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“Mama, where’s papa?”
Sumi Kamado, the 2nd child of Tanjiro and Kanao Kamado, tugged on the skirt of her mother, eyes curious to the obvious missing person in the room.
Sumi was only three, but exceptionally perceptive. She was also a total daddy’s girl, so whenever Tanjiro left for even a short period of time, the young child would often call out to him until he arrived home.
Today was a cold winter’s day, and Kanao was busy in the kitchen preparing for the New Year’s Festivities. It was their year to host, and by tomorrow, the house was going to be stuffed to the brim with people. All of the surviving slayers and their families, which only grew larger each year, would be staying with them for a few days. The Kamado house was small, but it was an event that everyone looked forward to.
It was also the fourteen year anniversary of the defeat of Muzan.
Because there was lots to celebrate, the couple had been working hard over the last few days to get things ready for so many people. Tanjiro had been out and about all day, making and selling charcoal, shopping in town, and cleaning the house. He had finished only a few moments ago, and told Kanao he was going to step outside for a moment.
Kanao knew her husband well enough to know exactly what he was doing. And Sumi was a little too young to know exactly that story quite yet. Their oldest, Yuta, knew a few details of his parents' lives prior to him being born, but since their past was full of trauma, death, and fighting, Tanjiro and Kanao were careful with how they explained things. They knew that some day, they could tell their children of everything; and absolutely intended to. But while they were so young, they wanted to allow their children to not carry the burden of what their parents went through.
Sumi did know, however, that she had many aunts, uncles, and grandparents who were “in a different world”.
“Papa, what are those stones?”
It was a warmer autumn day, and Yuta and Sumi were playing a game of hopscotch with their parents watching over them carefully. Sumi, always the perceptive child even in her young age, ran up to her parents, curious about the permanent patch of flowers and six stones that stood next to each other.
Kanao squeezed Tanjiro’s hand in gentle affirmation. “It’s alright, you can tell her.”
Tanjiro smiled and stretched out his right hand to his young daughter, and she excitedly grabbed it and helped her father up. The tall young man had to bend over while he guided her towards the grave, and then knelt down in front of them. He placed his daughter on his lap, while Kanao and Yuta surrounded him on either side.
“Sumi, sweetie,” Tanjiro began, being as careful with his words as he had when he explained his past to his son. “You know auntie Nezuko is related to you because she is my sister, right? That is what makes her your auntie.”
“Yes! I love auntie Nezuko!”
Tanjiro grinned brightly. “Yes, that’s right. I love her too,” he said as he rubbed her head. “But you have three more uncles and another auntie. Your uncles' names are Takeo, Shigeru, and Rokuta. Your other auntie is Hanako.”
Sumi raised her eyebrows and turned her head to look into her father’s eyes. “But, where are they? Have I met them?”
“No, sweetie, you haven’t met them. Just like your grandparents.”
“What’s a grandparent?”
“Well, your parents have parents. Everyone has parents. So, you have ‘grandparents’”.
Sumi stared at him for a second, before shouting, “Oh! I get it! Where are your parents, papa?”
Tanjiro gave her a sad smile. “They are in a different world, along with your aunt and uncles, sweetie. They left this world and went to the next when I was still young.”
The young girl tilted her head for a moment. “Why would they do that?”
Tanjiro let out a tiny laugh. “They didn’t choose to do it, my little love. They had no choice in the matter.”
“But, why? Why would they leave this world without a choice?”
“Well,” Tanjiro continued to carefully pick his words. It wasn’t that he wanted his children to not know about death; but he wanted them to hold onto innocence for as long as possible. “Everyone in this world will someday go to the other world. And most of the time, you don’t get to decide. It just… happens. And that happened to them.”
“Oh… so it will even happen to you?”
“Yes,” Tanjiro said, tucking her uncontrolled red hair behind her ear. “Even to me, some day. But not any time soon.”
“That’s really scary.”
“It’s not something to be scared of, sweetie. It happens to everyone. Besides, the other world is better, anyway.”
“Really?”
Tanjiro touched her nose lightly. “Yes, really. But, I don’t want to ever forget them, so this is what we call a ‘grave’. It’s here to honor them. Sometimes I sit next to them and talk to them. It’s almost as if this is a gateway to the other world and allows you to speak with people who have gone there.”
The young girl let out a loud gasp, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she got up, and walked up to the headstones. “I love you,” she said quietly. “I love papa, so I love you too. I hope you’re having fun in your world.”
Tanjiro’s eyes grew wide and he couldn’t help but let out a little gasp. It happened many times, but for a moment, it was as if he could feel his family’s presence wash over him. His young daughter surprised him every day. How she could understand this so deeply, was beyond even him.
“They said they love me too! Yay!”
“Papa is just outside, sweetie,” Kanao said as she dried her hands on her apron, finishing up the last batch of dishes. “Do you want to see if he wants company?”
“Is he talking to auntie Hanako and uncle Takeo and uncle Shigeru, and uncle Rokuta, and grandma and grandpa?” Every word came out quickly from Sumi’s mouth.
Kanao giggled. “Yes, I think he is.”
Sumi excitedly jumped up. “Yes! I want to go talk to them too!”
The purple-eyed woman picked up the little girl and hugged her.
“Sumi,” Yuta said as he walked over to his sister and mother, “what if he wants to be alone?”
“It’s possible,” Kanao hummed.
Sumi frowned. “Why would he want to be alone? He loves it when we visit with him!”
“Well,” Kanao began, looking up to the ceiling as if the words she was looking for were trapped up there. “Sometimes papa likes to talk with them, but it could be a private conversation. He misses them, afterall.”
“Hmph,” Sumi pouted, “but I wanted to go talk to them!”
Kanao smiled and tapped Sumi on the nose. “I know, but it’s very cold outside. Maybe we should just leave papa alone and then sneak attack him with hugs when he comes inside.”
“Ooo! A hug sneak attack!” Sumi was practically bouncing with excitement.
“I want to help!” Yuta said, now grabbing the other side of his mother.
“Okay, then let’s hide next to the door so he doesn’t see us. Then, when he walks in, we can all jump out and give him the best hug we ever could give him.”
“Okay!” Both children said in unison.
Kanao lightly put her daughter on the ground, and grabbed both her children’s hands before guiding them over to the room. The three crouched down so that Tanjiro wouldn’t be able to see them through the window.
Kanao knew that he wouldn’t be surprised; he would smell them being so near the door; but she was sure that her husband would love the “surprise” anyway.
“What’s taking him so long,” Yuta asked, slightly annoyed with having to wait so long.
“Isn’t he getting cold?” Sumi asked.
Kanao patted both of them on the heads. “Be patient, my loves. You know your father loves talking to them. He doesn’t really mind the cold, either.”
“Papa is so warm!”
“Exactly. He’s so warm inside, that he doesn’t get as cold as you do when you go out in the snow.”
Just as Kanao finished speaking, the door began to slide open. Tanjiro stepped inside and slid it shut.
“Kana-”
“HUG ATTACK!!” Kanao, Yuta, and Sumi all rushed at Tanjiro with their arms open wide, and bright smiles on their faces.
“Woah,” Tanjiro said through a joyful laugh, losing his balance and falling to the ground. His two young children on top of his chest and his wife draped over his side. “What is this for?”
“Papa! I love you,” the youngest screeched. “Oh,” the three year old suddenly froze when she looked at her father’s face. “Why are you crying, papa?”
Kanao and Yuta both lifted their heads to look at Tanjiro’s face. Sumi was right; Tanjiro had a bright smile, but wet tears were dipping freely from his eyes.
“Dad?”
“My love?”
“Sorry,” Tanjiro said, closing his eyes. “Thank you,” he tightened his right arm around all three of them and closed his eyes. “Thank you so much.”
“Tanjiro my love,” Kanao said as she nuzzled her head into his neck, “is everything okay?”
“Yes,” he choked out through tears. “I just needed this. I love you all so much. Thank you.”
“I love you too, dad,” Yuta said worriedly, gripping his father’s chest tightly.
“I LOVE YOU PAPA!”
Sumi laid her head on her father and squeezed her arms with all that she could.
Tanjiro giggled. “You’re all the best. I love you all so much. Thank you.”
The four stayed like that for as long as they could, and the love the Kamado family shared warmed the hearts of all.
“My love, is everything okay?”
A few hours had passed and the children were fast asleep in their futons. Tanjiro and Kanao were now changing into their sleeping garments and preparing for bed. “I wasn’t expecting you to cry. It was just a little joke we wanted to play on you.”
Tanjiro smiled. “I promise they were happy tears,” he whispered, slowly crawling into their shared bed. “It was exactly what I needed. Today was the day they died, seventeen years ago. It was hard to not be a little bit more emotional today.”
Realization swept over Kanao. She had forgotten the anniversary of his family’s death was so close to New Year’s. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. “I hadn’t even thought about it today.”
Tanjiro smiled and rubbed her back. “That’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to remember it. I try to forget it, but every year this day comes around and I can’t help but imagine what they would be like if they had lived. Rokuta would be twenty. Maybe he would have been married by now.”
Kanao didn’t say anything, just tightened her grip on him.
“That hug was exactly what I needed, so thank you. I love our family. I love you.”
Tanjiro kissed her head but didn’t say anything else; the two just simply didn’t move. The warmth of their love kept him sane. Tomorrow, the house would be lively and loud, so the two of them soaked up to stillness as much as possible. And although it didn’t happen as often as it did when they were younger, they fell asleep in that very position; a tight hug, their hands intertwined, hearts beating together.
The love only grew as the years continued. And both knew that their children would carry it on.