When the season where leaves fell in reds and oranges transitioned to the chill of winter, the atmosphere in the research facility grew tense and puzzled. Tanjiro was acting quite oddly; reserved and aggressive, very much unlike and contrary to his usual demeanor. He was butchering the marine plants in his aquarium and bringing them to the sheltered structure at the bottom of his tank . . . perhaps he was nesting? Nothing was certain, and even Genya, Nezuko, and Zenitsu, the other merfolk in his tank, seemed concerned.

As a new volunteer at the lab, it was also your responsibility to help out where you could. Any attempt to get a better grasp of the situation was met with defensive hostility, and not just when Tanjiro himself was approached but also when any of the researchers approached his friends. He’d flare his fins, hiss, and sometimes lash out, and with further and more careful investigation, Kyojuro, another merfolk, provided some valuable and rather saddening info.

Winter was the time of year when Tanjiro’s family, all except Nezuko, were killed. With uncharacteristically gentle ministrations, another merfolk by the name of Giyu was able to calm the younger mer-creature down, coaxing him out of his habitat. With this step forward, you and Kanae threw on your dive suits, hoping to interact with Tanjiro face-to-face. To your luck, the crimson-tailed boy surfaced beside the two of you on his own, ears droopy and eyes guilty.

“ . . . want apologize,” he murmurs softly, looking away, “Angry. Sad. Hurt your feelings. No good.” His words slur slightly, given his relatively recent exposure to human language, but the point goes across.