The Month of Love: Demon Slayer Oneshots

Seasons of Love (SanemixKanae)

Prompt: Reverse Kanae & Sanemi + fluff & angst 

WARNING! MANGA/ANIME SPOILERS 

As the seasons changed and the weather fluctuated, all Kanae could do was stare at the blowing breeze, unchanging in forgiveness, firm in decision. The smiles that had once graced her face had disappeared, and the love that she had experienced before being dealt with a terrible blow by life itself now felt like the snap of a finger. 

Not two years ago, she had lost her sister in a battle between an Upper demon. The demon was brutally killed her younger sister, leaving only the adoptive child, Kanao, as a remembrance of their time together. 

She had retrieved that trinket in her hair, handmade with care, from the battlefield, and had locked herself in her room, sobbing for hours. 

"Kanae-chan," Shinazugawa barked, "stop sulking." 

He was right. She should have let it go. But the night was cold, and the alcohol was strong, so all she could do was stare. 

" 'Nemi... is there a Heaven out there?" she slurred. Her voice was dipping in and out of her vocal range, and Sanemi caught her by the shoulders as she tipped to the side. She looked p at him, as if they were just practicing a dance, and cupped his cheek. 

"Sanemi, my Sanemi-kun," she giggled aimlessly, "don't leave me, okayyy?" her voice sprawled out before her, teasing him with the light drunk attitude she had. 

"I won't," he reassured her, and she nodded, her consciousness giving out. He caught her once again with a groan, and carried her off to the Butterfly Mansion. 

---

"Did you have fun, Kanae?" Mitsuri giggled with mischief tainting her voice. 

"Fun?" Kanae took a sip of the tea in her hand. It hadn't occurred to her last night, that the band of Hashira had witnessed the Wind Pillar carrying the Flower Hashira to the Butterfly Mansion. 

"Kanae~!" Mitsuri had sighed at the sight of another happy couple. 

In shock, Kanae had spit her drink out. 

"Kanroji!" Kanae gasped, "did that happen?" 

Mitsuri nodded jovially. The absolute jubilant tone of her voice lit up the room, though it only darkened Kanae's outlook on the situation. 

She did not hate Shinazugawa, nor did she like him. But the though of him carrying her throughout the Estate was... troubling to her. 

---

"Sanemi~" Mitsuri smiled upon meeting with the Wind Hashira. He sighed. 

"Yes, Kanroji?" 

"Why were you carrying Kanae-chan around yesterday?" she asked. He shrugged. 

"She collapsed." 

"Why?" 

"Drunk. Alcohol," Shinazugawa explained. 

"Oh~?" Mitsuri drawled out, disappointed. He nodded and shrugged his shoulders, leaving the Love Pillar alone. 

---

"Don't leave me, okayyy?" she had asked. Though her words were drukenly spoken, he couldn't help but feel a strong hammering in his chest, reminding him of the feeling of her gentle hands caressing his face. 

His face was torn by war, scarred by the claws of demons. But she had always been there, to patch things up. 

"I'll marry you, Kocho." he declared to the night wind, "so help me, when this is all over, when all the demons have been slaughtered, I will marry you," he promised. 

Behind a pillar of wood, Kanae stood, listening to his declaration. 

"And I'll love you, Sanemi." she smiled to herself, and walked away. 

Timeskip: 5 years 

"CAW! CAW! SANEMI SHINAZUGAWA, WIND PILLAR! DEAD FIGHTING MUZAN KIBUTSUJI! CAW!" 

What?

No, no... He swore that he would never leave her! 

She slashed the final demon with the tip of her sword, watching him bleed out on the unsteady ground below. She ground her teeth, watching the pathetic scum writhe in pain. 

"Sanemi!" she tore through the ecrowd of demons that crowded the floor of Infinity Castle, the wood crumbling under the pressure of Yushiro's skill. 

"Sane-!" she yelled, as the floor came crashing down upon her. 

---

"Kanae... Kanae..." he begged. Someone was shaking her hand, pleading for her to wake up. 

"Kanae." 

Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name, and she saw Giyu Tomioka, former betrothed to her younger sister, pleading for her to stay awake. 

"Welcome back, Kanae." he smiled softly, before it fell into his usual solemn expression. 

"Sanemi..." she groaned, barely able to sit up. Giyu eased her onto a pillow, his eyes worried for her. 

"Sanemi... didn't make it." he muttered softly. After losing Shinobu and his sister, Giyu had refrained from relationships with others, including any friends he was bound to make. 

"So that was..." 

All the Hashira are dead. Only two survived, the Flower Hashira, and the Water Pillar. 

"No! No! I wasn't supposed to survive! This was a mistake!" she pleaded, banging softly on the man's chest. She sobbed in pain.

The Kocho family was destined to lose people forever, whether it be a lover, a friend, a family members, anyone really. The world loved to take from the Kocho Family, didn't they. 

She smiled bitterly. 

---

Three years had passed since Sanemi's passing. She stood at the edge of the crossroads, the streets filled to the brim with people. She looked up to the sky; the seasons were changing once again. People were bound to be filled with joy during the transition from winter to spring. 

She picked up a bowl of ohagi from a street vendor. 

"Cheers to you, my love," she smiled, albeit resentfully at the gods, who had vowed to take so much from her. 

But like the seasons change and the wind blows, the flower bloom, and the insects chatter, nothing ever really stays the same. 

Nothing would ever be the same again. 

"Kyaku-san, I think you dropped this," a familiar, anger-ridden voice tapped on her shoulder, and she turned around. 

"S-Sanemi?" she trembled, her hand shaking with the bowl of ohagi in her hand. He shook his head kindly, though his expression was distant. 

"My name is Seiji,"  he bowed once. She cracked a smile, though her heart fell at her sudden rise in hope. 

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," she apologized, and went on her way. 

"Kyaku-san!" he tried to halt her, and she turned to face him, the tears already brewing.

"Yes?" 

"I-I will... never leave you again..." 

It was a stupid thing to say; to say and to not know the meaning behind it. But her eyes widened, and her tears fell, and she rushed towards him. 

They fell to the ground with a crash, and she sobbed into his chest. 

"Thank you."