Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Cold wind blew. Snow fell, covering the forest ground in white. Grey clouds blotched the sky, blocking the sun's warmth and drowning the world in freezing darkness. 

It was during New Year's Eve when he found them.

Growling threateningly, the demon stood in front of him. Its red eyes were slitted and its snarl revealed deadly fangs, as its clawed hands flexed ready to retaliate. Saliva streamed down its mouth, indicating its desperate hunger for flesh. It was a newborn demon who should be killed immediately before it could prey on people and get stronger.

But the demon was small. Very small. Its height didn't even reach past his waist. And it was trembling in fright, weak and helpless as it glared at him with tears in its eyes. It was just a young boy when Kibutsuji Muzan turned him into a monster.

But what shocked him the most was an even smaller girl hiding behind the demon. A human girl.

It was on New Year's Eve when Tomioka Giyuu found them, in a small hut dyed in blood, surrounded by the corpses of their dead parents.

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Fortunately, the demon boy could speak.

"M-my name is Tanjirou, and this is my baby sister Nezuko," the demon said, before bowing low. "Thank you for helping us b-bury our parents, mister."

Giyuu stared down at the demon blankly. He didn't know what he was doing. Didn't understand why his hand chose to sheath his sword. The demon was right here, right in front of him. He was a Demon Slayer, and it was his job to kill the demon.

But the demon was so… small. Very polite and innocuous. It felt like talking to a nice kid rather than a man-eating monster. Ignoring the slitted eyes, the fangs and the clawed hands, this demon behaved just like a human.

"...How old are you," Giyuu asked, voice monotonous.

"I-I'm four," the b- the demon answered nervously, before patting the human girl's shoulder. "Nezuko is two."

Four. Four years old. Four fucking years old. And the Demon King turned him into a demon.

Giyuu didn't know he could hate Kibutsuji Muzan even more than he already had.

"...You are a demon," he said to the demon, crouching down so that he was on the same eye level. "You will eat humans. You have to be put down."

The demon blinked. Looked down at his sister, who was hugging the demon's legs. 

"What about Nezuko?" the demon asked. "Will you kill her too?"

"No. She is a human. She is to be protected."

"Then," the demon looked up and smiled. "Please kill me, mister."

Giyuu frowned at the demon's smile. It was gentle and serene, as if the demon was resigned that death was the only option. And judging by the demon's previous question, he was willing to be put down for the sake of his little sister. So unlike those demons who devoured their own family in hunger.

Giyuu realised then that he hadn't been seeing this demon as one, but as an innocent human child. And he couldn't bring himself to raise his sword against children.

"...I will kill you," he said to the boy . "But… not now. Your sister still needs you."

Hope filled the boy's eyes. He hugged his sister tighter as he bit his lip to hold back his tears. "T-then, what should we do?"

"Come with me," Giyuu said and stood up. "I will bring you to my Master's home. He will be able to take care… of… you…"

A tiny hand held his much larger one, soft and warm against his scarred and calloused skin. Giyuu looked down to see their joined hands, as if it was natural for the boy to hold an adult's hand as he walked.

"We should go now, then," the boy said, tugging at his hand. "It's cold. Nezuko will fall sick."

For the first time since their encounter, Giyuu's eyes softened. He crouched down to lift Nezuko up so that she could sleep in his arm, while his other hand held the boy's hand.

"... What's your name, boy."

"It's Tanjirou!" the boy, Tanjirou, chirped brightly. "What about you, mister? What's your name?"

"It's Tomioka Giyuu."

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“Tomioka-san, Nezuko is feeling cold.”

The boy’s sudden remark jolted Giyuu out of his thoughts. His mind had been circling around whether what he was doing was right to the point that he didn’t realise it had started storming. Snow rained down heavily as a chilly wind blew on his face, making it harder to look forward. Giyuu looked down to see Tanjirou’s worried frown.

“My sister,” Tanjirou said, tugging at his hand insistently. “She’s freezing.”

Giyuu blinked, before turning to check on the little girl in his arms. Indeed, the toddler was shivering, curling up tightly into a ball as she pressed her face on his chest to avoid the frigid wind. He had forgotten that this girl was neither a Demon Slayer nor a demon, but a normal human being. A very young child to boot, thus very vulnerable to extreme weather events.

She might die at this point, Giyuu thought in alarm.

Scanning the surroundings, the Demon Slayer searched for a shelter. But everywhere he looked, he only saw snow and pine trees. He couldn’t run at his normal speed because of the two children, so it would take much longer to reach the nearest village.

Giyuu began to panic for real when he heard a sniffle from her.

“N-Nezuko is going to cryyyy…,” Tanjirou said, lips wobbling. For some reason, he was also ready to cry even though the harsh weather didn’t seem to faze him.

Giyuu was officially stressed. What was he supposed to do? He was a Demon Slayer, not a babysitter! He had no experience with kids, let alone calming two down in the middle of a snowstorm like this. Nezuko was freezing; should he build a fire? But there was wet snow everywhere and there was no shelter around. And her brother didn’t seem to have any issue with the cold but he was also a demon and demons were much more resistant to external conditions and Giyuu never needed one in the first place because of his Breath of the Water–

That’s it!

Giyuu closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Held his breath for a couple of seconds. Contracted his abdominal and pelvic muscles, before exhaling slowly. He repeated the exercise until his body began to heat up and Nezuko’s sniffle died down at the warmth.

“Is this enough?” Giyuu looked at her and asked.

Nezuko responded by snuggling on his chest and peeking up at him. Giyuu decided that he should cover her with his haori because those teary doe eyes unexpectedly caused heart palpitations.

“Thank you, Tomioka-san,” Tanjirou said and smiled happily at him. For some reason the boy always said things on his sister’s behalf, as if he knew what she was feeling. And it seemed like he even knew what Giyuu was thinking, because then Tanjirou said, “Daddy said I can smell emotions.”

“Smell emotions?”

“Umu,” Tanjirou nodded. “Like when Nezuko felt happy or scared or uncomfy. Daddy could do it too.”

Was that why the boy could trust him so easily? Giyuu admitted he had immediately lost his will to kill this demon the moment he saw the little girl Tanjirou was protecting. Moreover, recognising the change in emotions through one of the five senses was not unheard of. After all, some Demon Slayers who practiced Breathing Styles may obtain enhanced senses which could help them in battles.

“Was your father a Demon Slayer?” Giyuu asked.

“Nope. Daddy is a coal seller,” Tanjirou said, before humming in thought. “Though you breathe like me and Daddy. Are you also a coal seller?”

“... No, I’m not.”

“Aww… That’s too bad. Mommy said coal sellers can bring warmth to homes. They can help people cook, make people see in the dark, things like that–Oomph!”

The tiny hand holding his suddenly disappeared. Giyuu whirled around to find Tanjirou buried in the snow. It had been snowing heavily so the layer of snow had thickened significantly to the point that it was hard for the four years old to walk.

“...’M fine!” Tanjirou yelped and stood up. His face was red. “I’m a big boy! I can walk–Oof!”

Tanjirou stumbled down again. Giyuu sighed. At this rate, they would reach the nearest village next week. So he shuffled Nezuko on his left arm such that she wouldn’t fall, before bending down to pick Tanjirou up and hold him with his right.

“Hold on tight,” Giyuu said to the kids. “I’m going to run.”

The excited squealing of the two children pierced his ears as he used his Breathing technique to run towards the nearest village.
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"You have such cute children, sir."

Giyuu blinked at the unexpected remark from the inn owner. She was smiling at the coal seller kids, who were hiding behind his legs. They had to make a stop at the inn because the sun would rise in an hour and he couldn't possibly give beef jerky to Nezuko.

"My, look at them! They're so shy," the inn owner tittered, before crouching down to coo at the siblings. "What are your names?"

"N-nice to meet you. My name is Tanjirou and this is my sister Nezuko," Tanjirou bowed politely, while Nezuko attempted to follow suit. Giyuu had to grab her by the scruff before she could fall over. "Please take care of us."

"Pleasure to meet you too, dear," the inn owner smiled, before standing up to pick a key for their room. "I hope you enjoy your stay here. Though if I may ask, where is your wife…?"

"They are not my children," Giyuu finally had the chance to say.

The inn owner froze. Slowly, she retracted her hand holding the room key.

"Then, whose children…?"

"I don't know." He didn't know who their parents were aside from knowing that they were coal sellers.

"D-Did you take them from their parents?"

"Yes." Because their parents were dead by the time he found them.

"A-A-And what are y-you going to do with t-them?"

"Bring them to the organisation where I work." Because he had just received a reply from Master Urokodaki to bring them to the Headquarters instead, as Master Urokodaki had decided to inform Oyakata-sama about these children's current predicament.

The inn owner gasped. Her face paled even further when she belatedly noticed the sword he was carrying. She shakily walked backwards and opened the back door of the lobby.

"T-Then, please w-wait here, sir," she stuttered, before bolting out of the room, leaving him and the two children alone in the lobby.

"Uh, Tomioka-san?" Tanjirou tugged his hand to get his attention. Giyuu blinked at the boy, who was frowning in confusion. "She smelled scared."

"... Why?" Giyuu wondered in bewilderment.

Tanjirou shrugged, before pausing. "Wait, I smell many angry people outside—"

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. The entrance doors of the inn burst open, before police officers flooded the lobby. Nezuko squeaked in surprise while Tanjirou stood protectively in front of her. Giyuu only frowned at the scene, feeling déjà vu for some reason.

"Put down your sword and raise your hands!" One of the policemen yelled at him. "You're arrested for child trafficking!"

Giyuu blinked in surprise. He didn't understand how things had escalated like this. He followed the order obediently, nonetheless, and placed his sheathed sword on the ground.

However, the Kamado children disagreed.

"W-why are you tying Tomioka-san up ?" Tanjirou cried out, pulling on Giyuu's haori sleeve together with Nezuko as the policemen tied his hands with a rope. "Where are you taking him?!"

"Shh. It's okay, kid! You're safe now," another policeman assured him. "We will take this bad man away from you—"

"But Tomioka-san is not a bad man!" Tanjirou argued vehemently. "He helped me and Nezuko when our parents p-passed away last night—"

"Don't worry, kid. We're here. He won't be able to do anything to you, so you don't have to lie—"

"But I'm not lying!"

Giyuu's eyes widened. Tanjirou, in his emotional outburst, had begun to lose control of his demonic appearance. The policemen hadn't noticed it, but his claws had grown a little sharper and his eyes slowly turned slitted. If he went on rampage here, things would not end well for everyone.

So with a sharp inhale, Giyuu was about to tear the rope around his arms apart—

When all of a sudden, Nezuko burst into tears.

"T-T-T-Tomi-taaann—-!" She bawled pitifully, as fat tears rolled down her chubby red cheeks. "D-D-Don' goooo…"

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Nezuko waddled towards Giyuu and clung onto his leg, smearing tears and snot on his pants. She looked up at the policemen who had tied him up with big glassy eyes, pleading for them to let him go.

"Don' take our Tomi-taaannn…" Nezuko continued to wail.

"P-Please don't take T-T-Tomioka-saaann…" Suddenly, Tanjirou also began to sob. "He's a-a-all we have, so don't t-take him…"

"Waaahhhh…"

"Waaahhhh…"

"Waaaaahhhhhhhh…"

The sound of two children crying loudly reverberated around the room. The policemen unconsciously let go of Giyuu's bound hands, feeling immensely guilty for making them cry.

"A-Alright, calm down please," one of the policemen tried to appease. "I'll let T-Tomi-tan? I'll let your Tomi-tan go, but we have to make sure he's not a bad man first."

"P-Pwomise?" Nezuko blubbered, sniffling. She had stopped bawling, at least.

"Yes. So don't cry, kid," the policeman sighed, before turning to Giyuu. He untied the rope around his hands before asking, "Your ID, please."

Giyuu handed him his documents. The policeman checked them thoroughly.

"You are a… Demon Slayer?"

"Yes."

"Is that a political official or…?"

"No, our organisation is non-political."

"Ah! I remember!" another policeman exclaimed. "You know Old Man Saburo? I've heard stories about Demon Slayers from him, so it must be true."

"Wait, that's a legit job?!"

"Yes," Giyuu confirmed impassively.

The policemen looked at each other in confusion. "Then, why are these kids with you…?"

"We've decided to follow him," Tanjirou answered. "Tomioka-san helped us when our parents passed away. He's not a bad man."

"Tomi-tan no bad," Nezuko echoed after him, bobbing her head in agreement.

Faced with the twin testimonies, the policemen decided to let him go after finding nothing wrong with his documents. The sun was about to rise when Giyuu and the two children finally reached their room to rest.

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There was a prick.

His eyes snapped open. Sword unsheathed, he held his Nichirin blade on his assailant's neck—

Red doe eyes blinked at him, slitted and half-lidded.

"...Tanjirou," Giyuu hissed, forcing himself to resist the urge to continue the motion of decapitating the demon. "What are you doing?"

Tanjirou stared blankly at him for a few moments before blinking, the fog dissipating from his gaze.

"Tomioka-san?" Tanjirou asked, confused, because all of a sudden Giyuu had grabbed his shoulder tightly while his other hand held a blade on the young boy's neck. After all, the three had been sleeping while sitting on the floor with their backs on the wall—Giyuu's prefered resting position while the children just followed him, settling on both of his sides—but now Giyuu was kneeling in front of him with a stern expression on his face. "I… what?"

"This," Giyuu showed him his arm. There were two puncture marks on the skin as blood trickled down the wounds. "You bit me."

The little boy's eyes widened. He recoiled, scrambling backwards to get away from the Demon Slayer. Giyuu let him be because he saw something unusual in a demon's eyes: horror.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Tanjirou gasped, wiping away the saliva in his mouth roughly as tears filled his eyes. He retreated to the corner of the room, away from the Demon Slayer and his little sister, who was still sleeping by Giyuu's side. "I d-didn' realise—Your arm—'m sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry—"

"Nii-chan…?" Nezuko stirred awake, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Tanjirou clammed up immediately.

"...It's nothing," Giyuu whispered and covered her eyes with his palm, mindful not to let her see the blood on his arm. "Go back to sleep."

Nezuko did just that, clutching on his haori's sleeve as she snuggled by his side, snoozing. Thankfully, she didn't realise that her brother was now on the other side of the room, staring at her with terror in his eyes.

Giyuu let out a tired sigh.

"...Tanjirou," he called the boy as he sheathed his sword with a silent click. "Come here."

Tanjirou shook his head mutely, hands still covering his mouth.

"You're sitting near the window. The sunlight will burn you," Giyuu said, noting how the curtains on the window didn't completely block the sunlight. "I won't kill you, so come here."

"B-but, I might e-eat you," Tanjirou stammered. "You'll d-die. Just like M-Mommy and Daddy."

Giyuu blinked. "Did you eat your parents?"

"N-no…," Tanjirou hiccuped. "But t-that man did and—and—hic!"

Giyuu felt a vein throb in his forehead. Not because of Tanjirou, but because of the demon who had destroyed this child's family. He had seen the mangled state of Tanjirou's parents, which was evidently done not by a tiny demon like Tanjirou but a full grown one. Turning an innocent child into a demon was apparently not cruel enough; Kibutsuji Muzan had to eat his parents in front of the boy just to satisfy his sadistic urges.

Giyuu sighed and forced himself to relax. There was no use in cursing the Demon King now. The traumatised child in front of him was more important.

"You are weak, Tanjirou," Giyuu said. Tanjirou flinched. "And I am strong. You won't be able to hurt me, let alone eat me. I won't die."

Tanjirou peeked hesitantly at him. "But you're b-bleeding. Because of m-me."

"This is nothing but a scratch. It doesn't hurt at all."

"R-really?"

"Yes. That's why, come here. I can't come to you because your sister is leaning on me—"

Suddenly, Tanjirou barreled into his chest and clung onto him, crying his eyes out. Giyuu froze, before loosening up. Recalling what his late sister had always done whenever he had a nightmare, his hand rose to pat the little boy's head softly. Tanjirou's voice was thankfully muffled enough that it didn't wake Nezuko up.

"'m sorry, I won't do it again, p-promise, 'm sorry…" Tanjirou blubbered on his chest.

"It's alright. It was just an accident," Giyuu sighed, before pulling Tanjirou away. Then, he rummaged through his pockets until he found a small bamboo canister filled with healing herbs. He poured the contents onto the floor, before showing it to Tanjirou. "That's why, wear this when you're sleeping. It seems like you can't control yourself when you are unconscious or feeling emotional, so hopefully a gag is enough to prevent such an accident from happening again."

"M'kay," Tanjirou sniffled. He obediently lowered his head so that it was easier for Giyuu to fasten the bamboo canister onto his mouth.

"Try bite into it," Giyuu told him. Tanjirou scrunched up his eyebrows as he clenched his teeth. The bamboo didn't break. "That's enough. Good job, Tanjirou."

Tanjirou beamed at him. He hugged Giyuu one last time, before settling by the Demon Slayer's side and went back to sleep.

Giyuu sighed and closed his eyes.

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There was a loud growl.

Giyuu was instantly alert. Sword unsheathed, he scanned his surroundings for demons. The room was empty save the three of them, but the growling sound persisted and it came from his behind —

Tanjirou!

…Was still sleeping, snoring lightly. 

Nezuko, however, was wide awake. She looked at him with glassy eyes and wobbly lips. The growling sound echoed again, and it came straight from her stomach.

“... Are you hungry?” Giyuu asked, to which she replied with a nod. He sighed and sheathed his blade, before standing up to make a beeline for the shouji doors. “Wait here. I’ll ask the inn owner to make you a meal.”

Something tugged the bottom hem of his pants. Giyuu looked down to see Nezuko lifting both of her hands up.

He stared at her in confusion. He had no idea what the toddler was doing, but her eyes seemed like they were telling him to do something for her. Maybe she was asking for food.

“I’ll bring one for you soon,” Giyuu said.

Nezuko blinked. Then, she pouted, swinging her arms demandingly. “Up!”

“... Up?”

“Up!”

Giyuu looked up. Nothing suspicious was on the wooden ceiling. When he looked down, Nezuko was suddenly close to bursting into tears.

“Mu… Wan’ up!” she whined, fidgeting restlessly. “Tomi-tan, up!”

But what was ‘up’? It was the second time Nezuko had spoken, but her underdeveloped speech made it hard for him to understand. Did she want to be lifted up? To be carried? And he was Tomioka Giyuu, not Tomi-tan. 

“Mmm…?” Tanjirou rubbed his eyes at her sudden outburst. Upon seeing the Demon Slayer hovering awkwardly over his teary-eyed baby sister, he sleepily said, “Nezuko wants to be carried, Tomioka-san.”

“... I know,” Giyuu said. He had figured it out moments before Tanjirou said it, though it was nice that her brother could confirm it. He bent down and lifted Nezuko up, before securing her in his arms. Nezuko happily clutched his haori. “I’ll be going down to get her some food. Stay here and don’t let anyone in.”

“... Can’t I come with you?” 

“It’s bright outside. You’ll die if you step out of this room,” Giyuu reasoned, patting his head. “Go back to sleep, Tanjirou. I won’t be out for long.”

“Mmkay then…” Tanjirou sulked, before curling up to sleep.

As Giyuu made his way down to the lobby with Nezuko in his arms, he tried to fix the toddler’s mistake, to no avail. 

“My name is Tomioka Giyuu.”

“Tomi-tan!”

“Not Tomi-tan. Tomi oka .”

“Tomi… tan!”

“To-mi- o -ka. There is an ‘o’ after ‘Tomi’.”

“Ooh? Oohh…!”

“Try again. To-mi-o-ka.”

“To-mi…”

“- o -ka.”

“-tan!”

“... Try calling me ‘Giyuu’ instead.”

“G… Gyuu?”

“... Not that. ‘ Gi -yuu’.”

“Gyuuuuhh!”

Nezuko hugged his neck tightly. Giyuu looked heavenwards in resignation. Killing demons was so much easier than this .

He continued to teach Nezuko how to pronounce his name correctly until they reached the lobby. The inn owner was not around; instead, a different staff was now manning the reception desk.

“Tomi-tan!”

“It’s not— There is no ‘tan’ in my name. It’s Tomi oka .”

“Tan tan tan tan tan~!”

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Right. Do you—Nezuko, don’t pull my hair—Do you have some soft food for a toddler?”

“Um, we have miso soup with wakame and tofu in our lunch set. Would that be alright?”

“Yes, that—”

“Tomi-tan!”

“—is alright, thank you. Nezuko, for the last time, it’s Tomioka.”

“To… mi… tan!”

“I understand. Would you like it to be delivered in your room?”

“Yes, please.”

“Tomi-tan, Tomi-tan, Tomi-tan!”

“It’s not—”

“May I have your name, sir?”

“—Tomioka, it’s Tomi-tan—I mean, It’s, uh, Tomioka Giyuu.”

Giyuu rubbed his face in extreme exhaustion as Nezuko continued to sing his incorrectly-pronounced name.

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Once the night fell and Nezuko’s stomach no longer growled, the trio then was ready to depart.

The inn owner, however, was still skeptical of their relationship and refused to let the matter go even as they were leaving.

“... Do you really want to go with this mister, dear?” she asked Tanjirou in genuine concern. Giyuu let her be because her worry was not unfounded. After all, even he himself was not confident he could bring the two children safely to his Master’s house. Not because of the demons, but because Tanjirou was a newborn demon and Nezuko was too young to travel with them. “It’s especially dangerous to travel at night. Why do you have to leave at this time?”

“I’m, uh,” Tanjirou glanced at Giyuu. “Sentisive?”

“Sensitive.”

“Right. Sensitive to sunlight,” he told the inn owner, smiling. For some reason he looked proud, as if he was amazed of himself that he knew a difficult word. “My skin will go red if I go out in the afternoon, so we gotta go at night.”

“... I see,” the inn owner said, pity clear in her voice. “Still, you are very young, your sister even more so. What if you get hurt?”

“Don’t worry, Ba-chan,” Tanjirou put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "I know how to take care of myself and my lil’ sis. I'm a big boy!"

"Unfortunately not mature enough, in my opinion," the inn owner sighed. "Too many times have I seen kids your age getting taken advantage of. You have to be more wary of strangers, young man."

"But Tomioka-san is really not a bad man," Tanjirou pouted in disapproval. "Besides, Mommy had taught me how to protect myself if a bad man comes for me."

The inn owner wasn't convinced. "Scream for help?"

"Kick the crotch!" Tanjirou answered enthusiastically. He even demonstrated it by kicking the air. There was a decisive whoosh akin to the sound of the Shinigami's blade cutting through one’s soul. The adults in the room paled; Giyuu even more so because Tanjirou was a demon and demons were physically much stronger than humans, so if Tanjirou were to do that, the victim would truly die.

Giyuu couldn't help but wonder if Tanjirou had the chance to kick Kibutsuji Muzan's crotch during the incident. Hopefully, he did.

Thankfully, Tanjirou’s demonstration managed to ease the inn owner’s worry, somewhat. And so, they departed for Mount Sagiri.

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"Bye, Ba-chan! I'll make sure to kick Tomioka-san's groin if he's really a bad man!"

-Tanjirou-

(Just kidding. He never says it. He won't kick Tomi-tan, anyway. That's just too cruel. Tomi-tan is already living a rather sad life, so give him a break!)

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“Hey, Tomioka-san. What kind of person is ‘Master’?"

Giyuu blinked. He looked down to stare at Tanjirou, pensive for a few moments. No one had ever really asked who or what kind of person his Master was, especially since most of the older generation in the Demon Slayer Corps already knew of the former Water Hashira.

“... His name is Urokodaki Sakonji,” Giyuu began as they traversed the forest towards Mount Sagiri. Tanjirou and Nezuko looked up in interest. “He is strong.”

“I see,” Tanjirou said, his mouth forming an ‘O’ in awe. Then, silence fell for a couple of seconds, before he continued. “And…?”

“He is very skilled,” Giyuu said. “He has perfected the Breath of the Water.”

“Cool. And…?”

“He has killed many demons.”

“Okay…”

“He was a Water Hashira,” Giyuu added, confused by Tanjirou’s reaction. It was as if he hadn’t managed to give the answer the demon boy wanted. “He is one of the strongest people I know.”

“That’s nice, I guess,” Tanjirou hummed, kicking a stone on their path. “So is he going to kill me?”

Giyuu paused. Looked at Tanjirou, who blinked at him innocently.

“No. I have sent him a message about your… situation. He will take care of you and your sister.”

“Bad man?” Nezuko asked in a small voice.

“No,” Giyuu replied, surprised. How did it come to that? “Master is a good person.”

Tanjirou beamed, as if he had finally gotten the answer he wanted. “How nice is he?”

“... He is very kind and gentle. Outside training, that is.” Giyuu fumbled for words. “He saved me after my older sister passed away and took me in. He let me stay in his home for a few years and taught me how to fight.”

“So is he going to teach me and Nezuko how to fight too?”

“Perhaps, not now. You’re still too young.” And a demon to boot. He had no idea if a demon could use Demon Slaying Breathing styles. “But he will still take care of you. Master has taken care of many children before; he is better at this than I am.”

Tanjirou’s eyes widened. “He has many children?”

“No…” Giyuu paused, pondering. “Or, well, I guess you can say that. Master took care of his students as if they were his own children.” After all, his Master's presence had, to an extent, filled the void his sister had left behind, as his caretaker and someone Giyuu could rely on.

“So, if you’re also his student… Does that mean he is your Daddy?”

"He's not—,” Giyuu spluttered at Tanjirou’s question. “Master is not my da—my father . He is my teacher."

“Yeah, your teacher who took you in and cared for you as if you were one of his own?” Tanjirou pointed out. “Sounds like a Dad to me!”

Giyuu wanted to refute the boy’s statement, but when he thought about it again, it was not entirely wrong. After all, Sakonji had fed him, clothed him and embraced him when he was reminded of his loss, like any good father would do to comfort their child. And Giyuu was a child who had failed him, because he had left Sabito to die alone in Mount Fujikasane. Sakonji’s favourite, beloved child, and Giyuu’s brother in everything but blood.

He hadn’t seen his Master again after delivering the news of Sabito’s death. He couldn’t bear to see him, afraid that the guilt would drown him even deeper, but he had to now because the Kamado children needed a proper adult to take care of them. A proper parent.

“... Just don’t call him Daddy when you see him,” Giyuu decided to say, his heart skipping a beat upon sighting the familiar hut of his Master. “Call him Master or Urokodaki-san.”

“Okay!” Tanjirou smiled, tugging Giyuu’s hand. “Don’t worry, Tomioka-san. You’re a good person so your Da— I mean, your Master must be a good person too! He’ll be happy to see you, so don’t be too nervous!”

Giyuu inhaled deeply and hoped that was the case.

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Unsurprisingly, Tanjirou immediately liked Sakonji the moment he saw him. Giyuu’s story must have helped, though it was also partly due to his scent. Tanjirou’s nose could identify the nature of a person, or so the boy had claimed, so he knew that Urokodaki was indeed a good man.

Surprisingly, Nezuko disliked his Master at first sight. 

“Mommyyyy!!!” the toddler bawled and pressed her face on Giyuu’s chest. Giyuu pulled her away by the scruff, but she refused to let go of his haori, sobbing and shaking her head in terror. He looked at his Master in bewilderment, before turning to Tanjirou, silently asking for help.

“N-Nezuko, don’t be scared,” Tanjirou told his sister, equally flustered. “Tomioka-san’s Daddy is not a bad man, I’m sure!”

Nezuko sniffled and peeked at her older brother, before glancing at Sakonji. She immediately hid her face on Giyuu’s chest and continued crying.

“...Is it my mask?” Sakonji coughed, hand brushing the red mask of a Tengu. The sun hadn’t risen yet and the lanterns barely lit the room, so the shadow cast on his mask made him appear even more eerie. “It must’ve looked scary to little children.”

“Do you have other masks?” Giyuu asked hesitantly. After all, masks held sentimental values to his Master.

“Not at the moment,” Sakonji sighed. “You and Sabito were my last students. I haven’t had any ever since, so I haven’t made a mask for quite some time.”

Giyuu flinched at his remark. Nezuko wailed louder.

“Um. Could you remove your mask, sir?” Tanjirou asked anxiously. “Maybe it’ll be better if my sister sees your real face instead of that red long-nosed demon.”

“It’s not a demon. It’s a Tengu,” Sakonji said, hand hovering hesitantly on his face. “And my face might look worse than the mask. It’s heavily scarred.”

“Oh, uh, is that so,” Tanjirou stammered. He began to fidget restlessly the longer his sister cried. “Do you have something sweet, then? Nezuko likes sweet stuff.”

“... Nezuko,” Giyuu attempted to coax her to relax as Sakonji left to fetch some sweets. He patted her back until she stopped bawling. “Master may have a scary face, but he is not evil. He is very nice.”

Nezuko peeked at him, her red and wet face scrunching up as she hiccuped. She hid again when his Master returned.

“Here you go,” Sakonji said, his tone bright. It was the first time Giyuu had ever seen his calm and quiet Master beaming like this. “Nezuko-chan, is it? Do you want some nekiri? Look at this; the shape is pretty and it’s all pink.”

Nezuko reluctantly turned, perking up at the mention of pretty sweets. Alas, it was probably hard to connect the kind, jovial voice with a glaring Tengu, because once the toddler saw the mask she went back to burying her face in Giyuu’s chest.

“Onii-chan…,” she whimpered, still trembling in fright. “Tomi-tan…”

The two adults sighed in resignation. 

“... You should go to your old room and let the kids rest there,” Sakonji then told him. “It must have been tiring for them to travel here.”

Giyuu nodded, pulling Tanjirou along with him as he carried Nezuko to his old room. It was lit by a small lantern on the low table, and two futons were already laid on the floor. He nudged Tanjirou to take one futon.

“... Nezuko, let go of me,” Giyuu whispered to the toddler who was still clinging on his chest. “You should sleep on the futon.”

Instead of letting go, however, her hold on his haori tightened. She was still shaking, curling up into a small ball as she squeezed her eyes shut. She was evidently scared and, no matter how unintentional it was, the Tengu mask may have reminded her of the tragedy that befell her family not too long ago.

“You should let her sleep with you,” his Master said softly. “She clearly trusts you.”

Giyuu nodded silently. A large hand squeezed his shoulder gently, warm and familiar.

“... It is nice to see you again, Giyuu.”

Me too , he wanted to say, but the words was stuck in his throat.

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Chapter Text

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"... I think we have to change our plan."

Giyuu nodded at Sakonji's words, resigned. Behind him, Nezuko clung onto his haori, still hiding from his Master even after a night staying in his house. They were planning to leave Nezuko with Sakonji while Giyuu took Tanjirou to the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters to meet Ubuyashiki Kagaya, but now it had become impossible without bringing Nezuko along with him. Nezuko was fine with Giyuu; she should've been fine with Sakonji as well, or so he had thought. At least, she no longer burst in tears whenever she caught sight of the red mask now.

"But I can't bring her along with me," Giyuu admitted. "We were lucky in the past three days - no encounter with demons during our trip to Mount Sagiri, aside from Tanjirou. But it takes more than a week to reach the Headquarters from here. It's winter and Nezuko is too young; it's too risky with me alone."

Sakonji hummed in contemplation. "Should I come with you, then?"

"But Nezuko is scared of you, Grandpa," Tanjirou pointed out as he rubbed his sister's back soothingly. "Maybe once you have a cuter mask?"

"I should start working on that, then," he said, his voice betraying his amusement. "What animal does your sister consider cute, Tanjirou-kun?"

"Nezuko likes rabbits!" Tanjirou beamed, before frowning at Sakonji's tengu mask in disapproval. "Don't make the nose too long though. Only the ears."

Sakonji laughed. Giyuu, almost. He couldn't help but imagine the former Water Hashira wearing a white, rounded doe-eyed rabbit mask on his face. And then, he paused, because his Master had laughed and he almost too, and Giyuu couldn't remember when was the last time they even laughed. 

"You should send a letter to the Headquarters still, Giyuu," Sakonji told him. "Perhaps, they can send someone to help you get the children there."

Mulling over the changes the Kamado children had brought to them, he nodded and did as he was told.

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Two days later, reinforcement finally arrived.

Unfortunately, said reinforcement actually brought their own children .

“...Aoi-chan was a victim of a demon attack. Her parents passed away before we could get there,” Kochou Kanae, the Flower Hashira, patted the twin-tailed little girl’s head soothingly as she recounted the story. It was the first time Giyuu ever seen her without her ever-present smile. “We have decided to bring her along and take care of her in the Butterfly Mansion.”

“I see,” Giyuu sighed. It was a common occurrence for the Demon Slayer Corps to adopt victims of demon attacks. Most ended up becoming Demon Slayers themselves. Giyuu glanced at the hut behind him, where his Master was together with the two Kamado children. “But why do you bring her here ?”

“Because we received your request for help immediately after that mission,” Kochou Shinobu grumbled. “Oyakata-sama mentioned that it was not demon-related, so we figured it must be people-related.”

Well, it was actually demon-related, but it did not involve fighting against demons either. The way she said ‘people-related’ made his eyebrow twitch, nonetheless. “What do you mean?”

“You got arrested last month.”

“They misunderstood my intention,” Giyuu rebuked. “They thought I was a murderer.”

“Yeah, and you kept repeating ‘I am a Demon Slayer’ without even explaining what happened and why,” Shinobu snorted in amusement. “It was so funny to see you being locked up, Tomioka-san.”

Giyuu had nothing to say to that because really, if Shinobu had not come to help him, he might have to stay locked up for weeks. So he shifted his gaze to the young girl holding Shinobu’s hand and changed the subject. “What about her?”

“Ah, this is Kanao-chan,” Kanae said and patted the ponytailed-girl’s head. “She was a slave, so we bought her and decided to adopt her too.”

Giyuu pinched the bridge of his nose. Two Demon Slayers came to help, but why must they bring two little children as well? One was still fine, but two ? How are they going to bring four children all the way to the Headquarters? “This is problematic.”

“What? Why?” Shinobu asked, for some reason sounding both nervous and even more amused. “What kind of people-related problem are you having now?”

“It’s… complicated.” 

“Shouldn’t be too complicated that we can’t handle it while having two children with us,” Kanae chuckled, before trailing off. “Right?”

Giyuu sighed in exasperation, before gesturing for the four to follow him. “Come in. You’ll understand when you see them.”

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Imagine Urokodaki wearing Tokyo Ghoul Kirishima Touka's mask LMAO

... Minus the blood splatter, of course.

Chapter Text

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Kochou Shinobu, in fact, did not understand when she saw them.

Inside the dark room in the house, there was a man wearing a cute white bunny mask playing with two little children. One was a girl, probably barely two years old, and the other a boy about Aoi and Kanao’s age. What made the least amount of sense, however, was how all of her senses screamed at her that the little boy was a demon .

Giyuu was explaining something in the background, about how he needed help bringing the two kids to the Headquarters. He had planned to leave the girl with his Master (his Master? The man with the bunny mask was the famous former Water Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji?!) while he brings the demon boy to the Headquarters, but apparently the two kids would throw a tantrum even at the mere thought of being separated. 

“Tanjirou would purposely bite my arms while Nezuko wouldn’t stop bawling for hours,” Giyuu said tiredly, facepalming. The man who didn’t even bat an eye when he got arrested was facepalming because of some children’s antics. “I need help.”

“... Can’t Urokodaki-sama come with you instead?” Kanae asked in confusion. 

“He forgot that his friend is going to visit tomorrow,” Sakonji sighed. “He lives quite far away, so by now he must be on his way here. Master can’t send him a letter to cancel their appointment so abruptly.”

“The main problem is not bringing the children to the Headquarters,” Shinobu hissed, glaring at Giyuu as she readied her sword. “It’s the demon. The demon , who’s currently running around playing a damn tag with a human toddler! What are you thinking?!”

“... Tanjirou is not dangerous,” Giyuu argued weakly. “He hasn’t eaten any human. He’s innocent.”

“Yes, but he’s a demon still,” Kanae said in concern. “It is safer to put him down now than risking other people’s lives in the future.”

“I agree,” Giyuu said. But Shinobu could see in his eyes that he thought otherwise. “I agree, but I couldn't do it. I can’t do it. He's four , Kanae-san. And Tanjirou always put his younger sister above himself.  I should be the one standing in front of Nezuko and protecting her from her demon brother, but when I first found them, Tanjirou was protecting Nezuko from myself .”

Shinobu couldn’t comprehend that. Demons were man-eating monsters. They discriminated no one, not even their own family. What nonsense was he saying? It was too far-fetched.  Too… impossible. “It must be a trick. His Blood Demon Art. Something related to illusion—”

“He asked me to kill him, for God’s sake!” Giyuu snapped, making the Kochou sisters flinch in surprise. “I told him that he is a demon. That he’d eat humans! Tanjirou is dangerous to his own sister and he’s better to be killed now before he could harm other people. He asked me if I would kill Nezuko too and I said no because she is a human. And then, he just smiled and—”

“Tomioka-san?” a voice interrupted, young and nervous. The three Demon Slayers looked down to see the demon boy, who tugged at Giyuu’s haori in concern. “You smell scared. Are you okay?”

“It’s… nothing,” Giyuu let out a shuddering breath. He was awfully tense just moments ago, as if he was ready to attack his comrades should they continue to disagree with him, but when the demon boy came, Shinobu could tell that he had forced himself to relax. He turned around and crouched down so that he was on the same eye level as the demon boy. “Why are you here? Didn’t you say you were going to make mochi with Master and your new friends?”

“Yeah, but I can’t follow Grandpa out ‘cause it’s sunny and he gotta get some stuff from the storage shed,” the demon boy pouted, before grinning. “But Grandpa gave me a special task!”

“Oh?” Giyuu hummed as his hand rose to rub the demon boy’s chubby cheek, which was stained with flour. “What is it?”

“I gotta come up with interesting shapes for the mochi!” the boy replied, waving his hands excitedly. “Nezuko likes rabbits so I’m gonna make a cute one like Grandpa’s mask. Aoi-chan likes flowers so Grandpa is looking for dried flowers in the storage shed right now. And then, Kanao-chan…”

Shinobu blinked in bewilderment when the boy glanced at her older sister shyly. Kanae giggled, before crouching down as well.

“What is it, Tanjirou-kun?” she asked, her tone indicating that she had figured out what the boy wanted.

“Um, may I borrow your butterfly hairpin, miss?” the boy asked timidly, shuffling his feet and fidgeting restlessly. “Kanao-chan likes butterflies and-and it’s the prettiest one I’ve seen…”

… Okay, Shinobu now understood why Giyuu was so reluctant to kill this boy. Her senses may have told her that he was a demon, but everything else about Tanjirou screamed "Must Protect!" She crouched down as well to observe him in more detail. She was still wary, of course, but it was at least evident that this demon boy named Tanjirou was currently harmless.

... And cute.

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Chapter Text

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When Kuwajima Jigorou reached the familiar mountain, he immediately tensed up when he heard the sound of a demon. When he caught sight of his old friend’s house, he became even more worried upon finding three Demon Slayers loitering in the area. But when he barged into his friend’s kitchen…

Jigorou couldn’t help but burst out laughing once he saw the rabbit-masked man surrounded by a bunch of brats. 

“BahahAHAHAHA—COUGH COUGH!!” Jigorou wheezed. “W-what is this, a— pfft —a nursery?!”

The cute rabbit was always smiling, but he could tell that the man behind it was scowling. Like the red tengu mask Jigorou had expected to see. Which made everything even more amusing, really. Oh, his stomach.

“Stop laughing and help me clean this,” Sakonji grumbled and threw a cleaning rag at him, before pointing at the mess that was his kitchen. “I’m old and my arms are tired.”

“Hey, I’m as old as you, and I just climbed the mountain with a wooden leg,” Jigorou snorted and threw the rag away, before grinning. “I’m tired. Lemme rest and laugh at you a bit more.”

Sakonji grumbled and rubbed the flour-stained table even harder. But Jigorou could tell that his friend wasn’t actually annoyed about the mess. He very much preferred this Sakonji over the somber and lonely man Jigorou always knew him as ever since his last disciple left him.

Speaking of which, his ears perked up when a familiar sound approached him. Jigorou hummed at Giyuu, accepting the warm cup of tea with thanks. He sipped his tea and looked down, eyeing the children hiding behind Giyuu’s legs with interest. 

Especially the boy with the demonic sound.

Sakonji suddenly owning a nursery was funny. Sakonji wearing a cute rabbit mask was funny. Sakonji housing a young demon… could either be funny or downright treasonous.

“Now, who do we have here, hmm?” Jigorou grinned at the demon boy as he suppressed his instinct to pull out his sword and decapitate him. His old friend must have had a reason why this demon was allowed to mingle among human children. 

The demon boy tensed, before scrambling to bow. The little human girl behind him followed suit, albeit a lot more clumsily. “My name’s Tanjirou and this is my lil’ sister, Nezuko. Nice to meet you, Grandpa!”

“Met’chu!” Nezuko dutifully echoed after him.

Jigorou couldn’t help but chuckle. What the hell. This demon was more polite than most humans he had ever met. He could understand a little why Sakonji didn’t kill this one right away.

“Name’s Kuwajima Jigorou, that grandpa’s old friend,” Jigorou introduced himself in return. He could roughly guess what had happened to them seeing how this demon had claimed that the human girl was his little sister, so he decided not to ask. Instead, he lifted his wooden leg to show them because they had been staring at it for quite some time. “And yes, this is a fake leg. You see, I lost my leg during an intense battle three decades ago.”

Tanjirou stared at it, brows knitting in worry. “Does it hurt?”

Jigorou blinked. He had kinda expected the demon boy to be fascinated about the battle because Kaigaku was like that. Though to be fair, his own newest disciple also didn’t react as expected when Jigorou showed him his wooden leg. At least, this boy didn’t scream.

“... It hurts, sometimes,” Jigorou admitted, smiling when Nezuko leaned closer to blow on his wooden leg. It had no effect whatsoever, but the gesture was appreciated. “I just climbed the mountain, so it aches a little.”

“Would you like some mochi, then?” Tanjirou offered tentatively. “Me and Nezuko and Kanao-chan and Aoi-chan just made them with Grandpa. They’re delicious!”

“Delish!” Nezuko repeated.

Jigorou shrugged and nodded, prompting Tanjirou to zoom out of the room, presumably to get said mochi. Nezuko attempted to follow her older brother, only to stumble and fell on the floor. Jigorou raised his eyebrows when Giyuu picked the toddler up and patted her back, mumbling words of comfort to soothe the sniffling child.

“Kid, did you finally get laid or something?” Jigorou blurted out. “I’ve never seen you being like this.”

Giyuu only looked at him weirdly. Too bad for him, Jigorou could pick up the nervous stutter of his sound. Oho. He hadn’t gotten laid, but he did have a girl in mind. How unfortunate that he couldn’t interrogate this brat in front of innocent children. 

Soon after, Tanjirou came back to the room with said mochi. And a very confused tag-along Jigorou had forgotten about.

“...Who is that,” Sakonji asked flatly, his cute rabbit eyes staring at him rather eerily.

“Ahh, this?” Jigorou chuckled and ruffled his newest disciple’s black hair. The boy predictably eep’ed. “This is Agatsuma Zenitsu. What would you do if I were to say that he’s the newest addition to Urokodaki Daycare?” 

That day, Jigorou learned to fear the rabbit.

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Chapter Text

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A distinct caw alerted the three active Demon Slayers in the Urokodaki residence. 

They emerged from the house to see a Kasugai crow with an elaborate ornament on its head circling over the house. It cawed once more before landing on Giyuu’s outstretched hand. 

“What does it say?” Shinobu asked as Giyuu took the slip of paper from the crow’s foot carefully. “That fancy headpiece… Is it from Uzui-sama?”

Giyuu nodded and began reading. “...He said he’s done with his mission at Kitashiobara and will be here tonight.”

“Kitashiobara? That’s three days away from here,” Shinobu exclaimed, clearly skeptical. She tugged his sleeve demandingly when she couldn’t peer over his shoulder to see the message’s contents. Giyuu relented before she could take off his yukata or tore it off with the forceful way she pulled. “Hm. I guess it's possible since he’s the fastest Demon Slayer in the current generation. As expected of the Sound Hashira.”

“That’s good news!” Kanae beamed happily, before deflating a little. “I feel a little bad for Uzui-san, though. He’s just gotten married recently and taking a detour to Mt. Sagiri would mean less time to spend with his wives.”

“We should get ready to leave, then,” Giyuu said. “Once he arrives, we can depart immediately.”

“Sounds good.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

For some reason, they collectively had a feeling that they would not be able to go through with that plan.

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That night, Shinobu definitely did not scream when she opened the door to be greeted with a dead boar’s head.

Immediately, her fellow Demon Slayers barged out from the next room. Upon laying their eyes on the boar, they unsheathed their swords in alarm. “A demon?!”

“Hahahahahaha!!” The boar—Or rather, the man holding up the boar-headed…thing— laughed rambunctiously. “What a flamboyant welcome! Fret not! It is I, Uzui Tengen!”

“Rawr!” The boar-headed thing menacingly flailed its limbs, which were stubby and chubby and hairless and looked awfully like a small human's arms and legs. 

“...Please tell me that is not a child,” Sakonji whimpered in the background.

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Apparently, Tengen had picked up this… boar child in a forest, on his way to Mt. Sagiri. When he was asked why, he replied with: “Because this boy is in every way flamboyant!”

“...Which way?” Giyuu asked tiredly. He wasn't sure what exactly was the Sound Hashira’s standard of flamboyance, especially after looking at the dirty wild boar kid he had just kidnapped. If he hadn't detected the human scent, Giyuu would've thought the boar kid was a demon. “You can’t just pick up a random child.”

"That's rich," Shinobu deadpanned, before facepalming. "Then again, so did we."

“Bahahahaha!” Jigorou, the only other adult who was amused by the situation, chortled. “Another addition to Urokodaki Nursery!"

Sakonji was not amused. “Just…Get out of my house, Kuwajima.” 

“But Tanjirou has promised me a massage."

"That's child labor, Kuwajima-sama," Kanae pointed out, smiling rather eerily.

"I didn't force him!" Jigorou spluttered. "He offered kindly when he saw me fall helplessly—"

"You literally climbed the tree at lightning speed when I chased you yesterday—"

"— Helplessly , I said! Because my old injury started hurting and I couldn't sleep, oh woe is me, my leg all pained and swollen and I helplessly stumbled just when Tanjirou entered my room. What grandparent would turn down their grandchild's kindness?"

"One that isn't as shameless as you."

"Says the old man who got massaged last night!"

"He'd offered!"

"As flamboyant as their bickering is," Tengen turned away from the two ex-Hashiras to address the other three demon slayers with a smile. "Shall we take care of the demon first?"

"Right," Giyuu cleared his throat and gestured inside. "This way."

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Chapter Text

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"When I said 'take care' of the demon, I meant to kill it," Tengen said awkwardly as he eyed Tanjirou. "Not to actually take care of the demon."

"It's…complicated." Shinobu hated repeating Giyuu's unhelpful response, but it really was that hard to explain Tanjirou's existence among them. He was more like a human child than a demon, especially now when he was in the same room with Inosuke, the boar kid Tengen had brought along. The former peered at the latter from behind Giyuu's legs, cautious but relatively calm. The latter snarled at everyone and headbutted whoever came too close to him.

"If I didn't know better, I would've thought that the boar kid is the demon," mused Jigorou while calmly pulling Zenitsu's collar just in time before Inosuke could claw at his face. His own charge predictably shrieked in fright. "He's really like a wild animal."

"He's been acting like this since I found him yesterday." Tengen shook his head. "The only time he'd calmed down was when I had offered him food."

"It's not working, though," Sakonji noted as he watched Kanae's offered mochi being slapped away. The Flower Hashira noticeably deflated. "Try say some comforting words, Uzui-dono. Perhaps he'd listen to you since you were the one who'd picked him up."

"I've tried that many times, but he never reacted." Tengen attempted still, his normally boisterous voice reduced to soft murmurings to calm the rampant child. Unfortunately, he was only met with a warning bark. “See?”

"Can he understand you?"

"I don't know. He's never said a word either. Only growls and yelps."

"Quite a handful child you've brought here, Uzui-san," Kanae admitted, chewing her lip. "What do we do?"

"...I'm really sorry for the trouble," Tengen sighed. It was a rare sight, Giyuu noted, considering that the normally upbeat man was now slouching in defeat. Clearly the boar kid's antics had drained all of his flamboyant energy. "Honestly, the only reason I had brought him along is because he was alone and was clearly hungry, in a forest full of wild animals and demons alike. I can't just leave a child like that, no matter how much he protested, nor can I leave him in a random village after picking him up. I have to take responsibility for him."

"I understand. We do," Kanae said softly, patting the heads of the two little girls she and her sister had picked up themselves. "Oftentimes we forget about the people we strive to keep safe. I am glad you've brought him here, Uzui-san."

Tengen grinned, thankful for her words. 

The conversation went to a halt when Tanjirou began to approach Inosuke. Giyuu reached for the sword on his hip, watching the two children in tense silence, before realizing with a blink that he was more wary of the human child than the demon. More wary of the Sound Hashira, who also had his hand resting on the handle of the Nichirin sword strapped on his back.

He trusted Tanjirou that he wouldn't harm a single hair of the other child even if provoked. Strangely, the same couldn't be said for his fellow Hashira. Demon Slayers were hunters of demonkind, after all, and the Hashiras could be said to be the most vicious and unforgiving of them all. Giyuu could only hope that, just like Kanae and even himself, Tengen wouldn’t immediately go for the kill at the slightest provocation. 

Giyuu tensed up further when Inosuke started growling. 

Tanjirou paused his advance, tilting his head at the aggressive boar child. He blinked when Inosuke growled some more, before turning to look up at Giyuu.

"He's scared," Tanjirou told him, brows scrunching up in concern. "He said he's surrounded by big people."

"He hasn't said anything, though," Shinobu blurted out in confusion. 

"He's a boar." Tanjirou simply shrugged. "He doesn't understand our language."

Something he had said must've rattled Tengen, because Giyuu noticed him inhaling sharply before relaxing his grip on his sword. Then, after a moment of hesitation, Tengen crouched down and addressed the boy.

"I am the Sound Hashira," he began, his typical overbearing demeanor surprisingly absent in favor of a softer tone. "But I am afraid that doesn't make me fluent in boar language. What do you think we should do to calm him down?"

"I guess you're doing it now, mister," Tanjirou beamed. "You're scary when you're standing 'cause you're big, but now that you're smaller you don't feel so bad."

"I suppose our presence must've intimidated him," Sakonji hummed in understanding, before turning to leave. "Nezuko will wake up from her nap soon. Come on, Kuwajima. You said that your disciple wanted to play with her."

"Hmph! He's been praising her to me ever since he met her," Jigorou snorted, guiding an excited Zenitsu along with him.

"Then, we should start making dinner," Kanae chirped, patting Tanjirou's head. "I'll leave him to you, Tanjirou-kun." 

"Aren't you leaving?" Shinobu asked Giyuu as she trailed after her sister with Aoi and Kanao.

Giyuu grunted as he crouched down instead, still eyeing the boar kid and the Sound Hashira. "I'm not leaving him alone."

"Fair enough." Tengen shrugged. He wasn't leaving either. "Demon or not, I can tell that he's your charge. Though you owe me, and in extension Oyakata-sama, an explanation."

And so, only the two Hashiras, the demon, and the boar were left in the room.

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