#genya is mentioned

[myreygn]

major demon slayer spoilers!!

taglist: @giggly-squiggily, @rachi-roo

¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸¸¸♫·¯·♪¸¸♩·¯·♬¸¸

graves

“Hey there!”

Sanemi doesnʼt react. Of course not, he never does, but a little hope never hurt anyone.

Masachika pouts and steps closer, peeking over his friendʼs shoulder. “Whatʼcha looking at?”

The grave seems to be relatively new, the earth still somewhat fresh and the tombstone shining bright, reflecting the sunlight. A whole bunch of flowers lie next to it and when Sanemi goes down on one knee to place a bouquet there himself, Masachika tilts his head to read the inscription.

Shinazugawa Genya.

Oh. Oh, okay.

“Thatʼs your brother, right?” He sits down next to Sanemi. “Iʼm really sorry.”

Thatʼs not a lie. Does it hurt that Sanemi has never properly visited his grave? Yes, but heʼs not gonna hold it against him. Sanemi needs time to heal and Masachika has all the time in world to wait. And now that Muzan is defeated, Sanemi might find the time as well. Masachika certainly hopes so.

A strangled sob next to him catches his attention and he watches in an almost morbid fascination as Sanemiʼs shoulders start to shake and he curls into himself, crying as if heʼs forgotten how to and it sounds like heʼs choking. Heʼs seen Sanemi cry before, once, and it was nothing like this back then. Back then it was full of anguish, desperation and rage - “No- nonono, Masachika, please- fuck-” - and this time... well, this time itʼs different. It sounds defeated and pained and sad and it breaks Masachika's heart.

“Itʼs okay.” He knows Sanemi canʼt hear him but he canʼt just sit here and do nothing. “Thatʼs right, let it all out. I know you hate it, I know... but youʼre doing great, really. Youʼre gonna be fine.”

Masachika doesnʼt know how long he sits there and whispers soft encouragements that Sanemi canʼt hear anyway. It doesnʼt matter. Time means nothing and they havenʼt had a calm moment like this in a while.

So when Sanemi suddenly stands up, Masachika needs a moment to follow and when he turns around, his heart skips a beat. Sanemi stands in front of his grave. His grave! Masachika scrambles to get there as well but stops dead in his tracks when Sanemi falls to his knees and presses his forehead to the ground. It looks like... praying. Carefully, he steps closer to understand what his friend is mumbling to himself.

“-sorry, I should have come to see you sooner... I didnʼt feel like I could do it and now that Iʼm here, I- skies, itʼs been years, I shouldʼve been here, I- please forgive me...”

Masachika watches, stunned. He honestly didnʼt expect Sanemi to be ready to talk to him this soom. At a loss for words, he puts a hand on the Wind Hashiraʼs shoulder. The mumbling stops. Sanemi lifts his head.

“Masa...” His voice cracks with new tears and Masachika squeezes his shoulder, holds onto it as if letting go would make him fade away.

“Iʼm here, Iʼm here... I forgive you- hey, can you hear me? Sanemi?”

No reaction. Alright, that wouldʼve been too good to be true. But whatever it is about his presence, Sanemi senses at least some of it and Masachika wants cry with how happy he is.

But he doesnʼt, just squeezes his shoulder tighter; “Iʼll keep an eye on your brother, I promise.”

Sanemi wipes his tears and stands up, his posture way more relaxed than before. “Iʼll be back tomorrow.”

Masachika watches as he walks away, his cheeks almost hurting from how much heʼs smiling.

“Iʼll be waiting.”

[wltsquareih]

Day 2: flowers/stargaze

[yoonkles]

wasn’t gonna drink tonight but then i remembered how sanemi and genya’s last real conversation before his death was an argument

[princeblue]

My hierarchy of au needs

[larz-barz]

Would kill for love

——————————————————————————

Warning(s)/info: Dark themes, yandere Genya, GenMiki, angst, character death, non-con kissing (just kissing, nothing else)

Tagging: @hotelcaliforniaenbydancer @nothingtoseehere1-2-3 @rosalinastan1 @ayunakatsukiwolfhashira @pinkwisteria @kimetsu-chan @slayfics @night-mince10000000000000000001 @frostburn-shoto @floofgryph @muichirolover14 @muichirosboba

——————————————————————————

Genya laughed darkly as he stood above Michio’s body, gun in hand.

The ice dragon hashira glared up at him, breathing heavily.

“You’ve gotten in between me and my kitty for far too long now…” He smiles psychotically and before Michio could respond, Genya shoots him in the head.

His smile falls as he glares darkly at Michio’s dead body then he walks to where he’s keeping Mikitama.

The tied up yokai stares up at him fearfully as tears pour down from her eyes.

He chuckles kisses her forehead. “You know I’d never hurt you too much, my darling kitty.” He laughs softly and removes her gag.

“Wh-why would you kill my brother..?!” She cries out as her tears increase.

“He was just getting in the way, darling!”

Genya takes her chin and tilts her head up to look at him. “I won’t let anyone get in the way of our love.” He murmurs with an almost sweet smile then he makes her kiss him.

Genya pulls away strokes her ears. “Oh kitty, you have no idea just how much I love you..”

Later that night, Miki is trying to escape.

She gets to the exit then gasps sharply when Genya shoots her in the shoulder.

“You know you’re not allowed to leave, Darling..” His voice is deep and raspy as he grabs her and pulls her back with him.

She tries to get away and Genya growls and tackles her, holding her wrists above her head and his gun to her forehead.

“You’re being a very bad girl, kitty.. I don’t want to hurt you again~”

The light fades from Miki’s eyes and he smiles as he pulls her up.

He ties her up once more, tighter this time so she definitely wouldn’t be able to escape.

“I’m sorry, Genya….” She whispers softly, a blank expression on her face.

“It’s alright, kitten, I’ve clearly just been too lenient with you~”

~the end~

hehe:3

[demonslayedher]

I can't wait to see what Ufotable does with this panel:

[theweeklydiscourse]

Sometimes I think about the way that the Darkling is openly distrusted and perceived as a dark and shadowy figure even within the little palace. To me, this detail undermines one of the messages the story attempts to communicate about how looks can be deceiving and how powerful (good-looking) men can get away with abuse.

It is important to consider the contents of Shadow and Bone prior to the reveal and subsequent descent into cartoonish villainy that occurs in later chapters. The early chapters should be establishing the Darkling as someone who can exploit and manipulate with impunity due to either privilege, a good reputation in the community, or his role as an authority figure. However, you get the impression that the Darkling isn’t well-liked or even trusted enough to accomplish such a task.

This is in part due to the lack of details provided about the culture and social aspects of the Little Palace, but readers are frequently shown examples of the Darkling’s reputation as a dark figure. He is shrouded in rumours of the occult (ex. When Genya informed Alina that there was a rumour that he had fed her his blood) which speaks to a sense of uneasiness felt by those around him. When Alina tells him that she thought the meeting she would have with him might involve torture, he frowns and tells her that he’s not a monster unlike what she “might have heard”. A line that implies that this is a view held by individuals other than Alina.

On paper, the Darkling has qualities common amongst abusers. However, the story fails to use these qualities in a subversive way that would accurately convey the insidious nature of abuse, and what it takes to get away with it. You see this on display when you place him beside the likes of villains like Makima or Akio Ohtori, two villains who were trusted by most people around them barring a few exceptions that knew the truth. Both of these examples manipulated more people than just the main characters of their respective stories, and that is essential to understanding why Shadow and Bone failed.

If his good looks play a role is his ability to manipulate, then the text needs to actually show me that through character interactions rather than inserting that meaning retroactively. Does he seduce people? If so, who is it that he’s seducing or swaying with his charm? What is he accomplishing by using his beauty as a tool to achieve his goal of power and control?

If he’s an authority figure with a lot of influence and power, show me how he uses or abuses that authority. The minute that Baghra started raising objections to his plan regarding the Stag, he should’ve removed Alina from her student position immediately (something he would’ve had the power to do). He could’ve moved Alina closer to him so he would have more access to her and be able to exert his influence over her.

There were possibilities, they just weren’t acted upon.

[chososwifepng]

im so horrendously down bad for him [and his brother]

[giggly-squiggily]

Hi! If you could do anything with Lee Genya, that would be fantastic. If not it’s ok, but like there are not a lot that I can find lol. Like 4 max maybe.

Oo, I'm loving me some Genya and Tanjiro! Especially after this most recent arc in Demon Slayer! I've gotcha covered, anons!

CW: Angst, hurt/comfort, some swearing. Food mention

Cloud 9 (Taglist Peeps):

@myreygn @thatbigbisexual29 @duckymcdoorknob @wolfyeatstacos @gladdygirl18 @baby-tickles2022 @cupcake-spice13 @backy-san @t-wordiiish @sarahmaystock5578 @rachi-roo @mystwrites @chibisstuff @imjusthere07 @giggly-toybox

“I’m here to help.” Genya called out upon arriving, only to find Tanjiro in the room. “And I’m late.”

“Huh? Oh! Genya!” The brunette smiled at him over his shoulder, an empty pot and several dirty plates around him. “Sorry- the guys couldn’t wait to eat. I saved you some- we made rice porridge.”

“Huh- oh no, I’m not..” Genya paused, weakened by Tanjiro’s bright expression. Then his stomach growled, making him flush from root to collar. “Okay fine.”

“Yay! I think you’ll like it.” A bowl was passed to trembling hands, the brunette nodding before standing up and gathering the dishes. “You don’t eat much. At first I thought it was to do with the-” He trailed off, realizing how it sounded. “Sorry..”

“You’re fine.” Genya told him around a mouthful. He finished off his porridge as he seeked for the words. “I…guess I’m not much of an eater. Never have been.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say more, but Tanjiro seemed to understand.

“You remind me of Nezuko.” He laughed, voice soft. “Even before she became a demon; she ate fairly little. I was always telling her to have more, but she wouldn’t take anything until all our siblings had food.” His smile was sad with memory. Genya felt his heart pinch. “I hope- when she’s human again- she eats more. I want to have her try all kinds of food. Like Miss Kanroji’s pancakes, and Udon! I…Genya?”

He hadn’t realized he was crying until tears dripped onto his hands. “Oh-oh shit..” He tried to wipe them away, but they just kept falling- like raindrops against a rooftop. “S-Sorry, I don’t- I don’t know why I’m-”

Arms were around him, the smell of charcoal and sweat and…Tanjiro. His hair tickled Genya’s nose, shocking him briefly out of his tears.

“You smell so sad…” Tanjiro spoke into his shoulder, his grip tight and comforting and warm. It was enough to make him cry more. Before long, Genya was sobbing into his neck, clinging to him just as tight. Despite his own grief, he could feet Tanjiro shaking in his arms. He was crying too.

He didn’t know how much time passed, or if anyone passed by. All he knew was eventually his sobs lessened into exhausted sniffles, and his chest hurt from all the crying. He was sure his face was a mess, and he knew if he talked, he’d sound stuffy and gross.

“Sorry.” Was all he got out.

“Why are you apologizing?” Tanjiro wiped at his cheeks, sheepish at his own weeping. “I should be the one to do so- I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”

“What- no, don’t apologize either.” Genya cringed, not at all liking where this was going. Why was talking so difficult? “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m..I’m sorry about your sister. And your family.”

Tanjiro nodded slowly, letting their shared grief settle. Then he smiled, reaching out and patting Genya’s shoulder.

“Come on- let’s finish cleaning up.” He stood, bringing Genya with him as they went to work.

~~~

“Hm hm hm hm hmmm~” Tanjiro hummed happily as he put away the last of the bowls, stretching his arms out overhead. “And done! Thanks for your help, Genya!”

“Hm.” The other boy was outside, sitting on the porch just a foot away from the open door. Tanjiro hesitated, but then decided to come out and sit with him.

“Are you feeling better?” He asked, watching his face carefully. Genya didn’t respond immediately, but then he nodded slowly.

“Yeah…god- is it weird I feel embarrassed?” He looked at his legs, cheeks suddenly hot. “I know I shouldn’t, but I feel so…”

“Vulnerable?” Tanjiro offered, wincing some when Genya glared. “Sorry.”

“No- no, don’t-ugh. I’m bad at this.” The taller boy stammered, bowing his head in defeat. “I don’t- I don’t know how to talk to people. Sorry if it doesn’t always come out right.”

Tanjiro nodded, leaning on his knees. Now that he knew his brother- this wasn’t news.

Something in his chest twinged though- seeing Genya so sad. He didn’t smell nearly as devastated as before, but it didn’t mean Tanjiro was satisfied.

He took a risk, reaching out and jabbing his side.

“Gah!” Genya yelped at the touch, leaning away with wide eyes. Tanjiro blinked.

Then he was smiling, poking him again.

“T-Tanjihihiro! Knoohohock it oohohohohff!” Genya giggled out, one arm swatting at him while the other one tried to block Tanjiro’s finger. “Dohoohhn’t dohoho thahahaht!”

“Why not? You’ve been frowning all evening. I want to see you smile!” The brunette laughed as he got on his knees, bringing both hands in as he carried on tickling. “Tickle tickle tickle, Genya!”

“Aheahahhhha! Gheahhhaa- dohohohohn’t yohhohohu sthahahahrt wihiihihth thahahahat! Ghehahahahah!” He tried his best, but Tanjiro was a force to be reckoned with. Genya soon found himself lying on his back, kicking his feet and squeaking as his ribs were thoroughly pinched and prodded. “Coohoohhome ohohoohh, hahahahve sohohoome mehhehhercy!”

“Hmm..I’ll think about it.” Tanjiro winked, moving his hands up to Genya’s armpits before drilling into them- making the taller boy screech. “Tell you what- I’ll show mercy when you’re no longer sad. Sounds fair?”

“Uhuhuhunfahhahahir! Uuhuhuhnfahhhahahahair! Aheahhahha stahhahahap!” Genya kicked and squealed beneath him, fighting for his life as his worst spots were attacked. Despite his pleas, Tanjiro didn’t get a whiff of discomfort. If anything, Genya smelled like he was having fun.

It brought him a deep sense of joy. He was glad to know his friend was feeling good.

“Ahehahahahahahha Taahhahanjihihihihrohohohohoo!” With a sudden burst of strength, Genya managed to flip them over, pinning Tanjiro to the ground as he gasped for air. “Thehehere…nhhoohohow stahhap it!” He nodded, looking down at Tanjiro with a glare.

The brunette smiled up at him happily, unfazed at his look. “Okay! Feeling better?”

“Feeling-” Genya blinked, unsure on how to respond. Then he sighed, falling into Tanjro with a low groan. “Yes…yes, I feel better.”

“Good!” Tanjiro believed him, reaching up to pat his head. “Anytime you need help, I’m here for you.”

“In that case, help me out with something…” Tanjiro blinked, interested. When Genya sat up, there was something rather dangerous in his gaze. He already knew what was coming.

“Hehe, I’m in danger, aren’t I?” He asked, already giggling.

“You’re about to be- COME HERE!” Genya was quick to attack, going for his ribs and sending Tanjiro into loud happy fits of mirth. Soon the night sky was filled with laughter once more, the two carrying on their tickle fight and chasing away the pain. Eventually, Gyomei would find them and remind them to get some rest- putting an end to their tickle fight before they could wake all the trainees.

The entire time, Tanjiro didn’t get a single whiff of sadness from his friend.

Mission accomplished.

Thanks for reading!

[gender-neautral-fangirling]

I was talking about Genya from KNY with my brother and I brought up the fact he doesn't use breathing, he uses a gun. I jokingly said "Breath of the glock" and my brother replied with

"America breathing"

... like, sir

[kanejbr3kker]

YALL I JUST BOUGHT THE ORIGINAL EDITION OF SHADOW AND BONE FOR 7 DOLLARS OFF OF EBAY I'M ACTUALLY IN SHOCK

[creative-kny-fics]

hihihihhi, could u do leegenya and lersanemi? i would die a happy person, thanks you!!!

Sanemi always loves to destroy his little brother, so yeah, I don't see why not!

Lee: Genya Shinazugawa

Ler: Sanemi Shinazugawa

'Remind me what the hell it was like for me to agree to be here'

'Come on Nemi, it won't be so bad! We're just Rengoku, Kocho, you and me', well, a little context.

Mitsuri proposed to everyone to have a 'sibling competition', Shinobu would be with Kanao, Kyojuro with Senjuro, Giyuu with Muichiro and Sanemi with Genya. Anyway, let's focus on the second test, which is where everything happened

'Okay! The next test is to confess something to your brother or sister! Good luck!', everyone agreed, sitting at a safe distance so as not to hear the confession of the other pair of siblings. 'Ehhh, who should initiate the confession?'

'Come here you little shit! Come closer!' , Genya sighed and walked over. 'Idiot', Sanemi laughed as Genya walked away and looked at him with a serious face.

As Sanemi laughed, Genya thought of something that he knew would make his brother's smile disappear, and also make him kill him. 'I'm gay, I like Tokito'

Sanemi stopped laughing and looked out of the corner of his eye at his brother, who was smiling satisfied with his older brother's expression.

'What did you say idiot...?'

'I don't repeat twice!', Genya stuck out his tongue and laughed.

Poor Genya, he was so focused on laughing that he forgot that he had confessed something that made Sanemi angry and that he had also called him an idiot. 'So you like Muichiro, huh? And how long were you hiding that from me?'

'Almost as long as you've been fucking Giyuu-San!', Sanemi cracked his knuckles and smiled. Genya was definitely not going to get out of that situation unscathed.

'I wonder how Shinazugawa did?'

'Does it matter?', Giyuu sighed and poked Muichiro's cheeks before getting up and making sure everything was okay with both brothers.

'And that sound?', I think we all know what Giyuu saw and heard. 'So today you woke up wanting your older brother to beat you up for your vocabulary, huh?'

'I'M SOHOHORRY!!! NEHEHEMIHIHI!! NOHOHOHO!! WAHAHAHIT-!! N-NOT THAHAHAT!!'

'Ohhh~? Don't you want me to blow a raspberry on your tummy?', Sanemi smiled evilly as he saw how Genya began to squirm and try to get away from his grasp. 'Don't even try to run away from me! You're going to pay for your sin!'

'NEMI NO! PLEASE!!'

'Nemi? I don't know who that is! Do you know who you are with when you say bad words? With the tickle monster~', Sanemi inhaled as much air as he could and blew a raspberry directly at his brother's navel while moving his head to make the sensation worse.

Genya arched his back and began to scream for help, begging for someone to save him from his torment before Sanemi truly went into his 'ler mod' and ripped him apart for his comment.

'I-I CAHAHAN'T BREHEHAHATHE!! ANIHIHIKI P-PLEAHAHASE!!'

'And what makes you think that-? Hmm?', Giyuu is Genya's guardian angel, he knows perfectly how to calm Sanemi down. 'Are you going to leave your brother alone?'

'Tsk, good, you're free...For now', Genya smiled and hugged Giyuu, he definitely loved having him as a brother-in-law.

[lunarthecorvus]

If you think about it, Genya and Zoya are the og grishaverse women.

They've both been in the most books throughout the whole of the grishaverse including the whole of the shadow and bone trilogy, they were just in crooked kingdom in the six of crows duology and of course they were in the king of scars duology.

They are the grishaverse icons, the power duo, and part of the original group.

[cat124spaghetti]

Life is fine, then BOOM someone you follow reposts some discambobulated fruitflys blog that's "18+ only" you draw and/or write porn of a 15 year old.

[imkazz]

the sun shines again

yippee!! we finished the first arc of my series! (read it if you havent-- its a dkt au placed in modern day and ive put my heart and soul into this) so now onto the second arc!!

this next ones gonna be a banger and you know which demon our guys will be facing- so

[demonslayedher]

Filler Arc with Character Beats: Intro

Some time ago, I posted how I would direct a Gokangumi (Five Senses Squad)-centric anime filler arc to go between the Swordsmith Village Arc and the Hashira Training Arc, specifically what foreshadowing and character beats I'd try to make it hit, and what small changes I'd make to make it slip in as seamlessly as possible (like Muichirou being curious about the Mark and doing his own investigation into it before Amane simply tells them about it). As it turns out, over a year ago, I tried writing it in fic form, but lost steam after 5577 words because I didn't have the energy for a long fic. But I just reread what I wrote, and man, I looooove thiiiiis. So I'm sharing what I had below! It's basically Episode 1 of Hashira Training all over again, just with the same content presented in different ways from more fanfic-y character perspectives and off-screen character interactions, so this is nice timing for it since episode 2 of Hashira Training isn't out yet. No plans to continue writing it, but please enjoy the setup I had!

----

Nezuko…

“Good morning…”

Tanjirou relaxed deeper into his sleep as the sunlit scene replayed in his mind. For the first time in years, his sister had smiled.

Good for you, Nezuko… I’m so glad.

It was wonderful that she could walk in the sunlight again, and that she didn’t need to wear that muzzle. Finally, she could again speak for herself. All this time hadn’t been in vain.

--

All this time hadn’t been in vain.

Creating all those demons, granting an excess of his blood to the Twelve Moons, it hadn’t been for naught—Hantengu had lasted a whole night against the demon hunters so that he could witness a transformation Muzan had waited centuries for.

Kamado Nezuko…

His chosen demon, the one who had at last mastered the sun. A pesky one for how she had slipped out of his control, but with the hoard at his disposal, catching one demon wouldn’t be a major obstacle. Or so he had hoped to think, but Nezuko had stood her ground against Daki. With three of his Upper Moons already gone, that left fewer demons who stood a chance of containing her.

It was good he had so many of them, then. Muzan could stand to sacrifice any handful of them in pursuit of the chosen demon.

Hiura had heard a single twang and wondered if it was a biwa when he found himself in a different space than the cave he usually occupied. ‘Different’ rang though his head again to try to describe it, as there was no sense to make of it other than that he must had been in a dream. In any of his waking life, he was certain he had never seen a place like this.

“What is this? How did I get here?”

“What’s going on?”

With all those confused murmurs, Hiura’s dream was not his own, and he concluded that this must have been that space he had only heard rumors of. To his knowledge, only the Twelve Moon demons had ever been there, and there were many more demons here than twelve.

“Silence.”

Hiura shook when that voice spoke, and he spotted the eyes paired with that voice immediately—six eyes. It was his first encounter with any of the Twelve Moons, and it was just his luck that it was the most powerful one. He must have been brought here to die; there was no other reason Upper Moon One would waste time on lesser demons.

“Muzan-sama is present.”

All of Hiura’s shaking went still as his eyes scanned everywhere for the owner of that name. Up, down, sideways, nothing here made sense. There he was directly in front of him, red eyes blaring as icy as they did the night Hiura first encountered and tricked him into turning him into a demon. Tricking him was something Hiura knew he’d never be lucky enough to do again, and even a private inkling of it put him in danger. Muzan’s cells within him reminded him of that at every moment.

Before he had realized it, Hiura was bowing. Everyone was.

“Why do you all cower? You’re all demons who have pleased me.”

Pleased Muzan?

“You’ve eaten humans and gotten stronger. Developed the blood I’ve given you. You should be proud. Unless you’ve done something to displease me?”

Mind games! Muzan was playing them. They couldn’t dare take any pride in his presence. He was looking for a reason to find displeasure in them.

“None of you will speak?”

“Because it’s not enough yet,” thundered Kiritsuna.

Muzan’s lips stretched to a smile that narrowed his eyes. “Precisely.”

Damn that Kiritsuna! Always so self-assured, he must not have felt a shiver of fear in his life! Sucking up as always!

“Why would you have brought us here?” asked Zessou, always at Kiritsuna’s side. Dumb as rocks but always got away looking smart with that pretty face. What was he trying to do with his demon development, improve upon what used to be a lucky human form? Probably didn’t even realize he was doing it.

“I have three openings in the Upper Moons to fill. If any among you can fulfill for me a task, I’ll consider your promotion.”

The demons all grew excited, gasping or exclaiming with some shrill noises. Idiots, all of them. Muzan didn’t like them that much and they were all fools to think so. Hiura found this his chance to distinguish himself by a more productive question. “What task do you wish fulfilled?”

“A demon that has slipped from my control and uses fire against other demons, Kamado Nezuko. I want this demon brought to me, alive.”

Kamado Nezuko? That was a different name than Hiura had thought he heard before about that broad who got away. Fire, though. That was new and unusual. Not something Hiura wanted to deal with.

Not directly, anyway. If there was one demon to lure her out, another demon to contain her, then he could be the one to subdue her. The one to earn Muzan’s true pleasure.

“Why us?” asked some demon Hiura didn’t know. “Why not from among the Lower Moons?”

At this, Muzan’s smile was gone. “They no longer served any purpose.”

Although there was no sound, there was something like a weight pressing on all the demons, like it was across their shoulders and tied around their necks. Hiura wondered if this was Muzan forcing his will upon them to scare them, but he just as soon realized it was his own cells cowering in their own instinct.

If Hiura didn’t fulfill this request, he’d be dead.

“Prove your worth to me by fulfilling this task. My patience has already been tested enough.”

“Muzan-sama!” cried out one who was dumb enough to use that name. “More of your precious blood! Just a little more, and—”

“Moon Breathing, First Form—”

“What?”

“Breath Technique?”

“Dark Moon, Evening Palace.”

The demon who had spoken out and stood up was in pieces, having been torn apart by crescent blades. The other demons around her shrieked and cowered away from the blood. They screamed louder and sloppily scattered faster as Upper Moon One walked among them to the carnage, but Kiritsuna stayed put with no reaction to the blood splashed across his face, and not a tremor as the superior demon stood next to him. Upper Moon One lifted his hand over the gasping, crying demon spilled in pieces on the tatami, who squeaked, “Muzan… sama…”

“If you fail his expectations as you are… then this task… is meaningless to entrust to you.”

Her scream was cut off as he grabbed her head and absorbed it into his flesh. The rest of the pieces of her rattled and kicked until a dead silence; limp, melting demon remnants. Muzan was long gone. Upper Moon One turned his back, leaving them with the words, “Talent will be rewarded… from whomever proves promise…”

Another twang from the biwa and he was gone. Another twang, and another demon disappeared, then another. As the tempo picked up other demons were standing and ready to disappear, and Hiura lunged his hands out to grab Kiritsuna and Zessou’s sleeves. “There’s three spots,” he said, hurrying to get a smile out at them before the twang of the biwa came for them, “spots to reward all three of us, together—”

--

Tanjirou awoke to the sensation of his Breath being cut off. "Ah!" he sat up with a start, which made Muichirou release his hold on Tanjirou's nose.

"Your response is still pretty dull," he said. He had an impish grin, a light in his eyes, and bandages here and there around his face. 

"It's not as if you meant any harm," insisted Tanjirou, but he guarded his nose with both hands anyway.

"How are your injuries?"

"My foot might take some time. How about you and Kanroji-san?"

"We'll probably be back to work by next week."

"What? Amazing! I've got to work on my recovery to match you two!"

"We can't all be geniuses."

"That's right. I heard you're descended from the original Sun Breath user. Your crow told me and Kotetsu-kun."

Muichirou sent Ginko a look through the window, and she cowered from his gaze, for they both knew she wasn't very nice about it. "It's not a big deal. It's not as if I know anything about Sun Breathing. Mist Breathing is so many steps removed from it that I've only got tiny bits and pieces from my ancestors."

"There's got to still be something, though! I even had memories inherited from my ancestor."

"...huh?"

"At least, that's what Kotetsu-kun said. Now that I think about it, he probably only said that to make me feel better. Sorry, it's weird, I know."

"Make you feel better about what?"

"I thought I knew the person Yoriichi Type Zero was based on. The original Sun Breath user, your ancestor."

"Doesn't that not make sense, though? You're the only one in this whole Corp who knows Sun Breathing, after all."

"No, no, no, no, that's just because my family's practiced Hinokami Kagura for generations! There's nothing inherited about it, my father had to teach me everything!" Tanjirou waved his hand as fast as Zenitsu swiping a plate of dumplings.

"But how did your ancestors learn that?"

Tanjirou paused as he thought back to that vivid dream, and how he had asked that samurai how he must be sad with no successors. That samurai had to have had children later if Muichirou was there now, but something felt off about that. Not that he could say what was off about a passing fantasy in a dream, though. It wasn't even real.

"You've even got the same earrings."

"Eh? You've met him too?" he asked and put his hands to his ears.

"Yoriichi Type Zero."

"Oh," he thought back. Now that Muichirou mentioned it, that doll had indeed been wearing the same ones. Tanjirou had never asked his father what made the earrings special, but the samurai in his dream was wearing them too. That samurai still had them when he left, though, while he was saying he wasn't anyone special. He had to have been special, though, for the Kamado family wasn't the only one to keep memories of him. "The original Sun Breath user was mentioned in a diary of one of Rengoku-san's ancestors too. I don’t know if it'll help me use Hinokami Kagura to fight demons better, but his younger brother Senjurou has been searching through their family records to see if there's anything helpful."

 "Maybe they'll find something there about the mark."

"Mark?"

"I heard that when I fought Upper Moon Five, there was a mark on my face. Around the same time it would have been visible, I felt my heart rate increase to about 200 beats and my body temperature rise. Based on the 39-degree temperature reading Kochou-san took, I assume it was higher than that."

"You can tell in that much detail? Wow!"

"You should have more physiological awareness while using Breath technique too, you know. Still, it did help to get the number from the thermometer. You should have seen her, I've never seen Kochou-san so shocked, even though I insisted I felt fine."

"Oh?"

"And then the little girl who was with her mentioned you could run a fever of 38 degrees for over three days and feel fine, too," he said, then smiled. "You might be in trouble."

"Oh..."

"You get it though, right? How the feverish state made your Breath technique more powerful?"

"Yeah," Tanjirou agreed, "I don’t know if my fever ever got as high as yours, but being in that state makes me feel like my Hinokami Kagura had more of the power its capable of, and like b-b-b-BOOM, BASH, and like... gggrrrraaaahhh, and... you know?"

"...huh?"

"I'm saying something weird again, sorry. There was something else that helped me fight Upper Moon Four, too. When Nezuko burned my Nichirin blade with her fire, it turned red."

"A red blade? Aren't those supposed to be rare?"

"I don’t know if it's like the red blade Haganezuka-san always wanted to see, it turned black again later. But when it was so hot that it glowed, it cut through demon flesh more powerfully than I've ever felt before. Maybe, you think, it's like the same thing? Getting really hot? That BOOM, BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA thing?"

"Huh? You lost me."

"Sorry..."

"It made sense until that last part. Nichirin Blades work because they've absorbed sunlight, so glowing red may be due to an increase in the power of the light. Makes it all the weirder that Nezuko can be in the sunlight now! Doesn't that make her invincible?"

Tanjirou's expression softened at the mention of his sister. "It's such a relief. I'm so glad she can walk around in daylight now. She's out of that danger."

"Still weird."

For someone who had known her for twelve years as someone who could walk around freely in daylight, there was nothing strange about it. To Tanjirou, this was a return to what was just.

In many ways, he enjoyed the return of a sister from long ago. Back in the Swordsmith Village, it was like he had his four-year-old sister back, playing with toys and enjoying being tickled, and as feisty for attention as any little kid. Maybe she'd have enjoyed putting her hair in braids back then too, though her 12-year-old self would have only mildly hummed to herself with pleasure having done up her hair as she liked without needing to bother anyone. Nezuko was always like that, even Nezuko of ten years ago was always patient and obedient and sensitive to others like Takeo and baby Hanako. Maybe if she had been stuck in a box every day she'd have had that much pent up energy back then, too. 

Now that they were back at the Butterfly Mansion, Nezuko had the best person around for helping her work off that excess energy: Inosuke, or as he had finally succeeded in teaching her, Boss Inosuke. 

"Cave Explorers! Cave Explorers! We're the Cave Explorers!"

"Caff effporor!"

"Wait! Wait up right there!" he pointed to the ground. "You see that?"

Nezuko leaned her head on Inosuke's forearm to see where he pointed. "Hmmm?" There on the ground, stumbling over roots twice its width was a fledgling, too young to have taken a purposeful dive. Inosuke ran over and skidded to his knees for a look, startling the baby bird with his snout and looming eyes, and it stumbled backwards with panicked cheeping. Nezuko knelt and cupped her hands behind it, and it nestled against them for safety.

"Ha! That makes this your mission, Underling! Take that kid and put him back up in the nest!" 

Though he was already pointing to where he felt the nest was, he looked upward past his finger, and Nezuko followed the same glance with a curious 'hmm.' The nest was easy to spot, but higher than Inosuke anticipated. He felt a smidge of regret because he didn't want to put a girl on such a risky mission right away, especially not a girl so precious to Tanpachirou. Nezuko had no such hesitation, and her claws scratched the bark as she climbed. In a couple of tricky spots she looked around left and right first, but found new spots to grip as swiftly as Inosuke would have, so he found himself more and more pleased and excited with her progress.

Trouble came when Nezuko's long hair got stuck in the branches. It caused her some distress, but the nest was close enough that she could let her hair be pulled taunt as she stretched. "Hmm... mm!!"

"Like that! Just a little further!"

"Mmnhh!" she grunted and willed her reach longer. Vines poured out her veins onto the surface of her skin and her hand extended such that she could pick up the whole nest if she pleased. Her horn had little room among the branches and pressed against one in such a way that it made her head sink down against her neck uncomfortably, but she paid that no mind as she let the fledgling tumble from her hand to the nest.

"That's it, Underling, nice work! Whoa--watch out!"

A screech zoomed toward Nezuko. When she looked up to see the parent swooping toward her with talons arched, she guarded her face with her own arched claws. She caught the bird's foot, and it reacted by flapping and tugging and cawing. When the feathers flapped in Nezuko's face she closed her eyes and leaned backwards.

"Nezuko!!" Inosuke shouted her name. He could tell exactly where she was going to fall before the branches cracked. He dove and caught her inches before she'd have hit the ground rump first, and then chunks and splinters of branches rained on them. The bird kept screeching from the tree top as it settled into its nest, and Inosuke brushed the branches off the top of Nezuko's head as he asked, "Hey! Are you alright?"

"Thank goodness!" she popped her head up and smiled. 

He looked her over for injuries, but had she gotten any, they were already healed. Blood was coming from somewhere, though, and as they both looked for where, they spotted a gash down Inosuke's forearm. "Hngh," he grunted in acknowledgement. 

Nezuko's eyes were glued to a bead of blood that pooled and gathered weight, then broke free of the injury and ran a bright red trail down his toned arm. After it came similar crimson streams, leading her attention back to the broken skin and what layers of flesh might had been revealed.

She clenched her eyes shut, grit her teeth, and pulled herself away as though caught on a fishing line. That momentum took her to her feet and a few steps away from Inosuke. Inosuke could sense the tension down her arms as she squeezed her fists, but he had no moment to ask about it before Nezuko cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted into the forest, "Halp! Halp, halp!"

"Help? No, this is nothing, I'm not injured--"

"Ha-a-a-a-lp!!"

"I'm not injured!!"

"Not injured? Then is that paint? I didn't know you were an artist, Inosuke-kun."

He and Nezuko both looked to a tree behind them and spotted a Hashira in a butterfly haori perched there. Shinobu had the same smile as ever and descended on dainty feet. Nezuko approached her with long arms out for a hug, exclaiming with relief that someone had answered her calls, but without Nezuko taking notice, the impetus to hug her faded as Shinobu took a defensive stance. Nezuko, not conscious of this, stood in front of her to insist with gibberish that Boss Inosuke needed help, and Shinobu looked Nezuko up and down and far back up, to the tip of the single horn. She had heard about this form of Nezuko's, but it was unnerving to see it up close, especially when Nezuko posed no threat and basked in sunlight. Shinobu relaxed, then said to her, "the Butterfly Mansion is that way, Nezuko-san. You were calling to the mountains for help. The mountains. I might not had heard you if I wasn't on my way home."

"Thank goodness!"

"Fighting demons?" asked Inosuke.

"Picking herbs," she said, revealing a satchel. "There's a few in here I can spare for that, but all the bandages are at home. Let's go."

"I'm not injured--"

"I don’t specialize in delusions. If you keep saying that I'm afraid I'll have to send you to a different doctor."

Inosuke didn’t know what she meant by that or why it made her aura so threatening, but he didn't want any other doctors. He followed along, keeping an eye on both the girls from behind as Nezuko walked alongside Shinobu, towering over her in scale. As they neared the hospital Shinobu suggested Nezuko go play with Mitsuri while she has a chance before Mitsuri would be cleared to return to work, and the horn and vines faded as Nezuko shrank to a portion of Shinobu's size, hopped up and down and cheered, and then scuttled off.

"It certainly is a wonder to have befriended a demon," Shinobu remarked.

Shinobu and Inosuke continued to her office, where she instructed him to sit down and cooperate as she cleaned the wound and pulled out the splinters. He didn’t like that part, but the moment Shinobu expressed sympathy that he must be scared, he growled that there was nothing scary about it and proved it by staying as still as he could while she poked and prodded around. He convinced himself he wasn't whimpering. Without commenting on how brave he was, for this was of course obvious, Shinobu rubbed on some soothing ointment and began wrapping a bandage.

"This will be prone to reinjury if you catch it on anything. You don’t need stitches, but the skin needs time to heal."

"I'm not scared of this."

"Oh? Then you're not scared of it getting infected and filled with pus? I am."

"Why? It's just pus."

"I wouldn't want anything else to hurt you, after all the care I try to take of you. Is it so bad that I don’t want to see you hurt?"

Inosuke flushed behind his mask, his head went all spacey and fluffy, but something in her words and gaze made his neck tense up and his chest feel heavy. He relented, "You can put a bandage on it if you really want to."

"You won't take it off, right?"

"Hngh..."

"Inosuke-kun. Promise me you won't take it off?"

"Fine. I promise."

She offered her finger. "Pinky promise?"

"What's that?"

"It means you'll break your pinky if you break your promise. You'll give me that proof, right?"

Inosuke felt what she really meant was that she personally would break his pinky, and he respected a threat like that, so he offered his and they shook. Shinobu's voice took a light and airy tone as she sang 'pinky promise' in tune with the movement, and Inosuke was awash with a sense of familiarity, and an odd curiosity for Shinobu. He stared as he pondered, and Shinobu could feel his stare from behind the boar mask.

"What is it?"

"Your pinkies are weak."

"That's not strange."

"Your face is pale. Are you alright?"

Her face betrayed surprise, and then she smiled deeper. "You can tell? That's amazing! It's just low blood pressure. There you go, you're all set. Be careful."

She hurried him out because she had work to do with the herbs, but Inosuke stood outside the office door a moment wondering where he'd heard that song before.

--

It was another day before Kanao returned from a solo mission. She had been on more of those lately than missions at Shinobu’s side. So long as Shinobu wasn’t away on her own tasks, Kanao would start and end every solo mission reporting to Shinobu. She occasionally had advice, but all Shinobu usually instructed her was simply to cut the head off the demon.

That made it feel simple. Kanao didn’t have to think any more than that, and it had worked so far.

But that was what made her afraid. What would happen if she couldn’t reach the neck, and had to decide something else to do? She was vulnerable when taken by surprise, if ever there was something she couldn’t see coming.

“Good morning!”

Kanao nearly jumped out of her boots the moment an unfamiliar girl’s voice yelled at her. There were just as soon giggling voices that she knew from Kiyo and Naho.

“It’s too late for ‘good morning’!”

“You should say, ‘welcome home,’ Nezuko-san!”

“Nezuko?” Kanao asked, and then she found herself face to face with gleaming pink eyes and a fanged smile.

“Welcome… home!”

What was—but this—she shouldn’t—but--, a swarm of broken thoughts swirled through Kanao’s mind, until at last she blurted, “Is it alright for her not to wear her muzzle?”

“Most people would ask about her being in the sunlight first,” said Aoi, coming up behind Kanao with a bemused smile. She took satisfaction in watching Kanao flush and look back and forth between her and Nezuko as it dawned on her.

“Good morning!” Nezuko added, and Kiyo and Naho started laughing.

--

When Zenitsu at last returned to the Butterfly Mansion, his sparrow was chirping away something or other at him. He could never make out what words that bird wanted to convey, but it was easy to tell when Chuntarou was angry. He had probably heard how much trouble Zenitsu was in with the Corp. Jiichan might know already, too.

The one time he tried to do something to help, and it was unnecessary. All blew up in his face. What was the point of ever having tried? Ever having tried any of this. All this time in the Corp, chasing some dream that he might be useful to someone someday, anyone, just one person, it’d all been—

“—Aa?”

A heartbeat thumped through his ears. A girl’s heartbeat.

Zenitsu looked up and was caught by the most beautiful—nay, that trite word could not capture it—the most sublime sight he’d ever encountered in his life. It was Nezuko, and she was glistening in the sunlight. She was smiling—smiling at him!!

He screamed.

The other girls surrounding Nezuko all covered their ears as Zenitsu, doing the only sensible thing there was to do at such a glorious moment, confirmed that this meant she was eligible to be his wife now. And then—heavenly sounds!—she spoke words to him for the first time.

“Welcome back, Inosuke!”

--

There weren’t many quiet places around the Butterfly Mansion when both Inosuke and Zenitsu were home, but since Tanjirou hadn’t spent any time with Zenitsu since they started their mission in the pleasure quarter, he relished in his company despite all Zenitsu’s threats about murdering Inosuke. It was hard to find an opening to get any words in, but Tanjirou found a way to make Zenitsu temporarily quiet and turn his mood around entirely when he thanked him for his words about Thunder Breath and told him how it helped save the day. As Zenitsu skipped off, Genya lied still with a pillow over his head, aghast with how Tanjirou always had such a way of defusing the people around him. He always had the weirdest thing to say.

He wasn’t so bad, though.

--

Over the course of Tanjirou’s recovery, Inosuke and Zenitsu kept coming and going on their own missions, as did Kanao, though she went on more without her master nowadays. Genya joined them as soon as the little girls got him healed up and fed and back to full strength. From what Tanjirou heard, the demons had been very active lately. Going out of their way to cause trouble instead of keeping to the shadows like they had for centuries.

The one who knew this best was Ubuyashiki Kagaya, confined to his bed and helpless to aid his children. It made meetings with his Hashira harder to find chances for, though any one of them would drop anything but slaying demons in order to answer his call.

“Oyakata-sama, please, don’t trouble yourself to sit up. You don’t seem well.”

“Thank you, Gyoumei,” he replied. Always one to have keen senses, Himejima had stopped him just before he gathered his strength to sit up and be polite with his visitor. He relaxed against his pillow and smiled in the direction of the Stone Hashira’s voice. “I know you’ve had your hands so full, taking over extra territories.”

“You say that like I’m the only one. Shinazugawa, Iguro, and Tomioka have stepped up just as much during Tokitou and Kanroji’s recovery.”

“I’m glad to have you all supporting each other. With Shinobu being busy, I know you’re all spread thin.”

“Could Uzui be convinced to lend a hand?”

“I’ve sent summons, but it doesn’t seem they are reaching him,” Ubuyashiki replied, smiling at the reason why. As the crow told him, one of Uzui’s wives had swatted him with a room and yelled that her husband was retired. He had thought of sending summons to the former Flame Hashira, but he was satisfied that he had only recently begun to take care of himself again, and he preferred to let him rest until the time was right. “Muichirou and Mitsuri will be back to help soon, but with how active the demons are now, I wish for you all to have more help.”

“We’re Hashira, Oyakata-sama. You can entrust us with anything.”

“You say that like you’re unconvinced of anyone else being useful.”

Himejima frowned, for Ubuyashiki was right. “With all due respect, the caliber of swordsmen is not what it used to be.”

“It’s unfair to compare them to the unusually competent Hashira I’m blessed with in this day and age. Their will is the same as yours, Gyoumei. What they need is a chance to rise to your level.”

“You wish to raise new Hashira, you mean?”

“They have a way to go, but they’ve shown amazing resilience in the face of challenges. Even Genya gained experience fighting an Upper Moon, didn’t he? I hope you’ll have more faith in him, and the rest of his batch. If possible, I’d like to see what they all can accomplish against more and more powerful demons.”

“Left on their own?”

“Maybe not right away,” he smiled. “But a mission altogether, that could be good for them.”

--

Tanjirou was eager to go help his friends and progressed smoothly in his functional recovery training. He made it a point to try to keep his body temperature down to normal levels so that Shinobu wouldn’t hold him back, though. She had asked him about it and smelled angry. For now, under Muichirou’s advice, he kept that phenomenon to himself and waited to hear what Muichirou might find out about it as he investigated what archives the Ubuyashiki family might have. Still, Muichirou was a Hashira, and he wasn’t likely to have much time for that, so Tanjirou would have to try to keep refining that skill on his own (as soon as he was out of Shinobu’s watchful eye).

Haganezuka came and visited him, delivering a sword like Tanjirou never laid eyes on. Although, having commented so, Tanjirou was rudely reminded that he had not only seen it, but he had laid hands on it and nearly ruined it forever. As Haganezuka seemed to be in pain from his injuries and exhausted by the sword polishing process, Tanjirou decided to ask him more about red blades another time.

While the others were busy, Nezuko was there to train with him, and she never tired when running alongside him and cheering him on. She misunderstood and thought she was helping when she lifted up the rock on a rope that Tanjirou was training with. It tasted so good to laugh with her again, like it came out of him in a way that resounded with hers. Nezuko’s laugh was irreplaceable, and it was back. If it weren’t for all the demons out there, he’d happily stay put and bask in it forever.

Chachamaru, one day, delivered a letter. Tamayo and Tanjirou were in ongoing correspondence, and they had already exchanged a few letters since Nezuko mastered the sun. Like always, Tanjirou showed it to Nezuko when she peered over his shoulder at the paper.

“It’s from Tamayo-san,” he explained to her. “She says there’s no need to worry anymore about the sun! Your cells aren’t going to go back to the way they were, you get to stay like this now.”

“Hmm!” she replied with a wide, bright smile.

“Let’s see what else she says. ‘…Like how her blood allowed another demon to break free of Muzan’s control, it might also be used to grant mastery of the sun to other demons.’ Isn’t that great, Nezuko? You could help Tamayo-san and Yushirou-san too!”

“Thank goodness!”

“Thank goodness, for sure! Let’s see. ‘Kibutsuji Muzan is sure to be looking for her…’” he trailed off, his mouth dry at the name that just rolled off his tongue. Nezuko did not seem to recognize the name as well as she’d recognize the cells, and she tilted her head as Tanjirou read on, more quietly. “’With all the increased activity, it will be very dangerous if any other demons know about her abilities. For Nezuko-san’s sake, would you reconsider leaving her in our care?’”

He looked up to Nezuko as soon as he said it, aghast at such a proposition after all this time. Nezuko stared back at him, questioning what such words implied. Did she realize it would leave them separated? When she had heard it from Tamayo directly that one time she had understood, maybe it was harder to understand from a letter.

Even without words, Nezuko had made herself well-understood back then. She had a will of her own, and Tanjirou had every intention to respect it.

He smiled and patted her head. “Don’t worry. We’ll never be separated again. You’re going to be fine. Niisan won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Thank goodness,” she beamed and hugged him.

Tanjirou hugged her back, grateful all over again for how far they’d come.