Captured blades

Chpt 1: "News"

*Butterfly Estate*

           Kocho Shinobu, Insect Pillar of the Hashira, walked down the quiet halls of the butterfly estate, simply enjoying the peace and quiet which these days was a rare treat considering the noise often caused by the many visitors coming in as of late. 

           3 Common visitors to the estate in particular seemed to stir up more noise than Shinobu had heard in many years, almost making it impossible for one to hear themselves think at times. Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inoske Hashibira, and Kamado Tanjirou. Between Zenitsu's constant whining and Inoske's just as constant incoherant ramblings which can only be described as war cries, it became very difficult for Shinobu to get some quiet time and peace of mind. At the very least, Tanjirou seemed to be the good part of the deal when it came to the trio, being both extremely (almost to the point of being slightly annoying) good mannered as well as extremely helpful around the house. 

          Shinobu had came across the three back during the Natagumo Mountain mission and brought the three heavily injured boys back to the estate to recover. Since then, the three had often returned to the estate after missions to mend any wounds they may have. Not only did the three seem to make life at the estate a lot more hectic, but they also seemed to change the mood around it as well. In partituclar, Aoi had progressively seemed noticeably less and less stressed lately. Likely due to Inoske's antics actually breaking through her serious personality and getting her to cut loose every once in a while. And even more so with Kanao, Shinobu's adoptive younger sister.

       Ever since the trio showed up, Kanao began to express herself more, go from regularly saying maybe a few words a day to occasionally having full blown conversations with others, which while not huge was a big step for the reclusive child.

Shinobu took a deep breath in, taking in the quiet atmosphere, looking around the halls of the Butterfly estate who's halls were lit by only pure moonlight. 

Shinobu's thoughts: "Ah, finally. Some time to clear my hea-"

"CAW CAW! BIG NEWS! BIG NEWS! CAW!"

Shinobu's thoughts: "Well, guess that's too much to wish for afterall."

        Shinobu exited the front door of the estate followed by Aoi, the butterfly trio, and Kanao who had been woken up by the Crow who had brought a message.

Aoi: "It's 3 O'clock in the morning. What could be so important to wake everyone up?"

Crow: "CAW! UPPER MOON DEFEATED! UPPER MOON 6 HAS BEEN DEFEATED! CAW!"

Kanao: "??!?!?!"

Aoi: "HOLY-"

Shinobu: "I... I can't believe it."

         Shinobu staggered a little bit which went unnoticed by Kanao who quickly attempted to help support Shinobu.

Shinobu: "It's alright, I'm fine. Just shocked. It's been over a hundred years since an uppermoon was killed. Nee-san, Rengoku-san... are you looking down on us? Do you see what is happening?"

         Kanao, Aoi, and the butterfly trio all looked at Shinobu in awe, noticing that this was the first time Shinobu had cried since Kanae's death.

Kanao: "Wait, who defeated the Upper moon anyways?"

Crow: "Tanjirou, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Lord Tengen!"

Kanao: "That's what happened to them? Are they okay?"

          Shinobu wiped her tears and quickly took mental note of how many details Kanao was asking for, especially the condition of the slayers. Just a month or two ago, Kanao's response would have been an "okay, good" and would have gone about her way.

Crow: "Negative! Lord Tengen and Zenitsu have been seriously injured though are stable with no fatal injuries. Lord Tengen even walked away from the battle field with a missing eye and arm with just his wives supporting him!"

Kanao: "W-What about Tanjirou?"

Aoi: "And Inosuke! What about him?"

Crow: "Tanjirou and Inosuke are in critical condition. Inosuke had been stabbed through the chest nearly had his heart punctured and is suffering from extreme blood loss. Tanjirou has multiple broken bones, a ruptured lung, a stab wound through the lower Jaw and into the mouth, extreme blood loss, among several other minor injuries."

        Both Kanao and Aoi went pale at hearing the crows description of the results of the battle. Shinobu decided to step up and start asking questions herself in order to get things in order.

Shinobu: "Were are they being taken might I ask?" 

Crow: "The closest demon slayer house with the proper treatment is here! They will arrive in roughly an hour! Prepare! Prepare!"

        With that, the crow flew off into the night sky. Shinobu turned to the girls and clapped her hands together with a slightly solemn look on her face.

Shinobu: "Alright, you heard the crow, they're bringing the injured here! Hurry. Get everything ready for their arrival, we have multiple in critical condition!"

Aoi and the butterfly trio ran back into the house to start preparing followed closely by Shinobu though she stopped when she noticed that Kanao was still standing in the same spot.

Shinobu: "Kanao? Are you alright?"

Kanao: "Huh? Oh, um? Y-Yes, it's just..."

        A soft smile worked it's way onto Shinobu's face.

Shinobu: "You're worried about them aren't you?"

       Kanao merely nodded.

Shinobu: "It's alright. They're all very resilient boys. I'm sure they'll all pull through. Now come. let's get everything ready for their arrival so we can make sure of it."

Kanao: "yes."

         Kanao and Shinobu ran inside the house and began preparing everything they'll need to care for the injured squad.

(1 hour later) 

          Several Kakushi ran through the halls of the butterfly mansion, orders being thrown around, people panicking, trying to sort things out. In the middle of the ruckus were 3 stretchers being hauled over to treatment rooms. One of them holding a Yellow haired boy who had broken his legs and passed out. Another holding a boy with a more feminine looking face with a Kakushi carrying a pig mask right behind him. And the last one holding a red haired boy with a scar on his head and a green checkered haori.

         As the three were hauled into their rooms, Kanao got a good look at Tanjirou and immediately her heart sunk. Despite the crow's detailed description, Tanjirou was in way worse condition that Kanao ever could have imagined.

Shinobu: "Come on Kanao. We'll have you helping Aoi with Tanjirou. I'll take care of Inosuke. Alright?"

Kanao: "Um... s-sure, I guess."

Shinobu: "Are you sure? You seem very uneasy about it."

Kanao: "Y-Yeah, it's fine."

Shinobu: "Kanao. I can tell you're very disturbed by all this. I'm not going to make you do anything that you're uncomfortable with."

Kanao: "I don't know nee-san. It's just... I don't think I can look at him like that."

Shinobu: "Hmm? Him? So specifically Tanjirou?"

       Kanao nodded.

Shinobu: "I see. Well in that case, you go make sure Zenitsu is alright and then come help me with Inosuke. I'll have the trio and some Kakushi help Aoi with Tanjirou."

Kanao: "Okay, I can do that."

      Kanao tried to turn around and leave but Shinobu suddenly put her hand on her shoulder.

Shinobu: "You like him, don't you?"

      Kanao's face immediately lit up bright red.

Kanao: "EH?!"

Shinobu: "Nothing. Nothing. Go on now, we haven't got all night."

kanao: "O-Ok."

As Shinobu and Kanao parted ways, Shinobu sighed to herself peacefully.

Shinobu's thoughts: "I guess you were right Nee-san."