WINTER BREEZE | t. muichiro

𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

( — FIVE ; HIS SERENITY )

"I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU ALL AGAIN, THE SIX INITIATES OF THE DEMON SLAYER CORPS," Kiriya proclaimed, his two sisters sitting right behind him in the traditional form of seiza. The Six Initiates bowed respectfully in return.

   "First of all, I would like to congratulate some of you who have made it to the ranks of Hashiras. Hanazuwa Mila, the Love Hashira. Tsuyuri Kanao, the Flower Hashira. Kamado Tanjiro, the Flame Hashira. Agatsuma Zenitsu, the Thunder Hashira, and Hashibira Inosuke, the new Beast Hashira. And of course, we have Kamado Nezuko, a Mizunoto practicing the Breath of Water and Tomioka Giyuu's tsuguko."

   Nezuko was somewhat disappointed that she wasn't high up in the ranks like her brother, but no matter. She swore to herself that she would train hard, like her brother did when she was a demon.

   "Thank you for congratulating us, Kiriya-sama," Mila smiled warmly, removing her grip from her katana.

   "Shall we begin the meeting now, then?"

   "Yes, please proceed!" Tanjiro exclaimed happily. Mila could almost see Rengoku's jovial personality in him.

   Kiriya wasted no time at all. He began explaining what Mila had spoken to Mitsuri about, and that he trusted Iguro and Inosuke to use their superior sensory skills in tracking the half-blood girl.

"How old do you think she is, Tanjiro-san?" Mila questioned after getting permission from Kiriya.

Tanjiro put a hand on his chin and thought carefully, with Nezuko beside him cheering him on. Suddenly he snapped his fingers in disappointment, saying that he wasn't able to make an exact calculation.

"She'd have to be seven or eight at the time, but you know that kids grow up fast. Just like us!"

"It's alright if you forgot, Tanjiro-sama. It has been twelve years, after all." Kiriya replied gently, a signature Ubuyashiki smile on his face. It had no traces of malice whatsoever; it was pure kindness.

They discussed everything and gathered all the information they could from when they were still young demon slayers. They were dismissed soon enough, and Mila decided to play with Tsubaki and Hiro until Iguro and Mitsuri came back.

"UH, YOU. . .YOU MEAN THE TWINS?" Aoi said nervously, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah, they. . .they were behind me one second, and the next they were g—"

"Are you telling me you lost my kids, Aoi?" Mila's usually calm and gentle voice had a dangerous edge to it, like one wrong move would push her to annihilate someone.

"I swear! I told them to wait for me since I just needed to hang up—"

"You of all people should know that Tsubaki and Hiro are restless!"

Without listening to Aoi, Mila ran out the estate and looked from left to right, desperately looking for the twins. They were everything to her. If she lost them, she didn't know what she'd do. Sure, it wasn't nighttime and there were no demons, but in their current society, demons weren't the only threat anymore.

Mila came to a stop at the entrance of the old Mist Estate, situated deep in the middle of the woods. Mila hadn't realized she had gone this far; the surroundings were enveloped in thick mist.

Muichiro. His name rang in her mind, and she slowly but surely walked in the property, the mist fading as she entered. Underneath a wisteria tree was Muichiro, making paper planes with Tsubaki and Hiro. They were laughing and folding the paper, smoothing out creases every now and then.

Mila almost teared up at the sight.

Tsubaki noticed her and waved, signaling for her to come over their spot. Mila was hesitant, but Hiro pulled her uniform's skirt and sat her down, next to the Mist Hashira.

"They wandered in here," Muichiro explained in a low voice, one that the children couldn'r hear. "Said that they were looking for Kanao-san and got lost. Just how bad is your kids' sense of direction?"

"Shut up," Mila tried to hold back her laughter. "Pfft. . .it's not funny, dumbass."

A heartwarming grin lit up Muichiro's face for the first time in twelve years. He wasn't looking for mutual feelings from Mila, but seeing her smile because of him made him so happy that his heart almost burst.

Tsubaki handed him a paper plane she made, and he smiled and gave the child his own work. Tsubaki was so ecstatic that she ran around the wisteria tree, both paper planes in her hands.

Hiro, meanwhile, was sitting atop a thick branch of the tree. Mila wasn't really worried—she had grown up with the love and talent of climbing trees, so it wasn't a surprise that Hiro picked up on it too.

"Hiro, don't you want to make paper planes too?" Mila asked instead, looking up at her son who was tugging at the hanging wisteria blossoms. The child shook his head and proceeded to sniff the flowers, sneezing every now and then.

A moment of silence passed between Muichiro and Mila. It had been a long time, after all, and that—Muichiro visiting Mila—had happened as if it was yesterday.

"How. . .how have you been, Mui?"

Just hearing his nickname come out of her lips almost made him want to kiss her right then and there, and never pull away. But he held back. She was happy with her family now. She wasn't Kanata Mila now, she was Hanazuwa Mila, married and belonged to another man, a man that wasn't him.

"I've been okay," Muichiro answered, unsure. In fact, he wasn't sure if he was fine at all. "You know, traveling, meeting people. I came back since I heard that Kiriya-sama was forming the Demon Slayer Corps again."

"Same here," Mila chuckled, watching Tsubaki and Hiro carefully as they pranced about the Mist Estate. "I was so dedicated in taking care of them. But now, they're not my only priority. Sure, I always put them first, but. . .something is always waiting in second place, you know?"

To anyone who would walk in the estate and see the scene in front of them—Mila and Muichiro sitting comfortably, chatting, Hiro above them smiling while braiding flowers, and Tsubaki running around in glee—one would automatically think that they were a happy family.

But they weren't, because they never were.

Muichiro had had second thoughts at rejoining the Corps. He thought that his love for Mila would only hinder his duties, thus rendering him as a burden. He didn't like dragging others down, especially since he had been like that when he was a kid too.

But sitting here, a Mist Hashira, and with Mila's twin son and daughter, he felt complete.

In his life, he felt a serenity.

"You can still take care of them," Muichiro replied, earning a sideways-glance from Mila. "They rely on you and. . .Akito-san. And that's the best form of support you can give."

Mila's eyes widened, then she exhaled. A smile lit up her face as she looked gratefully towards the Mist Hashira her age. "I didn't realize that. Thank you, Mui."

She truly was his serenity.