Rengoku was taken to the butterfly estate to heal. He'd sustained injuries but none inherently life-threatening. It would take him a few weeks to heal, but he'd be able to continue fighting. All thanks to you.

Why had you saved him? Why did Akaza respect you so much? There were so many questions swirling within Rengoku's mind, and so many unanswered. Rengoku refused to believe you didn't have any ulterior motives.

Surely there must be a catch to your saving him. He'd have to discuss this with the master. This could be a devastating win or loss, depending on how the master felt about you. If you were able to prove yourself the way Nezuko had, then the slayers had an ally that was on par with Muzan.

Rengoku steeled himself for a quick recovery. He needed to speak with master and he needed to do so as quickly as possible. He decided to send a crow to the master, detailing the mission and as much as he could about you.

He found himself thinking of your beauty, your physical appeal, and dear god your absolutely sinful motherly instincts. Rengoku felt heat pooling in places it should not be when thinking of a demon.

He shook his head vigorously, trying desperately to rid himself of you. He looked back down to his paper, seeing he had written things he found appealing about you. He grumbled, crumpled the paper, and threw it towards the trash bin in the corner.

He scribbled on a new sheet of paper, attaching it to his crow, "give this to master Ubuyashiki, quickly please." His crow cawed, speeding off towards the master's home. Rengoku sighed deeply.

What the hell was he going to do with the fact that his thoughts were riddled with you. Rengoku groaned and ran his hands down his face. "Fuck," came the hushed curse from the flame Hashira. He rarely cursed, so he knew you must have infected him with some kind of blood demon art.

There was simply no other explanation of your invasion into his thoughts. You must have gotten him with some kind of blood demon art when you hit him. He nodded, doing his best to assure himself of the fact even though a part of his brain was telling him that isn't what happened.

He chose to ignore that part of his brain and flopped down onto his pillows. He sighed once again, resting his clasped hands together just below his chest, and did his best to go to sleep.

- - - - - -

"Kyoujirou dear?" A beautiful voice called to him. He opened his eyes, peeking over to the other side of his futon. You were laying there, resting up on your elbow, tracing little patterns onto his chest.

He looked at you and took in your entire image. Your chest was bare, causing the hashira's face to light up furiously. "Kyoujirou?" You giggled, "have you already forgotten what I look like?" You teased, not relenting in your patterns.

Rengoku moved his head away. He was feeling around for his sword. He found one arm was trapped under you, the other one able to grasp nothing but the blanket covering the both of you.

What in the heck is going on? He questioned himself. He figured he'd have to suck it up and bide his time till he could kill you. You hummed, "you're awfully quiet this morning darling, is something wrong?" You asked innocently.

Rengoku shook his head, melting at the pet name. Why was his body so quick to give in, he couldn't figure out why his adrenaline wasn't going through the roof. He wanted to kill you, not melt into your stupidly inviting embrace.

You leaned down and kissed him. He was so shocked he didn't even have time to process the action before you were pulling away and removing the covers from your bare form. You seemed to have a set of his pants on, but no shirt.

You grabbed a shirt from a small pile on the floor, one he just so happened to recognize. You looked back at him, "I'm going to make breakfast, any requests?" He stared back at you gobsmacked. You huffed at him, rolling your eyes and smiling. Before opening the sliding door and heading toward the kitchen.

Rengoku lay there on his back, contemplating his existence. There is no way this is happening, he was going to have a stroke from thinking too hard. He dressed in his uniform, strapping his sword to his side, and sped towards the kitchen.

You stood in front of the stove, dancing slightly to music in your head. You were humming a tune that suddenly felt all too familiar to him. He didn't know how or why he knew it, but it caused his heart to swell with affection.

He gripped his chest in confusion. Why were the two of you acting so domestic? You should be fighting. What on earth is going on? He felt like he was repeating the same series of thoughts.

You seemed to finally become aware of his presence, smiling brightly while striding towards him. You hugged him tightly, pecking his cheek. You proceeded to shower him with kisses until the front door opened.

Tanjiro strode in, distracting you from your assault. "Tanjiro!" You cried happily, rushing towards him. "Hello, mom!" Tanjiro smiled brightly, rushing to receive your hug. "Oh you've gotten so tall," you said, tearing up.

"Mom, it's okay."

"I know but it makes me feel so old," you whined. Tanjiro looked at you with a raised brow. "Oh hush," you laughed, moving back towards the stove. "Rengoku!" The supposed young slayer called. Except Tanjiro looked abnormally taller. Rengoku felt himself walking forward, hugging the other boy-man-tightly.

"How have you and mom been?" Tanjiro asked. What the fuck, Rengoku felt like crying from all the conflicting emotions. "We've been good. What about you son?" Rengoku asked.

He could have literally shoved himself into the fire at that point. He was so, so confused. "Where is Senjuro?" He found himself asking. He felt something was missing. "He should be on his way. He promised to come today, and I'll be oh so very upset if he doesn't show up," you pouted.

The door opened again, and in came Akaza. That was it, Rengoku had officially lost it, and he was going to throw himself into the lake. "Oh, Akaza!" You both ran and hugged each other viciously.

Tanjiro laughed and hugged Akaza as well. Akaza came towards Rengoku, the slayer being a second away from drawing his sword. Akaza lifted his hand, waiting for the slayer to shake it.

Rengoku did, hesitantly. Akaza smiled and trotted back over towards you. You chatted animatedly, the door continued to open, more and more people he did and did not recognize filing in before Senjuro finally entered.

Rengoku rushed and hugged his baby brother. Why the hell does he not feel like a kid in my grasp? Rengoku pulled away, seeing a man in front of him. Yep, tears began to fill Rengoku's eyes. Whatever was going on was not okay.

"Brother are you okay!?" Senjuro's cry brought you rushing towards him. "Love what's going on?" You asked, placing his head delicately in your hold. Rengoku broke down in your embrace. He collapsed into you, balling.

You cooed and shushed the man in your grasp. "It's okay love, I know seeing everyone can be overwhelming but it'll be okay. Everyone we love is right here to support you."

He grasped onto your-his-sleeve desperately. He was doing his absolute best to gather himself, but he hadn't cried in oh so long. He felt he was pouring all of his emotions out right then and there, even the ones that didn't pertain to the situation at hand.

He was crying over the loss of his mother, the fact that his father was so deep in his grief that he didn't realize all the pain he was causing him and Senjuro, and he cried over the fact that he felt useless in the fight against Muzan, the fact that there had been people he couldn't save and that there were still more to come that he wouldn't be able to save.

He cried and he cried until there was nothing left. Everyone around him watched, support being the only thing written on their faces. You hushed him, kissing his forehead lightly.

Rengoku felt weak for having displayed himself in such a manner in front of everyone. He wanted to hide away, but no one seemed to comment on his behavior. Just sat around him at the table chatting away.

You popped up shortly after, followed by Akaza, with dishes filling your arms. Rengoku couldn't stop himself from hopping up and assisting the two of you. You thanked him, kissing him again.

You sat next to him, his entire table filled with people who called you mom. You smiled so sweetly at every single one of them. Rengoku found himself liking whatever was going on. He could get used to being here with you and everyone who seemed to care for the two of you.

Muzan seemed to no longer be an issue, and that was the kind of world Rengoku wanted to live in. You raised your chopsticks to your lips, somehow catching Rengokus' gaze. You smiled warmly at him, you were filled with so much love he couldn't help himself.

He leaned down and kissed you. You blushed but smiled nonetheless. You gestured towards his untouched food, and he ate. He ate until he couldn't. He felt such joy at seeing everyone around him, seeing them enjoy your cooking. He was happy.

Rengoku woke up with a start. His eyes shot open, his body following to sit up. He was heaving, sweat drenching his body. His throat hurt, and he felt tears still leaving his eyes. He had cried.

Even though Rengoku felt slightly ashamed by the fact, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt so much better after that dream, after the crying. That still didn't change how confused he was over the dream. And how much he wanted to vehemently deny that he actually enjoyed the dream.

He went to stand, pain flooding his sides. Ah yes, your favorite place to strike. He cringed at the sore feeling, but moved towards a small table and downed the awful-tasting healing tea quickly. There was a cup of water sitting next to it that he greedily swallowed as well.

I have to get stronger. If (Y/n) is close to Muzan's strength then we have hope. I have to get stronger, Rengoku gripped the cup tightly, stealing his resolve. He nodded and moved out of the room given to him.

He headed towards where he knew the dining room was, gently sliding the door open. "Sir Rengoku!" The three young girls cried, rushing towards him and embracing his legs. He smiled, "Hello to you all as well!" He smiled and waited for them to hug him to their fill.

His smile never left his face as he ate their food, "Delicious!" He said with every other bite. He hadn't realized how hungry he'd been. He'd need an incredible amount of nutrition for his soon-to-come training.

The younger slayers came tumbling in not long after Rengoku had begun his meal. Tanjiro smiled brightly at the Hashira, Inosuke simply plowed through everyone and began to devour the food, not on Rengoku's plate.

"Inosuke!" Whined Zenistu, "you can't eat everything! Save some for everyone else!" Zenistu tried to grab the boar-headed boy, both tussling. Tanjiro groaned, "Inosuke! Zenistu!" He cried, "stop fighting!" He rushed to intervene between the two, being dragged into their fight.

Rengoku couldn't help but laugh at them, they reminded him of Uzui's wives, and it was almost refreshing to see a similar dynamic again. A shrill caw broke Rengoku out of his thoughts. His crow flew in through an open door and landed next to him.

"Kaname!" The Hashira said happily. The crow hopped over towards him, tilting his head over to the side for the slayer to grab the paper off his collar. "Thank you Kaname," the slayer gave him a scritch, opening the letter from Ubuyashiki.

He nodded and looked over at the still-fighting boys. "Tanjiro! Zenistu! Inosuke!" They instantly froze, lining themselves up quickly before him. "Yes sir!" They said in unison. "Time to train hard, and fast. We have to get stronger quickly, are you ready!"

"Yes sir!" He smiled at the young boys, happy at their willingness. "Then eat up! You'll need your strength for the training you're about to face." Rengoku nodded and closed his eyes. There was a long road ahead of them.