When Sanemi opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of wooden ceilings. When he shifted his body, he was greeted with the comfort of a mattress and a bed sheet. Sanemi's body was aching and sore, but as he shifted he once again felt a similar pain on his right hand. As he pulled his hand out he was greeted with all five of his fingers.
'Huh. Guess it really wasn't a dream...' Sanemi thought. His hand served as a reminder that what he's experiencing is real. That he really is in the past. That he changed history and saved Kanae. Before he could ponder more a presence of flowers interrupted his thought process. He turned his head to see Kanae, sitting on a chair sleeping with her head on Sanemi's bed.
She had bandages all throughout her body, yet her face displayed a serene tranquility as she slept. Sanemi couldn't take her eyes of her, wondering how he was so lucky to have someone like her. Someone who would stay to watch his own recovery when she was recovering herself. Sanemi felt he didn't deserve her. Maybe he was right. But regardless he will do everything in his power to make sure Kanae lives her best life.
As Sanemi pushed himself to sit up, Kanae slowly awoke from her nap to see Sanemi staring back at her. Her face immediately shot up with raw concern and joy. "Sanemi! You're awake!"
Kanae enveloped Sanemi in a crushing hug, causing him to start coughing. "Ka-Kanae! You're *cough* cr-crushing me...".
Kanae raises a brow before quickly separating from Sanemi, her face red from embarrassment. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry Sanemi!" Kanae said with her hands covering her blushing face. Sanemi regained his breath before letting out a chuckle. Kanae's face immediately snapped to face him, her blushing face replaced with shock and amusement. "Oh my~, was that a laugh? Was the Sanemi Shinazugawa laughing?"
"N-no! I don't know what you're talking about!" Now it was Sanemi's turn to blush as he turned his face away from Kanae. Kanae in turn, started giggling at Sanemi's reaction. The scene was so amusing to witness, that anybody who passed by would confuse the two as newly weds.
Kanae finally stopped giggling before grabbing Sanemi's face and turning it. Sanemi's blushing face became more red as his eyes looked at Kanae, her face expressing an emotion similar to gratitude and love. "Thank you Sanemi... for saving me". Sanemi's eyes got lost within her gaze and words. This never would have happened in the past (or future?), so Sanemi was experiencing her love in this moment for the first time. For a second, he wanted to be lost. To be lost with her and stay in this moment for the rest of his life. Unfortunatly, the rational side of his brain snapped him out of the moment. He quickly stuttered to try and give an explanation on why he was there. To his knowledge, he appeared out of nowhere, held back Uppermoon 2 and almost died.
"K-kanae! About that, I can explain wh-"
"No worries. Tomioka-san explained everything."
Sanemi paused as he contemplated those words carefully. 'I see, so Giyuu met with Kanae and gave an explanation on why I was here. I wonder if he met Shinobu. How did he react?
Sanemi faked an annoyed face as he turned away and spoke. remembering his past distaste for the Water Hashira. "Oh really? What did To-that bastard say?!"
Kanae's face returned to a neutral one as she spoke. "He explained how he found out information about a Upper Moon near my area and told you. After you left he went to Oyakata-sama and got permission to support us in the battle. By the time he arrived the battle was over and he carried you back to the butterfly mansion. Last I saw him was two days ago when he went to report the mission to the master".
'I see. So Tomioka came up with an excuse for my sudden arrival. He also met the master.' His mind retraced to the explosion he witnessed that horrid night, but his face betrayed no shift in emotion. 'Wait...'
"Two days ago? How long was I passed out?"
Kanae hesitated before giving a carefree smile. "Only four days".
"Four days!" Sanemi was shocked to say the least. "I've been out for four days?!"
"Well what can I say? You're a heavy sleeper. You even snore and talk in your sleep!"
Sanemi's face redden as he glanced away. 'Four days?! How rusty have I gotten?!'
Kanae's face turned to a grin as she stoop up from her chair. "Regardless, you're vitals are stable now. I just need to you to go through some more check ups and then you should be good to leave later today"
Sanemi turned to Kanae and replied, "When will I be good enough to go back and slay demons?"
Kanae slightly frowned as she responded, "most likely a month. I would strongly advise you to not go out to slay demons or partake in intense training."
Sanemi's immediate reaction was to refuse that request, but he stopped himself. There were lots of things he needed to figure out. How to plan the future, minimize casualties, and defeat Muzan. His first priority is to meet with Giyuu and discuss their next action moving forward. Still, to not slay any demons for a month...
"... fine" Sanemi reluctantly said. Kanae let out a sigh before bending down to Sanemi's level and leaving a kiss on his cheek. The quick peck felt like a lifetime of ecstasy to Sanemi, and his face once again redden. Kanae gave Sanemi a quick smile before leaving the room, before leaving Sanemi with his heart about to explode.
***
After being discharged personally by Kanae, Sanemi headed to the woods. Walking on the path, he noticed the subtle ferns of wisteria scattered on the side of the road. After the war, there was no need to take care of the wisteria, yet the Master's son still felt incline to tender towards the remaining wisteria near his residence. Perhaps it stood as a message of the centuries the Demon Slayer Corps put to protect humanity against demons. Sanemi didn't really know.
His mind traced to the previous memory of him walking on the path. It felt just like yesterday when he was walking with Giyuu towards his estate.
'Wait, it really was yesterday when I was walking with Tomioka! Well more like five days ago... but still!'
Sanemi finally reached the doors to the estate. As Sanemi stood, he took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh and knocked on the door.
"Oi Tomioka! It's me! Open up!"
As Sanemi waited for a response his memory once again traced back to the last time he was here. Back to when he asked that question about whether they could go back in time. Back then the thought just randomly came. A hypothetical question constructed from the doubt and regret of his previous actions with others. His sorrow for Kanae. His regret with Genya. His doubt with all the other Hashiras. Who would have guessed that hypothetical question would turn out to not be so hypothetical?
Sanemi straightened as he heard footsteps approaching the door. Soon Giyuu opened the door, revealing the bland interior of his house.
"Ah, Shinazugawa... I was expecting you... I take that your injuries have recovered?"
Sanemi didn't pay attention to his question. Instead he was more shocked at Giyuu himself. His eyes had slight bags underneath them. His hair was open and messy. And most noticeable of all, his usual uniform was replaced with a blue and white striped pajamas.
"Did... did you just wake up?!" Sanemi said with a horrified tone. He had a feeling the long conversation he was planning to have with the Hashira who has the worst communication, was just about to be even longer...
***
Kanae was folding hospital garment into a neat pile. Although she received some serious injuries from her fight, she was able to recover quickly, with no serious damage and only some slight scars on her body. The same couldn't be said for Sanemi, who took the most damage and was unconscious for four days. Yet, he still woke up and was able to be discharged on the same day, albeit he couldn't partake in any serious training or go back to slaying demons anytime soon. He even received some new scars to add in his ever growing collection.
Kanae's face grew hot as she thought about the scars found in Sanemi's solid body, before shaking her head vigorously to remove any devious thoughts. 'Seriously Kanae! Get a hold of yourself!'
As Kanae tried to resume her previous mundane task, her mind once again went back to Sanemi. She already loved him a lot, but she felt her admiration for the Hashira has only grown ever since he saved her. She truly thought she was going to die, and even accepted it for a second. If it weren't for Sanemi, she was certain she wouldn't be standing here, and Shinobu and Kanae would have to grow up without an elder sister. It pained her heart to even think of a future where that could have happened.
Kanae was scared of that outcome, but was even more scared when Sanemi wasn't waking up. Despite his vitals being okay, she worried about him, and the only signs betraying her negative thoughts were his chest rising, his slight shifts in his sleep, and him talking in his sleep. Perhaps any other day, he would have found Sanemi sleep talking to be hilarious, but what he speaks isn't normal. Most of the times, its groans, most likely from nightmares he's experiencing. The only words she could understand from him were two names. The name Genya... and her own name.
She had no idea who this Genya could be. She doubt it was a family member as Sanemi told her before that he had no family. But she didn't pay much attention to that name. She mostly put her attention on her own name. Her mind would trace back to the day when Uppermoon 2 fled, and the look on Sanemi's face. His face when he looked at her revealed shock, sorrow and gratitude. But Kanae felt there was more to that. She couldn't understand it, but there was another emotion on that bloody face. An emotion resembling longing, love and... disbelief?
Kanae's face shifted into a guilty one. As scared as she was for Sanemi, he must have felt just as scared, if not even more for herself. Since Giyuu told her on how Sanemi came, she could only guess what his actions were. Receiving word that she might be in danger and running nonstop towards her, not even sparing time to let the Master know of his actions. She didn't know how to feel about that, only that what she was feeling is somewhat close to love.
Kanae closed her eyes and let out a sigh before leaving the room and heading out to the courtyard. There she saw Kanao, ever so stoic, sitting down near the fountain. Butterflies were flocking around the area, and one of them landed on Kanao's finger. Kanae let out a smile at the wholesome interaction before walking away to perform more chores for the Butterfly Mansion.
'Hmmm, now that I think about it, Kanao acts a lot like Tomioka-san. Anyways, I wonder what Shinobu is doing right now...'