just had to do my part in grabbing the essentials, and—

"What in the world is going on here?"

Kimiko-san came around the corner before us, a look of concern on her face. I supposed that Zenitsu and I had started shouting out of nowhere, and that wasn't quite a good sign when it came to two people with plenty of battle-induced PTSD hanging over their heads (even if she wouldn't know that exact term). All things considered, I figured she also wouldn't be impressed with the mess we'd left behind in the dining room, either.

"Sorry," Zenitsu said, dipping his head into a bow a few times. Well, at least he wasn't in full panic mode yet. "We just got a letter that one of our Slayer friends just woke up, and we wanted to get going right away, so we kind of panicked…"

Given that Kimiko had worked in Sensei's house for a while, such news didn't surprise her in the slightest. After all, she'd been around whenever Zenitsu's anxiety had been a lot worse, so something on our current level was nothing in comparison, and she let out a long sigh. "I understand your urgency, then, but did you finish eating?" Zenitsu and I exchanged a guilty glance that said it all. "Go back and finish your meal first. I know how you travel, and you're both going to need the energy. I can pack for you instead, so please make better use of your time."

It was an excellent example of how having an outside perspective could have a better idea of what to do than when you were in it. We were lucky to have Kimiko-san, and she wasn't going to allow us to argue with her, either. Zenitsu and I looked at each other, sharing that understanding you built when you learned to fight side by side with someone, and nodded. Sometimes, the best course of action was to not get into a fight at all.

"Thank you, Kimiko-san," I said, and Zenitsu echoed the sentiment. Kimiko smiled, and the two of us made a prompt about face and went to finish our breakfast.

The trip to Butterfly Manor wasn't all that different from the one we'd taken back home the previous month, with the sole exception that I did none of the walking myself. After all, it was urgent that we made it back to check on our friend, so there was no time to take it easy. Instead, I did my best to hold tight to Zenitsu and not create any extra wind resistance as he went full Thunder Breathing speed all the way there.

Even when we arrived, he didn't put me down, though he did return to a much more reasonable pace as he navigated the halls. Over the months, more and more of the remnants of the Demon Slayer Corps had gotten well enough to leave twenty-four/seven medical attention, but there were still patients like Tanjirō, who were in critical shape, others who had nowhere else to return to and were still figuring out their futures, and plenty of Kakushi out and about to help keep Butterfly Manor functioning. Zenitsu navigated around those others at a speedwalk, and I was dreading the moment whenever I got put down and my numb legs had to function on their own.

All of those concerns fell away whenever we made it to our final destination and saw Tanjirō—still bedridden, but awake and sitting up, that same smile as ever on his face, and everything at least seemed alright.

I didn't fuck everything up. I didn't kill anyone who didn't die beforehand. Sure, I hadn't saved everyone, either, but the relief that my presence in a story I had no business showing up in hadn't fucked everything over was so great that I would've collapsed to my knees had I been standing.

Zenitsu, just as relieved, didn't collapse (and thank fuck for that), but he did zoom over to the bedside. "Tanjirōōō! You're awake! You're really awake!" Yes, we'd been told as much, but it was a different matter altogether to see so with our own eyes. Zenitsu started wailing, and I gave him as best of a hug of reassurance as I could from my piggyback position. "You took so long; we weren't sure if you were going to wake up or not, even with Shimizu-chan's journals!"

"I'm glad you're awake, Tanjirō-kun," I said at a much more normal volume. Tanjirō smiled, not even looking bothered by Zenitsu starting to get snot all over his blankets. "Zenitsu, sweetie, can you find me a chair please? I want to sit down and stretch out a bit."

"I can get it!" said Nezuko, who had been in the room when we arrived. While I'd chatted with her a few times since she'd returned to being human at the final battle, it was still a little surreal watching her walk around in the daylight and talk—even more so given how much exposure I'd had to her bamboo muzzle aesthetic back in my previous world. But there she was, dragging over a chair to Tanjirō's bedside. "Do you need help getting over, Rairi-san?"

I reached out a hand. "Yes, please." I had tucked my prosthetic in my bag instead of wearing it the whole way over—and walking wouldn't have sounded appealing even if I had been wearing it. Nezuko accepted half my weight with ease, helping me the few steps over to my chair. My body almost creaked from the stiffness, and I started to massage feeling back into my right leg. "Thanks, Nezuko-chan. Have you been doing well?"

Zenitsu and I might've rushed to come see him, but Nezuko must've been the person happiest to see that Tanjirō had woken up.

"I've been alright. These past couple of months have been…an adjustment." Yeah, I could imagine. I was having an intense enough upheaval with the loss of my leg and my prosthetic, but Nezuko must've had it even harder, given she'd spent several years as a demon and was now getting back into the swing of being a human. "But right now, I'm just glad that Onī-chan is awake. I know the journals from Shimizu-san said he would, but I was still worried…"

I nodded, giving Nezuko a few pats on the shoulder. She was a tough girl, though, so any of that worry melted away into a smile of genuine relief. Yeah, she was adorable, and I couldn't help but feel relieved I didn't have to deal with any such competition.

Shimizu's journals had been helpful in so many ways, but there were some things I wished I could unread.

Not that I'm gonna blame Nezuko-chan for something her Canon counterpart did, though. I had enough to worry about without adding anything else onto my mental plate, thank you very much. "Well, at least now you know he's going to be okay, Nezuko-chan. That's something to be grateful for, yeah?"

Just like how, after everyone else we'd lost, Zenitsu and I still had each other, Tanjirō and Nezuko would always have each other.

I imagined she was thinking something along the same lines, based on the peaceful smile that formed on her face. "Yeah. I'm glad to have him back by my side. Besides, this isn't anything compared to how long he had to worry about me."

"Still, that doesn't make it any less stressful." None of that comparative suffering bullshit while I was around! "We've all been worried about him, Nezuko-chan. You've done great being here waiting for him."

"Oh, Rairi-senpai!" Having managed to console Zenitsu into a less loud series of sobs (which was more because he'd started muffling himself in the mattress than that he'd started crying less, but I adored him regardless), Tanjirō waved to me. Nezuko waved me on, helping scoot the chair into a better position to talk with her brother. "I'm glad you made it safe. How have you been?"

"You know I should be asking you that, right?" I wasn't surprised at all that Tanjirō could wake up from a months-long coma and still be more worried about others than himself—but still. "Come to think of it, you got knocked out after going to the Hanamachi, too, right? You need to slow yourself down from here on out, you hear me?" Let this boy be a kid for a while, like holy shit.

It was because I already knew he was a good kiddo that I didn't take Tanjirō's laugh as him dismissing my advice outright. "Yeah, I know. Everyone's been telling me so. Even putting my coma aside…" His right hand reached up to grasp the opposite shoulder, and I couldn't help but notice the wrinkled shape of his left hand on the blankets, the results of his partial infection by Kibutsuji. His left eye also bore the remains of those events, the once deep brown of his iris having faded to a much paler color. Even with Kanao's quick intervention, those marks remained "I'm not going to let it get me down, but I know I'd just worry everyone if I acted restless. Once I can, I just want to go back home with Nezuko and sell charcoal again." I wasn't surprised to hear such resolve from him, since Shimizu's notes had implied as much, but even without that, it would have made sense. Tanjirō was a careful, kind boy, more than satisfied with a simple life like that. "But I've been meaning to thank you, Rairi-senpai. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten this far, so thank you very much!"

Though it shouldn't have from such a simple show of gratitude, the words made my mouth go dry. I wasn't about to go and say that I hadn't contributed at all, because I'd fought my fucking ass off, but it seemed wrong to have the Protagonist act like I'd done something incredible. "I don't know if I deserve that," I said, not holding my tongue at all. "I mean, all I was doing was fighting because I couldn't take the idea of losing anyone else."

If Zenitsu hadn't been on that battlefield, would I have been able to bring myself to stand there and fight to the end? I didn't regret any of what I'd done, not in the slightest, but I couldn't help but wonder about the alternatives, the scenarios spiraling around in my brain at the slightest thought, the same as it had been after Jaden died.

My words had dragged everyone's, not just Tanjirō's, attention onto me. Nezuko's gaze was steady and sympathetic, while Zenitsu had stopped sobbing and turned his head up from the blankets, worry plastered across his face. Tanjirō, being too good for the world as he was, waited to see if there was anything else I wanted to add, listening before that understanding smile slipped onto his face.

"Rairi-senpai," he said, "I don't think there's anything wrong with that." My breath caught, but the shame was too tight of a knot in my throat for me to argue. "I mean, I kept going for Nezuko's sake, after all. Do you blame me for that?" I shook my head, because how could I? "Then it's okay for you to have done the same. Even if you decided that you had nothing to do with the fight, it would've been okay. We all have things that we want to protect."

Oh, I thought, and that was about all I could manifest on the matter. Now, did it feel weird to have Certified Good Boy Kamado Tanjirō tell me I was on the same level as him? Yeah, and I wasn't sure I'd agree with him—but I felt a bit better, anyways, and that was what mattered.

"Oh," I said out loud, because I was still just a bit too overwhelmed by the compliment that I couldn't put any of that into words. "…Thanks, Tanjirō-kun." Zenitsu, who must've heard something enough to prompt it, scooted closer to me and took my hand. "Well, no matter what, we made it through, and we're here now. So I'm glad to see you're awake now." Not being in a state to stand, I leaned forward, stretching out my arm. Noticing what I was aiming for, Tanjirō helped out by also leaning in, allowing me to ruffle his hair in some head pats. "You did wonderful, Tanjirō-kun. Be proud of yourself." If no one else had told him that outright, I wanted to be the one to do it.

"Ah…" Tanjirō paused a moment before dipping himself into the best bow he could muster from his current position. "Thank you very much!"

Yeah. It was one of those days where, though we knew we would still struggle later on, I could believe that in the end we'd be just fine.

While checking in with Tanjirō had been our main goal, it wasn't like we were about to run off just because we'd seen him once. Just like what Zenitsu and I had gone through (and were still going through), Tanjirō had plenty of rehabilitation to complete, not just from how long he'd been unconscious, but due to his arm as well. And it didn't matter how good you became at Total Concentration: Constant, it was still easier to recover from it all with some good old fashioned moral support.

Thus, our plan had been to stay for at least a week. Unlike when we'd left for home in February, Butterfly Manor wasn't packed full to the gills. According to Aoi, a lot of people had gotten through the worst of it enough that they could go home and recover there, so long as they visited with local doctors. As such, there were enough open beds that Zenitsu and I could have our own rooms, and they were even next to each other. If one of us needed help, we could call for each other.

That night, I was the posterchild for not being alright.

Like so many before it, the nightmare had crashed right into me, dragging me into the waking world without remorse. At the very least I hadn't shouted, but the adrenaline of stress was coursing through me, setting my heart pounding. I tried to focus on my breath, which was shaky at best, and in shambles at the worst. After what felt like an hour (though I knew it wouldn't have been that long), I managed to get myself together enough to sit up, running a hand over my face.

All things considered, I wasn't anywhere as bad off as I tended to be. So many of my nightmares over the past months were my failures—Jaiden, Sensei, Shimizu, Kaigaku—sometimes on their own, sometimes meshed together. Way too often, I would wake up as a sobbing, crying mess.

Having calmed down, though, I couldn't even remember what I'd been dreaming about. Just the sensation of it lingered, the tingling in my limbs that proved that panic and anxiety had been a part of my very bones, but nothing more.

Not great, yeah, but, as mentioned, it could've been a lot worse.

All that experience was enough for me to recognize I wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon, so I gave up and fumbled for my crutches. It was still dark outside, so I could bet it was late-ish, but my layers and skill with Total Concentration were enough to keep me warm, so I wasn't too worried about that. For a moment, I considered waking up Zenitsu, but I wasn't distressed enough to need that much reassurance.

I could admit that I'd need help sometimes, yes, but this was a situation I felt confident in my ability to handle. I at least wanted to try first, and I'd wake up Zenitsu in the aftermath if I needed to.

So out into the hallway I went, careful not to make too much of a racket in the process. My prosthetic would've been better for stealth, now that I'd thought about it, but I was already down the hall so it wasn't worth the effort to go back.

I liked Butterfly Manor at night. Tucked away in the middle of nature, it was serene in a way I'd never been able to experience back in my old world. The moonlight was gentle over the halls and gardens, and there were plenty of stars up above—though there was enough of a paler edge to the darkness that I could tell dawn would arrive sometime soon. I decided to wander about until sunrise, and so I started, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with the main state of emergency long having passed.

Except as I rounded the corner of the main residence, I saw a light on in a window of the extra building. Most of the time I'd been in there, it had been for rehab and training purposes, but there wasn't much of a need for those things anymore. The polite thing to do would be to leave it be and continue my walk, but that made one very critical, very large error in its logic:

That being that I was a nib-shit at heart, and I was already making a beeline for the light. I mean, who the heck would be up in the middle of the night at Butterfly Manor of all places?

Yeah, defeating the demons had me looking for excitement in some silly af places.

Once more trying not to make a racket with my crutches, I swung my way across the yard in a beeline. Peeking into the window was no doubt a bit creepy, but I couldn't be blamed for taking a short look on my way past? No, that didn't sound all that great, either; it had to be best to let it go—except, there was the sound of loud laughter that answered my question right away.

After all, both Rengoku and Uzui alike had pretty distinctive voices, and even more distinctive volume levels at that.

"What the heck are you two even doing here, though?"

And since I knew them, it wasn't that weird to knock on the window, right? Whoops, too late on that one. It took me a couple of blinks for my eyes to adjust back to the lamplight, but I did manage to notice both tense up a moment (those old battle instincts weren't going anywhere, and these were Hashira at that) before they relaxed. Rengoku's usual smile widened as he bounded towards the window to open it up, and Uzui's mouth widened into a grin I had hazy memories of from the time I'd been dragged into the Hashira's drinking party.

"Rairi, my friend!" Rengoku half-shouted at me, bringing the heavy aroma of alcohol with it. It seemed the Eyepatch Hashira Duo had chosen to share a bottle or two, which explained why they were still up, I supposed. "You're up rather late!"

"I could say the same about you, Rengoku-san." Uzui tipped back another choko cup, just proving my point all the more. "I didn't know you two were here, though. When did you even get in?"

"Earlier tonight! I came to visit young Kamado since I'd heard he woke up, and I managed to cross paths with Uzui on the way!" Oh, man, my ears were already ringing, but there was something kind of comforting about it? I'd have to dissect if that was a good or bad thing later. "We decided to share a drink since we were arriving late." Rengoku's eye lit up in excitement, and I already had a bad feeling about what was coming next. "You should join us!"

"Yeah, yeah, we haven't shared a drink in ages," Uzui said, looking way too hyped to have fresh meat for their little get together. "You can throw back a couple, right, Kuwajima? You gotta let loose every now and then."

Now, I'd had just the one prior drinking experience and it had been…well, a mess would be a generous assessment. I couldn't even remember most of the night, and I'd woken up with a nasty hangover the next morning that I'd survived just because Kochō had left us medicine and Kaigaku—

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on! Don't go cryin' just 'cause I picked on you a little."

"Uzui is right, Rairi, my friend! Last time, you drank much more than a lot of people would be able to handle."

"That's not what I'm crying about, you knuckleheads," I said, wiping away the tears that had started to form. They couldn't have known about my nightmare or the fact that I was in a vulnerable state, even without alcohol in them. Still, it wasn't like me to tear up over every little thing, and I didn't feel like starting. If Zenitsu knew I'd started crying and hadn't gone to him for help, I'd be in for another tongue-lashing. "But alright, I'll bite. Rengoku-san, I don't have my prosthetic on, so can you help me up?"

Maybe asking for help was a bit too late, seeing as I was already in the process of sliding my crutches in through the window. "Right!" Rengoku (now all the way) shouted into my ear, trying his best to lean the crutches against the wall, just for them to clatter to the tatami mats instead. He blinked at them as Uzui laughed, then decided that lifting me up and through the window was the bigger priority. With a bit of finagling, I got through to the other side without any incident.

Good. Even if Yushirō had also moved on from Butterfly Manor, the memory of his past scolding was enough.

Having gotten me into some awkward half-carry with his arms under my shoulders, Rengoku paused. "It seems I've gotten myself into a predicament. Rairi, my friend, I can't get your crutches this way."

"It's okay, just sit me down with you." I wasn't planning on going anywhere, anyways, and I could just imagine how much worse my balance would be with some sake in me. "Be careful, though. It'd be a shame to ruin the celebration about Tanjirō-kun by me getting hurt again." Zenitsu would break down anxiety crying, and I'd like to prevent that whenever I could, please.

Lucky enough, Rengoku seemed to have a much better handle on his physical faculties while he was tipsy (drunk? It was hard to tell the difference with that man) than I did. While we'd dealt with my unconventional entrance, Uzui had already procured another choko and filled it up for me.

Now, I couldn't say I was in love with the taste of alcohol. Sake in particular was some strong stuff—way more than the small sips of wine or beer my grandmother had let me try once upon a time—and I wondered how people could act like they enjoyed it. But I didn't quite hate it, either, so I wasn't against having a social drink or two. If nothing else, I wasn't going to get plastered on accident thanks to Mitsuri—

I threw back the choko with a grimace that was half from the memories, half from the taste of it. Rengoku nodded his approval, while Uzui whooped, coming closer to throw an arm over my shoulder. "Not bad, not bad. I thought so whenever you went ahead and gave Shinazugawa hell back at the Hashira meeting, but you have plenty of potential to be flashy. I approve!"

Was that his personal metric for rating people? "Man, what an anime thing to do," I said, not even having the excuse of any alcohol setting in my system for sassing off. Then again, with Muzan gone, it seemed a little silly to hold the Hashira on such a high horse, so who cared? Rengoku and Uzui blinked at the unfamiliar word, and I wondered if I was about to cause some sort of disaster. Ah, well, they already knew the basics of my situation, Rengoku in particular, so no need to fuss. "It's what we call the type of story you guys were from in my world. It's full of all sorts of weirdos like you."

Well, considering that I'd survived to the end, I counted among that number, too, but they didn't need to know that.

"I see!" Rengoku said, sounding delighted at the concept. "Before, we were so focused on trying to change the future Shimizu my girl—" Uzui had refilled my choko in the meantime, and I downed it half in memory, half in an attempt to ease the pain before it could settle in "—knew about that we didn't get to ask much more questions than that. So, are you saying there are more stories like ours?"

"I mean, in terms of genre, yeah." Kimetsu was just one big name in a waterfall of series, and the number of big shōnen were even more notable. If every series just so happened to be a real world someone could stumble into, I had the right to be worried. Maybe I should've looked into why I'd been brought here, just so I could avoid getting dumped into another isekai situation one-hundred percent blind. "I don't know them all, though! Like, I knew this world existed, but there were way too many for me to see them all. I don't even remember half of the ones I went through, so don't badger me about it, either!" Adjusting to a whole new world had kinda rewrote my important memories.

Rengoku hummed. "That's fine! Though I will admit the idea is fascinating. If it weren't for everything Shimizu my girl had done, I would've had a hard time believing it myself. I'm very grateful for the both of you."

Whenever Rengoku of all people became subdued, you knew things were serious, and all I could do was nod. I still hadn't reconciled all of it; Shimizu had all the knowledge, but even she'd written she wouldn't have been able to do much without my help. Both of us had been needed to change the story of Kimetsu for the better, and yet…

I was the one that survived.

"Enough, enough. Stop being so depressing you two." Uzui pointed a finger at each of us, scowling all the while. "It's not flashy at all! How are we supposed to call this a celebration if you keep bringing up this shit?" He threw back his own choko and slammed it down onto the tatami mats. "We're all alive, aren't we? And the Kamado kid is okay now, too. No amount of bitching is going to bring anyone back, and I'm sure most of them would want us to be happy, dammit. So drink and laugh and tell silly stories and start to move the fuck on."

Considering I was just tipsy, I wasn't about to blame Uzui for being less than considerate while he had gone through a lot of alcohol before I'd even gotten there. And, well, he had a point. Shimizu-chan had said as much in her letters, and Mitsuri was so sweet that I couldn't imagine her begrudging anyone the right to happiness. Sensei had gone through all the work to make sure Zenitsu and I would inherit after him, despite not being his blood children, and Kaigaku…

Well, Kaigaku would've kicked my ass if I moped around for too long. I knew that much.

"Uzui does have a point," Rengoku said, looking beyond pleased with himself for coming to that conclusion. In agreement, I nodded along. "If we're celebrating, though, it's just fair that we celebrate the one who helped us, don't you think?"

And Uzui was back to that shit-eating grin that I didn't like at all, and the feeling just intensified as he poured me another drink. "I agree, with style! Kuwajima, you get to be the guest of honor, which means you need to drink more!"

I laughed, holding up my hands in a futile gesture. "I don't know if I'd go that far…"

"Yoohoo!" called a voice as the shoji door slid open. Upon looking up, it was all three of Uzui's wives, and they had brought what looked to be numerous bentō and bottles with them. "We're back with food and more drinks!"

"Perfect timing, we were just about to make Kuwajima throw down—"

By the time I woke up the next afternoon, I was, once again, hung over, but at least the feeling of my nightmare had left me altogether.

Lucky enough for Zenitsu and I, we weren't in any sort of rush to get back home. Yes, there were things to do, but none of them were urgent, so we could afford to hang around to visit with Tanjirō and Nezuko for a while. And, since we were close by, I considered that a perfect opportunity to visit Kiriya.

In a subversion of the current norm, Zenitsu wasn't the one to carry me to the former Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters. It wasn't that he wouldn't, but that he was much more helpful than I was when it came to helping Tanjirō get on his feet. Instead, Rengoku was my ferry this time around, which took a little adjusting on my part since he was much larger than Zenitsu, but it wasn't the worst situation. And Rengoku was talkative as usual, so it wasn't a boring trip in the slightest.

"So, like, what are we calling this place now?" I asked as the walls of the former Headquarters came into view. Rengoku made a questioning sound that made it clear I could continue. We'd slowed down to a walking pace, so there wasn't any risk of me biting my tongue or anything. "I mean, it's not Corps HQ anymore, right? Calling it 'former Headquarters' is a mouthful, so I was just wondering if we'd come up with anything better yet."

Rengoku nodded, the motion so enthusiastic I had to lean out of the way so as not to get bonked in the nose. "Quite right! Though this place has been Headquarters for centuries, it seems it was the home of the Ubuyashiki family long before then. So the proper name would be to call it Ubuyashiki Manor! Though I'm sure most of us will be tongue-tied for quite some time."

In response to Rengoku's almost (emphasis on almost) sheepish smile, I gave him one of my own. With big changes like the one we were going through, there was always a bit of lag before your mind caught up with reality. "…If that's the case, Kiriya and their sisters will be staying here, then?" It was their birthright, I supposed, but my heart couldn't help but ache a bit at the idea of three children in the single digits living in that big place all alone.

"It seems that will be the case, yes. Though I've heard a number of former Corps members will be staying on to help manage the estate." Well, who else would be better suited to that than a group of people who had already worked at the place for so long? While developing my mentorship program, I'd met a handful of the staff, and they were pretty nice people. "We Hashira also talked among ourselves and agreed to take turns stopping by. We can't just let Oyakata-sama's children fend for themselves."

It would've been a pretty sweet sentiment if most of the Hashira weren't any older than their early twenties, but there was no point in bringing that up. It was far better than no support, I'd give it that. Besides, I had just turned twenty myself and was throwing my hat into the ring, so I had no room to criticize anyone else on the matter.

I just need to make sure I get better soon. It'll be a lot easier to visit Kiriya if I can run there myself.

"It's a shame you didn't come this way sooner, though, Rairi my friend," Rengoku said, at last approaching the entrance. "We former Hashira had gathered here. It would have been nice for you to see everyone!"

"Oh no, what a shame…" Considering that the surviving Hashira happened to include Shinazugawa—who I'd given an earful when sharing Shimizu's notes—and Himejima—who'd helped raise Kaigaku, and that was a can of worms I wasn't ready to process in the slightest—I was fine with missing out on that. Rengoku, who had zero sense for recognizing sarcasm, didn't notice my tone at all, and instead just continued to the front porch. "Do you mind letting me down here, Rengoku-san? I should be good to walk after a minute."

"Of course! Take your time."

With some stretching and well-timed breathing, I was ready to head further into Ubuyashiki Manor. Having stayed there for a bit while working on my mentorship program, I sorta could navigate the place without getting lost, so I wasn't all the way useless! Even so, Rengoku happened to have a better sense of direction than I did, so it didn't matter too much.

The place did feel a little quiet, though; I couldn't deny that.

In time, we made it to the back garden, which was a common place for the Hashira to convene when the weather permitted it. With spring settling in, the smell of wisteria was as strong as ever. Spring was coming in, making it perfect weather to start to enjoy some tea, which was just what Kiriya had been planning.

"Rairi-san!" they said, offering a wave upon recognizing me. While they hadn't done any of their makeup, they were wearing their more elaborate purple kimono that made them look beyond elegant, almost a dead ringer for their mother when the color of their hair was put aside. "I'm glad you made it safe. Traveling here wasn't too difficult, was it?"

"Nope, not at all. Rengoku-san here was an excellent escort." Rengoku puffed out his chest in pride, and I patted him on the shoulder as thanks. Afterwards, I eased myself down the step off the porch before making my way across to the table. "You're looking good, too, Kiriya." Considering everything they'd gone through, I'd been worried they wouldn't be okay for a long time.

Their precious smile washed away most of my concerns, which was good. Kiriya, Kanata, and Kuina all needed to just be kids. "I'm just glad we were able to see each other so soon. Kyōjurō, would you like to join us? There's plenty to go around."

Yeah, I wasn't going to get used to such a small kid throwing around everyone's given names anytime soon. Like most things, Rengoku didn't seem to mind, though he did shake his head. "I'm honored by the invitation, but I will pass for today. After all, Kiriya-sama, did you not want to have time to speak with Rairi alone?" Kiriya ducked their head, and I just sipped at my tea, pretending not to notice the red tinting the tips of their ears. Kids could be so embarrassed about expressing their true feelings. "I will occupy myself. Rairi my friend, please come and find me whenever you're ready to return to Butterfly Manor!"

"Will do, Rengoku-san." With that settled, Rengoku wandered off (perhaps to go raid the manor's kitchen? That man could eat), leaving just me and Kiriya. Not wanting to stand on ceremony, we made small talk for a bit. Tanjirō was an obvious subject of conversation, but I was determined to not make our entire lives cycle around all that messy Canon stuff, so we chatted about other things. I let Kiriya know about how my recovery was going and some of the plans that Zenitsu and I were discussing for the Thunder Estate, and Kiriya told me about the staff members they were getting to know better and how they'd been trying out some other hobbies.

You know. Like a normal kid.

Of course, we couldn't avoid the big stuff forever. Kiriya was still the head of the Ubuyashiki estate, which meant they wanted to make sure all the Corps members and their families got their due. A lot of that work was happening, yes, but there were going to be ripples for a long time to come. Zenitsu and I still had to deal with the inheritance process from Sensei, and Kiriya had way too large of a sense of duty for someone their age. Hence, they asked me a lot of my opinions on how I thought the plans for reparations were in terms of quality, and I gave my best advice while throwing up the big disclaimer that I was no expert in those sorts of things at all.

Sheesh. You run one mentorship project, and next thing you know you're some kind of expert on logistical matters. But I couldn't turn down any request from Kiriya, so I'd do my best. "Just be sure not to push yourself too hard, okay?" I said, and Kiriya gave me their utmost attention, which I was starting to get used to. "You can let everyone else take care of this stuff, you know. Knowing Oyakata-sama, I doubt he would've hired anyone to the core staff that would cause trouble for you."

Oyakata-sama—Ubuyashiki Kagaya—had that sort of energy to him, as if he could understand everything about you by being in your presence. It was, I had to admit, a little unnerving. But after talking to him about the details of his final plan as well as Shimizu's notes, I felt certain he wanted success for every single person in the Demon Slayer to meet success, no matter how impossible a dream that was.

And, well, if anyone did try to cause trouble for Kiriya, I—along with all of the Hashira—would kick their ass.

"…Yes, I'm sure that's true," Kiriya said, their voice calm and steady. I'd met Oyakata-sama a mere handful of times, but, in that moment, Kiriya carried the exact same level of grace as their father. And then, all of that crumpled, leaving just a small child who let their shoulders slump and fall into my side. "Otō-sama…we've done it."

We've made a world that's safe from demons.

I put my arm around Kiriya's shoulder, giving an extra squeeze for comfort. They grasped onto the side of my kimono. It was funny; I'd long gotten used to comforting Zenitsu, who cried in giant bursts of emotion, sobbing and snot everywhere. With Kiriya, who was much more reserved and quiet, it almost seemed like there was nothing at all I could do, though I knew that wasn't true.

Sometimes, you just needed to sit there with someone while you cried, and that was plenty enough.

So I sat there, letting Kiriya process their feelings until they sat up a little bit straighter and wiped their eyes. Sure, they still sniffled a little, but I could tell they were finished for the time being. And as their self-proclaimed guardian figure, it was my job to help them do something fun. That was the sort of thing that Jaden would've done for me, that Mitsuri had mentioned to me in her letters while she told me stories of caring for her younger siblings.

And, hey—I may not have been an elder sibling before, but I'd been a senpai, and that experience had to count for something, right?

"You know, I heard a while ago from Mitsuri-san that the town nearby has some super good desserts," I said, standing up and offering Kiriya my hand. "Why don't we go get some tea and try them out?"

At long last, it felt like we'd earned the right to face forward and walk into a brand new tomorrow.

[Author's Notes]

Week three energy! This was a shot that had its plot partway determined by the Canon timeline with Tanjirō waking up, then the rest came down to prompts. Rengoku as Hierophant and Uzui as Emperor works pretty well, plus I got to have them being drunk dumbasses (which makes writing them even harder lol). And of course Kiriya just made sense, so I had to include them.

Thanks going out to sleepinglionzz32 and YashaEverWatcher for the fav and follows on the og walk steady, and bonus thanks to the couple of folks who have followed me in general this past week; you're all very cool.

I will now take this time to gush about the current anime season, because I finally caught up yesterday - and I got to watch it live with beta Noiz, since I'm visiting them at the moment! I love Mitsuri, holy crap. I know I have no one else but myself to blame, but I want to write more Mitsuri content one day (I swear I'll do it!). Looking forward to the Swordsmith finale tomorrow, though, it's gonna be good.

This week's [Twelve Shots of Summer] shout out is to beta Punk Trash Noiz, who has been working on House of the Dragon content! Their week two one shot is called "before the heart tree," and I'm sure giving it some love will encourage them as they keep typing their week three entry on the couch beside me.

Next Saturday: April, featuring the prompts "VI-Lover" and "VII-Chariot." Please look forward to it!

[06.17.2023]