"All of our children are staying at the Love Hashira Estate. They're all fine Shizu. Especially since I have my other Demons guarding the house too" Tanjuro explained as they walked. The Kamado Demon had been able to convince Shizu not to run to the Estate. Barely. So they were walking. His reasoning was that they didn't want to freak out every Demon Slayer in the Headquarters. "We may have been accepted by Kagaya, but that doesn't mean lower level Demon Slayers won't panic if they see us running by" Tanjuro explained to the small Demon woman, who sighed. "I u-under-ssstand" she replied.
"That's also why I'm suppressing my Demonic aura. I am technically a Demon King, and if I didn't supress it, every Demon Slayer and Hashira in the area would be coming to try and kill me by instinct" he said. Shizu cocked her head to the side in confusion, "But we're im-mune to s-s-sunlight. They c-couldn't kill us?" she asked. "True, but do you want to have your head cut off either way? Not that I would let anyone hurt you. You are one of mine now" Tanjuro replied firmly. "M-M-Master" Shizu stuttered, touched. No one had ever protected her before. They arrived at a large pink Estate, and Shizu froze as she heard familiar voices. She looked desperately at Tanjuro, who nodded with a smile. Then she shot off towards the voices. Tanjuro followed at a slower pace.
He wanted to see everyone too, but this was the first time since Shizu had been fully lucid that she was going to see her children. It made sense that she'd be excited. Tanjuro heard happy cries, and as he rounded the corner, he felt a warm smile form on his face. The Shinazugawa children were clutching onto Shizu and sobbing. The small Demon woman was trying to hug all of her children at once. "Daddy!" Hanako and Shigeru called, running to hug him, with two familiar faces with them. "Tanjiro! Nezuko! I didn't know you were back!" Tanjuro called with a bright grin, as his oldest daughter walked over carrying Rokuta in her arms.
"Papa!" Rokuta called, as he took the toddler into his arms. Tanjuro hugged all of his children when they came up to him, a content smile on his face, "I'm so glad that you're all alright. And I was worried about you two the most. Didn't they send you on another Mission?" Tanjuro asked his two oldest children. "We just got back. Good timing, huh Dad?" Nezuko asked with a smile. "Are either of you hurt?" Tanjuro asked in concern. "We're fine Father. We got sent on the same Mission, so we were able to kill the Demon quickly" Tanjiro assured him. Tanjuro sighed and pat both of them on the head's gently, "well, I'm glad you're both alright" he replied.
He glanced back at the house, "how's your Mother?" he asked. "Mom's been asleep since we got here. I know I shouldn't worry, this is how she recovers. But still. When she doesn't open her eyes, I worry a bit" Tanjiro replied with a small frown. 'I'll go check on her" Tanjuro assured them. "Can you watch over the younger kids please?" he asked. "Of course" Tanjiro replied with a smile. Nezuko gained a slightly mischievous look on her face, "we can give you and Mom some alone time Dad" she said, before walking off to join her younger Siblings, "come on Rokuta. Don't you want to play with Koto and Sayuri?" she asked, as the young Demon girl sat nearby on the grass with Yukito, silently watching everyone.
"Yeah! Let's play big Sis!" Rokuta called, getting the black-haired Demon girl's attention. She looked over to See Rokuta running towards her, "let's play!" the boy repeated, grabbing Sayuri's hand. "Oh, but I have to watch over you all. Master said" she replied. "You can play together!" Tanjuro called, making his youngest Demon turn to look at him. He smiled, "just be gentle with Rokuta. Remember, you're a lot stronger and harder to hurt than he is" Tanjuro said. "Yes Sir" Sayuri replied, as she ran off with the youngest Kamado. Tanjuro smiled, and walked inside to see his Wife.
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He was met with Hiro, who smiled at him, "hey Tanjuro. So you're back" the Kanroji said. "Yes, I just got back in fact. I wanted to see how my Wife was doing. I heard that she's been asleep this whole time" Tanjuro said with slight worry in his voice. "Yes she has been. But she's only been asleep, nothing worse" Hiro explained, leading Tanjuro down the hall. "Well, at least she's alright" the Demon muttered, as they entered the bedroom Kie had been given. All the windows were covered up by thick drapes, so no sunlight could get inside. His Wife was sleeping soundly in her Futon, her slow methodical breathing the only thing showing that she was still alive.
Tanjuro entered the room and knelt down beside her. "Hey Kie. I'm back. Don't worry about the children, I'm taking care of them all. You just get as much sleep as you need to heal, okay love?" he asked, stroking her hair back from her forehead with one hand as he held one of her hands gently. "We're working on the cure. Soon, all of us will be humans again. And you can go outside with our children" Tanjuro kissed Kie on the forehead tenderly, wishing that he could turn her back into a human again right now. But Miss Tamayo hadn't finished the cure yet, she still needed more Demon blood. His Wife slept on, and Tanjuro closed his eyes and took a deep breath, 'focus on the children and your job. The more Demon blood you collect, the sooner she will be human again' Tanjuro thought.
He gently placed her hand back down, and stood up to leave the room. As Tanjuro stood at the door, he looked back at his Wife, "I love you Kie. So much. I'm so glad that at least we're here together" he said softly, before following Hiro back out of the room.
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Outside, the children were all playing together, except for Koto, who was sleeping in his Mother's arms as she sat on the Engawa watching everyone. Rokuta saw him leave the house and waved to him, "Papa! Come play with us!" he cried, but Nezuko shushed him. "Rokuta! Can't you see that Koto is sleeping? We have to play quietly now" she said, picking the 3-year-old up from where he was sitting on the ground. Tanjuro walked towards them with a smile, nodding to Shizu as he passed her. The Demon woman nodded back, gently rubbing her Son's back. Koto snuggled into Shizu's Kimono, a small hand grabbing the fabric.
Tanjuro was so happy that he could reunite this family early. As he looked around, Tanjuro noticed Haruka walking towards him. He knelt down, "hey Haruka. What's wrong? You look nervous" the Demon asked. The little girl gripped onto the new Kimono she had been given, perhaps one of Mitsuri's old ones? "I-" she began, before cutting herself off, and looking down. "It's okay, take your time Dear" Tanjuro said softly. Haruka seemed to screw up her courage, because she looked up at him and said: "I want to visit my Mommy!"
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Tanjuro looked at the little girl seriously, as she shifted nervously in her spot. "Haruka, you know that your Mother is with Miss Tamayo and Mr Yushiro. And they had to move to stay away from Muzan. I'm afraid that I don't know where they are" he replied apologetically. Haruka looked down, gripping her Kimono tightly, "oh. O-okay. I understand. It's to keep them and Mother safe from that bad man, right? I don't want to put Mother in danger, so don't worry about it. Thank you" Haruka replied, bowing in gratitude before running off, but Tanjuro could tell that she was choking up.
He frowned, wishing that he could take her to visit her Mother, but knowing that he can't for her own safety. Still, he felt horrible, as the little girl ran inside the house. "Father? What's wrong? You smell guilty" Tanjiro asked as he walked up behind him. Tanjuro sighed and stood up. "Haruka wanted to visit her Mother, but I can't take her. Miss Tamayo, Yushiro and Mrs Kanata are on the run from Muzan. I can't risk their safety after everything" he explained.
"I see" Tanjiro sighed. "Well, at least we're getting a break from duty" he continued. "Yeah. At least there's that. But I don't know how long that will last, especially in my case" Tanjuro replied. His Son frowned at him in concern, "it seems like they keep running you ragged Father. Just because you don't need to rest like a human, doesn't mean you don't deserve one" Tanjiro said. Tanjuro looked up at the sky, "Demons are an ever-present problem Son. They'll always be someone dying to them somewhere in Japan. Having a Demon Slayer like me, who doesn't need to sleep, or eat, or stop to heal is an asset. I can save more people than a human Demon Slayer ever could.
But that means I can't stop for even a minute. I have to keep going, to save as many people as I can. Because that's the only reason the Hashira allowed me to live" Tanjuro explained. Tanjiro blanched, "what? They didn't say anything about that! I thought they pardoned you guys because you don't eat humans!" he cried in offense. Tanjuro smiled, "officially they did. But when you're an adult, especially one that teeters between life and death to try to save everyone you can, you have to use every option available to you. I was one of those options. In the Hashira's, and even Kagaya's minds, I'm sure it was more favourable to use me and my Demons to their advantage. I don't mind though. As long as no one tries to harm anyone I care about, I'll be happy.
As long as we can all be together" Tanjuro looked over at where Shizu was still holding the sleeping Koto, as Sumi ran up to her with an armful of flowers, "here Mom! I picked these for you!" she said with a smile. Shizu smiled down at her, and pat her head gently, making her oldest daughter smile. He clenched his fists, "I will save and protect everyone I can!" he swore firmly, red eyes glowing in determination.