"Tanjiro, we're here," Malia said, gently shaking her brother awake. "Tanjiro?"
Tanjiro opened his eyes, shaking off the remnants of a nightmare he couldn't quite remember. "I'm awake, sorry," he said.
They stepped off the train.
"Tanjiro!" Kiana called out. "Hey… you look really pale. Are you okay?"
She stopped him on the path to Butterfly house, reaching up to place a hand on his forehead.
"Hey! What's the idea?" he protested, pulling back.
"You have a fever, Tanjiro," Kiana said, worried. "You must've caught it from me."
"I'm fine," he insisted, stepping away. "We need to get to the village for our equipment repairs so we can move on. I don't have time to be sick."
"But Tanjiro…" Kiana murmured softly.
Malia remained quiet, but her tense posture betrayed her concern. Kiana placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you later," Malia replied, averting her gaze.
They reached the door and knocked. Shinobu answered, her face lighting up at the sight of them. "Oh, it's so nice to see you again, all of you!"
"Shinobu, this is Kiana," Malia introduced her. "And this is Rengoku."
Kanao entered the room, surprised to see Kiana. "Wait… you're…!"
Kiana held a finger to her lips, smiling. "You must be Kanao."
Kanao remembered Kiana from years before, back when Giyuu had visited the house with young Kiana in tow. She recalled the quiet little girl with dark hair who wandered around, curious yet reserved.
"What is this place?" the younger Kiana had asked once.
"This is where we craft our battle tools," Kanao had replied. "Why aren't you with your family?"
"I don't have them," Kiana had replied, looking down. "I saw a boy here yesterday, looking out the window. Is he going to be okay?"
"I… hope so," Kanao had replied.
"Don't tell him I was here," Kiana had added. "My brother doesn't like it when I go out by myself. If he knew, he might get mad and make me stay with him all the time. You won't tell, right?"
Kanao had promised not to tell. She remembered thinking Kiana seemed happy and carefree, despite the hardships in her life.
The next day passed with Shinobu and Kanao hard at work, restoring Tanjiro and Malia's equipment. Kiana took over household chores, cooking and cleaning while they worked, despite Shinobu's objections.
Tanjiro limped into the kitchen, adjusting to his healing injuries. Kiana glanced over at him, her brow creasing. "Hey, you're feeling better today—"
She stopped mid-sentence. Tanjiro had collapsed against the wall. Kiana dropped the cup she'd been holding, hurrying to his side without a thought to the glass shards she stepped on.
"Tanjiro!" she yelled, struggling to pull him up. "You idiot…you can't just push yourself like this and not expect to get sick!"
Her feet ached from the cuts, but she ignored the pain, half-dragging him into the bedroom they'd been using. She laid him down carefully.
"Mm?" Malia's voice came softly from her corner of the room.
"It's alright, Nezuko," Kiana reassured her. "Tanjiro will be fine. He just needs rest."