Once they were inside, Nezuko, Mitsuri, Aoi, and Kanao swarmed them from every direction.
Only those four were still awake. Everyone else had long since fallen asleep.
"O-Onii-chan… Nezuko was… so worried, wuuu…" The poor girl shed a few tears as she clung to his chest and refused to let go. Being separated from her brother for an entire day and hearing he had fought an Upper Rank demon had been too much for her small heart. She couldn't even eat dinner because of how anxious she was.
"Come on now, don't be like that. Your Onii-chan isn't some weakling, you know that, right…" He sighed with a warm smile, ruffling her hair and gently wiping her tears.
"Mmu…" She nodded with a small, joyful smile, already feeling safer in her brother's arms.
Behind her, Mitsuri patted her back softly. "Yosh, yosh."
Then she looked up at her master with stars sparkling in her pale green eyes and spoke with an excited, lovely grin. "I always believed Tanjiro could beat an Upper Rank demon easily, fufu~" With complete confidence she added, "Obviously, that much should be nothing for the strongest Sun Hashira~!"
'Ohh…'
Suddenly he pinched one of her cheeks playfully with a teasing smile. "So you weren't worried about my safety at all, huhh…"
Her soft expression instantly turned to panic.
"Ah! I was! I totally was! I was so worried I couldn't even sleep, that's the truth…!" She caressed her pinched cheek and blurted it out without thinking.
But the moment she realized what she had just said, her heartbeat spiked and her ears flushed bright red. 'S-so embarrassing! I can't believe I shouted such embarrassing things… I want to hide my face, ahh…'
Yet no one minded her honest outburst. They were all feeling the same way. Fighting an Upper Rank demon was no joke, after all.
Even Kie, standing beside Tanjiro and holding his hand, gave Mitsuri a faint, approving smile.
Because that human was worried for her child, she must be a good girl — and so were the others. That was the conclusion her mind reached.
"Thanks, Mitsuri." He smiled warmly.
Her heart pounded wildly. She simply hummed "Mm," and looked away, cheeks burning.
Nearby, Kanao and Aoi had surrounded Shinobu because of her disheveled state. Her sleeves were torn in many places, and Marechi blood was smeared from head to toe, so they assumed she was badly hurt.
It was true she had been injured earlier, but the Senzu Bean had healed everything completely. Not even a scratch remained.
After a few moments, all four of them calmed down and finally turned their attention to Nayuta, immediately noticing how otherworldly her eyes were.
"Kocho-sama, this girl…" Aoi asked politely.
Shinobu gently patted Nayuta's head and introduced her to everyone. "Her name is Amagami Nayuta. She's a shrine maiden. She'll be living with us from now on. Be good to her, okay?"
While speaking, Nayuta also bowed politely. "I hope I won't be a bother to everyone."
'Ahh… A miko. Since she was brought here, her family must be…'
No words were needed. They understood instantly.
"So it's Nayuta-chan~" Mitsuri crouched down to her level and spoke sweetly. "This Onee-san is Mitsuri, and I love sakura mochi and pancakes. What does Nayuta-chan like to eat?"
'My favorite food, hm…'
Tilting her head slightly, she answered, "Unagi and rice…"
When Aoi, Shinobu, and Kanao heard that, memories flashed through their minds like a sudden recollection.
Unagi and rice.
'Nee-san loved that too…' Shinobu remembered — and so did Aoi and Kanao.
Mitsuri's smile grew even brighter. She nodded vigorously. "Mm, unagi with rice is great! And if you have it with miso soup, it becomes even better! That oily, salty taste — I love it so much~! Hehe, let's eat it together later~"
'She's a lovely girl indeed…' Nayuta nodded with a small smile. "Okay…"
Nezuko joined in too, waving her hand cheerfully. "I'm Nezuko, Onii-chan's little sister." She pointed at Tanjiro. "Nayuta-chan, your eyes are really pretty~"
"Um, is that so? Thanks." Nayuta replied politely, feeling a little overwhelmed by the crowd.
Smiling brightly, Nezuko took her hands with crescent-shaped eyes. "You must be tired, right? Let's sit you down near the hearth. We'll prepare food for you, Onii-chan, and Shinobu-san in no time~"
'Being treated like this isn't so bad, mm…' Nayuta thought before letting Nezuko and Mitsuri guide her toward the irori.
The marks around her neck were hidden by a scarf, so no one noticed them and she was spared any awkward questions.
At that moment Aoi slipped back into her usual duty mode.
She looked at Tanjiro and Shinobu with her deep blue eyes and spoke respectfully. "I will prepare a bath for both of you in the meantime. Then you can all have dinner together."
With a bow, she left quickly to begin her work.
The others were asleep, so she was the only one left to handle it. Not that she minded doing everything alone.
"Hmm, I guess I'll wash all this blood out of my hair first…" Shinobu said, touching her sticky bangs. She glanced at Tanjiro's spotless, serene clothes and chuckled inwardly. "You don't even look like you fought an Upper Moon, haha…"
Not a single speck of dirt, drop of blood, or trace of filth clung to his uniform despite everything he had gone through today.
"Well… it wasn't much of a fight." He shrugged casually.
Hearing that, she clicked her tongue sharply. "You're the only one who can say that…"
Was he showing off?
Or was he just being honest…?
She decided not to overthink it, waved her hand, and turned to leave. "I'll be back shortly."
Tanjiro nodded, then shifted his gaze to Kanao, who had clearly been wanting to speak for a while.
"What is it, Kanao? Would you like to ask something?" he said with a gentle smile.
His mother also tilted her head curiously toward the little girl.
Kanao gathered her courage, her eyes fixed on his. "Can I… know… the fight details, please… I want to know… how Tanjiro defeated… that demon," she spoke softly, fingers clutching the fabric of her clothes.
'She's so cute, damn.'
He patted her head and nodded with a warm smile. "Why not."
A sweet, rare smile bloomed across her face.
But then two voices called out from the center of the room.
"Ahh, Onii-chan! Me too!" Nezuko pleaded.
Mitsuri's voice followed right after. "Same~! You two, join us. I want to hear it too!"
With a small nod, he agreed. "Alright then. Let's get started."
.....
Meanwhile.
The Kasugai Crows had done their job almost too well.
In just a few hours, almost everyone in the organization knew that Upper Rank Four had been defeated.
A newly appointed 13-year-old Sun Hashira and a physically weak Insect Hashira had killed an Upper Moon?
The news was too shocking, even for the other Hashira.
It had been barely more than a day since the Hashira Meeting.
And Tanjiro had already clashed with a demon of that caliber?
What the hell.
On his first day he stumbled across a Lower Moon, and only a few days later he was facing one of the big ones?
If only they knew that Tanjiro had once beaten Kibutsuji Muzan to a pulp… They would surely have started treating him like a god.
On the other hand, the Kakushi felt endless respect and admiration for him. Their only way to contribute was to locate the Eternal Paradise Faith as quickly as possible.
So the moment the order came down, every Kakushi on night duty dropped whatever they were doing and began searching for the demon's nest.
....
Tanjiro's room.
"Mm~"
Kie pressed her hand over her mouth, desperately trying to suppress the moan that threatened to escape, because she had been instructed.
Right now her boy was comforting her thoroughly, and at the same time filling his belly with her milk.
"Mother…" Tanjiro looked up into her moist eyes and felt his blood surge with raw craving.
He latched his mouth onto one dark pink nipple and began sucking hard.
'So what if she turns human again one day? All I have to do is make her addicted. Her body will remember forever. Keke…'