A/N: I just realized that I forgot the trigger warnings for the earlier chapters that they were necessary for, so I'll add those soon.

TW: Panic Attack, Descriptions of Blood and Gore

If you are uncomfortable with any of these, then feel free to click off now.

•-•-•

Birthdays. A concept completely foreign to (Y/N) and Kanao.

According to Kanae, birthdays are a celebration of a person's birth. Honestly, to both (Y/N) and Kanao, it seemed meaningless. Why spend time and money and effort on a celebration when you could spend those things differently?

Kanae tried to change their view on the subject, pointing out the sentimental value of having something more to celebrate each year. Birthdays made a point each year to look forward to, and it usually was a happy moment.

These points changed nothing.

Kanae gave up, and Shinobu was up next. She first tried with (Y/N), saying that it was an important part of being a sibling to celebrate their family members' birthdays, calling both old and babies, and giving them good memories. (Y/N) didn't like being called old.

Shinobu tried with Kanao next. She didn't get too far, with Kanao, being separated from (Y/N), not even considering her words.

Aoi didn't even try to convince the siblings of a birthday's value.

•-•-•

It was only a day after the siblings had arrived at the Butterfly Estate, and they'd learned quite a bit. Kanae, Shinobu, and Aoi were giving (Y/N) and Kanao as much of an education as they could, giving them writing, reading, and history lessons.

After that part of the day, Kanae held to her promise of teaching (Y/N) and Kanao about demon slaying, but with a catch. In order to learn about the demon slayers, they would have to agree to have birthdays.

Well, (Y/N) and Kanao had birthdays, but they either didn't remember it, or didn't know it in the first place.

It was an easy deal for them to accept, accepting birthdays in return for learning about the organization that the estate supported. The hard part was figuring out a birthday for both of them.

"Say, nee-san, what day was yesterday?" Shinobu asked. She and Kanae were sitting on the engawa, staring at the small fish pond behind the estate.

"The nineteenth of May, why?" Kanae responded. She looked over at Shinobu, who looked deep in thought. It wasn't often that she saw her sister with such a deep look.

"Aha! I've got it!" Shinobu exclaimed, shooting up from her seat and waving her arms. "We can have their birthdays be May nineteenth!"

"Ara, you sure are excited about this. Alright, it does make sense, but they have to agree first." Kanae didn't want to dampen her sister's enthusiasm, but she had to state the facts.

Shinobu's eyes filled with fire. "Oh, they will. I swear that I, Kocho Shinobu, will make the Tsuyuri siblings feel the love of a birthday!" Shinobu stood and ran inside, searching for Aoi. Kanae chuckled lightly, but followed her sister inside the estate.

•-•-•

(Y/N) was helping Kanao look over her notes from when the butterfly girls were teaching them how to read and write. (Y/N) already knew how to read and write, but he thought it would be disrespectful to point it out to the very people who had saved his life the day before. So, he would stick to helping Kanao understand the simple writings that she looked over now.

"Look, imouto. These," (Y/N) pointed to the assortment of characters on the paper. "are the kanji for our surname, Tsuyuri. They mean chestnut, flower, and fall, respectively." Kanao nodded dutifully, documenting the information in her mind.

"And these are the katakana for your first name. They don't have any special meaning, but it's important to know them." Kanao nodded again, then looked up at (Y/N).

"So-" Kanao's question was cut off by the sliding door opening behind the pair. Kanae walked in, and said, "(Y/N)-kun, Kanao-chan, please follow me to the kitchen. We have a surprise for you." She was hiding excitement, that much was clear, but (Y/N) chose not to comment on it.

"Come on, imouto. Let's see what surprise they have waiting for us." (Y/N) stood and walked towards Kanae near the door, beckoning his sister to follow. Kanao quickly placed her pen and paper away before following.

•-•-•

Kanae led the pair of children through the halls of the Butterfly Estate, though it was taking an oddly long time to reach their destination. (Y/N) could tell that the trio had passed through the same hallway three times now, and had been avoiding an entire side of the estate like it had the plague.

"Uh... Kanae-san?" (Y/N) asked hesitantly. Kanae seemed to jump slightly, but that might've been a trick of (Y/N)'s imagination.

"Oh, yes, (Y/N)-kun?" Kanae didn't stutter nor stumble over her words, but she still sounded nervous. For what, though?

"We've walked through this same hallway four times now. Aren't we supposed to be going to the kitchen?" (Y/N) was still hesitant about asking, as he didn't know how Kanae would react. She didn't seem like a bad person, but all of his trust wasn't there.

"Ara, we have, haven't we? I'm sorry, shall we head to the kitchen now?" Without waiting for a response, Kanae began walking down a hall. (Y/N) and Kanao shared a look. Something was definitely wrong with Kanae.

Still, the siblings followed the older girl dutifully.

•-•-•

It took five minutes to reach the kitchen, and the entire way, (Y/N) could swear that he heard Kanae mumbling about something being ready.

Weird... Kanao and (Y/N) had thought in sync. But no matter, as they had finally reached their destination: the kitchen. There was a lot of clatter coming from inside, and Kanae looked seriously nervous, far more so than before.

"Uh... Aoi-chan, Shinobu, are you okay in there?" Kanae called into the kitchen. A very distressed Shinobu came to the door, her hands covered in flour.

"Nee-san, we need your help! The rice-" Shinobu caught herself as her eyes landed on (Y/N) and Kanao, who were standing just behind Kanae. "Um, nee-san... just bring them to the dining room, then come help, we need it!" She quickly returned to the kitchen, followed by Aoi screaming in surprise.

"Well, you heard her. Let's go to the dining room, then." Kanae smiled down at the children, but the nervousness never left her.

"Seriously, Kanae-san. What's going on?" (Y/N) asked. He was still a little mistrusting in her friendliness, but his curiosity outweighed it. "We've been walking around for so long, then when we finally reach our destination, we go somewhere else." (Y/N) was trying his hardest to get his point across while still being respectful, which was a little hard.

His legs were beginning to ache from the walking, and his mood was dropping the longer that Kanae was stalling for something. Not to mention Kanao, who was barely standing from all of the movement.

Kanae regarded the pair with a glance, then said, "I apologize, (Y/N)-kun, Kanao-chan. You just have to bear with it for a bit longer. I'm sure that the girls will be done by the time that we make it to the dining room." Kanae paused for a moment, then said, "Trust me."

From an outside perspective, (Y/N) was just staring at Kanae, but in his mind's eye, he saw a completely different scene...

•-•-•

A young (Y/N) sat on a mat across from a girl a little older than him. She took his hand, and placed it between hers.

"Trust me." She had said.

(Y/N)'s memory shifted to a small town, where each house was splattered with blood and dismembered limbs. An icy permafrost covered the doorways and interiors of each house, and screams were heard in the distance. A young (Y/N) peeked into one of the houses, presumably his, and saw the bloodied head of the girl he was taking to earlier.

That was all that he could remember before he ran.

On his way out of his clan's town, he met a tall, pale-blonde man. (Y/N) didn't immediately recognize the man, but ran towards him anyways.

"Help! Help-" (Y/N)'s voice died in his throat when the man turned. The unnatural, rainbow-colored eyes stuck out first. Then (Y/N) saw the kanji in his eyes.

No, not him.

Its.

The one kanji that (Y/N) could see from his position read "Upper".

Recognizing the threat, (Y/N) ran in the opposite direction. The thing, the monster that did these horrible things to his clan, who weren't even good themselves, called out to him.

"Little boy! Are you okay? Why are you running from me? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

That enticed him to run even faster.

He didn't stop nor look back once, he couldn't afford to. The blood and ice that coated the ground was a grim reminder of what his fate could've been.

(Y/N) barely escaped due to the rising sun. He learned to not trust people then... so why would he now?

•-•-•

(Y/N)'s heart began to beat faster, why did he have to remember now? The image of Kanae's face shifted between her own and the dismembered head of his relative. (Y/N) blinked once, twice, but the image never faded.

Tears began to well up in his eyes. It was too much to handle.

No, no, no! I can't cry now, not in front of Kanae-san, not in front of Kanao! (Y/N) was barely able to keep his tears in check, and his breathing began to pick up pace. It soon grew out of control, on the verge of hyperventilating.

Kanao was the first to pick up on (Y/N)'s panic. Kanae had already turned away, so she couldn't see (Y/N) breaking down, but she would soon hear him.

Kanao wrapped her arms around (Y/N) and pulled him down. This was possibly the worst spot to have a panic attack, the likes of which were becoming more common the longer that (Y/N) was repressing his memories.

Kanae turned back around to face the Tsuyuri siblings, and immediately crouched down to (Y/N) and Kanao's level, recognizing the panic in his eyes.

Kanae had dealt with panicking patients plenty of times as a doctor at the Butterfly Estate, but she'd never dealt with a child before.

Kanao, on the other hand, had dealt with (Y/N)'s panic attacks on many occasions during their time together, and she learned that holding him close always helped. It kept him grounded and aware of his surroundings.

"Nii-san! It's okay, I'm here, imouto's here." Kanao spoke soothing words into (Y/N)'s ear, her voice never rising above her normal whisper, but with a tone of extreme concern.

Kanae wanted to help, she really did, but she knew that she was an outsider in this situation. So, she stayed crouched near the siblings, but not too close as to not trigger (Y/N).

•-•-•

After about five minutes of walking and apologies from both (Y/N) and Kanae, the Tsuyuri siblings were sitting cross-legged at a low table, and Kanae had left to help Shinobu and Aoi in the kitchen, though not without one final apology to (Y/N) and Kanao.

Kanao was, surprisingly, the first to speak in the silence that followed, saying, "Nii-san... are you okay now?" Her voice was a sweet difference from the screams that haunted (Y/N)'s mind.

(Y/N) nodded in response, but upon seeing his sister's unconvinced expression, he spoke instead. "Yes, imouto. I'm fine now."

To avoid an awkward silence, (Y/N) had to come up with a new topic quick. Plus, he had to find some way to clear his mind of the horrors that plagued it.

"So... did you see what was going on in the kitchen? I didn't get a good look." Kanao perked up at this.

"I saw Shinobu-san and Aoi-san cooking! They were making some rice balls, but I couldn't see what else they were making." Kanao looked truly proud of herself for spotting Shinobu and Aoi from the distance that she was at, wearing a large smile. (Y/N) couldn't help but be proud, too.

"Great job, imouto! I didn't know that your eyesight was that good!" (Y/N) had effectively distracted himself, and he could barely remember the memory that was imprinted into his mind during his panic attack. He now wore a matching, no, larger smile than his sister, and he cheered for her.

"Now, who do you think that they're making that for? Kanae-san said that it's only us in the estate at the moment, and that's a feast!" (Y/N) splayed his arms out to emphasize his point.

Kanao giggled lightly at this, then responded, "I don't know. Maybe it's about that birthday thing?"

(Y/N) nodded thoughtfully, then agreed with a small "maybe".

Kanao yawned, then her eyes began to droop and flutter.

The little adventure around the estate plus my panic attack must've taken more out of her than I thought, (Y/N) realized.

Suddenly, Kanao's head dropped onto (Y/N)'s shoulder. He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and hugged her close.

"Just stay awake a little longer, imouto. I think Kanae-san, Shinobu-san, and Aoi-san should be done with whatever they're cooking soon." Kanao hummed, but didn't move her head from (Y/N)'s shoulder.

(Y/N) sighed, then chuckled to himself. "My shoulder was always the most comfortable pillow for you, wasn't it?" (Y/N) chuckled again. "It's okay, I'll wake you up when I hear them."

Kanao hummed again, and her breathing slowed and evened out.

(Y/N) smiled down at his sister's sleeping form, and his eyes began to flutter closed, too.

That was, until the sliding door was slammed to one side, and a disheveled Shinobu and Aoi stumbled in, holding plates of food.

(Y/N) yelled in surprise, and Kanao shot up from her rest. Kanao almost yelled, too. Aoi did yell, and she almost dropped her food.

"Hey! Don't yell like that!" Shinobu yelled.

Hypocrite, (Y/N) thought to himself.

Still, (Y/N) stood to help the girls carry in the plates. There were only two plates in total.

For all that time, there's only two plates?

"Sorry... we tried to make more... but you saw how that went..." Aoi deflated as she looked at the lackluster meal.

One plate, the one that Shinobu held, had onigiri and sushi, and the other, the one that Aoi held, had fried tempura of so many assorted flavors with a few sauces.

"I'm scared to ask, Aoi-san, Shinobu-san, but what happened to the rest of the food?" (Y/N) dared to ask.

If it was even possible, Aoi deflated further. Shinobu just sighed and continued her walk to the low table.

"Long story short, they rushed and ruined most of the food." Kanae slid the door open and stepped in. She stood across the table from (Y/N) and Kanao.

Once Shinobu finished placing her plate down, she beckoned Aoi to follow her to Kanae's side.

The three girls shared a look, then yelled at once.

"Happy Birthday!"

...

...

...

"what?"

...

...

...

"S-since you agreed to having a birthday, both of you," Kanae began, a little nervous, "we decided that your birthday would be the day that we adopted you two. But since that was yesterday..." Kanae gestured to the food. "We decided to make you both a little birthday lunch, no, dinner. It's a day late, and a lot of it got ruined, but,"

All three of the butterfly girls bowed their heads in sync. "We're sorry for the trouble, and we hope you like it!"

(Y/N) waved his hands around, trying to get them to stop. "No! Don't bow, we should be thankful to you! You've done so much more for us!"

To prove his point, (Y/N) muttered a small prayer before grabbing a pair of chopsticks and picking up a sushi roll. He bit into it, and his mouth exploded in flavor. (Y/N) moaned in delight as he said, "This is amazing, Shinobu-san, Aoi-san! How did you make this sushi so well?"

Both girls flushed from the praise.

(Y/N) nudged the now awake, but very groggy, Kanao. "Come on, have some!" He passed her a an onigiri and continued eating.

Kanao's eyes lit in shock and joy as she bit into the onigiri. No words were needed to express her pleasure with the food.

"Come on, come on, try the tempura!" Aoi was no longer dejected as (Y/N) and Kanao were enjoying the meal.

Soon, the Tsuyuri siblings had tried all three of the dishes, and (Y/N) beckoned the butterfly girls to eat with them.

"You guys deserve to have some, too! Look, there's enough for all of you!" (Y/N) gestured to the remaining onigiri, sushi, and tempura.

The girls were quick to oblige, sitting and grabbing chopsticks.

At least, that's what they thought they would do. Instead of that, the trio of girls found only two pairs of chopsticks.

They looked at each other, no doubt mentally debating who wouldn't get chopsticks.

How do they do that...? (Y/N) thought. He looked to Kanao, who had a similar expression to his, pure confusion.

As if on cue, the three dashed for the chopsticks, and the winners were already decided.

There was simply no hope for Aoi; she was facing two Demon Slayers, who were definitely faster than herself.

Despite this, she laughed along with the other two butterfly girls. The two Kocho siblings began to take pieces of sushi and tempura.

Aoi was about to stand, but a piece of tempura was extended across the table to her. Following the arms that held the chopsticks, she met the eyes of (Y/N).

"Here. I saw that you didn't get chopsticks, so you can have these. I don't think I'm going to eat anymore." Aoi flushed, but still accepted the tempura, muttering a small "thanks".

Kanae, Shinobu, and Kanao looked at the interaction with curiosity.

Ara, ara. Is Aoi-chan interested in (Y/N)-kun? Shinobu thought with amusement as she watched (Y/N) feed Aoi after she refused the chopsticks.

As if hearing her thoughts, Kanae lightly smacked Shinobu on the back of the head. It was as if she was saying, "Don't think that, they only met a day ago!"

Kanao just smiled, happy that her brother seemed happy, and that Aoi got some food, too.

•-•-•

That night, Shinobu was the one to make sure that the younger residents of the estate were sleeping soundly.

It was nice, and it gave her time to think about matters more.

The first thing her mind wandered to was the miserably failed birthday dinner that she and Aoi had made for (Y/N) and Kanao. Shinobu was dissatisfied with her work, but it all changed when the Tsuyuri siblings showed their appreciation and love for the dish. Ah, the feeling she felt when she saw their eyes light up was amazing.

Shinobu peeked into (Y/N) and Kanao's shared room, and saw them sound asleep. Smiling, she stepped out.

Next, she had to think of Aoi and (Y/N). The moment they shared was short, but it was very interesting. The way Aoi's face flushed when (Y/N) held out the tempura that she was so proud of making for her. Oh, the thought made Shinobu smile.

The pair had only met a day ago, but she could tell that they already had a chance for something to happen.

Ah, young love.

Wait, I'm only a few years older than them! Shinobu mentally scolded.

She slid Aoi's door open and peeked in. Aoi was snoring, so Shinobu slipped out of the room silently.

After doing her rounds through the Butterfly Estate, Shinobu retired to her room, blew out the candle, and set in for a good sleep.

•-•-•

Taisho Secrets

- Yes, both Kanao and (Y/N)'s birthdays are on the same day.

- Kanae has gained big sister instincts over (Y/N) and Kanao, even if she doesn't realize yet.

- (Y/N) wouldn't mind having a birthday again.

- Aoi, one day after meeting (Y/N), has caught the seeds of romance...

•-•-•

Double update goes crazyyyyyy

And chapter three is done! I was trying to capture the essence of what a birthday really is in this chapter, and I tried my best with it. Also, (Y/N)'s "condition" with his memories is progressing, albeit slowly. Anyhow, hoped you enjoyed, wonderful people, and I would love to hear any criticisms you have!

じゃあね！

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