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demonslayedher · 2 years ago

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What if Kanae had lived and Shinobu had died? How different would the former be compared to the latter? Add-on: How would Kanae have reacted during the events of Wasp's Nest in place of Shinobu?

I am so touched and honored every time I'm asked about The Wasp's Nest. T^T But before that, let's just focus on the canon-as-we-saw-it side of things by writing a short death scene:

When Kanae found her, Shinobu had no way of speaking. Aside from the gash down her right lung, something else was wrong with her. In her panic, Kanae couldn’t think of what, and held her tiny, little sister for one last time.

“Shinobu… Shinobu…! Who did this to you?” she asked blankly, questioning the whole universe for how it could do this to her sister, revenge the furthest thing from her mind. Shinobu, however, was lucid, and revenge was exactly what she desired. Her blood vessels pounded not with the last efforts to extend her life, but with pure hatred and rage for whomever she had spent her fruitless last battle against. Besides a being a demon, whoever this demon was, they earned a special amount of enmity.

With short Breaths out her nose while keeping her mouth shut tight to stop the guzzling, Shinobu raised a hand to point at Kanae’s eyes, and Kanae spoke on her behalf. “One of the 12 Moon Demons…”

She pointed upward.

“…An Upper Moon…!”

She traced two horizontal lines in the air.

“…Upper Moon Two!? Shinobu! Your poison would never be enough against a demon like that! Why didn’t you wait for me? Why did you take them on by yourself?”

With the last burst of strength, Shinobu stressed the Corp hand signal for ‘don’t breath in.’ She blazed her last conscious stare into Kanae’s eyes, branding her with this warning. Her eyes then slowly rolled and closed, and her hand fell.

“Shinobu… Shinobu…!!”

yeah ok that hurt

The real question is whether Kanae would handle her grief in a healthier way that Shinobu did, trying to be the new embodiment of her sister's personality and wishes, which wasn't fooling anybody who already knew them both. I really don't see Kanae doing this, but it sure would be funny if she tried, she'd be so bad at it. The scene on the roof would place out with Tanjiro asking her if she's tired and Kanae just letting the whole act drop and saying, "phew, yes, that gets exhausting!!"

As for the events of the fic, I'm got a smattering of writings and doodles below. As we didn't get to explore her much in the fic (as her absence was likewise part of what set the tone for the role of Tsuguko in the Butterfly Mansion), this will have a special focus as being from the first Tsuguko's perspective.

---

My name is Ichijo Tomoe. I’m a Kanoto in the Demon Slayer Corp. My Breath is Flower Breath.

I was the oldest daughter in my family. I had a mother and father, an older brother, and three identical triplet sisters. They were much younger than me, and were treated as the glittering stars of our neighborhood. Everyone always delighted in seeing three of the same smiling faces, with their hair in bows and buttons all over their Western dresses, and strangers often bothered us wanting to take their photograph.

I loved each one of them dearly, and the demon who attacked my family ate each one in front of me. It had come for them, curious what a rarity like triplets may taste like. It killed my brother first at the door, and then my mother who ran to him, and my then my father, who was ripped away as he tried to shield us daughters. I still have the scar on my arm from his fingernail. The demon chose to spare me, intending to eat me once it had appetite later, and it kept me trapped under a pile of broken furniture. I could only watch and listen as they were each killed and mocked as the demon talked about flavors and flesh. By the time it dragged me out of our home, I was limp and in shock.

I do not know how many minutes or hours passed before a swordsman of the Corp rescued me, and after that, I was collected and cared for by the Kakushi. As they helped me recover, I learned of Flower Breath, and that it might allow someone like me to stop such a wretched thing from happening to anyone else. I’m told I’m good at it, but I find myself unsure.

One of the few Flower Breath users I later met was Kochou Kanae, and she had a sister, Kochou Shinobu, who practiced Insect Breath. They had made a promise together when young that they would kill as many demons as they could to prevent anyone else from going through the pain they had, and this made me feel kinship for them. Though we did not meet often, I admired them. Kanae-sama even more so, for she was the Flower Pillar.

When I heard news that Shinobu-san had been killed, I fretted over what to do. I did not know if it would be out of line to offer my condolences to a Pillar, but imagining how her heart must have ached, I wanted to give her a sign that she could talk to me, or at least, that I cared. Whether or not to accept my company in her grief, I wanted to leave as her choice. With my heart fluttering under my nerves, I paid a visit to the Butterfly Mansion, and silently offered Kanae-sama a bouquet when she answered the gate.

“Calendula,” she said, her swollen eyes falling on the flowers. “Sadness and parting. Armeria, concern and sympathy.”

Though her voice remained even and calm, my face tickled with tears.

“Rugosa rose… sadness, followed by beauty.”

My face flushed red. I had chosen the rugosa rose to try to offer hope, but I knew that beauty never followed the sadness of losing dearly beloved ones to demons. That flower was a stupid choice.

“Thank you, Tomoe-chan. You lost your little sisters too, didn’t you?” she said, and before I could respond, she had wrapped her arms around me and sank to the ground, burying her face against my shoulder. “Three of them, didn’t you?”

I couldn’t say anything with my throat so knotted behind all my tears. I held her as she sobbed.

So Ichijo goes on to be taken in as a Tsuguko once Kanae has concern for where her Flower Breath technique is lacking. Ichijo is completely overwhelmed by the sight of Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho, and excuses herself as quickly and politely as possible to have privacy in her room. She takes her meals alone there because the memories of her little sisters' deaths are otherwise too much for her to stomach anything. This saddens Kanae, but she kind of understands why and leaves Ichijo be, asking Aoi (who is still a Breath trainee) and Kanao to serve her meals. Ichijo feels like Kanao is playing keep-away from painful reality, which Ichijo finds she can relate to.

So then later on Mita brazenly comes seeking to be a Tsuguko as soon as she passes the Final Selection, as there's no Insect Pillar to study under but she was told the Flower Pillar had a good understanding of Insect Breath techniques. It is right as she's finishing her rehearsed self-introduction that she takes a look at the Flower Pillar and realizes---that's her!!! That's Kochou Kanae, who made a mockery of her by telling her a lie that she needed to be a certain height before she could start Breath training, which Mita stupidly believed and it cost her a whole year of training she could had started on earlier! Kanae takes an extra moment to recognize her, then says how surprised she is to see her in the Corp and yes, if she can help with Insect Breath and loan out her sister's books, she's more than happy to.

Ichijo and Mita have a quiet, formal relationship and they both like it that way. Mita, irritated with having found her way into Kanae's care (and is indignantly convinced that Kanae would had tried to make her a nurse like all her other orphans if she had gotten than idea by the time she rescued her), is more prone to complaining than she would had been under Shinobu, whom she had deep respect for. Ichijo is a little put off by Mita's complaints. Mita cares less about other people wasting Kanae's time since Kanae seems to find lots of ways to waste it herself.

Ichijo gets to live longer in this AU! Sorry and thank you for your sacrifice, Shinobu.

So Kanae's got her two Tsuguko whom she takes around with her on missions, and then one day a third one shows up with a letter of introduction from her cultivator, who also happened to be Kanae's cultivator. She and Kanae hit it off immediately.

Oh Ichijo, so tender and pure.

Ichijo finds Kobayashi overwhelming at first, and is relieved when Mita complains about her chattiness while she's trying to study. However, Kobayashi has a high enough EQ to figure out that Ichijo will converse if asked the right questions, and since she gives Ichijo her full attention while she listens, Ichijo starts feeling more at ease with her soon, and as a sempai Tsuguko, she gives her pointers here and there on the training Kanae has them do, but not too much because Kobayashi is older and above her in rank.

When Mita presents Kanae her report on the feasibility of filling her body with poison, Kanae laughs very nervously as she starts tearing it to shreds and burning it, right in front of Mita, who shrieks at all her hard work getting demolished. Kanae then admonishes her like Shinobu did, but adds, "This feels like the kind of thing my sister would have thought of."

They do manage to make amends (as Mita has attained more respect and more of a relationship with her Shihan by now), but unfortunately for Mita, Kanae's knowledge of demon poison is not as good as Shinobu's, and Mita dies all the same. Kanae feels a lot of guilt about that, and it also brings on a fierce wave of missing Shinobu, whom she believes could had saved Mita if she had been there. As she is more open to a friendly relationship with her Tsuguko instead of a purely formal one, she accepts Ichijo and Kobayashi's emotional support in this time instead of shutting herself away and not letting anyone see how Mita's death is affecting her.

As in the fic, this happens while Aoi is away at her Final Selection and what with how the older girls have all been supporting each other in this time, they are ready to accept Aoi at her emotionally weakest state and give her support to sit with her feelings too. This helps Aoi to wrestle through things and decide with more peace that she needs to quit the sword. Kanae is relieved, not just because this means Aoi will stay home and safe, but because she can be kinder to Aoi this way. If Aoi were to be half-way about swordsmanship, Flower Pillar Kanae would have no choice but to be strict with her.

All this being open with their feelings and facing the horrors of reality would be an opportunity for Ichijo to face her trauma and eventually be able to accept and appreciate the company of Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho. They'll never replace her sisters, they are each as unique as each of her sisters was, and their families will never be replaced either. With Kanae's and Kobayashi's help they sort of know why Ichijo had always been so stand-offish, and after Ichijo tearfully apologizes for giving them any uncomfortable feelings, they warmly forgive and welcome her into 'the nest,' as Mita had called it.

With the girls all functioning more like sisters than Shinobu would have had the ease to let unfold, Kobayashi is comfortable consulting with Ichijo about Kanao's aptitude and interest in Flower Breath. Ichijo hadn't picked up on it before, but once Kobayashi mentions it, she notices it too, and she goes along with Kobayashi as moral support to consult with their master about it.

Uh oh, they seem to have struck a nerve with their master. Things are a liiiiiittle bit tense. But now that they've mentioned it, Kanae is stunned she didn't notice it sooner herself. One day while talking with Sanemi she says that she was once shocked when Sanemi off-handedly said that if his brother was stupid enough to join the Corp he'd pluck his eyeballs out, but now, she kind of understands that! She kind of had a passing whim to pluck out Kanao's eyeballs! She gets it now! Sanemi isn't really sure that this is a good development.

Nonetheless, Kobayashi feels the same conviction that Kanao needs training for her own safety because no one can stop her from wanting to fight demons, and Ichijo feels fretful about doing things behind Kanae's back, but feels a lot of regret that Kanao probably say some bad examples from her and she worries if Kanao will pick up improper technique. She makes peace with this by pulling Kanao aside one day and just saying, "Kanao-san, say, you know the footwork on the 4th form? The knee should be facing more squarely forward, not outward like the way I do it. And the elbows on the First Form? They're not supposed to be locked. And the posture on the Third Form? It should look more like..."

And Kanao soaks that all in, still gets in trouble by practicing with Kobayashi, Kanae gets more mad about them going behind her back than about the training, Ichijo is crying heap on apology on the floor, Kobayashi reexplains their concerns, words it in such a say that it somewhat echos Shinobu--"it's dangerous if she doesn't--" but also twists that echo in a key way, "she's thinking for herself."

Those words stab Kanae through the heart, and she knows she can't hold Kanao back if this is truly what she's decided. She knows she should probably teach Kanao instead of more dangerously letting her go blindly down this path of her choice. But she still has the guilt of over the promise she made with Shinobu and how that led to Shinobu's death, and Kanao is especially precious to her because she's the one whom Shinobu brought home to be like another sister to them. She needs more time to get her feelings in order.

And then Kobayashi dies. Whoops.

Kanae is kind of shook by this, but it's easier to accept Kobayashi's death as one of many that always happen in the Corp, not something Kanae directly could or should had prevented. Still, it hurts! They were friends, and something kind of like sisters! Ichijo is more open with her feelings now and is a mess, and admits to Aoi at some point that she sometimes thinks of retiring too, because her Flower Breath will never even be as good as Kobayashi's was. Kanae uses this period of mourning--because everyone sure liked Kobayashi--to ask Kanao very seriously if this is what she's prepared for. She's very likely to die and make people sad like this.

But seeing sadness like this is what drove Kanao all along. It only makes her more determined when Kanae asks her, "Are you sure you want to learn Flower Breathing?"

Seeing as Kanao didn't even so much as flinch for her coin before answering yes, Kanae thinks back to the promise she made with Shinobu, and knows she has no right to tell Kanao no.

"Alright," she says, offering her pinky. "But you must follows my orders, get stronger, and survive. We must take down Upper Moon Two and avenge Shinobu together. It's a promise."

#kocho kanae #kochou kanae #the wasps nest #my fics #my dumb art #and my canonically deceased tsuguko OCs

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demonslayedher · 3 years ago

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I'm really so touched that my takes on Shinobu's deceased Tsuguko have been so well received in the fic, especially Kobayashi, who serves as my outsider perspective for exploring Shinobu, Kanao, and Aoi in the pre-canon days. In case people enjoyed "The Wasp's Nest" and want more, I've got some initial character designs and notes on the dead OC Tsuguko trio, I figured other people might enjoy reading a few headcanons without committing to reading a fic (these will totally spoil parts of the fic, though.)

But, for context, the fic description as posted on AO3:

"Sent by her Flower Breath cultivator, a new Tsuguko seeks training under the Insect Pillar, Kochou Shinobu. Her new master speaks in a gentle manner and is a good teacher, and besides performing her Pillar duties and caring for injured Corp members, she even cares for a family of orphans. It's a honor to have the tutelage of such an accomplished and wonderful person, but the air about her seems sharper than her demeanor.

That's her stinger, another Tsuguko warns. Don't get too close to the nest."

These were drawn/written prior to writing, so some edits were made, and some additions were handwritten in before I scanned these. Please note that EVERYTHING HERE IS MADE UP, for all that canon gave us was their silhouettes, the fact that they were Shinobu's previous Tsuguko, and that they were all killed by demons. We don't even know their names or Breaths or when they trained under Shinobu, or what I find more interesting, why they don't seem to have enough lasting impact on the Butterfly Mansion cast to be mentioned much at all. First Tsuguko, Ichijo Tomoe:

Taisho Secret: She was in such shock after losing her parents and little sisters that she went silent for a while as the Kakushi took care of her. It was as she built more resolve to fight that the Kakushi helped introduce her to a Flower Breath cultivator (not Kanae's cultivator).

Taisho Secret: There were a lot of slayers involved in the fight that she died in; Shinobu was busy leading everyone as the only Pillar on site. Ichijo died in Mita's arms; it was one of Mita's first missions with the two of them. Mita misunderstood Ichijo and found her stuck up, but she didn't outright dislike her; she admired her well enough as a senpai.

Taisho Secret: Had they met, Ichijo would had found Kobayashi overwhelming at first, but very slowly would open up enough that they'd become friends.

Second Tsuguko: Mita Akari

Taisho Secret: She couldn't tell at the time since she was busy hiding and having to run for her life, but with what she remembered of the event and what she learned later on about demons, she figured out that the demon who killed her family was her deadbeat uncle who must had just been turned. Mita's immediate family was all a little too open with their criticism and therefore prone to raised voices and arguments, but that's because they were open and frank with each other, so it was usually a warm and close family unit. Mita was the youngest.

Taisho Secret: Mita had one previous close call with demon poison, but she survived. With Shinobu's special attention, she made a swift recovery.

Taisho Secret: Mita didn't hate Kanao beyond having little patience for her. Had she known what Kanao would later on be capable of, Mita would have been embarrassed at herself for the misjudgement.

Third Tsuguko: Kobayashi Suzuno

Taisho Secret: Since her father was always at work and or socializing outside the home, he wasn't as big a presence to Kobayashi as her mother and grandmother were. He was attacked first and died instantly, Kobayashi didn't see much because the other three had already started to run away. Taisho Secret: When Giyuu found her, she was throwing rocks at the demon eating her mother and screaming at it to go away. Giyuu saw potential in her willingness to go up against demons, so when things had settled down, he was the one who asked her if she wanted revenge against demons. He had originally intended to introduce her to Urokodaki if she was inclined. When she asked him to tell her more she stood up to her full height, and that was when Giyuu noticed how much she resembled Kanae and decided to look into Flower Breath for her. Kanae never knew why Giyuu asked her about her cultivator. And no, Giyuu did not recognize her after the Pillar Meeting.

Taisho Secret: Had she lived, Kobayashi probably would had worked a few more years, fallen in love with some regular Corp Member with a short hair cut, and felt self assured in retiring to become a wife and mother. Shinobu would have had mixed feelings, but would give Kobayashi her blessing.

#dead Tsuguko OCs #headcanons #my fics #The Wasps Nest

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