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"Alright, (L/N), let's get going!"

"TENGEN PUT ME DOWN! I'LL KILL YOU!"."

She didn't know how she ended up in this situation. At all. She was just as confused as The younger girls watching only a few metres away behind the corner of the pale wall, sweat dripping down the sides of their faces.

The woman was hauled over Tengens shoulder, in a quite unappealing position, to add.

It was only a few moments ago that she was peacefully strolling away from the trio, who she had begun to hand around a lot more after the events around about two weeks ago, telling them how she ended up in the demon slayer corps, all for gaining their trust, just like Kagaya asked.

Tanjiro was now fully healed and his friends had just recently begun to go back out on missions, all while the burgundy haired boy remained behind to train with the woman, with the supervision of Shinobu.

After the first mishap, the boy was, of course, cautious of another training session with the woman, but after some persuasion from Shinobu, as well as many apologies from the halfling, he finally gave in, sucking it up and taking another training session with a smile. However, unlike last time, he actually learnt something.

With small words of encouragement and the woman constantly being there to fix his stance, teach him new ways of breathing that could help under any circumstance, he learnt quickly under her. Before long, he was smiling wider at her, and watching her with eyes as bright as the sun.

It was only this morning that she deemed him worthy of going back into missions, however, when she went to tell him the news and send him off, he disappeared as if he wasn't there to begin with, however, he did mention the day before, that he would need to take care of an urgent matter when he was well enough, and so, she let him be. She calmed down the younger girls, and even assured Aoi, who was silently panicking before leaving back to the Ubuyashiki estate once she was sure everything was under control.

However, just as she was about to leave the estate, she ran into Tengen just as he was entering the estate, and when his eyes met hers, a mischievous glint shimmered in his pupil. That would've been enough to tell her to run away, however, she simply dismissed it, leaving her guard down as she usually did around here. Just as the duo were about to pass one another on the pathway, she was suddenly grabbed by the waist and hauled over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

And that takes us to this moment...

"Man, I think you've been spending too much time with Sanemi recently..the old (Y/N) wouldn't say anything like that..." The man hummed, smirking to himself as he gripped her waist tighter. She moved her hands to hold his back, pushing herself up and trying to get a better view.

"You'll see how much like Sanemi I can get if you don't-"

The man interrupted her, placing his free palm on her thigh. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it!" He closed his eyes, rounding the corner, until he paused in his place as soon as he heard small gasps in front of him.

Uzui opened his eyes, looking down on the four girls with furrowed brows before he smirked, taking his hand from the woman's thigh and reaching out to the younger girls, who only flinched in place and huddled close in fear. "They'll do.."

"GET AWAY-!"

"AAAAAAAAAGHHHH-!"

It was only a second later that he had hauled Aoi and Naho under his other arm and simply began to stroll out of the estate with a grin covering his features, the woman on his shoulder clenching his uniform, and the girls under his arm struggling and pushing while they were constantly squished together.

The woman could've floored him by now, easily, she may add. She was just about to befoe he grabbed the younger girls, and immediately changed the halflings plans. She wanted to hurt Tengen and Tengen alone, not get the other two potentially injured because of it. If she was in her demon form, things may have been different and she may have been able to grab the girls in half a second and take them to safety before beating Uzui down...too bad the sun was out...

"Nooooo!"

"LET US GO!"

"I'm begging you!"

The woman only remained silent, scowling at the man with a glare which, if performed correctly, could potentially kill a god and force both heaven and hell into a fit of chaos and rage...Oh how she wished to smash his head into the ground...

It wasn't long before Kanao came rushing out the building behind the man with Kiyo and Sumi. As the two younger girls wasted no time in rushing towards the scene, Kanao stood still, beads of sweat running down the side of her face as her lips parted with shock.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THEM!?" Kiyo cried at the man, rushing to grip the back of his uniform, small tears forming in her eyes and her brows clenched with annoyance.

Uzui sighed, tired of the noise, a scowl forming on his features "Quit your yammering and shut up will you?!" The pale haired man gritted his teeth, looking over his free shoulder and almost silencing them with only a glare.

"Please stop!"

"Please let them go!"

Uzui never stopped in his pursuit to leave the estate, trekking along as Aoi managed to wiggle her hand from under his arm and cry out to the frozen door. "Kanao!" Tears were close to slipping from her eyes, all while Naho gave out a small cry of fear.

Kanao shook her head from any silent thoughts before her brows gently knit together and her frame quickly rushed forward, hands outstretched to grip Aoi's hand, and tight. It was as though the duo would never let go, not even as Aoi's grip increased and a small smile made its way onto her lips. "Kanao.."

Uzui paused, head turning back to glare down at the tsugoku as the woman over his shoulder scoffed to herself. "Could you be more unflashy? Quit with the tugging." His voice was stern, far from the voice of the annoying man called Tegen Uzui that (Y/N) knew. "Did you forget you just got orders?"

Kanao only stayed silent, eyes clenching shut almost to imagine the man wasn't even there to begin with. "TALK DAMMIT! YOU'RE REALLY UNFLASHY!" The woman gave out a small grunt when she felt his grip increase on her waist.

"C-CHARGE!"

"CHARGE!"

"Huh?"

It was all very sudden. The younger girls had launched on the man, tears threatening to fall, and eyes clenched shut in fear of the much greater man. They began to pull on his hair, on his arm that was around the younger girls, all while they struggled in his grip and the woman over his shoulder sighed.

"HEY! KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW-!"

"HOW DARE YOU TREAT GIRLS LIKE THAT! LET GO OF THEM-!"

Tanjro froze in place, eyes widening and eye twitching as he watched the girls scramble around the much bigger man in an attempt to free the girls in his grip. It only took a few seconds before his eyes met ones of (e/c) and he simply grunted out a small, confused hum.

"HE'S KIDNAPPING THEM! PLEASE HELP!"

"WHY YOU-"

Just as Tengen was about to find his reasoning, Tanjiro managed to suck it in, gritting his teeth in determination before he rushed at the confused male. He jumped up, ready to headbutt him just like he managed to the wind hashira a few months ago, however, just as his head was about to collide-

It was all so sudden that Tanjiro could hardly believe what he saw. The man he was about to attack simply vanished into thin air, leaving only behind the screaming younger girls that clung to him and attacked him.

Tanjiro and the two girls fell to the ground with a thud, some landing more gracefully than others, Kanao only a metre or two away from the scene, hand over her mouth in shock. "Are you alright?" Tanjiro rushed to Sumi as Kanao snapped out of her daze and knelt beside Kiyo, hand landing on the girl's head and eyes scanning for any injuries.

A voice soon boomed through the scene. "You're a fool." Tanjiro tensed, eyes scanning the whole scene before he finally looked up and caught sight of the sound hashira crouched on a nearby roof and the three still in his grasp, the younger girls still struggling as the halfling simply remained surprisingly still. "I'm Uzui Tengen, a former shinobi and the current sound hashira."

(Y/N) scoffed. "Oh boy, here we go again.." She sighed, though, a small grasp made its way to her lips when the man's grip on her waist tightened to the point it would hurt a regular human.

"I'm known as a flashy guy around here." His eyes turned darker, lips twisted downwards as he stared blatantly disappointed at Tanjiro, who held a small scowl of his own. "Do you really think I would fall victim to your silly headbutt?"

"PUT ALL THREE OF THEM DOWN, YOU LOUSY KIDNAPPER!"

"YOU HEARD HIM!"

"YOU HEARD HIM!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH THEM?!"

"HENTAI!"

"HENTAI!"

The girls under his arm slowly looked up at the man, disgust written all over their features, all while he could feel the halfling's solid glare. He swore he had shivers run down his spine at one point..

Tengens teeth grit, brow twitching with annoyance. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WATCH HOW YOU SPEAK TO ME!" His cries pierced through the woman's ear, and yet, all she could simply do was sigh out a tired breath.

Tanjiro shook his head, a bead of sweat running down the side of his usually kind features, now morphed into one of annoyance and even slight disgust. "I DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AS MY SUPERIOR!" The boy puffed out his cheeks, finishing with a small huff as his arms crossed over his chest.

"DON'T "HUH" ME!" (Y/N) could swear she could see steam flying out of Tengen's ears.."I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE ME AS YOUR SUPERIOR! YOU LITTLE BOTTOM FEEDER! DID YOUR BRAIN MATTER EXPLODE OR WHAT?!" He suddenly took a breath, attempting to calm down, however, that quickly failed.."I NEED THESE THREE FOR A MISSION, SO DON'T INTERFERE! PLUS, I DON'T NEED PERMISSION FROM SHINOBU TO TAKE A MEMBER OF THE CORPS!"

In response to the seemingly crazed man, Sumi swallowed down her fear with wide eyes before crying back out to the man. "NAHAO ISN'T A MEMBER OF THE CORPS! CAN'T YOU TELL BY HER UNIFORM?! AND AOI IS THE ONE IN CHARGE WHEN SHINOBU-CHAN ISN'T IN SO SHE NEEDS TO STAY!" She cried, swearing she could feel small tears brimming at the edges of her eyes.

Uzui paused, blinking. He looked down to the two girls in his arms with furrowed brows before the realisation dawned on him. When he picked them up and walked away, he hardly cared about who he took or what their uniform looked like, but now on second inspection...it really did seem as though the duo really weren't proper slayers...

He scoffed to himself before he spoke out. "I guess you're right. I don't need them then." And without even a second thought, he released his tight hold on them and threw them off the roof, away from him.

The girls cried, clinging to one another as they fell through the air, tears streaming down their features. "AAAAHHH!"

It was only a moment later, when Aoi braced for the impact of the fall, that she noticed a pair of hands landing around her, holding her close brida style. She finally managed to open her eyes, and her breath hitched when Tanjiro smiled down at them. "Are you two alright?"

"I-..yes..thank you.."

Uzui sighed, moving his free arm to the back of the woman's legs to hold him in plac-

"AAAAAAGGGGHHHH! OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! QUIT IT OUT WILL YA?!?!?!"

The woman only chuckled, a manic glint in her usually dull, her glare as sharp as her blade.

"You'll wish you were dead.."

She had the man pinned in a second. He lay flat on his front, arm twisted behind him uncomfortably with the woman's right hand, and his face forced into the dirt with her left. Her right foot rested beside his face on the ground, and her left leg pinned his back to the ground, all while her features held a dark scowl. "You do that again, you'll face a whole lot more than satan."

(Y/N) pulled his arm further back, his hand and body still pinned under the woman. "AAAAAGGHHHH CUT IT OWOWOWOWOUT!" His free hand moved anywhere it could, eventually finding its way to hold the tree root just beside him that poked out the ground, eventually snapping it with his grip.

Zenitsu and Inosuke ran to the scene as fast as they could, hearing screaming and thudding from the entrance of the butterfly estate, however, their expectations were destroyed as soon as they saw Kanao and Tanjiro comforting Aoi and Naho, and a large pale haired male being pinned to the ground with (Y/N) on top of him, pulling on his arm painfully to the point the boys thought it would get ripped off.

Zenitsu was the first to let out a response to the situation. "H-huh...?"

"H-HEY ARE YOU JUST GONNA STAND THERE OR ARE YA GONNA HELP YOUR SUPERIO-OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"

"Ignore him.."

Inosuke let out a wide laugh, bellowing from his chest. "HAHAHA, I SEE THE BEAST HAS TAMED YOU!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I SHALL JOIN YOU IN TAKING DOWN THE ENEMY!"

He rushed forward, crying out loud, and almost psychotic, laughing. Just as he was about to pounce on the duo, a hand gently moved to grip the scruff of his neck, and suddenly, he was held in the air like a small cat. "While I thank you for the offer, there's no need." The woman hummed, now away from the larger man who gently cradled his arm on the floor with a hiss.

She placed the boy down to the floor gently, giving his boar head a small pat before strolling towards the knelt man, her shadow reaching him before she could. He flinched, smile twitching before his eyes landed on the woman standing above him, eyes narrowing with a hardened glare. "What do you want? Why are you here? Explain it to me properly this time."

He gritted his teeth, hurriedly standing to his feet and grinning, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. "WELL, YOU SEE, I'VE ALREADY GOT PERMISSION TO BRING YOU ALONG TO THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT IN ORDER TO FIND MY MISSING WIVES!"

"Your wives are missing? Since when?"

"SINCE LIKE A WEEK AGO! SHUT UP AND JUST FOLLOW ME, WOULD YA?!"

"He's a giant.."

"A worthy opponent..."

"I don't like the sound of this.."

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"COME BACK HERE, BRATS!"

Uzui was screaming at the top of his lungs through the district, eyes wide and body frantic as the boys scattered through the district, eyes filled with wrongly placed wonder and blushes over their cheeks, all while the woman, who used to be right next to Uzui was pushed away by the crowd.

She wasn't used to places like these. She usually would be in the gardens by now, enjoying a hot and calm cup of tea with Amane as she listened to the evening breeze and watched the sky turn purple and pink through the shoji doors with a soft sigh, almost enough to bring a smile to her lips.

Not...here...

Her voice as silent as a mouse in the crowd, small bruises forming on her body from all the pushing and shoving, her eyes wide and disorientated as the bright lights all around her blasted into her mind and forced her into a sense of panic and disarray.

She shielded her eyes, teeth clenching with annoyance, however, just as she stumbled through the crowd, a hand gripped her own and pulled her through a pair of doors, which closed behind her and she stumbled back, hand gripping her head.

"Hey, are you alright?"

A small voice inquired from behind her. She wasted no time in snapping her head to meet the shape of a young woman, around her age as a human. She had soft brown locks held up in a neat bun and gentle orange eyes, contrasting her red kimono that hugged her frame so gently, like it was kind and gentle to the woman in front of the halfling.

The woman fell back against the door, hand over her temple as she gently gave a wince. "Why did you pull me in here?" She inquired, cautious, but gentle. The woman's eyes were gentle, holding pain, and yet the kindness of a calming soul, surely no harm.

The woman flinched, a small blush forming over her features. She looked down. "I-You looked rather disorientated so I thought I should help.." Her voice was smooth and gentle, almost like the river close to the gardens..."My name is Emi, by the way. I-I was wondering if you had come for any 'Treatment'..?"

Her smile was calming, enough to make the halflings' headache run away scared of the woman's beauty. "I...My name is (Y/N). And, well....I might take you up on that offer.." Her posture had always been a problem to the point her back would ache at times. She could use some treatment if the kind woman was offering...

"I can brew some tea, if you would wish?" The girl gently inquired, respecting boundaries and moving towards a doorway, supposedly leading to the kitchen, maybe even a small living room. The woman only gave out a small nod, her stoic features calming as the nearby incense made its way through her senses and ridding all morbid thoughts. "Please, follow me."

As soon as the lady bowed, the woman followed her through the doorway and was instructed to sit at the table in the middle of the room as the brunette walked through another open doorway and returned with a pot of tea and a single cup moments later.

(Y/N) gently and kindly took the tea from the woman and held the cup in her rough hands before placing it to her lips. Though, before she took a taste, she paused, looking towards the lady who stared at her expectedly, a wondrous smile over her features. "..Thank you for the help." Her eyes suddenly gave a glint of sorrow, a flash of sadness passing her features, though, just as soon as it came, it was gone.

The woman blushed, eyes widening before her smile widened. "Of Course! I wouldn't miss out on helping someone in need..!" She slowly leaned forward, body loosening, and all of a sudden, her smile seemed more genuine.

The two women sat in silence as (Y/N) sipped the tea, and as soon as she was finished, she gently placed the cup onto the table in front of her, though the woman interrupted her, almost hesitant, yet in a somewhat rush. "E-excuse me! Before you leave, would you mind following me for a moment?"

(Y/N)'s eyes narrowed, now seemingly cautious. "..ofcourse.." She gently stood to her feet, leaving the cup on the table as the woman stumbled to her feet and grinned, giddy, yet in her eyes, there was a sense of nervousness, not of ill intent, but rather of the fear something wouldn't work.

She led the halfling to a door, gently placing her shaking hand on the handle and pausing for a moment. She sighed, closing her eyes, all before pushing the handle down and kindly letting the woman enter before her, allowing a small nod.

Just as she walked through, she noticed it was a bedroom. It was a wide bed, lit candles scattered through the room and portraits on the walls around the dark room.

The door thudded shut, and the tune of a lock was heard, though, as (Y/N) turned to inquire the other doings, her body was suddenly pushed back, landing on the bed and giving a small