Tanjiro and Kanao have settled down in their new family home just a few metres away from Tanjiro's ancestral home, and have given birth to four healthy children- one of who is Azami, a ten-year-old girl and the oldest child of the Kamado family. Yet...
Father probably realized the effect it was having on her, so he forced a small laugh. "Well, remember to always follow total concentration breathing, just as I instructed you to do. Are you doing it right now?"
Azami's chest ached from the pressure and the effort of total concentration breathing. It was necessary for her to perform total concentration breathing if she needed any hope to perform Hinokami Kagura with at least a fraction of the skill her father possessed. "Yes, I still am," she replied.
Father smiled at her. "Is that so?"
After a small pause, father pulled her into a bear hug. It was nice, long and warm hug. But Azami felt the reluctance of letting her go. It was though, as he said, he was scared of loosing her.
A long time ago, she had asked Father what her name meant. He told her that Azami was the name of a flower- one which had spikes and thorns all around it. It symbolized toughness, bravery, and greatness. She had to be tough, for the sake of her father, for the sake of her mother, for her siblings. For Aunt Nezuko.
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"Am I rushing things?" Tanjiro asked Kanao as the two of them sat down on a rock right by the hillsides next to their home. Kanao had called Azami into the house to sleep, and she had went outside to check on Tanjiro.
"I don't think she's ready to face a formidable enemy like Kibutsuji Muzan," Kanao agreed.
"She's just a child," Tanjiro said sorrowfully, "why did I burden her with an incredibly difficult breathing form as Hinokami Kagura?"
Kanao sighed. What Tanjiro was saying had justice, Azami was still young. It took Tanjiro months to master Hinokami Kagura without loosing his stamina or mobility. How was Azami going to do it in a day?
Yet, Kanao did not loose hope. She simply smiled, touched his cheeks, and said with conviction, "she's your daughter."
"She can do anything. Azami's brave, courageous, and persistent. She will rather not eat onigiri for a week than give up on something."
Tanjiro nodded his head, for he had confidence over his elder daughter, but he still remained doubtful.
"Do you know why I have so much faith in her?"
Tanjiro looked back at her with a questioning look.
"She reminds me of you."
Kanao continued. "I remember Aoi-san having told me about your condition during hospitalization when we were young. Your chest would often ache, your body temperature would rise exponentially, you could barely move your head for a half hour. I would often visit you unconscious in your bed for days. You never cried, never complained. Never gave up. Which is why you are standing there and teaching it to your daughter."
Tanjiro's shoulders lightened ever so slightly.
"Azami never complained once about her aching feet. She may have cried once or twice, but she never said she wanted to give up. That is something I see in both of you. Tomorrow morning, she is probably going to be up in the morning, practicing the exact same forms you taught her right now. Azami's not one to fall down. Just like you."
Kanao removed her hands from Tanjiro's cheek and stared out into the dark, blue sky. "She knows that she has very little time. So she will work very hard. Even if it did look like she was slacking away when fetching water, she is not the type of person who would do something halfway. Which is why, we will only be insulting Azami if we worry too much about her."
Tanjiro tried to smile, but it only came out as a wavering grimace. But Kanao could visibly see the change in his rigid body posture.
"Thank you! I'm kind of confident now." He stared deeply into Kanao's eyes as she stared back at him. His eyes were twitching and his smile was wavering.
"It's okay," Kanao reassured, "I'm the only one who is here."
It was then when Tanjiro's smile slowly turned into a pained frown, and tears escaped his eyes. He sobbed and sobbed into Kanao's shoulders, as she squeezed him. Her husband was very afraid. For his family, and of himself. There was no telling when he would demonize like Nezuko.
"I don't want to leave you! I don't want to see you die!" He sobbed uncontrollably.
