Returning Home

Kamado Akina’s POV

Unfortunately, the boys and Nezuko are very firm on coming with us to the Entertainment District. So I set them up in a room in a Wisteria House with Uzui, with very firm instructions to not leave the premises.

The first day, I merely canvas and listen in the shadows, easily sliding around walls, scaling the stories in the darkened alleys and sliding through windows in order to slip unseen into the Houses. I find the Three Houses that Uzui lost his wives in, and find out the rumors about them easily.

The second day, I freed Hinatsuru, tearing several other humans from the obi she was tricked into accepting. Unfortunately, they were already dead, so she has to watch over the corpses as I faked their deaths nearby.

The third day, while Hinatsuru was healing in the Wisteria house with Uzui fussing over her like a mother hen, I wound up finding the tunnels. I had to ask Inosuke for a demonstration on how he dislocates his joints, but then it was no problem getting into the lair.

It took me a little over twelve hours to safely extract everyone there. Unfortunately, most of them were dead. Suma and Makio were fine, of course, it’d take more than just getting wrapped up by a sentient belt to get them down!

But it was starting to remind me of my conversation with Uzui, Rengoku, and Shinobu.

(“When are we even supposed to retire from this gig, anyway?-”)

I manage to tear a hole in the ground big enough for us to fit through in an alley, the Kakushi already waiting for us as dawn peaks above the horizon.

Our fourth day in the Entertainment district.

“Thank you so much, Kamado-san!” Suma almost cries, plastering herself to my side, Makio also leans on my arm tiredly as the Kakushi fuss over the civilians first. “We didn’t know what to do after she cut off our communication line to Lord Tengen-!”

“You didn’t!” Makio huffs tiredly, I turn to them with a tired smile, “But, uh, thanks…Kamado-san…”

“It’s all part of the job, Uzui-san, Uzui-san.” I nod to the two of them respectfully, they both turn bright pink, all the way to their collarbones, and Suma swoons as Makio bristles slightly (ever the tsundere!)

“Lady Kamado, Ladies Uzui!” One of the Kakushi calls to us, gently waving the civilians off, “You’re needed at the Wisteria House-”

“Let me guess,” I state dryly, gesturing to the Ladies Uzui next to me, the Kakushi let out small, politely muffled snickers, “Somebody’s losing his mind?”

As expected, Uzui is losing his fucking mind over his wives, the second they step foot through the damn door. Fussing and hugging and kissing and carrying and downright babying his hyper-capable wives, who I have seen firsthand brutalize demons three heads taller than them.

It’s both incredibly touching and incredibly patronizing at the same time.

Especially when he kisses my cheek while saying thank you. (I am very well-behaved and do not punch him. I am polite that way, shut up Tanjiro.)

After letting the kids fuss over me, I settle down for a nap, my kids tucked around me in a pile (Zenitsu stays under at least two people, so that no sleep-walking occurs.)

“You know, Akina,” Uzui says over dinner, I pause, everyone goes quiet, “The kids are a lot stronger than normal Kanoe. What types of drills are you running them through?”

“My standard calisthenics.” I deadpan, the boys all wilt, and the Uzui family raise an eyebrow at us. I smile and give a brief description.

To say they all recoil is an understatement.

Poor Hinatsuru almost rips her stitches jerking away from me, Suma makes a whimpering sound like a kicked puppy, Makio’s jaw hangs somewhere near the floor, and Tengen’s eyes are almost the size of his ego.

“I take back what I said about the backpack, Tanjiro.” Tengen apologizes, I raise an eyebrow coldly, “I take it all back.”

“Careful - talk much more and she’ll make you run through the drills yourself!” Tanjiro says cheerfully - and it’s only because I helped raise him that I know he means it teasingly.

(I, however, do not.)

(Tengen knows this, and goes pale.)

I tell the kids how to position themselves on him properly, and even add Suma and Makio for added humiliation.

Then I go on to Kyogoku House and pay an exorbitant price to see Warabihime personally. Surprisingly enough, she walks into the room fully aware of who I am, and stares me in the eyes as she sits down, and sends all of her attendants away.

“Is it my time then?” She asks me softly, I raise an eyebrow at her, “You somehow found my hideout, found a way to kill the attendant I left there, razed it to the ground, and then there’s the message you sent with Akaza to Lord Muzan…”

I smile at her approvingly.

Tears rise in her eyes.

“It’s okay to be afraid, dear.” I tell her softly,

“But it’s you.” (Isn’t that a statement? A knife to the back?) “You’re the Hashira of Death, the woman who survived two years-”

“Ah.” I place a hand over my heart, tilting my head softly, “There it is.”

“W-what?”

“You’re afraid I’ll treat you like you’ve treated me.” I open my eyes and smile at her again, her eyes are wide, her face is pale, and her lips tremble almost as much as the tears on her lash line. “Daki, Death comes for all, dear, even demons - it will even come for Muzan some day. I will not be the Death that comes for him, though, I think.”

She pauses, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Did you know I first started training to be a Demon Slayer when I was nine? I turn thirty in…fuck, two weeks.” I sigh heavily as she covers her giggles politely, “Wow, I am not prepared to say that age out loud. I…I really did not think I would make it to this age, you know?”

“I…” She pauses, wincing, but closes her eyes as a few small tears squeeze out, “I do, actually, u-unfortunately. Um, th-the person who-who turned me into a demon, he…he found me when I was dying. I-I think I was…was twelve?”

I drag air through my front teeth sharply, but Daki lets out a weak laugh, as if agreeing.

“Y-yeah. I know, pathetic, right? My brother tried to save, tried so, so hard, but it was winter, and we had no home, and he was only a little older than me.” Daki uses her sleeve to dab her eyes. I lean over the table and gently wrap my hands around hers. “What?”

“You, the both of you, were defenseless children.” I tell her tensely, staring into her eyes as deeply as I can, “You did what you could to survive - the only fault I can find is that after you gained power, you killed for fun instead of self-defense. Daki, why not build something that saved people, children, like you from suffering like you did? You got stronger and more powerful than anyone who ever hurt you could ever become, and…what did you do, exactly? What have you accomplished?”

Something in her eyes breaks, and she starts to sob.

Her hair turns white, the numbers bubble up in her eyes, and black cracks form in her skin. Her power curls around her as snug and thick and beautiful as her obi, but as she folds over into fetal position, her power is as clearly broken as her heart.

“Daki, you could have changed this place, this world.” I murmur to her softly, gently carding my fingers through her hair, “You could have been so much more than simply ‘beautiful’ and it’s a pity no one encouraged that in you. I’m so, so sorry, Daki. I wish life was kinder to you, dear, it’s such a pity no one helped you bloom into the role you were so clearly born for.”

“Wait.” Daki sobs, I keep a hand on my sword, the other on her head, “I-it was Gyutaro’s idea-”

Something heavy drops into my chest.

“What was Gyutaro’s idea?”

“I was to distract you, while he killed your students and the spies and the other Hashira - no, please, wait, I’m sorry-!”

Tengen Uzui’s POV

The demon shows up twenty minutes after Kamado-san leaves.

And it’s chaos.

Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Inosuke team up to try and take him out from the left while me, Zenitsu (how the literal hell is he asleep right now) try to take him out from the right. Suma and Makio help Hinatsuru evacuate the Wisteria House and surrounding area because things got out of hand within the hour.

By the time I lost my hand, it’s safe to say that I’m not allowed to babysit ever again.

BOOM

All movement stops as the new opponent lands. The demon eyes the shadowed figure nervously, we eye them hopefully.

“Down by the bay,” A deep, soft, soothing voice calls, and the shadows wavers - like a candle flame, or smoke in the wind. “Where the watermelons rot~”

Gyutaro staggers, his shoulders losing their tension as he groans like he’s injured-

“~If you go home, just don’t get caught~”

Kamado-san is here.

Suddenly and unexplainably, she is here, in front of us, holding up the demon as he drops his scythes.

“But if you do~”

Everything goes black, and it feels like I’m falling.

The last thing I see is Kamado-san, reaching for the swords on her back.

I wake up a little before dawn, finding all of the boys tucked into bed, myself tucked into bed, and my wives piled nearby (apparently having piled themselves there consciously, clearly not by Kakushi or Kamado-san’s hands.)

Kamado-san is apologizing to the owner’s of the Wisteria House, who are trying to apologize to her.

“-I thought she worked alone. It’s my fault you were attacked.” Kamado-san states, matter-of-fact and dead-to-the-world from exhaustion, “I offer up my sincerest apologies from the bottom of my heart for your troubles, dear allies. I am so sorry for this inconvenience-”

“FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, CHILD!” The Lady of the House finally loses her temper, Kamado-san is so tired she doesn’t even jump, “YOU SAVED OUR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF AT LEAST EVERYONE IN THIS DISTRICT! TAKE YOUR SAVIOR’S COMPLEX AND YOUR SURVIVOR’S GUILT TO THE DAMN THERAPIST OFFICE, FOR FUCK’S SAKE AND LET US PAY YOU!”

I laugh before I can help it.

“SHUT UP, UZUI!” Both the Lord and the Lady of the House shout at me, and I shove my knuckles into my mouth as I settle onto my knees as the Lord turns back to Kamado-san. “Kamado-san, please, my wife is correct on multiple accounts here! You saved our lives! We owe much to you! The least we can do is pay you for the work you did regarding the garden and the House!”

Kamado-san heaves a great, bone-deep, exhausted sigh, but relents.

I whistle at the amount of money they hand her.

“Da-yum! Akina,-”

“Please, Uzui,” Kamado-san says tiredly, getting up from the floor after the Lord and Lady dismiss us politely, “I have been up for nearly twenty-four hours now. I had to have one of the most exhausting discussions of my life with a fucking demon of all people, and then I had to kill both her and her brother. So please, can I please go to bed without any grief or come-ons?”

I pause harshly, looking at her for a moment as she leans heavily against the door.

Her bun is coming undone, there’s blood in her hair, dirt in her eyelashes, salt lines from crying carved down her cheeks. Her top is coming unlaced, there’s blood, dirt, woodchips, and plaster sprinkled throughout it. Her pants are torn at the knees, and her boots (the fancy leather kind from the West) are cracked and have a tooth impaled on a part of the toe. The pink ribbons she loves to decorate her sword-sheaths and hair with are in tatters, and coming out of the pockets of her haori, which is also ripped and torn to shreds.

“Uzui?” Kamado-san asks, questioningly, tiredly leaning her head against the doorframe,

“How about I do you one better?” I offer, mentally patting myself on the back for memorizing the layout of the district before getting busy with work. Kamado-san raises an eyebrow at me, and I smile at her. “It’s child-friendly.”

Kamado-san is mildly miffed about leaving her clothes for someone else to repair, but everyone (even Inosuke, surprisingly) is overjoyed at the sight of the onsen.

Kamado-san winds up falling asleep in the corner, I think - but I’m a little busy supervising the chicken fight occurring between Inosuke (a panicking Zenitsu on top) versus Tanjiro (mildly nervous about how eager Makio seems to be about kicking Inosuke down a notch or two.)

Thank whatever god is out there that Nezuko, Suma, and Hinatsuru just decided to have a girls’ day in the corner. I don’t think I could handle seven competitive knuckleheads.