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Genya woke up under the soft cover of blankets. He was at the Butterfly Mansion again. The room was dark, probably nighttime. The events from before floated back to him. Tanjiro - were they friends now? - pestering him, then all hell breaking loose as the village was attacked. They had fought together, and Genya was certain he’d be the one to get the kill, but-
The sensation of his sword snapping against Upper Moon Four’s neck.
“I can’t cut his head. You do it. I’ll give you the honors just this once.”
Feelings of shame twisted in his gut. He couldn’t kill the demon when it was right in front of him. Just a useless burden again. His chances of becoming a Pillar went up in smoke, any remote possibility of his brother’s acceptance along with it.
He felt jealousy begin to bubble up. Tanjiro and Nezuko had it all. Their relationship wasn’t in shambles, and Nezuko remained in control despite being a demon. He and Sanemi hadn’t talked in years, and their mother attacked and killed their siblings.
It wasn’t fair.
Genya felt a weight tug at his blankets. Like a hand, gripping and pulling on the fabric. He tensed up, hoping it would go away.
It didn’t.
A pudgy, clawed hand appeared over the side of his bed, using his blanket as rope. Slowly, the other hand appeared, then the tip of long dark hair. The figure of a girl climbed up onto the edge of his bed and stared at him with glittering pink eyes.
Nezuko, Tanjiro’s younger sister.
“Uh-” Genya sat up and scooted to make room for her. She seemed docile, even without the muzzle, but he didn’t want to risk making her upset and invoking Tanjiro’s wrath. It was clear that that was the one surefire way of pushing the gentle boy past the brink.
Where was Tanjiro, anyways? Genya looked past the side of Nezuko’s ear. The bed on his left side was occupied, and Genya could make out the faint outline of Tanjiro’s hair. He seemed to be asleep, but at least he was safe.
Nezuko was still looking at him. Her eyes seemed curious, inquisitive. Wiser than she appeared.
“Um, hi,” Genya said, unsure of what to say or what Nezuko even wanted from him.
“H-hi,” she repeated back. She grinned, her fangs peeking out from behind her lips.
“Yeah, hi,” Genya said, breaking eye contact. Now that he was no longer in the heat of battle, the whole… situation with Nezuko was starting to confuse him. She was a demon, but she was nice, apparently. He remembered Gyomei telling him something about a trial and a friendly demon, but he didn’t know it was Tanjiro and his sister. Not only was she a “good demon,” but she had also successfully conquered the sun, a feat no demon had pulled off before. This was… weird.
“Hi-” she said again, leaning in closer. Genya leaned back.
“Does she only know how to repeat things?”
“Uh, why don’t you go bother Tanjiro or something?” Genya said. He knew Nezuko’s brother would be a lot more receptive to her, even at this hour. He just didn’t know how to deal with a demon in this setting, even if she was small and cuddly and adorable- she reminded him of his little sisters.
“Tan-Tanji...ro?” Nezuko said. She did not leave the bed.
“Yeah, Tanjiro,” Genya said. “He’s on the next bed.” He pointed in that direction.
“Tan...jiro. Sleep. He… sleep.”
So she could form her own sentences.
“Oh, well-”
Genya couldn’t finish, because Nezuko reached out her clawed hand, gently grazing her fingernails over his scar.
A surge of unpleasant memories came up. How claws had torn through his cheek and nose. He was lucky enough to have only been grazed, but the rest- the rest-
Without thinking, Genya grabbed Nezuko’s wrist and pulled her hand away. He regretted it instantly when she yelped.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, hoping that the noise didn’t wake anyone up. He let go of her wrist. “I’m sorry. Just, please don’t touch that. Please.”
Nezuko was silent, still carefully observing him. Then, she gave a short, quick nod to signal that she understood. She crawled closer still, reaching with her claws again. This time, she moved slower, as if trying to give Genya enough time to protest if he felt uncomfortable. Her hand landed on the top of his head.
“... Huh?”
Nezuko slowly caressed his mohawk. It was weird, but… also calming. And nice.
After a few seconds, Nezuko pulled away, looking at him expectantly.
“Wh-what was-” Genya stammered. “Wha-what was th-that? I- I mean- it felt nice, but- why?”
“You- like me,” Nezuko said. “Same.”
“Same?”
Nezuko nodded. “We- li-little-”
Little? Genya was anything but little. Unless, she meant-
“You… know about aniki?”
Nezuko nodded again. “We… same. Little.”
Genya felt a small smile crawl onto his face. “Yeah, we’re the little siblings.”
He watched Nezuko smile and stutter something out. Was it hard to live as a full demon, he wondered. His transformations were only temporary, and they still took large tolls on his mental state. Was it even worse for Nezuko?
A sense of guilt overcame him. Nezuko and Tanjiro must have been through a lot of hardship, too. They must have suffered. Yes, they had each other, and yes they were resilient, but it didn’t erase what they had gone through.
Genya desperately wanted to reconcile with Sanemi. He wanted it more than anything. And he was… still jealous that Tanjiro and Nezuko remained so close despite having gone through so much. But he didn’t feel any bitterness towards them. He was happy, for their sake.
Nezuko tilted her head, detecting the change in Genya’s expression. Her lips puckered up in a frown.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m fine, really.”
Nezuko scooted closer, leaning against him. “No more sad,” she said. “No more lonely.”
They really did have more in common than he realized. Tanjiro, too. Upon reflection, he… reminded Genya of Sanemi. Of the kind hearted big brother from his past.
The next morning, Aoi found Genya and Nezuko cuddled together on the bed, both sound asleep.
