Chapter Text
As Tanjiro sat by the engawa facing the gate of the Water Estate, waiting for their visitors to arrive, he couldn't stop his heart from beating faster inside his chest.
It had been a little over three months. Three months of training and exchanging letters. Three months of being apart. Finally, with the permission of their Hashira mentors, this visit was agreed upon. Inosuke and Zenitsu were going to come over so they could catch up. Tomioka and Rengoku weren't around today, busy with another mission. Nezuko was in the kitchen, preparing food. Tanjiro was supposed to call her when their visitors arrived.
Tanjiro wanted to squirm. He couldn't wait.
The sun had barely risen when someone darkened the entrance of the estate. Tanjiro was immediately up on his feet with a big grin, running along to see Inosuke wearing his usual attire of boar mask and demon slayer pants, his swords at his hip. Heart bursting with happiness, Tanjiro immediately hugged Inosuke, before checking his shoulder to see what became of his injury. Like Aoi said, it didn't even scar. What a relief.
"Gonpachiro!" Inosuke said, a grin on his voice. "I know what you're doing! That's a hug! I can hug you harder!" And with that he put his arms around him and squeezed so hard Tanjiro squeaked.
"I-Ino… suke… that… hurts!"
Inosuke immediately let him go. "You're talking!"
Tanjiro chuckled lowly. "I… told… you… in… letter… didn't… I?"
"Yeah. You talk so slow. But better than nothing! The Great Inosuke acknowledges you!"
That made Tanjiro's grin. "Thank… you!"
"Where's Mozuko?"
Tanjiro pointed at the house. The two of them walked back to the engawa where he was sitting, and Inosuke was about to tell the boar boy that he was just going to get his little sister, but it proved to be unnecessary because Inosuke yelled at the top of his lungs. "MOZUKO! THE BOSS INOSUKE HAS ARRIVED!"
There was the sound of feet running. Tanjiro couldn't help but grin as Nezuko's head popped to peek from a corridor, and she let out a sound that was almost like a squeal as she hurried over. "Inosuke-san!" she said.
Inosuke and Nezuko did some jumping high-fives that was so adorable it warmed Tanjiro's heart. Tanjiro knew that the two had gotten even closer since they started their correspondence, what with Nezuko deciding to keep teaching Inosuke even from a distance. With Inosuke being such an eager student, there was barely a day when the two didn't exchange letters through the crows. Tanjiro had witnessed firsthand how Inosuke's penmanship and spelling improved over the following weeks, almost exponentially. By now, Inosuke's letters were already Takeo's level. While he still made mistakes spelling difficult words, his letters were now penned a bit more gracefully, with fewer and fewer erasures and ink spills.
"Where's Benitsu?!" Inosuke demanded.
"He's not here yet. Have you had breakfast?" Nezuko asked.
"Scarred Face gave me ohagi. I ate them all!"
Knowing Inosuke, the ohagi was probably meant to make it here, but at least Inosuke was full.
"I actually haven't eaten yet," Nezuko admitted. "And I'm gonna make more food in case Zenitsu-san didn't eat yet either! I will just be in the kitchen."
"I allow you! You should refuel, and then I will beat your ass!" Inosuke declared.
"Looking forward to beating your ass, Inosuke-san!" Nezuko said cheekily.
"In your dreams!"
As Nezuko left, Inosuke pulled out his swords and pointed one to Tanjiro. "Gonpachiro… before I beat Nekuzo, I will beat you first! Fight me!"
Unable to keep a mischievous smile of his own, Tanjiro stood up and grabbed the wooden swords that he had already prepared earlier. He threw two at Inosuke's feet and made a stance with one of his own. Today, he felt like he understood Inosuke's perspective on fighting. Showing off how much you have learned, it truly was quite a thrill. Tanjiro knew that if they faced Mt. Natagumo today, he wouldn't be telling Zenitsu to get Inosuke and Nezuko to safety. Perhaps they wouldn't be able to take a Lower Moon on their own, not yet– but together…
"I… thought… you'd… never… ask," Tanjiro said.
Inosuke laughed and charged.
By the time Zenitsu arrived, they had fought with a 7-5 score in favor of Tanjiro. Inosuke was extremely displeased by this, forcing Tanjiro to rematches over and over, but he never seemed to be able to close the gap. Tanjiro told him over and over that it was because of his demon body, but Inosuke wouldn't be deterred. Tanjiro could sense more fights between the two of them in the future.
Zenitsu arrived in the Water Estate with an awkward smile on his face and hesitation in his scent, looking nervous as he greeted them. It was only when Tanjiro looked over his shoulder that he realized why.
There was a lad on the cusp of a man, standing behind him with a blank look on his face. Dark hair framing his face, a magatama charm around his neck, the scent of dissatisfaction and wariness all around him– but also… a hint of protectiveness? Tanjiro had never seen this person before, and with the way Zenitsu was acting, it seemed like the lad made him extra nervous. Tanjiro didn't really like anything that made Zenitsu curl up on himself like that, but politeness won as he found himself saying, "Wel… come. Who… might… you… be?"
The lad's eyes zeroed in on him with disinterest. Zenitsu was quick to reply in his stead, "Ah, this is Kaigaku. M-My aniki, I mean– senior! My senior, haha," he laughed awkwardly.
Ah…
"I want to be stronger, and stand on equal footing with Kaigaku-aniki, and become someone… someone I don’t hate."
Zenitsu's… older brother!
Thrilled, Tanjiro immediately walked closer and held Kaigaku's hands. Kaigaku seemed taken aback but Tanjiro just shook his hands with stars in his eyes, happy to meet a part of his precious friend's family. This was one of Zenitsu's role models after all, one of Zenitsu's inspirations! He never thought he'd ever get the chance to meet someone so important to him!
"Let go!" Kaigaku slapped his hands away, and that was when Tanjiro realized he got carried away. The blank expression on his face had been wiped off, replaced with a look of disgruntlement. Tanjiro stepped back from his personal space as he started to say, "Don't be friendly with me! I'm not here to make friends, and I sure as hell am not babysitting any of you."
Oh. Tanjiro misjudged. Zenistu's aniki was a prickly one.
"Ha? Why are you even here, then?" Inosuke said, pointing a wooden sword at him. "If you're Monitsu's senior, then fight me!"
Kaigaku walked past their group and to the engawa where Nezuko was eating and watching the exchange. "I'm not here to fight. I'm just here to observe."
Tanjiro turned to Zenitsu and tilted his head, signaling his confusion. Zenitsu sighed softly. "Uzui-san insisted I bring him with me. I have no idea why."
"I'll have you know it's an official part of my training, dip–" he cut himself off, but Tanjiro could have sworn he almost said dipshit. That raised his hackles a little bit, because older brothers weren't supposed to talk to their younger brothers like that! But Kaigaku didn't seem to care, stopping in front of Nezuko and staring at her with poorly-hidden disgust. Nezuko met his eyes evenly, almost challengingly, and Tanjiro was about to walk over there and stand between this lad and his little sister. But then, Kaigaku asked the strangest question, "Are you Tanjiro?"
Nezuko blinked, caught off guard too. She shook her head. "I'm Nezuko. My older brother over there is Tanjiro," she said, pointing at him.
"Hah?" Kaigaku turned to look at Tanjiro in disbelief. Confusion, consternation, protectiveness, rage– all culminating in an overwhelming scent as he regarded Tanjiro from head to toe, as if gauging his worth. Tanjiro didn't understand. And then, and then—
"What the fuck," he cursed. He stared at Tanjiro some more, struggling with some inner turmoil, before he walked over to the far side of the engawa and sat. He didn't say anything else.
The four other demon slayers were left at a loss at that strange exchange. They all looked at each other in confusion, none having a clue what that was about.
Finally, Zenitsu had enough. "I-In any case, I'm here!" At that declaration, tension seeped away from the group as they all smiled at each other. Well, Inosuke still had his mask, but they have all gotten used to that. Somehow, even with that boar hide, Inosuke managed to be very expressive. Nezuko handed Inosuke some water, and Inosuke thanked her, before he pulled off his mask for the first time that morning, eliciting a shriek from Zenitsu.
Nezuko and Tanjiro stared. Zenitsu was appalled.
"How dare you! How dare you?! Managing to look even better than before! Repent! Repent for your pretty face!"
"Hah?" Inosuke just looked baffled.
"Your hair! Why did you cut your hair?!" Zenitsu demanded. Insouke's hair which was previously hanging around his shoulders was now cut quite short, barely passing his ear, showing off the long line of his neck. It was indeed quite attractive.
"Shut up! Scarred Face cut it for me. Says it's better to not get overheated in my mask. You got any problem with that?!"
"Repent for your pretty face! REPENT!"
The Kamado siblings exchanged a look and both stifled a giggle. It seemed no matter how much time passed between the four of them, it would always be the same.
What a relief.
The rest of the day continued on with more fighting, more stories and more exchange of training tips. From what Nezuko gathered, they all basically were being trained to do Total Concentration Breathing Constant, and all have mostly been able to do it continuously without stopping. The exception, Nezuko knew, was Tanjiro, who was having a bit of trouble keeping it up in his sleep, simply because demons didn't really need to breathe. Nezuko shared about how Tomioka was training a new fighting style into her. Zenitsu shared about how Uzui was teaching him one of his techniques, particularly one that utilized their keen hearing. Inosuke shared about how he was being trained for speed, power and reaction time, and how just recently, he started being able to injure the Wind Hashira quite regularly.
Sparring was fun. They were all mostly toe-to-toe, to Nezuko's delight, with Tanjiro having a bit of advantage because of his demonic strength-- a fact that her brother didn't seem very happy with. They talked about creating new breathing forms, something they already discussed extensively in their letters. Inosuke had insisted that he got all of the Beast Breathing Forms straight out of his head, but had to admit that the demon slayer who barged in his mountain back then was probably a Wind Breather. Tanjiro said that taking inspiration from other styles is probably a good idea, something that Zenitsu agreed with, as he himself was taking inspiration from the Hinokami Kagura for the thunder breathing form he was creating.
Tanjiro already knew this, but he still looked a bit flustered at it being said so openly. Their assertion made Nezuko wonder...
Taking inspiration, huh...
The sun was setting when she finally paid attention to their silent guest. All this time, Zenitsu's aniki sat on the engawa, not saying anything. Whenever they fought, he watched with a keen eye, assessing, observing. Nezuko wondered what he was doing here, but he didn't seem very inclined for any conversation. She offered him lunch earlier, but he declined. Now that it was almost time for him and Zenitsu to leave, it didn't seem right to not offer him any food, when the four of them had enjoyed snacks and drinks all day.
In the courtyard, Tanjiro was demonstrating some Hinokami Kagura forms to Zenitsu. Nezuko inched towards Kaigaku with a plate of rice balls in hand, sitting beside him and sliding the plate over. "Kaigaku-san," she said softly, "If you don't eat anything, you won't have the energy to hike back to the Uzui estate, you know?"
Kaigaku didn't pay her any attention, too lost in thought. He was glaring at Tanjiro as he moved, muttering under his breath, "What kind of bullshit... just like the first thunder breathing form... even his forms don't make sense..."
Nezuko tilted her head. She turned to Tanjiro. His forms didn't make sense?
On the contrary. Nezuko had always been able to follow the beautiful grace of Tanjiro's Hinokami Kagura. Compared to other Breathing Forms save for Water, she found that it was the easiest to understand. Perhaps it was familiarity brought on by years of watching their father dance it every New Year...
She watched as Tanjiro demonstrated the Hinokami Kagura Sixth Form: Solar Heat Haze. The way his blade seemed to ripple with the haze of a summer sun-- Nezuko couldn't help but admire it.
Beautiful.
Before their friends left, Kaigaku pulled Tanjiro to the side and declared, "You're a boy. And you're short. And you've got a big ugly scar. And you're less attractive than the boar and your little sister." He glared at him. "I don't know what he sees in you, but only I get to make the annoying brat cry. You better watch it."
And then he walked away, grumbling.
Tanjiro blinked, utterly confused. What just happened?
