Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hey! So uh, this is my first book I'm writing on ao3 (I used Wattpad before this, still do) and because of my love for my baby Muichirou I am making a one shot book about him because why not? I crossposted this on Wattpad to an account I abandoned so if you come across this on Wattpad, it's just my old account and it won't be updated. Now that that's outta the way, lemme tell you what I will, might and won't do.

Will:
Angst/Comfort
Demon Muichirou
Demon Character
Highschool AU (even tho idek what happens in Highschool)
Modern AU
Fluff
Angst

Might:
Gore
Genderbend (idk yet..)

Won't:
Muichirou x anyone
Y/N (Ew)
Major character death
SMUT A BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG NO NO

I probably forgot smth but it's okay.

Characters I will do:
Amane Ubuyashiki
Genya Shinazugawa
Ginko
Himejima Gyomei
Kagaya Ubuyashiki
Kanae Kochou
Kanao Tsuyuri
Kyojurou Rengoku
Michikatsu/Kokushibou
Mitsuri Kanroji
Obanai Iguro
Sanemi Shinazugawa
Senjuro Rengoku (maybe)
Shinobu Kochou
Tanjiro Kamado
Tomioka Giyuu
Uzui Tengen
Yuichirou Tokitou
Their parents

Yes, I'm well aware for some of them I put their given names first and their last names last and the other way around, but idgaf cuz im stupid <3

Chapter Text

The Hashira were the highest ranking demon slayers in the Demon Slayer Corps. They were strong, clever, fast and were respected by everyone. The eight Hashira were Himejima Gyomei (The Stone Pillar), Uzui Tengen (The Sound Pillar), Iguro Obanai (The Serpent Pillar), Shinazugawa Sanemi (The Wind Pillar), Tomioka Giyuu (The Water Pillar), Koucho Kanae (The Flower Pillar), Rengoku Kyoujuro (The Flame Pillar) and Tokitou Muichirou (The Mist Pillar). The Demon Slayer Corps was run by Ubuyashiki Kagaya, and he was held in high regard by everyone, especially the Hashira. They held him in such high regard, they held their own personal meetings weekly to discuss any minor or moderate issues within the Corps that didn't need to be alerted to the master and damage his health further. They usually met up at Kanae's Flower Estate, as it was roomy and pleasant to look at, as well as having plenty of space for some training. The newest Hashira, The Mist Pillar, had been to about four of them, having being dragged to all of them by Sanemi after forgetting what was happening and where he needed to go. Despite having a quiet and closed off personality, similar to Giyuu, Obanai and Sanemi had their preferences in who they wanted to bully and decided to cut some slack for Tokitou (for now). They were all gathered in a circle in a spacious room in The Flower Estate, Obanai and Sanemi poking fun at Giyuu silently, Rengoku and Uzui having a nice chat about what they had been up to recently, Gyomei was patting Giyuu's head comfortingly (having giving up on scolding Obanai and Sanemi long ago) while Muichirou sat by himself with his chin resting on his knees and his small arms wrapped around his thin legs. Kanae was out making some tea and getting some snacks. She walked back in to the room, a large tray in hand. She closed the shoji behind her, tray still in hand and placed it in the middle of the circle before sitting down next to Sanemi (who was now a little pink in the face and smiling stupidly, while Obanai - very badly - held in his laughter next to him). It was silent as Kanae positioned herself comfortably, before she clapped her hands. The meeting had started.

"I'm glad to see all of us have turned up in good condition. Now, let us discuss. Has anyone heard anything that could possibly need an investigation?" Kanae inquired. "There's been a few complaints in a small town in Aomori. It couldn't be anything more than a low ranking demon. I'm sure a Kinoto ranking slayer could kill it easily, as there only seems to be enough destruction caused by one demon." Sanemi informed. "I heard a few more demon slayers came out of Final Selection than usual. I think that all of the more difficult demons have been destroyed and we might need to bring some stronger ones in." Obanai butted in. A few others agreed. "There's been a lot of trouble in Yamanashi. If my predictions are correct, it is either a high ranking Kizuki, or multiple lower ranking Kizuki's grouping together. My prayers go to the poor souls who have lost family over there." Gyomei stated, his hands clasped together with tears streaming down his face. "Then that's something that needs to be dealt with A.S.A.P. Anyone else have anything to say?" Kanae said. No-one said anything, seemingly having covered everything. "What about you, Tokitou-kun? You never seem to say anything, but surely everything can't be dandy all the time around where you reside?" Rengoku piped up. All attention was on the young pillar now. He never seemed to speak, only talking to the Master but it was always too quiet to hear and he stopped talking if someone else found themselves in the same room as him. He shook his head silently. He had been in charge of looking after Chūgoku, he was positive he was able to handle everything himself without help. Some of the other Hashira looked doubtful at his response, but they didn't push further.

"Right then, it seems we have everything covered. So, check out Yamanashi and Aomori and capture some slightly stronger demons for the Final Selection. That seems to be everything then! I'm glad we could keep this meeting short and sweet. How about we have some lunch now and train later then?" Everyone agreed to the idea. They ate some snacks (Iguro's disappearing behind his bandages somehow) and the ones above 18 decided to drink a small bit of sake before heading out to training. Everyone had brought their swords and the weather was nice so they were all in a good mood while training. Everyone took their shirts off and Kanae and Muichirou wrapped some bandages around their upper torso before starting off with some warm ups. For the most part, everyone was familiar with each other shirtless while training. When they first saw Tokitou with his bare chest, they didn't think anything of his smaller figure as it closely resembled Iguro's, so no questions were raised about why he was so physically small. The truth was, everyone had accidentally tricked themselves into thinking Muichirou was closer to the legal age of drinking rather than a 10 year old. He didn't mind this, in fact, he was slightly glad. People tended to underestimate and baby people once they found out how young or old they were, and he'd rather not be treated like an infant. He had been a Hashira for four weeks, and training for two months prior to that. If that had not proved his capability and strength, then nothing would, he told himself. He looked after Chūgoku, by himself. Just the same as Sanemi looked after Tōhoku, and Himejima looked after Hokkaidō, and all the other Hashira who looked after their respective prefectures. Just because he was a child, didn't mean he was any less capable of looking after a prefecture just like the other Pillars. Like they had all worked for their positions in the higher ranks, he did too. Everyone was swinging their swords back and forth rapidly, mindlessly counting the amount of times their blade cut through the air. Tengen and Sanemi took it upon themselves to start messing around, swinging their swords at each other carelessly in a joking way. Despite Gyomei warning them to be careful, they still managed to make a huge mess of everything.

Truthfully, Tokitou had been too out of it to notice anything at first, or hear anyone call his name out. It wasn't until a quiet voice spoke right next to him did he realise everyone had stopped training. "That's a nasty wound. It might scar. Does it hurt?" Obanai called out. He had a soft voice so it was really a miracle that Muichirou had heard him. When he looked over at the Serpent Pillar, he took notice of the bony finger pointed towards his back. He turned his head as far back as he could and finally noticed that all the sweat he thought as dripping down his back, was blood. It gushed down his back, staining his hair, his pants and the ground beneath him. In that moment, Muichirou suddenly became light headed and pale. Iguro only hummed before putting his hands on the long haired boys shoulders, steadying him so he didn't fall. He was lifted into the air suddenly by strong arms, and turned around to see the culprit was none other than the Flame Pillar, Rengoku. He was still smiling as if nothing happened, easily holding on to the Mist Pillar as if he were nothing more than a sack of potatoes. "It's nothing to worry about! We'll just take him to Lady Shinobu and I'm sure he'll be back on his feet in no time!" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, now all surrounding the owl-like man and the child-they-don't-know-is-a-child. Tokitou noticed Gyomei very harshly scolding Sanemi and Tengen. Tengen looked more remorseful if anything and Sanemi looked like he had 100 things he could be doing that were better than this. Kyoujuro took off with Muichirou in his arms. As soon as he realised he was being carried (which took longer than it should have), the child started to struggle, trying to get out of Rengoku's death tight grip. Everyone had decided to finish up training and clean up first rather than following them so it was just him and Kyoujuro. "Don't struggle, it will only make your wound worse!" Was the only thing the fiery haired man said. "Put me down, I'm not a baby. I can walk just fine..!" The Mist Pillar complained, still struggling. He could feel his vision get a little dizzy but it was nothing major. If this stupid owl-man just put him down then he could focus on stopping the bleeding. "I'm afraid I am unable to do that! You are wounded, and walking will waste your energy so please stop struggling! We're almost at Lady Shinobu's ward!" Muichirou groaned in annoyance, before resuming his struggle of trying to get out of Rengoku's hold.

When they arrived at Lady Shinobu's ward, she looked both shocked and disappointed, but she still took the boy in before shooing the Flame Pillar out of the hospital. Tokitou was slightly familiar with Shinobu. She was very nice to him, and the only one who knew his actual age. Because of this, she was the only one Muichirou allowed to treat him when he got hurt. She also helped him with his memory issues and taught him basic academics, like how to read, write and spell. As Shinobu cleaned the wound on the childs back, he became more curious as to how it happened, but decided he'd let the truth come out rather than go looking for it. Shinobu finished cleaning and bandaging the wound. She decided that, while she had him, they should continue on their previous reading lesson and help with his memory issues.

About half an hour later, quite a few of the Hashira were nervous. "What's taking so long? Usually Lady Shinobu is very quick to treat patients!" Rengoku expressed. "Indeed, but she's also very thorough. It was a deep wound from my knowledge, so I'm sure she's taking her time to clean it up and bandage him." Gyomei reasoned, but everyone knew he was also a little worried. They stopped their chattering as soon as the lady herself walked out. She had a sweet smile on her face as she waved to Muchirou and was quickly followed by Aoi, and the Butterfly Sisters. Her smiled dropped to a sour face as soon as the door shut, and Aoi's face wasn't any better. The three girls were all glancing around nervously, hoping nothing serious was about to happen. It was silent until Shinobu spoke up, quietly with a smile but her voice was laced with anger. "Now, I just want to know who did it and what happened. Nothing more." It was obvious that either Sanemi or Tengen did it, but neither of them owned up. As the silence echoed on, it was obvious that Shinobu got more and more frustrated. "So, no-one's gonna say anything, huh?" This time it was Aoi who spoke. She raised a finger and pointed it at Iguro. "You! What do you know?!" She questioned. Iguro rolled his eyes. "I didn't see who did it." Was all he said. "What, do your eyes not work!?" Aoi retaliated. Shinobu coughed a little, before nudging Aoi and pointing to her right eye. Aoi smacked her face and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you're not off the hook. You!" She pointed at Sanemi next. "What do you know?!" Sanemi stayed quiet before smirking a bit. "It was him." He pointed at Tengen. "Oh, come on man! Did you have to do that?" - "Hey, do you hear that?" - "Hear what?" - "Sounds like a you problem." - "You motherfu-" They were shut up quickly when Shinobu spoke up. "Both of you, stop your bickering. I'm just stunned that you're arguing like this. That wound was quite troublesome and very deep, and most likely definitely hurt him!" Aoi also spoke up. "Exactly! How could you all be so immature as to let this happen? I mean, who just leaves a kid out of their sight?! That's like, the stupidest thing you could ever do-" As Aoi blabbered on and on, she didn't notice the atmosphere change, or Shinobu coughing quietly, trying to get her to stop talking. "M-my apologies, Aoi, but.. did you say... child?" Kanae cut in. Aoi finally shut up. "Uh, yeah?" It was so silent from both parties that you could hear the said child sneeze in the next room over. "DID YOU GUYS ACTUALLY NOT KNOW HE'S A CHILD?!" The Hashira just looked stunned, staying quiet, and Shinobu looked guilty while trying to get Aoi to stop talking. "Aoi-san, I think we should leave now-" - "Why didn't you tell them Shinobu-san!? They should know-" - "He didn't want anyone telling them, that's why! He didn't want them to know, and as his doctor it is my duty to respect my patients wishes!" Shinobu cut in. She seemed angry now, and more strict on Aoi than before. "Now, let's leave, please." Shinobu turned, and dragged Aoi with her as the Butterfly Sisters scurried off behind them. It was deadly quiet now, not a single word spoken between them. "I believe this is something we must discuss, now." Gyomei whispered, but everyone heard it. Silent nods of agreement were the only thing done, before Kanae led them back to the room they were previously in.

The atmosphere in the room was incredibly tense and dark, as everyone was silent. They were stunned to the core and ashamed that they let a child become a Hashira, as well as upset at their Master for not informing them. "So, what are we gonna do?" Uzui spoke first. "There's no way we can let a child be a Hashira. What if he dies? He's only a child, he still has the rest of his life in front of him and here we are letting him risk that." Obanai said. "It would be wise to make him retire. Even if it dwindles our numbers, a child is much more vulnerable than us and allowing him to do this will kill him quicker." Rengoku agreed. "Not exactly sure I care about what happens to the kid, so I'm gonna sit this one out.." was the only thing Sanemi said. "He's most certainly too young to be doing a job like this, but if he's a Hashira then he certainly must have a lot of talent. I think we need to consider this." Kanae said, and a nod of agreement came from Gyomei and Tomioka. "I think he's flashy for becoming a Hashira as a child. I vote let him stay!" Uzui said, seemingly not caring anymore that he almost killed the child. It seemed that, for the first time, the Hashira did not agree on what to do now. "While a child has much more potential than us, I think forcing him to do this so young might end up ruining him later on." Rengoku said. "He's a child. He should be playing with stuffed animals and climbing trees, not risking his entire life to kill demons!" Iguro said. A small argument broke out between everyone, and so they didn't hear the quiet footsteps of the Mist Pillar approaching, nor hear the shoji being opened quietly. Muichirou just looked in, not knowing what was going on and just standing by the shoji with just his head poking in slightly. In fact, the person who noticed him was Gyomei. "Tokitou-kun? Do you need something?" Everyone turned towards the shoji, seeing the child with his head poking in curiously. He shook his head but didn't move. It was silent all around as no-one said anything. Conflicted on what to do, he shuffled into the room and closed the shoji behind him before sitting by it without saying a word. "Are you okay, Tokitou?" Kanae said, trying to figure out how to make him leave without being to obvious about it. He just nodded before falling over and 'going to sleep' instantly. Truthfully, he wasn't tired at all and just wanted to know why the other Pillars were excluding him from this meeting. It was silent for a while after. A soft hand poked him a few times gently before leaving wordlessly. Quiet chatter arose again, but Muichirou could still hear it. As he listened on and on as to what the Hashira were planning on doing with him, he listened to their points. Obanai and Kyojurou both agreed he seemed too young to be a Hashira, and offered to house him until he was a suitable age. Kanae, Gyomei and Giyuu thought about the pros and cons of keeping and getting rid of him and were undecided. Uzui wanted to keep him entirely. Sanemi didn't speak at all, and gave off an aura of not caring at all. He agreed with Tengen the most. He wanted to stay, he wanted to fight the demons. He couldn't remember why, he couldn't remember why he was so filled with rage and had the urge to kill the demons, but he didn't need a memory to know that he hated those things. Iguro seemed to be shaking angrily and Rengoku was attempting to calm him down a bit, to almost no extent. The arguing continued, getting slightly louder until a crow flew into the room. "The Master has requested to see all the Hashira A.S.A.P! I repeat, the Master has requested to see all the Hashira A.S.A.P!" The crow flew out after that. Everyone silenced themselves as they stood. Muichirou was about to 'wake up' but he was picked up and carried out of the room before he could. He didn't bother moving or opening his eyes to see who was holding him, just keeping his eyes closed and his body docile, however, he struggled to keep relaxed as the Hashira began running to the Master's estate, and his holder was jumping up onto trees in an attempt to keep up with the extra weight.

They all arrived at the Master's mansion sooner than expected. Muichirou was placed down on the floor with a tatami mat acting as a pillow. He was then covered with a haori and the body next to him moved away, slightly behind him. The Master entered the room, greeting them all kindly. "Hello, my children. I'm glad to see all of you here." Shinobu walked out with him, a tatami mat was set out for her slightly further away from the Pillars. "I received a crow from Lady Shinobu urging for my help after she heard you all in a heated disagreement earlier. May I ask what the issue is?" His voice was soft, and Muichirou felt parts of him relax that he didn't know were tensed at the Masters words. Now, he really did feel like falling asleep. "The issue is that we found out Tokitou-kun is a child. We all would like to know where to go from here and how he should love forward." Gyomei responded, concern laced in his voice. "Well, instead of deciding for him, how about you let him decide himself?" The Master countered. "Look, if there's one thing I know about kids, it's that they either can't make their own decisions, or they make the bad ones. If we ask the kid himself, of course he's gonna say he wants to continue on. They're just tryna do what's best for him as a child, and I couldn't care less what happens with him. It doesn't affect me." Sanemi cut in. He was right, on many aspects there. Kids couldn't make decisions for themselves most of the time, the Hashira were just looking out for him and whether or not Muichirou chose to stay didn't affect them at all. The Master nodded. "All of your points are valid, Shinazugawa-san. I understand that all of you just want what's best for him, but not only did I myself support his decision to become a Hashira, I encouraged and allowed him to do it. His biggest worry is this meeting in itself. He doesn't want to be exempt from the Corps because of his age, he knows he can handle himself and I know he can handle himself too. I'd say that our best bet is to let him stay. I don't believe we're getting any closer to Kibutsuji, which automatically makes it less dangerous for him. I will consider exempting him should we ever encounter Kibutsuji before he is old enough however. I believe that is our best option, but I would like all of you to agree to it before that happens. So, what do you all say?" It was silent for a few seconds before the agreements came along. "Well I mean, since that was kinda my idea, I completely agree." - "I also agree! That way, we get to see how flamboyant the kid really is before we make decisions!" - "I believe that is a wise choice, and I agree with it whole-heartedly." - "Himejima-san is right! It is a wise decision! I, too, agree." - "Me too!" - "I mean, it could work. I'm fine with it." - "..." The only person who hadn't made an agreement was Iguro. He seemed angry, or annoyed. His expression was dark and his aura was scary. “I don’t agree with this at all, but it seems I am outnumbered. Fine, I’ll agree to it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, he stood up and walked out angrily. It was quiet as he left and all eyes were on him, before turning back to the Master. He looked a bit upset at seeing one of his children be bothered, but made a mental note to talk to him later. “Thank you all for your cooperation. You may be dismissed. How about you all stay for dinner?” Everyone agreed enthusiastically before leaving. Soon, it was only the Master and Muichirou, who was very much on the verge of falling asleep and looking forward to dinner with the Master. The Master moved next to Muichirou, before placing his head in his lap and playing with his hair. This put Muichirou to sleep almost instantly, with his last conscious thought wondering why the Serpent Pillar seemed so.. angry.

---------- ~Bonus of Obanai cuz I love the two of them having a friendship <3~ ----------

When Muichirou woke up, it was dinner time. The Master gently shook him awake and they both stood up, shuffling to get food. At the dinner table, everyone was there except Iguro, who hadn’t received news about dinner. Everyone seemed a little uncomfortable while looking towards Muichirou, but no-one said anything. He decided that his curiosity was still peaked about the Serpent Pillar, and offered to go get him. The Master let him, and he stood up as went to go search for the missing Hashira.

It took quite a while, but Muichirou finally found him. Obanai was sitting by a lake, skimming stones. Muichirou had planned to be quiet and watch him for a while, but the white serpent that adorned Obanai’s neck slithered around and hissed quietly at him, attracting the attention of Iguro. However, it seemed the other didn’t care for his presence, and continued on with what he was doing. The snakes eyes never left him once, following his every move. Eventually, the Mist Pillar decided to take a chance and sit next to him. Muichirou was surprised though when he noticed that Obanai was missing his signature striped haori. “Where’s your haori?..” Iguro stayed quiet for a bit. “You really are a bit of an airhead, kid.” This confused Muichirou until Obanai reached over and pulled his haori off Muichirou’s shoulders. He hadn’t noticed it at all. It must have been Iguro who carried him to the Master's Estate, and laid him down on his tatami mat to let him sleep. Iguro put it on swiftly again, before turning to face the child next to him. “Why.. don’t you want me to be a Hashira?” Iguro didn’t respond for a while, thinking his answer through. “You’re a child. All this is doing is ruining your childhood and forcing you to grow up too fast. I know what it’s like, and it sucks. I don’t want that for you, not when I can prevent it.” This time it was Muichirou’s turn to stay quiet. Obanai went a little red in the face, because he just admitted to caring about a child he had no interest in the day before. Muichirou honestly didn't know what to say to someone who essentially just admitted to caring about him. He didn't know if anyone cared about him besides from the Master and his wife. It made him.. happy? Deciding that thinking about his emotions was to draining, he decided to go back to dinner. "We're having dinner with the Master today. Everyone's waiting for you.." Muichirou said, holding out a hand for Iguro. He couldn't tell if Iguro was smiling because of the bandages on his face, but his eyes squinted a little bit, so it certainly looked like he did. Iguro took his hand and pulled himself upwards. On the way back to the Master's house, it honestly felt like Muichirou was walking with a friend, or an older brother, rather than someone he worked with. Even the snake seemed nicer to him, pressing his snout up against his cheek a few times on the way back, and curling around Obanai's neck happily. Muichirou didn't even notice when Obanai put his haori back on his shoulders and pat his head a little. Well, he did notice (for once). But, he was just too happy to care.

Chapter Text

As Halloween rolled around the corner, Tokitou grew more and more curious as to what the big fuss was about. The other Hashira were planning on throwing a massive party, and there would be enough alcohol to get about 100 people drunk - according to Uzui (and he probably wasn't lying.) Of course, being too young to drink, Muichirou was excluded from the party. He wouldn't lie, it did upset him a little bit, especially since he had no other friends to hang out with. Of course Obanai had suggested that he skip the party to hang out with him, but Muichirou denied that request, claiming he was fine and that he didn't want to ruin a good night for Obanai (however, it did take a lot more convincing than that.) His crow, Ginko, flew over to him and landed on his lap, snuggling in to the warmth of his big uniform. He ran his small fingers over her feathers and she sighed happily at the attention. A few butterflies reminded Muichirou of where he was. He was sitting in the Flower Estate garden. The party was supposed to be held here, but the idea was shut down quickly when Lady Shinobu said she wanted a peaceful night to herself and she didn't want to take care of a bunch of drunk adults. So yes, Kanae did get bullied by her little sister into throwing the party elsewhere. The sound of someone walking towards Muichirou became louder, until suddenly, he wasn't sitting on the ground by himself. "What's bothering you, Tokitou-kun?" The voice was soft and calming. Shinobu only ever spoke to him that way, probably to make herself seem friendlier to him. "I don't know what the big deal is about Halloween.. Why do the other Hashira have to throw a big party that I can't be invited to, just because there's alcohol?" He said, his words as soft as Shinobu's. She gently took a lock of his hair and played with it for a bit while thinking over her answer. "I'm not quite sure. It's more of a western thing from what I've heard, but they don't celebrate with as much alcohol. I'm afraid I'm unable to answer your question then, Tokitou-kun. My apologies." She responded finally. He nodded his head gently. "I'm taking the sisters trick or treating tonight though, how about you join us?" Trick or treating? "What's that?..." Shinobu stood up quietly and brushed her uniform down, before holding a hand out to Muichirou. "I'll show you!"

Muichirou was fascinated now. Standing before him were the three Butterfly Sisters: Kiyo, Naho and Sumi. The three of them were dressed up.. rather stupidly. Kiyo was dressed up as a big yellow bumble-bee, Naho was a red ladybird and Sumi was a butterfly. Sumi was the happiest because she got to dress up as the butterfly, and to say that Kiyo and Naho were jealous was an understatement. Shinobu stood to the side smiling enthusiastically. "So.. you dress up and demand dagashi off of random strangers?" Shinobu dead-panned internally, but kept her happy smile on her face. "Well, essentially yes! But usually those 'random strangers' don't mind giving out dagashi, and they actually buy a lot for the sake of tonight! So, it's okay!" She clarified. Muichirou still stood there, slightly disorientated. "But.. do I have to dress up as a.. bug?" He said, shivering at the thought. "Of course not! You can be whatever you want! A ghost, a cat, a zombie or skeleton, whatever you wish!" She said happily. That relieved Muichirou, but only a small bit. And so, off to Shinobu's room they went. He and Kochou were roughly the same height, so any of her clothes would fit him. After rooting through her massive closet for a bit, she pulled out a white button up shirt and black hakama pants. While he went off to go change, she continued rooting through her closet to find something else. When Muichirou came back, Shinobu handed him a plain black haori, that didn't go past his waist but still had lengthy sleeves, just the way Muichirou liked it. When he had put it on, Kochou had began fastening a thin black belt around the hakama pants, with a fluffy artificial black cat tail on the back of it. And to finish the outfit off, a black headband was put on his head with matching black cat ears. Just when Muichirou thought it was over, Shinobu sat him down and all the three little Butterfly Sisters (who came out of nowhere in their creepy bug costumes) began giggling. In a second, she had whipped out a big makeup bag and smiled almost maliciously. Muichirou began reconsidering his choice.

Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as he thought. The Butterfly Sisters decided to giggle to scare him, which was also the deal with Kochou's sinister smile. Not much had changed. A small black cat nose was painted on to his nose, and 3 whiskers on each cheek, as well as some fake freckles that looked real. He also had light eye makeup, which was just some natural brown shades and a little bit of eyeliner. And finally, Shinobu had put in a half-braid into his hair, the top part on his head was braided and the rest was tied into twin tails, with the only exceptions being to two strands on either side of his face to keep him from looking 'weird' in his words. He had to admit, it wasn't as bad as he thought. "Alright then. I'll get changed and we can start then!" And so, they headed off after Shinobu changed from her uniform.

Having been the first time doing this (or remembering it), Muichirou was quite nervous. He always stood back and let the Butterfly Sisters (or should he say, the Creepy Bug Sisters) knock on the shoji of people's houses and receive dagashi from a bunch of smiling people dressed up in ugly costumes that kids would enjoy. While he did end up getting his fair share of sweets, he was still too nervous to go up by himself. He knew that it made Kochou slightly upset to see him so shy, but he couldn't help it. He was off duty and he couldn't just be mean to people because they wouldn't give him dagashi! So he hid behind the Creepy Bug Sisters and watched them enthusiastically yell at people for dagashi, while he stood back and nervously held out his little pumpkin bag. Goodness, he hoped he wasn't like those sisters as a kid. However, as the night wrapped up, he found himself in a good mood. Between the Creepy Bug Sisters and him, they had managed to acquire a bag that went up to his waist of sweets each. That was 4 large bags, filled to the brim with dagashi each. It put Tokitou in a good mood, and by the time they had arrived back at the Flower Estate, he was smiling and talking more than he was before. After creating a cute pillow fort in the dark of the infirmary, they all began to dig into the sweet food, Shinobu robbing a few from each of their bags as well. And even though she was a doctor, and Muichirou was a Hashira that needed to maintain a healthy diet, Shinobu didn't stop him from eating as much as he wanted, because that's what children do. And at the end of the day, that's what he was. A child.

Chapter Text

Out of all the Hashira, Muichirou had the longest hair, with it reaching to his knees now. However, this was only because he never, ever, ever cut it. No-one knew why. Maybe he just didn't know how, maybe he wasn't bothered. But it certainly bothered some people. Sanemi hated Muichirou's long hair. Something about it just angered him beyond words, to the point where the only thing he could do was growl every time he saw the poor boy. However, everyone could see just how much Mitsuri loved Muichirou's long hair, and as a result, kept them as far apart as physically possible for the Mist Pillar's sake, which they should start doing with him and Shinazugawa before a fight breaks out. However, one fateful night (or early morning), it just couldn't be helped.

Sanemi was on his way back from a mission. He wasn't wounded in any way, he was the Wind Pillar, but he was exhausted. He was forced to deal with a horde of demons trapped on a mountain. There were over a hundred of them, and they were all fighting with each other, trying to kill each other, but it certainly wasn't nice that they were scaring the villagers at the bottom of the mountain. So, Sanemi went out to destroy them. They were all incredibly weak compared to him, but with their mass amount, it did wear him out a little bit. He was making his way back to his own estate, happily thinking of climbing into his warm futon and drifting off to sleep (maybe he'd even say a little 'good night' to Genya if he was still in a good mood) when it became cold and misty. Mist usually wasn't present until the sun came up, so this was a strange enough occurrence to make Shinazugawa draw his sword and stop walking. He heard nothing in the distance, nor see anything, so why was there mist? Sanemi remained in a fight stance until he made out a large shadow in the distance. It seemed to be the shadow of a house, or a mansion of sort. Suddenly, Sanemi remembered where he was. He was passing the Mist Estate, which was why the mist was blanketing the ground at this time of night. Placing his sword back in his scabbard, he let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. Maybe he was a bit more tired than he thought. After a few moments contemplation and hesitation, he walked up to the shadow of the house. While walking up the path, he took notice of the pretty wild flowers that grew on the front garden, which even at this hour, had beautiful butterflies fluttering around them. He figured the little creatures followed the boy home while he was at the Butterfly Estate one day, and that the kid never noticed. A few wild animals scampered away, a few birds chirping and flying away from nearby trees at the disturbance. He reached the steps to the door of the large mansion, and took another moment of hesitation before knocking on the wooden doors. The door opened rather quickly despite it being so late, but it didn't faze Shinazugawa at all. It was quite regular for Pillars to stay up late, even if they didn't have missions. The shorter Pillar stared up wordlessly at the other, before stepping inside and welcoming him in.

It was quite regular for Pillars to stay at each others houses if it was late out and they were tired, which was why Muichirou didn't argue nor care that Sanemi just appeared from the mist at his front door. The first thing that came into sight for Sanemi was paper. Lots and lots of paper on the floor. Well, paper was a cruel word. Origami. Muichirou was making origami, and very beautiful and well-crafted origami at that. There were swans, flowers, insects, trees and other beautiful things. In the corner of the room was a bunch of crumpled up paper, obviously that failed pieces. Sanemi never realised that Muichirou liked origami, but then again, no-one else probably knew either. The child was very closed off, most often seen talking to Shinobu or the Master and Amane, and sometimes if you were lucky, you'd catch him having a strange interaction with either Iguro or Rengoku, which always resulted in a small head pat from both men to the boy. Muichirou closed the door behind him, and stepped over the paper folds to a small cabinet, before pulling a spare futon from it. He handed the futon over to Sanemi wordlessly, who nodded his head in a wordless thanks. Taking himself to a different room as the child returned back to his paper folding, Shinazugawa rolled the futon onto the floor. He removed his scabbard and belt, as well as his zori and haori before basically falling into the futon. Despite thinking he'd immediately fall asleep, Sanemi was annoyed to find that he couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning, he thought about what could possibly keep him awake. The child was as peaceful as could be, and the futon was incredibly warm and cozy. Finally, Sanemi came to the realisation of why he couldn't sleep.

Muichirou was happily making some colourful origami of a butterfly, folding the pretty purple paper over and over until he achieved the perfect look, when the shoji from the other room opened up. Knowing it was Shinazugawa, he didn't bother looking up, just turning his head slightly in the direction of him as a slight acknowledgment while keeping his eyes focused on the paper. If he was being honest, he had a slight feeling about the reasoning for Sanemi's entering. He somehow caught on to the Wind Pillar's hatred for his hair (which happened to shock Kochou just a little bit) and has been awaiting confrontation every time he remembers the Pillar's hatred for his hair. While he doesn't know why the other hates his hair, he does tend to have some small worries about the Love Pillar knocking on his door randomly to play with his hair and wouldn't mind a small trim to his hair. Sanemi just stood for a few moments, noticing the Mist Pillar's acknowledgement of him, but staying quiet for a while. He realised this was stupid, and out of the blue, but there was no way he could possibly sleep without doing this, and he could dwell on why he did it after he had the most peaceful nights sleep of his life. When he noticed that Sanemi wasn't making a move, Muichirou sighed quietly and finished up his origami, before placing it on the floor with all the other pieces and fully turned his head in the direction of the other pillar. "Does this have something to do with my hair?" He mumbled. He tended to mumble rather than speak, but it was more tolerable than Tomioka's mumbling so Sanemi didn't bother wasting energy on getting mad. "Maybe. Just don't ask questions, and don't talk to me. It pisses me off and I'm tired." He grumbled. Muichirou let out a breath before standing up. He motioned for the other to follow him, before moving around his house. He ascended a flight of stairs and opened the shoji to his room. Sanemi hadn't expected it to be so... nice.

The walls were a pale yellow, with the wooden beams supporting them being a warm dark brown colour. There were tree designs painted onto one one of the smaller walls that almost slightly enclosed his own futon, with the wall behind that have two trees painted behind the futon, and to the left of that was some writing. There were some tatami mats placed by a large window that had some translucent while blinds covering them about halfway, and a few pots with bamboo sprouting out of them. There were also some shelves placed on the floor with some origami and plant pots with small flowers in them. There were a few lanterns placed on the walls to give light with the dark sky.

 (<-- this)

Perched happily on one of the pillows of the large futon was a pitch black crow, sleeping soundly with what would be a very pleased smile on her beak. At the sound of the shoji opening, she opened her long-lashed eyes and sat up happily, flying over to Muichirou and perching on his shoulder, before blabbering loudly to him, asking him if he was going to bed soon. Her pleasant mood was spoiled upon seeing Shinazugawa, and he never thought he could ever be judged by a bird, but the nasty glare he got from this feathery creature was far from welcome. The crow shut up quickly when Muichirou talked to her, though, which Sanemi was grateful for. Opening one of the drawers, Tokitou pulled a small but well kept bag from it, and a large cloth before handing the bag to Sanemi. Upon looking in the bag, it had some scissors and hair brushes inside, along with some small but expensive shampoo bottles and other products. "Shinobu-san gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago.. I can't remember which one but I like it.." Muichirou explained at Sanemi's puzzled expression. He nodded soundlessly as Tokitou placed the cloth on the ground, before sitting himself on it. The crow stayed on him, and when he sat down, she hopped enthusiastically into his lap before snuggling up to the warmth of his black kimono. He seemed to appease the needy crow by playing with her feathers, and she seemed to blabber much more quietly now, just for him to hear about whatever. Sitting behind Tokitou and the crow, Shinazugawa began brushing through the long hair. It was silky smooth and easy to brush through. Once he figured it was brushed out enough, he picked up the scissors. Now, he wasn't an expert at cutting hair, but he did usually help Genya cut his hair when he was feeling in a good mood so he had some slight experience. He picked a point around Tokitou's waist and began snipping away. It took a bit longer than expected, because the hair was so thick. Realising this would take some time, Sanemi sighed and shifted himself to get comfortable.

For the next hour or so, the only sounds were the scissors cutting Muichirou's hair and the small conversation between the crow and the Mist Pillar. Sanemi couldn't help but be amused by their conversation. For the whole hour, it was just the crow making snide remarks about Sanemi and then adding comments about how Tokitou could easily beat him, which was always countered with some sort of disagreement, and then an abundance of compliments and encouraging words, and then it looped around again. It was quite funny to listen to, in Sanemi's opinion. He finally managed to cut off the last piece of hair and, as if by a miracle, it was all the same length! Feeling like he was about to fall asleep right there, he quickly brushed through the hair, before placing all the stuff back in the bag and standing up. He walked out, but not without bowing slightly at the shoji. It was quiet in the room for only a few moments before Ginko spoke up. "I can't believe he walked into OUR house and had the guts to just cut your hair off! How dare he?! Disgraceful. Shave his head off next time you see him, you hear me!?" She wailed. Muichirou just stared lazily at the shoji. "He had his reasons. I think I knew them, but I forget. Maybe I'll remember in the morning.." Tokitou said before crawling over to his futon. He got under the blankets, Ginko pulling them up on him without him noticing before snuggling back into the other pillow and some quiet 'good nights' were heard in the room, before both of them were encased in the warm mist of their dreamless sleeps.

Back in the other room, Shinazugawa was awake. He was on the verge of falling asleep, barely there, when he found out his reasoning for what happened. All he saw in Muichirou was her. Kanae. He always tried to avoid thinking about her, but some things were inevitable. Her silky long black hair that always rested around her calves was a delight for both of them. He remembered sitting behind her in front of a warm fire while brushing through her hair as they laughed and joked, both drunk on life and alcohol. He couldn't remember a time he was that happy since she died, and that upset him. For the first time since she died, he sobbed quietly in to the pillow of the futon. He couldn't stand seeing her in someone he hadn't a care for. No-one deserved to look as beautiful as her, nor be as kind and sweet. He just desperately wished she was still there, laughing and joking with him while they flirted playfully with each other. But who cares now. She's dead, and he knew that the demon who took her too young would pay dearly in hell for it.

Chapter Text

As much as Muichirou liked being at Hashira meetings because it meant he spent lunch sitting next to the master and talking quietly, all he wanted to do now was go home. The table was loud. Unbearably so. He hadn't slept in 4 days because he was on a mission and this didn't help his sore eyes or his oncoming headache. Even with his head gently in the master's lap who softly played with his hair (which usually did the trick), it didn't help, at all. Now, all this noise could be pinpointed back to two people in particular. Uzui Tengen and Rengoku Kyojurou. Mitsuri usually could cause a lot of noise, but thankfully she was talking to Shinobu who was extra quiet today, noticing the tired child. No-one else caused even a tenth of the noise Uzui and Rengoku were making. In fact, it was almost like those two were the only ones talking. With the rate they were talking, they'd most likely talk through the entire afternoon, including lunch. A dinner Muichirou could remember obviously could not be a good one.

Muichirou was right. The oncoming headache caused by the two men's loud talking bloomed into a throbbing pain in his head. It was so bad he couldn't sleep that night. He sat on his futon all night, getting up every five minutes to refill his cup of water to soothe his headache. The master had offered him to stay over the night but Muichirou had politely declined. He seriously regretted that now. Some time before the sun came up, Muichirou gave up trying to sleep and decided to make his day a bit better by watching the sunrise and then doing a bit of cloudgazing. So he got dressed in his uniform (did he have other clothes? He couldn't remember) and headed off to the best place to watch the sunrise, which was the side of the mountain by the master's estate.

Upon reaching his destination a short while later, however, Muichirou wanted to tear his hair out and scream. They were still talking. How infuriating!! Did they ever shut up? However, before he could slip away quietly, he was heard by the Sound Hashira. "Who's there?!" He said, on high alert. Wow, he even managed to shut up, Muichirou thought. Judging by the hard stare he was given by both the Sound and Flame Hashira's, they couldn't see him from his position in the shadows. He flipped them off, like any sane person would, before showing himself. The mens' faces relaxed and they even laughed a bit. "What brings you here tonight, Tokito-kun?" Rengoku boomed. Even if Muichirou wanted to talk, he doubted Rengoku would hear his quiet voice, for some reason (he had a theory the man was deaf, he was almost right!). Uzui was a different case though, so Muichirou still had to talk. "It's morning..." He wanted to mutter about how it was their fault for keeping him awake, but somehow Uzui heard everything anyway, so no matter how quiet he was, he'd still be heard. "It's morning?!" Uzui exclaimed. Rengoku turned to look at him stunned. It seemed they lost track of time. Muichirou sat down by a tree stump, his back resting against it. He faced the dark sky, the stars still twinkling brightly. The sun wouldn't be up for another while, so he'd have to entertain these two. They should entertain him actually, considering he only showed up recently, but he decided he'd lose his hearing and his mind if those two entertained him. "Uh... what are you doing?..." Uzui asked, a strange expression on his face. Truthfully, Muichirou was beginning to lose sight of why he came here, so he had to think about that. "Mmm... The sun will come up soon.." No elaboration, his head was beginning to ache more and his throat was as dry as a desert. He wished he brought some water, but he seemed to forget about his problems temporarily when he heard a bird chirp in the treetops. It sounded like a robin, he thought, they woke up the earliest. Was the sun coming up soon?

He was brought out of his thoughts at snickering and whispers, turning his head in annoyance at him companions. They were messing again, just how long could they talk for?! He turned his head back to the sunrise and roughly shoved his hands against his ears, trying his best to block out the noise. His eyes stung painfully, and his head was ringing, in constant pain. He’d go to Shinobu later. He should write that down somewhere, before he forgets. The first rays of light were calming, watching the dark colours of the sky merge with the orange hue. He took his hands off his ears, and noticed that the other two had stopped talking in favour of watching the sunrise as well. They sat next to him wordlessly, eyes fixated ahead. Muichirou swore he’d tear both of their heads off if they decided to talk again.

As the sun made its appearance, lighting up the sky again, Muichirou found his eyes slowly glueing together. He could barely keep his eyes open, and was just squinting to see the sunrise. His body felt cold and strange, his mind disoriented. He didn’t even realise Rengoku covered his small body with the flame-patterned cape, which radiated quite a lot of heat for a piece of fabric. As the world swayed before him, slowly becoming blurrier and blurrier, he noticed he began moving. Strong arms picked him up and cradled him - almost like a baby. He curled in on himself, still quite cold, and moved his eyes around. The blurry image of Uzui’s face was above him, still and calm for once. A blur of orange and red accompanied Tengen’s face, that must be Rengoku. Warm hands ruffled his hair, and gently closed his eyes for him. He found he couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but before he could dwell on that thought, he lost himself in a dream he wouldn’t remember.

Chapter Text

The Hashira never ever organised a meeting and excluded someone, but according to Mitsuri, it was 'vital' that Muichirou not be invited. So, as Shinobu set off to the meeting, she felt a little wary. Why organise a meeting and not invite one of the Hashira? Especially Muichirou, who Mitsuri seemed to adore. It was out of the ordinary for her to exclude anyone from something. 'This must be serious,' Shinobu thought. Running through the trees to Mitsuri's estate, Shinobu felt her curiosity grow. Landing in the Love Hashira's garden, she was careful not to disturb the beehives. Composing herself, she knocked on the door of Mitsuri's house, and was let in by her, who seemed to struggle to keep her mouth shut a that very moment. Before Shinobu could greet her, she was dragged into a room with all the other Hashira, who were just as confused.

"Okay, okay, I know you're all impatient but we just have to wait for Tomioka-san and then I can tell you all what's going on!" Kanroji explained. "Can't we just do this without him?" Sanemi complained. "We all know he's not going to show up anyway, he never does..." Mitsuri pouted but ignored the Wind Hashira, choosing to leave the room and stand by the door waiting for Giyuu to appear. "Kanroji seems extra excited today. What's her deal? Think she finally got a boyfriend?" Uzui drawled, bored. Shinobu rolled her eyes at him. "If she got a boyfriend, the first thing she would have done is told us, not gather everyone up to make an announcement. That's what she'll do when she's engaged, you brainless peacock." Shinobu retaliated. Uzui gasped and spluttered dramatically at the insult, and someone murmured 'drama queen' at him. "Besides, why would she uninvite Tokitou-kun for something like that? That doesn't seem like something she would do." Rengoku said. "It must be something serious if he's not invited..." Gyomei mumbled. "And it IS serious!" Mitsuri wailed.

Kanroji had re-entered the room after almost kicking the door down. Next to her was the Water Pillar, who seemed uncomfortable being dragged by his shoulder. Mitsuri pushed him in the room and closed the door, now so excited that she was shaking gently. Everyone sat down in front of Kanroji, curiosity peaked. What was this so-called serious announcement? Mitsuri was buzzing in front of them. "Soo... I was talking to Lady Amane the other day and do you want to know what I found out?" Mitsuri asked, barely containing her excitement and energy. Shinobu was beginning to worry she'd explode before she managed to tell them the news. "Well no shit, why else would we come here?" Sanemi responded, seeming more ticked off the more she stalled with the news. The Hashira all gave Sanemi a dirty look for being rude to the ever-so kind Mitsuri, but she seemed undeterred by his negativity. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you all then!" She took a moment to giggle to herself and spin excitedly in a circle to calm herself before she revealed the big news. "Muichirou's birthday is this week, and we're hosting a big big BIG birthday party for him! SO, we'll all need to pitch in and make this the best birthday ever and make sure he'll never ever EVER forget it!"

The Hashira stared at her. "Uh... do we have to?..." Giyuu mumbled. He already seemed uncomfortable hanging out with adults his own age, but to appear at a child's birthday party who he's barely ever talked to was a whole new level of uncomfortable for him. He was elbowed by the short man next to him, Obanai, who had been silent until then. "Yes, we have to you braindead idiot. He had the courtesy to give you a gift for you last birthday, so you have to do the same." Giyuu rubbed his side and sighed, getting a nasty glare from the Serpent Hashira, and miraculously the snake too. "No fighting you guys! And yes, we have to! Muichirou never has a birthday party and this year we're all gonna give him an amazing birthday because we're his friends and that's what friends do!" Kanroji squealed. Obanai finally averted his eyes from the Water Hashira and calmed his expression, but Kaburamaru wasn't so keen on doing the same. Shinobu decided to speak up. "Are you sure he'd like a birthday party though? He obviously didn't tell us his birthday for a reason, maybe he didn't want us to make a fuss about it." Shinobu inquired. "Still, it would be rude of us to ignore his birthday like this! Like Mitsuri said, we are his friends and we should make him feel welcome within our ranks!" Rengoku piped up. "I think it'd be pointless. That kid's so airheaded, he probably forgot his own birthday. Besides, that origami thing he gave me for my last birthday was a kinda shitty present if you ask me- OW!" Shinobu kicked Uzui over the head with the sweetest smile on her face. "Be glad he even gave you a birthday present, you hearltess jerk! And besides, he wouldn't put time and effort into making origami for someone if he didn't think they deserved it. I bet you couldn't even be half as talented with origami as he is, so you shut your mouth before I shut it for you, does that sound fair?" She scolded, her voice dripping with venom. Uzui rubbed the back of his head and hummed in agreement. "I thought his origami present was quite nice. He made me an origami snake and it looks really detailed." Obanai added. "Mine too! He made me the cutest kitty ever! I even named it Neko-chan! He's so thoughtful! I wonder how he knew I liked cats though..." Mitsuri piped up. Rengoku laughed at her. "I would be more shocked if anyone didn't know you liked cats, Mitsuri! He made me a cute origami owl, he even painted it like my hair!" Uzui looked shocked. "Why did he give you guys good ones!? HE GAVE ME A MONKEY!!" Everyone laughed at him, even Giyuu. "He's on to something with that one, you know!" Shinobu teased. Uzui groaned and flopped onto the floor. "Okay, so we're hosting a birthday for him. Got it. Uh, what's the specific date?" Sanemi asked. "The 8th!" Mitsuri responded, now pacing in front of her giggling friends. "I say we host it at Shinobu's estate, because he spends quite a lot of time there already, so it will be easy to convince him to go over!" Kanroji said, looking over to the Insect Hashira for confirmation. Shinobu nodded in agreement. "Now, we need to assign everyone a job for this..."

A few days later, everything was perfectly set up. Except for one thing: no-one knew what to get him as a present. No-one knew what he liked or what he disliked, or even what he needed. Everyone was panicking, pacing around in the Butterfly Estate. Muichirou's birthday was the next day, and no-one had a present for him. Mitsuri was already wailing on the floor and no-one could console her. As a last attempt, they all agreed to go shopping together, and hopefully help each other pick a gift. After Misturi stopped wailing on the floor, they all agreed to meet at the Sound Estate, after Uzui said he knew a good place to buy gifts.

Walking up to the Red Light District, the Hashira were less than impressed. "I KNOW it looks bad, but there's a huge festival going on at the moment and there's bound to be a good place to get a gift for the kid around here somewhere! It's better than nothing, anyway..." Uzui explained. The other Hashira sighed and agreed reluctantly. "Okay, how about we split into groups? We can each help each other get a present then!" The other Hashira agreed, and began splitting into groups of two. Now, time to find a decent gift...

Group 1: Mitsuri and Shinobu

Walking around felt humiliating to Kanroji, because men would keep staring at her assuming her to be a worker, but a quick glare from Shinobu usually sent them running. It was miraculous how scary Shinobu could be, but Mitsuri was eternally grateful that she could scare off any creeps. "Are you sure you have no idea what he likes? He's always around your estate, you MUST know something!" Mitsuri whined. Shinobu sighed. It was true that Muichirou was around her estate often for treatment, but he never really said anything about what he liked, aside from origami. "No, nothing comes to mind. He never mentions things about himself..." Mitsuri cried out loudly, grabbing the attention of people passing by. Shinobu hummed, racking her brain. They needed something, and they needed it fast. While this festival would go on all night, they still needed to bake a cake for the party and couldn't spend all night here. Suddenly, Mitsur piped up, spirit's heightened at a sudden realisation. "I have an idea!" Shinobu looked over at the other woman, curious. "Well, it's no surprise how beautiful and gorgeous Muichirou's hair is, and it would be such a shame if he didn't look after it, so we should get him some stuff for his hair like hair ties and brushes!" Mitsuri chirped. Shinobu exhaled. That was a great idea, she usually pulled muscles trying to untangle that boy's hair after missions. "Let's look around for some stuff then, there's sure to be something." Finally, they had something, what a relief!

Group 2: Obanai and Sanemi

With these two strange looking men, things weren't going as well. "What on fucking earth do you get a child you've never talked to? You've talked to him before, I've watched you, so tell me what he likes!" Sanemi barked. As much as the shorter man tried, he was one hundred percent sure that the teenager had never mentioned any interests, just that he liked origami. "I have no idea. He never mentioned shit like that to me." Obanai grumbled back. Sanemi looked ready to just fall on the floor and stay there for eternity. "We are so, totally fucked." They sat on a bench to the side of all the hustle and bustle, trying to come up with ideas. "Would Genya know something?" Obanai inquired. As far as he knew, the two teens were sort of friendly. "Well, is Genya here right now? Do you want me to, oh I don't know, pull him out of my ass or something?" Sanemi responded sarcastically. "You could get your crow-" Obanai interrupted himself at the mention of Sanemi's crow. The Wind Pillar looked over, confused as to why his friend got quiet. "I just remembered, his crow won't let him have other pets cuz she's super jealous, or something," Obanai had found that out in a horrible situation where the long-lashed bird attempted to eat Kaburamaru after he allowed her owner to pet him, and it was safe to say that Kaburamaru was now far from fond of Ginko, "so like, what if we got him some animal-themed stuff or something as like... a pet but not really a pet, if you get me?" Sanemi contemplated the idea, watching the snake around his friends shoulder curl up tighter at the mention of the crow. "Isn't he like... too old for that shit though?" He retaliated. "Well, would you like to show up with nothing instead?" Sanemi sighed in defeat. "Fine, but if he doesn't like it, I'm putting all the blame on you..." And so, the two strange men that received lots of strange looks set off to go get their gift ready.

Group 3: The 3 G's (Giyuu, Gyomei and Ginko)

With these two, it was particularly quiet. Gyomei had taken it upon himself to take up knitting a while ago, and as such already had a pretty blanket knitted as a gift for the teen. Giyuu found it slightly difficult to strike up a conversation, and strangely so did Gyomei. They were given strange looks by everyone due to Gyomei's sheer size, and Giyuu felt himself heat up from embarrassment. Luckily, he found a secluded area to take Gyomei to get away from people and rest a bit. In the silence, he found it a bit easier to strike up a conversation with the Stone Hashira now. "Do you have any ideas on gifts for Tokitou-kun?" He asked quietly. Gyomei hummed in thought, and was about to respond when a shrill screech echoed to their ears. Heading towards them was Kazaburo, Giyuu's crow, and the infamous Ginko, who happened to be Muichirou's crow. She seemed displeased, and Kazaburo seemed scared of her, hiding behind Giyuu to get away from her. "You! Is this idiot crow yours?" Ginko chirped. Her voice was loud and shrill, and would likely give Giyuu and Gyomei a headache by the time she left. "Uhm... yes?" Giyuu responded timidly. Ginko huffed and puffed at that. "Well, it's time to put this old geezer into retirement! He just tried to send MY master to the wrong location for a mission! He confused my poor master and got him lost! How can you let such an old thing still work? This is unacceptable! How would you feel if your stupid crow got my master lost forever and he could never get home? I don't EVER want to see this stupid oaf ever again! Do you hear me?" Ginko puffed angrily, panting from her slight rage. Giyuu could feel a migraine forming in the back of his head. Along with that migraine, however, came an idea. "I'm so sorry. Please, send my aplogies to Tokitou-kun. But uh, before you go Ms. Ginko, do you know what I could get Tokitou-kun as a birthday gift?" Giyuu asked. Ginko stared at him like he had two heads for a moment, before calming down. "Oh, well get something to keep my master warm, won't you? I'm always so worried my poor master will die of the cold before he reaches the location to his mission. A scarf should do nicely, you know!" Ginko cheered. Giyuu smiled and thanked her, watching her fly away. Gyomei smiled faintly. "Well, it looks like you have your present sorted out then. Let us go find a nice scarf for Tokitou-kun!"

Group 4: Uzui and Rengoku

These two had seemingly forgot why they had came to the District in the first place, and were stuffing their face full of soba at a stall, to the sheer horror of the stall owner. "This soba is very tasty!" Rengoku complemented. The stall owner smiled gratefully, albeit nervously. These men certainly ate a lot... As Rengoku was in the midst of stuffing his face with another bowl of soba, an idea came to him. "Aha! I have an idea for Tokitou-kun's present!" He proclaimed loudly, startling the poor stall owner. "Ha, funny, I came up with an idea too!" Uzui agreed. "What if I were to get him cooking supplies? That would be a way for him to cook his own food and be independent, and it is also a good hobby!" Rengoku suggested. Uzui nodded his head, slurping up more of the noodles in his bowl. "That's a good idea. I was planning on getting him some flashy jewellery, you know, because visually he looks so boring and not flamboyant." Uzui mumbled through a mouthful of food. Well, that was strangely easy!

The Hashira all found themselves grouped together at the entrance of the Red Light District once again, this time each of them carried paper bags containing gifts, and Shinobu had a roll of wrapping paper sticking out of hers. "Well, it looks like we all got something... Gyomei, did you get something?" Shinobu asked. Gyomei nodded with a small smile on his face. "It's a homemade gift, so I hope he likes it. It is at my home, currently." He cried happily. Shinobu nodded with a smile on her face, before coughing in embarrassment when she realised Gyomei could not, in fact, see her nod. "That's a relief. It's good we finally got this settled." Shinobu explained. "So, are you guys gonna admit this was a good idea now?" Uzui inquired. Everyone ignored him.

The next morning, everyone wrapped their presents after waking up, and then set off to Shinobu's kitchen to make the cake. Aoi had decided to pitch in, and even made her own present for the Mist Hashira. Everyone gathered around, wearing aprons and carrying some ingredients and equipment. "Okay so, to clear this up, we are NOT making a big, fancy cake. We are making a normal sized cake, and we are going to decorate it with some icing and write 'Happy Birthday' on it. Am I clear?" Shinobu ordered. "Hey, can he even read?" Sanemi asked. "Yes, yes he can. Am I clear?" Shinobu repeated. Everyone nodded, albeit Mitsuri was a little sad she couldn't carry out her perfect birthday cake idea, but maybe she could make another one by herself. Aoi came back with her apron on, and the three butterfly sisters crowded around her with spatulas and whisks.

Very soon, the kitchen was a mess with flour covering almost every surface, including the people in it. The culprits were Uzui and surprisingly Obanai, who threw a bag of flour at the Sound Hashira after being called short and then starting a fight. Luckily, neither were hurt and both were scolded severely by an angry Aoi and Kiyo, Naho and Sumi. As the cake batter was placed in the stove, everyone began tidying, and the culprits were put in the time-out corner (courtesy of the little girls). Eventually, the kitchen was left reasonably tidy, and Aoi reassured everyone that she would properly tidy everything up after the cake was decorated. Eventually, everyone was free of flower in their hair and Uzui and Obanai were taken out of timeout. It was coming around afternoon when they decided to go out to eat rather than make another mess in the kitchen.

After changing their clothes, they all headed out to the town and found a nice restaurant to eat at. After being seated at a table and talking for a while, Giyuu seemed on edge. Shinobu was slightly worried about that, and indulged him. "Tomioka-san, what''s wrong?" Shinobu whispered. She wasn't given a verbal response, just a finger point, and when she followed the direction, she started to sweat a bit. "Everyone, shush!" Shinobu whisper yelled, grabbing everyone's attention rather quickly. Pointing in the direction Giyuu showed her, everyone except Gyomei began to sweat nervously. Over at one of the tables, all by himself, sat the subject of their morning activities: the birthday boy, Tokitou Muichirou.

Everyone stilled, not making a sound. Miraculously, he didn't seem to notice them, which was a relief. They didn't want to ruin the surprise, or make him feel excluded. However, it seemed they didn't need to worry about him, because he waved a waiter over, gave some money for whatever he ordered, and left on his way. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Kaburamaru who had curled around Obanai's neck tighter than usual, and almost bit Kanroji's hand when she tried to calm him down to prevent him from strangling Obanai. Everyone wiped the sweat off their forehead, thinking they were in the clear. However, unbeknownst to them, they were being watched very closely. They most certainly were not off the hook.

After their filling lunch, and basically ordering the restaurant out of food courtesy of Mitsuri and Rengoku, they rushed back to the Butterfly Estate. The kitchen smelt divine as they walked in, as Aoi pulled the cake from the stove to reveal it perfectly baked and ready for decorating. Aoi had made up the icing beforehand, so they started decorating immediately while Aoi was tasked with locating Muichirou and bringing him back for the surprise.

By the end of it, the cake looked divine. It was covered in white icing, with a big 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' written on it by Giyuu (who had beautiful handwriting) and little delicate blue icing flowers that were made by Uzui, who had a very steady hand even when making things so small. They put the cake away for hiding, and everyone left to their own estates to get dressed for the occasion.

By the time everyone had returned, the sun was setting and Aoi was making her way back to the estate, gently pulling along a more-dazed-than-usual Muichirou. He wouldn't respond to her small talk, only occasionally humming and glancing around at his surroundings slowly. Aoi was worried he was sick, but after feeling his temperature, she couldn't deduce anything wrong with him, so she just kept leading him on and talking to him quietly to fill the silence.

After returning to the Butterfly Estate, Muichirou seemed slightly more aware of his surroundings, stopping to let some of the butterflies greet him before being gently dragged in by Aoi. When they passed the hospital ward, Muichirou began to get suspicious. Aoi had mentioned something about Shinobu-san wanting a check-up before she lead him back, but they had just passed the hospital ward. He stared at Aoi warily before she led him to a room and opened the door. She motioned him to come in and he followed her, although he was cautious. All his worries were put at ease soon, though.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone yelled. Muichirou nearly shot up into the roof in surprise, but managed to keep his feet on the ground. He could not, however, mask his surprise, which elicited some laughs out of his fellow colleagues. "How did you... find out?" Was the first thing he asked, slightly dazed. Mitsuri shot up and gave him a big hug, squeezing him tightly. "Lady Amane let it slip to me, and I just COULDN'T let you have a sad birthday all by yourself! The very thought of it broke my heart, you know!" She wailed. Looking around, he noticed the room had been decorated with colourful banners and balloons. There was a pile of wrapped gifts in the corner of the room and on a table there was a birthday cake and an abundance of food. Everyone had crowded around the table and held their hands up in a surprise greeting. They all had warm smiles on their faces, and were dressed nicely, compared to him who was still in his uniform. He flushed slightly in embarrassment, and Kanroji squeezed him tighter and cooed at him. Everyone moved to gather around them with happy smiles and cheery laughs.

"Come on now, let's all celebrate!" Mitsuri cheered, dragging Muichirou over to the table with all the food, piling food onto a small paper plate and shoving it in his hands before crowning him with a flower-crown. She hugged him tightly before piling food onto a plate for herself. Gingerly taking some of the food, he ate it slowly while deep in thought. Today was his birthday, but he still felt the same as ever, like he wasn't getting older, like time wasn't moving. His train of thought was forced aside as a large hand made contact with his head. "Well, how does it feel to be centre of attention for once?" A large voice boomed above him. Without looking up, Muichirou already knew who it was, only one person practically crushed his head like this. "It feels... weird..." He mumbled, taking another bite of his food and chewing it slowly, looking up to be greeted by Uzui. "Well, you should get used to it. Being behind the scenes is boring, after all." Uzui retaliated. "Cut him some slack, some people work better behind the scenes," a voice drawled behind Uzui. "besides, not everyone likes being first and foremost like you, you know..." Uzui nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected voice, but relaxed quickly. "Don't be boring, Iguro. Being first and foremost is the best, that's where all the action is! Everyone knows that!" Uzui boomed, catching a cupcake in his hand that was thrown to him by Rengoku. "Would you like to open your presents, Tokitou-kun?" A quiet voice said from behind him. He had long known Gyomei had snuck up behind him and waited to butt in to the conversation. "Uh... sure..." he mumbled, subsequently being dragged off by all his friends to the pile of gifts.

The attention was uncomfortable for him, he felt like he was being judged for his every move, but put on a brave face and did his best. The first to hand him a present was Shinobu. It was wrapped neatly and had a card taped to the wrapping paper. "This one's from me! Mitsuri gave me the idea for it!" Shinobu smiled. Doing his best to not make a mess, Muichirou unwrapped it from the seams and opened the gift. A leather bag was inside, and it seemed the gift was inside it. Opening it carefully, he looked inside. Different types of hairbrushes and combs, scissors, hair ties and clips were all arranged neatly inside it. "I figured you might need it to help take care of your hair because it's so long!" Shinobu explained sweetly. She was right, this was definitely something he could use. Closing the bag, he gave Shinobu a small hug, much to her delight and bowed as he said his thanks.

"Mine next, mine next!" Mitsuri cheered. She practically thrust the present into his arms excitedly. Her present was also wrapped neatly, but the wrapping paper had drawn on love hearts and was adorned with some pink ribbon. Untying the ribbon and using the same unwrapping method he used for Shinobu's present, he revealed this gift. It was a set of very expensive hair products, like shampoo and hair masks. "I know it might not seem like much, but I really hope you like it!" She exclaimed, hugging him cheerfully. He hugged her back and said his thanks, being careful to place the present next to Shinobu's.

The next present was thrown roughly at him. "Just get this over with." Sanemi complained, clearly bored, but he also seemed slightly nervous. He clearly hoped Muichirou would like his present. The present was wrapped roughly, but Muichirou still took care to unwrap it carefully. Inside was a cute cat toy, with comically big eyes and pink blush. It almost looked stupid, but Muichirou truly found it quite cute. Maybe it could sit on his futon? Ginko could surely allow it, right? He pat it's head gently before setting it down with his other gifts, smiling at the way it stared cutely back. "Thanks, Shinazugawa-san!" Muichirou bowed. Sanemi scoffed, but got slightly elbowed by Obanai once he let out a relieved huff.

"Here, mine next?" Obanai asked, holding out another neatly wrapped gift. Muichirou opened his arms to catch it, and Obanai threw it towards his open arms, albeit a lot more gently than Sanemi's catapult-like throw. It was wrapped neatly, but strangely, in a criss-cross. Not knowing how to unwrap this one, he tore off the top and cringed at the noise and hoped he didn't offend Iguro. Inside was a few warm socks with cute animal designs, and a fluffy cat key-chain that looked like a cat version of him. "You can clip that on to your belt or scabbard or sword hilt, and just carry it around with you." Obanai clarified, motioning to his hips with his fingers as demonstration. It was funny how much the cat looked like him. "Thanks, Iguro-san!" Muichirou bowed again, putting the gifts to the side, sitting the cat key-chain next to the big cat Sanemi gave to him.

Giyuu pushed two forward towards Muichirou, both small but wrapped carefully and easily. "That one is from Himejima-san, and this one's mine." He hummed, pointing to the respective gifts. Muichirou took Gyomei's first, and unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a very large knitted blanket that looked like a vomited-up rainbow, but it felt very nice to touch. The underside of it had fluff stitched to it, so it could be used to sleep under. Despite being unusually colourful, Muichirou appreciated the thought and time Gyomei put into it, and folded it back up before making room for it next to his other presents. Despite him not being able to see, the teen felt inclined to bow to the (much) larger man while saying thanks.

Giyuu's gift was next. Like Gyomei's it was wrapped carefully and easily. He unwrapped it, and looked at the gift. It was a black scarf, with light teal cloud patterns. Staring at it dazed him, he felt like he remembered this, but to not seem rude, he thanked Tomioka anyway. He must have let something slip though, because Tomioka looked a little worried at him.

"How about mine next, young Tokitou?" Rengoku suggested, pushing forward a strangely shaped gift. Muichirou opened it and stared at the utensils. There were bowls of different shapes, cookie-cutters, whisks, spatulas, stirring spoons, pots and pans and everything you needed to cook and bake. How it all managed to fit into Rengoku's small parcel was beyond the Mist Hashira, but he decided not to question it and began to set them to another side, thanking the other as he did so.

"Last, but most certainly not least, because I got you the flashiest present, MINE!" Uzui announced excitedly. Muichirou warily took the badly wrapped gift. He still smiled though. He tore off some of the wrapping paper and let the contents fall out of the package. Gold and silver jewellery spilled onto the floor, covering Muichirou's lap and the floor around him. There wear earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, waist beads, anklets and much more among them. They looked expensive, much more expensive than the shampoos Mitsuri bought him and... well, everything else. Everyone else was stunned as well, aside from Uzui, who just looked smug. "That's... a lot of jewellery..." Someone whispered. Still in a slight shock and embarrassment, Shinobu gathered the accessories for him and put them into the bag containing hair supplies she gifted Muichirou. "Well... how about cake?"

Mitsuri enthusiastically helped Muichirou cut his birthday cake, insisting on giving him a very big slice of cake. He doubted he'd be able to eat that much cake, but it looked so good, he might just finish it. Everyone else began helping themselves to some cake too, when Sanemi noticed one more gift. It was small and neatly wrapped, and barely noticeable. "Hey, there's one more gift..." He pointed out, gathering everyone's attention. Aoi, who had previously been hanging out in a corner with Shinobu and Giyuu, took notice. "Oh... Kiriya-san dropped that off. It's a present from the Master and Lady Amane, I believe. He also wished you a happy birthday." She remarked sheepishly. Muichirou put his plate on the table, before walking over to the small gift. He opened it carefully, before pulling the gift out.

It was a beautiful hilt, a large rectangle framed with gold, with four squares in the corners of the rectangle, also framed with gold. It looked so beautiful, and felt so light. It shined in the dim lighting of the room and everyone stared in awe. It was much better than his previous hilt, which was just plane black and oval-like. And to think that the Master had given him this gift... Muichirou hadn't realised it, but tears fell from his eyes, falling onto the floor. He couldn't remember when he last celebrated his birthday, and to think everyone had pitched in to make this day perfect for him. Someone hugged him from behind, and then someone else, and then it seemed like he was being hugged by everyone. How he wished he could hug them all back. "How about we all stay over for tonight?" Shinobu suggested, rubbing Muichirou's arm delicately. Everyone nodded, and he realised he felt so tired. That was good, right? It meant he had a good day...

~*---*~---*~---*~---*~

The room was silent and dark, save for the breathing of everyone asleep, and the faint glow of Kaburamaru's red eyes and Rengoku's vibrant hair. Everyone was asleep, except for Gyomei. He had felt a bit on edge since lunch, but hid it well. It felt like they were being watched, very closely. Whoever was watching them was in close contact to them. They were an unfamiliar presence, but no-one questioned them, so Gyomei assumed it was okay. But now, it was different. This mysterious person was still awake, sitting close by, right next to Muichirou. For fear of waking everyone up, Gyomei stayed silent but alert.

For a while, nothing happened. The figure did not do much, just sit there and... stare, maybe? Gyomei was about to go settle down to sleep when he sensed no danger from the presence, when he heard something. It sounded like singing... a birthday song? From the quiet voice and broken tone, he concluded that it was Muichirou singing in his sleep. Despite this, he still listened in.

"...ppy birth...day, to yo..."
"ha..ppy.. b...thday, to you..."
"ha..y birthd..y, n..-chan..."
"happy birthday... to us..."

It was quiet for a second after that. Then, Gyomei heard sniffles, which turned into sobs. "You idiot..." the voice cried, hiccuping. "It's only your birthday now, you big dummy..." they cried again. The crying went on for a little while more, before stopping, and the presence seemed to dissipate.

Ah.

He understood, now.

Those poor souls... how tragic...

Chapter Text

"One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine... ten! Ready or not, here I come!"

All day, the cheerful cries of the two children rang around their home. Muichirou and Yuichirou were playing hide and seek, their parents watching fondly. Yuichirou set off from the tree he was counting at, checking all the obvious places first, then looking in the trees, before running off to go looking for his little brother. Their parents laughed at how determined he seemed to find his little brother, admiring the smiles of their children. No more than five minutes later, a loud laugh echoed from the forest in the direction Yuichirou ran in. Soon, two identical kids ran back, holding each other's hands. As usual, Yuichirou was better at hide and seek, finding his little brother easily.

"You found me so quick, nii-chan! Mama, are you sure he didn't look?!" The twin in white whined dramatically, running towards his mother. She smiled and pet his head gently. "Your brother played by the rules, he didn't look my dear. It's your turn now, and then you'll have to go for a bath!" Both boys groaned at their mother's words, and their father chuckled at his sons' reactions. "Fine, but I'm gonna hide really well this round! You'll never find me!" Yuichirou proclaimed, hands on hips. "Nu-uh! I'm gonna find you super easily!" Muichirou retaliated, pointing a finger at his brother. "Now now, don't stall! Go on Muichirou, you have to count to ten now, too!" Muichirou stuck his toungue out at his brother before turning into face a tree and close his eyes, beginning counting.

"One... two... three... four..." he stopped, thinking. "uhm..." he mumbled, scratching his head, eyes still closed. "Five..." his mother helped him, his father shaking his head. It was a shame he didn't learn as quickly as his brother did, but he realised a while ago that kids learn at different paces. "Five... six... seven..." he stopped again, pondering. What was that weirdly spelled number after seven? "Come on darling, you can do it!" His father encouraged. By this time, neither parent knew which direction their oldest son had run off to. "Uh..." the younger kept thinking, he couldn't quite remember this one, or five. "Remember the joke we came up with for this one, dear?" His mother said. Muichirou stayed quiet, nodding his head. "Why was 6 afraid of 7?" Their father asked. "Because... 7 ate 9!" Muichirou giggled, continuing on his counting. "Seven... eight... nine... ten! Ready or not, here I come!" Muichirou cheered, immediately looking around him for his brother. He started looking up the trees, keeping an eye out for his brothers legs, arms, or the ends of his hair. They were usually the give-aways. When he saw so sign of his brother nearby, he changed tactics, running into the forest, his parents smiling at him as he ran off.

Looking up in the trees, he spotted no signs of his twin, and began checking behind the bushes and long grass. He sighed when he didn't see his brother. How was Yuichirou so good at hiding!? Pouting, he ran back to his house, and ran in the other direction of the forest to look for his brother there. Looking up in the tall trees, he saw no sign of his brother, but behind a bush, he saw a footprint. It was obviously his brothers! Excitedly, he ran in the direction the footprint pointed in, and kept his eyes open wide. He was gonna win and find his brother this round! He was sure!

As the forest got darker, Muichirou got more worried. He would never be able to find Yuichirou if it was dark! Looking around a bit more, he saw so sign of his brother. Fear started bubbling in the pit of his stomach. What if he lost his brother and they never found him? He shook that thought away though, motivating himself to keep searching. Yuichirou was just hiding really well so they didn't have to go bath! Eventually he'd move hiding spot to somewhere easier, when it became too late to bathe... right?

It took 20 minutes for the crying to start. Both parents looked in the direction of the oncoming crying, wondering who got hurt and were ready to comfort the kids. Seeing Muichirou by himself, they called him over and hugged him. "What's wrong baby? Did you fall?" His mother questioned. When he shook his head and kept crying, she started to rub the back of his head in order to calm him down. Usually it did, but now he wouldn't stop wailing, his face red and eyes sore from crying, as snot fell onto his mothers yukata. "Muichirou, what's wrong, honey?" Their dad asked, clearly worried. He sat next to his wife and took the crying child from her embrace, holding him tightly. "I-I can't f-find nii-chan!" He wailed between sniffles and hiccups. "Aw baby, it's okay. He can't be far, we'll find him in no time!" Mother reassured, standing up from her seat. Their father also stood up, taking care to readjust the crying child in his arms.

They set off in different directions, calling out for the hiding child. The sun was nearly down, casting a beautiful orange glow across the mountain. This proved troublesome, however, because if it got dark they wouldn't be able to find Yuichirou. "Yuichirou! You have to come out now!" Their mother called, searching high and low for her son. With their father, it was a similar situation. He called for his other son but there was no response, not even a giggle to give his hiding spot away. Muichirou didn't stop crying, continuing his hysterics. If anything, he cried even more, and his father was worried he was going to throw up soon. Both parents and the crying child met back up by the house, with no sign of Yuichirou. Now, they were really getting worried. It was fading to night very quickly, and at this rate they'd never find Yuichirou, nor calm down Muichirou.

It was around this time, a strange but pretty young woman came by them, obviously worried about the crying child. She had long black hair with two butterfly pins, a white haori in a butterfly pattern, and she wore a strange uniform. "My apologies for intruding, but is something wrong?" She asked, her lilac eyes displaying a worried look. The adults looked at her with worry. "Yes, we can't find our other son! You wouldn't have happened to come across him on your way here?" Their mother asked, trying and failing to wipe the tears from her childs eyes. "I'm so sorry, but I haven't. What does he look like? I could help you look for him!" The lady replied kindly, making her way over to Muichirou and wiping his nose with a tissue she retrieved from her sleeve. He, however, took no notice of her, and the tears kept falling from his eyes. "Oh, thank you so much! He looked just like this one here, but his yukata is black instead. He's very good at hiding, and it might be difficult to find him..." Their father stressed, rubbing Muichirou's head in a vain attempt to calm him down. The young woman smiled. "Not to worry. I'll find him in no time!" She reassured, looking around and setting off to find the child. Their father passed Muichirou off to their mother, and set off in the opposite direction.

A few minutes later, as if by miracle, the woman returned, the sleepy boy in her arms, nodding off. He was covered in dirt and dirtying the girls clothes, but she kept her kind smile on her face and ignored it, clearly not bothered. Their mother gasped when she saw Yuichirou and the woman, rushing over. At that time, their father also came back, making his way over hurridly. "Oh, thank you so much, dear!" Their mother cried, passing off Muichirou to his father before taking the now-sleeping Yuichirou from the young woman and cradling him. Muichirou was also on the verge of sleep, still crying and unaware they found his brother. "It was no problem! Next time you're playing hide and seek, check for burrows! He managed to weasel himself into one and hide there." She advised. The parents thanked her profusely, and gave her food as she made her way back up the mountain.

Bringing the sleeping boys inside, they were laid in Yuichirou's futon, Muichirou clinging desperately to his brother even as he snored gently. Both parents sighed in relief as the boys slept soundly, cuddling into each other. They silently thanked the young lady who helped them, vowing to help her out if they passed her come back down the mountain.

The next morning, the house was filled with complaints. "No boys, you were up so late last night playing hide and seek that you didn't have a bath! You're both filthy, we can't put this off any longer!" Their mother scolded. She took them to the river to collect water for their bath. The complaining didn't cease, both kids begging her not to wash them and let them play instead. She didn't indulge them this time as she did the last few days, sitting them in a bucket and washing them thoroughly. When they were done their baths, they were shivering, wet and cold. However, their mother handed them treats after, which shocked and delighted them. Sweet treats like these were expensive but delicious, and they were never able to eat them before. Now though, their mother had managed to get her hands on a few! The boys squealed in delight at the sweet taste, thanking their mother profusely. She tried saying something between their thanks, but before she could repeat it, they ran outside to tell their father of their mothers mircale.

On the way to where their father was cutting wood, they passed a rabbit hole. Using his unoccupied hand that wasn't holding Muichirou's, Yuichirou pointed to it. "That's where I hid last night! I watched you pass me four times!" Yuichirou giggled, teasing his brother. The bushes by them rustled, drawing their attention. Emerging from them was a pretty girl, long fair hair tied with butterfly clips, gentle lilac eyes, a white haori in butterfly design atop her uniform, which had a scabbard tucked neatly into her belt. Her clothes were slightly dirty. "Hey! You were to girl that found me yesterday!" Yuichirou claimed, pointing his finger towards the girl now. She laughed gently, moving her hands to his finger and moving it down. "I am! You really worried everyone, you know!" She said, voice soft.

Muichirou stared at her scabbard, pointing towards it. "Onee-san, what's that?" He asked, already comfortable with the older girl. She laughed and removed it from her belt, pulling the scabbard away from her belt and opening it to reveal a beautiful light pink katana. Both boys stared at it, fascinated by its colour, by the pretty hilt and the strange writing engraved onto it that they couldn't read yet. "Woooow..." Both boys whispered in awe. "Onee-san, that's such a cool and pretty sword!" Muichirou complimented, eyes sparkling. She smiled at him bashfully. "Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!" She said cheerfully. "What do you use it for?" Yuichirou asked, still trying to figure out what the writing said. "Ah, I use it to protect people from dangerous animals!" She said, a bright smile on her face helping her cover her lie. Both boys were in awe again. "Thanks for protecting us then, onee-san!" Muichirou cheered, ignoring the elbow from his older brother. ("Stop calling her onee-san! It's rude!" His brother insisted.)

"You're so very welcome, little ones! I must go now, but before I go, take these!" She said, reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a bag of the sweets their mother served them. Their eyes went wide as they accepted the gift, looking up at her star-struck. She sheathed her katana again, securing her scabbard in her belt. "Goodbye now, and remember," she turned to Yuichirou, "pointing at people is rude, okay?" She reprimanded him. He flushed and hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry..." He apologised, shuffling his feet. The girl smiled at his apology and put her hands on both boys heads gently. "Be good for your parents for me!" After petting the top of their heads, she turned and walked away, turning back to wave goodbye again. Remembering the expensive sweets, Muichirou shouted out thanks. "Thank you for the sweets, onee-san! Get home safely! Bye-bye~" He called, watching her laugh and wave again as she got further and further away.

Muichirou couldn't tell why, but he felt as if this wouldn't be the last time he saw her.

Chapter Text

Something that confused him greatly was knowing so, so little about someone that their whole person was confusing. This was the case with the Mist Hashira.

Describing him is easy: he's an airheaded, quick-witted teenager who's brutally honest and lacking a personality. He was almost mechanical, not human. He seemed incredibly dopey, for lack of better word, which was funny when you first met him but becomes increasingly worrying and your only thought around him: was he always like this? He just contrasted himself in everyway.

He lacked hostility but seemed aggressive with words, he was unkind but not mean, he cared a great deal for small things but not enough for serious situations. Sometimes, he wondered if he was a figment of all their imagination: going crazy from killing so many demons, doing the same routine for so long. But he saw how Lady Amane looked at him: pitiful, sad. She knew something, she knew the key to making this mechanical shell into a person but couldn't- wouldn't share it.

He groaned in annoyance. It was rare he ever thought of the kid, let alone when trying to sleep, but his earlier encounter in the day had lingered in his mind. And of course, all this had to come to him on his night off, a rare night where he had time to himself and could sleep like a baby unprovoked.

Obanai sat up, warranting a startle from his scaled companion close by.  Maybe a walk could take his mind off things. What about... the graveyard? It was creepy and eerie, and completely cliché but he figured it couldn't be too bad.

Minutes later he found himself walking the path to the graveyard. Even at night, it was beautiful. The Master made sure it was well-kept, that was for sure. The large trees cast large shadows that were warded off by the glow of the lamps along the path, carefully planted flowers creeping beside the path. Each graveyard had flowers placed there - either from family or the Master no doubt. 

Some families planted trees in their family members name, which seemed stupid to Obanai. Did you name the tree after them, or something? He found himself thinking every time he saw someone planting a tree. Maybe he should plant some trees in his families name - to make up for the oxygen they wasted. He laughed bitterly to himself, his mood souring at the thought of them. He spent some time simply analyzing the graves, wondering if he knew any of them. Absentmindedly he wondered if Ruka was buried here, but he figured Shinjuro didn't want to. The man lost himself after she died, how tragic.

Something pulled him from his thoughts. A grave - family grave. Tokitou. Was this Tokitou's family? Were all of them demon slayers? It seemed that both his parents and... 'Yuichirou' were buried here. Mysteriously, this Yuichirou had a similar to Muichirou. Eerily similar. 

Kaburamaru also sensed something was up. He was still while staring at the grave, picking up on his companions intrigue. "Hm..." Obanai murmured. His brows were furrowed, an obscene theory coming to mind. Stepping closer to the grave felt wrong, like an invasion of privacy. Laying in front of the gravestone lay three seperate framed pictures - the mother, the father and 'Yuichirou'. Looking closer, Obanai flinched and fell silent.

This 'Yuichirou' was looked exactly like Muichirou: they were completely identical in every way. Except Yuichirou had a frown on his face - emotion, something his identical counterpart lacked. It wasn't possible, it was an insane theory, almost entirely impossible, but...

Maybe 'M' stood for 'mechanical' in Muichirou...

---

After that night in the graveyard, Obanai found himself observing the younger Hashira more. Seeing how he acted, (how he functioned). His lack of emotion didn't change, as usual. He was sobering, blunt, and entirely indifferent. Always.

Compiling evidence made Obanai cringe internally, and even Kaburamaru didn't seem pleased with this arrangement, but he decided he'd forget everything if he didn't. There were two sections: For and Against. They were easy to explain; what evidence proved his theory correct, and what evidence proved his theory incorrect.

For:

Lack of emotions, hidden limbs (hiding joints??), memory issues (mechanical objects can't remember things), lack of 6th sense, lack of hesitation (like he's following orders)

Against:

He can talk (mechanics can't), seems rude? (or just brutally honest??), can fight and be civil (mechanics can only have one order??)

Obanai banged his head continuously against a wall, Kaburamaru making no attempt to stop him. He was falling deeper in this rabbit hole that was a figment of his imagination. There was no way this was real. No way, but...

They were exactly alike, they even had similar names and the exact same birthday. What if...

Muichirou was a mechanical replica of this Yuichirou? 

It was far-fetched, but it wasn't like mechanics didn't exist. Take the doll at the Swordsmith Village. He looked almost completely human aside from the ball joints and six arms. His battle movement also seemed smooth, almost like a human.

Obanai groaned and continued banging his head. 'You're stupid Obanai, you said you wouldn't fall down the rabbit hole and what are you doing? Jumping head first!' One last bang against the wall and he rested his head against it. A knock rang through the house. Was someone here?

Kicking his embarrassing evidence over and hiding it from sight, Obanai made his way to his front door. Opening it was like fate giving him the middle finger. 'Speak of the devil - or mechanic - no!' Muichirou stood thoughtless and wordless on his front step. "Uhh... hey there..." Obanai greeted, "what'cha doin'?..." The other Hashira was silent, practically in a stupified state. "Huh?... Oh... I uh.. forgot..." He mumbled. He stared at Obanai for maybe a second longer before turning around and leaving. "Hey, if you need you can... stay here?" Obanai offered. Maybe the kid would remember why he came here. Maybe he could prove Obanai's delusional side wrong too... Muichirou stopped and turned around but only stared. Was he thinking it over? This was probably the only time Obanai ever saw him hesitate/think. 'Good, prove me wrong, I beg!' He joked in his thoughts. He stepped aside from his doorway, making way. "Come in," he insisted. It was late out, after all. Muichirou's annoying crow wasn't nearby so he didn't have a mission. Almost immediately after the invitation, Muichirou followed the orders, moving towards the door. 

Which is why Obanai is awkwardly sitting on the floor with the Mist Hashira. Well, it was awkward for him, maybe not so Muichirou who seemed unbothered. Even Kaburamaru seemed tense, coiling around Obanai's neck more frequently than normal. It was silent aside from Kaburamaru's occasional tongue-flick. "So do you uh... remember why you're here yet, or?..." Obanai asked. "Hm... no." Was the monotone response. Obanai heaved a sigh and decided to get comfortable.

"Do you dislike me?" Muichirou asked. "Huh? Dislike you?" Muichirou nodded. "Uh, no. Why're you asking?" Obanai responded. What a random question. "You're acting very awkward. And you've been staring at me a lot recently." So he did know he was being watched. "No, I don't dislike you, just..." Obanai paused. What would happen if a robot found out if it was human? Or did it know? "Do you have any family?" He settled for. Muichirou ignored the change of topic. "Hm..." He pondered. A moment passed. Then two moments. "They're... dead. I think. I don't remember." He eventually answered. He sounded unsure. "What about you?" He rebounded. "Dead." Obanai answered without hesitation, nor an ounce of sadness. He looked indifferent. Muichirou nodded instead of verbally responding. He paused, and looked hesitant. It was the closest thing to emotion Obanai had ever seen him portray.

It was silent for a while after. "Do you think I'm strange?" Muichirou asked again. He seemed set on figuring out why Obanai was awkward around him. Obanai blinked at him. "Yeah." He answered. That must make him sound like a shit person, but he kinda was a shit person to begin with. Muichirou nodded at the response. He didn't seem hurt or upset at the response. "Why?" Was all he responded with. Obanai sat up straight. How exactly do you explain to a person that you think they're a robot? "Want my honest answer?" He asked. A nod. "Don't think I'm crazy, okay?" A hum. "I'm intrigued now. Tell me." Obanai huffed. He felt stupid.

"Honestly, I kinda think you're a marionette." - "A... marionette?" Muichirou asked, in disbelief, but his expression remained ever so neutral. Obanai nodded. The Mist Hashira just blinked at him. Suddenly, he broke into the tiniest of smalls and let out an amused giggle before hiding his face with his sleeve. He chuckled behind it for a while, Obanai red-faced from embarassment but laughing as well. "I've never been told I'm like a marionette before. Tell me why you think I'm like a marionette. I'm curious..."

Explaining the logic was tedious and embarassing, but it made them both laugh in the end. Obanai even pulled out his board of For and Against to explain everything. It was the first and only time he had ever seen the Mist Hashira display emotions, let alone laugh as well. "Y-you, know, you make good points!" Muichirou chuckled, tears at the edge of his eyes from laughing. "Huh, you think? I honestly thought you'd just beat my ass if I told you!" Obanai said exasperatedly. Muichirou waved his hand in mock dismissal. "If it makes you feel better, I can tell you what I think of you?" Obanai turned to Muichirou. "Oh sure, can't be worse than a marionette!" He laughed.

Muichirou hummed. "You remind me of... a wild cat!" He said. "A wild cat?" Muichirou nodded. "You like to do your own thing, and you don't let other people tell you what to do!" He explained. Obanai nodded. "Well, you're right about that. But I personally would have thought I'm more like a snake." - "Well, that's because you're biased." Muichirou retaliated. Obanai scoffed in mockery and sat back down. Then a question came to mind. Maybe it was overstepping but...

"If you're not a marionette... why do you not have emotions?..." He mumbled. If Muichirou heard it, he heard it and if he didn't, they could move on. But Muichirou heard it and just stared. Like before. "I... do." He murmured back, eyes cloudy again. "I feel... angry. Always. It's always deep down, but there. It was hard to ignore when I first noticed it, so I... I guess I thought pushing the rest of my emotions down on top of it would make it easier. It also helps me think more rationally. It stops overthinking too..." He paused and then hummed. Obanai just listened. "Not feeling is easier than feeling." He finished. Looking back up at his companion. Obanai nodded in agreement. "Yeah but sometimes it just becomes a heavy load, and you have to get rid of it all eventually. It isn't good, you know." He advised. Muichirou nodded. "I can always talk to you, right?" He mumbled shyly. Obanai smiled gently, his eyes squinting slightly.

"Of course..."

"By the way, I remembered I came to get you for a meeting."

"Oh fuck..."