Tsugikuni Brothers

Mizuki POV

The morning came with birds singing and a sounds of clashing. I rub my eyes and look around. 'Ahh I see that this wasn't just some dream? I'm still here.' I think to myself. I remove myself from the futon and head towards the door, fixing my clothes as I head out. I walk around the house and find Michi-san.

"Good morning Michi-san." I say grabbing her attention and I yawn walking towards her. "Morning Mizuki-chan. Here come have some breakfast." She places down a bowl of miso soup and some rice. I sit down and notice a boy sitting next to Michi-san, he is rather really close to her. I look at him and notice he has hanafuda earrings and a mark on his forehead.

'That mark....and those earrings. Where have I seen them before?' I think to myself glancing at the boy while eating my rice. Michi-san seems to notice and looks at me then to the boy. "Ah! Mizuki-chan, this is my son, Yoriichi. My other son is out in the yard practicing." She tells me. She coughs into her hand again.

I choke on my rice. 'Y-Yoriichi!!!' I scream in my head. I'm know in a coughing fit and Michi-san hurridly passes me a cup of tea. I grab the drink and nod my head thanking her. All this time the boy watches me. "Are you okay?" Michi-san asks me.

I nod my head "Yes, thank you Michi-san. Sorry about that it seems that I happened to swallow quite weirdly." I tell her trying to cover up my coughs. I take another sip of the tea and place it down. "It's nice to meet you Yoriichi-san. I'm Mizuki Amateratsu." I bow my head in his direction.

He puts down his cup and bows slightly in my direction without saying anything. I sweatdrop 'Uh this is so awkward...Was he always this way?' I think to myself. Michi-san clears her throat. "Well Mizuki why were you out on the ground last night? Were you headed somewhere?" She asks me.

I put down my chopsticks and start wracking my brain to find a plausible answer. "Um...You see the thing is...My family...they are no longer here and my home was destroyed. So I just started walking to find somewhere to go. Before I knew it I collapsed and you ended up finding me." I tell her my made up sob story of being a lost girl who lost her home and family. But it truly is partly the truth, I don't have a family or home here.

Her eyes got wider and showed pity and sadness. "Oh dear! I'm so very sorry to hear that, you don't have any where to go right?" I nod my head. "Here I'll talk to my husband and you can stay here until you have somewhere to go." My eyes widen and I shake my head. "Michi-san! That's okay, I don't want to intrude and take up space. You already are taking care of your sons!" I tell her.

Michi shakes her head and smiles brightly at me. "No what are you talking about, you don't have any where to go. So stay and your just a little girl. Plus, there's more than enough room here and you won't be much trouble." She tells me.

I start to tear up a bit at her kindness. "Thank you so much!" I bow at her. 'Man these characters are just too wholesome. She is so kind! Why isn't she shown in the anime or manga! I love her!' I fangirl in my head.

She smiles warmly at me. "Its no problem dear." She looks outside. "It seems that they will take a break soon so I'll go prepare a snack for them." she says and gets up. She walks away into the halls, where I believe she is heading to the kitchen.

Now it's just Yoriichi and I sitting here awkwardly in silence.....I could almost hear the crickets and Sarah yelling in the back of my mind telling me how awkward I am...

"Um...Yoriichi-san?" I speak up finally. He looks up at me telling me that he is listening. "Um if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" He sets down his tea cup and finally says "I'm 6." I brighten up.

"Wow Yoriichi-san! I'm the same age as well!" I then smile at him. "Oh and I'm very sorry to be intruding in your home. When I become too much trouble or when I figure out what I'm going to do I'll leave immediately." I tell him.

He looks at me and I can see his kindness in his eyes. He shakes his head no.

My eyes widen remembering once again. This is no ordinary Sengoku Era Japan but Demon Sengoku Japan, where the story of Demon Slayer takes place. I sigh out. "Thank you Yoriichi-san for your kindness. You can just call me Mizuki. I will repay that kindness someday, in the mean time I will be helping around with anything you need." I tell him and send him a warm smile.

He smiles slightly at me. I feel my cheeks getting a little warm. 'Ah! That smile~ I never seen it before~ How great is this!'

"Ehem." I hear an unfamiliar voice and I turn around to see another boy who looks similar to Yoriichi. 'Ah Michikatsu.' I think to myself. He walks towards us with his sword in hand and sits down next to Yoriichi.

Once he sits down he looks at me. "So your the girl that mother helped last night." I nod my head. He continues to stare me down looking to find something suspicious. Then Yoriichi looks at his brother and looks at him for a while. I can see that Yoriichi beams admiration at his brother.

Michikatsu looks towards his brother and nods his head. He then turns towards me "I'm Michikatsu Tsugikuni." I bow slightly "It's nice to meet you Michikatsu-san. I'm Mizuki Amateratsu. Please call me Mizuki." I tell him flashing a smile.

He nods and I notice the sword that sits beside him. I inspect it with my eyes looking at it with curiosity and wonder. Michikatsu seems to have noticed that I have been staring at him sword. "This is my sword. Do you want to look at it?" He picks it up and puts it front of me. "Oh sorry, that must have been rude of me to stare at your belonging like that." I say and take a closer look at this sword.

My eyes glitter in awe and amusement. 'So this is a real sword. A real sword from Sengoku era! Even more so Muchikatsu's and demon slayer sword!!' I continue to look at it as they watch me inspect and look at it in awe.

I soon stop after realizing that I had too much fun looking at it. "Ah! I'm sorry, how rude of me. I've been staring at it for a while." I say and scratch my cheek sheepishly. Michikatsu chuckles which catches me off guard.

"It's no problem. It's my first time to see a girl so interested in a sword before." The older twin tells me. I nod my head sheepishly still embarrassed.

"Yes, it really is interesting. It's really cool and I admire swordsmen very much! Don't you think so?" I tell him flashing a bright smile. This seems to take both boys back a bit.

I look back up to see their faces. Michikatsu smiles at his sword "Yes they really are so cool. I want to become the strongest swordsmen in the country." He confesses proudly. I look over to see Yoriichi smiling just slightly at his brother. Yoriichi gets up and walks away. I tilt my head.

I smile at the thought of the two brothers. 'How nice....Wait....' Images and words flood my mind and my head spins with thoughts. 'NOOOOOOO! Freaking Yoriichi becomes the strongest and Michikatsu follows him in attempt to be strong. He leaves his family and becomes a demon. Michikatsu feels inferior to his younger brother. These poor boys!!' I scream and panic in my mind.

"Mizuki. Mizuki. Misuki-san!" I'm brought out of my thoughts with Michikatsu calling my name. I snap my head up looking at him from my tea cup. "Ahh yes! I'm sorry I was spacing out." Yoriichi looks at me with concern. "Are you alright?" he asks. I smile at the boy. "Yes, I was just lost in thought."

Now Michikatsu speaks up "What do you have on your mind that seems to bother you." he inquires. I sweatdrop a bit and look in another direction. 'There's no way I'm telling them that I was thinking of their futures. Oh! Let's just tell them that.'

"Hm. I was just thinking about my family and I was just reminded of my little brother." I say. He nods his head and looks away.

Michi-san comes back with a tray of snacks and places them down. But Yoriichi is stuck to Michi-san and as Michi-san leaves this time he follows with her.

I look at Michikatsu and see that he looks away from his brother. They now seem so distant. Soon enough I hear footsteps and look towards that direction. I see a tall man with wavy and red tips of hair. His face is very stern and strict looking. I look up at him and he looks at his son.

"Michikatsu, get back to training." The older twin gets up and grabs his wooden sword and heads out. The man then looks at me and stares at me for a good while. In the mean time I become anxious under his stare. "You." He finally speaks to me. I look back up.

"Your the child that my wife picked up from yesterday. What's your name?" He asks me sternly. "Mizuki Amateratsu, sir." He responds with "I'm Sato Tsugikuni. The husband of Michi and father of Michikatsu." I nod my head 'Didn't he forget Yoriichi?'

"You may stay and help around the house." With that he leaves and heads in the direction that Michikatsu went. Having nothing to do I step outside and find a pond. I peer in the pond and see my reflection. I put my hand on my face and crouch down to get closer.

'Oh my god! I really turned back a couple years and became 6 years old!! I'm still in my body but my age!!!' I scream in my mind. I hear Sato-san's voice from around the corner. I walk and follow the direction of his voice. "Again!! Stand correctly!" he tells Michikatsu.

I sweatdrop, 'wow that's ruff'.

I turned to leave and got back in the house to find Michi-san. As I'm doing so, I peak into all the rooms in the house and take note of where things are. I peak into a room at the end of the hall and see Michi-san laying down on a futon with Yoriichi at her side. I quietly watch them. Yoriichi looks sad while looking at his mother, she soon coughs and he hands her a cup of tea.

My heart aches and I walk back to my room where they put me in. 'I'll ask her about my chores at a later date.' I look around the room to find something. I walk over to the closet and open it. I dig through it trying not to be nosy. I find a papers and an ink bottle. I take it out and place it on the floor. 'Maybe I should ask Michi-san.' I put it back and put stuff where it belongs. I step out of my room and see a retreating Yoriichi walking out of the house.

Curiously I follow him. He soon stops and enters a small building not even a building but a shack?

I get closer and knock on the door and peak my head inside. I see Yoriichi sitting down in his futon staring at the wall. "Yoriichi-san?" I squeak out. He turns his head and sees me. He stares at me and I enter the small room. It only had 3 tatami mats with a futon off to the side.

The boy continues to stare at me. "Um Yoriichi-san, sorry for intruding and entering. Is this your room?" I ask the boy and in return he just nods his head at me. I then look down at the ground trying to remember a story or spoilers that I've learned about these brothers.

I then look back up remembering that Yoriichi was casted to the side because he has a twin and was considered a bad omen.

My eyes get watery remembering when Sarah told me that his family didn't really treat him well. I walk over to the boy and hug him. I pat his head while I silently cry out feeling bad for this boy. He just stiffens at my touch and does nothing.

A couple minutes after I let go of him and sit down. "I'm sorry Yoriichi-san, I don't know what came to me..." I lied. And looked up to meet his gaze. "Yoriichi-san, do you want to be friends?" I ask him. He tilts his head to the side confused at my sudden question. "Ah! A friend is a person, um...let's say this. I want to become a person who you have a bond with, someone who looks out for you and worries for you. Becomes someone you can trust." I inform the boy.

He nods his head showing he understands. "Yoriichi-san, are you normally with Michi-san?" I ask he the nods his head for yes. "Ah I see. May I talk to her later, will she be up in an hour?" I ask and he shakes his head no. "Um...In two hours?" I inquire. He shakes his head yes.

"I see. Do you mind me asking. Why do you not talk?" I ask the quiet boy. He just looks down and doesn't say anything. Being flustered that I made him upset I quickly say "It's fine that you don't speak to me! I was just curious. Do you want me to teach you some stuff?" I ask him.

He then tilts his head to the side. "You see Yoriichi, before I came here I was taught how to read and write. Sometime I'll teach you." He nods his head and I smile brightly at him. "Yoriichi-san, do you normally come here at this time?" I ask and he nods his head. "I see. Well whenever you are here, I'll come and teach you or spend time with you. But it appears that I will be doing some housework now and be taking care of Michi-san with you." He nods his head again.

For the rest of the time I continue asking him questions that consisted of yes or no. I then realized that quite some time has passed and I should head back before they start questioning me. I stand up "Yoriichi-san, I have to go now. But I'll be back a little later okay!" With that I leave the little room that is separated from the main building.

I run back in the garden and head inside the house. I soon see Michi-san walking in the hallway. "Mizuki-chan, come here." she says after seeing me. "Hi Michi-san." I say and she continues walking, she the opens a door and enters the kitchen. I follow after her.

"My husband talked to me and he said that you could stay as long as you work and do some house chores so I'll show you how to cook and I'll tell you what to do in the house." I nod my head and speak up "Michi-san, I was wondering if you have some papers and ink that I could use or books that I could read maybe?" I ask her and she turns towards me with her eyes slightly wider than they were before. "You know how to read and write?" She asks like it was surprising.

I nod my head and answer her "I know how to write a little bit and read easy stuff. Before my family.....um well when I was with my family they taught me the basics before well." I told her and she pat me on the head. "It's fine Mizuki. I'll see what I can do and pass you some paper and ink. They should be put away somewhere." She thinks and starts cooking some vegetables. "Well we could find it when we finish dinner and finish what your chores will be."

With that I watch her make dinner and take notes. I follow her out of the kitchen and watch her place some food on the table. It looked really good. I see Sato-san and Michikatsu sitting at the table. I walk over and place down the miso soup in front of them. I look and see that Yoriichi isn't here.

Unknowing if I could sit and eat as well, I stand and help plate the dishes. I continue to stand watching them eat and Michi-san looks at me. "Mizuki what are you doing? Come here and eat. You'll be apart of this family now." She told me. I glance at her and Sato-san. I hesitantly make my way over to the table.

Michi-san places a small bowl of rice in front of me and puts some food on top that we made. "Here the food that we made." She tells me. I smile at her and start eating. The boys finish the food on the table and Sato-san gets up and speaks to Michi-san. "I'll go give that boy the left overs." He says and grabs a leaf and plops off all the unwanted scrape pieces of food and walks out.

I watch him leave and look down at my bowl. I decide to later in the night head over to Yoriichi and give him some of my food. I leave some food left in the bowl that Michi-san asks me "Are you not hungry?" I shake my head and reply with "It's very good, it's just that I want to savoir it so I'll finish my food after washing the dishes. She nods her head and grabs the dishes and I gab some and my bowl.

We walk to the kitchen and I put my bowl down on the counter off to the side. I start washing dishes with Michi-san. I then look around and ask her a question. "Michi-san, why is Yoriichi not at the table eating dinner with us and why did Sato-san grab the scraps?" I ask as if I didn't completely know.

She stops and looks down at the dish in her hand. "Yoriichi, he....My husband does not accept that boy, he is to be sent off to the temple at 10. But while he is here he helps me and sticks to my side. He is unfortunate." She tells me.

I then look back down at my dish. "I see, I'm very sorry Michi-san for bringing it up. Then is it really okay for me to be eating with you guys at the table and having a room to myself?" I ask her. She looks up at me. "Well dear, you're not a twin and aren't blood related to us. You can eat with us and have a room." She informs me. I nod my head feeling guilty as why I had stuff Yoriichi doesn't.

We soon finish the dishes and she leaves after telling me other chores and stuff I have to do. I go back to my bowl and put the food nicely on a leaf I found in the kitchen and tuck it into my kimono.

I walk out of the kitchen and make my way to my room. I enter my room and see Michi-san going through the closet taking out stuff. "Michi-san?" I say and she turns. She looks at me and smiles "Mizuki, I found some paper and ink. You can use this box to write your notes or whatever on this." she tells me. I bow and thank her.

She leaves the supplies and walks to her room.

With that I grab some paper and one pen and the smaller jar of ink. I put them in my kimono safely and wait a bit.

After waiting for 10 minutes I peak my head out and look around. I carefully sneak my way out of the house as they are sleeping and make my way to Yoriichi.

I soon arrive and enter the little room. I whisper. "Yoriichi-san. It's Mizuki." I look around the room to find him, with the little light that enters from the window I see him groggily get up.

"Yoriichi, are you hungry?" He fully sits up now and tilts his head. I walk over to him and dig in my kimono. "I brought you some food." I say and unwrap the rice and small pieces of good vegetables. His eyes get wider and looks back up at me.

"Here, I'm sorry I couldn't get you more or something better. This is part of my dinner that I saved for you. I wasn't sure that you had something to eat since I didn't see you." I say and look at the boy.

He seems a bit shocked and I pat his head moving the food closer to him. "It's okay. You can eat it." I say. He takes the food and starts eating it and I smile at him.

Once he's done eating I take out the paper and ink and pen. "Yoriichi, since I don't think I'm allowed to teach you some stuff we'll keep this a secret and me visiting you a secret as well okay?" I tell him and he nods. "I'll teach you how to read and write a bit okay. Each night or when I'm free I'll come here, just like I promised earlier." I give him a warm smile.

"Here I'll write the alphabet and characters down. I'll start with the first character A. It goes like this." I say and write it down slowly showing him.

We continue doing this and stop after 30 minutes. I look outside and glance at Yoriichi who looks sleepy. "It's late Yoriichi, we can continue later. Go to sleep." I say and put the items back away into my kimono and tuck him in his Futon.

"Night Yoriichi." I whisper and run back quietly into the house.