Chapter Text
The demon was not part of her mission.
She remembered that the full moon was shining upon the quaint town. People were bustling around, unaware of the slaughter that had just occurred on the outskirts of the village. Kochou Kanae was in a conversation with the tailor, who thanked her for saving his daughter, when a demon with yellow skin burst out of the store next door.
Before someone could even scream, Kanae was already on the move. Her pink sword flew out of its sheath in the blink of an eye, and Kanae immediately took off to where the demon was running.
People started to scream in fear, but Kanae knew most of them couldn't understand it was a demon that was currently running in havoc. They probably thought of him as a madman, with a crazed look on his face and unruly hair. Yet, no madman would crave flesh and blood. Kanae leapt through the streets, determined not to let anybody get hurt. In less than a minute, she caught up with the demon.
"Get away! Get away from me!"
The demon growled menacingly at her, his mouth covered in slobber. He was still dressed in his work clothes – torn, shredded, and a little bloodied – and Kanae noticed his left hand was holding onto a pocket watch. She recalled the tailor's shop and the store next to it that was full of clocks. Kanae quickly made an assumption that the demon she was chasing was a clockmaker.
“Flower Breathing: Fourth Form – Crimson Hanagoromo.”
Kanae's blade almost touched the demon's neck, but out of sheer luck, he narrowly avoided it. Fear seemed to intensify from the demon, as gurgling noises emanated from him. The demon turned to glare at her with eyes as yellow as his skin and tried to slash her with his claws.
"Get away from me!"
Kanae was able to dodge the attack with ease. She recognised the desperation in his voice and the miserliness dripping from his gaze. She vowed to end this quickly, for the clockmaker's sake and for her own, since she was starting to feel tiredness creep into her skin, as the night kept on throwing demons after demons at her.
With each passing second, the demon was looking more frantic. His bloodied thumb was now haphazardly clicking on the pocket watch, from which Kanae could hear faint noises.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Kanae pushed herself forward, ready to cut off the demon's neck. The sound of the watch kept on becoming louder, its beat increasing alongside her own pulse.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
"Get away! Get away!"
Kanae's blade touched his neck.
Ticktockticktockticktockticktock-
"No, get away!"
Kanae noticed too late the golden ring-like glow surrounding her.
The demon swung his claws again with more ferocity, but they barely brushed against Kanae's shoulders before the long-haired girl suddenly vanished from his sight.
The confused demon stared at the spot where Kanae was standing, with his bleeding neck slowly being regenerated. His watch that was ticking had gone completely quiet, and the demon did not mind the missing Flower Pillar again as he swiftly made his way into the forest.
The afternoon heat made people around him grumble as they sought shade, but Kamado Tanjirou walked carefreely despite wearing a thick haori over his uniform. He glanced around the stores, greeting the patrons with a friendly smile.
Tanjirou fished out a few coins from his pocket. Given the amount, he could most likely afford a bowl of Ramen.
Tanjirou's nose twitched as an odd smell came about. The smell seemed to almost appear out of nowhere. Instead of spices and salt, the sweet smell of flowers caught his whiff. A gentle tap on his shoulder made him stop in his tracks, and Tanjirou's eyes widened as one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid his eyes on graced him with a smile.
"Hello there."
Tanjiro froze; her soft and gentle voice caused him to blush a little.
"You're part of the Demon Slayer corps, correct?"
Tanjiro gaped at her, finally taking notice of her attire. Similar to him, the taller girl was wearing the black corps uniform. Curiously enough, she was donning a butterfly haori that was an exact replica of Kochou Shinobu's. She was also wearing two butterfly hairpins, which reminded him of a certain quiet girl from the Butterfly Mansion.
"Um, yes! Yes, I am," Tanjirou answered rather enthusiastically.
"Then can you please tell me if you saw a yellow demon around here last night?"
Tanjirou raised his eyebrows in surprise. He shook his head apologetically, "I'm sorry, I haven't seen a yellow demon. The demon I fought last night had blue skin."
"Oh," The raven-haired girl muttered, seemingly disappointed and mostly looking concerned.
Tanjiro shifted his foot, "Uh, can I ask you a question?"
The slight frown on the girl's face was replaced with a kind smile.
"Sure."
"Are you perhaps related to Shinobu-san? You're wearing a similar haori to hers, and you smell a lot like her, too," Tanjiro commented, politely gesturing to the girl's haori.
"Oh my, you know Shinobu?"
Warmth filled Tanjirou's stomach as the taller girl smiled delightfully at him. He scratched his cheek, suddenly feeling awkward.
"Yes, I do. Most people in the corps know of her," He explained.
The girl nodded and warmly said, "That makes sense. But it is a bit peculiar that you know Shinobu without knowing me."
Tanjirou became confused again. He stared at the girl perplexedly.
"I'm not sure I understand, but you also smell a lot like Kanao."
This time, the taller – and, Tanjirou was now sure, older – girl practically beamed at him with clasped hands.
"You know Kanao, too?"
Tanjirou blinked and nearly took a step back as he was struck by a ray of light radiating from the enigmatic girl's face.
"Yes, I do," Tanjirou didn't know why, but he felt shyer in admitting that he knew Kanao than he was with Shinobu.
The girl laughed jubilantly, clearly happy with his response, while Tanjirou continued to stare at her, slightly bewildered.
"I'm so relieved, I hope you can become friends with Kanao one day," She replied with a hopeful smile, stooping down slightly to pat Tanjirou's shoulder.
Tanjirou wanted to say that he was already Kanao's friend – or at least he hoped so – but the curiosity of the girl's identity was gnawing at him.
"Who are you, actually?" Tanjiro blurted out and slapped his mouth. He was about to apologise for being rude, but was surprised when he heard soft giggles instead.
"I'm sorry, where are my manners," The girl sighed with a small smile and stood up straight.
"Nice to meet you, I am Kochou Kanae, the Flower Pillar." The girl, who called herself the Flower Pillar so brazenly, extended a warm hand to Tanjirou.
Tanjirou felt his brain short-circuit.
Kochou Kanae, he knew that name.
And there was absolutely no way the bearer of that name was standing in front of him.
"That's impossible," Tanjirou replied sternly. His serious tone caused the older girl to blink in surprise.
"What's impossible?"
"You can't be Kochou Kanae-san," Tanjirou explained, his hand unconsciously grabbing the hilt of his sword.
The girl appeared amused at his words, but he could see the shift in her stance. A stance that meant she was no longer offering him a friendly handshake.
"Why can't I be Kochou Kanae?"
Tanjirou gulped, feeling a little anxious to say the next words and anticipating the scuffle that may come from them. They were still standing in the middle of a street, but thankfully, most people were already inside to escape the heat.
"Because she's dead," Tanjiro uttered calmly, and the air surrounding him became taut with finality. He gazed ahead at the tall girl, waiting for her response with bated breath.
But nothing came from her for a while, until softly, she muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
"...Pardon?"
Kanae did not panic when she found herself standing in front of a clothing store, with the sun blazing, even though just mere moments ago, she was close to eliminating a demon that unexpectedly crashed onto the night.
She promptly shifted her sword back into the scabbard and hid it away under her haori. Yet, her hand was purposely placed close to the hilt, ready to pull it out once she realised the danger was not completely over.
The Flower Pillar examined her surroundings carefully, her acute eyes making sure the yellow demon was nowhere in sight. Kanae recognised most of the shops around her, indicating that she was still in the town that had the clockmaker-turned-demon. She made a quick deduction that the demon had transferred her to the morning time using his blood demon art.
A unique green checkered haori caught Kanae's eyes. A teenage boy was standing a few feet away from her, wearing the uniform of her corps. The wooden box he was carrying on his back piqued her interest.
Kanae intended to approach him to ask about the yellow demon, with the hope that someone had already taken care of it. She did not expect to hear the said boy claiming she was a dead person.
"I'm sorry, can you please explain why you think I'm dead?"
The boy's serious expression didn't waver at her question.
"Because Shinobu-san told me herself."
Kanae stilled, as her eyes perceived that the boy was telling the truth. A feeling that she had misplaced something came over her.
Her look now mirrored that of the boy in front of her, but she maintained a mild, friendly smile.
"What's your name?"
"Kamado Tanjirou, a Kanoe rank member of the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Kamado-kun, may I know what year it is?"
Tanjirou's firm posture shifted slightly, as his gaze on her became a mix of confusion and sobriety.
"It's 192X."
"192X," Kanae echoed the answer with a nod, glancing up to the blue sky.
"That means I have travelled four years into the future," She muttered solemnly, the enormity of the situation gradually dawning on her.
"What?"
Kanae turned to face Tanjirou, who was now sporting an apprehensive expression.
He furrowed his brows at her, "What did you just say?"
Kanae smiled at the younger guy, losing a bit of enthusiasm that had accompanied it beforehand.
"Are you hungry, Kamado-kun? Let me treat you to some food."
"I still can't believe it," Tanjirou mumbled, holding his hand to his chin as he frowned at the empty bowl in front of him.
The girl, whom he was now accepting to be the real Kochou Kanae, explained everything to him. Everything that she was aware of, at least. According to the Flower Pillar, she was fighting a demon when a bright yellow light transported her to another time. She thought the demon was merely capable of fast-forwarding a person's time for a few hours, but certainly not for four years.
"I have my own theory on the demon, but I need to meet Oyakata-sama first," Kanae remarked, wiping her lips with a handkerchief. She had picked a small Ramen shop hidden between an abandoned store and an old shoe store to avoid the crowd. As they ate, she calmly explained everything that she went through before meeting Tanjirou. It was quite amusing to Kanae as Tanjirou's emotions evidently flickered on his face with each bit of the story.
"Yes, I think meeting Oyakata-sama is the wise choice," Tanjirou agreed. He balled his fingers into a fist on the table and looked down at the floor. Tanjirou mumbled almost bitterly, "I'm sorry, though, I'm not sure how I can help you with that. Not just anyone can contact or meet Oyakata-sama whenever they want."
Kanae smiled reassuringly at Tanjirou.
"I know, unless you're a Pillar."
Tanjirou turned towards Kanae with large, expectant eyes. Of course, a Pillar would know where the main headquarters of the corps was, as they would need to promptly convene whenever an emergency meeting was held. Kochou Kanae may seem sweet and affable, but she was still the Flower Pillar.
"Unfortunately," Kanae said with a slight furrow of her brows, "Four years is a long time, and I'm quite doubtful about the current location of Oyakata-sama's mansion. And I don't have my crow with me," Kanae smiled forlornly, feeling rather guilty to see Tanjirou's hope dissipated like sand in the waves.
Kanae could definitely go to Ubayashiki's mansion – crow or no crow – but there was a good chance it had been relocated for safety reasons. It would be a big risk for her to get lost in a future she was unfamiliar with.
Tanjirou's eyes suddenly brightened.
"Then we should ask the help from another Pillar, Kanae-san," He suggested with a huge smile.
"I think the Love Pillar seems nice," Tanjirou began muttering, "And Giyuu-san might help too if I ask him."
Hearing Tomioka's familiar name slightly softened Kanae's smile. She had wondered about the whereabouts of other Pillars, and she was relieved that at least one of them was confirmed to be alive.
"What about Himejima-san? He's the most experienced out of the Pillar," Kanae said with a hopeful feeling in her chest. The Stone Pillar was unquestionably the strongest of the Pillars of her time, and she was confident that he would not meet his demise so soon.
Tanjirou snapped his fingers and eagerly nodded, "Of course, the Stone Pillar is our best bet. Why didn't I think of that earlier?"
"You're really smart, Kanae-san," Tanjirou complimented Kanae with a sincere smile.
Kanae chuckled, "Thank you, Kamado-kun, but please save that compliment for now. I merely suggested Himejima-san because I know where he lives."
That wasn't entirely true. Kanae knew the residence of another Pillar – the one infamous with his hotheaded temper – but she wasn't ready to meet him yet.
"That's great, let's go then. It's best to travel before the sun sets," Tanjirou beamed at her and handed the empty bowl to the shop owner behind the counter. He seemed a bit shocked to learn that Kanae had paid for their meals.
Kanae tilted her head slightly, "Are you saying you're coming with me, Kamado-kun?"
"Yes, I think it's only right that I help you," Tanjiro exclaimed with a steady smile.
"I'm the one who found you, so I should take responsibility."
Kanae giggled at his choice of words.
She smiled at him affectionately, feeling as if she knew him for a long time and not merely for an hour.
"Then, I'll be in your care, Tanjirou-kun."
Tanjirou's face lit up with the colour red, and the desolate shop reverberated again with the Flower Pillar's melodious laughter.
While the supposedly dead Flower Pillar was figuring out her situation with an unlikely help, the Insect Pillar continued to pour herself into the pile of books that was on her table. It was only a few minutes ago that Kanzaki Aoi came knocking to remind her to eat her lunch.
Kochou Shinobu pushed down the sigh threatening to spill from her mouth. She couldn't sit idle. Eating stopped becoming something of importance to her. But eating meant strength, and strength was important for someone like her.
After all, she could never avenge her late sister with a weak body.