Chapter Text
He looked up into the trees, swearing he heard something. Shrugging it off, he decided to continue patrolling. Shinobu was informed that Tommy ran off and hadn’t come back. That boy was more trouble than he was worth, he had figured that the demon boy was off eating humans.
Despite the boy saying ew to such things. A sigh passed his lips, why did he agree to find the boy? He could be at his estate right now or on a mission. Tomioka wondered why he spoke to the boy at the meeting. It's not like the boy was mute. Quite the opposite, the boy was too loud for his own good.
A rustle of the trees above gave away Tommy’s hiding spot. He had tried to move quickly before the person came back but was caught now even a few seconds later. The person turned out to be the water hashira, Tomioka Giyuu.
Because of how far Tommy got from the butterfly mansion, Tomioka decided to spend the night in a clearing. It was silent between the two as Tomioka tried to start a fire. After the fourth failed attempt, Tommy spoke up mentioning he could start it.
Tomioka stared at him for a moment before nodding his head and moving out of the way. Tommy took one look at the fire and pointed out that some of the sticks were wet, before pulling a match box out of his pocket. (What else does Tommy have in his pockets? Who knows!)
Once the fire was lit, Tommy sat watching the flame as if it were something he’d never seen before. Tommy snapped out of whatever trance the fire had placed on him and looked at the water hashira. “Can I sleep in the tree?”
Tomioka looked slightly confused for a second before nodding his head. He knew logically the boy would try and run away but he just didn’t care at this point in time. Yea Shinobu would be upset, but he didn’t want to find the boy.
Sitting just under the tree Tommy had climbed, Tomioka kept alert for any demons that might see him as a tasty snack. He could hear Tommy’s quiet snoring as the blonde fell asleep quickly.
--
Tomioka woke up as the sun rose. Not realizing he had fallen asleep; he was instantly alert. Had the kid run off while he slept? He hadn’t heard anything. When he looked up the tree, he saw the kid was no longer there.
Why did the kid love to run? Tomioka thought tiredly. Standing up from his position, he realized the kid was sitting a few feet away poking at a dead bird. When did he get there? Nevermind that, why did he have a dead animal.
Walking closer to the boy he realised that Tommy wasn’t poking it, he was preening its feathers. Crouching next to the boy, he watched Tommy fix the birds wings. Quietly chirping at the small creature.
Tomioka watched slightly in awe, and curiously. After a while the bird flew away, Tommy whining at his new friend leaving so soon. Looking at Tommy, Tomioka realised the kid had brighter blue eyes than he first thought.
“We better start to head back to Shinobu.” Tomioka said blankly, turning around heading the way to the butterfly mansion. Once he heard Tommy’s footsteps join his own. Tomioka sped up, hoping to be done with this quickly.
Tommy tried to make conversation with Tomioka, only to be ignored. Which Tommy found to be rude so while Tomioka was further ahead, Tommy slowed down a bit. Flicking his tail lightly, Tommy started to walk instead of running as he followed the water hashira.
Who stopped a bit away, waiting for Tommy to hurry up. When Tommy finally caught up, they were already at the butterfly mansion. And to Tommy’s confusion, Shinobu wasn’t back from her mission like he had thought.
Instead Aoi smacked his head, being careful of his horns. Yelling at him for running off and wasting another Hashira's time. So, he didn’t run again, Aoi put the butterfly girls in charge of watching the blonde.
Which Tommy didn’t like very much. Those girls were snitches and tried to play with tommy’s hair. Tommy had no choice but to sit there and let the young girls decorate his hair and tail with pretty bows.
After a while Aoi called the girls over to eat, also bringing Tommy something. Although Tommy knew it probably wasn’t poisoned, he didn’t trust it. So, he didn’t eat, even after the butterfly girls whined and told Aoi.
Aoi just scolded him, telling him to at least eat a little bit before stalking off to talk to someone. Once the girls were done, they went back to annoying Tommy. Luckily for Tommy, it seems Shinobu was back because the girls ran out calling for someone.
--
Tommy spent the next few days doing the same thing. Waking up, eating small bits, being annoyed by the butterfly girls, eating smaller bits, then sleeping. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something wasn’t right. It was like the sun had become brighter, and the land had grown warmer, despite it getting closer to winter.
Frowning Tommy got up from his spot on the floor, The butterfly girls not noticing him leave. He stood in the shade, not yet leaving the cover of the house. He felt something shift in his body, putting his arm out into the sun he realized it burned.
Yelping loudly, he sat hugging his knees in the shade. He looked at his arm which seemed to somewhat heal quickly. That made Tommy worry a bit, he didn’t know what was happening to him and he didn’t like it.
--
Tommy didn’t tell Shinobu about being burnt by the sun. He just didn’t go outside for a bit. Luckily for him as winter started to set in, Shinobu forced him to cover up and wear warmer clothes that covered his whole body.
Today Shinobu had decided Tommy was going to go with her to meet up with some other hashira. Specifically, ones he had met before like Uzui Tengen, Rengoku, the stone hashira who tommy totally didn’t forget the name too and of course Shinobu.
As the hashira talked about missions and other things, Tommy sat thinking about the new changes to his body. He couldn’t go in the sun, it seemed to burn him badly, he had wanted to eat more meat, he could heal faster, and his head hurt badly.
Which is why he had been quieter all week, not sneaking out or trying to run away. He was no longer annoyed at the butterfly girls but enjoyed their presence. He hadn’t realized someone had called his name until someone tapped his shoulder.
When he turned to look who it was, he realized Mitsuri the Love hashira had shown up. He gave her a nod in greeting, as she gave him a hug asking him how he’d been. Tommy shrugged, looking away.
For some reason his head was hurting alot today, not like the gentle throbbing it had been doing. Grabbing the side of his head, Tommy groaned slightly wondering if this world was affecting him.
Mitsuri fretted over Tommy as the blonde threaded his fingers tightly into his hear. Tommy couldn’t hear what Mitsuri saying but another pair of hands grabbed onto Tommys. He saw it was Tomioka, as Shinobu tried to talk to Mitsuri about what had happened.
Tommy couldn’t hear what was being said, but he knew someone had gotten ahold of his hands and slowly removed them from his hair. He tried to say something, but it came out slurred as he fell to the side.
He started to see black dots cloud his vision, he could faintly see Shinobu ask Gyomei something before he closed his eyes. He wondered what was happening, all he could tell was his head hurt. Like someone had stomped on it.
--
Shinobu was talking to Uzui when Mitsuri yelped, calling out for some help. When she had entered the room that the Love hashira was in, she was shocked to see Mitsuri trying to talk to Tommy.
The boy had a good grip on his hair, mumbling something she couldn’t hear. Before she reached Tommy, it seemed Tomioka had gotten ahold of the boys' hands. She was surprised by the usually quiet, loner Hashira was trying to comfort Tommy.
A horrible attempt but it seemed to be working as the boy slowly let go of his hair. Shinobu turned to mitsuri to ask what had happened. The usually flustered Hashira was trying her best to relay what happened.
Turns out Mitsuri didn’t actually know, the love hashira had come to talk to Tommy about how he was when the boy groaned and grabbed onto his hair. Thats when she had called out to the others.
Turning back to Tommy, she realized the boy had passed out. She called Gyomei over to help her move Tommy. The gentle giant had picked the boy up so gently, Shinobu was sure the boy didn’t weigh anything to him.
She apologized to the other hashira before following Gyomei to her hospital. As she ran after the stone hashira, realized a small photo had slipped from the blonde's pocket. Picking it up she realized it was a photo of a young group of boys.
Putting the photo in her own pocket, she continued after Gyomei.
--
Techno sat by a fire, listening to Phil strum a small guitar as Tommy and Tubbo sang. He wished this could last forever. The boys deserved a good life, he would protect them if it came to them being hurt.
“Techno! Watch me!” Tommy hyped, as a butterfly landed on Tommy’s small hand. Techno gave Tommy a small smile, watching as Tommy ate the butterfly with a smile. Phil seemed to choke on his words as the young blonde ate the insect.
--
“If you want to be a hero, Tommy. Then die like one!” Techno called out angrily. He knew Tommy should have had a better life, but he chose to follow that traitor. So, he can deal with the actions after.
--
Shinobu was a bit worried for the blonde boy. A new nights ago he had passed out and hadn’t woken since. She had informed her Master about Tommy, as the fragile man wanted to hear about the demon boy.
She was sitting next to the boy's bed, checking on his vitals. It seemed the boy was getting worse, but she couldn’t tell what was wrong with him. She asked Tomioka to keep an eye on the boy as she had more slayers than usual coming into her care. And the girls were busier as well.
Tomioka seemed to be off in his own world like usual, so she left the man to watch Tommy. Deciding to talk to Aoi quickly about if she had seen anything off about Tommy. Aoi told Shinobu that he had been quieter, didn’t eat much and to himself more, but that was it.
Maybe she was over thinking about the boy's condition, maybe the boy just needed sleep. She made her way to the market closest to her house. She wanted to get the girls a small gift for helping.
--
Tomioka watched the sleeping boy, wondering where Tanjiro had gone. Tanjiro had come in to keep Tomioka company while he watched over Tommy. They talked (mostly tanjiro talked) about what had been happening with inosuke and zenitsu.
He looked over at Tommy, who seemed to be having a nightmare. Mumbling about someone named Techno, and how he tried to hurt him. Tomioka sighed, hoping Shinobu would be back soon.
Tomioka looked away from Tommy, focusing on something other than the boy for a minute. Which seemed to be the wrong thing to do because as soon as he looked away, a gasp came from the bed before a coughing fit started.
Looking back at the boy, Tomioka decided to inform Shinobu that Tommy had woken. His old crow flew off quickly, while Tomioka got Tommy a glass of water to get the boy to drink. Tomioka was slightly relieved when Rengoku opened the door, stating loudly he was here to take over watching the boy.
--
Tommy watched as Tomioka left quickly, after the flame hashira Rengoku entered the room. Tommy still couldn’t hear properly but at least his head didn’t hurt anymore. He looked up at Rengoku who seemed to think Tommy was funny for coughing up the water.
Tommy still felt as if something was wrong, so he pointed at rengoku. “What is it demon?” the loud man asked, lifting a brow. Tommy tried to point to his ear, signaling he could hear him. Luckily for Tommy, Shinobu walked in. Checking over Tommy.
Tommy zoned out a bit, while Shinobu talked to Rengoku. Even Tho he couldn’t hear them he felt at peace. He didn’t know how to describe it; something was still wrong but easier to sense now. He tapped Shinobu’s shoulder to get her attention.
Once she looked at him, he pointed to the window then to himself. Hoping she took the hint and let him go outside. He wanted to see if the sun still hurt. he didn’t know how long he had been asleep for.
Shinobu seemed to get what he was trying to ask and nodded her head. She got rengoku to help Tommy up as the boys legs didn’t want to work. Sitting under the veranda(?) in the shade, Tommy got Shinobu to watch him as he stuck his hand in the sun.
It burned badly, almost turning to ash before Tommy pulled his hand back. Shinobu seemed shocked at what Tommy showed her, pulling his arm towards her to look over his wound. It was gone?
Maybe Tommy’s body was merging with this world's dynamics. Turning him into an actual demon, just not one made from kibutsuji Muzan. Shinobu turned towards rengoku, asking him to send a letter to Master about Tommy’s newfound powers.
As Shinobu was talking, Tommy realized he could hear her words, flicking his tail to get her attention. “I can hear you again!” he said, tilting his head with a small smile. “Also is it bad that I want more meat that usual?”
“I would say so yes.” She sighed, turning back to Rengoku who had disappeared for some reason? “is anything else wrong, Tommy? Do you remember what happened?”
Tommy paused for a minute, trying to think over everything he could remember. “I remember passing out, but not much before or after.”
Shinobu nodded silently reminding herself that if Tommy does end up a demon, he would have to be beheaded. Unless Master saw pity on Tommy and if he didn’t eat anyone. She watched Tommy’s eyes. The Boy seemed to be off in his own world.
“Tommy, can you tell me more about your world?” she asked, crossing her legs. Maybe while she waited for Rengoku to return she could learn more about the usually loud boy.
“I suppose? What do you wanna know?” He scratched his chin, looking carefully over at Shinobu. “What about your Family?”
Tommy stared wide eyed at Shinobu before nodding. “....Ok. Well, I don’t have any siblings. My dad’s name is Phil, he had these large black wings, My mum’s name is Kristin. I dont know what she looks like. Phil told me she was the goddess of death”
Shinobu took into account the tone and words Tommy used for his parents. “What about friends? You mentioned a Tubbo, and Captain Puffy at the meeting.” Shinobu recounted the meeting in which Tommy explained his world, which had Hybrids and Godlike creatures. He had mentioned Phil as one of those creatures.
“Tubbo’s my friend! He is amazing, he has a kid named Michael. A little zombified Piglin a mod in my world.” Tommy smiled at the memory. “Michael got taken by Awesam dude though, I dont know if they got him back.”
“Whose Awesam dude?” Shinobu questioned, looking at Tommy’s uneasness at the name. He seemed to hate talking about his world, unless it is about his friends.
“He oversees the prison, he’s the warden... he watches over Dr-” Tommy choked on the last word, covering his mouth like it had set his tongue a flame. Trying again, Tommy took a deep breath. “He Killed Ranboo, my other friend.”
Shinobu paused, as if to allow tommy to continue but the boy shook his head trying to get the memory out of his head. Maybe she should change the subject. “What about Eret, i remember you talking about them.”
Tommy sighed. “Eret was a traitor to L’manberg, but they redeemed themself after helping with Tubbo’s presidential time. She lives in a castle now and has been made king. I used to hate them for what they did but I understand why they did so.”
Shinobu nodded. “Tanjiro mentioned to me about you knowing how to fight. Who taught you?”
“My brother Techno” Tommy answered. Which confused Shinobu, as Tommy had said he didn’t have any siblings. Maybe Tommy didn’t want to her to know but let it slip. “You said you didn’t have siblings?”
“I don’t. Techno is Phil’s best friend, so I grew up with him. But I see him as my brother” Tommy explained, hugging his knees. Remembering what Techno had told him.
Sighing, Shinobu pointed to his hair. “Tommy how did you get that white streak in your hair?” She had noticed it when they first met but never thought to bring it up until now. She wasn’t expecting what Tommy was about to say.
This time Tommy’s eyes narrowed, looking at Shinobu as if she threatened to carve out his organs. Though she’d never do that.... or would she? He took a deeper breath, moving his hand to the white streak in a sea of blonde. “I-.... I died.”