#how could you suffer the way you did and then ask tanjiro (your STUDENT) to carry on your legacy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

snowshinobi · 2 years

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Me? Having intense feelings about Rengoku Kyojuro? Yeah you got me

[content warning: Demon Slayer spoilers up through the Mugen Train arc (season 2), descriptions of emotional abuse, death, (roundabout) suicide]

so here’s my deal with Rengoku. It’s made clear in the show that his dad did not step up to the plate. He verbally abused Rengoku. His time as a hashira meant he spent far more time defending people against demons than he spent being with his family. After his retirement, his listless parenting forced Rengoku to be both and older brother and a surrogate father for his younger sibling. Rengoku’s respect for his father is clouded for good reason. Rengoku’s respect for his father’s high-octane career, on the other hand, is pure and absolute.

That, too, is an outgrowth of Rengoku’s emotionally abusive childhood.

The hashira are the most skilled demon slayers. Their extraordinary power matches the extraordinary scope of their mission: defend humanity against demons. Not just individual people, as lower ranking demon slayers are assigned to do. The hashira have fought for and continue to fight for everybody. They fight for humanity itself.

Rengoku’s post-punch flashback shows him as a young boy, maybe 6 years old. His mother, deathly ill, looks him right in eye and gravely tells him the immense power he was born with must be used to “protect the weak.” Not weaker classmates or neighbor kids. THE weak: anyone who requires aid from “the strong,” a small group of which Rengoku is part. His mother embraces him, he clings back, and they both cry.

That. Is far, far too much to put on a child’s shoulders. Dropping expectations that heavy on one person—especially a child—is, if not outright abuse, very close to it.

Fast forward to Rengoku, the flame hashira, following in his father’s complicated footsteps. When you’re a hashira, almost every other human is less powerful than you. “The weak” includes any and every other person you run into. That means any and everyone else’s needs must be put before Rengoku’s. It’s his duty to prioritize things this way. That’s what Rengoku has been raised to believe.

Never, not fucking once, does this guy put himself first. Never. The first thing Rengoku says after receiving a fatal blow is a gentle reminder to Tanjiro; Rengoku tells him stay still so Tanjiro’s gut wound doesn’t reopen.

Rengoku threw himself in front of the train cars full of defenseless humans because it is the right thing to do, but it’s far simpler than that. Rengoku does not have a choice here. He must protect these humans because that is his purpose. He is strong, they are not. Their lives are vulnerable and precious, so he must protect them at all costs. Even if that cost is his own precious and vulnerable life. Rengoku’s calculus is not utilitarian is what I’m saying. He’s not weighing a couple hundred human lives against his own and deciding that one life lost is better than hundreds. Rengoku would fight to the death to save one human. He would fight to the death to save the idea of humanity. He would fight to the death for a pyrrhic victory.

Rengoku’s death is a tragedy of ancient Greek proportions, as catastrophic as a tsunami and riddled with infinite aftershocks. Rengoku urges Tanjiro to pursue a hashira career. He urges Tanjiro to become him. Strip the meaning from your own life, willingly, in order to prioritize the lives of every other human in the world.

Tanjiro has one hell of a task ahead of him. Tanjiro’s dedication to his demon sister—who, according to the order of demon slayers, ought to be slain for the greater good—is the reason he’s training to slay demons at all. He wants to find a cure that will restore Nezuko’s humanity. I posit that this “cure” must also restore the hashira’s humanity.

The only way Tanjiro can reconcile his love for his demon sister and his passion for helping everyone he meets is to challenge the suicidal self-sacrifice built into the entire system of demon slaying. A truly just society cannot be built on the dehumanization of those seen as “other,” both in extremely negative and extremely positive ways: demons and hashira. The logic that labels Nezuko as dangerous and killable because purely she’s a demon—ignoring her peaceful track record—is the same contradictory logic that convinced Rengoku that he can and should gamble with his life in order to ensure the safety of other’s lives.

If you are extremely powerful or extremely dangerous, you need to (be willing to) die. So says the status quo. We, along with Tanjiro, watch Rengoku follow this idea to its gut wrenching conclusion. I think we’re gonna watch Tanjiro sever it. And I bet the water form he uses to do that will be awesome.

#snowswords #demon slayer spoilers #demon slayer #rengoku #rengoku kyojuro #what i didn't manage to get in there is that i was born and raised in america #so my feelings about individual value is deeply rooted in. well. my american background.#being half Japanese i can tell you I've personally experienced the way many Japanese folks prioritize #group harmony over individuals speaking out.#i find that trade off to be ... honestly? deeply toxic. but that's my perspective. I don't think there is a right answer here.#i just know i feel so so angry at and for Rengoku. this is why.#analysis #did i cry writing this? maybe. yeah a little ...#so far I've only seen the show (through to the last episode of the Mugen train arc) but i don't mind spoilers #feel free to chime in with manga content or future show content that complicates my post!#also also rengoku's character design fucks so much and i love looking at him #i will miss you my guy. god. you deserved so much better. im so sorry. im so angry at you #how could you suffer the way you did and then ask tanjiro (your STUDENT) to carry on your legacy #i mean of course i see how you could do that ... *gestures to post* but! i don't like it. makes me so fuckin sad #when rengoku gently tells tanjiro to stay still so his wound heals ... the horrible laugh-yell i yelled ...#pain. pain pain pain pain pain #add rengoku to the list of digital men who are in desperate need of a hug. also therapy but hug first #also wild coincidence (and spoiler for the Naruto series) but yknow who else had abusive parents who devalued their worth?#who also believed it was their duty to die for the greater good?#who also went out on a fatal stab wound? Neji fucking Hyuuga.#i cannot believe. two digital men have been taken from me in such a fashion. pain.#snowfire #Kyojuro analysis

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yorhaoverride · 4 years

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Quiet Ocean

A kny fanfic

By Himiiki

You can also read it on ao3 there are two chapters there already!!

Chapter one: Always like that

“The weak have no rights! They don't get to make choices! All they can do is be relentlessly crushed by the strong!“

__________________

“One day or another, you will have to tell the others not just Oyakata-sama, because one way or another you’ll manage to kill yourself by simply just ignoring your own body’s warnings of telling you to stop.” Shinobu murmured as she rubbed his back and encouraged him to take another sip of the ginger tea. “I don’t even know how Oyakata-sama even lets you go on missions anymore.”

Giyuu grimaced as half of the tea spilled against his chin in his futile attempt to swallow it. “It doesn’t affect my line of duty of slaying the demons,” As he said that he could feel Shinobu stare in the back of his head, “I know my limits.” Giyuu stated as Shinobu sighed.

“You know what, get some rest in here for the night Tomioka-san.” Shinobu knew it was a futile attempt as the black haired man before her never stayed, even when her sister was still alive and would take him to the butterfly estate to ‘treat’ of whatever unknown thing it was that he suffered, he never stayed. He would always nod, but when they left the room he was no longer there, vanishing into the forest and only appearing in the estate when he needed her help yet again.

It had become routine for the two pillars.

____________________________

“Oi! Tomioka why do you always appear late to meetings, do you really think you’re so good that you don’t even need to come? Or that you-“ Sanemi’s loud voice was cut short by Shinobu’s soft tone.

“Now, now Shinaguzawa-san, Oyakata-sama told us not to fight among ourselves.” Shinobu said, her voice as soft as the wind. It wasn’t a wonder that they all knew she had a way of saying anything and still sounding lovely.

Giyuu ignored them and proceeded to walk behind them

“And you’re just going to ignore us freak?” Sanemi felt the urge to turn around and punch the water pillar but he restrained himself from doing so.

“And this is why you don’t have any friends Tomioka-san.” Shinobu started to see if there was any reaction from the man following close behind her, when she didn’t receive any she added, “I think Tomioka-san just doesn’t like people.”

“I think he just believes he’s too good for other people.” Sanemi grumbled.

‘No, you’re wrong.’ Giyuu wanted to say but he kept on quiet, conversations would always end quickly if he just stayed quiet and he wouldn’t bother anyone that way.

Even when the lower moon demon almost managed to scratch his arm, he didn’t say anything. Even when he felt that his hands started to tremble after they’d all reunited with the remaining slayers that were still alive, he didn’t say anything.

Even when Shinobu asked him a quiet, “Are you okay?” He didn’t say anything.

It could wait. He told himself.

It wasn’t important.

____________________________

“Is Shinobu-“ Giyuu started and was unable to finish his sentence as a wave of nausea passed by him, he took a deep breath- as deep as he could without coughing and started again, “Is Shinobu available?”

Aoi looked at him almost as if she was analyzing to see if he had any injuries. “No she is still treating the slayers that suffered from the demon’s blood art, something about seizures that are happening to them.” Her words spoken as softly as the edges of the sun could already be seen.

It took a moment, but then Giyuu nodded and proceeded to turn around ready to walk away from the butterfly estate, only to stop when Aoi called out. “Tomioka-san!” His blue eyes suddenly stared at hers.

“You’re not- you’re not injured are you?” She asked a hint of concern in her voice, but Giyuu didn’t noticed, he never did.

His only response was to shake his head and wait until she told him that he could go. He didn’t want to walk and just ignore her, that would make her dislike him- right? or maybe she already disliked him as Shinobu had told him, no one liked him, he- he had no friends.

“Really? Because last time-“

“I’m not.” The dark haired man interrupted her.

“And what about that bandage over your wrist?” Her expression was now showing her clear worry.

“Oh-“ Giyuu stopped for a moment to look at his bandaged left wrist, “I burned it.”

No explanation whatsoever of the accident, Aoi already knew that’s how it usually went conversations with him, she had heard enough from the wind pillar complains and also held enough conversations with the water pillar to know how it would go.

“You can wait inside.” She said, and watched as the pillar just shook his head and proceeded to walk away from the butterfly estate and she slowly returned inside to help shinobu along with the others to treat the slayers.

Shinobu would probably lecture her about letting Tomioka leave specially when he asked for her, but she knew that no matter what she tried, he wouldn’t have stayed.

It was always like that

____________________________

The walk back to the Water estate was uneventful, his kasugai crow would eventually try to rest on his shoulder but would fail miserably until Giyuu stopped walking and finally it found a place, not in his shoulder but his hair.

But Giyuu decided to bear with it, the crow was old anyways, and it was the only thing that had stuck with him for so long anyways.

____________________________

Turns out, not asking Shinobu for which tea was good for what, had been a terrible mistake. He tried to sniff once again the smells of the teas in hope to remember which one it smelled like; but it was near hopeless as the headache just continued to throb and the shaking in his hands hadn’t seized yet causing him to drop the small container where he kept the black tea leaves.

“Fuck.” He knew he should’ve stayed, he knew that he should’ve accepted Aoi’s invite for him to stay but he knew the others needed attention and he wasn’t going to make Shinobu loose her time with him.

It was all his own’s body fault, it was all his fault for being weak, it was all his own-

A knock interrupted his ongoing thoughts. With shaky hands it took him a while but he finally managed to open the door and saw Shinobu’s- angry? worried? he couldn’t tell- but he could see her brows scrunched together

“What happened?” She closed the space between them and placed a hand on his forehead. “No fever that’s good then is it-“ She stopped and looked down at his hand, the tremor showing up ever so slightly.

Giyuu took her silence and began speaking, “I wanted to know which tea.”

A sigh left Shinobu’s lips as she made her way to the small kitchen with Giyuu following her, she ignored the tea leaves that were fallen on the ground and proceeded to gather the green tea powered and heat the kettle.

“I can-“

“Go sit down.” Shinobu cut him off and watched as Giyuu slowly made his way to the table.

A few minutes they stayed silent before Shinobu finally spoke up.

“Aoi told me you said you burned yourself.” Her eyes moving ever so slightly to meet his. “How?”

“I was making tea.” Was all he said, he knew she could get the mental image of it already, he knew Shinobu enough for that.

“Isn’t it time you get someone to work here?” He knew where this was going with her question, and it didn’t make things any easier.

“No.” Was his simple response.

“What about a student? Tanjiro you can train him and-“ Shinobu already knew what answer would be.

“No.”

“Tomioka-san please-“

“No.”

“It’s already the fourth time this week something has happened, one day you won’t be able to breathe and no one will come to your aid.” Her words spoken sharp as she poured water on the cup with the few spoons of the green tea powder.

Was it already? He hadn’t counted, he only remembered briefly two days ago he felt as if he just couldn’t breathe and his airways getting tighter. It wasn’t asthma, they knew, it was something else, something-

“And I can already see you’ve lost weight.” Shinobu placed the cup on the table, not meeting his eyes.

Well it wasn’t his fault that sometimes he couldn’t move his hands the way he wanted to so he would have to sleep or go on a mission without eating, was what Giyuu wanted to say, but instead all he managed was a small “Oh, I don’t think I have.”

Shinobu felt the urge to slap Giyuu’s head just to make him listen. “What about a pillar then? Someone that you know-“

“No.” Tomioka said once again as he fumbled with the cup on his hands and managed to drink a sip.

“Shinaguzawa-san maybe would-“

“He hates me.”

“Rengoku-san he-“

“I don’t talk to him.”

“Misturi-“

“I’ve never talked to her.”

“Dang it Tomioka!” Giyuu could now say she was angry. “Do you talk to any pillar? Do you ever talk to anyone? Obanai? Uzui? Himejima? Tokito?” The desperation in her voice now clear, “God you only talk to me because I’m the one that ever talks to you in the first place- seriously Tomioka you can’t continue to live like this- your own body is telling you that you can’t do this anymore that you have to-“ She was unable to finish her sentence as Tomioka interrupted with a soft voice.

“I’m fine.” A lie. It sounded almost as if he was trying to convince himself rather than Shinobu. He knew she was right, deep down he knew that, he knew that if he maintained total concentration breathing for more than a few hours a day it would leave him gasping for air sometimes, he knew his body sometimes decided to just disobey him.

Shinobu didn't say anything she simply started walking towards the door and before closing it she finally said, “Don’t come asking me for help again then.”

And Giyuu kept staring at his cup of tea, the trembling in his hands hadn’t seized one bit, the headache still ever so present, and suddenly nausea made its way and he went to the futon on the middle of the room and laid there.

If he was needed, his crow would wake him.

TBC

#kny #kny manga #kny fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #demon slayer #giyuu tomioka #tomioka giyuu #shinobu #sanemi shinaguzawa #kocho shinobu #demon slayer fanfic #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic

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kny-secret-santa2019 · 4 years

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from: @sacrasm to: @bi-hop merry crimmus! you asked for something about the nightmare before christmas, but ive never seen the full movie so i hope you like my gift to you!

fast times at fujikasane university

Tanjiro found himself standing in the entryway of an eight person dorm at Fujikasane University, arms full of bags. He could see a living room straight ahead, a few couches and a low table the only thing decorating the space. Well, if you could call the mess of boxes ‘decoration’, then he supposed those counted as well. His sister Nezuko skipped into the dorm before he could, eager to explore the new space.

“Hello?” He called out, walking further into the dorm. There was some loud, crashlike noises coming from one of the rooms off to the side, but it didn’t seem like many of Tanjirou’s dormmates had arrived yet. Nezuko looked at him quizzically, but he just shrugged.

All of a sudden, the room farthest from them burst open and two boys tumbled out. One of them was fairly standard as strangers go, but his hair was the color of fake cheese that comes in a can. The other one was wearing what looked like a brown fursuit of some king. They were both yelling at each other and seemingly unaware of Tanjirou’s presence.

“Get off! Get off of me!”

“RAAAAAAAGH!”

“AAAAH SOMEONE HELP oh you, right there, help me!” The blonde noticed him first, and stopped screaming now that there was a third person in the dorm.

The other one continued yelling and flailing around, so Tanjirou headbutted him.

“Ow! Hey, that’s fucking rude!” The other person grumbled, rubbing where Tanjirou assumed their head was.

“Thanks for getting that madman off of me! He suddenly jumped on me and started yelling, I don’t know why! Please protect me from that feral thing.”

The blonde pointed a trembling finger at the furry lump that was still growling, then shrieked in terror as it lunged at both boys. “RAAAAAAH!”

Both of the boys ducked behind the couch and let the feral thing go flying. It landed with a heavy thump, and didn’t move for a few seconds. When it did, a blanket fell to the floor and revealed another guy, except he was fully clad in what looked like a boar onesie. Tanjirou tilted his head quizzically, while the other boy stopped screaming for the first time since they met.

“HEY-”

“IT CAN SPEAK!” And then the dorm was full of screaming again. If the RA hadn’t heard by now, Tanjirou was willing to bet they had.

“IT-”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Stop yelling!” Tanjirou shouted, waving his arms wildly. The guy in the onesie stopped, but the blonde continued until Tanjirou bodily picked him up and set him down on the couch. “My name is Tanjirou Kamado, this is my sister Nezuko, and we’ll be your roommates for the year!”

He patiently waited for their own introductions, but all he got was a grunt of “Inosuke Hashibira,” and a very timid “I’m Zenitsu Agatsuma…”

“Nice to meet you! Now, why were you guys yelling?”

Zenitsu peered over the back of the couch to look at Inosuke, who was still glowering a few feet away. Nezuko drifted over to him and pet the soft looking fur of his onesie, and Inosuke just. Stopped glowering.

“I came in and was minding my own business, and that guy over there was just standing in one of the bedrooms! He was staring at a wall like a complete weirdo.”

“Hah?? Who’s the weirdo?? You were the one who screamed first!” Inosuke shouted.

The two boys started bickering again before Tanjirou intervened. This time he made sure to stay in between them, and kept them from yelling too loudly.

Apparently Inosuke had gotten to the dorm first and picked a room for himself. He also apparently slept sitting upright in a onesie, which scared Zenitsu. That’s when he started screaming, then Inosuke roared back, then Tanjirou walked in and the rest of the chaos ensued.

Once they were done talking, Tanjirou found that he liked his new roommates. Zenitsu seemed very kind and understanding if a bit of a ‘fraidy cat, and Inosuke was very blunt and wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions. He also learned that though they were in an eight person dorm, there were only going to be five of them. Their fifth roommate had yet to appear, but Tanjirou was hoping that he’d get along with them as well.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking and organizing his dorm with Nezuko. Tanjirou hung up all his clothes in the closet, made his bed, decorated his half of the room, and helped his sister unpack in the time it took for Zenitsu and Inosuke to finishing fighting over which dorm who would be staying in. Despite there being three rooms to choose from, they decided to share one. Tanjirou could hear something about Inosuke being there first but Zenitsu liked the view and in the end neither boy was willing to leave.

The fifth roommate made a brief appearance, introduced himself as Kyogai as quickly as Tanjirou would let him, and proceed to move in six tsuzumis, one (1) ton of loose papers, and what looked like an entire library. He took the room next to Tanjirou and Nezuko’s, and didn’t come out for the rest of the night. More power to him, Tanjirou supposed.

On the first day of actual school, Tanjirou left his dorm with Zenitsu and Inosuke to go to Inter. Karate. By some stroke of luck, they had all signed up for the same 8:30 karate class. They’d even ended up in the same workout group, along with two upperclassmen. Tanjirou knew one of them; his name was Giyuu and he was a longtime friend of the Kamado family. They’d been neighbors from middle school onwards, and part of the reason why Tanjirou wanted to apply to Fujikasane. The other student was a short girl with sections of her hair dyed a vibrant purple. She looked too frail to be in a martial arts class, much less an intermediate one.

“Hey, aren’t you too weak for this class?” Inosuke bluntly asked the girl, making Tanjirou and Zenitsu drop their jaws in shock.

“Inosuke, you shouldn’t say things like that! It’s rude!” Zenitsu exclaimed.

The girl laughed in response and took a step forward. In the blink of an eye, Inosuke was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Giyuu snorted and gestured at him. “Is this the roommate you were texting me about?”

Tanjirou vigorously nodded. “How’d you know, Tomioka-san?”

“He’s still wearing the onesie. And don’t call me that.”

The girl who’d brutally judo flipped Inosuke howled with laughter. “Tomioka-san! Ahaha, that’s adorable. You know this kid? He’s a real hoot.”

“Do me a favor Kochou, and just stop talking. Forever.”

“Awww, that’s cruel of you Tomioka-san! Young man, don’t you think he should be nicer to a poor defenseless girl?”

“You just threw Inosuke, I don’t think that’s very defenseless of you-”

Kochou continued to laugh. Giyuu closed his eyes and let out a long suffering sigh. When Inosuke finished getting to his feet and glared at her, she only laughed harder, especially when the younger boy rushed at her. It resulted in the expected outcome: Inosuke fell to the floor in a graceless heap again when Kochou sidestepped and tripped him.

“Man, this kid is a real hoot. Do you want to try again, Inosuke-san?”

He grunted in response and tugged the boar shaped hood of his onesie over his blue-black hair.

The rest of the class went by in a similar manner; though Tanjirou and his roommates were proficient in martial arts, the two older students consistently beat them. Tanjirou eventually got tired of being thrown around by Kochou and started practicing with Giyuu, but the other two boys were determined to best her at least once. By the time class ended, neither Zenitsu nor Inosuke had succeeded. Kochou had given them several opportunities, but the two of them got in each others way or bickered about who got in whose way.

“You two numbskulls are kind of entertaining, I’ll give you that.” She laughed.

“Did she just insult us?” Zenitsu asked Inosuke.

The other boy gave him a hard look. “Do you think I know what an insult is?”

“Ah, oh man, you’re going to make me cry. Tell you what, I’ll give you two a consolation prize: a frat bid.”

“A fraternity?” Zenitsu’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Like the ones where students drink?”

Giyuu sighed for the seventh time.

—

“And that’s how we ended up here, in the middle of the woods,” Tanjirou finished. “Otherwise, my roommates and I probably wouldn’t have shown up to Rush Week!”

Kanao nodded in understanding and signed, ‘My older sister is a Pillar, so I’m going to pledge with her frat.’ To Zenitsu who relayed it back to Tanjirou.

She was a sophomore that he met in the library a week back, and now they were study buddies. He’d wanted a tutor for Biology and met Kanao, and became quick friends due to his friendly nature. She was also mute like Nezuko, and he made sure to introduce them.

“Oh, that’s so cool! My friend is a Pillar, too!” Tanjirou replied, thinking of Giyuu.

“The fuck’s a Pillar?” Inosuke grumbled. “I showed up for free beer, and because you ‘n Blondie stole my room key.”

‘Pillars are the officers for Delta Sigma Chi.’

Inosuke grunted in understanding, but Tanjirou was cut off by the music that began to come from the loudspeakers on the makeshift stage a hundred feet away. An older student with bright pink hair and unique striped tattoos was hanging from the lighting which struck him as dangerous, but the guy seemed to be just fine. The pylons were shaking so much that he should’ve fallen off, but his legs were firmly hooked around the supports.

“Welcome to Rush Week, plebs!” He shouted into a mic. Some of the girls in the crowd screamed his name, but their voices got lost in the blasting music coming from the sound system.

With his shout, the giant party kicked off and all the students went wild. A lot of the freshmen flocked to the drinks table and the dance floor, while another substantial chunk wandered towards the frat court.

“Hey, I think it’s this way!” Zenitsu shouted, barely audible over the bass boosted music blaring from the speakers. “There’s the sign for Delta Sigma Chi!”

Tanjirou nodded and linked his arms with Nezuko, Inosuke, and Kanao to keep them from getting lost in the sea of partygoers as they followed Zenitsu. His blonde hair made a surprisingly good beacon amongst the crowd of dark haired students, even more so with the neon lights.

“Who’s that group of glitter munching idiots?” Inosuke asked, looking in the direction of a platform that had been erected a little ways away. There were twelve individuals standing on top of it, looking down on the crowd. There was a banner hung up behind them, but he couldn’t make out the words on it from that far away.

“I think that’s Alpha Kappa Mu,” Tanjirou replied. He’d heard about them from some of the older students; not everyone was cut out for AKM. They were one of the only fraternities who still engaged in hazing its pledges, and were known for sometimes being the nastiest students on campus. Tanjirou wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, because he was taught not to judge based on appearances, but there was something about its officers that struck him as a little off. Alpha Kappa Mu was also Delta Sigma Chi’s long standing rival, so he made sure to steer clear.

Some girl, probably an officer, had tried to recruit Nezuko as an AKM pledge earlier in the week, but she’d refused. The officer hadn’t been happy and continued her attempts to coerce Nezuko, but Giyuu spotted her across the quad and hurried over to intervene. When he made it clear that Nezuko wasn’t interested, she reluctantly slunk off and Giyuu walked Nezuko back to the dorms in case the girl was waiting to try again.

They continued to make their way through the crowd until Kanao tugged the three of them towards a slightly quieter part of the clearing. There was a small gathering of students already there, but based on the sign that read ΔΣΧ in big, sloppy painted characters.

“HEY HEY HEY!” Someone shouted, making poor Zenitsu shriek in fear and Inosuke roar in response. “Well that’s not very cash money of you,” the person calmly said to Zenitsu, tsk’ing at his reaction.

“Uzui, don’t scare the fresh meat.” Someone called, most likely one of the frat officers.

“I’m not scaring them, I’m just looking.” Uzui huffed. “They seem kinda small this year, don’cha think?”

“Hey! Just cuz I’m short doesn’t mean I can’t bite your fucking face off!” Inosuke shouted, making the Pillars blink in surprise. “I’ll fuck your mom!”

“Inosuke, calm down-” Tanjirou said, trying to placate his friend. Inosuke just snarled and glared at Uzui.

“Shinobu was the one who gave him a bid.” Giyuu deadpanned, making his way through the crowd to Tanjirou and his friends. Kochou followed not long after, waving her hands in the air. Kanao beamed when she saw her, though Tanjirou didn’t know why.

“I thought he was interesting! It would’ve been criminal to pass up on kids like them! Don’t you think so too, Rengoku-san?” “Haha, of course! I welcome anyone who’s proven themselves to a Pillar! I’m sure Oyakata-sama would too!”

A fourth upperclassman had wandered over, well-muscled arms crossed over his chest. Tanjirou recognized him as one of Giyuu’s college friends, though he didn’t know his name. Whoever he was, Tanjirou had to admit that he was cute. He was obviously attractive, but his himbo tendencies made him 10x cuter.

Kanao waved, obviously familiar with everyone. ‘This is the Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyoujurou, the Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen, the Water Pillar Tomioka Giyuu, and my sister! She’s Kochou Shinobu, the Insect Pillar.’

“She’s your SISTER?!” Zenitsu shouted. “A nice girl like you has an ogre like that for a sister?!”

“Watch who you call an ogre,” Shinobu said, shooting Zenitsu an ominous smile.

“Now it’s my turn to remind you not to scare the fresh meat.” Uzui shot back, smirking down at the other Pillar.

Shinobu flipped her bangs and huffed, paying no mind to his words. She opened her mouth to say something else, when a hush fell over their section of the woods. It didn’t take long for Tanjirou and his friends to notice that a new person had arrived, and that they must’ve been the president of ΔΣΧ based on the way all the Pillars silently deferred to them. As they drew closer, Tanjirou could see that it was a man not much older than the rest of them. The strangest thing about him was that his eyes were kind of glassy, almost like they couldn’t focus. He thought that the man was blind, but he looked at each of them with such ease that he didn’t think a sightless person could possess.

“Hello, Rengoku, Uzui, Giyuu, and Shinobu. And hello to you as well, though I don’t know your names.”

“I’m Tanjirou, and this is my sister Nezuko!” Tanjirou brightly said, vigorously shaking the man’s hand.

Zenitsu and Inosuke introduced themselves afterwards, but Inosuke refused to shake his hand. The man didn’t seem fazed, and began talking to the Pillars. Giyuu introduced him as Oyakata-sama, the president of the fraternity as Tanjirou originally thought. His real name was Ubuyashiki Kagaya, but it was apparently tradition to call the president Oyakata. Something about a holdover from the Taisho Era, but history was never Tanjirou’s best subject. And he was, in fact, blind, but he Ubuyashiki was so well adjusted that aside from the IV cane he held, no one could tell that he couldn’t see. “Well, I think it would only be proper to give them all bids,” Ubuyashiki said, snapping Tanjirou back into the conversation. “You’ll get a flyer about initiation in a week or so, so make sure you keep an eye out for it.”

They all thanked the fraternity president, and then he was moving on to greet another group of pledge hopefuls. Having gotten their bids, Zenitsu and Inosuke headed back to the dorm while Tanjirou, Nezuko, and Kanao stayed behind to chat with their Pillar friends.

—

Stage 1: report to the delta sigma chi frat house to begin the initiation process

—

Like Ubuyashiki said, Inosuke found a flyer slipped under their door regarding initiation. He almost threw it away thinking it was trash, but Zenitsu stopped him before he got rid of it. They also found another flyer, but it had ‘Alpha Kappa Mu’ written across the header. Tanjirou guessed that Kyogai must’ve pledged with the rival frat, since he, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke had all gotten bids from Delta Sigma Chi.

It said to find the Delta Sigma Chi house on Frat Row to find out about the first part of initiation, so Tanjirou and his three roommates (plus Kanao) made their way over and found themselves on the porch waiting for someone to answer the door. Kanao had just knocked again when the door swung open, revealing a bright eyed Shinobu.

Instead of a standard ‘hello’, Shinobu looked at each of them and immediately asked, “You kids got any comfy blankets?”

“Uh…” Was Zenitsu’s answer.

“Why?” Tanjirou asked, ever curious.

“Eh, you’ll find out. I hope you do, at any rate. GIYUU!” She shouted into the house. “YOUR PLEDGELINGS ARE HERE!”

The sound of several doors slamming and slippers on stairs could be heard, before one (1) tired Giyuu Tomioka appeared wrapped in a weird half magenta half yellow green geometric patterned blanket slash cape. It looked a bit like a fashionable Snuggie, but also nothing like a Snuggie because there was no front. His hair was in its trademark ponytail, but some of it was falling out and into his eyes. He tucked most of the flyaways behind his ear and tried to redo his hair as he came down the stairs, but it didn’t fix much.

“Stop fucking yelling.” The Water Pillar grumbled.

“YEAH, KOCHOU!” Uzui bellowed from somewhere inside the frat house.

“SHUT. UP.” Someone else screamed, immediately followed by the slamming of another door.

“Ugh.” Giyuu scrubbed a hand over his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What’s this about pledges?”

Shinobu pointed at the three boys plus Nezuko and Kanao in the doorway and Giyuu sighed. She cackled and left him with the five freshmen, who filed into the house and into one of the smaller living rooms. They settled on one couch, squishing together to fit four on a loveseat for two. Giyuu took an armchair and pointedly looked at the four other available couches, but none of them moved.

“Okay, I’ll bite. Why are you here? Tanjirou comes every other day because we’re friends, and so is Nezuko, but why are the rest of you here?”

Nezuko handed him a slip of paper that read ‘report to the delta sigma chi frat house to begin the initiation process.’

“Oh. Stage 1 is just making yourself one of these,” he gestured to his weird blanket, “and wearing it for the rest of the semester. A lot of members wear it afterwards, since it’s just a blanket. Sort of.”

“IT’S CALLED A ‘BLAPE’, TOMIOKA! GET WITH THE PROGRAM!” It sounded like Uzui, but someone else yelled at him to shut up (again) so Tanjirou couldn’t tell.

“That’s it?? Just wear one of those? Easy!” Inosuke asked.

“For the semester,” Tanjirou reminded him.

“Yeah. It’s a little weird, but bear with it.” Giyuu said, shifting his blanket cape so it wouldn’t fall off. “It’s been one of the few traditions Delta Sigma Chi’s held onto since its founding.”

“Inosuke can barely keep his shirt on, I don’t think he’ll be able to -” Zenitsu paused as he turned to see Nezuko draping a blanket that’d been on the couch around her and her brother. “Seriously?? Am I the only one against this?”

“It’s really not that bad, Zenitsu…” Tanjirou admitted. “This might make my eight A.M. lecture a little more bearable, actually!”

“Now that’s the spirit!” Rengoku boomed, appearing at the top of the stairs in his own gaudy fire patterned blanket cape. “I knew we had some good pledges this year!”

He came downstairs and congratulated them for making it to the frat house before any of the other pledges had. The Flame Pillar even showed them some sewing patterns Kanroji and Himejima had put together as the standard blanket cape for Delta Sigma Chi members. Most of the other pledges would be left to figure out how to make their own by themselves, but out of courtesy (plus Tanjirou and Kanao’s connection to the frat), he decided to lend a hand.

Another one of the Pillars wandered downstairs while the five of them were there, someone that Tanjirou didn’t recognize.

“If you guys come back at five, we’re doing a movie night for all the pledges. We’re going to vote, but honestly? We’re just going to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas.” He said, tossing said blu-ray to them.

They ended up staying and texting Inosuke and Zenitsu to come back later in the evening and had a fun movie night, meeting the other pledges and eating pizza while Jack Skellington waltzed around on the TV.

–

Stage 2: all pledges have one month to play as many funny temporary and NON-LETHAL pranks on any and all members of alpha kappa mu regardless of their membership status

—

“What do you mean you ordered a pizza for AKM’s president?!” Zenitsu furiously whispered.

They were sitting in the lecture hall listening to Professor Urokodaki give a presentation about the Sengoku Period. There were a few members of Alpha Kappa Mu scattered around them, but the president himself was sitting all the way in the back. Tanjirou had seen Kibutsuji Muzan terrorizing other freshmen and lording his seniority over them. He figured that he’d focus most of his pranks on Kibutsuji for that, and also because Kyogai came back to the dorm once with red eyes and bruises.

“I paid Murata-kun who works at the Jake’s down the street and told him to bring it here.” Tanjirou shrugged. “Who doesn’t like pizza?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Well, Professor Urokodaki is a family friend and I asked him beforehand-”

“Tanjirou, you paid Murata-kun to give Kibutsuji a pizza in the middle of a lecture and he’s the president of Alpha Kappa Mu who is our Rival Fraternity??! The guy who is infamous for being evil???”

The student sitting in front of them turned around with a quiet laugh. “Oyakata-sama said pledges have to prank AKM again this year, didn’t he?”

“Uh, yeah. You are?” Zenitsu suspiciously asked.

“Tokitou. I’m one of the Pillars.” The boy said, giving them a distant smile. “I just got back from my study abroad in Kyoto so I haven’t heard much about what’s going on.”

“Well, if you wait about fifteen minutes, you’ll see, or whatever.” Zenitsu sighed. “I can’t believe you’re seriously trying to one up Kibutsuji, of all people! He’s terrifying!”

‘Not everyone is as scared of AKM as you are, Zenitsu.’

“You’re supposed to take my side, Kanao!!”

Tokitou laughed at the pledges and went back to taking notes, when someone hesitantly knocked on the door and stepped into the hall, effectively interrupting Urokodaki’s lecture.

“I, uh, have one medium vegetarian pizza for Kibutsuji?” Murata nervously said, shaking just a little bit.

All the heads in the lecture hall turned to face the back where he sat, red eyes almost glowing with rage underneath the shadow of his fedora. The professor disinterestedly looked at Murata to his student, with the air of someone who’d seen it a million times.

“Well, Kibutsuji? Are you going to come and get the pizza you so carelessly ordered?”

Through clenched teeth, he said, “I didn’t order a pizza.”

Urokodaki rolled his eyes. “Well the delivery man said your name, didn’t he? I don’t know how he’d benefit from lying in this situation.”

“Just pay for the pizza,” one of Kibutsuji’s friends was saying. “You can deal with the prof later.”

There was some mild grumbling from the man but he paid Murata for the food and told him to leave it by the door. For the rest of the hour long lecture, Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Kanao could feel someone’s venomous gaze on the backs of their necks. Tokitou, on the other hand, leaned back in his seat again and made a face in Kibutsuji’s direction. A few students in between the two of them gasped, but the Pillar remained unfazed.

When Zenitsu’s jaw dropped, Tokitou said “Michikatsu, the senior next to him, is my second cousin. Or something.” By way of explanation. Not that it explained much.

—

Stage 3: hang out with a Pillar or Delta Sigma Chi member of choice for one week

not to do menial labor, that’s hazing

it’s for fun and a chance to get to know your fellow frat members

—

The frat member Tanjirou decided on, obviously, was Giyuu. He was going to go meet up with Rengoku as well, just to call things even, but he and the Water Pillar went to one of the on-campus cafes for drinks one Friday. That’s how Tanjirou wound up standing at the order counter with Giyuu’s recyclable cup with the words ‘ur cute hmu?’ staring back up at him.

Tanjirou blinked, hard. Then he pivoted on his heel and marched the innocuous cup back to Giyuu.

“Um, your coffee’s ready?”

He stiffly placed the cup in front of Giyuu who briefly glanced at the message written on the coffee cup. His face remained devoid of emotion while he read the short note, and without a single reaction he took a sip of his still steaming drink. Tanjirou looked back at the (cute) barista who made a questioning gesture. When Giyuu still hadn’t reacted, he apologetically shrugged and mouthed ‘sorry’ before being yanked down into a chair.

“People are staring.” Giyuu flatly said.

“But - the nice student who made your drink thinks you’re attractive?” Tanjirou asked.

“Ignore him.”

The girl at the table over from theirs giggled and leaned towards Giyuu. “Tomioka, isn’t it rude to do that?” Tanjirou recognized her as Mitsuri, one of the Pillars. He had yet to personally meet her, but knew she was a friend of Giyuu’s and part of Delta Sigma Chi. “You should at least say hello!”

“Yeah,” Tanjirou agreed. “You should at least turn him down if you’re not interested, Giyuu-san.”

The Water Pillar tiredly sighed. Mitsuri grinned like a cat that got the cream, but Tanjirou had no idea why. Then Giyuu got up, walked over to where the barista was still waiting at the order counter, leaned over it, and kissed him with little fanfare. Tanjirou’s jaw dropped in shock and Mitsuri laughed at him. The barista fistpumped and Giyuu gave Tanjirou a look that said ‘are you satisfied?’. On the way back to the table, they both stayed silent. The Love Pillar was still laughing by herself, although there was someone sitting with her now. He’d appeared out of nowhere, and Tanjirou almost fell out of his chair.

“Obanai,” Giyuu said by way of greeting.

“Asshole,” the man said back. “I’m still mad at you about last month.”

Obanai and Giyuu started passively arguing about something petty one of them had done in response to something the other did while Tanjirou watched. He wasn’t entirely sure who was right and who was wrong, but he was leaning towards Giyuu mostly out of personal bias. Kanroji tried to step in and resolve the argument, but Obanai just kept talking.

“And you,” he said, pointing a finger at Tanjirou. “I can’t believe that you made Oyakata-sama give your sister a bid. Delta Sigma Chi is about undeclared majors and acceptance, and she’s declared a major!”

“Obanai, leave it alone,” Kanroji suggested. “Anyone is welcome in the frat, major or no. Plus, Oyakata-sama already said she could pledge. If you keep eating sour lemons, then that’s the only thing you’ll be able to taste.”

Tanjirou tilted his head in confusion. “But Obanai-san is drinking hot chocolate?”

“It’s a saying, Tanjirou.” Giyuu said. “As for what he’s saying, he’s just annoyed Oyakata-sama let in someone with a major. He’s usually stricter about it.” “Oh, I see.” He hummed.

Giyuu took another sip of his drink and Tanjirou found himself not only talking to his friend, but the other two Pillars as well. Half an hour passed like that, until a newcomer approached their tables and sat themselves square on Giyuu’s lap. It took Tanjirou a minute to realize it was the barista from earlier, mostly because he too was wearing one of Delta Sigma Chi’s blanket capes. It was the same yellow-green geometric pattern as Giyuu’s, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Giyuu had used the leftover fabric from his or if he had used it to imitate Giyuu.

“Isn’t that-”

“This is my boyfriend. He works in the cafe and likes to flirt with me, even though we’re already dating.” He explained.

“I’m Sabito,” the barista said, giving Tanjirou a smile reminiscent of a fox.

Immediately, the gears clicked. “You’re Sabito! Oh, Giyuu’s told me about you! He talks about you like you’re the sun and didn’t you go to my high school?”

“Yeah, I think so. Natagumo High?” Tanjirou nodded.

“Wow, that’s so cool! I’m looking forward to being in ΔΣΧ with you!”

Sabito gave him another one of his fox’s smiles and Giyuu let out yet another long suffering sigh.

—

Step 4: congrats, you’re now a full member of ΔΣΧ! make sure to have fun as part of delta sigma chi at fujikasane university!

and remember to antagonize alpha kappa mu as often as you humanly can!

dont forget to set your heart ablaze 🔥🔥🔥!!!

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