After the surgery, the three take a trip to downtown Toyko in search of some supplies for their trek home. They end up getting split up and Giyuu has an interesting conversation with a store clerk.

Shinobu has a conversation with Giyuu's former mentor, Sakonji Urokodaki, about why Giyuu even remembers certain things in the first place and is interrupted by Inosuke and Zenitsu's reaction when finally caught in the loop. Precautionary actions are taken when said the reaction to finally getting told what happened gets out of control.

A/N: The second scene was inspired by one from Mosquitos and Glaciers! 

Also, I do a lot of interpretation on how I think Demons and their memories work, it's just my personal headcanons, however, but it's mostly speculation on my part but I think it makes sense! Also, the first part will be told from partly Giyuu's perspective so it'll be a little unreliable since memories are gone, most of them at least, you'll see what I mean though you probably understand already if you've gotten this far!

And btw, these don't take place on the same day, the second and third scenes happen before the other one. Sorry for the confusion!

WARNING: At the end, there's a scene where a character has an anxiety attack at the end of it and it's improperly handled so if you don't want to read that, stop reading at the third scene. 

-linebreak-

Mesmerized would be the right way to say how Giyuu felt as he looked on at the current sight he was witnessing. 

The city of Tokyo.

Or downtown Tokyo at least.

A vast wave of people occupying the street all becoming smaller dots as they faded into the distance, lanterns aligned the overhead of stores lightning up the kanji on all sorts of signs that hung from the walls. Every window, door, even crevices, and cracks, had a bright light almost comparable to the sun shining from it. 

It was beautiful, no, gorgeous.

Or at least it would be if Tanjiro and Nezuko were with him and hadn't gotten lost in the crowd without him.

He was lost, wasn't he? He sighed, the two of them were probably together without him. He always got lost, towns and places too unfamiliar that they essentially looked all the same no matter where you turned. Lost in a place with a jam-packed crowd, unwilling to let anyone get by unless you were lucky.

Huh, he thought, how unfortunate. Somewhere deep down he wishes he could go back to simpler times, ones that occasionally visit him in dreams filled with smiles, laughter, and warmth instead of being here and suffering, and being a demon. He could feel the bandages around his neck and waist slowly choking him, forcing all the air out of his chest and making sure he couldn't anymore back. But he didn't mind, it's not like he needed it, not anymore now that he was a demon. 

But he did need to get his nails clipped again and filed down again.

Let's just hope when it comes to the blood part he won't have to go search it out for himself when needed.

Yet despite having memories pertaining to his parents, he hardly remembers them, they left him when he was 5 and he can only remember brief glimpses of them, like flashes of lightning on a stormy night they occasionally come to him. Sweet words, whispers, and reassurances that he'd be alright, smiles and songs are sung to lull him back into sleep, songs his sister would break into tears upon hearing, songs that'd resonate an ache at the bottom of his heart when he heard them, but he never cried despite how tempting it might have been.

Always told how much he resembled her, Tsutako, all they needed was to have his eyes be a little darker and they could be twins, but they weren't. Her fiance always pointed out, and she'd always awkwardly laugh and brush it away. Did most siblings resemble each other? Tanjiro and Nezuko didn't so it must be luck-based, right? 

The two of them should have found him by now... Probably...

Didn't Tanjiro have a good sense of smell? Just like his Sensei which means he should have smelt him right? Or did he not want to find him and decided to cut his losses and leave him to die. He wouldn't blame him, he wasn't even sure what water breathing was, and apparently, he was really good at it which is why he was the water pillar. A water pillar who has no idea what he's supposed to do, that's funny in a cruel kind of way, he lamented, feeling himself be shoved into another spot as people walked around him.

He continued to walk, aimlessly letting his feet guide him to where ever he was meant to be, it didn't really matter, he was probably best left forgotten about anyway, it's not like the rest of the pillars wanted him there anyway, like usual. He remembers... partly, but he remembers. None of them liked him to begin with, ignoring him, shunning him, whispers gone spoken where they thought he couldn't hear as they glared and stared at him, now damning his entire existence. 

Now treating him like a porcelain doll, as if he was fragile enough to break by the wrong movement or words, which in some cases, they were right. Compared to the others he'd hardly fit in any more than he already didn't. 

A pillar who's a demon? Don't make him laugh. It was disgraceful, nor did it make sense in the first place.

A pillar who's scared of the other ones scared that at any wrong move they'll raise their blades and strike him down, or change their minds about his mere existence and decide to end his right there. A pillar who could hardly match up in strength due to all of it he lost the past few months, strength that'd probably take him years to regain.

A pillar who could hardly remember anything, how disgraceful is that? Very disgraceful. Almost as disgraceful as a pillar who was a demon.

He was nothing more than disgraceful at best, disgraceful to all the pillars, except for her.

Shinobu Kocho, he stared up at the twinkling sky, dark colors fading into one as white sparkling dots had flung themselves onto the canvas, I don't think I'll ever understand you.

A pillar who fought to save someone as disgraceful as him, took care of him whenever he was injured- he remembered that much- it was her job after all, but yet she tried to help a demon, her enemy. 

Why?

He realizes that he asks himself that a lot, far too much than he should, far too much for a normal person to ask.

Why help someone destined for death? Wouldn't that make your life a lot more harder? Why help someone as forgetful, disgraceful, and broken as him? Someone who couldn't even remember his own parent's names, let alone hers's countless times. Didn't she hate him? She teased him, prodded at him, and sneered at him when she thought he wasn't looking, vented to her coworkers while she thought he was asleep about how horrible of a patient he was. 

Yet she helped him? She never made sense, humans didn't make sense.

He couldn't exclude himself since he didn't make sense if he thought about it too long, long enough that he'd space out and think about how he even existed in the first place and what would happen to him if he died. Would he just get reborn or would it suddenly be light out, but then again would he even be conscious for that?

He didn't like to think about what would happen after he died since it confused him more than he already was. But it didn't confuse him as much as her. And he's not going to lie, his confusion has only lead him to want to learn more about her now. The previous relationship they had in past be damned, he wants to find out why she did what she did that day, the day he was supposed to be killed by being pushed out into the sun- no- he needs to know why-

Suddenly he's pushed into a store and he has to stumble slightly before he can catch his balance. Right, he must have gotten sidetracked then by thinking too much, very well, he'll just deal with his current situation now instead of later he supposes. Once gaining his bearings he looks around the store and its products.

The store just so happened to sell parasols, looks like lady luck is on his side for once.

He walks around the room with pinched brows and curled lips, resting his fist under his chin, observing each and every type of parasol sold, along with other items but most importantly the parasols. There were different kinds of designs, different from trees to flowers, and swirling patterns with no real end to them, along with different colors, some just a plain color with no designs at all. Yet no matter how much he looked, he couldn't find the one he looked for, whether it be up or down it didn't seem to appear. As if he searched hard enough it'd magically appear, which could happen since demons had invaded the Earth, anything could happen, even Goatman could exist.

"Well, what are you looking for?" A voice suddenly asked and he jumped. Well, that was unexpected, he thought, well, not really, of course, someone would work here, it's a store for god's sake.

"A-a parasol," He stuttered, the sudden surprise leaving him slightly flabbergasted still. What is it with store clerks and suddenly appearing out of nowhere?! It's just like in the books I've read, they appear out of nowhere and scaring the main character?! This isn't a book of fiction, this is real life!

He coughs into his hand, and straightens up his outfit, gaining his composure once more.

The clerk, unaffected tilts her head and leans onto the counter with her head in the palms of her hands, her eyes start to glimmer slightly. "A parasol? What color?"

"Black," He answers, "A design?"

"Pure black," The answer makes her quirk a brow with a twist of her lip. "Really trying to absorb all that sunlight, huh?"

"Yes,"

"Well then, lucky for you I got a few of them in the back since people like you exist who like there's plain, don't understand the appeal but different strokes for different folks, am I right or am I right?" He resisted the urge to tilt his head, not understanding the phrase entirely but just curtly nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. "See, someone gets it! That line usually gets people mad at me,"

"Alright then!" She winks at him, pointing her finger into a finger gun at him. "I'll be right back, give me a few," And from behind the counter, she leaves into another room leaving him all alone in a deadly silent store. 

Eventually, she came out from the back, a pure black parasol in a transparent bag under her arm, and placed it on the wooden counter, pushing it towards him. She smiles at him, grinning brightly. "Here it is, alright wrapped up and ready to go,"

"Thank you,"

"It's no problem, that'll be... Oh..." Her eyes light up slightly as she looks not at him and instead away. It unsettles him slightly. "Is there... A problem?" She curtly shakes her head and continues to stare off.

"Is she your sister?" She suddenly perplexed, "Huh?"

"That little girl next to you. Black hair? Same skin color? Currently, pulling on your sleeve? Either it's a random kid that thinks they're your parents or sibling or something," The store clerk asked pointing to his side, Giyuu glanced towards his side, and indeed, a little girl was pulling at the sleeve at his haori. A familiar one at that, it turns out he hadn't been abandoned, halfway at least, he wasn't so sure about her brother.

"Nezuko?... I thought you were with..." What was the boy's name again? It's on the tip of his tongue so he just needed to remember, especially since he spent the last two weeks together, strange. His memory can't be this awful. "...Tanjiro," Right, that was his name. "Where is he?"

Unable to speak, she lets out muffled noises and beams up at him, bouncing on the heels of her feet. An action that instantly spelled out trouble for the both of them with the store clerk at that moment in time. 

"What's that in her mouth?... Is that a muzzle?!" Shit, I forgot about that... "I..." The demon stuttered out, "It's not- but it is-"

"It's her favorite candy!" A boy's voice suddenly blurted out from behind him, Tomioka looked behind him but the figure in a blur of red, green, and black had already rushed to the counter. Trying to stutter out an excuse or explanation of what in the world was going on.

 "T-there really rare to find but that's a part of the appeal of it," Tanjiro explained, the boy who -thankfully- always had a knack for appearing at the right place at the right time.

"A candy?... I don't get it, why would you make a candy like a muzzle? Is it like chocolate or something?"

"It's like those candy necklaces they sell," He gestured towards his neck, pulling at an invisible string as if to signify something there. "it turns out they sell them in all different kinds of shapes. And it's not a muzzle, it's supposed to hang around your neck but when you start eating it it kind of looks like one? It's poor design really,"

"Oh... Well yeah, I guess when you put like that it is but I didn't know they sell them like that," She says, scratching the back of her neck, Tanjiro awkwardly chuckles in response. "Yeah, because they're rare and you gotta search really, really hard for them and we got the last one so there's no more left,"

"Okay... So what's the name of it?" She queries while folding her arms over her chest, her look is stern as if she's an adult scolding a little kid. 

Tanjiro shrugs, "Ah, that's the thing I can't say the name of it, it's really long and I've gotten used to remembering it by a picture rather than name,"

"I get it, like those foods you can't pronounce at fancy restaurants but it sounds good so you order it,"

"Something like that," There's a beat of silence and Giyuu actually thinks they might get out of this conversation but before he can even try backing out of it she beats him to the punch and starts it up again. 

"So is this your older brother or something?" She thumbs in the direction of him, her other hand now resting on her hip.

"Older brother? Ah, you mean Giyuu-san?" He looks up at the older man, giving him a look that tells him what he needs and he nods. Hoping, Tanjiro knows what he's doing. 

"Well not exactly but kinda, we trained under the same person so that kinda makes us family in some sense. Not officially but he's like an older brother to me, but Nezuko is my actual sister," He stared down at the boy, an odd familiar warmth blooming in his chest. Family? Like an older brother? Did he really consider him an older brother to him? He never had someone outside of his actual family look up to him like that, at least what he knew of.

He felt his lips starting to curve up as he stared at the two siblings. Maybe he did have a family, even if they really weren't his real family it still counted. To him at least. If it was real, at least.

"So what are you doing out here then? Especially this late at night, it's dangerous for kids to be out here alone,"

"Giyuu's old enough to take us out here by ourselves, besides we just came here to get a present for someone since her birthday is coming up soon and we don't want her finding out so it's best we get it at night."

"Oh, a present for your mentor?" She asked tapping her chin, "No, a friend who lives with the mentor,"

"Ah, I see, do you want it in a box? Because next door they have a good place for string to wrap the box if you need one, you can also get a box here,"

"Oh, there's no need, just put it in a bag we have a box and string to tie it up with at home."

"Okay then, that'll be 500 yen,"

"But the others are 750 yen?"

"Look kid, I needed to get rid of these somehow, I have too many in stock and people prefer the ones with designs than the ones without them. Ever heard of supply and demand? The demand is low and the supply is high, not good for business,"

"No! I will pay full price,"

"Jeez, I'm literally helping you save money, why are you rejecting that?!"

"Because I wanna pay full price, I don't want to cheat you out of money!"

"Oh my god, I'm not gonna argue with you on this. 750 yen, final deal,"

"Deal," Tanjiro nodded, and before Giyuu could reach into his pocket and give her money Tanjiro beat him to it. She took the money and did a quick counter and slid it to them. "Thank you for your purchase," Grabbing the parasol with clawed hands he held it close to his chest, Nezuko continued to follow him, holding onto the sleeve of both his and Tanjiro's haori.

"Be safe kids! Have a good night!" She exclaimed while waving,

"You too!" Tanjiro responded, waving back until the door closed behind them and they began their journey of aimlessly wandering the street of Tokyo. At least not for long until he pulled Tanjiro into an alleyway, too confused for his own good; Nezuko followed in suit. 

"A present? For who?" He silently asked, crouching down next to him. 

"No one, I didn't want us to seem even more suspicious so I had to lie, the parasol is for you and only you!" He whispered back.

"So that's why you wanted me to get it, why were we even getting it though?" He never understood the appeal there, why get one when you can just use an umbrella instead? The designs were pretty, yet they wouldn't prove useful since they'd eventually be worn down soon enough from use. Though, they were probably weren't the same thing since the names weren't the same. All he was really told was to be on the lookout for a shop that sells parasols and nothing more.

"So you can walk around safely during the daytime if you want to, if you need gloves we can get those later but for now a parasol should work, besides it's not abnormal for people to use them. If you don't want we can get a hat instead,"

"No, it's fine," He said waving his hands, Nezuko let out a muffled noise and pulled them back into the crowd. 

Thankfully unlike last time, the crowd had started to thin, and it was easier to make their way through it this time. This time he got a good full view of the stores unlike the other. In the window, it held so many different types of items, from clothing to bags, to toys and different kinds of assortments. However, only one window caught his attention.

Giyuu had starred down the box of goodies, charcoal, wax-based crayons, erasers, different oil paint shades, paintbrushes, and hell, even canvases. All those supplies in a package of one. He feels a hand tug him along and he starts to hurry along, walking side by side with the two siblings.

Right, maybe later, they have a train to catch after all. 

-linebreak-

From the day Giyuu left with Tanjiro and Nezuko out to go get help from a lady that went by the name of 'Tamayo' his Sensei stayed at her mansion for reasons she couldn't answer herself. Occasionally she'd see him have a letter delivered to him from a crow with a purple rope around one of its claws, a tall-tell sign that it was Oyakata-sama's crow, but why did it require him to be at her mansion of all place? It wasn't like the old man's company bothered her, she just didn't understand why he'd stay here if Giyuu wasn't here. Just like Giyuu, he made no sense whatsoever.

It makes sense where Giyuu got it from now that she's finally meeting him. 

But that isn't even considering the arrival of Tanjiro's two friends coming back from that secret mission Oyakata-sama sent them on, usually, she wouldn't be bothered, no the girls loved company. At least Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo did, Kanao only enjoyed the company of Tanjiro who wasn't here, so she avoided the two Zenitzu and Inosuke whenever they were here, she never liked people who were particular loud like them, she can't blame her. 

Once discovering that Tanjiro wasn't here, they decided to wait it out for him, and now she had 3 people staying at the mansion. She's had more people than them having to stay at her mansion due to injuries but now she's starting to regret letting at least two of them stay here, she has no problem with Urokodaki, he's a pleasant company unlike the other two who can't spend 5 minutes not arguing with each other.

It seems like Tanjiro is the glue that keeps them all together.

Maybe, who knows, that might just be how they naturally are, it's not like she hangs out with them on the weekends she's not sure she'd be able to hand that.

So, like any normal person, she finds herself having to take a walk in her mansions garden, only being able to handle the chaos for so long. Soon she's joined by a man she can't say she'd expect wanting to talk to her anytime soon, he practically had avoided her whether by intention or not intentional she wasn't so sure, she hadn't seen him ever since he arrived here. 

That joining her in her walk was Sakonji Urokodaki, a man whose demeanor always showed to be both calm and reserved yet spoke in words sharp as a knife, fitting for his status being a revered former pillar. A man who no one could tell how he felt even if you had an incredible smell like the man himself. He was truly a mystery just like the water pillar they had, it made sense how the two got along.

The walk was supposed to be a quiet one, listening to the chirping of the birds and taking in the beauty of the day. Taking a well-deserved break from the chaos from these last two months, from a pillar meeting to a fellow pillar be assumed dead then proven not only to come back severely injured and traumatized from what happened to him all those months ago, almost being killed twice, and now being sent away with a pair of siblings in hopes they could fix the fact of him needing blood. Holding back the urge to scream, cry, and break that facade she always held, especially when it came to the part pertaining to his sister, familiar situations and feelings attacking her all at once.

Knowing all too well exactly how he must have been feeling and trying her best to make sure he didn't have to suffer as she did, rather ending up dead than having someone have to go through what she had. She has to help, someway, she can't let someone have to feel as hurt and alone and as she was. But then again she knows she's probably just overthinking things, if Tomioka had an older sister, she's long gone, but he still had one. He still suffered the pain she had all those years ago, if she can at least help him for the time being, she will, no one should have to suffer pain like that twice.

That's how she feels at least.

She's found herself slowly but surely sympathizing with people she'd never sympathize with, to begin with, even before this incident began. It's pathetic honestly.

"I see the butterfly mansion hasn't changed from the last time I was here," Luckily, the man walking next to her interrupts her thoughts before she falls too deep into them. She just hopes his smell wasn't as good as it was supposed to be and that he smelt her current emotions. It only spells more trouble.

"I don't ever remember seeing you here before," She says, hoping to pry any attention he might have had on her, away from herself. 

"The butterfly mansion used to be a plain hospital till you came along, the kakushi came and went along just as I used to, you and your sister turned it around when you came here. Much more welcoming than in my time, I'm happy about the changes you've made with the place,"

"Oh, thank you so much!" She beamed at him, ignoring the thought prodding at her. If this is who Tomioka was taught by I would have at least thought he would have picked up some of his manners, she silently thought, where exactly did it all go wrong then? He had to pick on something from him if he was his mentor.

"Wait you knew my sister...?"

"Not much, but I knew she was a pillar,"

"Ah... Okay..." They fall into a pitiful silence once more, conversation between the two of them never lasted long, even when they first met. And just when she thought the conversation ended there and wanted to end it there. But of course, lady luck wasn't on her side, she hadn't seemed to these past weeks.

"You and Giyuu were good friends, were you not? Most pillars back when I was one got along as best as we could, which wasn't well but we tried, it's wonderful to see the newer ones getting along better than my generation did." A familiar ache appears once again in her chest. She does her best to ignore it and lets out an awkward chuckle. "Well not exactly..."

"It's progress,"

"No... I don't think you understand but no one really got along with Tomioka-san, like... I'm sure you can even say me and him really had a friendship, to begin with, well- I guess we sort of did but it was merely just that at best, acquaintances edging towards friendship."

"I overheard from Kagaya you too were friends,"

"Well, I guess-

"I heard the same from Giyuu as well,"

"Oh..." She softly says, her mind wracked with sudden guilt as well. Tomioka-, you really thought we were friends? She silently asked herself, I never knew you felt that way I thought you just tolerated me at best. Why didn't you tell me sooner?  We could have gotten along great if you did, all you had to say is that we were and we could have gotten along great but you told your Sensei instead of me? Or did you assume that I already knew? 

"Though he wasn't sure if you felt the same, he considered you as such," That's why she silently thought, I thought the same way to I just thought... She pressed her lip into a thin line, silently begging for the conversation topic to change instead of drag-on, she's not sure if her heart could handle anymore if they continued.

"I..." She started, "I didn't know that..."

"I can't blame you for that," The older man let out a heavy sigh, one holding guilt. "he's changed greatly over the years, greatly since I first met him, and to think now we're here. I never thought it'd all go this far, it'd be taken this far," It doesn't take an enhanced sense of smell she never had to tell he's suffering too.

"... When did you first meet him? I met him officially when I became a pillar but he went on a few missions with my sister while she was... Alive..."

"When he was young, 12 I'm sure of it,"

"You two must be really close from the looks of it, I can't imagine you not being after risking your life for him,"

"He's one of the few students I have left, he's gotten farther than most I can't let him now even if he'd rather be killed since he's now a demon,"

"But don't listen to me, I'm just a rambling old man, what about you? You look like you have something on your mind,"

"Yeah... I do..."

"I guess I should apologize for how I acted toward your student over the past few years, you obviously care a lot about your students if you were willing to put your life on the line for a second time despite him being a demon. And I can understand if you really don't like me for how I acted towards him because he's probably written to you from the sounds of it, and- and-" She gestures her hands with vigor as if trying to pick out the words from the air. Constantly stumbling and fumbling over her own words unlike before. This man, in general, makes her nervous, she doesn't want him to hate her, that's the last thing she wants, they both want the same thing after all, there's no point in fighting if they have the same end goal

"I'm not angry at you, your one of the last ones I'd be angry with Shinobu," He plainly says and she looks at him with an incredulous look. "You aren't?" She asks as if she imagined his response itself. 

"You're the one who tried to stop that wind pillar from killing my student, you're also the one who looked after him, I don't have any reason  to be angry with you, maybe for stuffing him in the storage room in the basement but aside from that, no, I'm not that angry with you."

"Right... I did do that, sorry, it's just I couldn't put him with the other patients, I didn't know what would happen and that was the only place I could put him without any sunlight being able to directly hurt him and where he wouldn't be around any blood or anything to trigger him."

"As I said, you are forgiven. Especially with your behavior towards him in the past, I was told it was nothing more than teasing, it's not the first time it's happened to him before."

"Tomioka-san's friends in the past teased him too?"

"Maybe, I wasn't there for the entirety of it," He cryptically spoke, and she inwardly sighed. God, she lamented, I see where Tomioka gets crypticness when it comes to talking from, of course, he had to pick up on that of all things, not manners, but crypticness. "Were those friends Sabito and Makomo, because he mentioned them before?" Her only response is deathly silence, the silence speaking for itself, and her brows furrow.

She struck a nerve once more, it's not like she was trying to. They continue the walk in silence until they reach the end of the garden which is where just as she plans on leaving, he breaks it once more. 

"Has he mentioned Enmu to you before?"

She looks towards him quirking a brow. "Enmu? Who's Enmu?"

"Apparently he's Lower Moon 1, Giyuu's had encounters with him before, he seemed quite distressed whenever mentioning him," And just like that he's caught her attention.

"Strange, that's one of his own so you would have thought he wouldn't have been scared of him, but it's even stranger that he would have come in contact with one of the Lower Moons, wouldn't they want to avoid that?"

"Knowing how Muzan Kibutsuji operates he probably thought Giyuu would have been too scared to mention it, or, that we'd kill him before he could,"

"That bastard... Wait... Does that mean he might have seen one of the Upper Moons too?"

"Possibly,"

"Just as I thought,"

"Why do you think that?"

"Just speculation," So he did have an encounter with Doma just like I suspected, she thought, when he gets back I'm going to ask him about it, maybe even get him to draw a picture of him for a better descriptor. Anything works, the more I learn about him, his personality looks anything that gives me a clearer picture of him, the more I can aim my attacks around defeating him. I haven't been training for nothing after all.

Maybe someone is starting to like you Tomioka-san, maybe one person. 

"This might be speculation as well but I have reason to believe he's behind some of Giyuu's behavior, in a conversation we held the day I arrived here he told me that this was a dream, a dream by Enmu."

"So his blood art revolves around dreams and nightmares and forcing their participates into them," She adds on gaining a nod from the older man. "Exactly, Giyuu must have been one of the many victims of that particular demon blood art,"

"Do you think that's why he even remembers us? If he has a history with making Tomioka-san dream about us and probably even have nightmares whether he liked it or not, wouldn't that improve the chances of him remembering us just because he did that? No demon remembers their family, friends, or anything else once they turn, with the exclusion of Nezuko of course but we've never seen an outside force act on them to test that."

"That's possible, I've heard demons remember their past lives once they die but then again I've just heard it, which means if it's true then the memories must be stored somewhere deep down. It explains why Nezuko remembers her family, she never lost her memories she just doesn't remember them,"

"Like a form of amnesia! Relying on basic senses instead of morals and what's right and wrong since they don't remember it, but when they die they do!" She loudly exclaims, somehow considering the topic too excited for her own good. 

"I was thinking similar thoughts as well,"

"Maybe there's a way to trigger those memories without a demon blood art? I'll have to look into it but it could be possible," This is progress. Yes, finding a way to turn a human into a demon would be better but this is better than that. Managing to find a way for a demon to remember old memories can possibly tame them, make them more human and get them on their side. More hostility towards demons than humans, possibly a step up from turning a demon into a human. More useable in the long term, far more useable. 

She wishes she talked to the man sooner, she opens her mouth to speak to thank him but a voice behind them suddenly cries out. "Shinobu-sama we need your help!" She knows that voice.

She turns her head in the direction the voice came from, quick enough she should have gotten whiplash from it. Panic runs through her veins, a present feeling of dread running over her. Of course, her luck couldn't last that long, right? All goods things must come to an end. 

"Wha- What's wrong Kiyo?" She immediately on alert. 

"T-The two boys, Tanjiro's friends, they got a letter and one of them is freaking out I-I don't know what to do!"

"Have you tried to help calm him down?"

"Yes- but- j-just come see for yourself please!"

"Lead the way," She starts to follow Kiyo and they go to exit the garden but before they do she turns towards the older man, having a few last words for him:

"Sorry Urokodaki-san but Kiyo needs me,"

"It's fine, I'll talk without you later," She nodded and followed Kiyo in the direction of where the two boys would be, she never did end up being able to talk to him later however, letters being the only sort of communication the two would hold until later on when they finally met once more.

-linebreak-

Zenitsu was not happy, no not one bit. Yes, he's at a mansion with very pretty girls, it's a teen's dream come true but it's a nightmare considering he has to be stuck with him, Inosuke, that boar who won't leave him alone for 5 minutes always bothering him and being rude to him for no reason. It's like he enjoys others' pain! Wouldn't doubt it. Yet here he is, sitting out on the porch overviewing the training area with him, in a rare bit of silence. 

"I can't believe he just left us here," He suddenly says while crossing his arms, slightly pouting. "For once I agree with you Monitsu," Although it isn't the first time they agreed on something

"I mean, it's not that bad now that I get to hang out with so many pretty girls but I miss Nezuko!" The girls at the butterfly mansion aren't as pretty as she is, he laments. 

"He needs to come back so I stop getting up on missions alone with a coward like you," Zenitsu in response lets out a noise akin to a squeak as he glowers at him.

"So vulgar! No wonder girls don't like you,"

"If I'm so vulgar then why don't they like you either?!"

"Oh shut up! Like your any better!"

"Pfft, no wonder he left, I'd leave if I had to deal with you,"

"Why are you always so vulgar, what the hell?!"

"I don't even know what that word means so I don't frankly care!"

"You hardly know what anything means!"

"Why I ought to throttle you!"

"You know what throttle means but not vulgar?!"

"Bird!" Inosuke suddenly blurts out, jumping up to his feet.

"No! Don't change the conversation!"

"No, bird! I bet it'd make a delicious meal," The bird lets out a familiar squawk and flies out of reach as Inosuke tries to jump up and grab it. "Wait what- hey there is a bird! Wait, that's Tanjiro's bird, don't eat it!" As he tries to wrestle back Inosuke with little to no success, a thin piece of paper flies from the crow's claw, and Inosuke grabs it. The crow away from the two. 

"Wha- what's this,"

"It's a letter you dolt,"

"I know that! I'm just saying why now? Isn't he on some kind of private mission or something?"

Inosuke opens the letter and walks away leaving Zenitsu in the dust, frowning, the blonde chases after him. Every time he tries to peer over the other shoulder to get a good look at the letter, the raven-haired boy turns away and continues to read without him getting a chance to look. It's aggravating but he waits his turn, feeling like a little again who has to wait his turn on the swing, slow torture. 

"What the?!"

"What, what is it?"Zenitsu asks, "I didn't know that happened," Inosuke sounds shocked.

"What happened?" He doesn't understand. "That's why we went on that mission,"

"Goddamnit you boar, tell me what it says!" 

If only he would tell him- "That water pillar, Yinjaro talked about helping him and Zenuok got turned into a demon!"

"A... A demon...?" His voice shook, "A demon," Inosuke nodded.

An overwhelming wave of dread washed over him, a pillar was a demon?...

Someone who he thought of as stronger than him was a demon. Someone who was never supposed to become a demon became a demon, something he thought was virtually untouchable is now a demon and touchable. 

This means he could be a demon, he could easily become a demon if a pillar can become one he's screwed. His greatest fears can become true he doesn't want to become a demon, he doesn't want to be killed no-

"No..." He vigorously shakes his head, harshly gripping at his golden blonde locks on the other side of his head as tears spill from his eyes. "No no no! He's not-" He chokes on his words and he feels like he wants to throw up and simultaneously sob at the same time. "Zenitsu-" A voice cuts through, it sounds familiar but everything rapidly blurring together through the tears that keep spilling. 

"NO NO NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING NO!" A raw scream left his lips running his throat raw. 

He can't become a demon no not after everything he's already lost. He can't die again.

He can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't, he can't anymore- NO!

He doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to-

"Zenitsu Agatsuma calm down!"

"N-no," He choked out, tears spilling past the brim. He felt himself falling, spiraling into a deep pit of utter despair, tearing and clawing at his heart with cold claws, choking him and distinguishing any hope left for him. No, it was just best if he gave up now, it was hopeless no used to hope in anything anymore if that could happen, he was done for. He'd never get to marry the girl of his dreams, he'd never get to live to see tomorrow, he'd never get to live another day without death and despair right around the corner. Best to give up now than be disappointed later.  

His body was shaking like a leaf, words muffled and colliding together as one as it felt like the world was tilting on its axis. Everything so loud but just not loud at all. Crying harder and harder as his chest grows tighter and tighter. People are surrounding him. Crowding around him far too much. Leave me alone. I want to be alone. 

He tightly clutched into his sleeves, nails digging into his skin and drawing blood. Breathing was getting harder and harder by the second. Too hard. As if he spent all day training.

Hand grabbed onto his shoulder and he threw them off. Nothing felt right anymore. Something assaults all of his senses at once. Needles prickling into his skin until he grew numb.

Nothing could ever go right for him could it?

"Sedate him!" A girl shouts and someone grabs at both of his arms and he struggles trying to throw them all of once more. There's a needle in his arm and he's out like a light.

A/N: If you are still here, let me say this if someone is having an anxiety attack do not sedate them, I do not take any responsibility if you choose to do so. If they are having one try your best to help them and actually ask what they need, do not assume but ask, and don't touch them without their permission that'll only make it worse. Nor tell them to calm down because no one can calm down on command and it will make the situation only worse. 

Also, an unlikely friendship will form the next chapter, along with a closing on this arc of the story! So excuse me if it takes a little longer than usual for that chapter to come out.