Work Text:
The sky was slowly burning orange by the time the two charcoal sellers decided to walk home. They were both well versed in the world of travelling by night, but even after the eradication of demons, Tanjiro often insisted on reaching home before the sun had fully set, and nobody could blame him.
It was late summer, shifting into autumn, so the air was thick with the drone of insects amongst the farmland they walked home through. But Zenitsu could hear a welcome lack of mosquitoes waking up from out of the rice paddies, which was a merciful relief.
“Not much need for charcoal this summer,” Tanjiro mused, carefully keeping pace with Zenitsu with the almost unnoticeable clips of his sandals, though Zenitsu’s ears were hard to escape. “But it was lovely of old man Saburo to gift us this corn,” He reached back and carefully picked out the package that he’d temporarily stored in the corner of his Charcoal basket, peeling back a corner of paper and excitedly peering at the golden cobs inside. “He told us that it would be great grilled with a bit of soy sauce. What do you think it’ll taste like Zenitsu?”
“I don’t know Tanjiro,” Zenitsu’s eyebrows furrowed with scrutiny. “Grown in Hokkaido? That’s some travel for us to get it for free, surely it should cost more. How do you know it didn’t go off by the time it arrived and Saburo offloaded it on us because we wouldn’t know any better?”
Tanjiro frowned in his soft way, a frown reserved for scolding a family member with no actual anger. “Saburo would never do that! He’s kind enough to give us a gift, don’t say that,”
“Isn’t corn used as animal feed though?”
“Well it’s also delicious for humans as well. And besides.” Tanjiro smiled back at the corn and inhaled delicately. “They smell perfectly ripe. Don’t they look funny too?”
He held them out for Zenitsu to take a peek at the fruit nestled in a rush of green leaves. “They do... all knobbly and yellow like that.”
“Nearly as yellow as your hair,” Tanjiro chuckled.
It was Zenitsu’s turn to scowl. “My hair isn’t a food product! That’s not a compliment for me OR the food!”
Tanjiro just laughed and wrapped the corn up again, tucking it away. “I suppose we’ll all help cook it together. There’s not much so we’ll have to get it right.”
“Nezuko would cook it perfectly.” Zenitsu grinned, happy to sing his wife's praises.
Nezuko’s brother beamed. “Oh I know she will.”
“Harue will want to know what’s going on,”
“I’ll keep an eye on her, if we’re grilling them over a charcoal fire I don’t want her getting too close, she’s only 3,”
“Don’t worry about that, Kanao will watch over her,”
“Kanao just had my second daughter! She shouldn’t be minding out for Harue when I can, she needs to rest.”
“Sumire is 7 days old now Tanjiro,” Zenitsu stated with a harsh air about him. “Kanao is stronger than you make her out to be, she was basically up and about again a matter of hours after giving birth!”
“Yes but I can still do my bit, she’s feeding Sumire and you know how Harue is. She’s so full of energy, nobody knows what she could be getting up to, Kanao doesn’t need to chase her around.”
“I think you’re a bad influence, spending so much time with Harue, still training all the time. She’s become pretty boisterous. Didn’t you say you were grateful to have two daughters because they’d never have to fight anything? How many times have I seen you lend Harue your nichirin blade when she wants to try swinging it?!”
Tanjiro blushed and scratched the back of his head. “I guess when I see her smiling at me training I get a bit carried away.”
“Why do you still carry that thing around with you anyway?” Zenitsu questioned, gesturing to the sword attached to Tanjiro's hip.
He observed Tanjiro, as the man kept staring straight ahead and rested one palm on the side of the scabbard. It was perhaps an unnoticed habit of his, when he’d gently rub circles over the hilt with his thumb as he was thinking. Zenitsu continued after a moment of silence. “There are no more demons Tanjiro. You don't need to keep working yourself so hard. What’s it for?”
“I guess it’s a… habit,” Tanjiro's voice was quiet. For one who’d always been so sure of himself in front of Zenitsu, it was rare to see him so thoughtful, as though the answer was hard for him to grasp. “But… demons aren’t the only things out there either.”
Concern shot through Zenitsu like a bolt of electricity. “Don’t say things like that! That’s scary! Nobody like that would come to this village, that’s just city people that steal things! Are there bears? Are there bears you haven’t told me about on this mountain??”
Tanjiro looked up with a blink of surprise. “Yeah there are bears here. Haven’t you seen one?”
“AAIIIIIIIEEEEEE! Bears?! What really?! Bears!? I’ve lived on this mountain with you guys for 7 years and you never told me that there’s bears?! How could you keep me here like that!! Commit seppuku!”
“Zenitsu! Zenitsu!” Tanjiro laughed, holding up his hands as if to defend himself from his friends' onslaught. “They rarely bother anyone, only if they’re starving do they ever come down around here.”
“Yeah but you could’ve warned me! I would’ve taken Nezuko to live in the city instead years ago!”
“Haha! Really?” Tanjiro smiled and thought to himself. “Maybe she would’ve liked living in the city, with those fancy clothes and lights I remember there.”
Zenitsu blinked and calmed down right away, feeling a twinge of regret in his stomach. “Nah… her heart has always been here.” He remembered all the times he’d sat with her as she fixed her kimono under the wisteria tree they’d planted beside her house and smiled. “City clothes wouldn’t make her any prettier than she already is.”
Tanjiro felt like he had to blush on behalf of his sister. “...You’re right.”
They walked in silence for a moment as the wind seemed to blow a chill over them, the sky was slowly getting darker and the insects were quietening down. “I wonder how Inosuke’s doing,” Tanjiro mused as he peered at the sun setting over the distant mountains.
“Fine, as always. I bet he’s reached Aoi by now. Still can’t believe he just upped and left like that...”
“That's exactly something Inosuke would do though. Out on a hunt, gets an idea and suddenly decides to travel out to find what he wants. We’re lucky he even came back to drop off the dinner he’d caught for us, but setting out over the country in a direction he wants to go in has never been a barrier for that guy. I can understand why he’d eventually get bored around here.”
“He didn’t really make many friends around the village,” Zenitsu agreed. “Then there was the night we all went for drinks for the first time.”
“A- Ahhh… yes.” Tanjiro stuttered, but eventually a grin broke out onto both of their faces again. “That really was an event wasn’t it?”
Zenitsu was trying to suppress his giggle so much that he could barely respond. “Wasn’t it? I’m surprised we were even invited again after that.”
“It’s lucky he couldn’t remember what happened so that he didn’t feel like he was missing anything when we didn’t invite him later. Though… I feel bad for not inviting him again.”
“Feel bad? Tanjiro, not inviting him again is a matter of safety. We couldn’t,”
“Should we have warned Aoi?” Tanjiro perked up suddenly.
“Aoi? When he reaches her mansion?”
“Yeah, Aoi… in case she offers him sake, just casually.”
The two stopped walking and contemplated in silence for a second.
“...”
“...”
“... She can handle him-“
“Yeah! Aoi can handle him.” The two nodded simultaneously and marched forward again.
“The folks in the village have told me that you’re always invited to visit them again whenever you like." The man in the checkered haori mentioned. "They told you not to get lonely up on the mountain if you ever fancied some conversation.”
“Told me? Specifically?” Zenitsu looked surprised.
Tanjiro didn’t look up. “Hm.” Affirmative.
Their sandals were the only sound now. There were grey clouds on the horizon and Zenitsu could hear a rumbling. “Rain,” He murmured, cupping a hand to his ear, though it wasn’t a great bluff to pretend that he’d moved on entirely from the previous topic.
Tanjiro sniffed promptly. “Yes.”
A star was obscured by the clouds.
“Sorry Zenitsu, I've been selfish fitting two families into this house. I hope this charcoal business is enough to keep all of you afloat. Giyu was very kind to leave us some of his money when he went. There’s enough in case of emergency-“
“Don’t.” Zenitsu’s voice was quiet but firm. His eyes were locked on the clouds, facing away from his friend.
Tanjiro hesitated, frowning a little. He put on a smile and shrugged it off. “Don’t what-“
“Don’t.” Zenitsu's shoulders raised a fraction of an inch. “We make plenty with Charcoal. And the villagers are so nice. We can all look after ourselves, your girls, my boy- and you.” Zenitsu turned to look at him with a smile, his eyes were closed. “What could you be worrying about? Don’t tell me you think we haven’t earnt enough- look if you start skimping on your meals for the rest of us I’ll punch you.”
Tanjiro smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No, not now.”
“Not now so what’s the problem? We’re fine.” Zenitsu patted Tanjiro on the shoulder and pushed him forward a little, speeding up the pace. “Let’s get home before that rain passes over that hill.”
Tanjiro himself could hear the rain getting closer now while their shadows, already stretched out, began to fade as the last rays of sunlight left them. On the horizon they spotted two figures, one tiny and less sure of their footing. and one much taller and steady. Even in the dim light they knew who it was immediately. Nezuko was carrying a little boy and an umbrella in her arms, as her second hand reached out to the hand of a tiny girl strutting down the path, hoisting a second umbrella on her shoulder that looked comically large compared to her.
Zenitsu held back a laugh by biting his lip lightly as he watched Tanjiro stare at his daughter with such concern, as though at any moment the weight of the umbrella would knock over the little girl and she'd fall off the face of the earth. "Harue! Did you carry that all the way out here? Careful with that-"
"Rain's coming! Rain's coming dad!" The little girl retorted, her cheeks flushed with ferocity. She was the striking image of her father, hair tinged with red and eyes aglow with determination. She almost flung the umbrella at him when they were close enough and puffed out her chest with her fists on her hips. "You should have an umbrella!"
"Y-yes well I didn't know it would rain when I left this morning." Tanjiro knelt down on the path to talk at head level with his daughter and glanced up at Zenitsu as if looking for some help, but Zenitsu was too busy trying not to laugh at the girls intimidation. "I think she got these manners from you," Tanjiro muttered.
"No she's definitely yours." The 3 year old was already struggling with the umbrella to try and shield her fathers head from the rain that hadn't begun to fall were they were yet, so Zenitsu quickly turned to Nezuko and left them to it.
Nezuko was a 21 year old woman now, and she was stunning. She was trying to not giggle herself as she watched her brother struggle to find a balance between helping Harue and let the toddler have her pride in doing it herself, but she looked up at Zenitsu with a smile that could melt mountains as far as he was concerned. With a flick of her wrist Nezuko loosed her own umbrella and brought it about the blond coal seller, using it to hide a quick peck on the cheek from Tanjiro's eyes. The little boy she was holding was too young to notice. "How was your day Zenitsu?"
"Lovely," His voice quivered, he wasn't talking about the day. "We brought a new... fruit... vegetable... thing to cook."
"Oooh!"
"What's all this then?" Zenitsu continued for the sake of conversation, though it was obvious why they were here with umbrellas.
"By the time I could tell it was going to rain Harue was already walking out the front door," Nezuko giggled. "Her sense of smell already rivals Tanjiro's, and there was no stopping her from going to help you two, so I joined."
He patted his sons head as he and Nezuko turned to continue walking back home. His son had his powerful eyebrows and eyes, but had hair more akin to the Kamado family. "Didn't you walk with them Kazumi? Harue walked all the way with that big umbrella."
"Zenitsu," Nezuko tutted. "He's only one he's barely begun to walk, he couldn't make it all the way down here."
The blond frowned a little but it didn't last as Kazumi grabbed his finger with a little hand and shook it, beaming up at him. "Yeah. He'll do that later." He hesitated to look back at Tanjiro to see how he was faring. He still looked like he was struggling. "Everything ok Tanjiro?"
"Look Harue I'll carry the umbrella, you're too short to hold it above both of us-" Tanjiro was muttering as the pair struggled on the ground.
Unfortunately he was only met with a decisive, "No!" from Harue, who's eyes were pinched tight shut as she held the umbrella up with her fingertips, stretching as high as she could on her tip toes.
"Well then you'll have to climb on my shoulders,"
Zenitsu and Nezuko watched worriedly as the girl stubbornly began climbing over Tanjiro's shoulder, bashing his head with the still unfolded umbrella and on the side of her father with the withered arm so that he couldn't support her. The man could only look flustered as he tried to stop her from slipping and falling off with his other arm reached as far around as it could go.
"Tanjiro don't-" Zenitsu interrupted worriedly. "You're arm, you don't have to carry her and the unsold charcoal just carry the-"
"There!" Tanjiro ignored them, as Harue happily sat herself in amongst the charcoal, getting her clothes decidedly dirty but looking pleased. Tanjiro easily hoisted her and the basket back up, and as if on cue the rain reached them. "Perfect. Thank you Harue!"
Harue herself was beaming, and planted the umbrella neatly into the charcoal between her legs. "Now you're dry!"
The group laughed and set off home. It didn't take long for Harue to find the sweetcorn and though she was good enough to not eat it, she did talk about how excited she was to cook it all the way home, so they all prepared themselves for an evening of making sure she didn't get burnt. As they neared the house the rain began to let up and Zenitsu noticed a change in Tanjiro's breathing, it was minute, and he wouldn't have spotted it if the rain hadn't ended, but Tanjiro was definitely using a breathing technique to keep carrying Harue all the way home. She was only small, but Zenitsu supposed it had been a long day, and there was no need for Tanjiro to be as strong as he had once had to have been when fighting demons, so Zenitsu didn't question it.
With the light rain passed, and the moon in the sky, they grilled sweetcorn over smoking charcoal. Kanao helped no matter what Tanjiro said, Harue successfully helped them cook without getting burnt, though she did complain about the smoke in her eyes from the hot bbq. They sang songs until the sky was completely clear and they were bathed in nothing but moonlight, Zenitsu fell asleep on Nezuko's shoulder, and since Kanao and Tanjiro were already sat with a sleeping infant under the wisteria tree, she gently woke him up again and they both went to put Kazumi to bed themselves.
"Do you suppose it'll flower next year?" Tanjiro was musing as the couple were left alone under the small tree outside, it was getting chilly but they didn't mind.
"The cutting we took from the mansion was healthy," Kanao replied with a smile. "I'm sure it will, it's grown well for about 5 years now. I saw a couple of small flowers last year, but it was a bit too early for it."
"Hm, I'd like to see it flower."
"You will."
They were sitting shoulder to shoulder under the tree, Harue had fallen asleep against Tanjiro's chest and they were somewhat cradling Sumire between them, also asleep. Kaburamaru was nestled inbetween them all, being cold blooded, he was fond of the warmth, and he was welcome there, tongue flicking over Kanao's hand affectionately. Tanjiro almost didn't want to break the peace, but he forced the conversation out. "Zenitsu didn't want to talk about it again today. Maybe I should just sit him down and tell him."
"I'd like to see you try that." Kanao mused, smile not faltering. "I've spoken about it with Nezuko, she knows what your thoughts are, though I'm sure she'd rather talk about it with you than with me."
Tanjiro winced and distracted himself with Harue's hair. "I don't know how to talk about death with my own sister, that's cruel."
"She's strong Tanjiro."
"I know."
"Don't worry so much, you have time."
"Sanemi died at 23, Giyu shortly after."
Kanao's smile continued but she closed her eyes. "You're not Sanemi or Giyu you. You're Tanjiro." She glanced up at him with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes which made Tanjiro shiver. "I saved your life and if I say you'll stick around then you will."
Tanjiro's heart fluttered in his chest as his face flushed red. Since she'd broken out of her traumatic shell she'd continued onwards and upwards, and she'd definitely taken on the personality of the other women in the butterfly mansion. When he thought back to the shy girl he'd first met, they were barely recognizable. But her certainty was enough for him to believe in it wholeheartedly as well. "Y-yeah,"
Her eyes narrowed a fraction and her smile grew. "It's hard to see in the moonlight but I don't believe I've seen you this red before."
"K-Kanao! Please-" Tanjiro protested but Kanao giggled quietly. "I still need to talk to Zenitsu. It's not fair if I don't. He has to look after you all." Kanao hesitated and sighed, it was almost imperceptible but Tanjiro flicked his gaze back to her. "Just while the girls are young, you're fine, I know what your thinking."
"An almost blind girl with two ki-"
"An ALMOST blind girl can do everything everyone else does. You're still a swordswoman." Tanjiro took her hand in his one good one and lent forward to catch her eye again. "Don't even consider it. Nezuko would never even consider leaving you alone. Nor Zenitsu."
"No," Kanao agreed with a smile. "Nezuko's become my best friend. I just know how much you hold us together. Because you do."
"... Hm." Tanjiro was looking down, but he still looked happy. "I told everyone in the village today that if they were ever in trouble they could depend on Zenitsu. I'll put my faith in his skills as a swordsman if they're ever needed."
"Good, and if he get's frightened Nezuko and I will kick him into shape."
Tanjiro grinned. "I'm sure you would. And he'd listen."
"I think Zenitsu knows, maybe he just doesn't feel the need to talk about it. They're their own family now, this house is getting smaller - but I've never heard either mention finding their own place to live. Why do you think that is?"
"I honestly don't think that Zenitsu has thought that far ahead. He's always been convinced he'd die early, he has yet to fall into the habit of planning far into the future. He's just been following my lead."
"Yeah... Maybe it could be that simple."
The grass around them rustled as a breath of wind reminded them of the hour. "Let's head inside."
The two gathered their children up and returned to the house. Tanjiro passed by the food they'd left out for the dead on the way inside, Zenitsu had left a small plate out by his mentor's remains, and Nezuko had prepared little plates of food for the Kamado family as well. He made sure to tell them how his day had gone.
The four shared a futon in a small room, Kanao and Tanjiro lay down together with Harue sound asleep in the middle. For the first time since she'd been born, Kanao let Tanjiro take Sumire to keep company at night, and he lay her down next to him, small form wrapped up in his arm and foreheads touching.
When the sun breached the horizon in the early hours of morning, they were woken up by Sumire's cry's. Because the cheek of her father under her outstretched arm was stone cold.