Chapter Text
Author's Note: This is a Demon Slayer AU where many things differ from canon. I have no rights to anything and characters may act differently than you think they would as I am writing this myself, and am not the og creator. This is for fun and some things will be completely unrealistic and silly and even cringey, enjoy. This is including but not limited to: Tengen having a younger sister, Muzan not killing the Lower Moon demons, Sanemi and Muichiro are one year older, I make ObanixMitsuri happen sooner, GenyaxMuichiro happen, and there are very modern instruments and music going on, with whatever music I feel like, even tho pubs w live music did not exist in Taisho Japan we shall pretend.
***Guess who figured out the italics and got the paragraphs broken up! Heavily edited format wise but very minimal wording changes, and I will be adding a disclosure clearing up some stuff about the story next chapter***
Demons in the Daylight
Ch. 1: Burn
\ Sanemi /
“What do you mean you don’t know everything, is she still unconscious?” Tengens voice is practically a shout, not that I find that unusual, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard him this angry before. Especially not shouting at Shinobu, which has me taking a step in their direction.I was on my way out of the mansion, ignoring the angry nags of the nice little pigtailed girl that stitched up my most recent gash, I’m fine. The only reason I even bothered with the stitches is because of Shinobu. Overly observant medical brat, that’s what she was, my blood is plenty thick.
“She’s awake, Tengen, but she doesn’t want to talk about it and her wounds are her business if she doesn’t want to share it. You heard what the kakushi cleaning up the mountain said about it, you know it’s not going to be pretty,” the gentleness in her voice has me pausing, “Just give her time.”
What are they talking about? The mountain? Like the final selection mountain? I’d heard some of the kakushi talking about it with the complaining little one that stitched me up. A bloodbath, only one or two survivors, they were arguing about that part. Nobody elaborated, just argued about whether or not the boy had really run away or if he was dead or even real. Everyone came to an agreement that it was a miracle the girl survived. Mangled, someone had said. They were quieter after that, all agreeing that Shinobu was a true miracle worker and moving on at the girls insistence I needed rest.
I’m standing there like a fool wondering who the final selection girl is to Tengen, I think all of his wives are already fairly high ranked slayers, when Shinobu sees me and I realize I missed the end of their conversation, which clearly didn’t go well.
“Shinazugawa-san! Your stomach looks much better, Aoi is coming along very well.” She steps away from Tengen and he leans his head against the closed door, eyes closed. Damn, someone important to him for sure. I mean what, did he go get a fourth wife or something?
“Yeah thanks or whatever, I didn’t ask for your help. Next time remember I congeal my blood just fine and don’t nag me like that.” I hated having to come all the way here for it just because of her, but her sister was one of the only friends I’ve ever had and I owe it to her. Plus she was giving me a fucking headache.
“That’s disgusting, Shinazugawa.” She smiles at me sweetly, and I don’t know if she’s really grossed out or not.
“Get away!” Tengen barks so suddenly Shinobu starts a bit, and I probably would’ve laughed at her if I wasn’t so shocked by the absolute despair in his angry voice. “Leave!”
Shinobu gives me a gentle shove on the shoulder but I don’t need to be told twice. It’s a little offputting seeing him like this and I’m more than ready to leave. Not that I wanted to be here in the first place. As we get to the end of the hallway I turn to ask Shinobu who the Final Selection girl is but she’s going off at a brisk pace without so much as a goodbye.
Whatever. I’m not even curious anyways.
I hear a choked sob come from Tengen in the distance as I pass through the main doors of the Butterfly Mansion and turn towards the nearby Wind Estate.
Okay, maybe I’m a little curious.
~*~*~*~
8 Months Later
x Tsukiko x
The whiskey burned going down my throat in the best way, making my eyes roll back and my lips stretch back over my teeth into a wide grin as I slammed the tiny cup back onto the rough, wooden counter that made up the table. I knew what an unpleasant burning in the throat was, trust me, and this whiskey was everything but.
Whiskey is something I only treat myself to after a successful hunt, the strong burn it gives is a reward I only allow myself for taking or saving a life. The burn is different from my daily comfort, the slow and gentle burn of my umeshu. It’s sitting in my waterskin around my hip like usual though, should the need arise.
“Another round for the lady!” A very large, burly looking man with dark eyes says as he pours me another round. It’s a special import, very fine whiskey, and I know I should take it easy on it before my brother arrives.
My brother.
Buddha, it's been so long since I’ve seen him. What will he say? Will he still call me Kiko-san and hug me like I’m his baby sister and not this?
I slam the second shot back, adjusting my shirt collar as I bring the cup down again and focus on feeling nothing but the burn.
It’s a cute little pub, really. The ceiling has the usual tatami mats but the walls are adorned with beautiful murals of ocean waves and boats. The wooden floor is covered in colorful mats and tables, with people mostly ignoring the chairs to stand around and gently sway to the live music playing at the back at the tavern.
The bar I’m sitting at lines the wall to the left of the entrance, and I’m gazing at the doors as the band winds down for the next song. Sighing, I grab the bottle of shochu sitting on the bar and make my way over to a table near the entrance, intending to wait for my brother and whatever friends it was he said he was bringing.
The band starts playing a happy, jolly tune that makes the good burn in my throat buzz in the best way and suddenly I’m slowing my gait, turning slowly to see if anyone else finds this tune as enchanting as I do.
Nobody seems to be burning like I am, they never are, but there are plenty of friendly and happy looking people dancing around the middle of the room. The shochu reaches my lips, and there it is again, weaker than the whiskey but still I’m smiling and stepping into the circle, hand out to whoever will grasp it and twirling as I go.
O~O~O~O
\ Sanemi /
“Thank you all for coming! I’m really just so proud of her, I didn’t want this kind of life for her but she’s doing such a flashy job for now so I’m sure she’ll get burnt out and bored eventually.” Tengen says with a large grin, looking towards us.
So Uzui has a little sister, huh. And he let her join the corps. At least she can use proper breathing techniques, clearly, as Tengen had bragged the whole way here about her twin use of sound breathing and how the two of them used to fight together like the most deadly instruments.
He had been bitching about not having seen her for a while with how busy she’s been, climbing through the ranks and him having a lot of recent Hashira duties in his assigned region.
Rengoku had apparently met her before with Tengen and was happily listening to him prattle on. Tomioka had been a standoffish prick, as usual. Why he bothered to come was beyond me. Tengen told him that his usual bullshit with not being one of us didn’t count, because we were coming to meet his sister as friends. Somehow it actually worked and here he was, trailing a few feet behind the rest of us. Whatever.
Mitsuri ate up every single story about the Uzui girl, gushing about how excited she is to meet the beloved baby sister Tengen spoke so fondly of. Obani had wrapped his arms around her and said they were honored to be invited to celebrate…
What was her name?
Tengen called her Kiko, I think, which seems like a personal nickname and not appropriate. He had said her real name too though, surely, right? How else would Obani know it? Probably Mitsuri. It’s not like I missed Tengen saying it.
“Ahh, I do apologize, she can get a bit carried away,” Tengen broke the train of thought I didn’t realize I had boarded as we approached the building's doors. I peered past him into the large open window, revealing what had him laughing sheepishly, hand behind his neck and felt my eyes widen a bit.
She made my chest fucking burn. Right in between my collarbones at the base of my throat, shooting straight my sternum like lightning. I had to suppress a gasp and blinked hard, focusing on my breathing and grounding my senses.
She had her arms linked with two other women on either side of her, kicking her feet around and throwing her head back. It made her deep black hair fly and as it did I could see the ends of it fade into a bright silver around her stomach. Then she’d wiggle down to the ground, hop up and throw her arms up in the air with a smile.
It was disgustingly captivating. Every movement of her head sent my head straight to her pale neck, which was covered by the unusually high necked shirt she wore. A corps shirt. Vest, actually. Sleeveless like Tengens but tight like a wrap around some nicely perky little tits and stopping immediately under them on her ribcage with a dark green band.
My long, admiring view of her subtle abs is cut short by the pleasantly high corp pants, hanging a bit loosely and resting on the curve of her waist with a green tie looped around it, clearly decorative. I turn my attention to her arms, smoothly waving around as she dances, long fingers grasping a bottle of something. I can’t fully admire those either, due to the silver bangles adorning her entire forearms, covered in jewels of greens and purples.
The skin she does show is more than enough though, and this unfamiliar feeling in my chest makes me uncomfortable. Almost as uncomfortable as realizing that the woman I’ve been ogling for god knows how long is very obviously Tengen’s baby sister that he’s been gloating about becoming a Kinoe for a while.
I guess I shouldn’t be shocked that she’s not very young, it’s just that he was bragging about how quickly she did it. I assumed that meant she was young, I mean Genya would’ve entered the corps at fourteen if I hadn’t stalled him at every turn. Uzui’s little sister looks my age, though, not the little girl he described the whole way here.
“Oh how fun!” Mitsuri squeals and jumps up and down, making Giyu and I turn away quickly while Obani seethes with rage. He quickly drags her inside and Tengen follows after them, laughing and clearly loosening up.
“Come, Shinazugawa-san!” Kyojuro clasps me on the shoulder, “Will you be dancing or drinking away the demons tonight?” He guides me into the doors, and I feel Tomioka on our trail. I’m not shocked that Shinobu was busy with research, or Gyomei with meditating, or even that Muichiro declined to join due to his age. I’m a little shocked at myself for coming, and plenty shocked at Tomioka for coming.
Obani does tend to bring out my friendlier side, if I have one. I would say I’ve had two friends in my life, and they’re both dead, so I refuse to count Obani. Not that I think I’m keeping him safe that way or anything like that.
So when he insisted I join him and Mitsuri for the first relaxing night we’ve had in ages, I had to agree. I wouldn’t be drinking, obviously, but there was always something fun about watching these idiots get drunk. Plus it means I get to be the only one able to take any urgent corp missions, more action for me.
The silvery bangles are wrapped around Tengen's neck, tiny on his annoyingly large frame. The nails are painted, shiny with swirls all over them in colors matching the jewels of her bangles. I have a bit of trouble looking away from them and thankfully they move, coming off Tengen's back and revealing the person they’re attached to.
“A donator, huh? Really know who to save to make an impact, you little brat!” Tengen has no malice in his voice, just pride in his eyes as he looks down as his little sister in adoration.”Keep that up, climbing the ranks by the value of lives you save instead of the more flashy demons.” The protectiveness implied in the kind of backhanded compliment hits me with a jolt in my chest, and I remember looking at my baby sister that way once.
My stomach curls a bit as I think about my long, withering assessment of her. Perky little tits.
I swallow, slightly in guilt but mainly because up close I can see her eyes and they’re not red like her brothers, they’re the striking silver I see in their hair and it startles me in the best way. The burn in my chest rises a bit with my swallow, settling in my throat as Tengen begins to introduce the couple to his side.
“You’re so beautiful! Your brother is terribly fond of you, it's just too cute!” Mitsuri gushes to her the second Tengen finishes saying their names. The girl smiles even more than she already was, teeth straight and bright, and quickly catches Mitsuri in a hug before she can finish bowing to her.
“Your hair is so magical! It has my favorite color, and the pink is so lovely.” Mitsuri is basically gushing at the poor girl, hands clenched too tight on her shoulders as her eyes practically form hearts. “I have heard great things about the love hashira but you are a delight, truly!”
That does it, and Obani pulls Mitsuri into his arms and she burst into hysterical tears. Tengen's sister looks back, shocked, and her eyes meet mine and glance over my shoulder as she asks if she’s done something wrong.
It takes me a second too long to answer, trying to stop just staring at her like a fucking idiot and stupid Kyojuro beats me to it.
“No, no not at all! I think she is more than happy with your words, Kiko-san.”
His voice is so god damn ridiculous, I hope she hates it.
Fuck that was hostile. Even for me, especially about Rengoku.
“Oh, good,” she smiles behind me in relief at him and the burn is back, “It is great to see you Kyojuro, I have missed your family dinners.” He comes around me, pulling her into a tight hug not at all unlike the one she just gave Tengen.
“We have missed you greatly! You know my father especially enjoys your company.” I don’t know how to feel as they break apart and she leans back into Tengen, smiling. I shouldn’t feel anything because I don’t know her and she is Uzui’s little sister.
“Tsukiko this is Giyu Tomioka, the water hashira,” he pauses and I imagine Tomioka bows his head a little like an asshole or something, because she smiles and bows her head back, “and Sanemi Shinazugawa, the wind hashira.”
Finally learning her real name gives me a brief moment of wanting to bow my head deeply while smirking at her, maybe raise her hand for a kiss. Then I realize I’m being an absolute fucking moron and give my usual head tilt, not quite smiling. I can’t quite bring myself to break eye contact though.
Her eyes hold mine, still smiling, and she cocks her head after a second or two.
“It’s nice to meet you all, thank you for coming. You all deserve a break, even more than I do, so enjoy!” She breaks eye contact to look at the others, and everyone begins migrating towards a large table with plenty of chairs.
“We are all deserving of this break,” Tengen says, grabbing the back of a chair with one hand and raising a hand for a server with the other, “Now let’s drink!”
Tsukiko throws her head back to laugh, the sound carefree and loud and I relish as the burn razes deep down to my stomach.
~~~
Soo that's the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed, it's my first ever story on here and my first time writing since like preteen wattpad years so let me know if anyone enjoys haha. A lot of this should have been italicized and whatnot but could not get it to work, sadly. If someone wants to help w rough drafts or editing or anything like that lmk