On the same day Mukago found Daki, a commotion occurred at the Butterfly Estate that raised the attention of Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Kanao, and Nezuko as they all trained in the morning together. "Let go of me! Please, put me the Hell down!"

Inosuke asked, "Was that Aoi?"

"Holy shit," Zenitsu remarked. "You got a name right for once."

"Hey, what the Hell's that supposed to mean, Monitsu?!"

"That was Aoi," Kanao realized as she ran over to see why was going on, with Nezuko and then Tanjiro following suit. "Aoi! Aoi!"

When all three of them reached the front gate of the Butterfly Estate, they found Tengen Uzui, the Sound Pillar, hoisting a panicking Aoi and Naho up in the air in an upside-down position. "Well, well, look who else showed up."

Sumi and Kiyo both begged Tengen to put Aoi and Naho down, telling him altogether, "Don't take Aoi-oneechan and Naho-chan!"

Naho screamed in fear, "Put me down, please!"

Aoi yelled in anger as she kicked her legs in the air, "Put me the fuck down right now!" She then looked up and yelled, "Kanao! Tanjiro! Nezuko! Literally anyone! Help!"

Kanao froze in place, trying to decide whether or not to override Tengen or let him take Aoi. "Uh… I…" She thought to herself, "Do I defy a Pillar's orders… Or do I save my sister and Naho… Damn it, I need to decide!" She almost reached for her coin in one of her pockets, but halted in place before retracting her arm. "Now isn't the time for that stupid coin," she thought to herself. "Something has to happen now!"

"Damn it, someone help me!"

Kiyo shouted, "Don't take them from us, Uzui-sama!"

"Quiet down," Tengen told them all. "I won't do anything ba-"

Suddenly, just as Tanjiro and Nezuko were about to raise a verbal protest, Kanao raced over and grabbed a hold of Tengen's arm, shocking everyone. As she tugged on his arm, she looked up at him and told him, "Let. Them. Go!"

"Ka- Kanao…" Tengen was shocked to see her act so brazenly.

Tanjiro added onto Kanao's orders with, "You heard her. Let them go."

Nezuko agreed, demanding, "I don't care if you're a Pillar. You're not leaving this place with Aoi-oneechan and Naho-chan!"

Tengen, realizing he was making no progress, sighed and put both Aoi and Naho down on the ground. "Okay, we need to talk. I'm gonna explain why I was about to have these two come with me. I need some female corps members to come with me for a mission."

Aoi angrily asked him, "Then why the fuck did you take Naho with you?! She's too young to be a slayer!"

Tengen admitted, "True. I didn't necessarily think of that."

"Didn't think of tha-?!"

"Aoi-neesan," Kanao told her with a pat on the shoulder. "Calm down. We'll figure this out, okay?"

"I could still take you," Tengen then said as he pointed to Aoi. "You don't look too strong, but you are a slayer on paper at least."

"Well, I…" Aoi paused as she tried and failed to formulate a response, a wave of self-consciousness crashing into her regarding her status as an offline demon slayer. "I… Um…"

Inosuke and Zenitsu then ran over to see what had happened. The former asked Aoi, "Hey, Aoi, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied to Inosuke. "I'm fine now that I'm not being literally kidnapped."

Zenitsu ran up to Aoi and asked her in a fast string of questions, "Aoi, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Where did he hurt you? What did he want?"

"I'm fine," she insisted to him. "I'm not hurt, Zenitsu. Calm down."

Tanjiro asked Tengen, "If you need people to go with you, I'll go!"

"Well," Tengen pointed out. "I need female corps members because I need people to be disguised as several oiran in training to infiltrate Tokyo's Red Light District and find an Upper Moon."

Aoi yelled, "Oiran?! Red Light District?! Upper Moon?!"

"Then I'll go," Nezuko offered immediately. "I'm exactly what you need, Uzui-sama! I'm a female corps member and I can easily blend in!"

"Hang on, hang on," Tanjiro interjected out of concern for his sister. "Nezuko… You know what an oiran is, right?"

"Yes," Nezuko sighed. "I know what an oiran is, oniichan. If I have to be disguised as a prostitute of some kind in the Red Light District of Tokyo, I'll do it for the corps."

"But-"

"No buts," she interrupted her brother with. "I'll do whatever I must to help defeat Muzan and the Twelve Demon Moons. I knew what I signed up for, oniichan, and so did you."

Zenitsu asked Nezuko out of some concern, "Nezuko… Are you suggesting you'll be a pros-"

"No," Nezuko shot him down almost immediately. "I just said I'll dress up as one, not start selling my body like one."

"Enough of this arguing," Tengen then said to the whole group. "Look, I'll take all four of you, okay? I'll figure something out for the Kamado brother, Agatsuma, and Hashibira. Does that sound good?"

Tanjiro looked at Zenitsu, Inosuke, and then Nezuko, all of whom nodded in agreement. "Okay, we're in, Uzui-sama!"

"Hey guys," James then said as he ran into the Butterfly Estate from outside. "Sorry I'm late. I had to help a guy whose carriage broke down on the road. What did I miss, Uzui-san?"

"Nothing important," he assured him with a slight grin. "We got our group."

"Alright, who is it?"

"The Kamado siblings, Agatsuma, and Hashibira."

"Huh?" James was deeply confused about why Tengen had chosen three men and a woman when he needed an all-female group. "Uh… Y'all do realize that group isn't all-female like you wanted it to be, right?"

"We'll make do with it, Colby," Tengen replied to him. "I have ways of making the three young men in our group look like women." He then turned to Nezuko and asked her, "Hey, Nezuko, do you have experience with any kind of makeup?"

"Uh… Not really? I mean, I know what it is, but I haven't really used it…"

"Well you're gonna get a crash course in it, as are the three boys in your group."

…

Later that day, Tanjiro packed his things and said goodbye to Kanao. As he finished packing the last of his supplies into the box he used to carry Nezuko in, he turned to Kanao and told her, "I'll probably be gone a week."

"I'll be right here when you come back, dear," Kanao replied with a warm smile. "Please, stay safe on this mission. If what Uzui-sama said is true, you'll be facing an Upper Moon."

"I know," Tanjiro acknowledged with a solemn nod. "Truth be told, I am somewhat worried. The last time I encountered an Upper Moon, well… You know what happened to Rengoku-san, after all. This time, though, I'm a bit more confident. All of us have improved, and we have two Pillars going with us instead of one. I know for a fact Colby-san won't let a repeat of Rengoku-san's death happen again."

"I hope so," Kanao replied before the two shared a passionate kiss to say goodbye to each other in a physical manner. Once the two split from the kiss, she hugged him and told him, "I love you, Tanjiro."

"I love you, too, Kanao," he said back to her as he returned the hug. He then grabbed his box and hoisted the straps onto his shoulders before tightening them down. "Alright, I'm all set. I'll see you in a week, Kanao."

"Goodbye," Kanao said as he left the room. Once he did, she laid down on the bed he had just been packing on and said to herself, "God, for some reason, I don't feel so good…" She stared at the ceiling as a growing feeling of restlessness and sickness emerged throughout her body. "Ugh…" After about three or so minutes of laying down, she got up and ran out of the room, the feeling finally becoming too much to ignore.

As she passed Naho, the little girl asked her, "Kanao-oneechan, what's wro-?"

Kanao ignored her and raced to the nearby bathroom to find a bucket. Upon doing so, she told Naho, "Hold my hair back! Hold my hair back, Naho!"

Naho ran in and did as told, pulling Kanao's hair back just in time before she coughed several times and then began to vomit inside the bucket. "Fuck… I feel sick…" She then puked again before taking several deep breaths.

"Should I get Tanjiro-oniichan?"

"No," Kanao insisted. "He has a mission he needs to d-" She then threw up for a third time, and once she stopped, she continued with, "Tanjiro has a mission, and he needs to go to it. Go get Shinobu-neesan!"

Aoi then ran in to see what was going on. "Hey, what's going on in he- Kanao?! Kanao, what happened?!"

"I threw up a few times," she replied to her. "I feel better now, but… I've been feeling sick all morning, and I finally let it out."

Aoi, having a hunch that something was up with her, asked her, "Kanao, you and Tanjiro-kun wear condoms when you have sex, right?"

"Yeah," Kanao replied. "Well… A few times, we didn't."

"When was the last time you had sex without one?"

"Uh… I think in Novemb-" Kanao immediately realized what Aoi was implying. "My period is late, too. Aoi-neesan… Am I pregnant?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Aoi replied as she helped Kanao up. "Let's get you dressed in new clothes for now and examine you."

As Aoi led Kanao out of the bathroom, Shinobu also ran towards her. "You've been getting sick too, Kanao?!"

"Wait," Aoi then interrupted Shinobu. "You too?"

"I've been getting sick on and off for the past three days," Shinobu admitted. "I didn't tell anyone, but now that Kanao's getting sick, I'm worried."

Aoi, again having a hunch, asked Shinobu, "Have you and Tomioka-sama had unprotected sex recently?"

Shinobu immediately widened her eyes and replied, "Yeah… We did… Holy shit…"

"Okay, looks like I need to examine both of you, then." Aoi, Shinobu, and Kanao all walked together to an examination room. "If my hunch is correct, both of you are pregnant."

Kanao exclaimed, "Pregnant?!"

Shinobu similarly exclaimed, "Kanao too?!"

"She had unprotected sex with Tanjiro in November at least once," Aoi explained to her.

"Damn it," Shinobu muttered to herself.

Kanao, dealing with a giant wave of emotions from the possibility of carrying her boyfriend's child, asked Shinobu in a fearful tone, "You're… You're not mad, right, nee-san?" She was afraid that due to Shinobu's reaction that she was angry at her for possibly getting pregnant at the age of sixteen.

Shinobu looked at Kanao and assured her, "Kanao, I wouldn't be mad at you for this. Sometimes, things like this happen. Look, I'm only two years older than you, so I don't have much room to judge, okay? Besides, we have too many things to worry about to get mad at each other."

"Alright," Aoi said as she opened the door and allowed Shinobu and Kanao to go in and sit down on an examination table. "Do you want me to run out after Uzui-sama and pass on the message, Kanao?"

Kanao paused briefly to make a decision, wanting to both tell him but also concerned that if she did, he would be distracted for the entire mission. Besides, after all, he did say it would only take a week. After about half a minute of pondering, she came to a decision. "No," Kanao told Aoi. "He'll only be gone a week or so. I'll let him know when he comes back. If it's been more than a week, I'll send a message to him via Kasugai crow."

"Are you sure?"

Shinobu also asked, "Kanao, are you really sure about that? You can use the coin if you're not."

"I'm sure," Kanao insisted with a nod and a slight grin. "I don't need that coin anymore, guys. I can think for myself now."

"Alright," Aoi replied as she began to grab several tools from a cabinet in the room. "You ladies know the drill. Drop your pants, skirts, underwear, whatever you got on below the waist."

…

About ten minutes later, Kanao and Shinobu walked out of the examination room together, both of them with confused looks on their faces. It just so happened that as they did, Giyu was walking around and looking for his girlfriend. "Hey, Shinobu, there you are! I was looking all over for you around he-"

"Giyu," Shinobu interrupted him before taking a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

He immediately stopped in his tracks. "Uh… Say that again?"

Shinobu repeated with more emphasis, "I'm pregnant, Giyu. My period is late and I've been sick for three days."

Giyu immediately walked over to her and gave her a surprise hug. "Ah… I… I see…"

"Is that it? Is that all you have to say?"

Giyu took a deep breath and replied, "Shinobu, I'm doing my best to process this, okay?" He inhaled and exhaled as his thoughts began to race all throughout his mind. "Pregnant… Pregnant… Holy shit… I'll be a father."

Kanao then tugged Giyu's shirt sleeve and told him, "I'm pregnant, too."

Giyu, shocked, turned and replied, "Sh- Sh- Shinobu, I didn't cheat on you, I swea-"

"Tomioka-san," Shinobu interrupted him, amazed that he somehow thought they were implying he was responsible for Kanao's pregnancy. "She's obviously not pregnant from you, idiot! We weren't thinking that! She's pregnant from Kamado-kun!"

"Oh…" Giyu at first breathed a sigh of relief before the realization that Tanjiro had gotten a girl pregnant hit him. When it did, he exclaimed, "Wait, what?!"

"Yes," Kanao confirmed with a slow nod. "Tanjiro is the father of this child."

Giyu, thinking that the two of them were angry at him, said, "I can go talk to him if you want. If you're not happy with this, I can knock some sense into him."

"No, no, no," Shinobu corrected him. "Don't do that! What's done is done, okay? Besides, I know Kamado-kun, and I know he won't walk out on Kanao."

"He won't," Kanao added. "I know in my heart he won't."

"You know," Shinobu then pointed out. "Why did you even think you were the father of Kanao's child?"

Giyu admitted "I was just panicking, okay? This is big news for me, Shinobu."

"Okay," Shinobu then told the two of them. "Everyone, let's just calm down for a minute and process this. I'm pregnant and Kanao is pregnant. We have the supplies and the tools necessary to handle childbirth here, so we should be good. As long as we don't do anything too dangerous, we'll all be fine, okay?" Kanao and Giyu both nodded. "Alright. I'll call the Ubuyashiki Estate to pass on the message. Kanao, tell the Caterpillar Girls."

"Yes," Kanao replied with a bow before walking away to tell Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo the news.

Once she was gone, Giyu surprised Shinobu with a kiss before telling her, "I love you, Shinobu."

Shinobu could not help but smile in return as he placed a hand on her abdomen, the closest he could get to holding their child for now. "I love you, Giyu."

Aoi then emerged from the room to see the couple embracing each other. "Oh, uh… I'll leave you two alone, then. How are you taking this, Tomioka-sama?"

"He's taking it well," Shinobu insisted as the two of them walked into a room together before closing the door to get some privacy. "Don't interrupt us for about half an hour, Aoi!"

Aoi broke out in an intense red blush as she realized what the two of them were about to do together. "Well, that was fast," she thought to herself. "Sex during pregnancy doesn't harm the baby, despite what the old legends may say." She then locked the door from the outside just as Shinobu also locked it from the inside and walked away as she collected herself and calmed down. As she did, the events of the day raced through her mind, with one sentence from Tengen in particular taking up the most space.

"I could still take you. You don't look too strong, but you are a slayer on paper at least."

"Damn it," Aoi muttered to herself before leaning on a wall and making a fist with her right hand. "I need to get stronger. I can't just let others do my job. My bad memories be damned, I need to go online again if it's the last fucking thing I do." She then stormed off and went outside to the backyard of the estate, determined to grab a sword or some other kind of weapon and force her fear out of her. "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…"

As she picked up a spare sword that had been lying around outside, Tengen's words continued to ring through her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she took a fighting stance with the sword, trying her best to ignore the dread and despair she usually felt while using a sword. She then began swinging the sword, silently counting the number of times she did so. After about twenty swings, she quietly began to count out loud, Tengen's words still in her head and still greatly bothering her: "I could still take you. You don't look too strong, but you are a slayer on paper at least."

"Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" Right at thirty swings, she stopped as the feeling of dread became too large to ignore, so she took a breath as she broke out into a cold sweat from fear. "Hah… Hah… Okay, okay… Calm down… There's nobody here to hurt you… Calm the fuck down…" She then began to swing again, counting out loud as well and deciding to do thirty swings and then take a short ten to fifteen second break in between. "Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty!" In her head, she told herself in her thoughts, "Kanzaki Aoi, you will not be weak anymore! You will not be weak anymore! Do you hear me?! The days of staying away from the fighting end now! Just keep swinging the sword!"