"Oh! I just remembered!" Shinobu exclaimed. "I have to go pick something up today. You three go on ahead to your next mission."

"Sure," Tanjiro said. "I'll keep them in line."

"Hey! I'm the older one here!" Kuri said.

Tanjiro just smirked at her.

Nezuko started to giggle

Shinobu arrived at Giyuu's room. She knocked on the door.

He opened up. He looked busy. "Shinobu? What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious, Giyuu?" Shinobu said. "I got the letter you sent."

"What letter?" Giyuu said, looking confused. "Show it to me."

Shinobu pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

"'Dear Shinobu,'" he read. "'I know I said some things I should not have said. I'm sorry for being so thoughtless. If I could I would turn back the clock. I want to see you as soon as possible. Please come and visit me so we can work everything out. I don't want those angry words to be the last thing I say'—I didn't write this!"

"Well, of course not," Aoi said, coming in. "But you were acting like such an idiot that I had to bring the two of you together. It was affecting your performance at work."

With those words, Aoi left the room.

"I'm leaving," Shinobu said. "I should have known. Kuri's right; you never change, Giyuu."

Shinobu prepared to leave, but Giyuu grabbed her arm. "Wait a second. I am sorry for what happened. Shinobu…I did miss you."

"So what, are you trying to get back together with me, Giyuu?" Shinobu asked. "I guess I'm okay with that. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

She kissed him on the cheek and left, heading back home.

"Ow! Dammit Tanjiro, what're you trying to do?" Kuri said from underneath the mountain of books that he had just dropped on her.

"Sorry, Kuri," Tanjiro said, examining the sheet music. "This demon must've been a musician…"

"Tanjiro…I'm a little suspicious about that…" Kuri said.

"You're just being paranoid," Tanjiro replied, tossing a book at her, which she caught and replaced in its spot on the shelf.

Tanjiro let Nezuko out of the box.

Kuri laughed. "You have such a way with her, Tanjiro."

"Well, I am her older brother.

Suddenly there was a sound of drums. Nezuko fell through the floor. Tanjiro screamed.

"Nezukooo!" He reached desperately towards her.

A demon sneered at them and dragged her away.

"I told you something shady was going on here," Kuri said.

"Shh!" hissed Tanjiro, lunging downwards. "Nezuko? Are you here?"

They entered a wide room. The demon was there, next to Nezuko. She was hissing and growling, and he yanked a chain around her neck..

Nezuko flinched and fell backward onto the floor.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro exclaimed, grabbing her. "Are you okay?"

Nezuko whimpered, clutching her stump of an arm as it regenerated.

"Tanjiro! He's EATING her!"

Tanjiro instantly understood what that meant and grabbed the demon and pinned him to a wall. "Why were you eating my sister! You don't even eat demons!"

"She tastes delicious," the demon replied. "The girl tastes better than a human…you are family after all…I bet you are just as delicious…"

Tanjiro lost his temper and began mercilessly slicing into the demon. "

Kuri heard Nezuko stop her brother. But she wasn't really paying attention. She was kneeling over a half dead demon that had been cannibalized. It was a tiny girl who had just been turned.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. "So sorry. I will try my best to fix you."

"What are you doing?" Tanjiro exclaimed. "There's nothing you can do for her now! Just stop! You could hurt yourself!"

Tanjiro turned from the deceased demon, and Nezuko took a step forward.

"This is magic," Kuri said, weaving magic around the dying demon. "I know I can do it. And if I can…I can save Nezuko too."

The demon made a slight whimpering sound as the magic lit up. There was a moment when the demon seemed to try to split, and then it went back together, and the skin on Kuri's arm began to split. Blood began to pool on the floor. Tanjiro and Nezuko grabbed her and yanked her away, although she was still attempting to finish.

"Stop! Stop it! I can save her! I know I can!" Kuri yelled, not noticing her own pain. "Please...I have to do something. She can't live this way!"

"You need to stop, Kuri," Tanjiro said. "It was starting to kill you. It could have taken you...taken you away."

Kuri relaxed, realizing what Tanjiro was saying. Taken her away. The way his family had been taken away.

"Why did you do that?" Tanjiro asked, while his sister bandaged Kuri's arm. "You didn't know what it would do, and you don't know a thing about how to do that! You could have killed yourself in the rebound!"

"So what would you have me do?" Kuri yelled back, rounding on him. "Destroying the demon doesn't solve anything! It won't save her! At least I tried to do something!"

"Mm!" Nezuko jumped in between them.

They both huffed and moved on.

Kuri sat with the others outside headquarters in the rain.

Why? Kuri wondered. It was a perfect spell! It should have worked! I've been studying this my whole life, and I still can't do anything! Nothing!

Giyuu was talking. Just talking. He sure liked to hear himself. Kuri couldn't even understand anymore. She heard Tanjiro answer. She felt him getting angry. But what were they saying? She just...couldn't focus. It was all a blur.

"I couldn't stop her!" Tanjiro said. "But I didn't even try! And she…"

Kuri wanted to comfort him. She wanted to say it would be okay, but she didn't want to lie. That girl would recover, but she'd never be human again. Just like Nezuko.

"How did you know?" Shinobu said, looking at her curiously. "You just looked at the demon and knew. How?"

"It's how I became a Demon Slayter," Kuri said. "I see what's wrong with things...what's broken and missing. I can fix anything. Or so...I thought."

A tear cascaded down her cheek before she angrily wiped it away.

Shinobu put a hand on her shoulder. "It isn't as hopeless as you think. I sent her to someone who might be able to save her. Someday…someday we can all do it…together." She patted Kuri and walked away.

Kuri couldn't sleep that night. She kept hearing the demon whimpering. The sad sound of crying filled her mind.

Wait. She really was hearing it. The sound of someone in pain.

She slipped out of the thin sheets. She shivered in her cotton nightgown. She stepped over to Nezuko'S bed. The girl was sleeping like a rock. Kuri progressed to Tanjiro bed.

He was hunched over, sobbing.

Kuri sat on the bed beside him. "Hey..."

Tanjiro dropped his hands down so she could see his face. He sighed. "Did you come to yell at me again, Kuri?"

"I wouldn't do that," Kuri said. "Not when you're like this."

There was silence for a minute.

"Hey Tanjiro," Kuri said in a small voice. "Just because I couldn't do it…yet…doesn't mean its hopeless. We can save Nezuko, I pro—"

"It was you I couldn't save!" Tanjiro burst out. "You got hurt..and I-I…"

"What made you care all of a sudden?" Kuri said, staring at her. "Not that I don't appreciate it. We're not family…"

"There are many different kinds of family…" Tanjiro reasoned. "Families start with the love…of a man and a woman…"

"I always wanted a real family," Kuri said. "My brother was never around, and my parents died when I was a baby. You guys are special to me. And Nezuko just instantly treated me like part of the family. I understand why you didn't, and it's okay-"

"That's because you…are the one I'd want to start a family with, Kuri…" Tanjiro whispered.

Kuri blushed and stared at him. "I…" She smiled, and kissed the top of his head. "Go back to sleep."

She went back to bed, and was finally able to sleep.

Tanjiro stared at the place in the dark she'd vanished to, and touched the spot on his head where she had kissed him.