Chapter Text
After agreeing on sacrificing some training days for the journey to and from the empty Kamado household, Urokodaki went on to write a letter to inform Giyuu of these plans so that he could ask for at least one day off from his Hashira duties.
The Water Hashira may neglect to reply to letters and have trouble speaking his mind sometimes, but he wasn’t the type to break his promises. So their mentor reassured the Kamados that he would most likely be there unless there was an urgent emergency.
He did promise to go when Tanjiro brought up the invitation he had written in his birthday letter months ago, after all. Nezuko remembered how excited her brother was when he recounted that conversation happening while she and Urokodaki were away on their trip.
“Can we invite Tamayo-san and Yushiro-san as well?” Tanjiro suddenly asked as he helped sort through the firewood that Nezuko had chopped for them.
She was surprised by the question. She had completely forgotten that this younger Tanjiro was already acquainted with them through the letters. She supposed it would be nice if the two good demons were there with them as well.
She wondered if Tamayo would be happy to see the dance derived from the very Breathing Style that saved her from Muzan. And she always wanted to spend a bit more time with Yushiro ever since their reunion at Asakusa.
“I don’t mind!” Nezuko answered her brother. He then turned to look at Urokodaki, awaiting his input as well.
“You better get to writing that invitation. The crow that I’ve sent for will be arriving at any moment now.” The masked man told him.
When Urokodaki first wrote a reply to Giyuu’s delivery of the blood sample, he had also added a request for one of the Ubuyashikis’ more trusted Kasugai crows to handle the delivery to Asakusa.
Mt. Sagiri was an easy enough location for Kanzaburou to memorize and navigate to. But it was a bit too much to ask the elderly crow to find a house that was hidden by a Blood Demon Art by himself.
It would also impede the current Water Hashira’s duties if they asked his assigned Kasugai crow to be away for days.
Tanjiro nodded and sped off to write his invitation, eliciting a giggle from Nezuko as she watched.
In the meantime, Urokodaki looked through the supplies that the Kamados had brought home earlier.
“Hmm, more than enough for this week and the upcoming trip…” He trailed off and caused her to stare at him curiously.
“Is there something wrong, Urokodaki-san?” She asked.
“I was just thinking I should do a supply run myself shortly before we make the trip.” He answered.
“What for?” She wondered if he needed to buy certain things that he couldn’t trust the siblings with.
“We’re celebrating a birthday. We’ll need more food for the feast. That and I would like to get your brother a gift.” Urokodaki told her.
Nezuko’s eyes lit up. Urokodaki planning his own supply run meant that they had more options and ways to prepare gifts for her older brother than simply trying to make do with what they had right now.
“If we’re getting something for him, could we get taranome? It’s his favorite! We try to get it for him every year.” That was the truth. Tanjro absolutely loved everything about the plant and would be happy to eat it, no matter how it was prepared.
It was almost impossible to hide it from him. Even when he was sleeping deeply from exhaustion, he would snap awake at the slightest whiff. And whenever he was meant to wait for everyone else to dig in while it was sitting on the table, his nostrils flared subconsciously.
Kamado Tanjiro to taranome was like a demon to marechi.
“How lucky he is to have his birthday so close to when it’s in season.” Urokodaki seemed amused. And Nezuko agreed when she thought about it. Not everyone had the luxury of being able to have their favorite food on their birthday, even if they could afford it.
“Oh! May I list down some ingredients as well? Our family usually makes rice crackers for the New Year, and we eat them before the ceremony.”
(Fun Fact: I got Mandela Effect and I thought for sure that those rice crackers were Tanjiro’s favorite food, but nope, it’s taranome)
“Go ahead. Oh, he’s done with the letter.” The masked man was right; she could sense the older Kamado returning to the area they were in.
The beam on Tanjiro’s face that was present only brightened even more when a Kasugai crow announced its arrival as it descended onto the roof of the shed where they put their wood.
Other people might have mistaken him for the younger sibling with the way he was practically vibrating with excitement as they watched Urokodaki prep everything they planned to send to their demonic allies.
“It will take a while for a reply to get to us. So don’t think too hard about it for now. How about we get back to training?”
Because of the delays caused by the events that day, Nezuko’s training time overlapped with Tanjiro’s much more. It was a rare but welcome occasion.
As she almost automatically went through her warmup routine for the evening, she tried giving her brother some pointers about Total Concentration Breathing in a way he would understand better. That involved a lot of onomatopoeia, which left their mentor standing there in a way that one could easily tell how baffled he was, even while his mask covered his expression.
Tanjiro started actually pulling it off because of her advice, thankfully. But he was only able to do it for a really short period of time. It wasn’t even enough for an entire Breathing Form, which was obviously something he needed to improve on.
Urokodaki assured the boy that the more he trained and practiced, the more his body would adjust and improve to handle the strain of using breathing techniques better.
When the aspiring slayer looked over at Nezuko and saw how she was incorporating breathing techniques into her own exercises, he grew much more determined and motivated to train so that he wouldn’t fall too far behind.
He was the eldest sibling, after all. She could tell that he felt inclined to be the stronger one to protect his younger sister from harm, even if she was a demon and even if he didn’t know that she wasn’t really younger than he was anymore.
Nezuko was content to let his want to protect her fuel his drive to get stronger as long as he didn’t push himself too hard and start neglecting his own wants and needs for her.
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Tanjiro had started training at the nearby waterfall during the wait. When they had time together, he’d tell her about how heavy the water was and how hard it was to try moving and performing Water Breathing forms underwater. Nezuko made sure to remind him what to do each day to make sure to lessen the possibility of him getting sick from not drying off properly.
She herself had started experimenting and training with literally stretched body parts. Urokodaki was cracking down on her mastering body manipulation because of its inherent usefulness in battle as a demon.
She would show off what she learned to her brother, and he would be both awed and slightly unsettled at the uncanniness of seeing his younger sister’s limbs bend and stretch in ways they weren’t humanly supposed to.
They got a reply from the Corps earlier than from Tamayo. The two Kamados were ecstatic to find that Giyuu had accepted the invitation and that Kagaya had approved of letting him take leave for the occasion. Nezuko liked to think that Urokodaki was smiling underneath his mask as well.
When they did get the reply from Tamayo, the news wasn’t exactly as happy, but it was expected. They got apologies from their demon allies for not wanting to risk too much by travelling such a large distance without the intent to move to a new residence.
But, the two would be happy to send Chachamaru over, explaining that they could put one of Yushiro’s talismans on the cat so that they may be able to watch the dance from their home.
“He can do that?” Tanjro’s slight disappointment turned into awe as the part about Yushiro’s ability came up.
“Yup! He told me that his Blood Demon Art focuses on the senses and works best on sight. He likes using talismans to better channel it. He also uses actual paper so they don’t burn up in the sun!” Nezuko chirped.
“Can you do something like that?” He asked her excitedly.
“I’m not sure. Maybe? If I do get a Blood Demon Art, I don’t know if it will suit using objects like that. Maybe I can ask Yushiro-san how he does it?” She crossed her arms and looked up in thought.
A way to store her flames and carry them around sounded like a good idea, but she wasn’t exactly sure if it actually was a good idea.
“Well, in any case, I’m glad that they’ll be able to watch even if they aren’t there.” Tanjiro smiled, and Nezuko couldn’t help but agree.
Sharing their family’s kagura with others, especially their friends, made the event feel less lonely since they had lost their family. And Nezuko wanted to give her brother the opportunity to unwind and enjoy himself in ways that he didn’t allow himself to do in the original timeline.
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True to his word, Urokodaki went on a shopping trip the day before they were supposed to start their journey back to Mt. Kumotori. He stuck by his plan on keeping his gift for Tanjiro a surprise and had reassured Nezuko that he had his ways of obtaining the taranome without getting them on the supply run.
To pass the time by and make things easier for the three of them later on, Tanjiro and Nezuko decided to prepare in advance after finishing their chores for the day.
“I hope they like the dance.” Her brother said out of the blue, as they worked on taking the food items that would spoil the fastest and sorted them accordingly.
“I’m sure they will, Onii-chan.” She smiled comfortingly at him. “Besides, this whole thing isn’t just about the kagura. But about you. It’s your birthday, after all.”
“Yeah..” He let out a breath through his nose and gave her a relieved smile.
It was just when this happened that a small feline and a faint demonic presence entered Nezuko’s range of detection. She must have done something to alert her brother, since he blinked at her curiously before he sniffed at the air and caught their scents some moments later.
“Chachamaru!” He called out and turned around with a big grin on his face just as the calico meowed and undid Yushiro’s concealment.
She noticed that he was wearing a talisman with slightly different markings, while the one he always carried around for stealth was now attached to his small backpack.
“Hi, little guy! Are Tamayo-san and Yushiro-san watching right now?” She asked, petting the cat gently on its head as Tanjiro scratched under the chin. Chachamaru purred loudly and enjoyed the attention he was being given. And then he gave his response in short chirps and meows.
“Hmm, he says he doesn’t know. But they probably are.” Her brother translated for her. She wished she had that ability as well. Communicating with animals seemed so cool.
There were plenty of times she wanted to know what Zentisu’s sparrow, Chuntaro or Ukogi, was saying without her brother’s help.
The two Kamados gave some cheerful greetings directed at the new talisman, just in case Tamayo or Yushiro, or both of them, were watching.
Nezuko suggested packing some snacks that they could give to Chachamaru since he would be travelling with them. Tanjiro agreed wholeheartedly and rushed off to do so.
When Urokodaki came back with the items he had bought, he acknowledged the cat’s presence and gave him a few chin scratches as well.
When they helped him out with sorting through the new supplies and packing them accordingly, Nezuko felt a bit satisfied when she saw Tanjiro’s face light up in absolute delight when he saw the exact ingredients their family used to make rice crackers.
The taranome wasn’t a part of the luggage and was still kept a secret from the older Kamado. Urokodaki had explained to her beforehand that his contact would deliver it to their old residence in time for Tanjiro’s birthday. She briefly wondered if it was one of his hunter friends.
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When they were done preparing, they set off earlier than planned so they wouldn’t be too delayed by anything going wrong. Their goal was to be able to set up and have Tanjiro’s performance before his birthday, after all.
A majority of the trip was largely uneventful. In the daytime, Nezuko sat inside her brother’s basket in the smallest form she could muster so that he could fit stuff inside with her. He was a bit hesitant at first, but she stubbornly insisted.
When it was night, she would offer the option to be carried by her for a little bit of rest to her travel companions. Both refused the first night. Tanjiro eventually gave in on the second. Otherwise, they hardly rested.
The journey was significantly shorter now than it was when Tanjiro and Nezuko set out to find Urokodaki. Their training was proving to be useful even less than a year in.
They still had to avoid the villages near their home this time around, though. They’d be hard-pressed to explain to anyone who recognized the older Kamado where his younger sister was if they were approached during the day.
Chachamaru was a good boy throughout the trip. He kept up with them nicely enough. Sometimes, he would jump on one of them and sit on the luggage they brought, mostly to take a nap.
They were already nearing the foot of Mt. Kumotori by the time Nezuko was able to get out of the basket for the night. Tanjiro really didn’t want to be carried this time around. But he still conceded about letting her handle his load for the rest of the trip.
As they got closer and closer to the large clearing that housed their family home, she noticed that her brother’s footsteps were progressively getting heavier.
His hold on Chachamaru, whom he had been carrying in his arms so gently, tightened almost imperceptibly as his face scrunched up just the slightest bit.
She could tell that Urokodaki had picked up on some scent wafting from the boy. But instead of commenting on it, he chose to nod at her. She knew he trusted her to be the person her brother needed to talk to the most about what he was feeling.
So she slowed her pace so that she was walking directly beside him, and put a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t squeeze it or put much pressure on it. He held back a startled gasp before looking at her. She must have had a strange expression on, because his face tightened even more before sighing.
“I’m sorry, Nezuko.” Apologizing again. That was when she decided to give his shoulder a prompt squeeze that involved the very slight poking feeling of her claws on his clothes.
“Hyiieee! Okay, okay!” He almost dropped the cat he was holding from how much he had jolted.
Her ears picked up a slight huffing noise from the masked man walking ahead of them, but she chose not to dwell on that in her thoughts. She pulled her muzzle down with her other hand.
She looked firmly at her older brother, who wasn’t exactly older than her anymore. The boy who tried to take on every burden he could handle, if it meant making things lighter for others. Barely a teen, but he was taking on a seemingly impossible task out of his care for her.
It hadn’t even been a year, yet there they were, walking back up the mountain again. The last time they did that, dead bodies in a home that was far too cold for a place that housed six loving people were what they found.
As the charcoal seller, he descended to the nearby village the most. He was the one who walked up the mountain trail and looked forward to coming back home the most times in their family after their father had died. It must have been so jarring to be unable to feel that same joy and excitement now.
She could relate to Tanjiro’s turmoil at that moment. She herself had experienced something similar when they went home the first time after the war.
The death of her family was fresh in her newly cured mind. But he, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were there to cheer her back up and give her the courage to make new, good memories to outnumber the old, bad ones.
The old Tanjro must have felt that way, too. That must have been why he never bothered celebrating his birthday in the years he spent fighting. Scared to aggravate a wound that wasn’t anywhere close to healing. Stuck with people he hadn’t known all his life, and a sister who was barely recognizable in mind.
But he wasn’t alone now. He had her, the actual her, just like she had him.
Tanjiro looked back at her with wide eyes that glistened with unshed tears. He caught the assurance in her gaze that he wouldn’t have to go through everything alone. He then forced a wobbly smile as he sniffled.
“They’d be happy to see us back home…” He managed to squeeze out, his voice cracking slightly. She smiled tightly and nodded, fighting back tears of her own at the sound of his voice.
“Yeah… Yeah, they would.” She responded. “And they’d like it even more when they see you being happy on your big day.”
He let out a wheezy chuckle and nodded in agreement. “Takeo would have been so jealous if he found out I was training to become a swordsman.”
“Hanako would have loved little me. And Shigeru would have been so excited about really big me.” They both let out laughs at the pictures they were painting in their heads.
“Rokuta would have made it so hard for us to go to Mt. Sagiri.” He sighed in recollection of the youngest’s clinginess.
“Okaa-san would have made sure we got a lot of rest whenever we dropped by.” She looked up at the treetops wistfully, noting that they had long gone past the point where she tried to burn herself in a patch of sunlight.
“Would we have left…at all?”
“...I’m not sure.” As much as Nezuko wanted to entertain the thoughts of an alternate reality where she was simply turned into a demon and everything else stayed the same for the Kamados, she knew just how vital she and Tanjiro were to ending Muzan’s reign of terror.
A world where they blissfully stayed in the comforts of their family home was a world that continued suffering because of demons.
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When they reached the edge of the familiar clearing, she saw her brother bracing himself just a tiny bit. Chachamaru had long jumped off his hold and was currently resting on the basket that she was currently carrying on her back. She took Tanjiro’s hand in hers, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. And his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
“We’re ho- here! This was where we lived!” He announced to Urokodaki and Chachamaru, who were now technically their guests.
“It’s a lovely home.” Their mentor remarked.
“And it will be again, when everything’s done. Right, Onii-chan?” Nezuko said.
“Right! Right..” He trudged ahead, his hand still holding hers as they neared the entrance. As much as he likely wanted to check on the graves first, they had agreed on setting their luggage down immediately upon arriving.
Upon getting inside the familiar household, Nezuko helped out with setting all of their belongings down and putting them away for when they would properly unpack and get working.
She noticed that the smell of blood and rot was absent. The outside and inside were meticulously cleaned, and some parts were even repaired or refurbished. The villagers must have been the ones behind cleaning and maintaining the home.
They had done so in the original sequence of events, after all, so it made sense that they would still do it now. It always touched her how valued the Kamados were to the village at the foot of the mountain.
The absence of their parents and younger siblings wasn’t the only thing that made the house feel empty despite currently having four occupants. She had almost expected to hear Zenitsu and Inosuke’s yelling at some point, but it remained relatively quiet.
It was easier to ignore the lack of chaos and fun their friends brought because they were staying somewhere that the two had almost never been to. But now that they were in a clean Kamado house, it was hard not to think about how just one year spent had her used to it being more lively, even with less people.
She wasn’t due to meet them, or any of the other demon slayers, for another year and a half. Nezuko would have wished for time to pass by faster if she hadn’t been preoccupied with the goal of giving herself and her brother headstarts that would hopefully improve their future.
Urokodaki stayed behind with Chachamaru when Nezuko and Tanjiro left the house to pay a visit to the graves. He assured them he would be paying his respects later on, and she appreciated all the times the older man had given the siblings time to themselves when emotions were running high.
There were some offerings left by the mounds, not so fresh but not so old. One of the villagers or Saburo must have left them. There was something so simultaneously comforting and saddening that they weren’t the only people who were affected by the loss of such precious lives.
She and her brother knelt and prayed for a while. And after they were done, they just sat there in silence, ruminating in each other’s company.
Nezuko pondered telling Tanjiro about how the ghosts of their family had been watching over them, but decided against it. She figured it was best for him to find out naturally, when their spirits couldn’t be ignored any longer.
It was one thing to hope and believe that spirits were real. It was another to have it confirmed to you the way it had been for them when they first got back home. She didn’t want to unsettle him with the existential questions of it all while he was supposed to be enjoying himself on the day of his birth.
When she looked at her brother again, she saw that he had already been staring at her with a silent question in his eyes. He was checking up on her.
Nezuko smiled reassuringly and nodded, her smile turning even more genuine as she watched the way relief washed over his expression.
Giyuu had arrived at one point during their visit to the dead. She had been able to sense his presence approaching the house. But she gave no mind, wanting to focus on paying her respects.
When the siblings came back inside and saw the new guest, they allowed themselves to be excited and bubbly once more.
Urokodaki chuckled softly as he watched brother and sister overwhelm his oldest living student. Giyuu looked stoic as ever at first glance, but the slightest twinge and pinch gave away so much about how confused and flustered the Hashira was.
The masked man finally stood up and excused himself and the younger man, announcing that it was now their turn to pay respects to the dead.
Tanjiro and Nezuko decided to get to work. The sun was due to rise soon, so they agreed that she would handle matters inside where she was safe, and he would finish tasks outside.
They carefully and efficiently unpacked their belongings and sorted through them before talking about what needed to be put where.
Her enhanced hearing sometimes picked up snippets of the conversation Giyuu and Urokodaki were having, even though she didn’t actively try to listen. As expected, the current Water Hashira blamed himself for the deaths of her mother and younger siblings.
His mentor was quick to slap him and remind him of the remaining siblings’ outward gratitude for finding them when he did.
(Nezuko wondered if the day would arrive when she would become one of the victims of Urokodaki Sakonji’s slaps)
After organizing everything she could, she started working on making lunch so that all the non-demons could eat while she took a nap. She wanted to be as energized as she could be to try to stay awake during the long-awaited dance.
Even when she was a human, she had trouble watching an entire performance without drifting off, no matter how invested she was in the spectacle.
Everyone in the family eventually learned that there was simply no helping it, and they have made adjustments to accommodate her in case she fell asleep during a ceremony. They didn’t want to leave her unconscious out in the cold every year, after all.
As a demon, her sleep cycles have now changed to be mostly dependent on how much energy she has spent. Essentially, her sleepiness was less random as it was when she was human.
Her improved stamina from training on Mt. Sagiri combined with trying to get some energy beforehand, should be enough to last her the entirety of her brother’s performance.
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When Nezuko awoke, it was to the familiar repulsive scent of human food being cooked. Oh, how she missed gaining an appetite after smelling yummy food. Now, she just loses it instead.
Urokodaki was already preparing for the dinner they would be having before the ceremony. When she groggily joined him in the kitchen, Nezuko decided to get started on the rice crackers that she had promised to make for the occasion.
It was only after completely rubbing the sleep from her eyes did she finally register a fragile mess of black feathers resting on top of the masked man’s white hair.
“Kanzaburou…?” She murmured as she blinked a couple more times. Urokodaki simply grunted.
“He thinks I’m Giyuu.” He uttered to her softly with a small hint of amusement.
“Aaaahhh…” She nodded in understanding, trying her best not to giggle. The old crow mistaking someone who looked completely different for his assigned slayer was one thing, but the visual of the tough former Hasshira moving about in the kitchen carefully in a way that avoided stirring the bird from his seat was even funnier to her.
She eventually learned from the man that Giyuu and Tanjiro were out setting up the torches that marked the area where the head of the family performed the kagura.
Chachamaru joined the two out of boredom, which was to their benefit since the cat wouldn’t be able to snatch the food as they busied themselves with cooking.
Not much had happened when she took a nap, since everyone else decided to get some rest or take it easy for the time being as well. Tanjro especially needed as much energy as he could get, since he would be dancing the Hinokami Kagura for so long in the summer instead of the winter.
At one point, Kanzaburou hopped over from Urokodaki’s head to hers. He didn’t call her Giyuu but referred to her as a nice lady. Which was nice to hear, but she genuinely wondered whether or not the Kasugai crow was aware of her demonic nature at all in any of the encounters they had had since she went back in time.
When Tanjiro and Giyuu came back from their task, all three of them had to pressure the older Kamado sibling to not help out with dinner and to just take it easy and wait.
Dinner was a hearty affair. As always, they weren’t allowed to see Urokodaki’s face under his mask, so all of his students respectfully tried to avoid getting a peek. Giyuu ate messily and had to be told to wipe off any food that clung to his cheeks.
The animals that were with them were each given their own little meals.
Tanjiro was beaming throughout it all, especially when he tasted the rice crackers that Nezuko had prepared just like she always did with their mother.
She watched the whole thing with a big smile on her face. She wasn’t eating with them for obvious reasons, but she still sat with them, enjoying their company.
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All four of them wasted no time in cleaning up after dinner. The sun was close to setting, and they still had to make some final preparations. Tanjiro was off to put on the ceremonial garb that had been passed down to him from their father, with Urokodaki assisting him.
Nezuko was left with Giyuu, who was currently helping her cover herself from the sunlight.
She felt a bit embarrassed standing there and letting the quiet man awkwardly wrap another layer of clothing on her just to be sure. When she saw Chachamaru sitting to the side, watching them, she was reminded that Tamayo and Yushiro could be watching, and she felt like sinking into her clothes completely.
When she walked out of the house with an umbrella in hand as Giyuu and Urokodaki held up a cloth on top to be extra careful, she almost felt like the ceremony was about her and not her brother.
It was worth it, though, as none of the setting sun’s rays touched and consequently burned any part of her. She could feel the delight wafting off of Tanjiro when he saw her walking outside, even with a cloth covering his face.
When the three viewers sat down, the cloth was settled on top of the umbrella, since it wouldn’t be realistic to expect the men beside her to hold it up for so long. The torches were already lit up, illuminating the space more and more as the day slowly got replaced by the night.
Kamado Tanjiro stood, clad in extravagant traditional attire that was slightly too big for him, and then danced.
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Hinokami Kagura: Dance
It struck Nezuko how it had been years since she properly witnessed their traditional dance being performed by someone with a completely functional body. Future Tanjiro’s arm and eye remained permanently disfigured and pretty much unusable.
Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky
Chachamaru sat on her lap, watching the dance with them. Tamayo and Yushiro were definitely watching at that point.
Hinokami Kagura: Raging Sun
Watching the dance was a completely different experience from seeing it used in combat. The dancer wasn’t moving too quickly in consideration of survival against demons. Instead, they let their bodies move at a pace that showed off all of the grace and elegance of the moves.
Hinokami Kagura: Burning Bones, Summer Sun
The design of the traditional garb cooperated beautifully with the flow and the speed of the dance, giving the dancer the image of flames swirling around. Whoever had gifted it to the Kamado ancestors must have seen the dance once before coming up with such a fitting design.
Hinokami Kagura: Setting Sun Transformation
The Water Breath users beside her watched with rapt attention. Their constant focused breathing seemed to have halted. Did they recognize the forms? Have they seen the dance for the powerful and primordial set of forms that it was?
Hinokami Kagura: Solar Heat Haze
She had no doubt in her mind that her family was witnessing the spectacle with them. She wished she could see the proud look on their parents' faces as their eldest passed on the legacy of the man who had saved the Kamados and indirectly saved the world from Muzan.
Hinokami Kagura: Beneficent Radiance
She had long gone past the point where her human self would have fallen asleep. But she found that she wasn’t feeling any drowsiness this time around. She would make the most of that.
Hinokami Kagura: Sunflower Thrust
She wondered if the progenitor of breathing techniques himself was also watching. Not just the dance, but everything. Had his spirit witnessed the end of demons? How did he feel when his successor met up with the demon that he had spared?
Hinokami Kagura: Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance
This Tanjiro barely had a grasp on Breathing Techniques, yet he wasn’t too winded from the dance at this point. He had once told her how his body sometimes automatically followed the moves and took his focus away from his surroundings, even himself. The movement was so natural to him that he flowed into the next form better than he ever did with Water Breathing.
Hinokami Kagura: Fire Wheel
As a demon, she was supposed to be impervious to most temperatures. Sitting there, surrounded by lit torches, covered in layers and layers of clothes on a hot summer night, hadn’t affected her. But the heat that radiated from the boy in front of her permeated the air and clung to her skin. It made so much sense why the heads of the Kamado family rarely got sick from the cold whenever they did the tradition.
Hinokami Kagura: Fake Rainbow
Every time the ceremonial staff was raised, the flames on the torches were swept gently by the wind produced from the movement, dancing along with the performer. One could almost think that the dancer was wielding the flames himself and was using them to warm the place up.
Hinokami Kagura: Flame Dance
Nezuko would have never caught the way that the move seamlessly linked back to the first, causing a cycle in the dance that felt endless. If Tanjiro hadn’t told her himself about his discovery about the 13th form, she could have been convinced that Hinokami Kagura had an infinite amount of forms. She couldn’t tear her eyes away, each repeated form never felt old or stale.
It was nothing short of beautiful. It was no wonder Sumiyoshi and his family had named the dance as such. It truly was like seeing a godly being move about and giving their blessings.
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When the sun rose and the dance stopped, all of the viewers just sat there stunned. Even Kanzaburou, Chachamaru, and the Kasugai crow in charge of monitoring them simply gaped in awe.
The members of the group remembered they could move when Tanjiro suddenly collapsed into a heap on the floor, gasping for air and sweating buckets of water.
Nezuko tried to leap forward with them, but she hissed as the first rays of sunlight burned at the skin she had exposed from the movement.
Tanjiro snapped his gaze towards her in alarm, and she retreated into her clothes before giving him a reassuring nod. She readjusted the angle of the umbrella to better suit the sunrise as an extra measure.
Seeing his little sister safe, his shoulders sagged in relief, and he promptly passed out right then and there, much to the worry of the current and former Water Hashira who were trying to get some layers off of him as they carried him back into the house.
Hiii!!!!!!
I decided to put this segment here because I JUST realized I should finish reading all of the light novels for some extra tidbits about characters, and so I can possibly tackle what was in them as well for the fic.
I also wanted to make more people aware of them in general.
I took the summaries and premises for the chapters I haven't read yet from the wiki.
And I got the translations that I read from here.
- Flower of Happiness
When: Resting at the Wisteria House before Mt. Natagumo
Notes: Tanjiro in this was so heartwrenching, trying to grapple with his feelings at the thought of Nezuko being married in the future when they attended a wedding. And then the desperation he had in trying to get her a "Flower of Happiness" oh, you sweet baby, you need that happiness as much as she does. Even childlike canon demon Nezuko was able to tell that. He even remembered the scolding human Nezuko gave him about apologizing and happiness here, like he did before the final confrontation with Gyutaro.
- For Whose Sake
When: While recovering after Mt. Natagumo
Notes: Haven't read this yet, but the premise was interesting where Zenitsu, while still training under Jigoro, went off on a side quest to save a girl from being sacrificed to a demon by her horrible family.
- The Chronicles of the Disturbances Caused by Fortune Telling
When: In the timeskip after Mugen Train
Notes: Haven't read this yet, but the premise of a fortune teller telling a woman-obsessed guy like Zenitsu that women will literally be the death of him, and it scares him into having a whole misadventure with Tanjiro and Inosuke of avoiding women, is hilarious.
- Aoi and Kanao
When: The afternoon after Tengen tried to kidnap Butterfly Girls
Notes: Haven't read this yet but more Aoi and Kanao AND we get to see them bond after Kanao starts opening up? YES PLEASE
- Signs from the Wind
When: Before Kanae's death
Notes: Sanemi's POV in this was so interesting to read. Seeing how he thought when meeting Masachika and grew with him as Demon Slayers and then lost him AUGHHH I definitely need to read this again. The Kanae bits were so nice too I want more of her
- Hotaru Haganezuka's Matchmaking Session
When: After the Swordsmith Village attack
Notes: Seeing how shy Haganezuka was around a pretty woman and then having him drop it when she started badmouthing his profession and then we glimpse how much Tanjiro's open respect and admiration for swordsmiths affected him was so nice. Kotetsu was absolutely hilarious in this.
- The Flower and the Beast
When: After the Swordsmith Village attack
Notes: Haven't read yet but INOSUKE AND KANAO BONDING PREMISE???!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH
And Inosuke learning new things about human interactions and stuff is always so nice to see I loved it so much in the beginning and I will always love the little bits of it sprinkled in afterwards.
- The Promise of Tomorrow
When: After the Swordsmith Village attack
Notes: Haven't read this yet but the premise just makes me wanna cry:
"A week after the battle at the Swordsmith Village, an emergency Hashira meeting is held. After the meeting, Gyomei Himejima talks with Muichiro Tokito about the consequences of the Demon Slayer Mark. During this conversation, Muichiro reminisces on his visit to the Swordsmith Village a few days ago, when he visited Tetsuido's grave and found Kotetsu repairing Yoriichi Type Zero. He helped the boy fix the battle doll. Mitsuri Kanroji supported them by bringing them food."
- One-Winged Butterfly
When: After Gyomei saved the Kocho sisters
Notes: THIS WAS HEARTBREAKING the way Gyomei wanted them to grow up and live the peaceful lives that the temple orphans should have had AND THEN THE TIMESKIP to his last conversation with Shinobu where he realizes he can't tell her to not die because he doesn't have the right to and because she was already too late into it GOUTOGE AND YAJIMA I HATE YOU(/pos)
- The Right Way to Recommend a Hot Spring
When: Zenitsu and Inosuke training under Tengen during the Hashira Training Arc
Notes: Haven't read this yet but ZENITSU NO STOP PERVING
- Kanroji Mitsuri's Secret
When: Not sure
Notes: Haven't read yet but ObaMitsu-centric yum
- After Waking Up from a Dream
When: After the Swordsmith Village attack
Notes: Haven't read yet but Genya reminiscing about a memory he has of Sanemi? Sure, break my heart more why won't you
- For You Who Does Not Smile
When: While Giyuu is training Tanjiro, flashback is set after the Kamado trial
Notes: Shinobu mentally groaning at the antics of all the other Hashira trying and failing to get Giyuu to smile is my favorite part of the chapter
Stuff that I'm thinking of incorporating into the fic so far:
Flower of Happiness
The Flower and the Beast
After Waking Up from a Dream