Chapter Text
This was it.
Tanjiro knew that time was running out for the flame pillar standing a few feet away, panting and huffing as his battered body glistened with blood and sweat.
He needed to move.
He had to do something, but the pillar had commanded him and Inosuke to stay put.
Tanjiro’s stomach was wet with blood from being stabbed with an ice pick and Inosuke knew that no one else could fight the demon brawling Rengoku other than the flame pillar himself.
He was way too fast for him to even try to move forward.
Inosuke knew he would die the moment he stepped in.
Tanjiro too.
Regardless of how helpless they felt, they both knew that Rengoku would die if they didn’t step in soon.
Even if it was to sacrifice themselves, they knew that Rengoku needed something to give him an upper hand.
The hashira would only be able to go all out one last time and they all knew that Akaza’s energy was infinite.
He’d probably bash the man’s head in just for fun if he refused to become a demon once more.
The way Akaza was talking now confirmed his intentions on killing Rengoku, switching from 'Become a demon Kyoujurou!' to 'You'll die Kyoujurou!' in just a matter of minutes.
Tanjiro clenched his jaw.
Did he need to pray?
Did he need to sob?
Did he need to beg?
Did he need to die?
He didn’t know what else he could do as he watched the two men race towards each other.
As if to answer his final plea, a being clad completely in black dropped down from the sky and raced towards the upper moon with tremendous power radiating off of them.
A bright blue oni mask caught Tanjiro’s eyes as the warrior drew near the pair.
Before Akaza could land the finishing blow to the stumbling pillar, the being struck him down before drawing their sword to slice off his head.
The blade of their sword shined crimson in the moonlight as they landed blow after blow, pulling screams of agony and frustration from the demon beneath them.
The upper moon was giving their all to keep their head on, almost roaring when the warrior nearly succeeded in beheading him with their fifth swing.
Akaza managed to land a blow, knocking the warrior off before he leapt forward to kill them.
His attack was unsuccessful as they dodged it before lunging forward to attack him once more.
Tanjiro had never seen someone move so fast before.
Not even Rengoku had moved as fast as the warrior, who was now toppling over the groaning moon, huffing angrily as they plunged their sword into his throat.
Several other figures dressed in a similar fashion dropped down and moved in to pick up Rengoku and the other slayers before escorting them away from the two brawling beings.
Tanjiro’s heart was racing.
Where were they taking them?
What was going on?
Were they an ally or their enemy?
He was struggling to keep his eyes open as they got further away from Akaza and the ferocious warrior trying their hardest to decapitate him or at least give them all time to escape him.
They seemed like a capable swordsman.
Perhaps they were procrastinating until they were far away for safety reasons.
Akaza's mouth was overflowing with blood as he struggled to strike the warrior pinning him down, coughing and sputtering as it spilled on the ground and splattered his pale skin.
Maroon eyes moved to see the flame pillar watching the duo as well with his unwounded eye.
Rengoku seemed just as stunned, watching with his mouth slightly ajar.
He had probably been counting down the seconds to his death, only to narrowly escape it by the assistance of these masked and fully concealed individuals dressed in black.
He was too weak to fight them now.
None of them could.
Maybe Inosuke or Zenitsu could, but there were far too many now that he was looking towards the train.
Several of them were helping the kakushi carry civilians off as the first few rays of sunlight declared the next day.
They would all be safe now even if that warrior failed to kill Akaza.
No demon would dare venture out in the sun.
A loud cry of agony sounded in the distance just as exhaustion began to pull Tanjiro under, forcing him to relax in the hold of the person carrying him away from the destroyed train.
His lashes fluttered as he wrinkled his nose at the scent of fire tickling his nose.
It reminded him of the scent he often smelled when Rengoku was fighting.
Did that mean Akaza died?
Or was it the warrior?
Both?
He wanted to see, but he couldn’t.
He was too tired, so he slept.
**-**
When Tanjiro woke up, he was settled in a bed in the butterfly estate.
To his left was a sleeping Zenitsu and to his right slept a snoring Inosuke.
His eyes moved around the room skeptically, somewhat surprised that he had survived the mugen train mission before settling on a distant wall.
Had there been no causalities?
Had everyone survived?
Where was Rengoku?
He knew the pillar had broken a few ribs, injured his head, and lost an eye in battle.
Hopefully nothing had worsened to the point that he would be forced to retire.
Although after nearly losing his life after facing an upper moon, he wouldn’t be surprised if the pillar chose to do so after recovering.
Hell, Tanjiro wished he could retire after all the emotional turmoil he felt watching Rengoku almost die.
He wished he could run from everything, but he couldn’t.
He had to ensure that his sister went back to normal.
That was the only thing forcing him to keep going in the beginning, but now Tanjiro’s purpose was broadened as he made more friends and acquaintances along the way.
Soft voices in the hall pulled him from his thoughts as he strained his ears to make out what the people in the hall were whispering about.
Unfortunately, heightened hearing was not something he was blessed with.
Zenitsu on the other hand was, but he was knocked out cold.
He could not bring himself to wake the boy just to ask about what the people were whispering about in the hall, so this would call for desperate measures.
Tanjiro slipped out of bed and tip-toed towards a spot beside the door.
He immediately recognized the voices to be Kiyo, Naho, and Sumi’s.
“Did you hear about the mysterious people who brought everyone to the butterfly estate?” Kiyo whispered.
“I-I saw one!” Sumi squeaked. “They all seemed pretty helpful despite looking so scary.”
“Oh?”
“Mhm. Did you see them Naho?”
“Kind of!” She spoke up. “I watched a few of them leave. Apparently, they had been requested to have their leader come to headquarters to meet Oyakata-sama. I heard that their leader killed an upper moon to save Rengoku-sama.”
“Oh wow! Are they going to come?”
“Dunno. They didn’t really say much. All of them are super quiet except for like two or three of them apparently.”
“Now that you mention it, they are awfully quiet.”
“What do you think they look like under all those layers?”
“I don’t know but when Shinobu-sama was speaking to Rengoku-sama, they did mention that they did look a bit samurai-like.”
“D-Do you think they’re ghosts, Sumi?”
“I don’t think ghosts come out in the day, Kiyo.”
“I thought that only applied to demons?” Naho inquired.
“Not just demons! There’s a lot of folklore surrounding many creatures of the night that can never face the sun.”
“Oi!”
That was Aoi’s voice.
“Stop lollygagging. We’ve got over a hundred people to care for with all of these civilians and younger demon slayers here. Please stop wasting your time gossiping.”
“S-Sorry!”
“We’ll get back to work immediately!”
“Sorry Aoi!”
The older girl huffed before approaching the bedroom door.
Tanjiro retreated to his bed and settled down just before she could open the door.
Once it slid open, Aoi stared at the spot he had once been sitting before looking to the three sleeping demon slayers.
She sighed before closing the door and retreated to tend to something else.
**-**
All of the hashira were settled before Oyakata-sama waiting quietly for the arrival of Rengoku’s savior.
Two of their lower-ranked rescuers, one who had carried Tanjiro and the other who had carried Inosuke; stood silently under their gaze while holding an opaque umbrella over themselves.
Not an ounce of their identity was visible beneath their obsidian uniform that was covered by a samurai like mask and armor.
The only thing differentiating them was the small colored dot on the forehead of their demon mask.
One had a green dot and the other had a pink dot.
Shinazugawa hated them, as expected.
Obanai didn’t trust them.
Uzui and Mitsuri seemed curious.
Shinobu didn’t seem to mind them.
Gyomei was in tears.
Muichiro didn’t even acknowledge them.
Giyuu was quiet.
Despite everyone's reaction, Rengoku seemed to be the only one trying to have a conversation with them.
One remained quiet while the other tried their hardest to interact with him.
Oyakata-sama seemed amused by the interaction playing out in front of them.
“Thank you.” Rengoku started as he looked at the two beings standing next to him.
The one with a green dot ignored him while the one with the pink dot offered him a small nod.
“You’re the warrior who carried Tanjiro, right?”
They shrugged.
“He had on a green and black haori.”
They seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.
“Do you have a name?”
They nodded.
“I’m Rengoku Kyoujurou. What’s yours?”
Before they could answer, their head snapped towards the entrance of the courtyard before both warriors dropped to their knees and bowed.
“Greetings Tomoe-sama.” They both said monotonously.
Rengoku’s eyes widened to see a cloaked figure enter with a bright blue demon mask on.
That was the warrior who attacked Akaza and saved his life.
“Rise.”
Tomoe’s voice was as chilling and sharp as ice, forcing everyone in hearing distance to shiver as they slowly made their way to the center of the courtyard before taking a knee in front of Oyakata-sama.
“Greetings Oyakata-sama.”
“Do you know me?”
It was more of a statement than a question, forcing the armored person to lift their head slightly in surprise.
“Who doesn’t know of the head of the demon corps?”
“Very few people refer to me by such a title.”
“Perhaps, but it isn’t unknown to us of the outside world.”
He seemed satisfied by Tomoe’s response.
“You’re probably wondering why I requested your presence here.” He tilted his head. "Yes?"
“Not quite. I was informed that you wished to express your gratitude since I saved the flame hashira in battle.”
“That and to inquire how you knew Rengoku was in danger at that particular moment.”
“Upper Moon Three was my target. I've been working diligently to hunt that monster down for weeks now and I finally got some intel about where he would be next."
"And that would be?"
"Somewhere near Lower Moon One."
"And why would he be there?"
"Muzan had given him orders to ensure there were no survivors. I guess he got distracted fighting Rengoku after he arrived." Tomoe adjusted their mask, so that it was slightly straighter than before. "It just so happened that I arrived with my subordinates at that particular time."
"Mm." Oyakata frowned. "How did you know where Lower Moon One was?"
"I think we all were suspicious about the Mugen train. There were too many rumors and newspapers about people dying tragically on the train for it not to be one of the twelve kizuki." Tomoe crossed their arms. "I guess I got lucky or perhaps Rengoku is lucky that I arrived when I did. He didn't look like he could take much more when I intervened."
Sanemi wrinkled his nose at the warrior while Ubuyashiki chuckled at the warrior's attitude.
"Lucky indeed." He hummed. "Do you mind telling me about what you do with these subordinates of yours? I've heard that you're the head of a large organization and I'm not entirely sure if you're a friend to us or a foe."
"I don't think we're that large. There's a little under 200 of us in total." Tomoe tilted their head at the thought. "I lead a group of highly trained individuals with the goal of slaughtering all of the Muzan’s moons and then him. With that in mind, I don't think we're your foe.”
Shinazugawa was the first to respond.
“Oh yeah? Who the fuck have you killed, oh mighty moon slayer? As far as I'm concerned, us demon slayers have been the ones doing all the killing.”
“We’re not as old as the demon corps, however, we did just manage to hunt down Upper Moon Three and kill him without having any casualties.”
“Because of the morning sun, right?” He tilted his head. “I don’t think that counts as a kill.”
“I removed his head.”
“How?”
“With my sword.”
“Bullshit. How can you kill a demon without a nichirin sword?”
Tomoe drew their sword before showing the wind pillar its crimson blade. “I used one.”
His eyes widened before he ran forward and pummeled the masked warrior into the ground. “WHICH SLAYER DID YOU KILL TO GET THAT?!”
He was grabbed by the throat and launched across the courtyard like a sack of potatoes before Tomoe dusted their clothes off and fixed their mask.
“I didn’t kill anyone to get this sword. This is my sword.”
Mitsuri tilted her head. “But only Demon Slayers have a sword with that kind of cut.”
“That is true.” Tomoe put their sword away. “However, it is not impossible for someone else to have a similar sword.”
Oyakata-sama narrowed his eyes as he stared in the direction of Tomoe’s voice.
“What is your full name, Tomoe?”
“Tomoe Shinjū.”
“Shinju…" He repeated under his breath. "Shinju as in pearl?”
“No. Shinjū in reference to a double suicide.”
“Why do you have such a dark name my child?”
“I have died many times before becoming who I currently am.”
“And who are you?”
“I am Tomoe Shinjū, leader of the Devourers of the Moon. My sole purpose revolves around being a phenomenal leader to a group of individuals who also wish to bring down Muzan, protect the weak, and help demon slayers live to see another mission.”
“Is that why you saved Rengoku when you arrived?”
"I've already said that it was a moment of sheer luck that I arrived when I did."
"I don't believe you."
The warrior lowered their head for a moment before exhaling.
“I am indebted to his father.”
“Shinjuro?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter why. I only wish to keep my word and fulfill my duties.”
Ubuyashiki smiled at their response before nodding. “Very well. Then thank you for saving my children from their untimely demise.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m sure they’ll go back out and find themselves in a similar predicament eventually.” Tomoe lowered themselves into a bow. “Let us hope that they are strong enough to defeat their enemies then.”
“Indeed.”
“Am I dismissed?”
“You are…but I hope that you’ll stick around until the end of the meeting. I’m sure Rengoku may have a few questions for you.”
Tomoe turned to glance at the staring hashira before offering a small nod. “As you wish.”
Everyone watched Tomoe get up.
“Sachie. Jun. Let’s go.”
They both moved after their master before the pink dotted warrior turned back to wave farewell to the flame pillar.
He waved back and smiled before turning to refocus on his master.
“Well. Rengoku, I’ve listened to the reports pertaining to last night and your crow confirmed that Tomoe did indeed slaughter Akaza with their sword.”
“Something isn’t right with that Tomoe person, Oyakata-sama.” Shinazugawa frowned. “You can’t tell what they look like, and you can’t even see their eyes. Also, their minions are hiding under umbrellas at high noon. Doesn't that just scream that they're a demon or foe?”
“Maybe they are hot in their uniforms, so umbrellas help-?” Mitsuri tilted her head before wincing as the wind pillar flicked her forehead. “Ow!”
“You’re dense.” He grumbled. “I think all of it is super fishy if you ask me.”
“But we finally got their names.” Rengoku spoke up.
“I don’t care about formalities. I care about whether we’ve let a horde of demons into headquarters.”
“Although I hate that he flicked Mitsturi-” Obanai started. “-I agree with Shinazugawa’s concern. There was at least a hundred of them when they brought back Rengoku and the others.”
“Only Sachie and Jun stuck around though.” Rengoku frowned.
“Perhaps, but if Tomoe can take out an Upper Moon, what are we compared to them?” Tengen arched an eyebrow. “I can see how this could look from both angles.”
“I don’t think they have any ill intentions.” Mitsuri huffed.
“Nobody asked you, Cupid.”
The love hashira punched the wind hashira, leaving him wincing as he held his side.
“As I was saying-” she puffed her cheeks as she crossed her arms. “-I think they’re fine. Kyoujurou and I can befriend them and try to learn about them if you all need more information about their intentions.”
“I don’t see any harm in that, Mitsuri.”
Everyone turned to Oyakata-sama as he fanned himself.
“In fact, I think Kyoujurou should work diligently to befriend Tomoe before anyone else. Their connection to Shinjuro may be something you can exploit if they choose to be distant considering that you look so much like your father in his youth.” He closed his fan. “Until then, all of you should continue on with your missions until I order you to do otherwise. Yes?”
“Yes master.”
They all bowed.
“Great. Now. Please remember to take care of yourselves. All of you are irreplaceable and so very important to me. Good luck on your missions and I pray to see all of you at our next meeting.”
“Yes master.”
Ubuyashiki got up mumbling under his breath.
“Amane?”
His wife tilted her head as she helped lead him away. “Yes?”
“Let’s go to the cemetery soon.”
“We can go tomorrow morning.”
“Great.”
**-**
Tomoe sat under a peach tree by themself waiting patiently for the meeting to end.
Jun and Sachie had left them to fulfill their latest orders given by their master while the blue masked warrior waited for the flame pillar to leave the courtyard.
After a little under an hour, Rengoku came out and looked around before spotting Tomoe settled under the tree.
“Tomoe-san!”
“That’s too informal.”
“Oh. What honorific would you prefer?”
“Dono or sama works.”
“Tomoe-dono!”
“Yes?”
“You should come with me to family’s estate!”
“I’ll have to politely decline.”
“Why?”
“I have other obligations to attend to.”
“Like what?”
“Like the location of my next target.”
“What moon do you intend on attacking next?”
“Well, Muzan has slaughtered four of his lower moons, Kamado killed Lower Moon One, a hashira killed Lower Moon Five, and I killed Upper Moon Three.” Tomoe raised their fingers in the air. “So, in theory, we’ve killed seven of the twelve kizuki, leaving only five left for me to hunt down.” They dropped their hands, letting them fall in their lap as they looked back up at the flame pillar.
“Right.”
“So, I guess who ever gets spotted by one of my warriors will be the next to fall.”
“Oh.”
“Mhm.”
“Well. Thank you for saving me.” He bowed before wincing as the warrior yanked him out of the bow.
“Don’t thank me." They let go of his arms roughly. "I’ve only delayed your demise.”
“I should still thank you regardless. I would be dead if you hadn’t intervened.”
“I’m sure you’ll die eventually.”
“…”
“Death is inevitable, after all.”
Rengoku’s shoulders dropped as a frown settled on his lips. “Isn’t that the beauty of being human?”
Tomoe snorted. “I wouldn’t know. It’s been a while.”
"W-What does that mean?"
"What do you think I mean, Rengoku?"
"Are you a-"
"I'm sure you're capable of keeping a secret." Tomoe hummed. "Let's not pretend that Ubuyashiki didn't send you to collect intel on me."
"T-That's not true! I genuinely wish to know more about the person who saved me!"
"Stuttering and lying. I'm not fond of the latter."
"I really do wish to know about you!"
"Fine. I'll entertain you, but I won't make things easy."
"And what does that mean?"
"If you want to know anything about me, you'll have to work for it."
"How?"
"You'll see."
The flame pillar let out a sigh of frustration before refocusing on the demon warrior. “Can I ask you a few questions?”
Tomoe looked him up and down before crossing their arms. “I’ll allow three questions.” They raised three gloved fingers before wiggling them.
“Fine, but you have to answer them fully and honestly!”
“You have my word.”
“How do you know my father?”
“He trained me as his tsuguko twenty years ago.”
“Why aren’t you training under him anymore?”
“I died.”
“But you’re alive.”
“Unfortunately.”
Rengoku frowned. “That wasn’t a full answer.”
“I was sent out on a mission that cost me my life and then some. I haven’t felt worthy of returning to him since, due to a series of unfortunate events.”
“How are you alive if it cost you your life?”
“You already know the answer to that. Don’t waste your third question on something so foolish.” Tomoe got up and dusted of their armor. “Who knows when you’ll get the opportunity to ask me such personal things so easily again.”
“Then show me what you look like.”
“That’s not a question.”
“What do you look like?”
“Is that your third question?”
The flame hashira glared at the oni masked warrior standing in front of him.
“Tell you what.” They huffed. “I’ll let you think long and hard until we cross paths again. In that moment, I will ask you for your third question and you can ask me then.”
“What if we don’t?”
“We will.”
Tomoe adjust their sword on their waist before they began to walk away.
“How do you know?”
“Trust me. We’ll cross paths again, Rengoku Kyoujurou.”
“T-Tomoe-dono!”
They stopped walking and looked back at him.
“Can we be penpals?”
They nodded. “I’ll send the first letter.”
Kyoujurou watched them leave headquarters before yelping as a pair of large hands grabbed his shoulders.
“So, what did you find out about that mysterious warrior?”
Tengen wiggled his eyebrows as Mitsuri hugged the flame pillar from the front.
“Yeah! Tell us!”
Rengoku laughed at their enthusiasm and sparkling eyes.
“I don’t know much. I honestly feel like I barely learned anything about them at all. Tomoe is so serious and vague, that it leaves little room for me to feel justified to press them for more clarity.”
“Oh, come on. There’s got to be something,” Tengen pressed. “You both were talking for several minutes.”
“Tomoe-dono only allowed me to ask three questions, and I only got to ask two.”
“Only three? How serious!” Mitsuri gasped. “What did you ask?”
“I asked how they knew my father and why they stopped training under him.”
“They trained under him?”
“Yeah, they served as my father’s tsuguko twenty years ago.”
“Then that explains why they have a nichirin sword.” Mitsuri nodded. “They had to be a part of the demon corps to get one.”
“Yeah. The thing is, I don’t recall Rengoku-dono having many tsugukos.” Tengen frowned. “I honestly thought that you and your brother were the only ones.”
“Then it should be easy to figure out who Tomoe Shinjū really is.” Mitsuri tilted her head. “Tomoe must have been the only one prior to. Something bad must have happened for them to not be remembered.”
Rengoku’s eye widened before he hugged Mitsuri tightly. “That’s it!”
“Huh?!”
“I could ask my father about his former tsugukos!”
“Y-Yeah!”
“Then I can use my third question for something else!”
“Yay!”
Tengen picked them up and twirled them both around filling the afternoon with laughter.