Chapter Text
The small breeze of the wind in the distance whooshed as the chimes against the traditional styled Japanese house rang. The distant caw of a crow rang past the wind faintly seeming to speak but could be easily passed off as just the whistle of the wind in the sky.
The chatter of children could be heard nearby the seemingly empty home, most of the people in the area ignoring it almost as if they couldn’t see it at all. However such a house was alive as seen with the faint light that shined through the see-through paper on the shoji of a candle.
Inside was a boy, or in better terms a young man was sitting on his knees against thetatami mats. He had slicked back spiked hair, his eyes white due to his lack of sight. He was wearing a green yukata with red prayer beads. Gyomei Himejima, currently 19 years old. Unknown to him in a different location from the one he was originally present.
Himejima eyebrows furrowed his brow, feeling the ground beneath him the texture different from the wooden floors in his home. “Sayo, Kaigaku, Kazunori, Ryotaro, Asami…” he continued to yell the names of the orphans that inhabited his home, gaining no response from any of them. He bunched his fist against his legs as he closed his eyes, breathing in and out. He slowly stood up as he felt his surroundings
very different from the one he knew.
Before he could get a full scope of the room he heard the sound of the shoji sliding open with a slam which made him turn to the direction of the noise. Standing halfway inside the room was a teenager, he had white hair that spiked in different places. Purple eyes that were staring wildly at the tall man in the room. He was wearing a white yukata, a white button up, and black pants that showed his lack of wealth.
Sanemi Shinazugawa, currently 13 years old. His hands balled into a fist however his shoulders were hunched up. He seemed to try to hold a stance that seemed threatening. He was breathing heavily and yelled with a spurt of confidence “who are you?” However as Himejima was about to speak, Sanemi sucked in a breath and quickly ran. All the teenager could see of the man was his own father who was tall and just as beefy.
“Wait, young man.” Himejima yelled however he could tell by the sound of the boy's footsteps it was too late and the boy had run away.
Sanemi was running in the hallway, his feet sliding because all he was wearing were socks. The darkness of the hallway was not something that he was really a big fan of, however all his mind could think of was getting away from the tall man that could beat him to a pulp. While running not really looking where he was going he bumped into someone. He backed up looking at him, the boy around the same height as him.
He had black hair that was in a ponytail, bright blue eyes that had such a shine to them. He was wearing a red yukata with white trim at the chest along with black pants and sandals. Giyu Tomioka, currently 13 years old. Blinked down at the boy who suddenly bumped into him. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you.” Sanemi said bowing as an apology, still breathing heavily from running.
Giyu then quickly smiled at the boy waving his hands as a signal that it wasn’t something to apologize for. “It’s alright! Why are you in such a rush?” He asked, keeping a bright smile on his face; Sanemi smiled slightly rubbing his arm pressing his lips together. He didn’t want to admit to the boy that seemed to be his age that he was scared of a man in a room being scared wasn’t what men did.
So instead he responded “I was trying to find out where I was…do you know?” He asked Giyu who shook his head, his smile dropping as he looked around the hallway that both of them collided in.
“No, sorry. I just woke up here. I have no idea how I got here.” Giyu said he wondered if it was the work of a demon wondering what demon would have the ability to do something like this. Sanemi was disappointed that the boy didn’t know where they were either. Sanemi was also worried that his siblings and mother weren't here with them and that meant they were still with his father which left a bad taste in his mouth.
“So what’s your name?” Giyu asked suddenly which made Sanemi jump as he was lost in thought.
“Oh, Sanemi Shinazugawa. What about you?”
“I’m Giyu Tomioka, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Giyu said as he smiled back and Sanemi nodded thinking that the boy was weirdly lively. He didn’t usually get to spend time with people his age, the closest being Genya which he didn’t count. Before they could exchange more pleasantries Giyu felt a tug on his yukata he turned to see a small boy.
He has long black hair with two different colored eyes one being teal and another yellow. He was wearing a sleek white yukata with a blue sash around his waist and sandals. Strangely enough he was also wearing bandages around his mouth and a white albino snake on his shoulders. Obanai Iguro, currently 13 years old. “I found a weird looking room…” Obanai mumbled.
Sanemi furrowed his brow looking at the small boy who seemed to know Giyu, the boy he just met. Giyu smiled at Obanai and then turned back to Sanemi “Oh, I should introduce you! This is Obanai Iguro. We woke up in the same place. Obanai, this is Sanemi Shinazugawa.” Giyu said with a bright smile that neither boy knew how they were able to keep up with him. “So, what is this weird looking room?” Giyu asked. He tried to stay on the side of Obanai that didn’t have his snake's head that he carried on his shoulders.
“Oh…yeah. Let me show you.” Obanai said and started walking in the direction of the room. He was holding onto Giyu’s hand while they walked, Sanemi noticing how touchy Obanai was Giyu not seeming to mind however it was something Sanemi wasn’t used to.
Unbeknownst to them however there was a young boy in another room next to them hiding away in the corner with tears in his little eyes. The boy has long black hair with teal tips, and light blue shiny eyes. He’s wearing a sleeveless yukata with a teal and white pattern. Muichiro Tokito, currently 6 years old. He was bunched in a dark corner, tears falling out of his light blue eyes.
“Mother…father…yuichiro…where are you?” He whispered, however flinched when he heard the shoji slide open. He looked up to see a young girl standing at the door looking at him. She has strangely colored hair that was pink and green braided into two braids. She had bright green eyes and was wearing a green yukata with pink flower patterning. Mitsuri Kanroji, currently 11 years old.
She gasped down at the boy on the floor, slowly walking over to him. “Are you ok? Why are you crying?” She asked, sitting on her knees next to the boy looking at him with a slight smile. The boy looked up at her with teary eyes sniffing as he choked out some words.
“I don’t know where I am…” as he fidgeted with his fingers. Mitsuri nodded in understanding.
“It’s ok…I don’t know where I am either. But there is this really nice man Himejima-sama who said he was going to keep me safe! I’m sure he’ll do the same for you.” Mitsuri said excitedly, keeping a bright smile on her face to reassure the boy. She was crying too when she got here so she understood that it was scary.
“Really?” Muichiro asked and Mitsuri nodded. They both heard footsteps coming closer to the room.
“Kanroji, are you crying?” Himejima asked standing just outside the room both of the young kids were in. Muichiro looked up at the tall man shuddering, hoping Mitsuri was right that the man was going to want to protect him too.
“No Himejima-sama, it’s this boy I found…he’s lost too.” Mitsuri said, looking at the man who nodded walking towards the pair wondering if the boy Mitsuri was talking about was the boy who ran from him or if there was another child stuck in this dreadful place.
“I see…what’s your name, young one?” Himejima asked, sitting down to where he assumed both the children were based on where all the sound was coming from. Muichiro hesitated for a moment but then spoke up.
“My name is Muichiro Tokito…” he mumbled and Himejima nodded. He assessed that this wasn’t the same boy since he hadn’t run yet and the voices were different from the boy right in front of him who was presumably younger than the boy who ran. He smiled at the boy resting his big hand on the boy's head.
“It’s alright there is no need to be scared, I will keep you safe.” He said with a smile. Muichiro looked up at the man and a sudden feeling of safety washed over him. “I also found a place that seems to be the reason why we were here, let me show you.” Himejima said standing and offering his hands to both of the kids, directing them to the strange room he found.
Inside the strange room before any of the other children entered there were multiple cushions around a table. On the wall there was this strange device. It was a flat item that was black. In latent terms it was a tv however unknown to the children from the Taishō era of Japan. Along with the room inside there were two boys.
One boy had brightly colored hair being a bright blonde and bright red tips. He has red eyes with a big smile on his face. He was wearing a red yukata that was quite clear showing some of the boy's wealth. Kyojuro Rengoku, currently 12 years old. Along with a boy that was slightly taller, he has white short hair. With red eyes and interesting markings on his face. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and pants, fingerless gloves, golden bands on his upper arms. Along with a headband. Tengen Uzui, currently 15 years old.
Kyojuro looked at the taller boy watching his outfit, noticing he’s wearing the demon slayer uniform that his father wears. “Do you think this is a demon’s doing?” Kyojuro asked and Tengen looked over at the younger of the two realizing he knew what demons were so he could most likely talk freely.
“Most likely, I couldn’t imagine how anything human could do this.” He said examining the area, but all he could hear were human sounds. There were 9 people in this house, including him and the boy next to him. “I’ll keep you safe, as you can imagine I am a member of the demon slayer core.” Tengen said, standing in front of Kyojuro in a protective stance. Kyojuro nodded looking at the boy with a smile. ‘Wow, he’s cool,’ Kyojuro thought, looking at the man with two swords ready to defend him.
After a few moments of silence which Kyojuro was planning to fill with talking he suddenly heard footsteps getting closer to the room he and Tengen were occupying. However Tengen quickly said something “don’t worry too much, it’s another person I don’t hear a demon coming near us.” Kyojuro both eyebrows raised but then smiled nodding looking back towards the shoji.
The shoji slowly slides open to see a young girl who has short black hair with slight purple tips. She has purple eyes that shine and a butterfly hair piece in her hair. She was wearing a very smooth and sleek yellow kimono with a leaf pattern that was different colors. Shinobu Kocho, currently 10 years old, was looking at the two boys in the strange room suspiciously.
“Who are y’all?” She said with a frown backing away slightly wondering if she should run. Kyojuro moved away from behind Tengen who almost stopped the boy, however once Kyojuro walked up to the girl with a smile.
“It’s ok! We’re here the same way you are. My name is Kyojuro Rengoku. What's yours?” He asked the girl still looking at him with a grimace and keeping her hands balled into a fist. However she did stop backing away from the older boy.
“Shinobu Kocho.”
“Oh! That’s a pretty name, it means endurance right?” Kyojuro asked, making the girl smile brightly, nodding as he mentioned her name meaning something she was quite proud of. Tengen looked over at Kyojuro, crossing his arms thinking ‘flashy kid’ with a smile.
“Yeah…and your name means longevity and son?” She asked and Kyojuro smiled brightly, nodding he also truly enjoyed the meaning of his name, his mother describing it to him often. They both walked into the room together chatting, mostly Kyojuro talking about whatever came to mind as they both sat down on the cushions next to the table.
Tengen stayed next to the shoji keeping an eye out for any potential demons that could make an appearance or any of the other people in the house did. After a good thirty minutes the shoji slides open again standing Obanai, Giyu, and Sanemi. Before any words could be spoken between the others Obanai walked forward and said “Kyojuro?” He asked, and the said boy turned away from talking to Shinobu and looked over at Obanai and smiled brightly.
“Iguro! You’re here, come join me!” Kyojuro said, patting on the cushion next to him. Obanai nodded, looking up at Giyu as if asking him to come with him. Giyu nodded as well as directing Sanemi to follow both of them to the table. They both followed Obanai sitting next to Kyojuro, Giyu sitting next to Obanai, and Sanemi sitting next to Giyu.
“So you two know each other?” Giyu asked Obanai and Kyojuro. The older of the two nodded a slight smile not seen underneath his bandages. Kyojuro quickly spoke up.
“Yeah, me and Iguro live together!” Giyu nodded looking at the two boys. They definitely seemed close even though it was pretty obvious they weren’t related due to the fact that they looked nothing like each other. “Oh, Iguro, this is Shinobu Kocho.” He said, directing towards the girl that was next to Kyojuro. However as Obanai looked up he flinched, grabbing a hold of Kyojuro yukata and hunched into himself. Kyojuro eyebrows quickly raised as Shinobu looked at the short boy with a grimace as Kyojuro changed the subject.
“What about you two?” He asked the two boys that were next to Obanai to find out their names. Giyu raised an eyebrow looking down at Obanai however no matter his confusion answered Kyojuro's question.
“I’m Giyu Tomioka and this is Sanemi Shinazugawa.” Giyu said with a smile pointing to the albino haired boy when he said his name. Sanemi nodded, frowning slightly at Giyu's choice to introduce him; however he was secretly appreciative. Kyojuro nodded with a smile patting Obanai on the head which the boy leaned into his hand trying to divert his eyes from the girl next to Kyojuro.
“That’s awesome, my name is Kyojuro Rengoku.” He said as they both kept talking back and forth. Sanemi and Shinobu adding comments here and there Obanai staying silent.
Tengen half listened to what they were saying, still listening around the rest of the house. Tengen was feeling more protective of these civilians than ever before. He was the oldest one in the room and he was the only demon slayer even if some of them might know what demons are.
More time passed, Tengen assessing that they’ve been in this house for about 2 hours now. The shoji slid open unbeknownst to them for the final time. Standing halfway in the room was Himejima, Mitsuri, and Muichiro, both of the younger ones holding the older man's hand. All the kids at the table turned to see the three who just entered.
Sanemi flinched seeing Himejima again quickly looking away trying to tell himself he wasn’t father. Himejima walked into the room, the girl and boy with him following in toe. Himejima could hear 6 others in the room. He furrowed his brow. “What is going on?” He asked just the room in general before anyone could respond the shoji slid close. Practically everyone jumped looking over at the now closed shoji.
“Wait. Let me look.” Tengen said stopping any of the children running to the shoji could cause them to get hurt. He carefully walked over to shoji trying to pull it open however he quickly figured out the shoji would not budge. “It seems to be stuck, even with my strength I can’t get it open.” The tension in the room increased after Tengen said that all the kids were getting worried.
“That’s because it won't open unless I let it.” Said suddenly by a voice that seemed to be in the walls. Tengen quickly drew his swords and Himejima got all the children huddled together so he could try to protect them. Himejima grunted though knowing he wasn’t that strong and didn’t eat enough not knowing if he could protect these innocent lives but he knew he would try.
Tengen didn’t understand…this was definitely a demon but it didn’t sound like one and he couldn’t even hear it before it spoke and made itself known. “What do you want from us, demon?” After Tengen said ‘demon’ accepting the fact that these kids were going to find out about demons and the corps. There were multiple mutterings from the huddle of kids most not fully understanding what was going on.
“You can think that I am whatever…I only have one thing I want from you however. To watch the future.” The voice said everyone’s confusion grew, none brave enough to speak up and ask questions except Tengen and Himejima.
“How is that possible? Is that your demon blood art…why would you want to show us that!?” Tengen continued to yell trying to find where this demon could possibly be.
“Sure my demon blood art whatever…and my reason? Well entertainment mostly to be frank. However, all your futures are, how do I say…bleak. Why not make it slightly better…you can believe me or not I don’t really care. But you’re going to watch the future either way…so sit down.” The voice said and then Tengen quickly felt the presence gone.
“Hey! Get back here, this makes no sense! Get back here you demon.” Tengen yelled out, however Himejima rested his hand on Tengen's shoulder, the teenager looking up at the young man.
“There is no point in fighting it. The demon made it clear we don’t have a choice so we might as well sit.” Himejima walked over feeling where the cushions are with his feet sitting on knees at one of the fronts of the table. Mitsuri and Muichiro quickly followed, not knowing what else to do. They didn’t understand this whole demon stuff. Muichiro moved to sit on Himejima lap and Mitsuri sat on the cushion next to him.
The five kids who were already sitting all nervously went back to their seats. Giyu, Obanai, and Kyojuro brows furred; they both had their own different types of interaction with demons but none like this. Sanemi and Shinobu didn’t understand at all. Tengen sighed in defeat, walking over to the other side of the head of the table to sit on one of the cushions.
They all wondered what this whole watching the future would have in store for them. How they would watch the future. They all felt they were older than when they awoke in this house. And they would only get older….
One of the big questions floating around the room was are they still young?