Their Tale [Kimetsu No Yaiba Oneshots]

In a different form you may be, but it's still you

"Father," his daughter calls him from the front of their house one night, "there's a big butterfly here!"

A butterfly? he thinks, and instantly remembers her and her smile. He feels his heart being squeezed so hard it stops beating, but when he brings his hand to his chest he realises it's just his imagination.

"Can I catch it?" Giyuu heard she asks, voice eager. "We can keep it as a pet!"

Walking out of the house, he finds his little princess crouching down by the door, examining the insect with interest. Folding his legs to match her height, he takes a closer look at the butterfly, and notices the translucent purple wings of it, lined with deep black on the edge. It perches motionlessly on their doorframe, unmoving but very much alive, as if it's waiting for something.

His daughter is already making a stance to trap the butterfly in her hands, and Giyuu quickly holds her shoulder to stop her. "Leave it alone. It could be your mother-no, I'm pretty sure it's her."

She quirks her eyebrow. "Mother?" Then she gasps loudly, eyes twinkling in excitement. "She can turn into a butterfly?! Can I turn into one, too?!"

He chuckles. Tomioka Giyuu may be famous for his stoic face, but who can resist a smile in front of this angel? "She may be similar to a butterfly, but no, she cannot. You cannot as well,"

The little girl puffs her red cheeks, making her look even more adorable than she already is. Ah. It reminds him of her when she was pouting. "Then how is this Mother?"

Giyuu starts to recount the story he once heard from his sister and her, "When a big insect visits your house at night, it's actually the souls of those who have passed away in your family. They visit because they want to see how we are doing. If you catch it, their souls will be trapped inside the cage. Don't you feel bad for them?"

"Ahh, I see!" She claps her hands in front of her face, and bowed her in front of the butterfly. "I'm very sorry, Mother. I didn't mean to trap you inside a cage."

He pats her head assuringly. "I'm sure she forgives you. She loves you very much, after all," he says, can't help the wistful curve of his mouth. Thankfully his daughter is too distracted by the butterfly to see his face. He doesn't want her to see him sad - he wants nothing but happiness for her. "Your mother's going to leave in the morning, so how about you tell her how you've been lately while she's here?"

"Umm..." She tilts her head, mouth pursed as she thinks hard on what to tell. But soon she perks up enthusiastically, and starts talking, "I know! Yesterday I visited your manor, Mother! I played sugoroku with Tanjirou-niichan and the others, and I won three times out of three!" She beams in happiness as she speaks. "You know, I think Father will be bad at sugoroku."

"Hey, that's not a nice thing to say," Giyuu scolds, bumping her head with his fist softly, but she only giggles unapologetically. She really is her daughter.

"We also had a salmon daikon yesterday-Aoi-neechan's cooking is so yummy!"

"Mm-hm She's a very good cook. You raised her well, Shinobu."

They went on and on, her chipper voice and his occasional comment filling the space, until the wind picks up and his little girl yawns, telling him it's time for them to end this one-way conversation.

"We've been here for quite a while, huh." Giyuu stands up, wincing at how sore his legs feels. He's been squatting down for too long. "Let's go inside. It's your bedtime," he says, picking her up in his arms with ease, though she stubbornly struggles to be freed from his hold, albeit weakly.

"But I still want to talk with Mother..." she protests, with a yawn soon follows her complaint and betrays her wants.

Pressing his lips on her forehead, he starts to rock her body to lull her to sleep. "She needs to rest as well. Don't worry, she will visit again soon. Now be a good girl and say good night to your mother, okay?"

She looks like she wants to object, but he knows the rocking of his arms makes it hard for her to refuse. In the end she surrenders, rubbing her eyes with one tiny hand and waved the other at the butterfly. "Good night, Mother... Come again soon, okay?" she mumbles, then falls into a slumber in his arms.

Giyuu gives her one last kiss on the crown of her head and spares the silent butterfly one last glance before entering the house.

Come visit us again, Shinobu.

---

When they exit the house the next morning, the purple-winged butterfly has fallen to the ground, lying with its wings resting on the dirt below it, devoid of any apparent injuries.

His little girl looks at him with glassy blue eyes - the same colour as his, but everything else is a duplicate of Shinobu. Before tears can fall from her eyes, he goes down to hug her, calming her down with pats on her small back. "Don't worry, she just left that form. Her soul has gone back to heaven. She must've been very happy to hear your story last night."

Sniffing against his shoulder, she asks as she hugs him. "Really?"

"Really, really," he promises, letting go to wipe away her tears. Thankfully she smiles after that, inciting him to mirror it as well. Happiness really suits her best. "Let's bury it before we leave, shall we?"

After a quick burial and a small prayer, they leave the house, his daughter with a skip in her steps as she says, "I hope Mother will visit us again tomorrow."

*

This story is also made by azalettuce from tumblr! Banzai~!

http://azalettuce.tumblr.com