He glared at you, seeing the sword still in your hand. Not his best idea, but he'd have to deal with it. "I thought that was you. How were you able to be in the sun?"

"I wasn't. I was in the shade of the trees. I can get sick if I stay out too long but as long as I stay out of direct sunlight I'll be okay in the end." You shrugged, walking towards the slayer.

His face was very loud in showing his shock. "You might wanna use your inside face darling," you snickered. He switched to glaring at you, reaching behind him in hopes of grasping some kind of weapon.

You rushed into his personal space, grasping his hand that was reaching back. "Just ask for your sword back Lord Rengoku. I have no interest in harming you. I wouldn't have saved you if that was my goal." You smiled, face far too close for his comfort, and put his sword back into his hand.

He grasped it, still shocked by your proximity. His mouth was agape, trying to form some sort of response. You chortled, taking a large step away from him. "You've come a long way in such a short amount of time Lord Rengoku," you clasped your hands behind your back and rocked back onto your heels.

"I..." He took a breath, licking his dry lips and trying to formulate a proper response. "I have been training harder," he found himself losing his breath in your presence. You were biting your lip in anticipation, this man was not good for your heart, he was too attractive without knowing it for his own good.

He stood in silence for another moment before remembering the letter from Ubuyashiki. "Thank you," he murmured, fiddling with his fingers as he tried to avoid your gaze.

You stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out why on earth he was thanking you. "What do you have to thank me for Lord Rengoku?" You asked, eyes owlishly wide and head tilted.

He had always been told he looked like an owl, but he had no doubt had anyone else seen you at this moment you would be the owl. "For saving me. I never thanked you. I truly owe you my life. And I never showed my appreciation, so I apologize but also thank you for saving me." He spoke softly.

It took a moment for your brain to process the words spoken to you. Your face lit up, "well Lord Rengoku, it was my pleasure to have saved you. And I appreciate you going out of your way to thank me."

"Please don't refer to me as Lord, I don't deserve such a title. Rengoku is fine, please." He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He jerked his hand away, however, from his sweaty and hot skin. He'd forgotten how much he'd physically pushed himself today.

He cringed away, suddenly feeling sweaty all over. "I'll allow you to wash yourself up, I'll be around though." You turned away, waving as you walked. "Wait!" Rengoku called after you.

You stopped, a smirk crawling over your features. "Yes?" You drew out the syllable, turning the face the man. You were rocking your weight back and forth, waiting for the Hashira to proceed. "My master, Ubuyashiki would like to meet with you, in person."

Rengoku wasn't looking at you, eyes downcast and searching for something to fixate on. He's nervous, you remarked mirthfully. "Is that all?" You questioned.

Rengoku squirmed, which brought you great amusement, and tried to find the proper words to convey what he needed to. "No, he wishes to meet with you. He asked me to contact you and arrange a meeting if you are willing."

"I am willing. Does he have any specific terms? He must know and understand I cannot meet him during the day."

"He understands that," Rengoku countered quickly, "I am not sure if he has any specific terms, however. I must send him a letter." Rengoku began mumbling to himself, trying to figure out some way to contact you again.

He gave up thinking of a way on his own and decided to ask you. "How will I be able to contact you once I have received the terms?" He asked, a hand resting on his chin and the other on his hip.

You grinned, "you can send your crow, or just come here and call for me." Rengoku was mildly stunned but nodded anyway. He took a deep breath, "my crow, his name is Kaname, if you need something, call for him by his name."

Rengoku was rampaging inside his head. He had no idea why he had given you that information, no idea why he even decided that would be a good idea, and no idea what had come over him. He'd just blurted it out! Absolutely no filter present in his head, gosh what was wrong with me? He screamed to himself.

He was sure that had he been a more angry man he'd be throwing furniture within his mind, or telling you to burn in hell and that he'd send you there. But he was not ruled by anger, and would not react to his own mistake with such an emotion directed towards you.

You smiled, stepped closer, and set something within his palm, closing his grip around it. "This should help heal your injuries, along with getting your strength back up faster," you whispered.

He tilted his head to look down at what you had given him, seeing a small pouch. He raised his head to ask you about it, only to see you had vanished. He was utterly puzzled.

He opened the pouch, seeing a ground-up plant of some description. Yeah, he was more confused now. While he wanted to trust you that this would help him, he couldn't help the part of his brain that was telling him to drop it and run.

He ignored that thought, for now, tucking the little bag into his pocket, and walking back to the mansion.

He opened the shoji door, stepping inside and setting his sword down next to the door. He plopped down in front of what he assumed was his food as it was the only one left out, and dug into it.

He was unbearably hungry, he hadn't quite realized how hungry he was until he had begun eating. His mind however wandered, he wondered what would happen if he sprinkled a little bit of that herb in his food.

He wandered many things as he ate, but decided to try the herb tomorrow morning so that if something went awry someone would know and be able to get him help if he needed it.

He finished his food, grabbed his sword, and headed toward his room. Once he'd opened his door he made a beeline for his bed and collapsed on it. He sighed, closing his eyes for just a moment before getting up and wetting a cloth for a quick clean.

He just wanted to go to sleep but knew if he went to sleep without cleaning himself, even if just a little, he wouldn't be able to sleep well. He zoned out in the midst of his cleaning, however, because he was thinking about you. He would never admit it but his mind would often wander to you.

He felt a cold drop of water run down his collarbone, which jerked him out of his haze. He zoned back in and finished wiping himself down, finally being able to collapse onto the bed. He fell asleep rather quickly, easily falling into sleep.

⬛⬛⬛

He felt like he'd only just fallen asleep the next morning, but sat up to get ready for the day anyway. While he desperately wanted to sleep more, he had duties to attend to as a Hashira and training to complete.

He'd only just started dressing when he heard tapping at his window and a squawk. He jumped slightly, surprised by his crow's presence, but opened the window and allowed the crow in.

The crow crooned, hopping up to him. He pet Kaname's head, not seeing any paper present. He tilted his head in confusion, and the crow ca-uhed this time. Rengoku understood that Kaname was waiting for him to hand off a letter.

Realization washed over the man's face and he rushed to write down everything he needed to. He gave the letter to Kaname, "please give this to master Ubuyashiki," he spoke as he shrugged his corps jacket on. Kaname cawed, hopped out the window, and took off towards headquarters.

Rengoku grabbed his sword and hurried down the stairs to the dining room. There was already food there and waiting for him, the boys sitting at the table and waiting for him. A rush of endearment came through him, and he smile brightly, moving to sit down.

They said their thanks and dug into the food. Rengoku managed to sprinkle some of the odd herbs you'd given him onto his food, and it didn't seem to have a distinct taste. He chewed slowly, trying to feel for the new addition, but it melded into the dish seamlessly.

He was confused but continued to eat. If anything bad happened he'd still have some left so Shinobu could figure out what it was and help him if there were any adverse reactions.

He finished his food, moving towards the training grounds. The trio joined him shortly after he'd left. He'd decided a good warm-up was necessary today, so they began their warm-up stretches.

⬛⬛⬛

Ubuyashiki would not admit that he was excited when Rengoku's letter came. Anything that would finally give his family an edge over Muzan was worth the risk of at least investigating.

He wanted you to be the epitome of a human. Even if you were a demon, if you acted like a human, he could excuse you the same way he did Nezuko. And he was praying that you were able to keep your humanity.

He read the letter, seeing Rengoku had been able to converse with you and you were happy to meet with the rest of the Demon Slayers, as long as he-Ubuyashiki-understood you could not meet during the day.

It wasn't ideal, as demon's always had the advantage during the night, but as long as he was surrounded by his wisteria and his children, he had no doubt they could take down any foe. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he always had to be prepared for his own safety and the safety of his children.

He wrote back to Rengoku quickly, giving the man a date two weeks from now, which just so happened to be a full moon. The extra light from the moon would be helpful should a fight need to occur.

He tried to contain his emotions and not get his hopes up, but with the prospect of finally getting a step ahead of Muzan, he couldn't help but be ecstatic.

⬛⬛⬛

You'd been minding your own business when Rengoku's crow had come and found you. It was the dead of night so the abrupt caw caught you off guard. "Good lordly Kaname, you scared the hell outta me!" You scolded but brought an arm up for the bird to land on.

He crooned, walking up your arm to nuzzle into your chin. You couldn't help but giggle and grabbed the paper the bird was holding in his beak. It seemed to be a letter from Rengoku, and you tried not to get too excited.

You opened it, and it was telling you when to meet and the conditions that Ubuyashiki wanted to be met. You didn't find a point in denying any of them. There weren't many after all, so you flipped the page over, as you'd run out of paper, and wrote back that you'd be happy to meet everyone on that date.

But you did have a vital condition if a deal were to be met, that your children must be guaranteed safety and be escorted and cared for in the Ubuyashiki residence. You made sure to write that they were all well-behaved and relatively self-sufficient, but the safety of your children was your top priority.

Afterward, you just couldn't help yourself and signed it with a kiss. You gathered a small number of seeds in your palm, raising them to feed to Kaname. He chirped, eating the seeds politely.

You tucked the paper into his collar as he ate, giving him little scratches here and there. He chirped happily, nuzzling once more into your cheek before he took off back to the butterfly estate.

You waved the bird off, excited to see how this meeting would turn out, but also excited to be able to see Rengoku again. You were getting attached and you'd have to be careful, but you just wanted your children safe, and Ubuyashiki could provide that.