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Part 1 of Demon Slayer small stories
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Published:
2022-10-21
Completed:
2023-01-08
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3/3
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A Kamado with Demon Siblings

Summary:

There are an infinite number of possibilities. In the original universe of Demon Slayer, Gyutaro acknowledge Tanjiro and offered a hand for friendship by turning him into a Demon. So, what kinds of events could lead to them meeting early and possibly create that potential friendship within the regular universe? Why, two parents encountering a false Upper moon and a Bear attack might do the trick. So how about we see how things develop together.

Notes:

Hello everyone! Got a small story for you all that will get about another 2 or 3 chapters.

Chapter 1: The start of a new sibling bond.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Daki’s perspective

Location: Yoshiwara district

“Hello~. What’s a pretty thing like you doing here~?” The disguised Demon heard an annoying and flirty tone of voice from a clearly drunken man, with this line of thought instantly being confirmed in her eyes the very second, she turned around and saw the man approaching her with a mostly empty bottle of alcohol.

“Sorry sir, but I’m afraid that I have somewhere to be.” Daki told the man with a perfectly crafted fake smile on her face, attempting to be polite as she began to walk back to the Kyogoku House but was stopped when the filthy human grabbed her wrist. A shame, she was in a genuinely pleasant mood today considering the praise she received from Muzan-Sama from her and Gyutaro’s last mission and it just had to be ruined.

“I’m afraid that you ain’t going anywhere~. At least, not before we have a… private talk at my place~.” The filth says in a stereotypical drunken and flirty tone of voice that the Demon had heard countless times from her ‘clients’. Thinking over how she should kill this pathetic waste of existence in an excruciating way, she was a bit surprised when a thin looking man grabbed hold of the drunk's shoulder with a stern look, with a woman standing behind him with a disgusted look sent straight at the drunk.

“I ask that you leave and go back home sir. You are drunk, so it is for the best that you don’t do anything stupid.” The man said in a calm voice with a peaceful aura. It was so peaceful, that Daki almost felt all of the annoyance building up from within her to disappear in an instant, but the Demonic woman could feel something… terrifying, hidden beneath that peaceful aura the man gave off and a bit of genuine fear began to well up inside of Daki as she felt the very cells of her body shudder in terror.

“What the hell is this!? Are these… Muzan-Sama’s cells reacting to this man?” She thought to herself in shock, taking a moment to look at her shaking hand. However, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt herself get pulled back slightly by the woman with the very man that caused Muzan’s cells to shake in terror, giving her a reassuring smile.

“You don’t need to worry. Tanjuro is much stronger than he may initially look.” The woman tells her, likely thinking that the disguised Demon’s terror was because of the drunk. However, the words did cause Daki to turn her head to look at the frail man she now knows is named Tanjuro and the drunken fool once more, and she was left surprised when the frail male was able to move faster than the eye of an average human could track, all so he can deliver a blow to the drunk’s stomach, causing the healthier looking man to bend over in pain before then getting stuck at the back of his neck and getting tripped up from a leg sweep, knocking the man out as his head and back made contact with the ground.

“Sorry that you had to go through what you have madam. Are you hurt at all?” Tanjuro asked her, allowing Daki to fully return to reality and compose herself, causing the Demon woman to smile gently at the man to keep up her act.

“Thank you for the concern, but I am fine sir. Still, I must thank you for helping me….” She told the human before trailing off slightly as a show that she didn’t know either of their names, causing the male human to smile gently as he bowed politely to her while the woman with him gave a small smile and nod of respect. Seemed like these two knew something of worth when they see it and might actually be capable of appreciating it, unlike the rest of their kind.

“I’m Tanjuro Kamado, and this here is my wife, Kie.” He introduced himself and the woman next to him, allowing Kie to speak up.

“I’m glad to know that you are okay miss. Can I ask for your name?” She asked the female Demon politely, with Daki allowing a smile to cross her face. These two humans clearly knew who was worthy of respect.

“You can call me Warabihime. I’m an Oiran that lives here and works at the Kyogoku House. Why don’t you follow me, it is quite late and the least I can do for you is give you a place to rest for the night.” The Upper moon told the two and actually being genuine with her offer. It had been 60 years since she had a human give her well-deserved respect without any hidden intentions.

Besides, building up trust between them would allow her to eat these two fairly easily in the future when she gets bored of the attention.

“Are you sure? We don’t want to intrude or anything.” Tanjuro asks in shock, causing her to wave her hand dismissively at his question.

“Of course. After all, I am now indebted to you both for your aid.” Daki told him before beginning her journey back to the house that her current identity worked at and ruled over, with the Kamado’s reluctantly following after her, not noticing a pink obi sash practically slithering out of the shadows and absorbing the unconscious drunk.

Once they arrived at the house, Daki was honestly a bit surprised by how the rest of the night almost appeared to fly by, as only an hour remained of the night before the Kamado’s had to leave for a train that would take them to their final destination. Apparently, the two had only recently married and Kie was already in the early stages of pregnancy with their first-born child.

“The Kamado family…. What an interesting set of humans. I look forward to feasting on them when I eventually grow board of you.” Daki thought to herself, having been able to play her cards just right. The two fools now considered her a friend, so they would undoubtably try to keep in contact with her in the future, making it quite easy to lure them in for a quick snake in the future and who knows, perhaps their brat will share their fate and an incredibly satisfying meal.

13 years later

“The brat should be arriving any moment now. Tch, I’m still annoyed on missing a potential feast through the Kamado family, but at least I will still have one to enjoy.” Daki thought in barely contained rage as she waited at a recently built train station near the Yoshiwara district, waiting for the first-born brat of the Kamado family.

It started during the day when one of the few workers at the Kyogoku house that actually did their jobs somewhat competently gave her a letter that actually called in on the ‘debt’ she owed Tanjuro and Kie when she first met them. For a bit of context, about a year ago or so (time did somewhat blur when you have been alive for over a hundred years), she received a letter from Kie. Despite having kept in contact with Daki for years and talking over letters they sent each other, with some examples being the 6 letters telling her about when a new child was born, neither Kamado had called in on the favour until one day, she received a certain letter. One that the Demonic woman could actually remember quite clearly.

“Dear Warabihime,

Sorry that it has been a while since a letter was last sent to you and I’m afraid that this one won’t be long. Tanjuro has passed away due to the illness he has been fighting recently and I’m now afraid for my children’s’ wellbeing. Because of that, I must call in the debt that you insist you owed me and Tanjuro and beg you to look after my children should anything happen to me. A friend of mine named Saburo will contact you in that event. I hope that you are able to have a pleasant day my friend.

From Kie Kamado.”

That letter had been disappointing since she would have liked to have Tanjuro’s eyes and to finally stop the utter terror that seemed to take over her body whenever she thought of the man. Daki had even gone as far as to tell her brother about the feeling after a while and when Gyutaro saw Tanjuro’s appearance from her mind, even he felt the same terror consume his body. However, she did accept the request since she would have gotten some free meals should anything happen to Kie and in the event that she herself consumed the mother, her children would become extra treats for the future…

Which is why Daki was left furious as she stood there waiting for the boy named Tanjiro Kamado. Not even a full year after Kie sent her that particular letter, did the Upper moon receive one from the very man she mentioned in the letter. Apparently, the Kamado family had been mauled to death by a bear that had been unable to hibernate during the Winter and the brat she was waiting for only survived because he stayed at this Saburo’s house when he was about to head home late into the night.

“All of that time wasted manipulating the Kamado family, and I only get one to eat. The brat isn’t even worth the effort to try and eat.” Daki scornfully thought, an ugly scowl appearing on her face before composing herself as she saw the train finally approach the station. As many worthless humans got off of the train, she quickly spotted a boy that looked like a smaller and meeker version of Tanjuro, standing out among the crowd thanks to his green and black checkered haori and the Hanafuda card earrings on both ears.

“Interesting. My cells are uncomfortable, but not terrified.” She noted to herself as she approached the boy, idly acknowledging the mark on the left side of the boy’s forehead. She couldn’t tell if it was a healed burn mark or a birth mark, but she was leaning to the first option since it resembled nothing like the flame like pattern Tanjuro had and her… personal experiences with burns. Unaware to Daki though, this thought planted a seed that would have an effect on her.

“Oh. Hello there, are you Warabihime?” The boy asked curiously and politely once he noticed her approaching, bowing in respect to her while looking into the eyes of the Demonic woman as she nodded.

“Indeed. I assume that you are Tanjiro-Kun, correct.” She states, not really needing to ask due to the similarities that he possessed with his father. However, since Daki was now so close to the young Kamado, she did notice two things that drew here attention. The first thing was that his eyes almost seemed to be dead, lacking a light or motivation to live that she couldn’t quite place her finger on at the moment. The second thing was the sudden tensing of his muscles and the odd shifting of his body, almost as if…

“No, even most Demon Slayers that wonder here can’t detect my true presence, so how could he possibly do so.” The Upper moon 6 assured herself, not allowing herself to become paranoid.

“Yes. I thank you for taking me under your care. I promise that I’ll work hard to repay you for your kindness.” Tanjiro told her, only receiving a nod from the Oiran before she motioned for him to follow her and they began their journey to the Kyogoku house when the Kamado began to gag a bit as they entered the district itself.

“Is something wrong?” Daki asked curiously, causing the human to shake his head negatively.

“No, it’s… I have a strong sense of smell and…. Well, there is a lot of potent scents here.” He told her, causing Daki to briefly remember a Demon Slayer that beheaded her that apparently also had the same kind of enhanced sense.

“I see. Well, you can rest for a while once we enter the house and Omitsu should be able to assign you a role within it tomorrow.” She told the human, getting only a nod of acknowledgement since the Kamado was slowly being overwhelmed by the potent smells of alcohol, sex, and spilled blood throughout the area, even if the acts behind the scents had happened a long time ago.

Tanjiro’s perspective

6 months later

Location: Kyogoku house

“Tanjiro-San, can you please lend me a hand?” He heard one of the many workers within the Kyogoku house call out to him, causing the only living Kamado to turn around and see one of the girls struggling to bring in a new supply of food into the kitchen, resulting in the young teen to smile gently at her.

“Of course, I will.” Tanjiro assured the young girl, causing her to sigh in relief. Seemed like Daki-Chan had personally given her the task if this was her reaction.

Silently thinking over his life ever since he moved into the building that his parent’s friend worked at, Tanjiro had found it surprisingly easy to blend in and despite feeling a bit empty inside, he did work hard to repay the kindness of the Oiran who pulled the strings needed for him to gain residence within the Kyogoku house. As an older brother who needed to take up the duties left behind by his father’s passing, he had to learn how to cook and mine out coal and while his skills weren’t really great for a single job that normally exists within the district, he had an adaptable enough skill set to help when one of the cooks had to call in sick or when someone needed help moving around supplies, though he usually kept some… rowdy customers from harming anyone or helping others prepare for the day in general or take up and entertainment role on a rare occasion. In fact, his experience using his family’s Kagura dance gave him enough skill in dancing with fluid movements to provide a satisfactory show for the average or casual patron that comes to the Kyogoku house and even a few of the regulars as well.

However, despite how easily he was able to blend within the residents of the Kyogoku house, actually adapting to the environment was… horrible to put it lightly. His sense of smell could track the faintest of scents and even pick up the pheromones created by a person’s emotions, so the amount of sexual activity and alcohol that clings to the entire area made it nauseating for a while and it still overwhelmed Tanjiro at times.

“Thank you so much Tanjiro-San. I wouldn’t have-.” The girl began to thank him once they put away the last bit of new food from the recent supply but was cut off by a familiar voice that Tanjiro recognised as friendly, but he knew would be terrifying for anyone else within the Kyogoku house.

“‘Been able to finish without your help?’ I’m sure we can all see that. Has she bothered you, Tanjiro?” Warabihime, or as she preferred to be called in private by him, Daki, spoke with an annoyed tone of voice as she walked over to them both, an upset frown clearly on her face as she also tilted her head to the side slightly like she normally would when particularly upset, though she was only focusing on the worker he helped and didn’t even turn to him when she asked the question.

“Ah! Da-Warabihime! It’s perfectly fine, I have no other jobs today, so I had the time to spare.” The Kamado assured her, catching himself before he accidently spoke her real name since they weren’t alone and explain the situation since the worker next to him was frozen in terror. After the small explanation, Daki finally focused on him and sighed a bit.

“Very well. At least the workers here have been able to complete the simple tasks I give when you are around. Follow me though.” She said dismissively before ordering the Kamado, making him smile at her, but he did take a second to send a reassuring smile to the worker that he helped before following the Oiran of the house, with his sense of smell picking up that her fear lessened slightly, so should only need a moment before shock sets in and she’ll be fine afterwards.

The walk was brief, and a word wasn’t spoken between the pair, but they quickly entered Daki’s room and they quickly fell into a routine between them, which mostly consisted of the Kamado helping the Oiran style out her hair in a few new fashion styles that caught her interest or applying new types of makeup to her. Afterwards, they would have some aimless chatter that made for a comfortable dynamic between them, varying from subjects like their lives before the Kyogoku house or Daki needing to vent about her frustrations to someone (though personally, Tanjiro did think that she took things a bit more harshly than she should, though he couldn’t blame her for getting upset too much if her complaints were as accurate as she made them out to be). Idly, Tanjiro did take a moment to look around the room like he has done since the first day he was allowed in. He didn’t know why, but he could smell Daki’s scent in places that the Oiran shouldn’t be able to reach throughout the Kyogoku house and even the district itself at times, though he constantly shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him due to the other strong smells throughout the area.

“Hm… this style isn’t half bad.” Daki made a pleased sound as Tanjiro tied her hair into a ponytail, decorating it with a few green light bows as well to hold it in place.

“If this is what you consider to be not ‘half bad’, then I look forward to seeing how beautiful you’ll look when I get a style you love Daki-San.” Tanjiro gave her a compliment born from nothing but respect to the woman, making her beam a bit. Something he learnt almost immediately about the Oiran was that she loved praise, and since the Kamado was someone, she enjoyed the company of, that meant compliments from him were savoured even more from the rare person who gave her praise without any hidden intentions.

“Hm. You would get along with my brother if you keep this up.” She commented before freezing up a little, catching Tanjiro’s interest and concern did blossom in his chest at the way the woman froze up.

“You have a brother Daki-San? If that’s the case, I’m sure that he is just as amazing as you.” He told her, genuinely meaning it. While the Oiran was definitely spoiled, he has never seen anything that suggested it was to a rotten level and someone who loved their sibling above anything was clearly what was needed for raising someone in the Yoshiwara district and get someone with Daki’s personality as a result.

“He is amazing… though you may want to keep a distance if you ever meet him. My brother doesn’t really trust others due to… certain things.” The woman explained, and despite the potent smell of alcohol, sex and occasionally blood within the area stopping Tanjiro’s sense of smell from accurately detecting the pheromones released by a person’s body when feeling emotions, he could clearly smell Daki’s shock and unease. Seems she didn’t want to share this information about her brother but can’t stop herself.

“If you want, I can leave. I can tell that you don’t want me to learn about your brother and I can respect that.” Tanjiro assured Daki, causing the woman to nod her head in acceptance to the suggestion, clearly not trusting herself from saying anything more. With that, he carefully undid the Oiran’s current hairstyle and put it back into its usual look before leaving the room, though from the little he pieced together and what he heard of Daki’s brother, he truly did wish to meet him someday given their love as older brothers towards their younger siblings (Even though he was a failure as a brother).

As he left to his room within the Kyogoku house though, Tanjiro did not notice slithering near the roof of the corridor he was in to watch him, nor did he smell a sudden and new scent appearing inside of Daki’s room.

Notes:

Hope you all enjoyed that! This idea for a story was actually inspired by another called "wither away" by an author called "thegingfriendstandsforgay". I suggest having a look at it since it is a really good story, and the writer deserves a lot of love for writing what he has made so far.

Now then, the story idea got to me when I rewatched the Red-Light district arc of the anime and reading wither away recently is what gave me the motivation to write this. Just so you know, this story will be building up a bond between the Shabana siblings (Shabana is the last name of Gyutaro and Daki/Ume in Kimetsu Academy) and how easily they can have a strong bond, especially since I believe that a lot of people will agree with me when I say that the Upper moon 6 siblings and the Kamado siblings would have an instant respect for each other and possibly even friendship if it wasn't for the circumstances.

Also, for those who want to say that Daki wouldn't open up to Tanjiro, I would like to say that she doesn't feel a true connection to him (at least in the way the Kamado thinks she does), but she is someone who loves feeling respected and pampered and since she would remind Tanjiro of his own little siblings a bit and he thinks she is helping him out of kindness, he would show respect to her and pamper her a bit, so the Kamado is someone that the false Upper moon 6 enjoys keeping around for the attention.

Taisho Secret: Tanjuro and Kie were only within the Yoshiwara district since it provided them a short cut back to the small village they lived near since they were returning from a visit to the graves of the family of Kie's sister, who recently had all passed away due a plague that almost killed an entire village.

Overall, I hope that you all enjoyed and please share your thoughts in the comments and perhaps even a few other small stories for Demon Slayer that I could try writing in the future. Until next time!

Chapter 2: Two elder brothers meet and the human brother of Upper moon 6.

Notes:

Hello everyone! Here is another chapter for this short story about Tanjiro and the Upper moon siblings! Hope you all enjoy it!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Gyutaro’s perspective

“Ah! Sir, are you okay!?” Gyutaro heard a voice call out to him as he was about to turn and enter an alleyway, initially gaining his attention in a disinterested manner considering the number of times he heard an annoying human scream out in terror of his appearance.

Sufficed to say, the true Upper moon 6 was genuinely left stumped when he saw some random kid with red eyes running over to him with concern shinning within his eyes. He was used to seeing scorn, disgust and fear being sent his way, not… whatever this was.

“Uh… yeah, I’m fine. Why, you have a problem or something?” Gyutaro questioned, really feeling out of his element with this brat. He never really interacted with humans due to how he knew they would react to him, so the Demon was left not only out of his element but didn’t know what to do with this kid.

Hell, the only reason why he was walking around somewhat close to a crowd of humans while he is trying to hunt for some food is because his connection to his sister was no secret, though the true nature of them being siblings was.

“Are you sure? You look like you haven’t eaten in a while, and I can help!” The brat says, making Gyutaro mentally scoff a bit. Seems like his appearance was still what ultimately drew attention, though he’ll admit that he was a bit curious about this human now since he appears like he genuinely wants to help. Then again, a few slave traders from a few decades or so ago certainly tried to pretend that they wanted to, but it simply gave the true Upper moon 6 a feast that satisfied his hunger for a few days.

A shame that him and Daki were unable to gain the same nutrients from eating humans, even when they had fused their bodies.

“Yeah, simply was born this way….” The Demon began to explain but was cut off once the kid gasped in surprise before quickly composing himself and bowed his head.

“In that case, I’m so sorry if I came off as rude! Is there anything I can do to apologise?” The human said and this time, any signs that Gyutaro could use to justify the brat’s kindness as an act were now brought into question. Was this brat actually being… nice to him?

“Eeeh. I guess you can buy me some meat if ya can.” Gyutaro told him, causing the brat before him to smile as he motioned for the Demon to follow him, to which the Upper rank obliged until the pair arrived at a vendor that sold animal meat.

The true Upper moon 6 did take some pleasure in making the brat pay for some expensive meat, though having to force himself to eat the animal meat was annoying, especially since the human insisted that he finish it all since the Demon’s skinny figure still caused him some distress. Oh well, at least animal meat was actually edible for him in comparison to other human foods.

“Well, I got ta go. What’s your name anyways?” Gyutaro questioned the brat once he finished eating the last piece of steak from the bowl that held the bought food. After all, such an odd kid may be worth keeping an eye on in the future, if only so he became an easy meal in the future.

“My name is Tanjiro Kamado. Are you still sure you don’t want to take some of my food with you?” The now named Tanjiro introduced himself before asking, getting a small groan from the Demon as a result.

“I already told ya kid, I’m fine. By the way, you can call me Gyutaro.” The Upper moon 6 told Tanjiro, joining a crowd of people for just a moment, and using his incredible speed to disappear from the human’s eyesight.

“I wonder though… how come the kid’s name somehow feels familiar?” He thought to himself but shook his head as the Demon saw the Kyogoku house and easily snuck in and met with his sister, who looked at him in surprise when she saw no evidence of blood on him after he left for his usual hunts in the district.

“Onii-Chan, have you not eaten?” Daki questioned him, causing Gyutaro to sigh a bit as he approached her, taking a leftover arm that his sister hadn’t eaten yet.

“Not really. Ran into some weird freak of a brat. Got spooked by my appearance since he thought I haven’t been eating at all and practically forced me to finish eating the meat he bought me and tried to make me take some extra when I tried to leave.” The older brother told his sister, getting a raised eyebrow in response to that.

“Did you get their name?” She inquired, causing the true Upper rank between then to shrug. He had no clue what his sister had planned in this instance since neither of them have come across someone that appeared to be genuinely concerned for Gyutaro, but the elder brother didn’t really care that much.

“Eh, some kid named Taji or some crap like that.” He told her dismissively, though his curiosity was piqued by the widening of his sister’s eyes after she took a moment to think.

“Wait, was his name Tanjiro Kamado?” Daki asked with surprise in her voice, causing her older brother to raise an eyebrow but he nodded his head.

“In that case, can you keep him alive for me Onii-Chan? He’s probably the only bearable human I have ever seen, even if he isn’t the prettiest out there.” She asked him as Gyutaro finished the leftover arm for his meal and absorbed the blood now on his body into it. Once he was done, he started to do his little sister’s hair with a small smile.

“Eeeh~ why not. Even if ya don’t have many brains in that head of yours, how could I possibly deny my baby sister.” He comments, getting a cute whine from Daki and causing Gyutaro to chuckle a bit as he ignored her own insult towards him with ease.

“Excuse me, Warabihime-San, but….” They heard a voice call out from behind the door to Daki’s room as it began to open, revealing the very human they were talking about before looking at them both in surprise. However, before either sibling decided to kill him, they were frozen by the look of recognition that turned into an odd form melancholy happiness.

“Sorry for intruding. I’ll leave the both of you alone for a while.” Tanjiro told the siblings before closing the door and walking away, leaving the Shabana siblings alone and causing them to look at each other in confusion.

Just what was that reaction and why did it feel… nice?

3 Months later

“Oh! Hello Gyutaro!” The true Upper moon 6 heard the voice of Tanjiro call out to him, causing the Demon to turn around and see the Kamado approaching with a smile on his face.

“Eh, what’s up brat?” Gyutaro asks with a bit of a smirk, causing the Kamado to chuckle a bit in amusement.

“Nothing much. How have you been though? Me and Daki haven’t seen you in quite a while.” The human asked, unaware that the Oiran of the Kyogoku house has actually seen her older brother while he was ‘away’ on a mission assigned by Muzan. Thankfully though, a good excuse for the long periods of time the Shabana siblings came up with to trick the Kamado was that Gyutaro was a traveller and so can be gone for quite some time until he eventually returned to check up on Daki.

Silently though, Gyutaro’s thoughts couldn’t help but wonder when he grew so… soft around Tanjiro. Both him and his sister were left stumped as to why they kept the boy around and why they felt the way they did around him. After all, his sister was not the kind of person willing to share anything, let alone Gyutaro himself and yet the Kamado was made an exception that neither Demon truly minded. Hell, the true Upper moon 6 knew that he would be upset if he saw someone else doing his sister’s hair, but instead, her felt amusement and a sense of peace seeing Tanjiro experiment with different hairstyles for Daki and enjoyed their conversations whenever the two elder brothers talked about their past with their little siblings.

Even when the Demon regained memories, he was sure he forgot.

“Just been around a few small villages and ran into a… family friend. Speaking of, I got ya something.” Gyutaro quickly answered Tanjiro once the Demon shook himself free of his stray thoughts, almost throwing up when he had to refer to Doma as a friend, before reaching into a pocket and tossing him an object that the human easily caught.

“Oh! A memory locket! Thank you so much Gyutaro! It honestly makes me feel bad that I can’t repay you and Daki for all the kindness you show me.” The Kamado spoke guiltily, causing the Demon to smack Tanjiro from behind his head.

“Hey, don’t be a dumbass ya brat. You help out big time with the Kyogoku house and save my sister one hell of a headache when your around.” Gyutaro told him, though he really didn’t care all that much about the workers in that building. He just knew that saying this will help cheer up the human a bit and stop him from being an idiot for a while.

“I guess you're right. But was that hit needed?” Tanjiro appeared to agree before giving a glare that could only really frighten a puppy, if it even had an affect that is. After all, unless that human was genuinely pissed off, you would be hard pressed to find a single mean bone in the Kamado’s body.

“Given your hard head. Definitely.” The Demon said with a smirk clear in his tone, having witnessed how strong Tanjiro’s head was and God was it an amusing memory. It happened about 3 days before Gyutaro needed to leave his sister because of an assignment from Muzan when a particularly pathetic human tried to sexually harass Daki, to which Tanjiro initially tried to tell the man off while Gyutaro’s hand nearly lashed out at the insults thrown towards his sister and his brother.

Sufficed to say though, the Shabana siblings were genuinely stunned when Tanjiro not only physically lashed out and headbutted the man so hard that the human not only fell into unconsciousness, but when Daki discreetly had her Obi sashes take the man to the little cave where she kept other humans for a future snack, the siblings discovered that the man actually received a cracked skull.

Sufficed to say, it was incredibly amusing to watch, and the Demon siblings couldn’t control their laughter the second they believed the Kamado wouldn’t hear them.

After the joking remark though, the two older brothers entered a comfortable talk as they simply wonder around the District until Gyutaro picked up something with his enhanced hearing.

Three humans talking…

“Hey, that brat with the scar. Isn’t he the one that Warabihime favours?”

“Yeah. Lucky piece of shit, he’s probably eating up all the benefits of being that whore’s favourite.”

“Yeah. Even heard rumours that the freak he’s talking to is the Oiran’s attack dog.”

“Say, why don’t we take out the kid. Hell, the Oiran may even pay a lot to get him back, but all she’ll get is a corpse.”

“Hey Tanjiro, I forgot that there is something I need to do. You head back to the Kyogoku house, and I’ll meet back up with ya and my sister in a minute.” Gyutaro told the human, confusing him but ultimately nodding along in acceptance.

“Alright then. Do you want me to help though?” Tanjiro asked, causing the Demon to shake his head while ruffling the human’s hair a bit.

“Don’t worry, I’ll only be a minute at worst.” The true Upper moon 6 promised, and while the Kamado was clearly unsure, he ultimately nodded his head and left for the Kyogoku house. Once he saw the human was gone, Gyutaro turned his attention to the scumbags he overheard, who noticed that Tanjiro was leaving and attempted to follow…

Unluckily for them, they were dragged into the darkness of an alleyway and taken by one of Daki’s Obi sashes so the siblings can make the trio’s deaths excruciating for the insults.

Tanjiro’s perspective

Location: Kyogoku house

“Oh? Where did you get that Tanjiro?” The Kamado heard the voice of Daki call out to him as he approached her room, causing the young teen to turn around and see the Oiran approaching him from further down the corridor as he held the memory locket in his hand.

“Oh, this is a memory locket that Gyutaro gave me. He should be able to come and visit us in a few minutes.” Tanjiro told her, causing his friend to beam with a smile that was honestly rare to see outside of her room.

“I’m glad to hear it. Come on, there are a few things I want to try with you.” She ordered him, causing Tanjiro to smile as he followed her into her room. Once inside, the pair had Tanjiro try on a few different outfits that Daki thought he would look good in and in all honesty, the Kamado had to agree that many of the different clothes looked incredibly nice.

Overtime though, Gyutaro arrived in Daki’s room and Tanjiro was briefly thrown off. For a split second, he was sure that he smelled blood practically covering his friend, but he ultimately shook this off as his imagination.

After all, Gyutaro wasn’t the type of person to harm others without being attacked first.

Once the older Shabana sibling arrived though, the trio fell into their usually routine almost instantly, just enjoying each other’s company in a number of ways. Ranging from Gyutaro and Daki’s insults that held no malice to each other and were half-hearted at worst, Tanjiro sharing stories about his life with his family and just eating some meat.

“*Yawn* Sorry about that. I’m getting a little tired now.” Tanjiro told the siblings after 3 hours, causing Gyutaro to chuckle a bit.

“Don’t worry about it. Take a rest if you're getting exhausted.” The oldest of the trio told him, making Tanjiro smile a bit despite his exhausted state.

“Thanks…. But what about you two…?” Tanjiro asked sleepily, feeling Daki gently run her hand through his hair to further lure him into sleep.

“We’ll be fine and rest once we get tired. Worry about yourself for now.” She told him, finally causing the Kamado to close his eyes and fall asleep, feeling himself get gently laid down on his friend’s lap for now.

“You… both would have gotten along with the others…. I'm sorry… I couldn't make it… happen….” The young teen told the Shabana siblings before sleep finally took him, missing them both looking at his open memory lock to show a picture of Tanjiro’s deceased family and himself with the two siblings.

Because of this, the Upper moon siblings looked at each other and finally accepted something about Tanjiro and themselves. At this point, the Kamado was another brother within their small family, and they would protect him just as fiercely as they would protect each other.

After all, he was a frail human despite being their brother….

Notes:

Well, that ending is both heart-warming and concerning.

Now then, I hope I was able to successfully write Gyutaro in this story, especially while he is left utterly baffled by Tanjiro's kindness. After all, I do believe that the true Upper moon 6 would be a bit curious about someone giving him genuine kindness besides his sister, even if he doesn't know what to make of such a person.

Next are those humans Gyutaro overheard. Simply put, the kind of power that Daki's human identity has is no secret and even if her connections can hide it for a while, rumours about someone favoured by the cruel Warabihime would spread like wildfire within the Yoshiwara district at some point. I also hope that the stuff with Gyutaro being a rumoured attack dog for Warabihime made sense, as I can't imagine him taking serious insults to his sister lightly, though his presence isn't too well known thanks to Muzan sending the older sibling of Upper moon 6 on a few solo missions.

Lastly is Gyutaro and Daki's feelings concerning Tanjiro. At this point in time, they aren't ashamed to admitting that they see him as a brother to them and given how protective the Upper moon siblings are of each other, the obsessive nature of Demons and that Tanjiro would be frail in their eyes due to being a human… well, let's just say things won't be pretty if you try to hurt the Kamado.

By the way, next chapter will actually explore some canon stuff with Hinatsuru's time within this version of the Kyogoku house and her possible interactions with Tanjiro himself. This may also include more encounters with someone like Zenitsu and how the battle in the Red-Light District Arc may go. Hope you all look forward to that.

Taisho Secret: Because Daki and Gyutaro enjoy being around Tanjiro and their talks taking up a large portion of the night, the Upper moon siblings' hunting style has changed into Daki having her Obi Sashes seek out and capture victims and store them away until Tanjiro has fallen asleep, allowing the Demons to eat plenty and not lose time with their unofficial human brother.

Thank you all for reading and I hope that you all enjoyed and please share your thoughts in the comments or perhaps even a few other small stories for Demon Slayer that I could try writing in the future. Until next time!

Chapter 3: The fury of Demon siblings.

Notes:

Hello everyone! Sorry that it has been so long since this story was updated, but I got caught up on the motivation of writing the other ones I have been working on. Either way though, I hope that you all enjoy reading this new chapter.

Before I forget, I would like to inform you all that I will be heading back to college tomorrow. So expect chapter updates less frequently compared to the last few weeks for all my stories, but they will still get updated.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Tanjiro’s perspective

Location: Kyogoku House

“Hello Tanjiro-Sama!” Tanjiro heard a happy yell come from a somewhat familiar voice, causing the young teen to turn his head curiously as he saw one of the young female workers quickly walk over to him. Seeing her though, the Kamado recognised her as one of the workers he usually helped out, though he wasn’t close to her and had never learnt her name.

“Oh? Do you need help with something?” The Kamado kindly asks the girl curiously, to which she shook her head as she stopped in front of him.

“No, but have you heard? A new woman has been sold into the house.” The worker told him, causing Tanjiro to raise an eyebrow curiously. He had been off sick for the last few days and Daki had only let people into his room when it was needed, such as when his fever got dangerously high or when he got hungry and thirsty. Because of that, while he had heard of someone new coming into the house, he wasn’t too sure if he was hearing things until now.

“Oh really? What have they been like so far?” The young teen asks began to move and head to the kitchen of the house and began to wash a few dirty dishes that were left behind.

“Honestly, she has been really nice. A lot of the others began to joke that she was just an older girl version of you.” The worker explained to him, to which Tanjiro chuckled a little bit.

“In that case, I would actually like to meet her. Can you please tell me her name?” The Kamado asked the kind young girl, who nods with a smile.

“Sure thing! Her name is Hinatsuru and she is a new courtesan within the house. She is also wearing a purple kimono with black diamond shapes all over it, so you should recognise her the moment you see her. Anyways, I got to go Tanjiro-Sama, today is my day off and I need to check on my sister!” The girl informed him before then beginning to leave, the mention of a sibling momentarily causing a pang of pain to appear in Tanjiro’s chest before it turned into happiness for the worker.

At least there were other siblings out there that weren’t failures like himself.

After the encounter, Tanjiro began to continue through the motions of the day and helped out anyone that requested aid within the house. Eventually though, as he walked down a corridor to head to his room to grab his family’s earrings and put them on now that he was done with any task that he could help with, he ended up bumping into someone as they turned the corner at the same time as himself.

“Ah! I’m really sorry about that! Are you okay?” Tanjiro began to speak quickly in a panic as he apologised for walking into the person in front of him, bowing down his head in apology.

“It’s fine. I’m still getting used to the building myself, so I should be the one to apologise.” The woman assured him with a gentle smile and a wave of her hand, and while the Kamado was ultimately hesitant to stop apologising since he really should have detected her with his sense of smell.

“Are you sure? I can help you with something as an apology.” He told her, to which the woman once more shook her head, though her smile became a bit more amused now.

“I am sure. Though I am new around here, so I would appreciate it if you can answer a few questions for me about this place if you don’t mind.” She told him, causing Tanjiro to smile and nod his head. Even if the woman didn’t think he needed to apologise, answering her questions would make him feel like he did so and feel better as a result.

However, actually taking a moment to take in what he just heard, the only surviving Kamado looked  over the woman and saw the clothing he wore and added on top of how he didn’t recognise her and her admission of being new, that could only mean….

“You are Hinatsuru, correct? Some of the workers have been talking positively of you ever since I got better from my illness.” Tanjiro questioned before telling her, taking the adult woman by surprise as she widened her eyes.

“Oh? So you are the Tanjiro that I have heard even Warabihime talking about so highly! It is a pleasure to meet you.” The woman who he now knew for sure was Hinatsuru stated with a pleasant smile on her face, causing Tanjiro to chuckle a bit in embarrassment.

“Yeah, though I’m really nothing special compared to everyone else within the house. All I can really do is barely make up for staff whenever one of us gets ill after all.” The young teen said, to which Hinatsuru shook her head.

“Don’t put yourself down like that kid. You have been a serious help for everyone going off of the few stories and even calmed down the Oiran when she got upset. For now though, how about we go out and talk over a meal?” She told him before making an offer while holding out her hand for the Kamado to take.

“Alright them…. I actually know a decent place nearby that sell a great variety of foods.” Tanjiro ended up agreeing and grabbed Hinatsuru’s hand to shake it. But as he walked with the new courtesan to show her the place he was talking about, he couldn’t help but feel… odd around her. He knew he smelled something from Hinatsuru, but he just wasn’t sure what.

However, as the two interacted over a meal and Tanjiro answered her various questions, ranging from expected ones like how long he had been in the Entertainment District and gradually growing into more personal ones like his relationship with Daki, and the Kamado saw no reason as to hide his relationship with the woman who he has come to see as a sister.

“Hm?” Suddenly though, the Kamado hummed in confusion and looked around in confusion for a moment as he was sure that he picked up on a familiar scent. Not seeing who he thought he smelled and shrugging it off as the various potent scents in the area messing with him again, the young teen focused back on the woman who he was getting along with and saw the confusion in her eyes.

“Is something wrong Tanjiro-Kun?” Hinatsuru asks him curiously, to which the Kamado smiled and shook his head.

“Sorry, just thought I smelled someone.” He told her, causing the courtesan to raise an eyebrow curiously and now realising that she doesn’t know about his sense of smell, the young teen was quick to explain.

“You see, ever since I was born, I always had this incredibly strong sense of smell. Every now and again, ever since I started living in the District and befriended Warabihime-San, I would smell her scent in odd places or in the area, but given the various smells from… activities and alcohol around the area, it’s probably just me imagining things.” Tanjiro told her, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow and seemed to think on something and to Tanjiro’s now growing confusion, Hinatsuru raised an eyebrow in thought and seemed to ponder something before her eyes widened as if she had come to a horrifying realisation and then looking at the young teen himself as if he was in great danger. However, she ended up composing herself so quickly that the Kamado ended up shrugging it off and thought that was merely his imagination.

“Probably the case. In all honesty, I can’t imagine how much of a challenge having that kind of nose must be. Anyways, it’s getting late, so should we get going and head back to the Kyogoku House?” The grown woman said with sympathy in her voice, causing Tanjiro to smile and nod his head. Due to this, they finished off the food they had both ordered and the young teen was able to convince his new friend to let him pay. Afterwards, they safely made it back to the Kyogoku House, but before he cold make his way to Daki’s room to go about the usual activities that they normally do since Gyutaro was away again, the new courtesan put her hand on his shoulder to gain his attention,

“Hey Tanjiro, I need to write a letter to someone that is important to me. Can you please follow me and search for some paper in my room so I can write and send a letter to this person?” Hinatsuru asked of him and after quickly checking the time by looking out the window, Tanjiro saw that he had a few extra minutes before he usually meets up with Daki, so quickly helping his new friend find some paper for a letter sounds okay.

“Sure thing. Shouldn’t take too long.” Tanjiro agreed with the request and began to follow Hinatsuru, making note of how a vaguely familiar scent was coming from her room that he hadn’t smelled in about 2 years, but couldn’t remember what it was. However, just before the pair reached the door of the room, a familiar and irritated voice spoke out.

“So sorry, but I think you and I need to talk Hinatsuru.” Tanjiro heard Daki speak with a malice he had only ever heard from her around the perverts of the Yoshiwara district. But before he could turn around and try to find out what was wrong with the woman he sees as a sister and calm her down, the Kamado felt a sudden pain on the back of his neck and almost instantly, his world was enveloped by darkness and lost consciousness, staying awake just long enough to feel familiar and bony arms catch his falling body and hear the cut off scream of Hinatsuru.

Gyutaro’s perspective

“You made a really big mistake. Then again, I should expect such foolishness from a human.” Daki spoke to the human who she currently had bound within the Obi Sashes that make up her Blood Demon Art, actively having the partially sentient ability tighten on the weakling who was with their brother.

“MMM! Mmm!” Said false courtesan initially groaned out in muffled pain and after getting a moment to calm herself, she glared and growled at the Demon woman behind the sash that gagged her mouth.

“Shut your mouth! You should have expected this when you tried tricking Tanjiro into a room with Wisteria. While he might be a weakling, did you honestly think I would leave my brother unguarded in a rotten place like this?” The false Upper moon 6 questioned sarcastically as she gained a cruel smile on her lips before reaching out to grab and then harshly pull on the human’s chin, forcing her to look into the eyes that contained the kanji of ‘Upper rank’ and ‘6’ in each eye, taking joy in the look of horror and shock in Hinatsuru’s eyes.

“Eh, don’t worry. You won’t be killed for now, especially since you’ll actually be helping us soon enough. Hehehehe!” Gyutaro decided to speak up as he put Tanjiro’s body on his shoulder, lugging his human brother on his shoulder, laughing a bit with a wide grin that showed off his sharp teeth, which piqued his little sister’s interest.

“You have something in mind Onii-Chan?” Daki asked curiously with a raised eyebrow before beginning to walk back to her room within the building and the older Demon brother followed her, Daki also having her Obi Sashes drag along their struggling to break free victim. The Upper moon 6 pair were also completely unconcerned with anyone potentially spotting them since most of the lucky brats in the Kyogoku House either left to their own homes or are out of potential earshot and asleep.

“Yep! We have been thinking about making Tanjiro a Demon for a while and now would be the perfect time to do so without hurting him and thanks to this idiot….” The older sibling began to explain to his sister, seeing her look of realisation as he explained his idea, though Gyutaro stopped to grab the false courtesan by the head and harshly began to pull her hair.

“Our brother will have a meal once the transformation is done. Only right that he is given a proper snack once he wakes up after all. And besides, it’ll let us collect on her debt.” The true Upper moon 6 finished his explanation, causing the trapped human to widen her eyes once more in horror. Really, he didn’t see the problem since he would only be helping Tanjiro by turning him. Then again, someone blessed with a good life compared to the 3 of them would see the transformation as a bad thing or it could just be that she is going to call in her owed debt for potentially trying to separate them from their new brother.

“Ha! That is a good idea Onii-Chan! Shall we do it now?” Daki let out a laugh for a moment before asking him, but as Gyutaro put Tanjiro on the bed within the room, he noticed a slip of paper in the human woman’s kimono. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, the powerful Demon took it out of the pocket it was peaking out of and after reading its contents, the Upper moon Demon frowned before laughing.

“Hehehehe! Perhaps we should wait for a bit. According to this, a Hashira is keeping in contact with this human and two others. I say we take care of them all first and once Tanjiro becomes a Demon, the 3 of us can celebrate with a feast!” Gyutaro told Daki as he held up and showed her the paper in his hand, Hinatsuru watching in nothing but complete terror as the female Demon looked it over and grew a cruel smile on her lips.

“You certainly know how to spoil us Onii-Chan.” The false Upper moon 6 says with a very happy and excited tone in her voice. Soon after saying this though, she sent out an extra Obi Sash straight at Hinatsuru to knock the pitiful human out cold and quickly absorbed her body into one, sending it away to their underground storage to save her for Tanjiro once they turn him. As for their currently human brother?

Daki used one of her now free Obi Sashes to absorb him as well and to make sure that the Hashira that will eventually come can’t take him, she had the Obi Sash containing their human brother to wrap around her waist. They will protect each other and soon, they’ll have a feast to celebrate a special occasion.

Notes:

Twisted, but in a way, it is very sweet as well.

Starting things off with Hinatsuru. She was honestly a bit fun to write with Tanjiro given the similarities of their characters and how at the moment, she was on a mission to find out about the Demon hiding in the District and so, she is currently focused on something else than befriending someone she can clearly see is like her. However, once she realised that Tanjiro has been around a Demon for a long time and that they may be spying on the poor kid, I thought it was realistic that she would try to help by taking him into her room and giving him Wisteria to chase off the Demon.

Next thing is Daki and Gyutaro in this chapter. Fun fact, but once the Shabana siblings accepted the fact that they see Tanjiro as a brother to them, Daki always had one of her sentient Obi Sashes follow him around to make sure he is safe in the questionable environment they all live in. So when they noticed Hinatsuru, who they had grown suspicious of up to that point, leading to a Tanjiro with Wisteria in it, they were pushed over the limit and acted, knocking Tanjiro out so he doesn't see anything and capturing their prey. This also lead to Gyutaro deciding to take advantage of the situation to turn Tanjiro into a Demon later on and to use Hinatsuru to quickly feed him once their new brother figure is turned and will be left in a starved state.

Finally is them deciding to wait so that Tanjiro's transformation can later be celebrated. I'm pretty sure you can all agree that this would be an in character decision for Gyutaro and while Daki may not like the wait, she knows that the reward for doing so is well worth it and so will bare with it for now. And since they haven't met Tengen yet and the Upper moons have beaten all Hashira up to this point, the Upper moon 6 pair are not threatened by a Hashira coming for them a bit after them soon. Though, given Tanjiro's frailty compared to them and not wanting to risk his death by turning him into a Demon there for when the Hashira does arrive, they decided to leave the Kamado as a human so the Slayers won't harm him and keeping him close so that the Hashira can't steal their human brother from them.

However, there is one thing I want to mention for this story. Given how none of the endings will truly be good for Tanjiro, such as being put under Muzan's control as a Demon or Tengen and anyone he may have killing Daki and Gyutaro as a few examples, I have decided to leave this open ended. So feel free to think of whatever you want as an ending for this universe and have fun with it!

Taisho Secret: While Tanjiro was stored within Daki's Obi Sash, he was kept in a constant unconscious state that he couldn't wake up from. However, during his long sleep, the Kamado had a dream of his family being alive and Gyutaro and Daki living with them and everyone getting along with each other.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments and see you all again in another one of my stories! Until next time!

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