The next day, Tanjuro was still thinking about what Shizu had said. And about his own feelings. He couldn't deny that he admired the woman for her inner strength, kindness and acceptance. But was it more than that? It couldn't be, could it? He already had a Wife. But, then again, it wasn't unusual for men to have more than one Wife. The Sound Hashira was like that, wasn't he? Maybe he should talk to Tengen about this. After Breakfast, when all the children went to play together, Tanjuro headed to the Sound Estate to talk to the man.
As he walked, he wondered if Kie would even mind if he loved Shizu as well. He had no idea, and was nervous and jumpy. He'd never felt this way about anyone other than his Wife before. 'Calm down Tanjuro. It's okay. You'll get some advice on how to deal with this situation, then you'll know what to do' Tanjuro thought to himself, focusing on his Selfless State in order to calm himself. Finally he reached the building that Tengan and his Wives lived in. As Tanjuro knocked on the door, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.
The door opened to reveal Suma. "Oh! It's you Mr Kamado. May I ask why you're here Sir?" the Uzui asked. Tanjuro took a deep breath, "is your Husband available? I need to speak with him" he replied. "Sure. Come with me Mr Kamado. He's just training right now" Suma replied. The two walked down the hall. As they did, Tanjuro tried to work out how he was going to explain this, much less talk about it. It wasn't something he'd ever even thought about. Finally they reached an old-fashioned Dojo, where Tengen was slashing the heads off of straw dummies with his twin blades. "Didn't I hear that he had retired after we defeated Upper 6?" Tanjuro whispered to the woman.
"We did. But, while I hate every aspect of how I was raised, one thing is still true now as it was back then: 'the warrior who is unprepared dies'. I still have my Demon Slayer training, and if people die because I can't protect them anymore, that would be on me" Tengen said, obviously overhearing them from where he trained. "I see" Tanjuro said, bright red eyes watching the former Shinobi's movements. "So! What did you want to talk to me about Tanjuro?" The former Sound Hashira asked, stretching. The Demon glanced over at where Suma had just left the room, and he took a deep breath, "I've never- thought, about any other woman romantically besides my Wife," he began, flushing slightly.
"We loved each other, and that was all I needed. But as you know, I've adopted several more children, and some of their Mother's are now my Demons." Tanjuro paused, looking down at the floor. He'd never felt this awkward or nervous before in his life. "E-earlier today, Shizu came to me, and- t-told me that, she loved me. I- I-I think I feel the same way, but I don't want to betray my Wife. I have never once, in my whole life thought of being with anyone other than her. I don't know how to do this, or if Kie would feel betrayed, or even how to explain this to her!" Tanjuro closed his eyes, nervously fiddling with his hands, "part of me feels like this is a betrayal. And I don't know what to do!" he exclaimed, freaking out just a little.
He felt a firm hand placed on his shoulder, opening his eyes to see the former Sound Hashira looking seriously at him, "let's have a drink" he said. Tanjuro opened his mouth to tell the other man that he didn't drink, but he decided that it shouldn't really affect him much with his Demonic nature. So he nodded, "okay".
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Tanjuro looked down at the tiny cup of Sake. It smelled bad, but he screwed up his face and gulped it down. Despite being a Demon, Tanjuro couldn't help but cough and splutter as the alcohol burned his throat on the way down. The effects crashed through him like a wave, before his body neutralized it. He shuddered, "well, it's a good thing I never tried drinking as a human. That was foul" Tanjuro said with a sigh. Tengan gulped his cup down, before looking at the Demon Kamado.
"To be honest, I never got the chance to get to know my Wives and fall in love with them before we were married. As a Shinobi, I was given my Wives and we were forcibly married. The sooner we were, the sooner any children we had together could be accepted as mine. That was my Clan's reasoning anyway. In my family, Wives weren't people to be loved. They were tools to be used to breed new warriors, and that was it. I was lucky enough to fall in love with my Wives. You have a chance that we never did Tanjuro. To choose who you want to be with, to get to be with them for love. And to still be with your Wife that you fell in love with first. No one is forcing you into this, but if Shizu is in love with you, and you have feelings for her, you can be with her too.
It won't be a betrayal of your Wife, because you'll still be with your Wife. Just because you love other people doesn't mean that you don't still love Kie. But you deserve to be happy with people who love you and that you love too. After all, you've pretty much already adopted Shizu's kids, right? So just follow your heart Tanjuro!" Tengen said, slapping the Demon King on the back hard enough that if he'd been human still he would have been sent sprawling. Tanjuro looked down in thought, "okay. Thank you for the advice. You've given me a lot to think about Mr Uzui" he replied, setting his cup down and standing up. He bowed in thanks to the former Hashira, before he turned to leave.
He had never thought about it like that. The fact that if he loved more than one woman, it wasn't a betrayal, because he still did love his Wife. And Shizu was a lovely woman, who'd suffered so much in her life. Didn't she deserve a loving partner, who was also a good Father to her children? Still, not being able to talk to Kie about this, due to the fact of her mental state was wearing on him. Even so, she did understand a lot of things still. And she deserved his honesty. Tanjuro prepared himself and then went to go speak to his Wife.
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Kie, thankfully was actually more aware today, as she was sitting up in her room and folding some laundry, while humming through her muzzle. Tanjuro smiled, and entered the room, "hi Dear" he said softly. His Wife looked up at him with a smile, squealing happily and held her arms out to him. Tanjuro quickly moved over to hug her, stroking her black and silver hair gently. Kie hummed happily. Tanjuro looked around, not seeing Rokuta with her, he figured his youngest Son might be playing with his Siblings.
The Kamado Demon King began to help his Wife fold the washing, getting an appreciative hum in thanks. "Kie, can I talk to you about something serious? Only if you have the energy dear" Tanjuro began. "Mhm!" his Wife agreed with a nod. "Alright. Do you know how, Shizu, the Mother of those other children, is one of my Demons?" Tanjuro began haltingly.
"Mh!" Kie nodded again in acknowledgement. "Well, you know that you're my Wife, don't you Dear? I will always love you" Tanjuro said. The Demon woman looked over at him, her pale purple eyes looking inquisitive. Her Husband took a breath, "what if I told you that I also loved Shizu. The same way I love you?" he asked. Kie's eyes widened, but Tanjuro hurried to explain, "I'm not replacing you or anything! I love you both the same! I promise! I still love you as much as the day we met Kie. And I don't know how much of my words you can understand, but it's true. Just because I love Shizu, doesn't mean I love you any less. Please, you have to believe me Love!" he begged, squeezing his eyes shut tight.
There was a moment of silence, before a rustle of fabric and a slight crunch of bamboo caught his attention. Tanjuro opened his eyes, only to have Kie kiss him on the lips. With hers. It took him a moment to realise that his Wife had removed her muzzle. Then she leaned back and looked at him, "I d-do. I-I-It's ok-kay. I j-j-just want y-you to be h-happy. If, y-y-you'll be happ-py with b-both of u-us, then I'm h-happy too" Kie stuttered, before smiling at him gently. Tanjuro teared up. What had he ever done to deserve such a perfect Wife? He leaned in a kissed her, hard. He hadn't kissed his Wife in nearly two years now, and he hadn't realised how much he needed to be close to her like this again.
"I love you Kie. I really, really do. I promise I'll never betray you two. And I will make us all human again! No matter what! We will get to live with our children and watch them grow up, and grow old together. I promise!" Tanjuro swore. Kie hugged him close, "I kn-know you w-will" she replied.
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That night at dinner, the Kamado children were so happy to see their Mother without her muzzle, and spent so much time talking to her that they almost forgot to eat. Kie, despite still struggling with some words, tried hard to keep up with her children's conversations. Mitsuri was overjoyed at the progress Kie had made, and she made a Western-style cake for desert with her Mother's help to celebrate. "I have news Dad!" Hanako cheered as everyone got slices of cake to eat. "Oh? What is it?" Tanjuro asked. "First, Sanemi is going to the Final Selection tonight, Mr Urokodaki sent a letter" the little girl said, holding out the letter to her Father.
"Oh! I hope he'll be alright. Urokodaki better send a letter as soon as he's back for the mountain" Tanjuro said with a frown, reading over the letter, with Shizu nodding next to him. "And the second thing is, that Miss Tamayo, that Demon Doctor sent a letter too, with a vanishing cat" Sumi said, holding out the second letter. "Really?!" Haruka exclaimed, standing up in her excitement. She turned to Tanjuro, "Daddy!" she cried urgently, as he took the second letter, "I know, I know, I'm reading it Haruka, please sit down" he replied calmly. Everyone listened in interest, as their Father/Husband began reading the letter out loud.
"Dear Mr Tanjuro Kamado, this is Tamayo. I apologise for not keeping you updated on how things were going. But unfortunately, Muzan has been close on our trail recently," Tanjuro grit his teeth, as Haruka gripped onto his arm worriedly. "Is my Mommy okay?!" she asked desperately. "Let me see" Tanjuro replied, before continuing to read, "but thankfully, with the help of Yushiro's Blood Demon Art, we've been able to find a safe place to lay low. We're all safe, and Miss Rei is doing well, so please tell Miss Haruka not to worry. In fact, I have used some of the blood I collected from you to turn her into another one of your Demons. She was very adamant about finding out if her daughter was alright, which is why I have written you this letter.
She also wanted me to thank you on her behalf for looking after Haruka for her. She hopes to help you take down Muzan some day soon, but I have convinced her to wait to come to your side. Right now, Miss Rei is training to gain her own Blood Demon Art. I will keep you updated of her progress. Regards Tamayo" Tanjuro was barely able to look up from the page before Haruka was throwing herself into his arms, crying in joy. "My Mommy's okay! She's really okay!" she sobbed. After the reveals of that night, everyone was so excited. "I know! Why don't we make tonight's dinner into a party!" Yuki cheered.
"Yeah!" her twin Sister Kori agreed. The oldest boy, Sora nodded, "sounds fun. Mom?" he asked, looking over at her. "Sure. Sora, would you and Akira mind helping me?" Kanna asked her children. "Okay" the Brother's agreed getting up to help. "Well, let's set the rest of this food out everyone!" the Kanroji Mother said cheerfully. That night was full of love, joy and celebration.