WINTER BREEZE | t. muichiro

𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

( — FOUR ; THE SIX INITIATES )

WITH THE TIME THE HANAZUWA FAMILY SPENT AT THE BUTTERFLY ESTATE, Mila could easily recognize the changes in her children. Especially her children. She was starting to think Tsubaki and Hiro were born to be demon slayers. Then again, their parents were slayers too.

The young girl was often found cooped up in the library, stacks of thick books next to her, the type of books no one in their right mind would want to read. All of them were about medical studies and medicines. Tsubaki also assisted Kanao and Mila whenever they were in the laboratory, quietly studying the bottles and mumbling what they were for.

Hiro was taking up to Akito in smarts and logic. He always sat under the trees, memorizing the maps of Japan, planning out and predicting where Muzan's daughter was likely to pop out. He asked a lot of questions too: where was she last? How old is she? Can she transform? Those kinds of questions.

Tanjiro and Nezuko were still yet to come, but Zenitsu and Inosuke had made it back safely with Iguro. It turned out that he and Mitsuri had split up halfway through the journey to make it quicker and easier.

Mila was polishing up her sword skills. She was amazing already, but she knew that there was such thing as 'senility'. She didn't want to risk forgetting any of her breathing techniques and forms, even though it had been carved into her many years ago. She was training with Kanao today, since she and Tsubaki had gotten the jobs done.

Tsubaki was watching, finally having put aside her medical books. There was one book spread open on her lap though, but she paid no mind to it, curious to see how strong her aunt and mother actually were.

"Shouldn't we be using wooden katanas?" Kanao asked, concerned. "We might injure ourselves, and the worst case scenario would be us ruining our swords."

"Oh, right, forgot about that," Mila said cheekily, safely putting her katana against a flat rock; Kanao doing the same as well. They grabbed the spare wooden swords from the shed and readied their stance.

"Three, two, one. . .go!" Tsubaki yelled, the book flying off of her lap and landing on the minka's floor.

Sounds of wood clashing against each other echoed within the wisteria surrounding areas. Tsubaki's eyes couldn't register Kanao's and Mila's movements; they were too swift for her. Mila's attacks mostly focused on speed, Kanao's focused on precision and strength.

After a few hours, Zenitsu and Inosuke walked in. Mila had to admit that they were looking perfectly attractive. She could tell that Zenitsu's scaredy-cat attitude was slowly starting to fade away, and he was very much respectful now. Inosuke's recklessness was replaced with carefulness, and his intelligence was way off the charts.

They've. . .no, we've all grown so much.

Mila wiped a stray tear that escaped the corner of her eye, quietly sniffling. Kanao did not fail to notice this, however, she kept quiet and smiled, knowing that Mila often had the tendency to experience nostalgia.

"Mila-san, you've been well?" Zenitsu smiled warmly, his same yellow ombre haori patterned with white triangles sitting on his shoulders. Mila nodded and looked at Kanao, who was pinning her butterfly pin on her hair. Mila had never seen Kanao with her hair down before, but she looked so pretty.

Akito came running in, tackling Mila in a hug. She laughed at his childishness and gave him a quick peck, with Tsubaki already engrossed in a conversation with Kanao. Zenitsu and Inosuke, meanwhile, were staring at the couple and child.

"I-Inosuke, wasn't Mila-san in love with Tokitou-san?" Zenitsu inquired, making sure to keep his voice low. He didn't want to disturb the moment the family was having.

Inosuke seemed pretty shook up as well. "Yeah, that one long-haired brat. What's she doing with this guy? I heard he was only a Tsuchinoe." He muttered back in a raspy voice.

And when Zenitsu and Inosuke met eyes, they were already formulating a plan.

"OH MY—TANJIRO? NEZUKO? LOOK AT YOU GUYS!" Mila squealed, squishing her cheek against the siblings'. Nezuko giggled and hugged the younger girl back.

Nezuko had recently joined the Demon Slayer Corps, with the current rank of Mizunoto. She looked amazing in low pigtails and her pink haori, especially in the uniform. Mila found out that she had practiced the Breath of Water with Urokodaki and Giyuu after she became human.

Tanjiro was also way grown. His hair was cut, a kitsune mask resting on the side of his head. Mila recognized it as the one he had worn in the Final Selection. His green-and-black checkered haori was still present, and he ditched the wooden box. He was the new Flame Hashira, taking Rengoku's place. He even admitted that he felt guilty of being given the title, but Mila talked to him and told him that the spot was given because his talent was recognized, and that Rengoku would be proud of him.

Of course, Zenitsu's crush on Nezuko never faded. He fawned over her, but not in the creepy way he used to. He would give her subtle looks and soft smiles, and Nezuko would return them too.

"Speaking of, how are you and Muichiro, Mila-san?" Tanjiro inquired brightly.

Crickets. Kanao had tried to stop the Flame Hashira, but she was a second too late. All she could do was grip the sleeve of his haori, making Tanjiro look at her questionably.

"We're. . ." Mila couldn't comprehend Tanjiro's question. She couldn't even come up with an answer. Instead, she smiled. "We're on good terms. We're friends, is all."

Tanjiro was confused, but finally got the point crashing into him when Tsubaki and Hiro came running, hugging their mother's legs, tugging at her uniform skirt.

Oh, so she has a family now, but not with Muichiro. Tanjiro thought, finally understanding why Kanao seemed to look at him in a concerned way. It was a sensitive subject, especially for Mila.

She and Muichiro were no longer together.

"Well, everyone, should we get some food while we wait for a meeting?" Mila asked, pulling her children's hands off of her sword sheath.

Inosuke declined, saying that he really wanted to, but that he had been summoned to help in the tracking team formed to locate Muzan's daughter. "Maybe next time."

That was when the Six Initiates of the brand-new Demon Slayer Corps were brought together again, ready to face off an elite demon born from another.