May 29, 1913
At the Rengoku Estate, James was swinging his sword around, practicing in the training garden by himself when Senjuro called out to him. "Colby-san,"
the young man told him from the house's back porch. "There's a visitor here for you!"
"Who is it?" James then sheathed his sword.
"A woman from Canada," Senjuro informed him. "Her name is Juliette!"
The name was unfamiliar to him, but he decided to acknowledge it anyway. "I'll be right there," James told him as he ran into the house.
When he reached the front living room, Kyojuro was standing next to a woman in her 40s with moderately dark skin and dark hair. Kyojuro told James in Japanese, "Sadly I don't speak much English, or French for that matter. All we know is that her name is Juliette Desjardins, or at least that's her maiden name."
James extended his hand to Juliette, greeting her in Quebecois French, "Good afternoon, Juliette."
"As to you, James," Juliette replied in French. "My name is Juliette Renaud, or Juliette Desjardins before I was married. I came to Japan because I was searching for you." She then pulled a picture out from her coat pocket. "According to my adoptive parents, this was a picture of my birth mother. Do you recognize her?"
As soon as James looked at the picture, he slipped back into English as his jaw dropped and he stood back in shock. "What the fuck… What the actual fuck?!" The picture Juliette held in front of her was of Alice, James' first love from the 1870s. "Alice?!"
"Darling," Susamaru asked her as she ran in, concerned. "What's wro-?" She stopped as she saw Juliette. "What's going on?"
"Susamaru," James told her in Japanese. "It's about Alice… I think I got a daughter…"
"James," Juliette told him as she then switched to English. "You are my father. You certainly look a lot younger than your age. My adoptive parents did say that according to my mother, you were not a normal person, but still a good man nonetheless."
James slowly approached her, beginning to recognize features that Juliette shared with both him and her mother. "Oh my God… Juliette was a name I passed along to Alice when we were discussing baby names before she got killed… I had no idea she would actually use it!" As tears fell from his eyes, he embraced his now-grown daughter. "I've just met you, yet…"
Juliette was taken aback by how deeply affected James was. "I, um… Well…" She then turned her head and spoke in French to the front door of the Rengoku Estate house, telling whoever was behind it, "Come on in!" As a white man and three children of varying ages stepped forward into the house, Juliette told her father in English, "These are your grandchildren and your son-in-law."
Susamaru asked James, not understanding English or French, "What's going on?"
James turned to her and smiled, telling her, "This is my daughter, Juliette, from Alice. This is her husband and her children, my grandchildren." He then turned to Juliette's children and told them in French, "We have a lot of stuff to go over."
…
Half an hour later, James was talking to his three grandchildren, who were aged 18, 15, and 11, as he showed them his sword. "This sword is forged from an ore called nichirin that can only be found in Japan," he told them all in French. "It absorbs the sunlight and is incredibly strong, allowing us to decapitate demons."
"Our adoptive grandparents used Soleil du Fer in their bullets," the oldest, a boy named Philippe, explained. "Perhaps the ores are the same but have different names in different languages."
"That's what I was thinkin'," James replied with a nod. "My Blood Demon Art allows me to use my blood to cast sunlight-absorbing metal. Perhaps they're all related."
"That sword looks so cool," said the youngest of the trio, a girl named Margot. "It has a red blade, too!"
"Indeed," James replied as he showed them all the color of the blade. "These blades take on a distinct color when their owner first draws them. The color red is associated with the Breath of Flames, which is what me and Susamaru were taught to use."
The middle child, a girl named Véronique, asked James, "Papy, do you still use guns like we do in Canada and the United States?"
"Of course," James affirmed as he pulled out his revolver. "The sword I wield is just another tool in my toolbox. It's made me more effective than ever before in huntin' down those who seek to harm the innocent."
"James," then called Juliette in English. "Can I have a word with you in private?"
"Sure thing," he replied before turning back to his grandchildren, switching back to English as well. "Alright, I gotta go talk to your mom." As he walked back into the house, he asked Juliette, "What's going on?
"I was waiting a bit to ask you this," Juliette explained. "And… Well, I'm not sure how to phrase this, but… It's about Véro, the middle child…"
James was puzzled. "What's up with her? She seems to have a good head on her shoulders, Juliette."
"I know," Juliette nodded. "But… She wants to hunt demons like her adoptive grandparents. I don't want her hunting them in the Americas due to how disorganized it is, but here… She would do good here."
James now got what she was getting at with Véronique. "You want me to take her in and get her into the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Exactly," she affirmed. "She would fare so much better here. Look, I know she can't really speak Japanese too much, but she got some while on the boat ride here. You can help her, right?"
"Yeah," James replied, realizing how serious the request was. "I just… I gotta tell the Rengoku family and my own partner about it. I don't just wanna dump a brand new person on them."
"I heard Rengoku," Kyojuro then added from behind James in Japanese. "What's going on?"
James turned around and explained the situation to him in Japanese. "Pillar Rengoku, my daughter… She is requesting that I take in my granddaughter. Her name is Véronique Renaud. She wants to hunt demons, and Juliette does not want her huntin' 'em in Canada due to how disorganized demon huntin' is in North America. She knows some Japanese, and me and Susamaru-chan can get her up to speed."
"I see," Kyojuro replied. "Does she know how to use any weapons?"
"Yeah," James replied. "According to Juliette, she's fired guns before. She's a good shot, too. I think she'd be a good sword-wielder, too."
Kyojuro nodded, taking a few seconds to think about it. "Well," he then concluded. "I can let you take her under your wing. I won't send her to a Final Selection until she's more prepared, however." He then pulled him in close and whispered a serious warning in James' ear, telling him, "If she dies under our watch, I'm going to commit seppuku, and I expect you and Susamaru to do the same."
…
June 3, 1913
At the Butterfly Estate, James and Shinobu were walking together along the wall that surrounded the complex, talking about the Book of Poisons he had given her two months prior. "That book has been rather helpful," Shinobu told him. "I was able to create those wisteria-coated bullets mentioned in them. You know, I've long believed that all slayers should at least be familiar with how guns work. You never know when you could be attacked by a non-demonic threat, and with your poisoned bullets, we'd be able to make them effective against demons, too."
"Exactly," James agreed with a nod. "Susamaru-chan has been super effective with both a sword and a gun. Besides, didn't you say there are some slayers who aren't too skilled with breathing styles anyway?"
"Yeah," Shinobu admitted. "We've had a few. They say guns are the Great Equalizer where you're from. Well, I think with poisoned bullets, they could be the Great Equalizer for the corps as a whole."
Then, both of them heard a shrieking sound nearby, followed by a man shouting, "YOU FUCKER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Both immediately drew weapons, with Shinobu drawing her sword and James drawing his rifle from behind his back. As they reached the area of the confrontation, they saw that Tanjiro had just dodged being stabbed by the swordsmith Hotaru Haganezuka, whose sword Tanjiro had broken at Mount Natagumo. "How dare you snap my sword in two! You got some fucking nerve, Kamado-san!"
"I swear," Tanjiro begged for his life from the overzealous swordsmith. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to break your sword! Please, I swear! My opponent was super tough!"
"Excuses, excuses, excuses," Hotaru yelled back as he violently poked at Tanjiro multiple times. "It's your fault since you wielded my sword! You must have been a fucking weakling!" He once again drew his long knife, ready to strike again. "I already told you before, asshole! I'm gonna fucking kill you!"
As James and Shinobu stopped and put their weapons away, Aoi sighed as she witnessed Tanjiro being chased by Hotaru. "What madness," she said to herself.
Shinobu chuckled. "Is this a new training regimen?"
"I doubt it," James and Aoi both remarked at the same time.
…
In another room, James, Shinobu, Tanjiro, Inosuke, Hotaru, and Kozo all sat down and talked about the new swords. "We've already met, Colby-san," Kozo started off. "But I don't believe I have met you, Kamado-san. I am Kanamori Kozo. By the way, you can trust me when I say that Haganezuka-san is exceptionally passionate about his swords. None of us are like this at the Swordsmith Village."
As Hotaru continued to glare at Tanjiro, he asked him, "Are you sure?"
"Completely," Shinobu confirmed. "Many of them are still passionate about sword-making, but not to that level."
"Anyway," Hotaru continued. "I forged the swords for Hashibira Inosuke. I've only forged for a dual-wielder once before, and that was for your partner."
"Oh yeah," James then remembered. "I forgot to mention. Me and Susamaru are now in a close relationship. We're more than work partners now."
Shinobu beamed, "Awww, that's so sweet. I'm glad you two are close like that."
"I'm not surprised," Tanjiro replied. He then turned to Inosuke. "As for you, Inosuke-kun, I'm glad to see you got new swords that aren't chipped! I bet you're happy!"
Inosuke ignored him, and instead stood silent in the doorway to the outside as his swords began to glow a gray hue in the sunlight. "How interesting," Kozo said. "I love that nice gray hue. I'm glad to see Hashibira-san got one on his new swords." Again, Inosuke ignored him, and instead stood up, walking outside to grab a rock. "Inosuke?"
James asked, "What's he doing?" As he did, Inosuke raised the rock up into the sky.
Then, in a rhythmic fashion, he began pounding the blade of his first sword with the rock, intentionally chipping it. After the first few hits, everyone yelled out in shock all at once, horrified by his self-inflicted damage to the swords. As Tanjiro and Kozo screamed, James, Hotaru, and Shinobu all shouted, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Immediately, Shinobu and Kozo ran out to try to confront Inosuke angrily, with James and Tanjiro trying to hold them back. Kozo shouted, "You motherfucker, I'm gonna skin you alive! What the Hell is wrong with you?! Hey! Can you fucking acknowledge me?! I'm gonna avenge those swords!"
Shinobu meanwhile dropped her comforting smile completely and became incredibly aggressive, yelling out. "Not if I get to his ass first! I'm gonna spitroast that fucking pig!"
Inosuke looked to both of them, confused behind his mask about why they were so mad, and then continued with the rock, bashing his other sword with it now. Kozo was even more angered by this, shouting out, "That's it, I've had it! You're a dead fucking man, Inosuke, do you fucking hear me! A dead man!" All the while, both James and Tanjiro incessantly apologized to both him and Shinobu as they tried to hold them back from attacking Inosuke.
"You motherfucker," Shinobu yelled at Inosuke as he continued to ignore them. "I'm gonna pump your fucking body full of poison!"
"Calm the fuck down," James urged both of them rather loudly. "Let 'em do what he wants!"
"This doesn't fucking concern you," both Shinobu and Kozo said in unison. "This is between me and that boar!"
"I don't know why they're so pissed," Inosuke thought to himself as he inspected both of his swords. "I prefer having serrated swords anyway. Those guys don't know what they're missing out on."
…
After getting the situation straightened out with Inosuke's swords, which remained chipped, James and Tanjiro talked privately about Nezuko, who was in her box in a corner of the room they met in. Tanjiro started off, asking James, "What do you have in mind for my sister?"
"I've thought about it," James replied. "And though it won't turn her back into no human, it may allow her to slip into human society easier and return to a state similar to where she was before she was attacked by Muzan."
The idea was already tempting for Tanjiro. "I'm interested. What is it?"
"Given that samples of my blood have caused two demons to gain the same abilities that American demons share," James explained as he pulled out a small vial of his own blood. "I want to pose the idea of injectin' your sister with mine."
Tanjiro was conflicted. It would be going back on his promise for Nezuko to never ingest blood or flesh, but it may be a critical step in getting her back to normal. "I see. What would it do to her?"
"Nezuko's timeframe to be turned back into a human may get pushed back," James explained the downsides followed by the upsides. "And it would give her an appetite for blood and flesh. However, it would give her an American appetite, which is much smaller and more geared to animals than humans. If it works, it would allow her to start talkin' again and whatnot, and she could walk in the sun."
Nezuko, who heard her name from within the box, stumbled out of it and crawled out onto the floor before growing back to normal size and walking over. "Mmm… Mmm…" She then petted James' head, causing him to chuckle. "Mmmmm…"
"It sounds tempting," Tanjiro admitted. "But… I can't take the risk of her eating someone. You still do have a taste for human flesh and blood, right?"
"Yes," James admitted with a nod. "It's there, but it's there like there's a desire in every human to be attracted to another person as a potential mate. It's present, but it's not so present that it overrides morality, at least in me. Besides, I can get it the same way Tamayo-san does if I absolutely need it."
"When would you start?"
"Right now," James replied before gently taking a hold of one of Nezuko's hands. "I can have her drink the vial and we can see what happens."
"We'll do one vial now," Tanjiro agreed. He then turned to his sister. "Nezuko, I'm gonna take your muzzle off for a little bit, okay?"
"Mmmm," Nezuko replied happily as Tanjiro loosened her muzzle, allowing it to fall around her neck. She quickly stretched out her mouth and opened it wide, trying to get used to having it open again after so long. "Aaaah…"
"Drink this," James told her. "It's some of my blo-" He was immediately cut off when she swiped the vial from his hand, popped open the cork holding the blood in, and downed the entire thing as if it were a shot of liquor. "Or just down it like a shot, I guess…"
"Mmm," Nezuko said to herself. "Tase… Tase nice…" She could barely speak, having spent so long in a muzzle, but her intentions were clear. "Goo…"
James replied to her, "It's good, right?"
"Alright," Tanjiro told Nezuko as he prepared the muzzle again. "I'm gonna put the muzzle back on."
"Onii-ha," Nezuko then said, shocking Tanjiro and causing him to stop. "Onii-ha… I low you…"
Tanjiro was at a loss for words at Nezuko's simple but powerful words. "Nezuko… I… I love you, too. You're my only family left..." As he put the muzzle back on her mouth, tears began to fall from his eyes and down his face onto her haori. Nezuko noticed him crying, and comforted him by turning around and hugging him, only making him cry harder. "Nezuko, I swear, we're gonna make you better one day if it's the last thing we do!"
"You're God damn right," James replied to him. "Ain't no doubt about it."
