"Wh-what?" Yuki said as she covered her mouth with her hand, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
Muzan glared at the owl as he approached, Shizuka glared back defiantly. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and spoke softly, "why don't we go inside and talk about this."
Yuki nodded and kept the owl on her arm as she walked inside with the other demons behind her, much to Shizuka's discomfort. Once they were inside the house, the demons sat on the couch while Yuki stood in the middle of the room to pace before she finally said something.
"Tomorrow morning huh?" she asked and the owl nodded.
Yuki looked towards the demons as they stared at her.
"Don't even think about it Yuki," Akaza said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"You don't understand. I raised this tiger from a newborn cub after I saved his mother from being skinned. He is like a child to me," Yuki pleaded as the tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
"Yuki honey, you can not go out into the world. It's dangerous and with it during the day time, we can not come help you," Gyutaro said to her.
"But I am....was a Hashira, I can handle myself," she began until Kokushibo cut her off.
"Not against the rest of the Hashira you can not. You barely made it back from dealing with four of them," he said flatly making her flinch. Yuki tried one more tactic before giving up: she looked at Muzan. Muzan, although cruel and careless towards everyone else, had a hard time saying no to his little wife and daughters. He blinked when she looked at him, giving him her best puppy dog pout. He stared at her with an arched brow and his mouth quirked, trying not to falter.
"You can do it my king, tell her no," Douma cheered for him.
Yuki kept staring intently at him and he finally sighed, placing his hand on his face, "must you really go?"
"Yes...that tiger meant the world to me and was always by my side until....I came here," Yuki said, whispering the last part.
Muzan patted her on the head as he sighed, "fine. But you must be back by sundown."
Yuki's eyes lit up in excitement as she laid her head into Muzan's chest and snuggled there for a moment, "thank you my love." He smiled softly for a moment before returning to his normally emotionless face.
"We wanna go too!" Mizuki exclaimed.
"Yeah! We wanna see the outside world with Mama!" Nanami yelled.
"Absolutely not!" Akaza yelled.
"You can't take my angels!" Daki pouted.
"Girls...they might be right. Mama could be going somewhere dangerous," Yuki explained as she bent down to them. Shizuka cooed in confusion on Yuki's arm, moving to her shoulder to see the tiny girls. Yuki smiled at the owl, "Ah! Yes, these are my daughters. Meet Nanami and Mizuki."
"Hi pretty bird!" Mizuki said as she patted the owl's head. Nanami giggled as she stroked the fur on her wing. The owl cooed at them both sweetly, nuzzling her head against their tiny hands.
"Actually, it might be good for them to go," Muzan said as he looked at them all. Yuki looked at him in surprise, "you can't be serious?"
"I am," Muzan continued, "the Hashira will be less likely to try anything with the girls there with you and who better to be with on their first outing into the world than their mother? They will be safest with you."
"Oh please Mama can we!?" Nanami squealed as her and her twin sister looked up at their mother with the same puppy dog pout she used on Muzan a few moments ago. Shizuka bumped her head into Yuki's to gain her attention before softly replying, "I can assure you they will be safe."
Yuki bit her bottom lip in thought before sighing in defeat, "ok, you can come too." Both girls cheered happily as the other demons looked at them both in disbelief.
"I don't like this one bit," Akaza said as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.
"Akaza and I tend not to agree with one another, but this time I think we do," Douma said with a worried expression.
"They will be fine," Muzan said, "besides, if something prevents them from coming back after sundown then we will go get them ourselves."
"Alright my loves, I think it is best that you go play and rest this evening so we can go during the day time," Yuki said as she kissed the foreheads of her two daughters. The two girls ran off to their room to play with their mother right behind them. Muzan stared after them for a moment in deep thought before going into his lab.
That morning as Muzan was coming to lay down with her, Yuki got up from the bed to stretch before getting dressed. She had let Shizuka rest on the chair beside her for the rest of the night and gently patted her head as she passed the chair. Muzan watched her trying to decide what to wear when he sighed deeply. He got up from bed in just his pajama bottoms like always, and bent down to retrieve a box underneath the bed. Yuki watched as he opened the box after placing it on the bed to reveal her old slayer uniform. She gasped and looked up at him, "I thought you threw it away..."
"I wanted to, but you seemed so attached to it. I just hid it from you until you needed it again. I think today is that day," he said as he kissed the top of her head lovingly. Yuki looked down at the haori coat, running her fingers over the swirled and snowflake pattern. Looking at this outfit brought memories back she had thought she forgotten, but she smiled up at Muzan, thankful for him. She placed a kiss to his lips as a thank you before she got dressed in her old Hashira uniform. Muzan went to go get the two girls up and picked out two kimonos for them to wear.
Yuki made them breakfast to eat and packed a few snacks to take along with her in case they were gone all day. As they ate, she brushed their hair and packed their favorite toys to play with. After they were done, she helped them get dressed in their kimonos. Mizuki wore a white one with gold stars and a gold obi while Nanami wore a pink one with white rabbits and a fuschia obi. Muzan walked her to the front door where everyone else was waiting for them. They all hugged her and the two girls as Yuki placed her nichirin blades on her back in their holsters. Shizuka perched herself on the top of Yuki's head as Muzan walked with her and the two girls across the bridge and through the forest. When they got to the Fortress part of the Infinity Castle, Muzan held Yuki, who held the two girls as he gently landed to the door to the outside.
"Remember, be home before sundown. Nakime will be listening for you to have her open the door," Muzan said.
Yuki simply nodded before giving Muzan one more kiss, "we will be fine, thank you for trusting me enough to let me go."
Muzan looked at her for a moment before whispering, "I love you."
Yuki's eyes widened. Of course, she knew he did, she knew they all did, but not any of them ever said it to her out loud. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, making their two daughters giggle, as she whispered, "I love you too."
The two girls hugged their father and gave him pecks on the cheek before the door opened to the outside. Yuki grabbed both girls hands before stepping through the door. For the first time in three years, Yuki was in the outside world again. She looked around curiously as she heard the door shut behind her and disappear. They had been dropped off at the outside gate of the Demon Slayer village. Seeing the gate brought memories back, memories of nightwatch duties and her first kiss with Sanemi. Yuki took in a deep breath before smiling at her daughters, showing no fear as they looked around curiously. Shizuka flew off toward the Butterfly Mansion, notifying Shinobu of her arrival for the funeral.
"Let's go my loves," Yuki said as she felt her daughters squeeze her hands as they walked into the village gate. Yuki held them close to her as the village was waking up for the day. She noticed her two daughters staying silent the whole walk and smiled down at them to reassure them.
"What is it my loves?" Yuki asked.
"Auntie Daki said the outside world was scary," Nanami said, "but it doesn't seem so bad."
"Yeah! Uncle Akaza and Uncle Douma told me that too!" Mizuki said as she looked around.
Yuki giggled, "it can be scary sometimes, but I think we are safe here."
"Mama, will you sing us a song?" Nanami asked her mother.
Yuki thought for a moment before deciding and opening her mouth to sing as they walked the rest of the way to the Butterfly Mansion. She twirled through the streets with her daughters as they giggle and they soon reached the front gate. Yuki paused there to stare into the yard, all of the memories of playing there with Gizmo and Naho, Sumi and Kiyo flooding back. She remembered coming here to get away from the boys to hang out with Kanao, Aoi, Shinobu, Mitsuri and Muichiro. She remembered meeting Genya here and Tanjiro and his friends.
"OK Mama?" Mizuki asked with a tilt of her head.
Yuki shook her head of the memories and smiled down at her daughter, "yes my love, let's go in."
Yuki walked around to the back of the fenced in area where Aoi hung clothes and the three caterpillar girls gardened. She smiled when she saw Aoi there, doing just that. She cleared her throat and Aoi dropped the stick she was using to hang the sheets, turning slowly to see Yuki there. Her eyes widened as she ran towards her, embracing her in a tight hug. Yuki giggled and hugged her back, patting her gently as she sniffled into her haori coat.
"Mama?" Nanami said, getting anxious.
Aoi snapped her head towards the tiny voice before looking at Yuki with wide eyes. Yuki released her and placed each hand on top of each of her daughters heads. "This is one of Mama's dearest friends, say hello to Aoi."
Aoi watched as the two girls bowed simultaneously and said in perfect sync, "Hello Miss Aoi, nice to meet you."
"Aoi, these are my daughters: Mizuki and Nanami," Yuki said with a proud smile.
"Wh-whose daughters are they-" Aoi began but Yuki cut her off gently.
"That isn't important right now. Where do we need to wait for the funeral to start?" Yuki asked as she looked around curiously.
Aoi smiled at them and led them into a great room that Shinobu used to hold meetings in, "you all can sit here. I will go notify the others you are here and get you some tea."
"Aoi...are 'they' here?" Yuki asked, concern in her voice as she got into her bag to get the toys she brought out for her daughters to play with.
"I am not sure, but I will look. They will likely come," Aoi said before turning to go retrieve Shinobu and make tea. As Yuki watched her daughters play together, she couldnt help but feel a sense of anxiety and dread. She was never any good at funerals so she ignore the feeling. She soon heard multiple footsteps coming towards the room and watched as the door slid open. In came Shinobu, Kanao, Muichiro, Mitsuri and Obanai. They all seemed to stare at each other for awhile before they all came to tackle Yuki in a tight hug. Yuki giggled as she wrapped her arms around them all.
"Hey! Get your hands off my Mama!" Mizuki fussed as she bonked at them all with her tiny fist.
They all separated from Yuki and looked at the brave girl with her sister behind her. Mizuki pouted at them as Yuki giggled, "now now Mizuki, everything is fine darling. These are just some of Mama's friends."
"When did you have babies!?" Mitsuri exclaimed as they all sat in front of Yuki and her two daughters.
"I had them three years ago," Yuki smiled lovingly at them before looking towards the group.
"B-But that's impossible....they told me that you had been hit...." Shinobu stared at her with widened eyes.
"It would seem that the demon missed," Yuki softened her smile, choosing her words carefully in front of her daughters.
"So these are-" Obanai began but Yuki cut him off the same way she did Aoi.
"That isn't important now," Yuki said with a stern tone, telling the Hashira that she didnt want to talk about it.
"I can tell....by that one's eyes and that one's hair color..." Muichiro stated flatly.
The others looked at their features before looking towards each other in shock. Yuki ushered her daughters to be polite as Aoi brought the tea in and they bowed to introduce themselves once more. The other Hashira smiled at them and introduced themselves as the girls drank their tea with their mother. As time went on and Yuki talked with the other Hashira, a few others joined them: Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Gyomei and Genya. Finally, the moment Yuki was dreading arrived. As Mitsuri and Obanai were playing with Mizuki and Nanami and Yuki was talking with Shinobu, 'they' walked in.
"Is it really you?" said a familiar voice.
Yuki turned her head to see Kyojuro, Giyu, Sanemi and Uzui all staring at her in the entryway of the great room they were in. Yuki wanted to show anger, she wanted to be emotionless in front of them, but she always was a terrible liar. As she stared back at them, the memories of the time they spent together came flooding back to the surface. Perhaps Akaza was right, maybe this was all a mistake.
Yuki simply nodded as her two small daughters saw the newcomers and came to sit beside their mother. Yuki wrapped her arms around them and ushered them to be polite. Both girls walked in front of the boys and bowed, "We are Mizuki and Nanami. Nice to meet you."
After they had introduced themselves they ran to sit beside their mother once more. Yuki smiled down at them as she wrapped her arms around them.
"I-Is that...?" Giyu stuttered and Yuki nodded at him.
"Yes, these are my daughters," she said simply.
Kyojuro, Sanemi and Giyu turned to stare at Uzui, at the small girls father. Uzui stood there frozen for a moment, before he walked over and fell to his knees in front of them, tears springing to his eyes.
"What is he doing Mama?" Nanami asked as she curled into her mother.
"He has just never seen two prettier girls is all love," Yuki said, trying to knock some sense into him.
"Hey he's kinda flashy looking huh Mama?" Mizuki giggled, making Uzui flinch as he covered his mouth with his hand to keep from sobbing.
Yuki nodded and hummed in acknowledgement at her daughter as the others sat down in front of Yuki.
"We missed you...." Sanemi said quietly.
"We never stopped searching," said Kyojuro.
Yuki stared at them all for a moment with her eyebrows knit together before she stood with her daughters, "let us go get some air shall we?"
Yuki walked towards the engawa and jumped off it with her two daughters in her arms before setting them down. She couldnt help but notice everyone staring after her. She wanted to separate from them before one of them said the wrong thing in front of her children. She did not want to uproot her babies lives and have them know most of the family they knew was a lie. When was this funeral supposed to start anyway? Yuki looked around the garden for a moment when she heard a familiar roar. Her eyes widened as a white tiger she thought she would never see again came charging at her and tackled her to the ground. He purred as he rubbed his face against hers and licked her cheeks.
"G-Gizmo!?" she yelled as she pushed the big cat off of her. The tiger roared happily at her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Oh my big handsome boy! I thought you were gone forever!" Realization hit Yuki like a rock as her eyes widened, "wait.....if you're alive...then why am I here...."
Yuki acted quickly as she snatched her two daughters up to keep them at her feet. She crouched over them and unsheathed her swords just as everyone surrounded her with their swords drawn, pointed at them.
"Shit....its an ambush."