Gaining Power

The trip home this time was a li'l bit slower.

So many injured and poisoned survivors were loaded on wagons after treatment from Shinobu.

'Toki-sama...do you feel strange?' Shinobu inquired, wondering if Toki noticed her condition. 'Do you still feel...knowing?' she was right on the money regarding poisoned victims and cocooned victims.

'Humm...not anymore...it's starting to go away...wonder what happened...' Toki wondered aloud, confused. Shinobu took out a mirror and had Toki look at her face... 'Kyaaa! M-my eyes!' she freaked out.

'I'm guessing that's a new development.' Giyu commented as Toki frantically rubbed her eyes because Toki hadn't known that she changed. Again. 'Maybe it's something your teacher would know. That...baby...was it?'

'I hope he does! People's eyes don't just glow like heated metal dammit!'

'How did you get to that state anyway?'

'Well, when I felt I really wanted to do something no matter what, fueled by determination and resolve enough for a dying will level of those...I gained an awareness I normally wouldn't have...and now you're telling me my eyes are glowing...just what happened to me? Right now I feel my body breaking too. But psychosomatically, not literal-physical breaking or we'd be having problems.'

'You and us both.' Shinobu shrugged. 'Maybe we'll know in breakfast tomorrow.'

Sometime later, her eyes went back to normal as they told her during the trip home to her relief.

xxx

Sunrise...

They got back home for an early-morning Pillar Trial.

A crow got home before they did, naturally.

So before breakfast, all Pillars were assembled for Nezuko to prove she wasn't what they expected.

'What took you so long, Toki?' Reborn asked as she got back for breakfast in their room.

'Hummm, it was a long trip to Natagumo on foot~it was an emergency summon so we had to run on foot because we're faster than the wagons.' Toki giggled, earning her deadpan looks.

She was someone who taught the boys how to move like ninjas while defying physics and human biology, dammit.

'There's a Lower Moon Rank 5 and sensei's successor nearly got killed Giyu-dono and I barely made it on time too.' Toki pouted as she recalled what happened on the mission, leaving out some stuff.

'So the kid has a demon sister who can resist marechi and YOU'RE one?!'

'Well, that's the ultimate test and we repeated that test through Sanemi-dono who's also a marechi.' said Toki. 'Nezuko-san passed with flying colors so now her existence is tolerated...but one wrong move...'

Yeah, that.

'We're all on the fence about this one.' said Toki. 'But I got a feeling it'll turn out well. Oh yes, there will be a Pillar Meeting after lunch, to give Tanjiro a chance to rest before we make him talk and we'll all attend. So no training this morning, OK?'

'What'll we do until then?'

'Humm...what games does this era have again, after Shamal checks the Pillars' condition?'

xxx

Butterfly Mansion...

Kanzaki Aoi was busy, along with her younger helpers.

They work as nurses who learned under the Kochou Sisters. Injuries and medicinal administration? You name it they've done it!

But they also learned something neat, thanks to Toki-sama.

How to cook very delicious food and perfectly-fluffy rice! However, the dishes are very specific for blood restoration, and strong bones and muscles. Wild Boar is frequently caught. A rather unique taste on Toki-sama's insistence, as it's good for blood and how to cook it properly. Then 'medicinal dishes' for everything else!

And such deliciousness can make anyone very motivated to eat, no? To quote Toki-sama, 'Medicine originally came from plants and animals. We're just consuming them in a tastier way instead of yucky, bitter pills outside medicinal recommendations, right? To eat is also to heal...if you do it right!'

Only the Pillars and patients in their mansion eat specific recipes. Otherwise, everyone else can eat anything else!

Thus the mansion, rife with patients, gets to eat well ever since and recover better with more life than ever.

Just that, food is also an effective motivator. Like now.

She threatens one Agatsuma Zenitsu that 'No food for a day if you don't take your medicine!' to his horror as she and the girls cheerfully feed other patients.

At least her other patients were easier to deal with. Though why is boar head so...depressed? Sure he eats and drinks but other than that...

...then there's the boy with weird earrings. He was like the sun shined because he was so nice! But uh...did he have to bring his demon sister here? At least she stays in her box most of the time...then in came Toki-sama.

'You're that girl from before!' Tanjiro was somewhat wary about her. She was crazy enough to tempt his sister to her face with her own blood!

'WHAAAT?! HOW ON EARTH DO YOU GET ALL THE GIRLS, TANJIRO?! She's gorgeous!' Zenitsu howled at the unfairness of it all before he got KO-ed by a well-placed neck-chop from said girl, making Aoi happy and Tanjiro even more wary while eyeing the downed blonde.

'Now now, everything we've done is justified~considering the situation.' Toki said as if she just didn't knock out one of the patients. 'Be happy that your sister passed the verdict or else, but we got to admit, we've never seen one like her.' she said, sitting on his bed by his side. 'To think an oni like her can possibly be around...it's a little shocking. Normally they jump on you and kill you before eating you, even if you're a family member...now what made Nezuko different, and not eat you?'

'Beats me, I'm just glad she recognized me after a few minutes of being primal.' said Tanjiro sheepishly before sighing. 'But ever since she behaves like a toddler that suddenly knows how to fight when Nezuko was a prim and proper girl learning lady skills before getting married...she's got suitors in the village a day away from our house and last I checked, our parents didn't teach her how to fight. That boggles my mind.'

'I heard from Giyu-dono that your family's job were Charcoal Burners, correct?'

'Erm, yeah.'

'Doesn't earn much for obvious reasons.' Tanjiro winced.

It doesn't.

100 sen = 1 yen.

Charcoal cost 10 sen a bag. To make 1 yen, he has to sell to restaurants and homes and the Village down below was pretty small. And it's a first-come first-serve basis as his family wasn't the only charcoal sellers around!

They'll be lucky to be able to buy rice and the cheapest fish if they sell well. Otherwise Tanjiro had to make do with hunting all else in the mountains and foraging for a full stomach. A kilogram of rice is 1 yen and the cheapest fish is also 1 yen. Some vegetables are really cheap. Some not. So he learned how to improvise with his father's help.

'...rich people get the luxury of having an education and a childhood while peasants like us must face reality so soon, or starve and be homeless.' Tanjiro winced at that. 'You and Nezuko are forced to grow up to live, worrying about food, taxes and clothes. You never had the chance to study, play and make friends. You began doing jobs at a young age, and Nezuko's focusing on mastering housewife skills to marry into a household that has a better life.' Tanjiro and Aoi winced at the realities of life laid out to them.

'Any sane girl would think about that, buuut let's not neglect that yeah, a girl dreams of marrying into a richer family but she has to make sure her husband and in-laws will care for her too, instead of hurt and make her life hell. As a brother you gotta watch out for that.'

'R-right...' Tanjiro gulped.

'Nezuko going toddler means she regressed to childhood before becoming aware of her world. Her ability to fight must be an inborn trait of oni anywhere...oni when newborn, are truly savage monsters. The more humans they eat, they gain a distorted form of their old selves back, without their human memories. Yet strangely, Nezuko recognizes you as her brother...perhaps eating humans has a corruptive effect in exchange for power and intelligence. Not eating even a drop of blood perhaps let Nezuko retain her true personality and her humanity, the ability to recognize people she once knew thus the drive NOT to kill and eat anyone, retaining her morals and a sense of right and wrong. She is the first Oni to do so...which is fascinating.'

'And toddlers, can be taught and trained. See where I'm going with this one?' Toki told Tanjiro encouragingly. 'With your Mizunoto salary, you can give Nezuko a childhood, and yourselves of things you were denied of by poverty.'

'...how much is our salary exactly? I had no idea we were paid, even.' Tanjiro blinked causing Toki and Aoi to choke.

'Nobody told you?! Talk about irresponsible!' Aoi gasped out. 'A Mizunoto's monthly salary is 200.000 yen!' Tanjiro gasped in shock. He could live the life of the rich with that money for years!

'200.000 yen?!' he howled in a high-pitched voice. 'Nezuko and I can live for several years in comfort with that money!'

'And it goes up the higher we're promoted...until you reach Hashira status where you can demand how much you want your salary to be. Let your imagination give you ideas.' Toki smiled as Tanjiro went cracked granite as Tanjiro-dot-exe crashed. 'Teach Nezuko how to talk, and then get an education. That way she can gain intelligence without having to eat people and lose herself in the process. You can even let her be a child for once in her life, gaining a childhood you two were denied of, out of necessity.'

'I'll be raising Nezuko to do good?'

'In a nutshell, yes and it helps that she is good-natured herself. Slowly but surely, she'll regain herself.' Toki encouraged. 'She's a newborn oni and it shows in her nearly-human appearance when all oni have pasty-white skin like corpses and feral, beastly looks, like in Fujikazane. The only oni thing about your sister are her eyes, four fangs and claws. Her skin is still human-like though her hair got a little colored.'

'But taste even a drop of blood...' Tanjiro croaked out, dreading the obvious next.

'It's all over. Nezuko's personality will take on a corrupted, distorted version of it and completely transform...and that's when execution happens.' Toki warned. 'Raise your sister well, Tanjiro. While she's still a baby. Teach her right and wrong, and to defy her oni instincts more.'

'Right. I'll raise her right so nobody gets a reason to kill my sister.' Tanjiro swore to her. 'And I've done lots of babysitting, I know how to take care of her.'

'Good kid. Just remember that unlike human toddlers, Nezuko retains the ability to understand words and stuff she may know as she gets her memories back OK? Don't baby her TOO much. She will grow and develop at a quicker rate, considering she's an adolescent when she regressed. How old was she two years ago before she was turned?'

'Erm 12...I'm a year older than her so she's 14 now despite how she looks.' said Tanjiro. 'So she'll learn faster?'

'Yup! Well, here, for your bones.' Toki gave him three pills. 'One every meal just for today and the rest will come from Shinobu-dono.' Its not quite for bones, but rather its to regenerate to heal faster, so she can train him asap.

'Thank you, Toki-san.' said Tanjiro gratefully, before taking on a clueless look. 'But uh...what's a childhood?'

'Oh dear...Aoi-san, did Tanjiro already have breakfast?'

'Er not yet, he came quite late so the cooks are still cooking it...' said Aoi.

'Well, I'll teach you how to raise young girls after you eat, alright? Get some rest first. Can't focus on learning on an empty stomach!' and she left.

'...childhood...huh?' Tanjiro mused, in a wondering sort of daze.

xxx

Later that day...at a Pillar Meeting...

Tanjiro was made to reveal what he just told three Pillars in the Mountain, only, with more detail and clarity. Nezuko was not far from them, being told by Shamal to draw what she remembers so she was drawing using charcoal pencils on paper. He had to subtly use his Mist Flames on her to 'teach' her the skill of drawing.

'I see...so that's how you got into cooperating with this lady?' Gyomei asked Tanjiro. 'She's clearly not in Asakusa anymore and moved elsewhere to avoid Muzan with her apprentice.'

'Yes...that bastard even has a human family...a wife and a daughter...murderer by night while playing house by day as Yushiro-san puts it.' said Tanjiro unhappily.

'That's a little unsettling...they're probably food reserves, those poor souls.' said Shinobu. 'And that cat, most likely turned into an Oni as well for use as familiar messenger.'

'We will locate and make dealings with Tamayo for when the time comes.' said Kagaya. 'I want to see where she stands as well. She seems to be on good terms with you, Tanjiro.'

'Well...she cried when Nezuko considers her 'human'.' said Tanjiro. 'Urokodaki-san's suggestions were to treat all Oni as enemy and Humans are family she must protect during her two years of hibernation. She would have sensed Tamayo-san as an Oni but based on what she sees...sees women who treat her kindly as our mom and anyone around my age or younger as our younger brothers. Somehow...Tamayo-san felt thankful and saved at that point. So she was willing to help Nezuko.' Kagaya nodded at that.

'Well I hope she comes up with something. Because nobody stays a child forever.' said Shamal. 'Nezuko's developing quickly.' he said, holding up a drawing showing a large family and they can see who's who in the drawing. 'She remembers her family and weird-kimono boy over there.' he said, glancing at Giyu who flinched because...well...he was wearing a weird haori by standards, even if its a memento. Shamal held up a drawing of Giyu. Nezuko's skill level in drawing was what you'd expect from a child who had basic drawing lessons.

'Ahahaha I hope so too.' said Tanjiro sheepishly. He was glad Nezuko remembers their parents and siblings.

'Now then, Toki-sama...Shinobu and Giyu told me something interesting.'

'I don't understand it either...Reborn, do you know a condition where if you put resolve into dying will levels-' Reborn and Shamal looked sharply at her, '-to do something no matter the cost, I felt my body change. My body felt like it was breaking and I got awareness that easily surpassed what I gain when I activate my mark.' she said, repeating what she did last night, causing her eyes to glow again. 'I know things I normally wouldn't know, like the world is telling me things.'

'...its related to your bloodline, Toki.' said Reborn, amazed that she awakened on her own by accident. 'If the Ubuyashiki Family is Intuitive Instinct, yours is Hyper-Intuition connected to another power that makes it possible. Both your family, and Kagaya's family have similar elements in that regard. People of that element tend to know more than they should, and nobody can ever lie to them.'

He never dreamed he'll explain Flames so soon. He was just glad that the Vindice aren't technologically-savvy in this era yet that Omerta can STILL be broken here without them knowing and even better, Japan's off their radar at this time unlike in the future.

'You partially-awakened on your own, we'll have to complete that now.' said Reborn. 'A partial-awakened state is bad.'

He lectured about Flames...and what they can all do, as well as demonstrating his own.

'Ooh! Pretty!' Mitsuri squealed, 'Like fireworks!'

'Activation can mean just about anything.' said Reborn. 'Triggering healing or dormant hereditary diseases, or still activating bombs that are duds...possibilities are endless. Just get creative.' he snorted. 'Kagaya-san and Toki are Skies. And its risky to awaken Kagaya the way he is now and I get the feeling all of you will cut me to pieces. As for awakening everyone else, it's OK with the minimal side effect of losing your clothes except for your underwear.'

The looks on their faces were priceless.

'And because bras don't exist in this era, I have made some for Shinobu and Mitsuri. Toki, assist them in dressing up.' Reborn handed Toki a package.

'Next room please...I got a bad feeling how awkward this is gonna be...'

'Bad enough I saw her in a bra!' Gokudera buried his face in his hands.

'Girls first and we're not present...or else...' Obanai was murderously insistent for Mitsuri's sake.

'O-of course Iguro, otherwise that'd be plain wrong!' Kyojuurou quickly reassured the man.

And so...when the girls presented...

Shinobu was a Rain and Mitsuri a Sun.

When the boys were hit...

Tengen was Lightning, Kyojuurou Storm, Obanai a Mist, Gyomei was Sun, Giyu was Rain, Muichiro was Mist and Sanemi was Cloud. Tanjiro was a Sky.

Hibari was Cloud, Gokudera Storm and Yamamoto a Rain. Toki had to be fully-awakened via a bullet to the head as well.

'Mm. Looks like we have training to do.' Reborn swore off seeing men AND women in frigging fundoshi as Toki would tell him that's their underwear until westernization happened.

And considering the situation, Reborn cannot shoot Nezuko but he CAN shoot Zenitsu and Inosuke, as they're Tanjiro's...

Training began immediately with Reborn heading the classes, while Shamal took care of Nezuko. However, Shamal took over when Reborn had to go to the present real fast or else.

And at night, Toki began teaching Tanjiro.

'You mean the identity of the Hinokagura was a Breathing Technique? And a swordsman snuck it into my family making us his heirs?' Tanjiro croaked at Toki in disbelief.

'Yes. It was out of genuine friendship and that sneak-training will make anyone move instinctually at the face of danger, saving them in turn.' Toki told him. 'I'll show you the dance first.'

Toki danced the Hinokagura in all its twelve forms.

'Now for the techniques...its a little stressful for me to do as its not compatible with me so watch closely, alright?'

'Alright.'

'First Form: Enbu.' A single high-powered slash.

'Second Form: Clear Blue Sky.' she spins her body vertically to create a 360-degree slash.

'Third Form: Raging Sun. This is an interception technique to parry attacks you can't dodge.' she unleashes two horizontal slashes to hit or intercept an enemy from the front or side.

'Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow. The user utilizes this technique to evade incoming attacks with high-speed twists and rotations, thus creating afterimages. The afterimages work most effectively on enemies with good vision as they will probably fail attack the afterimage instead of the actual body of the user.' and she demonstrated just that.

'Fifth Form: Fire Wheel. You leap behind the opponent and spins in the air while releasing an attack in a circular motion.'

'Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun. A front-attack interception.' Toki does a circular slash at front.

'Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust.' Toki made a powerful thrust.

'Eighth Form: Solar Heat Haze. A little tricky reliant on both speed and power as you charge towards the target, attacking it with a haze covered slash that seemingly fails to hit, but actually does hit.'

'Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation.' she flips into the air to deliver an upended sword slash.

'Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance.' spirals into the air to deliver a powerful slash to those caught in it.

'Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance. Resembling a dragon, you move in circles to avoid enemy attacks and slashes then multiple times at the target.'

'Twelfth Form: Flame Dance.' A two-combo strike which starts with a vertical slash and then a horizontal one right after.

'And the Thirteenth and Final Form is basically doing all forms all at once with your entire power behind all attacks. Its very strong as a result so you'll have to train hard.' Toki gasped out as doing all that stressed her as it was NOT her match to begin with.

'Thank you very much, Toki-san!' Tanjiro bowed from his waist.

'And the Thirteenth Attack is the only thing that can kill Muzan, ensuring it strikes all his vital organs.' Toki told him. 'I'll teach you how to use the See-Through World with our Flames...and I'll teach you all you need to know.'

'Hai!'

'I'll have you master Full-Focus Breathing and Physical Training during your Rehab Period, shall I? Worry about the techniques later. If you have a weak body those techniques are useless.'