The Kamado's spent the rest of the Selection in relative peace. After Tanjuro had released his Demonic aura, all other Demon's and participants avoided their area like the plague. "I guess everyone felt you release your presence Dad. Now everyone is too scared to come near us" Nezuko said, cleaning her blade. "At least we just have to focus on surviving now. Hey Father, you should probably change back now, otherwise if any Candidates do run into us, they might try to kill you. Not that it would work" Tanjiro advised. "Right" Tanjuro agreed, focusing as his appearance changed back to his human one.
"There must be a reason that your Demonic aura is so strong Father. I mean, you've never even eaten a human" Tanjiro pondered. The Kamado Patriarch looked down in though, as his children ate some small animals they'd managed to catch and cook. "I don't know either. But Miss Kanae told me that this would happen because my aura was so strong. It's good for us at the moment, but won't be when we go on Missions. After all, we can't just let the Demons who kill and eat people go. They could come back later and eat people when we weren't there" Tanjuro replied. "You know, Final Selection isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
That'll probably change when we start taking actual Missions" Nezuko said. "True" Tanjiro agreed. Then he frowned, "hey Father, do you think Mom will wake up soon? What if she never does?" he asked. "I'm sure your Mother will wake up. She's not eating anything, so she's probably getting energy from somewhere else" Tanjuro replied. "But what about you Dad? You're not eating anything either. And you haven't been hungry at all since becoming a Demon. So where are you getting your energy from?" Nezuko asked in confusion.
"I don't know. But I'm still not hungry now. To be honest, this body doesn't feel any different than when I was human. Except for the fact that I'm not sick anymore" Tanjuro replied. "Well, we can talk about this later. For now, let's finish up here and become Demon Slayers" Tanjiro said. The other two agreed, and after 7 days had passed, Tanjuro reigned in his Demonic presence, shape-shifted back into his human form and they exited the forest. Soon, the Demon, his 13-year-old Son and 12-year-old daughter stood at the top of the stairs again, four other people stood with them.
"Only 7 of us? But there were so many before" Tanjiro said sadly. After the twins explained how they would get their Swords, the three Kamado's headed home. "At least we get a chance to rest before we start Missions" Nezuko said. "Yeah, I mean, we didn't have to deal with too many Demons on the mountain because of you Father, but that won't be the case when we start working as Demon Slayers. It's good that we get time to prepare" Tanjiro agreed. "I hope everyone is okay at Urokodaki's. Rokuta might be crying without you Father. He's only 3-years-old after all" Nezuko said.
"Then let's hurry and get home. I'm sure everyone is alright, but, I just want to make sure" Tanjuro said.
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They got back to Urokodaki's by nightfall, and Tanjiro smiled, "I can't wait to see everyone. I hope they didn't give Mr Urokodaki too much trouble" he said. Suddenly Kie ran out of the house. The three Kamado's froze, shocked. The other Demon hadn't woken up for a whole year, now she was suddenly awake?! "Mom!" Tanjiro and Nezuko cried at the same time. The Demon woman turned to look at them from the bottom of the hill. Suddenly Tanjuro was racing down the hill, "Kie!" he cried, tears in his eyes.
The two Demons ran into each others arms, holding onto each other like their lives depended on it. "I was so worried about you!" Tanjuro sobbed, gently running his clawed hands through his Wife's hair, as his children ran down to them as well. "Mom!" Tanjiro cried, as he and Nezuko both hugged her with tears in their eyes. Tanjuro hugged Kie and his Son and Daughter close, his arms wrapped around all of them, 'I swear I'll protect all of you. No matter what!' he thought. Kie hummed contentedly through her bamboo muzzle, trying to hug all three of them at once.
"We were so scared Mom! We thought you were gonna die!" Tanjiro wailed, while Nezuko sobbed softly. Kie, like a true Mother, knelt down and gently wiped away her children's tears with her thumbs, being mindful of her claws. She hummed soothingly at them until both of her children were calm enough to stop crying, then she hugged them close again. Tanjuro smiled proudly. His Wife had come so far since becoming a Demon. After everything they'd been through, it was no wonder that Tanjiro and Nezuko collapsed into unconsciousness due to their relief. Kie picked up both of them and carried them inside the house, as though they were both as small as Rokuta.
Tanjuro sighed, thanking Hinokami that his family was safe, before following her inside.
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Once she'd put Tanjiro and Nezuko to bed, Kie turned to him and wrapped her arms around him. Tanjuro sighed, having missed his Wife so much over this past year. He pushed her back gently, to look over her face. Kie's light purple eyes were as vacent as ever, but he could still tell that she knew who he was, and recognised their children. Tanjuro kissed Kie's forehead lovingly, since her mouth was blocked. His Wife hummed happily, closing her eyes, before pulling her Husband into her arms.
"I've missed you Kie. I'm so glad that you're alright Love" Tanjuro whispered, closing his eyes as he listened to Kie's pleased hums as he ran his claws through her hair. His family was all here, and safe and alive. Not for the first time he thanked Hinokami for that blessing. Kie yawned through her muzzle, rubbing her eyes. "Are you tired again Love? You can sleep. I'll be here when you wake up Kie" Tanjuro promised, as the two Demons went to sleep next to their children. As they did, Urokodaki entered the house with fresh firewood, nearly dropping it as he saw the whole family sleeping soundly together.
"You all came back alive! Thank God!" he whimpered as he tried to hold back his tears. The old man quickly put down the firewood, and sat down heavily, watching the family sleep for a moment, just to ensure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Little Rokuta, the child he'd had the most trouble with since Tanjuro had left for Final Selection woke up and sleepily looked around. "Papa" the 3-year-old muttered as he saw his Father, crawling over to where he and his Mother slept together. Rokuta crawled into his Father's arms, snuggling into the (surprisingly clean) purple Kimono, clutching it in his tiny fists.
Tanjuro subconsciously wrapped an arm around the toddler, murmuring in his sleep. Come to think of it, since when did the male Demon sleep? Urokodaki wondered. After another moment of staring at the family, the masked Trainer walked over to his own bed, deciding to speak to Tanjuro tomorrow. The said Demon smiled in his sleep, his whole family around him.
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The next morning, Tanjuro helped Urokodaki cook breakfast for his children. "So, all three of you passed the Final Selection I see" the older man decided to start the conversation. "Yes Sir, we did. Were my children well behaved while we were gone?" Tanjuro replied. "Rokuta was upset that you weren't here, and refused to leave his Mother's side the whole time. He also didn't stop crying until Kie woke up and calmed him down" Urokodaki explained. Tanjuro winced, "I apologise for Rokuta's behaviour" he said. The older man shook his head, "no need for apologies. Rokuta is a young Toddler.
He can't be expected to stay calm while his Parents aren't around" Urokodaki waved off the apology. Tanjuro looked down. Rokuta would be three years old this year. Once again, so thankful that his children weren't at home on that night. He could have lost everything so easily that night. If he were the only one left after that attack, Tanjuro wasn't sure he would have been able to keep his sanity. Because his family was alive, he had a reason to keep going. To protect his children and become human again. Even if he died afterwards. They would still have their Mother. For now he had more time with them, which he was grateful for.
But at the same time, he didn't want to live like this forever. All living things were born, lived and died. He was meant to die that night no matter what. Children were supposed to outlive their parents, no the other way around. Tanjuro looked over his children as they ate dinner. The door was open to let in breeze and sun. Tanjuro basked in it, as he saw his Wife peeking around the bedroom door, hiding from the sun. Tanjuro frowned, sad that Kie couldn't join them, even if it was only to sit and watch. It was really unfair that, while they were both Demons, he was the only one with sunlight immunity.
"Tanjuro, Tanjiro, Nezuko, your Swords should arrive in a month's time. Make sure you all keep training until then. None of you were injured during Final Selection, so you have no excuse not to restart your training in a couple of days. I will give you some time to rest though, so savour it while you can" Urokodaki said. "Yes Sir" Tanjuro replied calmly. "Can we spend some time with our Siblings first? I've been away for a while after all" Nezuko asked. "You can do that during your rest days. As Demon Slayers, you can't let yourselves become rusty" The masked man replied.
"Alright" Tanjiro agreed. After Breakfast, Tanjiro and Nezuko played with their younger Siblings, while Tanjuro played with Rokuta. "Ho'rsy!" the 2-year-old squealed as his Father carried him around on his back, running around the outside of the house. Nezuko, who had stopped to help Urokodaki with the dry washing giggled at her Father and youngest Brother. "Rokuta really loves Dad, doesn't he?" Hanako asked with a smile. "Yeah. I'm glad things turned out like this" Nezuko agreed. Hanako sat down, deciding to help Urokodaki and her Older Sister fold the washing. Nezuko turned to look at her little Sister. The little girl was only 8, but she would bee the oldest Sister when she went on Missions.
Hanako had always been very mature for her age, but she still couldn't help but worry about her. About all of them. After being gone for a year, and coming back to find all of her younger Siblings alive and perfectly fine, her fear had decreased some. But still- Nezuko shook her head, no. Everyone was fine, and would continue to be fine. She couldn't let herself spiral again.
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Over the next month, the Kamado's alternated between spending time with their family and training. Except for Tanjuro. The Hinokami Kagura was ingrained into him, and he didn't need to train. But he did keep as active as he could, running around the mountain, dodging all of the traps set up around the place, relishing in the fact that he could do so. Then, one day, Tanjiro smelled a new scent that was like sunlight and metal. "That would be your Swordsmith" Urokodaki told them. Tanjuro clenched his fists in determination, as he shape-shifted into his human form. This was it!