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Giyu tensed next to Shinobu, at the same moment she reached for her sword, which lay against the wall. Swapping looks, they both nodded in the low light of the moon, filtering through the screen’s on the windows. Something was moving outside, in the corridor, despite trying their hardest not to make any noise.
Truely, whoever it was had chosen a bad night to sneak around the master's estate. Inside were no less than all nine hashira, sleeping in separate rooms. There was such a concentration of might even an Waxing Moon would think twice before attacking.
Something was sneaking around, however, and it was near Kanao’s room. Both Giyu and Shinobu would react with instant and devastating violence against whoever was threatening Shinobu’s pupil and sister. Moving with silent, measured steps, both shrugged into loose fitting trousers and grabbed their blades, before sliding the door of their room open.
Tanjiro froze in place, looking at his two mentors in horrified silence, while they looked back equally as shocked. The silence stretches on, as Tanjiro can’t quite figure out how to deal with the sight of his shirtless sword instructor running out of Shinobu’s room.
From inside, another head pops out, before turning beet red and ducking back inside the room. Shinobu lets out a choked, strained noise, as she watches her sister duck back inside the room she was supposed to be staying in, on her own.
“What do you two think you're doing?” She hissed out, cognizant of Kanae’s room to her left, Mitsuri’s opposite and Rengoku’s room being just a stone’s throw down the hall.
Tanjiro hesitated, a blush covering his entire face in an instant, so red and strong it’s visible in the moonlight shining through the still open door to Shinobu’s room. “Nothing!” He managed to squeeze out, but as always, the honest boy can’t manage to lie convincingly to save his life.
Giyu takes over. “How irresponsible.” His low, whispered accusation carries such tremendous judgement, Shinobu finds herself impressed - she definitely wouldn’t have been able to squeeze such harsh tones into a low whisper, or laden the words with such recrimination.
It only takes Tanjiro a moment to find his footing, but once he does, his face hardens slightly. “Excuse me, Tomioka, but I’m confused as to what you and Kocho-san were doing?”
The pair of Hashira stopped dead still, staring at the impudent young swordsman. Shinobu spoke first. “Oh, Tanjiro, get your mind out of the gutter. We simply both heard you at the same time, and came to investigate.” Next to her, she felt Giyu nod in agreement.
“Oh, so Tomioka-san heard it from three floors away and got here at the same time as you? And went through your window to do so?”
The nerve. A vein pulsed on Shinobu’s forehead, but before she could respond, she heard another door slide open.
All three turned to look at Obanai as he limped out of Mitsuri’s room opposite. He must have been too busy staring backwards at Mitsuri to notice the brewing argument occurring in the hall, and as such found himself in the middle of the confrontation.
He stopped dead upon realising just what he had stumbled out into, leaving the door ajar behind him. Shinobu made the mistake of looking through, finding Mitsuri with ruffled hair going completely pink as she placed something long and cylindrical out of sight. The pair locked eyes before looking away, mortified beyond belief.
Tanjiro foolishly spoke first. “Good morning, Iguro!” He was still whispering, but he tried for an upbeat tone.
Even Giyu winced at the attempt.
Obanai stared at the small gathering, his scowl so pronounced it was almost visible despite the bandages he still wore covering his face. “Fuck off.” He muttered, before turning to reenter the room with Mitsuri.
Shinobu shot out a hand, grabbing his arm before he could make it. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough, Iguro?”
His heterochromic eyes glared down at her. “I’m warning you.”
She let the hand drop, but suddenly Giyu was there insead having sensed the threat in Obanai’s words.
The two didn’t speak, instead opting to try and stare at each other for so long, they missed the next arrival to the impromptu meeting. Only the loud creak of the footstep on a floorboard alerted the group to the new visitor.
Tengen stood like a deer in headlights as the strange four all turned to glare at him. His nightshift gaped down to his waist, revealing the dozen love bits that trailed all across his chest, in multiple different sizes. Sheepishly, he stepped off the tattletale floorboard and waved at them.
Only Tanjiro waved back, his good manors overcoming his confusion, as Tengen turned and continued creeping back towards his room.
They all turned back to each other, as Obanai clearly realised something. “What the fuck are you doing on this floor, Tomioka?”
Giyu’s face filled with colour before he could think to say anything, and the whole situation was made even worse by Tanjiro piping up. “He heard me moving around and came to investigate, but he seems to have routed through Kocho-san’s room?”
Shinobu turned, incredulous, to the usually kind-hearted boy. Her own face wasn’t bereft of colour, either, as neither her nor Giyu were able to think of a convincing set of arguments as to what possibly could have been happening. Instead, she decided to go on the attack against the little traitor.
“And poor Kanao needed your help with what, exactly?” Her voice was honey sweet, but carried the sharpness of a blade, as the other two stopped their staring contest to look at Tanjiro.
He, in turn went completely red, but was cut off before he could say anything else, the floorboard at the end of the corridor creaked again. They all turned to watch Suma, one of Tengen’s wives burst into tears and hurry off into the night.
Obanai snorted. “So Rengoku was busy tonight, huh.”
His blatant dismissal of the Flame Harisha irritated Tanjro greatly, as he had no end of respect for the skilled swordsman. Throwing caution to the wind, he decided it was now or never. “I’m terribly sorry, Iguro, but I can smell that you seem slightly injured? What happened?”
All three were treated to sight of Obanai blushing the deepest, most lurid red they had ever seen another human take, as they also heard Mitsuri squeal slightly from inside the room.
The door flung open, to show the now fully dressed Love Hashira as she stared open mouthed at Tanjiro. “Tanjiro, I expected better from you!” She sounded so scandalised it made Shinobu laugh slightly, before she quickly shut up as Mitsuri turned her gaze to her.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you sound so genuinely happy, Shinobu. Is he as good as you thought he would be?”
Tanjiro choked.
From behind them, another door slid open. Out stepped Sanemi, looking as incensed as could be. For just a glimpse, Shinbou saw the outline of her sister, pulling on a light shift after rushing to stop Sanamei from making it out of the room.
“Would you all, kindly, shut the fuck up!” His eyes were still heavy with sleep, and it was very clear he hadn’t quite contextualised what was going on. Kanae was out a split second later, trying to haul her fiance back inside the room, but the damage had already been done.
Mitsuri gasped, covering her mouth with both hands, while Obanai socked his friend on the shoulder. “Come on, dumbass, wake up and think.”
It only took a moment, before Sanemi went beet red, and tried to slip back inside the room he’d just burst from. Unfortunately for him, however, Obanai had found someone else to suffer, and he was not going to allow him to escape so soon.
“So soon before your wedding, as well. Couldn’t keep himself under control, I’d bet.” The Snake Hashira snarked, glaring at his friend in glee.
Again, the squeal of floorboards alerted the now far larger group to another passenger stepping past. Makio didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed, instead she smiled the smile of the cat that got the cream as she jauntily walked past.
Turning away from the distraction, the group returned back to the argument at hand. While Obanai had been clever, and intending to only needle his friend, he had unfortunately caught Kanae in the crossfire. She smiled her most sincere, loving smile, as she delivered her death blow.
“Meanwhile, you ask poor Mitsuri to use that toy on you without even having the decency to ask her to marry you.” Her grin sharpened to that of a killer as she spoke, sending shivers of fear down Tanjiro’s spine.
Mitsuri squealed then, full volume. “I asked you for advice in confidence, Kanae! You even told me where to go!” She wailed, glaring at the retired Flower Hashira.
Shinobu caught that instantly. “I’m sorry, why would you know where to go for that kind of thing, darling sister?”
It was Kanae’s turn under the spotlight, as both she and Sanemi blushed to their ears in unison.
“You can shut it, Kocho. No one with him next to them gets to talk, I just decided.” Sanemi came out fighting from his embarrassment, deciding offence was the best option now defence had failed him.
“Like you have any room to talk.” Tanjiro muttered, before freezing in fear. He had most definitely not meant to say that aloud!
Sanemi turned to the eldest Kamado, and glared daggers so sharp Tanjiro would have sworn he’d developed a blood demon art. “I don’t remember asking your opinion, gnat!” He spat.
But before he could continue on his tirade, his eyes locked onto something behind Tanjro’s head.
Muichirou froze, before shrugging off one of Genya’s arms as the two walked up the corridor to the next flight of stairs. Genya looked over, confused, but that quickly morphed to fear as he saw the group staring at the pair.
Genya’s small, shaking, “I can explain…”, was quickly cut off by Sanemi, who stormed through the middle of them all with the force of a hurricane.
“What on earth do you two think you are doing?” He near bellowed, closing on his brother and the Mist Hashira.
Before the entire meeting could explode into more havoc, the deep, booming voice of Gyomei sounded out down the hall from the opposite end of the newest confrontation. “Please, some people are trying to sleep here. I would appreciate it if you could all be quiet, and return to your own rooms.”
They all looked away sheepishly, turning to head down the hall to return to their own rooms, only to see Hinatsuru creeping along in the corridor.