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Teen And Up Audiences
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Graphic Depictions Of Violence
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Fandoms:
鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime)鬼滅の刃 | Kimetsu no Yaiba (Manga)
Characters:
Tsuyuri KanaoDouma (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Hashibira InosukeKotoha (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Kimetsu no Yaiba EnsembleTwelve Demon Moons Ensemble (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Original CharactersDaki | Ume (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Gyutaro (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Kochou KanaeAkaza | Hakuji (Kimetsu no Yaiba)Kokushibou | Tsugikuni Michikatsu
Additional Tags:
Alternate UniverseFluff and AngstCanon-Typical ViolenceCannibalismDouma is a Little Shit (Kimetsu no Yaiba)BAMF Tsuyuri KanaoDysfunctional FamilyBad ParentingDouma grabs Kanao instead of the Kochou siblingsAnd grabs Inosuke before Kotoha can chuck him off a cliffDouma: I'm not like a regular dad I'm a cool dadSwordfightingDubious MoralityConditioningKanao and Inosuke as siblingsBlood and GoreLoyaltyFamily Bondingno beta we die like the KamadosCultsTsuyuri Kanao-centricCanonical Character DeathHashibira Inosuke Being Hashibira InosukeTsuyuri 'if anything happens to my family I'll kill everyone in this room and then myself' KanaoPast Child AbuseMorally Neutral KanaoProtective KanaoVivisectionAnimal Abuse
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English
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Published:2021-11-21Updated:2026-04-06Words:154,514Chapters:39/?Comments:1,970Kudos:3,614Bookmarks:794Hits:129,333
Iron and Ice
SkilledWarriorKiwi
Chapter 21: Curiosity killed the cat
Chapter Text
"It's a mamushi. See the browny grey scales, with the white speckles? Though they can be more yellow or red tinted. They're a type of viper, one of the most common snakes in Japan. They give birth to live young, they don't lay eggs. But they're very venomous. Make sure it doesn't bite you, Kanao-kun."
The snake was twitching in Rojin's grip, the man holding it firmly behind the head. Its mouth was agape, showing a pink inner mouth and little white fangs.
"Snakes don't have eyelids and they don't have ears either. Isn't that interesting? I wonder what that would be like."
Kanao nodded, because it was indeed interesting. She had been wandering around one of the great outside lotus ponds within Paradise Faith when she found Rojin with the snake. She had only noticed the basket next to him from where he'd been nearly next to a small copse of trees, and when she drew closer that was when she realized he had caught the snake. He seemed more intent on admiring it than hurting it or cutting off its head.
"Are you going to kill it?" she asked.
"Oh no, snakes are very good for pests," Rojin said, waving his free hand as his wide eyes opened even further. "They love eating mice and rats, so if you find one inside you should release it back in the fields. They're aren't an angry snake, so usually they just leave if they sense people around. They only bite humans defensively."
He then opened the lid of the small basket to show that it was filled with ice and tossed the snake in, shutting it before the mamushi could escape.
With nimble movements he secured the basket with a length of twine while saying, "And since they're reptiles they go to sleep if its too cold. That way I don't have to worry about it biting me when I let it out again. I'll do it down near the edge of the commune, with the forest. Maybe an owl or fox will eat it before it wakes up, maybe not. But a better chance than if it was left in the commune as is, someone would've killed it for sure."
"How did you catch it?"
"There are people called snake charmers, from a country called Egypt and India. All across the sea, I've never been there myself. They use music but the snakes are actually paying attention to their instruments!" Rojin explained cheerfully, getting to his feet with jerky movements. "They think its a threat because its moving so close to them, so they focus on that. Snakes are always cautious. So I can do the same with a leaf or flower and the snake looks at that, because I'm not any good at playing instruments. But when the rest of me is still they aren't paying attention to it. So if I'm quick I can grab them. Also grab them behind the head. If you grab their tails they can twist about and nip you and then you'll be dead."
"Snakes are venomous," Kanao intoned.
"Hai. Mamushi are the most venomous ones in Japan. But nowdays if you get to a hospital you can recover well enough. Or Douma-sama, in this case. Since he's magic so he can heal snake bites. I think. Maybe? But I think if you got bit by many at one time you'd die before anyone could do anything about it. He can't bring back the dead. I think."
Rojin pursed his lips, staring aimlessly at the trees as he thought it over. Kanao let him be.
But it was a conversation she thought over, as she watched commune from one of the corners of Douma's temple. Perched there like a hawk, sandaled feet poking precariously over the edge with arms wrapped around her knees, as she eyed the people below. Most she could recognize by sight alone but there was always quite a high turn over rate due to Otousan's appetite.
As always, the place smelled of sweet blooming blossoms and the cool mountain air tugged at her dark hair within its ponytail. After a moment Kanao moved, movements as lithe as a cat's as she scurried down the ancient temple's walls. It was of a great dense stone, but as with anything time had gnawed upon it so it was easy for her fingers and feet to find slight leverage and places to cling to so not so long passed before she landed on top of a nearby building with the grace of a cat.
The day had mostly passed, the sky fading into evening with only a few more hours until sunset. Otousan was busy with his audiences, soothing his followers even if Kanao knew he was bored all the time at them. Inosuke and herself had spent most of the morning playing an assortment of games like tag, hide and seek, then swimming about in one of the great ponds trying to catch the fish with their hands. Kanao had more success with it, since she was a great deal more patient than her brother who had a habit of flinging himself into the water the moment he spotted a fish while she would lurk, still and silent as a statue, until they got within range of her hands.
Inosuke had also been consistently wearing the boar's skull she had gotten him for his birthday, Misaki puncturing some holes into the upper edge of the jawbone so she could thread it close with the skull so he could keep wearing it like a hat. He complained about wanting it fully hollowed out but Misaki was insistent that Kanao's gift to him not be damaged that badly but promised to try with some deer skulls. To hollow out the inner bone to make it more like a helmet or actual headpiece for him to wear. Kanao did not mind if that was what Inosuke chose to do with the babirusa skull but since Inosuke was not pressing the issue Kanao did not either.
At the moment Inosuke had fallen asleep after sneaking into the kitchens and nearly eating his own weight in dumplings. Kanao had hauled him over her shoulders like a sack of rice to take him to bed. Once there she had securely tucked him into his futon, then cleaned the skull to place neatly at his side, Kanao went to go people-watch.
It was an easy enough pastime and Kanao found it soothing, studying the people in the commune. She noticed how near all of the Paradise Faith members had a routine they stuck to, groups they gravitated towards and tasks they were assigned. Some, like Misaki, would do various jobs over the days from weeding the gardens to cooking food to tending to the paddocks. Others would simply stick to a certain job and never stray, like Kenji who tended to Douma's temple and barely ever left and Hama who looked after the children and did naught else. Kanao didn't really have a job in Paradise Faith though Misaki would occasionally have them tag along with her. More physical work would always held in distracting Inosuke while more patient things, such as trying to stitch up torn clothing, bothered him quickly. Also giving Inosuke sharp objects was not the best of ideas.
It helped Kanao come to terms with a plan as she watched. Tentative, like silt at the bottom of pool but something that became disturbed during her spying.
It was an idea born when she had retreated back inside, lurking within one of the great indoor lotus ponds. High above she was hidden within the various vines draping down around the Buddha statue towering above the room. The noise was simply that of the occasional koi fish splashing the surface and the small waterfall cascading down halfway across the room.
Kanao had been sitting there, patient and watchful as she observed the occasional person who entered the room. She had recognized Rojin at one point, but he was occupied with feeding the koi fish and was entirely ignorant to her watching him. Even from so far away she could see the redness of his lips, from where he had been chewing on them, and the deep circles around his eyes. All that combined with his long dark hair made her think of Oiwa and how so many spirits were portrayed in artwork. Kanao thought about how he would look as an oni, since Daki could move her hair and Rojin's was nearly as long as hers. Would his eyes change? She knew Douma's eyes had been rainbow coloured, even as a human. It seemed nothing of his changed except for teeth and talons, compared to Akaza who was covered in tattoos. Though Kanao did admit he had the prettiest hair she had seen thus far with any demon, so fluffy and pink.
After Rojin had left it took nearly twenty minutes for another group to enter, five girls all around several years older than her. Kanao watched them from her perch as they began to prepare with the tending of the garden, dressed for waterwork as they carefully stepped into the pond and began the task of cutting away dying blossoms and yellow or damaged leaves while inspecting the plants for pests. The heaviest ripe flowers were cut and placed in baskets the group left upon the walkway.
As they worked Kanao studied each intently, trying to judge their moods and body language. One was favouring her left knee, moving slower within the water than the rest as she carefully trimmed one of the lotus plants of its torn leaves. Kanao judged it as a sprain or ache, something the girl deemed too frivolously to bother Douma with healing. Kanao also knew there was a very high chance her father would eat the girl, if she chose to approach him.
Each petal of the lotus blossoms plucked Kanao counted, watching as each were placed in the basket. Even so far she could make out the details, trying to memorize them as best she could. They spoke of senseless things, mentioning the current harvest or recent marriage or new arrivals. Things Kanao did not care for as she continued to observe the group below. One of the girls, hair drawn back in a messy bun, had several small scratches along the inside of her left wrist which Kanao guessed was from a cat. All her nails were bitten back to their beds, red and puffy.
As the group made their way to each pool, the baskets slowly growing fuller and fuller with lush flowers, Kanao found herself near dozing. The air within the indoor garden was moist and warm, the roofing allowing shaded sunlight to stream forth. Enough Douma could walk through, Kanao knew, as he was unbothered on cloudy or rainy days. It was direct sunlight which rebuked him and she thought back to his comment of how he once had been little like her, and enjoyed the naps in the sun. It made her feel strange. Not quite sad or angry. Dissatisfied.
Then her brother's name being uttered by the group below instantly snapped her attention forth from her daydreaming, Kanao's breathing calm and easy even as her gaze fixated upon the girls below in the lotus pond with an unblinking violet stare.
"...Hashibira doused so much of it in that ink when he smashed up the room. It was my favourite kimono, too. With the cranes and the golden thread."
She could easily hear them speak from her vantage point, the room large and broad but contained. Kanao shifted slightly, the vines brushing against her shoulders as the delicate pearls clinging to her hairpin swayed.
"There's something wrong with that boy, it's as if he's feral or something."
Kanao recognized Yū, the one who called Inosuke feral. She was tall and slender, fingers deft as she plucked a yellowed leaf from a stem. Her long brown hair hung over her shoulders in dual braids, long enough they reached past her waist, with the ribbons trying her hair a pale blue which matched her eyes.
"He's Douma-sama's ward," one of the other girls said, giving her a sharp look.
"The leader is so gracious, to take in such a troubled child," another added.
"I'm hardly questioning the leader's graciousness," the girl with braids quickly said, "I'm just saying, it's been nearly a decade of Douma-sama's care and the child is still half mad. At the very least the girl is calm and quiet. She knows obedience and respect but that boy is wild. Perhaps even possessed by some beastly spirit. That could be the only explanation for his behaviour, after so long in the leader's care. Yet still he acts rabid. It's frightful, really."
There were some grumbles of agreement even as Kanao thought over the words. As the years passed most children now simply left Kanao alone, well used to her preferring only her own company or that of her family. Occasionally one would try to befriend her before Kanao's cold demeanor scared them off but ultimately they left her well alone compared to the earlier years of the snide, rude comments. With Inosuke, however, the complaints never seemed to stop. Mostly due to the fact her brother didn't care what he broke and his habit of biting people didn't seem to be ending. Some would complain to Douma directly, who just didn't care even if he occasionally spoke of platitudes and then scoffed about it later.
Kanao also typically ignored the complaints about her brother, since they were never ending and she did not care about the people complaining in the first place. Now, however, after the interaction with the Demon Slayer and then Upper Moon Three made Kanao deeply curious and determined about herself.
After her trip of Tokyo and, barring that one night where she met Akaza, Kanao never had another bad night of sleep about the incident. She would dream of the event sometimes, and it always ended with Douma biting out the woman's throat. Sometimes the fight would change, its location and how it happened even if intellectually Kanao knew the truth. Yet it always came back to that event of Kanao pushing the woman across the sunlight, to let her father kill the Slayer.
And then each morning she would think about what Otousan said about there being an entire organization dedicated to hunting his kind. The Demon Slayer Corps. She would think about it, either easily or deeply, but she did not bother her father about her thoughts since she needed to understand them herself. And it also had her thinking about Inosuke wanting to become strong like Douma, since he was aggressive by nature and would always choose to fight. Kanao hadn't, she had been forced to stand far away while that woman with her strange sword fought Douma and made him bleed.
Strength of the body wasn't just what Kanao wanted, however. She had stood there and only acted at the very end. At her father's insistence yes, but it left her unsatisfied all the same.
Kanao knew the Slayer was already dying before Kanao pushed her. So, in a way, she hadn't exactly killed the woman. The Slayer was going to drop dead regardless of Kanao and Douma's lack of intervention, if they had just left her there. But it did stop her from speaking to anyone in those dying moments, of speaking of Kanao.
Though that wasn't what Kanao brooded about, rather she kept thinking about her own desires and her obedience to Douma's orders given to her years ago; that whenever she was unable to decide upon something, she was to think to the benefit of her family and behave appropriately.
She had helped enforce the death of someone but it had been in the spur of the moment. Kanao was unsure if she could have committed the act if Kochou Kanae had not been in a fight with her father. If the woman had snatched her while Kanao was walking the streets of Tokyo when Otousan left her. If Kanao would have been capable of using her hairpin to stab the woman in the eye or try killing her without the threat of imminent death or harm to her family.
It made logical sense to her, to put her theory to the test. Action and non-action. What she could do and what she couldn't.
That was why when Yū called her brother mad Kanao took intense note of her, memorizing her appearance right down to the faint dusting of freckles across her nose and cheekbones. Body lithe and slender, slight muscles but nothing showing hard labour or any type of habitual athleticism. Her hair was bound in ribbons with no sharp pins to hold it back, and her clothing without any hidden weapons. And one who insulted her family.
As Kanao watched the other girl washing and cleaning the plucked lotus blossoms down below, a plan slowly came to being.
First was to observe her target.
Easy enough for Kanao to do, as she had free reign of Paradise Faith. No where was off limits to her, not even Douma's innermost rooms. The most challenging was to be without Inosuke, who was not subtle in the slightest. Vigorous play followed by hefty meals turned out to be an easy combination to enforce a nap so Kanao could be on her own. She also spent most of her observations during the day, when she know her father would be confined to his temple.
Yū spent her time with the same group of girls, talking and jesting with one another when they worked. They also slept in the same building, albeit in individual rooms which worked in Kanao's favour. She made sure to sneak into the room during the night, observing Yū's sleeping form in the futon- the fabric covered in cranes, it seemed she was fond of the birds as there was also a scroll depicting one hanging from the wall -as well as noting that Yū was a reasonable sleeper. Stirring with grumbles if Kanao stepped too loudly but not so light Kanao woke her. Quiet as a mouse, Kanao crept around Yū as she inspected the rest of the room; it was filled with typical things such as writing equipment and incense and small personal objects. Nothing too interesting. Yū's room was also located at the end left of the building, with the room directly across from her vacant except for an assortment of vases in various states of repair.
Yū followed a set schedule and the older woman in charge of the house the girls stayed at would set up the futons as the girls bathed for the night. Kanao spent several days watching until she determined there was a window of ten to fifteen minutes between the old matron laying out the bedding and the girls arriving. For Yū's room specifically since it was at the end and the one the old woman would lay out last.
Several plans thought out and just as quickly discarded. Knives were easy to find, as Kanao had free range of the kitchens. But she remembered how much blood there had been, she could not suck it into her skin to leave things clean. This was a test of resolve, not brute strength. Not for a fight, not yet anyway. It was to test her choices.
She remembered Rojin.
It was time for the final phase of her plan. For Kanao to test herself. Test her resolve.
First she took a pot from the kitchen and filled it with ice from the ice house. Perhaps it would've been easier to ask her father for his magic ice, since Kanao planned only for a single night, but she was determined to be independent. Douma always encouraged that and she had to take care of Inosuke.
Once done with the pot Kanao went hunting.
The first snake was in the brush leading from one of the gardens down the mountain towards the farmland. A mamushi but with browner scales and smaller than the one Rojin caught.
Remembering Rojin's words, Kanao snapped a small branch off a tree and stripped it until only a single leaf on the tip remained.
Then she teased the snake, judging the distance to keep herself out of biting range but close enough she could grab the snake's head when it lashed out.
It hissed, mouth opening as it coiled defensively. Kanao let it lash at the leaf weaving too and fro before it, gauging its speed.
One, two, three-
Quicker than the snake Kanao's hand snapped around the mamushi's head, grabbing it behind the skull as Rojin had. Its scales were smooth and warm against her fingers as it thrashed in her grip.
She carefully put the angry snake in the cold pot, sliding the lid back on before it could escape. Then she picked up and pot, kept her branch and moved on.
The next snake wasn't a mamushi, instead having olive scales and deep green blotches across it's scales so she ignored it. Further searching revealed no more serpents so Kanao left the gardens and headed downhill.
Due to secrecy Kanao made sure to avoid anyone heading back to the commune from the paddocks, able to spy them from afar like an eagle and hiding herself in the bushes until they passed. She had worn a deep green yukata for a reason.
Before long she found another mamushi, this one larger and slightly fat and tired from a successful hunt. It was slower than the first and soon it was in the pot.
The last she found in the thick forest strewn across the mountain, passing numerous animal tracks as her eyes scanned the grass and undergrowth.
When she finally found another mamushi, she was the furthest she had been from the commune without either Inosuke, Misaki or Douma. She felt anxious, being so far away. She did not know if any Slayers could find her on the mountain and steal her away like that woman tried to.
So she teased the last snake as quickly as she could, body and arm still as a statue as her fingers weaved the brach before the snake. The leaf nearly being bitten by the snake's neat little fangs before Kanao seized it.
Then it was in the pot, Kanao discarding the branch in the forest with the cold pot held close as she returned to Paradise Faith.
She hid the pot in her room, stowing it away in one of her gilded cabinets and hiding it beneath some painting supplies.
Then Kanao went to have supper with her family.
Onigiri with hot miso soup, pork tempura, slabs of grilled mackerel, pickled cucumber and yakiniku donburi which had very fat slices of pork which further delighted Inosuke. Douma drank his customary sake as his two children ate, Kanao calmly and politely wielding chopsticks while Inosuke favoured his hands.
It was calm and languid, enjoying Inosuke's loud boisterous voice and Douma's more amused, deep baritone while eating fresh delicious food which strengthened Kanao's resolved. She would do anything to protect her family, to protect this, and she must be sure in it. In herself.
Once done with dinner she bundled Inosuke off to sleep, Kanao having made sure to be a bit more persistent in giving him more and more food that dinner. She combed his hair, cleaned the skull and waited until he was asleep before going to her own room. She already knew Douma was eating that night, so he would be preoccupied. Only issue could be Misaki, but Kanao did night wanderings enough the woman wouldn't panic if she found Kanao's room empty. She would just have to make sure to avoid the woman in the hallways.
She waited silently in her room until it would be time for Yū and the other girls to prepare for bed. Then she retrieved the pot.
Carefully Kanao slunk through the temple, hiding behind walls and vases and statues as the pot rapidly chilled her fingers. Several times she had to scurry up a Buddha statue, hiding upon its shoulders until a person passed.
Beyond the temple was both trickier and easier, with trees and bushes to hide behind but more people heading indoors for the night that she had to avoid.
Kanao only just barely made it to the house in time, ducking behind a wood carving as the old matron shuffled past with an armful of kimono.
Not much time left, so on bare feet she ran down the hallway to reach the lady room. Inside the lamp was casting a golden glow, crane patterned futon laid out with the corner folded down. Yū's bed.
Quickly Kanao moved, taking out each snake of the pot and feeling its chilled scaly skin against hers. She knew Yū's height and as such knew where to place the snakes without having Yū's feet touching them when she went to bed. The mamushi's would wake gradually, cold blooded but Kanao knew Yū was quick to fall asleep. Then her body heat would draw the snakes to her, wanting to thaw. And their touch would wake her. Instinctively would panic, snakes reacting just instinctively. Defensive, snakes were cautious. Duvet was a heavy thing, easy to tangle.
Kanao smoothed down the futon once the last snake had been tucked inside, before leaving as quickly as she came. And only just missed Yū and the other girls returning from the communal baths.
Finished, Kanao went to the nearest pond and discreetly dumped the ice into it. Once done she went back into the temple and washed and cleaned the pot before returning it.
Then she went to bed.
She had no dreams.
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