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Rating:
Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
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Gen
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
Language:
English
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Published:2021-11-21Updated:2026-04-06Words:154,514Chapters:39/?Comments:1,970Kudos:3,614Bookmarks:794Hits:129,331
Iron and Ice
SkilledWarriorKiwi
Chapter 12: Way of the Tea and Flowers
Chapter Text
"The city? Do you know which one Douma-sama is taking you to?"
Kanao shook her head, in the middle of preparing the tea. At the moment she was purifying the utensils with a silk cloth. The water was starting to boil in a small copper kettle upon a stove sunken into the ground. To the side was a small plate of wagashi Kanao had made earlier, next to a small vase of flowers. The mochimono was a bit lumpy but she was getting better at using the mochi hammer to beat the rice properly even if Inosuke enjoyed it far more.
Misaki was sitting in seiza across from her, wearing a kimono of pale blue with soaring white cranes and her brown hair pulled back in two buns at the base of her neck. Four colourful pins skewered the buns, painted wood with flickering swirls. The shoji door of the small room was open, showing the garden beyond and the small stone path leading up to a shrine. Persistent rain drummed upon the roof and water was dripping from the plants in the garden, and running down the path in snaking rivulets.
"Well, Tokyo is the biggest city. I grew up there, before I came here," Misaki said, a contemplative look on her face. "But there's also Osaka and Nagoya and Saitama. However Tokyo is the biggest. It is so bright and busy, it'll be quite a change from the commune. The lights were so bright in the main city you couldn't even see the stars anymore. Power lines everywhere, there's even locomotives and trams. The city is still bustling even when it is night. You're rather nocturnal, so you should enjoy it."
Using a bamboo spoon, with graceful movements Kanao spooned the matcha powder into the elegantly painted chawan, the tea bowl covered in patterns of blooming lotus blossoms.
Kanao listened intently as she carefully scooped some water from the kettle into the tea bowl, keeping her movements calm and elegant like Misaki had shown her. Taking care her kimono sleeves didn't drag or touch the utensils as she poured out the water. Once she'd added enough for the thicker tea, she used the small bamboo whisk to begin combining the water with the fine matcha powder within the bowl until it was a frothy green. Once done, she slightly raised the whisk to start stirring out the bubbles until the tea would be a smooth emerald. While waiting, Misaki took one of the mochimono from the plate, taking a series of small bites as Kanao continued to smooth out the tea.
Misaki had told Kanao there should always be the four principles present with tea ceremonies; harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. Kanao found the noise of the outside rainstorm soothing, the repetitious calming focus of making tea and Misaki's own company helped fill those criteria for her.
Once done, Kanao offered the bowl of tea to Misaki. The woman leaned forward, bowing on her hands to Kanao before accepting the chawan. Carefully she placed the tea bowl on the palm of her left hand, then bowed to Kanao again who reciprocated the gesture. Misaki turned the chawan clockwise twice before taking a long, elegant drink of the tea.
"Ah Kanao-chan, you're becoming quite the proper little lady," Misaki smiled as she finished the tea, handing the empty bowl over.
Kanao inclined her head as she accepted the compliment. Preparing the thin matcha tea was much the same as the thick- she simply adjusted the ratio of the water and powder.
As she was stirring the powder and water together, Misaki said, "Maybe you could also ask Douma-sama to take you to one of the theaters or opera in Tokyo? It would be quite the experience for you. We only had a few back at the town where I lived, but they were always so bright and colourful. I'm sure those in the big city are filled with even more grandeur."
She thought that it could be beneficial. She liked spending time with Otousan. She was less sure about leaving Inosuke alone but she had read that gifts were best received as surprises. Finding a present not on the mountain meant it would be the most surprising for her little brother.
And then once they find a good present she and Douma could spend time together in the city.
"But you do need to be careful," Misaki said as Kanao poured the hot water into the tea bowl. "Busy cities mean more, many more, people, and some of them might try to hurt you or steal you away if they see an opportunity. So stay close to Douma-sama, he'll protect you. But if you do end up separated, since the crowds in the cities can get overwhelming, you need to scream or run if someone tries anything. Or even use your hairpin."
"My hairpin," Kanao intoned, staring intently at the tea as she stirred the powder and water together.
"Yes. Kenzashi are pretty and used for our hair, but you can also use them to stab someone's hand if they try to grab you or drag you away," Misaki said, voice unusually serious. When she broke decorum to reach across the tea to grasp Kanao's wrist, the girl looked up into the woman's eyes to devote her entire attention to Misaki's words as she continued, "They've been used as weapons if needed, like women belonging to the samurai families of the Edo era. Usually the pins would be made of bronze or iron or other heavy metal. Either to stab out eyes or impale throats or would dip them in poison. But noble women would carry them if they were in peril and even these days us ladies must protect ourselves."
She let go of Kanao and reached up to pull one of the pins from her hair, the remaining keeping the bun in tack. She showed it to Kanao, with its delicate painting of flowers and butterflies. At how its wooden length tapered to a polished point.
"A bit gory I know," Misaki said quietly, "but if you do end up separated and someone tries to grab you, remember your hairpin. It's not uncommon for young pretty girls who're alone on the streets to be snatched up for brot- well, they get taken somewhere horrible. So please, be careful and remember this. Just in case."
Kanao listened intently, understanding Misaki's words and knowing the woman was most likely speaking from experience.
Misaki had admitted her missing pinky finger was due to punishment- cut off due to being caught stealing a loaf of bread. Back before she was taken into the orphanage as an aide, back when she'd been running wild as a street child and would do anything to survive and had seen much worse.
'That's something people who've never suffered can't understand, what it's like to starve, what it feels like to have your body eating itself to try and keep you alive, what it's like to be afraid,' Misaki had said with an angry twist to her mouth when she'd told Kanao the story. She had done so after Kanao had bluntly informed Misaki how Otousan had found her, tied to a cabinet as a slave. Misaki had been enraged and wished punishment upon Kanao's ex-master. It was a secret Otousan had eaten him so Kanao let her rant without comment. But then she had told Kanao of her own life and Kanao found it interesting, knowing that the young woman had lived somewhat like Kanao.
That was how Kanao understood Misaki's warning and advice. She was pleased her father had given her something she would be able to defend herself with though Kanao would have to ask if she was allowed to stab or claw people. Inosuke bit people quite regularly at Paradise Faith, at one point Hama calling him a 'savage little beast'.
Kanao was about to ask if Misaki had ever used her kenzashi for such a thing when the door leading to the halls opened and Rojin shuffled into the room, two wooden buckets in hand. One seemed empty while the other was filled with a great assortment of flowers. He seemed utterly ignorant to their presence in the room, shutting the door behind him to wander across the room to the alcove where the elaborate display was.
"I- Oh for goodness sake, Rojin-san we're actually doing something in here!" Misaki complained as she slid her hairpin back into her bun. "You can't just barge into a tea ceremony. It's very rude."
Rojin continued to ignore them but Kanao knew from his body language he wasn't doing it purposefully. He was simply so focused on changing the flowers he was oblivious to their presence. They both watched as he stopped in front of the alcove and removed the wilting flowers from the gilded pot, tossing them in his spare bucket. Then he wandered over to the open door and tossed out the old water before using the rain to clean and fill the pot.
"Honestly what is with this man? I'd say he's drunk but I think he's just..." Misaki waved her hand next to her head before flushing when she caught Kanao's vapid stare, amending hurriedly, "Not that's there anything wrong with that. He's just got his head in the clouds."
However Rojin certainly noticed them when he turned around with the gilded pot filled with rain water, and startled so badly he dropped it all over the tatami mat.
"Oh goodness! Kanao-kun you frightened me so badly! When did you sneak in here?" Rojin said in a wheezing voice, gripping the front of his dusky orange kimono as if staving off a heart attack.
"She's been here the whole time, as have I," Misaki said dryly, arching a brow. Kanao just watched.
"Eh? Are you sure? I was certain this room was empty..." he muttered as he picked up the pot, ignoring the water soaking through his tabi socks. He then shuffled back to the open door to fetch more rainwater.
"Well, there goes the tranquility," Misaki grumbled even as Kanao went back to stirring the tea.
Kanao watched, her eyes shifting from the tea to Rojin who set down the filled pot back in the alcove. Then he proceeded to go through the bucket full of flowers, inspecting each and putting them back before choosing a bright blooming toad lily. The long white petals were speckled in pink.
"He's refreshing the flower arrangement," Misaki explained as Kanao finished her new bowl of tea. Again, they went through the motion of Kanao offering Misaki the tea and Misaki's calm, elegant drinking.
Once done, she handed the chawan back to Kanao before she called over to Rojin, "What type of arrangement are you doing, Rojin-san? Kanao might want to know."
Rojin didn't answer until Misaki called out to him again, louder with a note of exasperation in her voice. He blinked over at them, a bundle of white hawthorn in his long bony hands.
"Eh? Oh it's ikebana," he looked down at the hawthorn, long hair sliding over his shoulders. "Flowers kept alive. Harmony and balance, extravagance and simplicity. Flowers, leaves, branches and stems. All that stuff. Flowers smell so sweet and they come in so many different shapes and sizes. I love them. Aren't the lotus gardens outside beautiful?"
"Yes Rojin-san, we've all seen the lotus gardens. But I'm having a tea ceremony with Kanao-chan and you're interrupting."
"I am unbothered," Kanao decided to say as she started on another bowl.
Misaki blinked at her before some of the tension left the woman's shoulders as she sighed, "Alright then. I suppose ikebana is fitting for a tea ceremony, actually. Chabana. But really Rojin-san, you should knock next time."
"The flowers needed to be changed. I change them all the time. Even at night since I find it hard to sleep," the man replied in his usual distracted way.
"Yes, but we were using this room. Even if Kanao-chan doesn't mind. But why don't you explain what you're doing then, if you're just barging in and not going to leave?"
And so Rojin did, but Kanao noticed how he had to stop each time he spoke. It was as if he couldn't talk and arrange the flowers at the same time. Kanao meanwhile could stir the hot tea while listening and she found it interesting. She did not know flowers had to be arranged properly, when she gathered hers she just picked ones she preferred.
"This is a secondary flower," Rojin said, still holding the hawthorn. "The toad lily is the focused one, that forms the base. Because it's so tall and pretty, see? As the shin it's supposed to be nice and eye catching and I like the colours. White and speckled, it smells very nice. And since it and the hawthorn are white, I'm using carnations and sweetpeas for the smaller clusters so it doesn't look all pale. You can emphasis a single colour but I like it when it's contrasting. White is good with that, it's so clean and stark and then you add something colourful as the focus."
Kanao listened intently as she spooned in fresh water from the pot, her sharp eyes focused on Rojin as he held out each flower. She could see how the stems had been carefully split at the end, to keep the flower alive longer in the pot.
Rojin finished the arrangement with various lush leaves and vines, saying, "Also you should add lots of green. It's good against the flowers but green also means everything is healthy. Every great garden has lots of green everywhere. And this rosemary smells good."
To Kanao, it just looked like a pot of flowers. There were flowers everywhere at Paradise Faith but she supposed maybe it meant something and she could understand Rojin's words. Just because she understood something didn't mean she understood it. And she was fine with that since Rojin seemed pleased. Maybe it was like the tea, he found it soothing to make flowers even if other people didn't. She wondered what Otousan did for fun besides eating, maybe she could ask him when they visited the city. Maybe he liked the theater, as Misaki suggested? Kanao would have to ask.
Straightening up, Rojin looked over to their tea ceremony, "But you have that little vase with you, did you make it Kanao-kun?"
She looked at the small flower arrangement at the side of her tea set; true, she had picked them out with Misaki's urging. Naturally they were all lotus blossoms she'd taken from the various ponds around the commune. The largest was a red lotus of Yohan, over twenty five velvety petals of a deep red. Surround it in the cramped vase was smaller lotus blossoms of white, angel wings and golden wheels.
"I took flowers I found pleasing to look at," she said. She still had her pin of quartz in her hair, the pale lotus bud.
"Lotus blossoms are so pretty," Rojin said almost dreamily. "Do you know most of it is edible and there are over one thousand types of lotus blossoms?"
No, Kanao did not know that. Though by now she could identify most of the species at Paradise Faith, there were not a thousand of them.
Misaki sighed, before gesturing to the mat next to her. "Why don't you join us, Rojin-san? Kanao-chan can show you her technique."
Rojin obeyed, his long hair swaying at his hips as he shuffled forward. The streaks of grey almost looked like starlight amongst the inky black.
"Look, sit down-, no, do it in seiza! Make sure your back is straight-"
As Misaki scolded Rojin, Kanao continued to stir the chawan bowl after pouring extra hot water within it now that she had a new guest. Keeping her kimono sleeves above her tools, movement elegant and controlled. She could not be like Inosuke, with all his energetic exuberance. Even Otousan was better with acting spontaneous despite it being obvious to her gaze he was in fact doing it deliberately. She did not mind, Inosuke was wild enough for them both.
She hoped she would find something perfect for her little brother in the city. And then she would have to find a nice box, maybe cover it in something shiny or ribbons of silk. Misaki and Rojin were there but they didn't know Inosuke like her and as far as she recalled neither had younger siblings.
Kanao gave Rojin the bowl of tea; he ignored the usual decorum, instead thanking her with a slight incline of his head and a bright smile, before drinking it right from the bowl instead of turning it or treating it gently. Misaki looked like she was a few seconds away from stabbing him in the neck with her hairpin.
Kanao didn't mind. His lack of manners reminded her of Inosuke and it was not like he was being harmful or aggressive.
"Isn't matcha so soothing?" Rojin lowered the near empty bowl with a bright smile, green on his teeth. "Camellia sinensis, that's its name. White, yellow, green, oolong, dark and black tea all come from that plant or its sibling. There'd be so much of it in the ports, great big barrels or little packets. Tea and more tea. Great big crates that could crush you flat."
"You might see the ports in the city, depending on what city you go to," Misaki said to her. "They're busy all the time. Maybe you could see one of the big ships there? Some of them are beyond huge. You'll also find lots of things not made in Japan, I'm sure you'll find a perfect gift!"
"Oh? You're going shopping?"
"Douma-sama is taking her to the city. Kanao-chan wants to buy her otouto a special birthday present."
"The city is so bright. And busy! There'll be lots of cars and electricity," Rojin said brightly. "And so much imported goods and clothing! People dressed in western clothes all the time, they were so strange looking. Or even food, Inosuke-kun is a hungry little beast."
"Yes, I was telling her how busy it is in the city. Trams and the like, so many more people everywhere."
Rojin drained the last of the tea, handing the empty bowl back to Kanao as he said, "I never liked that. People being up in your business all the time. Here it's just Kenji-san yelling at everyone so you can ignore him easily. I think he's just mad because all his hair fell out, that's why his skull is like greased pig skin."
Misaki made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, quickly shoving a mochimono into her mouth to cover the noise and nearly choked. Kanao gave her a curious look, making the woman flush heavily as she hastily swallowed down the sweet.
Rojin seemed oblivious to Misaki coughing next to him, "But Kanao-kun if you've never been to the city it'll be so much fun! There's so much new stuff to look at. I like Paradise Faith yes, but at the city there's always so much happening and new things and you'll be able to hear about things happening overseas."
Kanao listened carefully as she started to clean each tool as she began to close the ceremony.
"It's like those airplane things-"
"Oh here we go," Misaki muttered, even as she inspected a spoon Kanao offered her and returned it with a nod.
"No, it's true!" Rojin flailed his arms, the long sleeves of his kimono knocking over several bowls. Kanao put them back in their correct places even as Rojin continued, "I heard about them when I worked at the port in Edo, about some crazy Americans. A plane, not a blimp or a balloon. A plane is like a ship but it sails through the air, not the sea. Who knows what will happen in the next few decades? Maybe we can travel all across the globe. Isn't that so strange and fascinating?"
"Personally I prefer it up here in the nice quiet mountain," Misaki took another mochimono from the plate. "I've had enough of a busy life."
"Only a century ago Japan was still in Sakoku, with it's closed borders," Rojin continued, ignoring Misaki's words. "Now a century later we'll get machines that can fly in the sky. Humans are so funny. I find it hard to think on things but then you get people who can make machines that can fly through the sky like a bird. I wonder what will happen in another hundred years? Maybe we can fly to the moon one day."
"And perhaps I'll be empress." Misaki said.
"Will the rabbit be on the moon?" Kanao asked.
"Maybe. I think it would lonely to be up there," Rojin said, taking her question seriously. Another reason she liked him, he would always answer her or Inosuke's questions sincerely, no matter how ridiculous. A thoughtful look crossed Rojin's face before he added, "But maybe they spend all their time looking down on us? All the gods in heaven up there. I know sometimes I like watching the butterflies and bees in the gardens. Maybe the rabbit is like that? Just watching us and letting us do as we please because that's how we live in this noisy life. You'll see it all, in the city."
"The gods aren't that distant, this commune is a holy place where we can wait and worship and listen," Misaki said.
"Well, I think the gods want us to be loud otherwise why would they be so silent?" Rojin said.
"They speak to the Founder," Misaki frowned.
"Yes, but he's the only one I've met who's able to hear them. And some others throughout history but they're just a handful and there's lots and lots of people in Japan who can't hear anything," Rojin shrugged. "Even more all over the world."
Kanao never really thought of that. She felt it was a strange secret-but-not-really thing with Otousan, where he spoke to the gods yet he did not believe they were real yet he still spoke to someone. Douma would never tell her who, but there would been several occasions when they'd been together only for him to abruptly stop, rainbow eyes going strange and glassy, before quickly excusing himself and leaving for somewhere. Someone was talking to him.
"But who knows, I'm not Douma-sama and he knows many more things than I ever will," Rojin said, his long hair sliding over his shoulder as he titled his head to the side. "I don't know much except for flowers and insects but he knows much about everything and his eyes are so pretty and sees so much."
"Yes. I'm happy he's my father," Kanao said as she finished cleaning the chawan bowl. Misaki inspected it before handing it back with a smile.
"That's good," Rojin said. "A good family is precious and hard for many people to have. I'm glad you found one. You should protect that."
"I will," Kanao did not hesitate to agree. Because she would, she would gladly protect her father and brother even at the cost of her life.
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