Keeping Up with the Demon Kamado Family

a family waiting on a mountain of training (part 3)

Favorites and Performances

Rokuta was not his favorite.

It has been months now and Tanjiro always makes this happy little expression when he sees him interacting with his little brother. He should be spending more time perfecting his moves, yet, no matter how tired he was, Tanjiro always managed to bring attention to it.

Even if it was just a nod to him before he fell straight to the ground asleep.

Tanjiro was adamant that he was playing with favorites with a joyful expression on his face as he stated it, gesturing down to his younger brother clutching onto his outer robes.

Urokodaki huffed, "Just because he listens to me better than you does not make him my favorite."

It wasn't like he was lying. The young boy was very obedient compared to his siblings..

"...Then why is he wearing a custom mask?" Tanjiro asked, his eyes lingering on the white mask his youngest brother was wearing. "I have seen the masks hanging up and not one of them is that small."

Urokodaki refused to acknowledge just how sad yet heartwarming it was to see Rokuta try to make a mask out of a leaf during their nightly playing time. Or how the boy made grabby hands at the mask he wore with a determined expression in that little twisted up face, showcasing pleading red eyes.

He still doesn't know how his warding mask doesn't effect them that much. It might be the same reason each of them are less monstrous compared to other demons he has come across.

It wasn't made like his other masks, but it was stylized similarly. And Rokuta wears it all the time now.

Urokodaki frowned, gesturing towards the door. "Back up to the mountain with you!" If Tanjior had time to tease, he had time to train. "Under the waterfall again until I see some actual improvement on your water breathing forms."

Rokuta groaned, pulling at his robes to gain his attention. Urokodaki looked down to see the small demon moving his mouth up to expose his muzzled mouth, pointing at it with small breaths of 'ah, ah'.

"Ooh? Are you hungry again, little fox?" Urokodaki said, patting Rokuta's head. "Don't worry. I saved some liver just for you."

He turned his head up to see Tanjior still standing there with such a huge grin across his face. "What did I just tell you, boy?!"

Urokodaki didn't play favorites.

He was just making sure that he remembered how to make the masks. Yep. It was just practice to keep his memory of the skill fresh in his mind.

That's why Urokodaki was designing masks for the rest of them as well. It had nothing to do with Rokuta placing his mask on his family and smiling up at them.

It had nothing to do with their faces looking up at him. Especially those two small ones. He was just practicing.

Urokodaki always spent time with the Kamado family when Tanjiro was away at training. Mostly to improve the spell he put on most of them, so they would not recognize humans as food.

It was a simple hypnotism type of spell to help separate their more demonic, monstrous urges from their hunger.

When he wasn't working on the spell, he was making sure that Shigeru and Hanako were occupied with wooden toys and gaming pieces he had. He gave talks to Takeo when the boy wasn't guarding the house or skinning and chopping up a dead animal to feed the rest of his family. Takeo seemed to be copying Tanjiro's training to the point where the boy almost used the breath.