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Shinobu watches with fascination and curiosity the moment Tengen almost bites the hand off one of the kakushi who tries to take Tanjirou away from him.
He's bleeding, one of his hands is missing and he honestly looks exhausted but that doesn't seem to stop him from wrapping his arms around the unconscious boy tightly.
"But I can carry him for you, Sir..." Mumbles a kakushi girl, brave enough to keep talking to the sound hashira. The other two have Zenitsu and Inosuke behind their backs.
"He can do it," Makio hisses fiercely, making the girl shiver.
Shinobu wants to know what happened out there for the Uzui family to end up like that: the last thing Kanao told her was that the three boys had taken Aoi's place to follow the sound hashira to the Red light District. But she had told her Tanjirou and Tengen didn't seem to like each other that much.
However, by the way Tengen is constantly nuzzling Tanjirou's cheek and pulling him closer to his broad chest, it seems like it's exactly the opposite now. Even his wives are moving around them both protectively; Makio glares at whomever dares to even look in Tanjirou's direction, Suma has taken one of the boy's hand in hers while Hinatsuru keeps carrying Nezuko's box like it's some sort of sacred duty.
Because Tengen is stubborn (well, to be fair, all hashira are, seems to be one of the requirements to become one) Shinobu has to find a room with a large bed so the Pillar can lay down with Tanjirou still in his arms.
"He's cold, I need to keep him warm," he tells her when the insect hashira rolls her eyes at him.
Fortunately, he lets the butterfly girls to patch them up. Suma helps them to clean both Tanjirou's and her husband's wounds while Makio and Hinatsuru wash Tanjirou's hair gently.
When Tanjirou finally opens his red eyes he looks so much better; Tengen is so relieved he can't stop himself from kissing the boy's cheek. Tanjirou's face turns completely red when he realizes what happened and Makio chuckles before running her fingers through his hair.
Of course, Tanjirou forgets about it quickly as soon as he notices the bandage around Tengen's left arm.
"Your hand, Uzui-san!" He mumbles, tears falling from his eyes. "I'm sorry, I–"
"None of that!" Makio scolds him, looking irritated already. "You won't apologize for something a couple of demons did. It's not your fault!"
"But, Makio-san..."
Tengen chuckles before wiping away the tears on Tanjirou's cheeks with his thumb.
"It's useless, you can't win against her, Tanjirou," he grins fondly. "But you'll get used to it."
"Nezuko! The box!" Tanjirou tries to get out of the bed, but the sound hashira pulls him closer to his chest instead.
"She's here, Tanjirou," Hinatsuru shows him the box on her back. "She's safe, I promise."
However, she still makes a gesture for Makio and Suma to close the door and the curtains before she opens the wooden box so Tanjirou can see Nezuko sleeping peacefully inside.
"Thank you," Tanjirou sighs, relieved, looking at Tengen's wives. "Thank you so much. You've been so kind to us."
"We're family, Tanjirou. It's our pleasure," Tengen grins before kissing him on the cheek again.
Shinobu can see the confusion in Tanjirou's eyes as he looks back at the sound hashira. He hasn't realized yet that the Uzuis have just claimed him as one of their own and there's nothing he can do about it.
She wonders how long it'll take for him to figure it out.
They move almost in synchrony; Suma goes to the kitchen for food for Tanjirou and Tengen, while Makio keeps making sure Tanjirou's temperature is alright and Hinatsuru convinces him to stay in the same bed as Tengen.
The sound hashira watches everything with a pleased smile on his lips before nuzzling Tanjirou's hair.
Shinobu leaves them alone for a while and only comes back when Giyuu arrives at the estate to see how Tanjirou is doing.
The boy looks so much better now. He's happily telling them something about Nezuko while everyone is giving him their undivided attention.
"Tanjirou?"
Shinobu has the feeling that the water hashira does that on purpose, drawing Tanjirou's attention away from them, breaking the peaceful and lovely image of a family the Uzuis have managed to create in a couple of hours.
"Tomioka-san!" The boy beams at him, quickly getting out of the bed before Tengen can pull him back against his chest.
Giyuu takes him in his arms and Shinobu tries to hold back a chuckle when she notices the way Makio and Tengen start glaring at him.
"Are you alright?" The water hashira asks, purposely ignoring the four furious looks being thrown in his direction.
All members of the Uzui family seem to be really possessive and jealous. How interesting.
"I'm better now, Tomioka-san!" Tanjirou assures him. "Although Nezuko broke the bamboo muzzle you gave her."
"Oh? Why don't you tell me what happened while we drink some tea? Are you good enough to walk to the kitchen or do you want me to carry you?"
"Actually, I think he should stay," Tengen mumbles, while narrowing his eyes at Giyuu. Although his expression softens when he looks at the young demon slayer again. "You should come back to bed."
"What if you get cold again, Tanjirou?" Suma cuts in, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I don't think you're in condition to get out of the room."
"Let Tengen-sama keep you warm, Tanjirou," Hinatsuru insists.
"I'm much better now!" The boy grins obliviously.
"Besides, I can keep him warm too," Giyuu says before taking Tanjirou in his arms. "Let's go get some tea so you can tell me everything that happened."
"We'll go with you!" Tengen jumps out of the bed, staring at Giyuu like he wants to punch him in the face.
Shinobu has the feeling that everything's going to get more complicated in the next couple of days. But she's probably going to enjoy it.