Chapter Text
Tanjiro sighed and almost collapsed as he re-sheathed his sword. The cold air burned his nose and lungs, making it hard to keep up his Total Concentration Breathing. Muichiro sniffled next to him and sighed.
“That’s the last of them. I can’t sense any more.”
Tanjiro nodded, agreeing. “Yeah. I can’t smell any more of them.”
The two stood there for a moment, watching as the last demon dissolved into thin air.
Tanjiro and Muichiro had been assigned a mission way up in the mountains of Hokkaido. It was absolutely freezing there, and to make matters worse, there was a blizzard. Tanjiro felt like he could just topple over dead any moment.
Muichiro had scoffed when he got assigned the mission— and that was rare. It was rare for Muichiro to show such an upfront emotion like that.
“They can’t seriously be assigning me there… that has to be child abuse or something cause there isn’t a fucking way…” Muichiro had gotten even angrier when his crow told him that Tanjiro had to come with him.
“No. That’s not happening. He’s not coming with me.”
Tanjiro had felt slightly hopeful— happy even that he could spend time with Muichiro on a mission for the first time after healing. Muichiro wasn’t happy because he was worried about Tanjiro. It was dangerous to fight demons in the cold mountains. Like— who does that?!
But Muichiro was forced to put his feelings aside. He was a Demon Slayer, after all. It was his job and he couldn’t disobey the assignment. He reluctantly grabbed Tanjiro’s hand and went to the Butterfly Mansion to begin packing for their long journey.
Now, they were standing in the middle of a blizzard at around 7 in the morning. They were exhausted, their legs were numb, their lungs were burning, and they were absolutely starving.
Muichiro just stood there, staring off into the distance as Tanjiro tried to figure out what to do. He grabbed Muichiro’s hand and they began walking silently. Well, even if they did talk, the wind would make it virtually impossible to hear.
Eventually, they caught sight of a decently-sized cabin at the edge of the woods. There was smoke coming out of the chimney, so Tanjiro assumed people must be home. He really didn’t want to intrude on someone else’s space, but his eyelashes were frozen together and he was about 80% sure he had trench foot. He took a deep breath and pulled Muichiro along behind him.
Tanjiro knocked on the door.
“Hello?”
He thought he heard some voices but it was hard to tell because of the wind. Someone unbolted the door and cracked it open.
“What the hell do you want in this weather?!” A man said, covering most of his face with a cloth.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have anywhere to go. Can we please stay here until the storm calms down?” Tanjiro found himself almost shouting, but his eyes were tearing up from the wind and his lips were chapped. He honestly—for once in his life—felt like he didn’t need to use manners.
The man sighed, looked back in the house, and opened the door the rest of the way, hurrying the boys inside.
Tanjiro immediately rushed in, pulling Muichiro close and sighing. The warm air hit his face and almost burned his eyes.
The man bolted the door back up, shouting at his children to sweep the snow up off the floor that the boys had tracked in.
Muichiro’s lips parted as he looked around the living room. It seemed the man had a large family. It consisted of his wife, an older daughter, a set of triplets (three boys), a younger daughter, and a sleeping toddler. The wife didn’t hesitate to rush to the shivering boys.
“Oh my! What were you two doing out there in a storm like that?”
Tanjiro gave a small, awkward laugh as he tried to figure out what to say.
“…We were assigned a mission.” Tanjiro decided that was a broad enough statement to use.
The lady sighed, obviously wondering who in the world would send two young boys on a mission in a blizzard, and wondered what kind of mission the boy meant.
“Well… anyway… come with me. You need to get changed into warm clothes immediately.” The lady ushered the boys to a different room of the cabin through a hallway. She was muttering to herself about how dangerous it was for the boys to be out in the cold like that.
“Thank you, Miss. We really feel bad about showing up to your home unexpected like this…” Tanjiro said awkwardly to her.
“Oh no. Don’t worry about this. We have more than enough room for the both of you. The only thing I’m worried about is making sure you two don’t have frostbite,” she spoke swiftly but gently. It was comforting.
Soon enough, before Muichiro knew it, his clothes were being stripped off of him at the speed of light. Tanjiro stood shivering next to him.
Muichiro felt too exposed for his liking, especially since he didn’t know who this woman was. But his feelings suddenly faded as a warm robe was pulled around him.
“That’s better, isn’t it?” The lady said, and she patted Muichiro’s shoulder.
She then moved on to Tanjiro, removing his clothes in a similar fashion. Muichiro couldn’t help but notice the embarrassed blush on Tanjiro’s features.
“Um… can I set this box right here? It’s holding something very important to me in it and I’d prefer if it was kept safe.” Tanjiro referred to the box that held his sister, Nezuko.
The lady looked at it weirdly but nodded. She set the box over toward the wall and went back to tending to Tanjiro.
“Thank you.”
All of the embarrassment faded immediately after the lady pulled a warm robe around him.
Tanjiro felt an extremely warm hand on his body and almost jumped, but it was soon pulled away. The same was done to Muichiro.
“It’s as bad as I thought…” the lady muttered, and a wave of fear came crashing down on Tanjiro.
“What do you mean??” He was filled to the brim with worry.
“Both of you have hypothermia. Your hands seem to have frostbite along with your feet too. Don’t worry, though. It’s not too severe. I’ll fix you two right up.” She reassured them and left the room. Tanjiro nodded his head in response.
That’s at least what I was expecting…
He was suddenly pulled into a hug, though since their bodies were both hypothermic, it wasn’t really warm at all.
“Muichiro?”
Muichiro squeezed Tanjiro tighter. He didn’t say a single word. It wasn’t exactly odd that Muichiro was being so quiet, but he usually talked a bit more than that. Tanjiro smiled and petted Muichiro’s head lovingly.
Muichiro pulled away and rubbed his eyes. He looked so tired, but Tanjiro couldn’t help but think about how adorable he looked.
A few minutes later, the lady and her oldest daughter came back in the room with boiling water. The daughter tossed some logs in the fireplace and soon enough, warmth was radiating from the hearth.
The women took the cloths and soaked them in the hot water before setting them around Tanjiro and Muichiro’s abdomens. The warmth felt amazing, and Tanjiro swore he had never felt better in his life. More warm cloths were added to the frostbitten parts of their bodies. They slowly warmed up and were given some hot tea to drink.
The two boys laid down on a futon in front of the fireplace, cuddling. Muichiro had pulled Tanjiro right up against him and had his arms tightly and protectively wrapped around him. Tanjiro stared up at the ceiling as he felt his body temperature returning to normal. He felt Muichiro’s breath against his neck change and realized that he had fallen asleep already. Tanjiro didn’t blame him, he was also exhausted. He just couldn’t sleep because of how worried he was. Too many thoughts were running through his head.
When will this storm calm down? How are we going to get back home? We’ve run out of supplies already. What if we encounter a demon on the way back?
Tanjiro couldn’t calm his mind down. The only thing that was slightly of comfort to him was that no demon would be ready to attack in that weather. At least, for now, they were safe.
Tanjiro suddenly felt Muichiro let out a small breath on his neck.
“…Please… Yui…”
Tanjiro raised his head up in curiosity.
“What did you say, baby?”
Muichiro snuggled in closer.
“…Don’t die… please take me with you…”
Tanjiro’s body stiffened.
What?
“Mui? What are you talking about, baby? No one’s gonna die.” Tanjiro tucked some of Muichiro’s hair behind his ear.
That’s when Tanjiro realized that Muichiro was still asleep. He must’ve been sleep talking because of a bad dream. Tanjiro kissed his forehead and closed his eyes. There wasn’t anything he could do about a bad dream, so he tried to comfort Muichiro was best as he could while awake.
Muichiro eventually seemed to calm down and fall into a better sleep.
Muichiro’s gentle breathing caressed Tanjiro’s neck. It was almost like a tender kiss.
He laid there for a while, basking in the euphoria that Muichiro’s breaths brought him. They were so light and warm.
Tanjiro shivered a bit as he felt his body become more stimulated as a result of the breaths. He craned his neck to allow Muichiro better access.
“Aahh…” Tanjiro sighed, blushing. How could Muichiro’s breaths feel so perfect against his skin?
He laid there for a while longer, holding back soft moans as Muichiro’s breath teased his sensitive skin.
Eventually, the sensation became a bit much and Tanjiro was forced to roll over so he wouldn’t get too excited. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
A few hours later, the man who had let the boys in came into the room. Tanjiro and Muichiro had woken up and were talking quietly with each other. They noticed the man come in and looked behind them to the door.
“I see you two are looking better now,” he said, closing the door behind him softly.
Tanjiro sat up and smiled.
“Yes, sir, we are. Thank you so much for your kindness.”
The man shook his head. “Oh, no. No need to thank me. After all, I set your clothes up to dry and noticed they’re Demon Slayer uniforms.”
Tanjiro’s lips parted. “You know the Demon Slayers?”
The man nodded. “Yep. My brother was one.”
“Was?” Tanjiro asked.
“Yeah. It was a while ago… about 20 years. He died in battle,” the man said with a soft smile on his face.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Tanjiro felt horrible that the man had lost an important family member to a demon.
“Don’t worry about it. He was a good man. He died doing what he thought was most important to him. I’m sure the fact that he died protecting others doesn’t bother him in the slightest. I was told that he passed with a smile on his face even.” The man gave a small chuckle. “And I appreciate you Demon Slayers. I appreciate what you guys do. It’s rough that you were sent up in the mountains here, huh?”
Tanjiro gave a small laugh as well and nodded.
“Yeah. But it’s our job. Nothing we can do about it. I mean, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to get stronger so I can get closer to that man… Kibutsuji Muzan.”
The man stiffened slightly.
“You’re planning on… killing him?”
Tanjiro nodded with a serious look on his face.
“Yes. He was the man that killed my family and turned my sister into a demon. I’m going to find him, kill him, and turn my sister back into a human again. No matter what.”
The man’s shoulders relaxed a bit.
“I see.” He whispered. “I wish you all of the luck in the world.” The man turned around to leave, but turned his head back.
Tanjiro noticed and looked back up.
“Is… the thing in that box… your sister?” The man spoke quietly but swiftly.
Tanjiro felt his skin go a bit cold, but he nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
The man took in a sharp breath.
“I’m sure… I’m sure you have your reasons… but I’m trusting you with this. Will she hurt anyone?”
Tanjiro shook his head and held his hands near his chest. “No! Of course not! Nezuko’s never even devoured a human before, and I’ve been carrying her with me for months. She sees humans as family, and there are even some Hashira that defend her!”
The man looked back at the box nervously and then back at Tanjiro. He nodded.
“Okay. I trust you.” The man started to close the door. “But a Demon Slayer accompanied by a demon? How weird is that…” the man’s voice became muffled and it faded.
Tanjiro let out a breath and his body relaxed.
Thank goodness…
He turned over to Muichiro and noticed him staring blankly into the fire.
“Muichiro? What’s wrong?”
Muichiro didn’t respond.
Tanjiro shook his shoulders.
“Mui? Look at me. Are you okay?”
Muichiro turned his head and looked Tanjiro right in the eyes. Muichiro had a confused look on his face.
“Where are we?”
Tanjiro was suddenly hit with worry.
“What do you mean? We’re in the cabin, remember? Because of the blizzard.”
Muichiro looked around the room and his lips parted.
“Oh, right.”
Tanjiro held a hand to Muichiro’s forehead.
“Baby, do you feel okay?”
Muichiro sighed.
“I don’t know.”
Tanjiro frowned slightly. He cupped Muichiro’s face in his hands.
“You should go back to sleep. You look kinda pale too,” Tanjiro murmured with a gentle tone. Muichiro nodded and laid back down. He closed his eyes as Tanjiro stroked his hair.
Muichiro did feel a bit weird. He didn’t necessarily feel sick or anything so he was confused. When he was asleep earlier, he had a bad dream. The problem was that Muichiro didn’t remember it at all. He remembered how it made him feel, which was kind of empty and scared inside, but that was all. He was used to forgetting his dreams, but that one was one that he felt like he was supposed to remember.
Soon enough, he drifted off with his head in Tanjiro’s lap.
—————————————————————
The wife entered the room where Tanjiro and Muichiro were with a gentle smile on her face.
“Are you two hungry? It’s lunch time.” She walked over to them with her sleeping toddler strapped to her.
Tanjiro smiled.
“Thank you so much. That would be amazing.”
“Great. Come with me. I know we have quite a large family but don’t get intimidated. We’ll squeeze you guys right in!” The lady motioned for Tanjiro and Muichiro to follow her. They did as they were told and got up to follow.
“Oh, don’t mind. I had quite a large family myself.” Tanjiro laughed as he thought about his big family.
“Had?” The lady slowed a bit and looked over at Tanjiro. Tanjiro’s expression softened and he nodded.
“Yes. A demon killed them. All I have left is my sister now, but she’s enough.” Tanjiro found that talking about it was quite easy. It hurt to think about them but it was bearable.
“I’m so sorry…” the woman spoke softly and patted Tanjiro’s head. “Is that why you became a Demon Slayer?”
Tanjiro nodded. “Pretty much. My sister is a demon… and I’m going to do whatever it takes to turn her back into a human.”
The lady nodded.
“Yes… my husband mentioned you bringing a demon here. At first I was shocked and confused, but he said that he trusted you… so I will too.”
Tanjiro looked at the floor sheepishly.
“Yeah… sorry. I should have mentioned that in the beginning.”
“It’s okay. A young boy like you, losing your entire family and only having your demon sister left… it breaks my heart. I have no room to judge.” The woman pulled Tanjiro into a small hug, and just for a moment, it felt like Tanjiro had a mother again.
The woman pulled away and looked at Tanjiro and Muichiro.
“I just realized that I’ve never asked your names. My apologies… I don’t know why I forgot that.”
Tanjiro gave a small chuckle.
“It’s okay. I don’t think that I really thought about it either,” he said. “I’m Tanjiro and this is Muichiro.” Tanjiro gestured to the boy behind him.
“Ah, I see. What beautiful names you two have. I’m Kiyoko. My husband is named Masaru. Once we get in the dining room I’ll introduce you to everyone else,” Kiyoko said.
“Thank you! And it’s nice to formally meet you, Kiyoko-san.” Tanjiro gave a small bow as thanks.
Kiyoko nodded and looked back at Muichiro.
“So, Muichiro-san… why did you decide to become a Demon Slayer?”
Muichiro looked up at the sound of his name. He stood there for a moment, confused. Something flashed through his mind.
White Birch Spirit.
The image had faded as quickly as it had come. Muichiro stood there for a moment before answering.
“I don’t know.”
Kiyoko made a face of confusion at Muichiro’s response but Tanjiro stepped in.
“He has amnesia. It seems it’s especially bad today.”
Kiyoko covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh, my! I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t worry, it’s okay,” Tanjiro reassured her.
He grabbed Muichiro’s hand in his and continued walking through the hall with him.
They entered the dining room which was connected to the kitchen and living room. The entire family was already seated and waiting for the food to be served.
Kiyoko smiled and introduced everyone.
“I’m sure you saw them earlier, but this is Tanjiro and this is Muichiro. They’ll be staying with us until the snow storm calms down, so please be on your best behavior.” She gestured toward the two boys.
She then found a place for them to sit and introduced everyone else.
“As I told you, this is my husband, Masaru. My oldest daughter is Fumiko. The triplets are Asa, Jiro, and Dai. My younger daughter is Mitsu. And this little guy right here is Sana.” Kiyoko pointed to everyone she mentioned, then lastly pinched her little toddler’s cheek.
Tanjiro smiled at everyone.
“What adorable names! It’s a pleasure to meet all of you!” He said with a bow.
The two youngest didn’t say anything and just stared. The four oldest smiled and bowed along. The oldest daughter, Fumiko, seemed to be around 16-18 and even was nice enough to give Tanjiro and Muichiro some more warm tea. Kiyoko and Masaru passed out food to everyone and they said a quick thanks before digging in. Tanjiro was completely starved and had to refrain from literally inhaling his food. Muichiro ate extremely slowly, which was odd. Tanjiro couldn’t help but look over and wonder why Muichiro was acting so weird that day.
Suddenly, three faces belonging to young boys were shoved in Tanjiro and Muichiro’s faces.
“Is it true that you guys are Demon Slayers?!” They asked in unison. Tanjiro was surprised for a moment before he gave a small chuckle.
“Yes. It’s true.”
Their mouths fell open in awe.
“Are you a Hashira?” They all asked again, forcing themselves even closer to Tanjiro.
“No, but he is. I’m his tsuguko.” Tanjiro pointed over at Muichiro. Muichiro looked up at the mention of himself.
“REALLY?! THERE’S A HASHIRA IN THE HOUSE?!” Jiro, the triplet in the middle, almost climbed across the table.
Muichiro spoke quietly.
“Yes.”
Everyone at the table was completely shocked. It wasn’t just the triplets. Fumiko had her hands covering her mouth and Kiyoko just blinked rapidly. Masaru’s eyes were completely wide in shock. Mitsu had an adorable look of childlike wonder on her face, and Sana was copying everyone else’s expressions.
Kiyoko seemed to be rummaging through her mind for a moment. “Wait— Muichiro as in Tokito Muichiro? The Mist Hashira?”
“The- the Mist Hashira? The one who picked up a sword in.. what.. two months… and became a Hashira? That guy?” Masaru was trembling with excitement. Muichiro looked a bit uncomfortable with the attention, but Tanjiro had never been prouder. He put an arm around Muichiro’s shoulders.
“Yep! He’s only 14, which makes him younger than me! But he’s already a Hashira.” Tanjiro rubbed Muichiro’s head playfully. Muichiro blushed softly at Tanjiro’s touch.
Kiyoko immediately stood up and bowed.
“I’m so sorry for not knowing this sooner— to— to have a Hashira like you… in my house! Oh my! Forgive me for my lack of manners!”
Muichiro looked confused and shook his head.
“No, I think you’ve been perfectly okay.”
Kiyoko smiled and sat back down.
“In our household, we have an immense amount of respect for Demon Slayers— especially Hashira. My brother-in-law was saved countless times by Hashira when he was a Demon Slayer, isn’t that right, Masaru?” Kiyoko had a bright look on her face, like she couldn’t be more honored to have a Hashira in her home.
“Yeah. Kaido was a complete nut job. He was always getting himself into bad situations with the demons— mostly near death experiences. He was saved and was trained under a few Hashira throughout the years. He ended up becoming quite a fine swordsman as a result.” Masaru took a sip of his tea.
Fumiko spoke up. “But… the Mist Hashira..? How… how can you be so young yet so brave? I mean… you must be really important, right? Being a Demon Slayer must be the hardest job in itself, but to be in a position that high?! You have my utmost respect, Muichiro-san.”
Muichiro sat there for a moment, thinking. Then he found the right words.
“It was hard. Becoming a Hashira was very difficult. I don’t remember really anything from the beginning of my training, but the memories come back sometimes. I found that it was easier to risk my life and work harder when I didn’t have anything to protect except for myself. I think that if I had my memories from my childhood, it would have been much harder to get to where I am now.”
Tanjiro rubbed Muichiro’s back soothingly.
Mitsu’s tiny voice was heard over the table.
“Really? You don’t remember anything?”
Muichiro shook his head.
“Sometimes I feel the memories coming back but then they slip away just as quickly as they came.”
“That sounds so horrible, Muichiro-san. I’m sorry that you have to go through that. But either way, I and the rest of my family believe that you are an extremely brave and tough person. You have our utmost respect,” Kiyoko beamed.
Muichiro thanked her again. Everyone else at the table began making small talk and conversations with Muichiro and Tanjiro about their Demon Slayer missions.
After a while, everyone finished eating and went on with their day. Muichiro and Tanjiro went back to the room they were staying in and sat down on the futon. Muichiro looked completely beat. It was obvious he wasn’t used to being the center of attention like that. Tanjiro felt so proud of his boyfriend and couldn’t help but kiss him all over his face.
The two just sat there for a while, kissing each other and making soft noises of pleasure. Tanjiro felt himself melting at Muichiro’s gentle yet firm touch.
Tanjiro felt Muichiro’s hand slide up and down his thigh, squeezing softly once it reached the top. Tanjiro’s lips traveled down Muichiro’s jawline and neck, leaving tender kisses and love marks everywhere.
“Mm… Tanji…”
“Yes, Angel?”
“Let’s take another nap.”
“Really, you’re that tired?”
Muichiro nodded sleepily and rubbed his eyes. Tanjiro noticed how far away Muichiro’s gaze was. It was almost like he were in a different world completely.
“Are you sure you feel okay, Mui?”
Muichiro shook his head and nuzzled into Tanjiro’s neck.
“I feel dizzy… and I keep having weird dreams. I keep forgetting where we are and stuff… it’s really getting out of hand so I just wanna try and sleep some more. Maybe I’m just exhausted.”
Tanjiro brushed Muichiro’s hair behind his ears and stroked his head. He felt a bit worried but tried not to feel too scared.
“Okay. You’re probably right. Let’s lay down then.” Tanjiro laid down on the futon and pulled Muichiro close to him. Muichiro already seemed to be falling asleep, and so Tanjiro closed his eyes to try and catch up.
Soon, the two fell asleep in a close embrace. Their bodies had warmed up to their regular temperatures so they felt a bit more rejuvenated. After a nice meal, taking a nap seemed like the perfect thing to do.