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There's nothing better than watching all his siblings having fun, even if it's in the snow and part of him is already worrying about them getting cold.
As Tanjirou remembers all those stories their mother likes to tell them before they go to sleep, he notices that Hanako and Nezuko are preparing the buckets to fill them with water. He knows they mean well and they want to help him, but Tanjirou is determined to let them have as much fun as they can.
He can do all the stuff their father did for them.
He rushes into the house and comes back quickly with soft garments to cover them.
Nezuko chuckles and Hanako pouts, pretending to be upset, but she's trying so hard not to burst into laughter.
"Remember what mother says about the gods," he whispers to them as if he's trying not to be heard. "They like pretty things so better cover as much as you can with these and leave those buckets to me."
Nezuko looks at him fondly, but in her eyes there's a clear message 'I know what you're trying to do'.
"You should let us help you," she insists.
"I'll let you know when I need help," Tanjirou assures her, giving her a hug. "Now please make sure Shigeru, Takeo and Rokuta don't hurt each other on accident while I come back."
"Fine," Nezuko smiles, already feeling better to be given a task; she likes when she can help her family as much as she can. As she walks away, Tanjirou notices that Hanako is still in front of him, pouting.
"What is it?"
"You said they like pretty things!" Hanako says, clearly worried. "You should cover your face! You're the prettiest of us! I don't want them to take you away from us!"
Tanjirou pulls her closer to him.
"You're really sweet, but I don't think the gods are interested in eighteen-year-olds with scars on their foreheads," he assures her. "Besides, nothing can separate me from my family!"
"Promise?"
"I promise."
***
Tanjirou can't help but chuckle when he feels his hair all over his face again; the wind is being playful that day for sure.
He kneels on the wooden bridge to fill the buckets with water when he sees a young man inside, looking up at him; he gasps, already thinking about diving in to save him when, after Tanjirou blinks once, the man disappears.
Or maybe he's fallen deeper? Tanjirou gets ready to jump in when he feels a hand on his shoulder.
He turns around only to see the same man with black hair and deep blue eyes standing behind him. His mismatched haori is completely dry so Tanjirou convinces himself he saw his reflection in the water, he was probably leaning over his shoulder at the moment.
"You were going to jump to save me," it's not a question.
"Well, yes. It's what anyone would do," Tanjirou mumbles. "I thought you were drowning..."
"You have a kind heart," he observes, a soft smile quirking up the corners of his lips. "Here, let me help you."
Tanjirou doesn't remember seeing another couple of buckets next to him, but suddenly he's following him in a rush, while he carries four buckets full of water by himself.
"You don't have to!" Tanjirou insists, looking up with concern at him, although it's like the weight is nothing to him.
"It's fine, Tanjirou," he mumbles with amusement glimmering in his blue eyes.
He doesn't remember telling him his name.
"But..."
"Tomioka Giyuu."
"But Tomioka-san, you must be tired..."
"I'm really not."
By the time they arrive at the house, Tanjirou's cheeks have turned slightly pink. His mother offers Tomioka food and thanks him for helping her eldest son.
Tanjirou's siblings are looking at him in awe because everyone saw him carrying all those buckets by himself. However, Hanako is the only one that doesn't look happy.
"I'm sorry I can't stay," Tomioka says before turning around and staring at Tanjirou's eyes. He strokes his cheek. "But I'll be back soon."
***
They're playing in the snow again, Tanjirou is with them this time because his siblings insisted. However, when his scarf gets blown away by the wind, Tanjirou has to get in the woods in order to retrieve it.
A man with white hair and scars all over his chest has caught it in his hands.
"That's mine!" Tanjirou smiles at him. "Thanks for catching it!"
A wild smirk quirks up the corners of his lips as Tanjirou gets closer to him.
"Giyuu thinks he has some sort of claim on you, because he thinks he saw you first, but he's wrong, I saw you first."
Not exactly sure what he's talking about, Tanjirou only focuses on the name of his friend.
"You know Tomioka-san? It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Kamado Tanjirou!"
"I know. We all know your name."
Blinking in confusion, Tanjirou's lips part to ask who's 'We' when the man puts the scarf back on his neck carefully, almost like he's afraid of hurting Tanjirou.
"Shinazugawa Sanemi."
He's gone in the blink of an eye.
Hanako is waiting for him when he comes out of the woods and when he tells what happened to him to his siblings, her eyes shadow with concern.
***
As Tanjirou puts on the necessary garments to perform the Dance to the Fire God, his mother wishes him good luck; she has to stay home and take care of Rokuta who caught a cold. His other siblings want to go but Tanjirou doesn't want them to get sick as well.
It's snowing outside.
"Don't go," Hanako pleads, eyes filling with tears.
"I have to... The Fire God has always been kind to us, the least I could do is offer him this dance."
"What if he's a bad god?" She insists. "It's night! And no matter how desperate and dire, never pray to the gods that answer after dark. Remember?"
Tanjirou looks back at her with surprise.
"You've been reading a lot about the gods," Tanjirou mumbles, ruffling her hair affectionately. "But listen, he's not an evil one."
"What if he wants to take you away?"
"He won't."
***
Something happens that night; he collapses to the ground when he finishes dancing and the flames from the torches around reach their peak, almost like they're alive and want to chase away all the darkness coming from the woods.
Tanjirou feels cold, but he knows he has to get up and go back home to his family. He promised Hanako.
Suddenly, he gets a glimpse of a peculiar haori, it's white with flames that are almost as red as the tips of the hair of the man that's wearing it.
"I liked your dance!" The man comments loud and full of energy. He smiles before taking Tanjirou in his arms without even asking first. "I'm Rengoku Kyojuro!"
Tanjirou is too tired to wonder how Rengoku knows the way back to his house.
"Thanks for bringing my son home," his mother says, bowing respectfully at Rengoku, although she can't do much because she still has Rokuta in her arms.
"It was my pleasure!" Rengoku says like he really means it. He runs his fingers through Tanjirou's hair before getting in one of the bedrooms and leave him carefully over the tatami.
"You're really kind," Tanjirou smiles, prompting the other to blush. He's trying not to let his eyes close, but he's exhausted.
"Your brother will be fine tomorrow," Rengoku promises before pressing his lips against his hair, although Tanjirou is sure he's dreaming at that point. Because Rengoku speaks as if he knows, as if he has some sort of say in it.
Like he can heal Tanjirou's little brother with his words.
Rokuta's cold disappears in the morning, but Tanjirou forgets his conversation with Rengoku.
***
Why did he end up on the snow? Oh, right. A man tried to hurt Hanako. He shouldn't have taken her to the village.
"Tanjirou!" Hanako sobs and even though it breaks his heart to hear her like that, it means that she's still with him.
That's good.
"Are you alright, Hanako?"
"Yes, but you're bleeding!" She sobs again, kneeling next to him and grabbing his haori like her life depends on it.
"Where's the man?"
"Gone. The mist took him."
The mist?
"Don't worry, Hanako. Tanjirou will be fine, I promise. I'll heal him in no time."
The boy blinks a couple of times, next to them is a woman he doesn't recognize, although it feels like he should.
"You're one of the nine, right?" Hanako asks, her voice is shaky. "Can you save him?"
"We'll always keep him safe, but you must keep a secret for us, Hanako." She tells his sister who nods immediately and that's when Tanjirou notices the young man with long dark hair leaning towards them.
"I promise!"
Tanjirou's eyes close a couple of seconds, although when he wakes up, he feels so much better.
He looks down and realizes there's no blood on his clothes. Hanako jumps over him to hug him tight as Tanjirou turns his head around to look in confusion at the people next to them.
"What happened?" He asks after they both introduce themselves. "I was bleeding..."
"You must've dreamt it," Tokito assures him, helping him get up. "The man just knocked you out."
Tanjirou touches his head, feeling like he's missing something.
"I don't feel pain."
"You were very lucky, Tanjirou," Kocho smiles sweetly at him, taking Hanako by the hand while Tokito takes his. "Let us walk you both home."
***
Tanjirou is heading back home after filling the basket with wood when he sees a young woman with pink hair running towards him. His brows quirk up in surprise as he notices she's carrying a smaller basket and somehow manages to balance it perfectly in her hands even though she's running.
"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Tanjirou!" She says with a huge grin on her face. "I brought food for your family!"
"Uhh... Thank you, but... how did you know my name?"
"We all know your name!" She says, stroking Tanjirou's cheek with one hand.
That certainly doesn't answer his question, but Tanjirou decides, looking at her sincere smile, that he can trust her.
"Obanai! Come down!" She calls out, looking at one of the trees. Then she looks back at Tanjirou again: "I'm Kanroji Mitsuri by the way!"
The young man that jumps down in front of Tanjirou has his mouth covered in bandages; he doesn't look really happy to see him.
But then, Tanjirou notices the snake around his neck.
"Hi! Oh, your name is Kaburamaru? That's a nice name!"
The young man's eyes open wide in surprise as he looks back at Tanjirou.
"Do you understand Kaburamaru?"
"Of course!" Tanjirou smiles happily and suddenly, it's like something breaks inside the other young man.
His eyes soften and even though he can't see his mouth, Tanjirou knows he's smiling at him.
Kanroji glances from one to the other like it's the best of her life.
***
Rokuta gets lost the very next day; Tanjirou is not sure why he just ran out of the house like that, but he's determined to look for him all night if necessary.
Nezuko volunteers to go with him and since their mother is going to stay home with their other siblings, Tanjirou decides that it's better if the two of them look for him.
"Don't worry, the gods won't let anything happen to him!" Hanako assures them. Tanjirou still doesn't understand why she seems to trust them so much now. Just a couple of weeks ago she was convinced they were going to take Tanjirou away.
"Let's go!" Nezuko says, already waiting for him at the entrance. However, as soon as they set a foot outside, they see huge shadows coming towards them.
Then, Tanjirou realizes that the shadows are actually very tall men; one of them, the one who's eyes are completely white, is carrying his little brother in his arms.
"Rokuta!" Nezuko blurts out, running towards them on the snow. Tanjirou follows her almost immediately.
The man hands the little boy to her immediately and Tanjirou is already thanking them both for finding his little brother.
"Anything for you, Tanjirou!" The one with the flamboyant personality says. His grin is huge as he leans closer to take Tanjirou in his arms.
"Do I know you?" He asks, cheeks turning slightly pink.
"Not exactly," he says before pointing at the other man. "That's Himejima Gyomei and I'm Uzui Tengen! You probably have met our... friends though!"
Nezuko looks really amused, probably because Uzui doesn't make any attempts to let Tanjirou go.
"You have a very kind presence, Tanjirou," Himejima mumbles. "That's what I like about you."
Before he can say anything, Hanako runs towards them; she looks pleased when she notices the two men walking with her siblings. It's almost like she recognizes them.
"We have finally met everyone!" She smiles and Tanjirou notices that Uzui puts a finger over his lips while he looks at her. The girl covers her mouth. "Oh, right! The secret!"
Their mother comes outside and immediately takes Rokuta in her arms.
"My Hanako told me you're friends with the kind people that have helped Tanjirou a couple of times now," she bows. "Thanks for taking care of my children. Please come back tomorrow and bring your friends with you."
"It'll be our pleasure," Uzui assures her, before kissing Tanjirou's cheek and leaving him on the ground.
***
They arrive with the mist, it's like they appear in front of their house at the right time. They all look like warriors and Tanjirou realizes that he feels safe when they're with him.
"The nine!" Hanako waves at them happily before turning to look at Tanjirou. "It's alright. They've promised me not to take you away."
Tanjirou is about to ask what she means when Tomioka takes him in his arms, lips pressing against his hair.
"I've missed you, Tanjirou."
"My boy!" Rengoku pulls him against his chest before he can properly answer Tomioka and Tanjirou can't help but blush when the man with blond and red hair nuzzles his cheek affectionately.
As the others gather around him, Kanroji hands him a bouquet of flowers.
"They're for you!" The young woman mumbles, blushing probably as much as him. "They will never die!"
Tanjirou has never seen everlasting flowers, but decides not to question it.
"I'm really happy to see you all again, my friends!" He beams.
"Friends?" Tokito pouts as Kocho rolls her eyes and offers her hand to Hanako who's trying really hard not to giggle.
"Don't worry," his sister assures her. "He'll get it eventually."
"It's alright. We have all the time in the world," Kocho winks at her, confusing Tanjirou even more.
They have a very nice evening, although sometimes they fight and argue with one another, especially when they're trying to get Tanjirou's attention.
"I know you'll make it work somehow," his mother tells him, watching the scene before her with a fond expression.
Tanjirou doesn't understand what she's talking about.