Tanjuro closed his eyes in thought. There was really no reason to refuse Hakuji's request. On the contrary, if he did make him on of his Demons, he would have taken a powerful piece away from Muzan, and gained one for himself all at once. Plus Hakuji seemed desperate to get away from the other Demon King. Tanjuro was sure he wouldn't betray him. He looked down at the bowing Demon, "Alright Hakuji. I'll accept you as one of my Demons. However, I want you to apologize to my Son Tanjiro for nearly killing him before" Tanjuro requested. "Of course I will. And I'm sorry to you too. I didn't care about anything else except fighting before, but now- I remember my family, and I want to fight for them! To make up for the things I did in the past" Hakuji agreed easily.
Tanjuro sighed, "alright. If I'm going to make you one of my Demons, there are a few things you should know about first. 1. My Demons generally don't get hungry at all, except in presence of Marchi blood. 2. When we do smell Marchi blood, the hunger is only small, and goes away the moment the smell is gone. 3. We don't actually need to eat at all. 4. We're all immune to sunlight. And 5. Humans are not to be harmed under any circumstances. If you are in a situation where a human is going to harm someone else, like one of my children, or you see someone else about to be hurt, you are to defend the victim, but not attack the humans. Even though we have been accepted by the Demon Slayers, there is an unspoken promise that we will use our powers to protect humanity no matter what. Do you understand Hakuji?" Tanjuro asked seriously.
"Yes Sir, I understand." The other Demon replied. "Alright. Then hold out your hands, and I will give you my Blood" Tanjuro said. The pink-haired Demon did so and Tanjuro cut his wrist, to allow some of his blood to pool in the former Upper Rank Demon's hands. Hakuji drank the blood to the last drop, before gasping for air and clutching his stomach. He lurched forwards and vomited up a massive amount of blood. Then he threw up again and again. Hakuji convulsed as what felt like every drop of blood in his body was being forcefully expelled. And that wasn't even counting the burning sensation engulfing him from the inside.
Tanjuro clenched his fists. Would this even work? He'd never tried turning one of the 12 Kizuki into one of his Demons before. Then he remembered something, and pulled out a few of Yushiro's needles. He threw them at the puddle of blood, and gathered quite a few samples for Miss Tamayo. Eventually, after about an hour of agony, Hakuji panted as his body healed itself. He pushed himself up onto his knees as he looked down at himself. He didn't look any different, but he sure felt like it. It was like a massive weight had been lifted off of his body, and Hakuji felt so light. He looked up at the Demon who had saved him- no, at Lord Tanjuro and bowed gratefully, "thank you Lord Tanjuro. Truly. I am so grateful. I don't know how I can ever repay you Sir" Hakuji said, tears welling in his eyes.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Lord Tanjuro was smiling kindly at him, and he felt a blush rise to his face. Muzan had never looked at him like that. "You don't need to repay me Hakuji. Just do your best to protect humans, and that will be all I will ask of you" Tanjuro replied. "Ah! Yes Sir!" he said hastily. Tanjuro then stood up, "well, let's go inside. I have a lot to tell everyone about tonight" he said with a nervous laugh. How would everyone react to the fact that he'd just made a former Upper Rank Demon one of his own?
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"So, Hakuji is one of my Demons now. Please treat him kindly" Tanjuro finished explaining. Nezuko sighed deeply, Tanjiro was awed, Kyojuro was laughing loudly, and his Demons- "Yay! A new friend!" Sayuri cheered, hugging Hakuji's waist. "Wow, I didn't expect this at all!" Yukito said in surprise, before he grinned, "you are amazing Lord Tanjuro!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I'm f-fine with him. As l-long as h-he do-doesn't try to h-hurt our ch-child-ren" Shizu stuttered. Hakuji held up his arms, "I would never! Even as on of Muzan's Demons, I never harmed woman or children, unless they were Demon Slayers. And even then, I would only do so if ordered to specifically, and I never ate them after that either" Hakuji explained.
"Wow! I didn't know that there were Demons who had such strict morals!" Tanjiro said, impressed. "Anyway, you should all go back to bed and rest. Most of you are injured still" Tanjuro said, looking at his children specifically. "Yes Father. We'll see you tomorrow" Tanjiro replied with a smile, as most of the group went back to bed. Sayuri looked up at Hakuji, making the older Demon blink, "is, uh, something wrong, little one?" he asked. "You won't try to kill Big Brother Tanjiro again, will you?" she asked worriedly. "No. I will never kill a human again, and especially not Lord Tanjuro's children. I want to make up for all of the horrible things I've done in the past, and that means I have to keep this promise this time, no matter what" Hakuji swore firmly.
Sayuri smiled at him, "Mr Tanjuro, can Mr Hakuji stay in our room tonight?" she asked. "Sure, if there's room for him" Tanjuro replied, patting her head. The group of Demons then left for their own room for the rest of the night.
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That night, Tanjuro couldn't help staring out the window, thinking of his Wife and all of his children. 'I wonder if Kie's awake yet? And how Sanemi and the Tokito's are doing. Maybe once we get back, I could go and check on all of them' he thought to himself. But first things first. He had to tell Kagaya about Hakuji. A meow caught his attention, and he turned to see Chachamaru walk through the wall. "Hey boy. I've got a delivery for Miss Tamayo. Travel safely, alright?" Tanjuro said quietly, as he placed the vial of collected blood into the cat's bag for delivery. Chachamaru then turned and faded away with another meow.
The Kamado Patriarch sighed and relaxed back against the wall. Sometimes he wished he could sleep like Kie, so he wouldn't have to think so much all the time. He did wonder though, what would happen to all of his Demons after he was human again? Would they choose to take the cure as well? Tanjuro closed his eyes. Even if he couldn't sleep, some meditation might help him.
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The next morning, Tanjuro decided to write a letter to his children, explaining that they wouldn't be coming home just yet. He got one back from Hanako, telling him that Kie had woken up last night. He smiled at that, glad that his Wife was awake again. He also got a letter from Haruka, asking if he could turn her Mother into one of his Demons so she could see her more often. He wrote back an apology, giving the same reason as last time the little girl had asked to visit her Mother. Then he went to check on Tanjiro and Nezuko. His daughter was already up when he got there, her arm bandaged and folding some washing.
"I offered to help the owner of the Wisteria House with some chores, since my wound isn't that bad. I did need some stiches, but they won't pop from moving like this, so it's fine" she explained. Tanjuro smiled, "you've always been so helpful and kind Nezuko. Thank you" he replied. "Where are Tanjiro and Kyojuro?" Tanjuro asked. "Mr Rengoku wanted to show Tanjiro some Flame-Breathing forms. He's been going on and on about making big Brother his Tsuguko" the 12-year-old explained. "I see. Well, I won't disturb you anymore. You just do what you were doing" he said, patting his daughter on the head as he left.
When he got outside, he found many things happening. Sayuri was picking flowers with Shizu, and the small Demon woman smiled gently at the little girl. Yukito was popping in and out of shadows around the yard to practice his Blood Demon Art. And Hakuji was a distance away, dancing around with punches and kicks, obviously training. Then he saw the Flame Hashira and his Son sitting on the Engawa in the shade talking together. He could hear what they were saying thanks to his enhanced senses: "I appreciate the offer Mr Rengoku, but I'm learning the Hinokami Kagura from my Father, and you said Flame-Breathing was different from the Fire-Breathing that Father uses. I think it might be too hard for mee to learn both" Tanjiro explained.
Tanjuro walked over to them, "actually, I think learning Flame-Breathing would be a good idea Tanjiro" he said. Tanjiro turned to him with a smile, "Oh! Good morning Father!" he said cheerfully. Tanjuro smiled, "good morning. While the Hinokami Kagura and Flame-Breathing are different, what I've observed of them leads me to believe that they're similar enough that you may be able to learn it. And it might come in handy for you to have a Breathing Style that's not as taxing on your body. After all, you're still having trouble with the force of the Kagura, aren't you? And Water-Breathing doesn't suit you. Using Flame-Breathing as well might help you when you can't risk the Kagura" Tanjuro said.
"I see! You have given this a lot of thought, haven't you Kamado?!" Kyojuro exclaimed with a smile. He turned back to the oldest Kamado Son, "alright! I will teach you Flame-Breathing. It is a good idea to have a form you can handle more easily on hand! So! I'll go through some forms for now, since you're still injured and can't train yet!" the Flame Hashira decided. Tanjuro at down next to his Son on the Engawa, and both of them watched as Kyojuro went through his demonstration. "How is your injury Son? And tell me honestly please" he asked. "It's alright as long as I don't strain myself. I haven't been by the way. Just some light stretches to keep from getting too stiff.
I'm still a little sore, but I'm feeling better Father" Tanjiro replied. Tanjuro sighed and placed his hand on the teen's head, "I'm so glad that you're better Tanjiro. But don't strain yourself, okay?" he said worriedly. "How do you think everyone's doing back home?" his oldest Son asked. "I'm sure everyone's fine. They're staying with the Kanroji family after all" Tanjuro replied. "Oh! Your family is staying with Kanroji! She used to be my Tsuguko! Of course, that was only for a short time, since she is so strong that she became a Hashira herself in a very short time!" Kyojuro said with a grin. "Well, I may as well do some training myself. Always a good idea to practice, even if you've mastered the ability you're using" Tanjuro decided.
He stood and walked to the centre of the clearing and drew his Sword. Then he began going through the motions of the Hinokami Kagura. Hakuji stopped training to watch him. "Wow" he breathed in awe. He continued this until the sun was high in the sky. Tanjuro opened his eyes to applause from Tanjiro and his Demons. He blushed, "heh. Thank you" he replied awkwardly. "I believe it is time for lunch! Let's go inside now!" Rengoku announced. The group followed the Hashira inside the house, and Tanjuro caught Hakuji's eye as they did. He was staring at him with something akin to hope in his eyes. Tanjuro clenched his fists. No matter what, he would kill Muzan, and protect all of his precious people!