Kotoha was indeed... not extremely pleased. They'd spent an awkward rest of the day waiting in the Ubuyashiki mansion, conversing sparingly with the Master and whatever hashira stayed around to keep an eye on the demons. Doma had no doubt there would not be a moment they were not being secretly watched.

But they had returned and in one piece. They had returned without a scratch to an overjoyed Mirakuru and an eager Inosuke who had thrown himself into Doma and tried to lift him in a hug. The scary part was the boy almost succeeded - he had truly grown stronger and Doma was both proud and utterly terrified. Kotoha had been beaming too, at least until she heard the entirety of the story.

Now, now she seemed to be simmering.

"You told them you'd be willing to die after you kill Muzan?" She demanded, crossing her arms as she glared up at Doma. Her anger was... deserved...

"Well - well, that's just what he told them," Daki tried to intervene, eagerly so.

"Yeah, he didn't mean it," Gyutaro nodded eagerly. "There's no way he's going to - "

"He meant it," Akaza, the snitch, muttered from where he was sitting. "I meant it too."

"Then you both are crazy!" Daki cried, jumping to her feet and glaring at both of them. "Why the hell would you keep your word!? Especially to a bunch of slayers?"

"There's no guarantee they even will kill him, so it is, as Kanae said, a moot point," Akaza shrugged.

Doma stood perfectly still, subject to Kotoha's gaze as she stared at him.

"Doma..." she began softly. "I do not want to lose you. I will not lose you. How could you offer up something like that?"

Doma forced himself to swallow a lump in his throat and cupped the side of her face in one of his hands.

"You won't," he vowed... and he prayed once again he wasn't telling a lie. "I will not leave you or Inosuke or Miku - "

"That's not what I mean," she stated firmly as she grabbed the hand that held her. "I don't want you to be traded for our happiness. Even if they uphold their end of the deal, walking into this knowing we traded your life for it - "

She was angry and Doma's gut curled in guilt.

"We'll have a home," he soothed. "We won't have to run anymore, we'll be close to Inosuke... Miku will be safe. We'll all be safer - "

"Until they complete their mission!" Kotoha objected vehemently. "And then what; You die for something as stupid as this? I will not let you die for me! I won't walk into this knowing we're safe until they kill Muzan."

"If..." Doma murmured. "Many have tried to kill him before and I don't know if we can. If we can, it'll the greatest thing I've ever done. And if we do in your lifetime, I will try and convince the Master to grant me a few more years... he's benevolent..."

"It's the idea of it that bothers me. It's the assumption everyone is making that you are on borrowed time!" she objected.

"I am," Doma tried to argue gently. "I should've died centuries ago -"

"But you're not. So live. No matter how this goes; live."

He stared at her and what steadfast approach he'd had with the slayers began to trickle away. He had been willing to die, whole-heartedly. If that was the trade to keep Kotoha safe he'd do it right then and there...

And that would hurt her. He saw it in her eyes how it hurt her. How the very idea of it pierced her heart and put fear in her eyes; fear he had caused. She loved him for whatever reason and if he left her alone on this earth... that would be his final sin. He gripped her hand and smiled.

"I will," he vowed. "I will live."

"Good." She squeezed his hand and refused to let it go even when she turned her scowl to Akaza. "The same goes for you!"

"Me?" Akaza demanded, surprised he was being pulled into this.

"Yeah!" Daki agreed firmly. "All that talk about 'no sacrificing each other' better not be a bunch of bullshit!"

"No dying dammit," Gyutaro demanded as he point to Akaza. "If you lay down and die after all this Three, I'll never stop making fun of you until the day I die."

"That assumes they even find a way to kill him. It's all hypothetical," Akaza waved the concerns away.

"Well hypothetically I would hope that you too would stay with us, Akaza," Kotoha challenged softly. "Our family would not be the same without you."

Doma smiled to recollect Akaza's announcement at the slayer headquarters. He'd called them a family. Akaza saw the look on his face and sneered.

"Stop fucking thinking!" he demanded.

"What? I'm not thinking of anything," Doma defended poorly.

"You are, I see it in your damn smirk!" Akaza accused.

"What?" Kotoha asked curiously as she looked between the two of them. Doma's smile only widened as Akaza grew more flustered. "What happened between you two?"

"Akaza called us family!" Daki teased as she snuck up behind Kotoha and hid behind the woman to better snicker at Akaza. "You should've heard him."

"He finally admitted it," Gyutaro snickered, coming to his sister's side and also hiding behind Kotoha - as if he had any room to tease.

"Shut the fuck up - You haven't even admitted it!" Akaza accused. "You can't lecture me!"

"I sure can," Gyutaro smirked, ducking behind Kotoha who was beaming.

"We're PACKED!" Inosuke kicked open the front door, hoisting up a bag of trinkets and the few things the family had collected over the years, Miku by his side.

"I even got Gyutaro's feather collection!" Miku announced proudly.

"WAIT - " Panic set in Gyutarp's face as he whirled around. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Whoops -" Miku stated in realization.

"That was yours!" Inosuke cackled wickedly. "I thought it was Miku's!!"

"Shut up, you fucking gremlin!"

Pure chaos descended in the next few minutes and all the while Doma stood there. Kotoha kept a firm hold on his hand as she leaned into his side and smiled at it all.

"Promise you'll stay?" she whispered softly as they watched Akaza hold a rabid Inosuke back from a cackling Gyutaro.

"I promise," Doma murmured... not sure if he was lying. He watched as Miku jumped onto Akaza's head to free her brother whom the striped demon was holding back in leu of Gyutaro's relentless taunting. The ex-Upper Two smiled at the ungodly shriek that slipped from Gyutaro's face as Inosuke wiggled free and barreled into him. Daki was on the floor laughing, no help at all as her brother fell victim to one of Inosuke's wild charges.

"...We should probably do something," Kotoha murmured after a few moments of listening to Inosuke and Gyutaro exchange insults as they tumbled over the floor in some wrestling match.

"Yes," Doma agreed with a sigh.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

When they arrived, Kanae watched them carefully. She watched for any malicious smile or any threatening stances. She watched for the stillness before the strike, for the calm before the storm. No matter how much she wanted to trust this would work, it was foolish to not stay on guard at first.

I have nothing to say about this idiocy.
Be careful, Kanae.

Despite what Sanemi voiced in his first and only reply thus far to Kanae's letters, she wasn't an idiot. She knew this could very well implode and spell disaster and destruction for the haven she so carefully crafted with Shinobu. 

That's why she told each of the girls of the dangers, the possible disaster, and offered them somewhere else to go. Surely the Ubuyashikis would care for them or some wisteria house would take them in. They did not have to stay here and take her risks.

Aoi had looked at her like she was crazy... like Kanae had insulted her by offering her somewhere else to go. Sumi had cried, Naho had blubbered, and Kiyo had begged that Kanae let them stay. No matter the demons. No matter the danger. Their home was here.

Kanao had only smiled serenely, not even bothering to flip the coin as she stayed seated and stared at Kanae.

"I'll stay..." she murmured and Kanae had felt such warmth at that announcement. A true decision... made without an outside force. That warmth was dwindling now as she looked over at her tsugukos. Shinobu scowled, Kanao smiled... and Kanae herself? she just stared as usual.

They came down the road shortly after dusk and funny enough, it was the Hashibira boy who led the charge, carrying the young hybrid girl from before on his back, charging down the road with a cackle on his lips. The demons trailed after him, walking as slowly as humans did, wincing so often when a strong waft of wisteria hit them. 

Daki. Gyutaro. Akaza. Doma... Kotoha... Mirakuru...

Kanae ingrained those names into her memory so that by the time Inosuke skid to a halt at the garden's threshold she could smile and greet him.

"Hello Inosuke," she greeted softly, noting how Mirakuru, her arms around her brother's neck, shrunk lower at the sight of her.

"Those are the butterfly ladies that tried to kill Papa," she whispered into Inosuke's ear, not as secretive as she thought herself to be.

"Nah, Ka-something and Shinonu are cool. Ka-o's cool too," Inosuke denied obliviously as he set down his sister. "Promise!"

The skeptical look Mirakuru gave the three demon slayers made Kanae truly smile. It seemed caution wasn't warranted solely on her end, their guests too were nervous.

"Hello Mirakuru, we got off on the wrong foot it seems," she explained as she crouched down and smiled. "My name is Kanae."

She watched Mirakuru's eyes narrow further in suspicion. She gripped the fur of her brother's pants and took a step behind his side - a familiar tactic to protect herself. Distantly, Kanae allowed herself to wonder how many demons, slayers, and the like had come for this little one.

She thought for too long because her sister had gotten annoyed with the tense scowl on the hybrid's face.

"You may call her Kocho." Shinobu corrected, scowling down at Mirakuru - and the scowled up at her.

"Kanae-san's fine," Kanae refuted gently, standing back up as the rest of the group arrived. Miku seemed to relax a bit as she stood at her brother's side, the same could not be said about the rest of her demonic company.

Daki was tense, but not aggressively so, likely just nervous based on her tight shoulders and how her ribbons danced. Gyutaro never took his eyes off them, seemingly staring as critically at Kanae as she stared at him. Akaza seemed to be admiring the writing above the gate's threshold, unconcerned and distracted... or so it appeared. Kanae had no doubt that if Shinobu drew her sword now, there'd be no time to stave off the counterattack.

Doma was at the tail end of the group, his arm intertwined with the woman that bore startling resemblances to both her children, the woman whose critical eye rivaled that of Mirakuru; so this was Kotoha. She looked so much more comfortable than she had when they first met in that alley so long ago.

"Hello," Kanae bowed gently. "I hope the trip was easy."

They didn't have much, a single pack under Akaza's arm and a small bit of luggage on Kotoha's other shoulder. Kanae supposed there wasn't much time for material things when you were constantly hunted by Muzan himself.

"Easy enough," Doma smiled broadly. "Thank you again for this chance."

"Is it true we're going to live with you?" Mirakuru asked curtly, raising her hand. "Because Gyutaro thinks you're going to try and kill us."

Gyutaro's eyes widened to a comical level and Kanae had to stifle a giggle.

"You can't say that!" Gyutaro cried, Daki nodding in agreement.

"But you do!" The now eleven-year-old argued. "And if you won't ask, then I will!"

"I can promise I will not try and kill you," Kanae managed through her giggles. "Despite how she may glare, I can promise Shinobu won't either. And neither will Kanao. You're safe here."

She gestured to her tsugukos with a smile and saw how Shinobu bristled in her peripheral, an unsaid threat in how she glared at the ex-Moons.

"As long as nothing is initiated." Shinobu's swift interjection came with its own warning. If the demons didn't start anything, neither would they.

"Reassuring..." Gyutaro muttered sarcastically as he met Shinobu's glare.

"Now, come along!" Kanae grinned over the tensions. "I have already set up your quarters."

She led them through the gate and silently felt her heart warm at Mirakuru's little gasp at the flowering garden, all of the moon-blossoming flowers turning their heads towards the silver rays. The flower hashira stepped into the mansion itself and led them to the wing of the house that had been shuttered shut, the wing Nezuko would stay when Tanjiro returned from the next mission that he'd been sent on.

The new demonic wing. She almost laughed at the irony of it all.

"Will they be able to walk around in the day?" Kotoha's voice pulled Kanae away from the silent tour. The woman was at a window, running her hand over the closed shutters.

"Yes," Kanae smiled at the demons in the hall. "This entire wing should be available for you to peruse at any time - though if one of these windows is unshuttered accidentally, please inform us as soon as possible. There is an entrance to a shaded porch in the garden, a training room, and different bedrooms."

It was a small wing, but it worked for what they needed it for.

"And you're alright giving all of this to us?" it was Doma who asked the question so tentatively.

"Of course!" Kanae grinned, almost humbled that an Upper Moon would ask so politely. She simply had to smile at them all.

"Now you guys get to be right here!" Inosuke cackled excitedly. "Every time I come back from a mission, I'll get to hang out with you!"

"Oh joy, so now we're stuck with you," Daki groaned... there was mirth in it though.

"Aren't we taking up medical space?" Gyutaro asked sharply from his sister's side, scratching his neck subconsciously.

"Pardon?" Shinobu asked just as sharply.

"I can smell it all over the place, even though the wisteria - this is a sort of hospital for demon slayers," Gyutaro explained, scratching harder. "You really think housing us here is the best choice?"

"Do we have to worry about you and the smell of blood!?" Shinobu challenged, oh always the one to antagonize - it was endearing sometimes. Kanae threw her younger sister a gentle gaze.

"I'm just asking if you're trying to tempt us into going feral with the stench of - " Gyutaro was stilled when Kotoha grabbed the hand that was starting to break the skin of his neck.

"You'll hurt yourself," Kotoha scolded softly and immediately Gyutaro hunched even further over... like he was ashamed. Kanae stored that information in the back of her mind for later.

"You proved yourselves when you resisted Sanemi's marechi blood," Kanae soothed gently. "I told the Master I didn't think there'd be a problem and that if anything, it would prove your self-control to the other hashiras."

The demons seemed to perk up at those words.

"So you really have full faith in us?" Akaza demanded, arching a brow.

"No," Shinobu grumbled, soft enough to not speak for everyone.

"I do," Kanae contradicted. "Fully and completely."

The group wasn't sure what to do with that and were strangely silent for the rest of the tour. They eyed up the porch and the training room without a word of protest, at least until Kanae showed them the five rooms of the wing.

"I get my own room!" Mirakuru cried in joy, erupting from the silence.

"We get our own room!" Gyutaro and Daki were equally awed.

"FUCK YES!" Gyutaro dove for the first room he could, Daki on his heels.

"You cretins," Akaza hissed after them. "Control yourselves!"

"Inosuke! Inosuke you need the room next to mine!" Miku demanded, pulling Inosuke after her (which was surprisingly easy for the young girl to do).

"What are we, animals!?" Akaza cried. "We need to allot rooms fairly!"

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Inosuke and Gyutaro's voices came from the opposite sides of the hallway in a comical moment of synchronization that led to both of them cackling.

Doma was chuckling as he stared down the hall, Kotoha leaning on his arm with a smile on her face. They were as entertained by this as Kanae was.

"Go pick out your room, Akaza," Kotoha urged. "We'll take whatever's leftover."

Akaza grumbled on his way to the furthest door on the right, next to the room Six had taken for themselves.

Kanae watched them settle in and couldn't help but giggle a few times.

"They're loud," Shinobu muttered as she turned and went to go on her nightly check of the recovering slayers. Kanae smiled after her and looked over at Kanao as the chaos continued.

"What do you think, Kanao?" she asked softly.

The girl stood there, smiling, not saying a word or betraying an opinion. Kanae took that to mean something good and chuckled. She had a good feeling about all this, the same feeling she had with Tanjiro and his sister. The same feeling she had about little Kanao.

Doma and Kotoha turned around and looked at her, something strange in both of their eyes. It was Kotoha who walked up and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Kanae-san. Thank you for all you've done," she bowed.

"It's my pleasure Kotoha-san," Kanae greeted with equal politeness. "I hope that over time, humans and demons will be able to work together. I hope you all grow to trust me, and that I find I can trust you. I hope you find a home here..."

Kotoha seemed to have a strange but happy look in her eyes. She was critical, perhaps of Kanae's intentions (which was understandable given their first meeting), but there was no denying an excitement at the word 'home'.

She looked back at Doma and Kanae saw him smile at whatever he saw in Kotoha's eyes.

"I do too," Kotoha murmured finally, looking back at Kanae. "It's been a while since any of us had a home."

"Mama!" On cue, Mirakuru came skidding out of her new room. "Can I go explore the garden?"

Kotoha glanced at Kanae. "That's a question for Kanae-san."

The girl looked to the hashira expectantly and how could Kanae say no? She was too cute!

"Of course!" she cried happily. "The gardens are yours to explore, just be kind to the plants."

"Yay!" the girl took off like an arrow down the hall and towards the porch, blowing past her parents and Kanae with an inhuman speed. Her youthfulness seemed to make even Kanao's smile purer and Kanae felt her chest blossom in hope.

Her next letter would be a lovely rebuttal to Sanemi's pessimism.

(Kanae: Hmm, I don't know if I trust these demons, but I do think they may be a chance to take down Muzan.

Mirakuru: *exists*

Kanae: NEW. SISTER. AQUIRED!

Sorry it's been a while guys. I will be moving soon so updates may not be super reliable for a few weeks. That being said, I hope you guys stick around and continue to enjoy our lovely growing family. 

Have a great day/night!)