Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What happened? How did this happen? How could this happen while she was gone? The weight of the injured boy on the girl's back felt so heavy . Not just on her body, but on her soul. 

Only just yesterday was everything normal and perfect.

How could that change so quickly just over the night?

~☆~

"Nee-chan, I'm sorry you have to do this for me?" A poor bed-ridden boy coughs, attempting to sit up.

Nezuko, the boy's sister, softly smiles and shakes her head, "Lay back down Tanjiro and don't you worry. You're always helping us, the least I can do is help you out this once. All you need to do is get over this sickness. Okay?"

Tanjiro sighs a bit, "I suppose, but the weather is so harsh, and to go down the mountain in cold snow can be dangerous…"

The pink eyed girl laughs a bit. Her little brother is such a worrier. His soul was too kind, no matter how hurt or sick he was, his first priority was his family and to make sure they were alright. If a stranger was hurt or needing help in any kind of way, Tanjiro was there to try and help. This compassion and kindness he has, has also unfortunately gotten him into some trouble when it comes to people trying to take advantage of him. As always though, Nezuko was there to save him (what kind of big sister would she be if she didn't!?)

"Tanjiro. I promise everything will be fine. If you can do it, then I know I can do it. I swear on my title as big sister!"

The sick boy giggles hoarsely at his sister's over the top promise; the two seal the deal with a pinky promise, and she leaves the room. She is about to walk out the entrance when she hears her father call out to her.

"Wait a moment, Nezuko!" 

The sickly man is in the kitchen preparing lunch for his family – simple onigiri – his youngest child clinging to his pant leg. His thin frame is leaning against the wall for support until he moves from his spot to where his oldest child was, his youngest following closely after him.

"What is it Otou-san?"

Her father, Tanjuro, smiles and wraps a scarf around her neck, "Tanjiro's right you know. It can be dangerous to go down the mountain in this kind of weather. However, knowing you, Nezuko, you're going to go anyway. Stubborn as your mother." 

There was a melancholy note in his voice as he mentioned his late wife. She had sadly passed away during childbirth with Rokuta, the precious baby of the family. Nezuko hugs her father, hands clenching his clothes a bit before letting him go.

"I promise to make it back safe, Otou-san!" The eldest child kisses both her father's and baby brother's cheek before leaving the house.

The moment she steps outside, she spots Takeo just finishing putting all of the charcoal in the basket for her while Hanako and Shigeru round the corner. The latter two run up to her and tug at her clothes.

"Can't we come with you? We'll be useful…" Hanako slightly whines when Nezuko shakes her head.

"I can't easily travel down the mountain with you two, especially since it's covered with snow. You two need to stay home anyways, without you who's going to take care of Tanjiro and Otou-san? While you take care of them, I'll get you guys some snacks, alright?" Nezuko gently explains to the young ones. The two pout, but nod in understanding, brightening up when she pats their heads.

The eldest Kamado child goes over to where Takeo was and puts on the charcoal basket. Takeo has a bit of a pout on his face, the pink-eyed girl giggles and ruffles his hair.

"Ugh, Nee-chan! Stop that!" He whines, even more so when his younger siblings laugh. He smooths his hair down, a little smile was present on his face.

"Alright you three! Be good and take care of Tanjiro and Otou-san!"

The girl waves and finally makes her descent down the mountain. She had never realized how arduous it was to make her way down to the village. How Tanjiro does it nearly everyday, she's not sure, but it makes sense for how strong he is. Of course, she already knew how amazing her little brother was. This thought is strengthened when she actually reaches the village. Calls for help and for charcoal sound off from every direction. 

Nezuko could only guess this is the reason Tanjiro comes back late everyday. 

~☆~

"It's too dark for you to traverse the mountain! You need to wait until sunrise." A voice calls from the bottom of the mountain.

"Don't worry, Saburo- ojii ! I can make it up, my legs are strong!" The girl pats her legs for more emphasis.

Saburo only shakes his head, "No, come inside. Demons come out at night, it's safer to wait in the morning." 

Nezuko can tell that he won't relent and walks inside his abode. A few years ago Saburo had lost his family, ever since then he's been alone. He was a prickly man, but he was nice, such as right now. He's giving Nezuko a place to stay the night (even if she doesn't believe in demons) and even giving her dinner.

"Hey, if demons are so dangerous, wouldn't they come inside your house?" The pink-eyed girl asks as she lays under the covers. 

"Yes, there's nothing to keep them from coming inside your house, however that's what demon slayers are for. They kill them before they kill anyone of us."

Saburo-ojii must be really lonely. I'll bring down Tanjiro and the others to visit him. I'll show him that there's nothing to be scared of, that demons aren't real.

…

Then again didn't Obaa-san say something about demon to Tanjiro and I before she passed?

~☆~

"Bye-bye Saburo- ojii ! I'll see you later," Nezuko says as she bounds out of the house. Making her up the mountain she playfully makes crunching noises with every step in the snow. Maybe later on she can play in the snow with her siblings.

This thought doesn't last long, she's hit by this overwhelming feeling of dread. It was so cold and yet she was sweating, she felt unbelievably nauseous the closer she got to her house. What could have happened? Why is she feeling this way? Nezuko soon got her answer.

"Tanjiro! Rokuta!" 

There they were in front of the house, face down in the snow, in a puddle of their own blood. Tanjiro had his arm around Rokuta in a protective manner and a broken hatchet in his other hand. Nezuko runs up to them, desperately shaking Tanjiro hoping he would move, even just a little bit. 

No no no! What happened! Inside! I have to look inside!

It was a mistake to look inside the house. Dark crimson coated the walls and floorboards, smeared and splattered everywhere. Her father's limp body was up against the corner with Hanako right behind him. Shigeru and Takeo were near the door, eyes wide and glazed over. There was no sign of life inside them. The contents of Nezuko's breakfast soil the snow, turning it a dark brown. A loud wail escapes her and despair sets in her bones. She almost completely succumbs to her sorrow until she remembers. 

Tanjiro! He was still warm when I touched him! I have to save him!

She gathers up all of her strength and grabs Tanjiro and gets him on her back and grabs the hatchet while she was at it. She may not be as strong as her younger brother but with the help of adrenaline she has the strength to carry him down the snowy mountain. 

The girl stumbles as she descends the mountain with her brother on her back, the snow was slippery and the added weight of her brother didn't help. Every breath she takes is extremely icy and her lungs burn from heavy breathing in the cold winter. She doesn't care though, she only wants to make sure her little brother is safe.

What happened while I was gone? Who killed my family? Was it a bear that couldn't hibernate? Why? Why did it have to be my family? While I was gone, safely sleeping at Saburo's, they were being attacked and killed.

Nezuko feels tears beginning to gather in her eyes, no she can't cry now. She has to keep going, for Tanjiro.

Her steps falter a bit when there's a bit of movement from Tanjiro. She's about to cry in slight relief when he begins to make these animalistic sounds, growling and yelling. 

"Tanjiro!?" She yelps when she slips on the snow and falls off the edge of a small cliff and lands flat on her back.

The snow cushioned my fall .

She realizes Tanjiro isn't with her and whips her head around to look for him. Up a bit ahead of her she sees him standing, his checkered haori slipping off of his shoulders.

"Tanjiro! You don't have to stand! Come here so I can help you, you need to go to the doctor!" 

She's only able to walk a few steps before her little brother attacks her, grabbing her by her shoulders and pressing her down into the snow. He would have dug his teeth into her flesh if it hadn't been for her quick reflexes and shoving the wooden handle of the hatchet into his mouth for him to bite down on. Now that she could clearly see him, his eyes were down a bright red and had slits for pupils, and he now had sharp fangs in place of his regular canines. The expression on his face, it was nothing like the sweet, kind, and patient little brother she knew! He looks like-

A demon! No, that can't be true! Ever since he was born, Tanjiro has been a human! But, he's just like Saburo-ojii described!

At this rate Tanjiro was going to overpower her, especially now that he was growing in size (demons can do that!?). Tears spill down Nezuko's cheeks.

"Tanjiro! I need you to snap out of it! Fight against whatever is happening to you! I'm sorry I wasn't there for you! That you were left there to die and had to suffer! It must have been hard! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It should've been me to have been in your place! It should've been-" Nezuko is cut off when tears that weren't her own fall onto her face. Tanjiro lessens his hold on her, soft hiccups and sobs leave his throat as he shakes his head. The pink-eyed girl doesn't have much to dwell on this as a gut feeling tells her and Tanjiro to roll out of the way. It's a good thing she did as a blade whips past, almost cutting Tanjiro's head off (it only manages to cut one of her ribbons). They had hit a tree when they rolled away, Nezuko hugs Tanjiro close to her, as she looks at who it was that attacked the two. It was a young man, but he was tall and bulky. He has short black hair, a blue cord around his neck and waist and a very obvious scowl on his face. Thick brow furrowed and narrowed teal-ish blue eyes, all the while pointing a sword with a yellow lightning strike going through it at them (what a strange looking blade).

"What's wrong with you!? Why did you try to attack my brother!?" Nezuko yells, noticing how Tanjiro was clinging onto her, a frightened look on his face.

"Tch, you call that thing your brother? He was obviously gonna kill you. Or can you not see that he's a demon now, dumbass?" The man gruffly says, taking a few steps toward the siblings.

Nezuko feels herself getting hot from anger, "Maybe he was gonna hurt me at first, but he remembers who I am now! And don't call me a dumbass!"

The man rolls his eyes, "You must have mush for brains. Whether you like it or not it's my job to slay demons as a demon slayer, just like the one you're holding right now!" 

In just a blink of an eye, her brother was no longer in her hold, Tanjiro was being held by the man, arms behind his back. The young boy struggles in his grip, thrashing his body to try and escape. He tries to swing his head back to headbutt the man, but he easily moves his head out of the way. Tanjiro cries out when he sees the man bring up his sword and points it at him.

"LET GO OF MY BROTHER!!!" Nezuko screams, clenching her fist tightly. "I won't allow you to kill my last remaining family member! He's all I have left!!!" Her eyes dart toward the abandoned hatchet near her as she gets ready to attack.

"With all this blood on him, he must have been the one to kill everyone else. It's time to let go!" The black haired man tries to decapitate Tanjiro only for the boy to whip his head back and thrash around some more, so all he manages to do is stab into his shoulder.

Grabbing snow from the ground, she whips a snowball at his face, which successfully lands, causing the man to curse. She runs to the hatchet and grabs it while getting another snowball. Nezuko throws another snowball, but the man dodges it this time.

This damn brat! I can't focus when she's just pelting the snowballs at me and kicking up snow!

The man keeps an eye on her when she runs behind the trees, this time a small rock is thrown at him, he finds this easier to block with the hilt of his sword. Rapid steps come at him as she runs at him, a furious expression dons her face, he sees one of her legs lifting up for a kick, he quickly puts a stop to that, ramming the hilt off his sword onto her back, effectively knocking her out. He's about to skewer the demon in his hold when he realizes that he doesn't see the hatchet anymore. His eyes dart around when hears the sound of a blade whipping through the air. At the last minute he moves his head in time to dodge the hatchet, the blade itself landing into the trunk of a tree.

Damn, the brat is smarter than I thought. Taking me out when she's already down.

The demon in his hold stills for a moment, looking at his sister as tears begin to gather in his eyes. The young boy slams into the man with all of his might, finally able to break free  and runs to his sister.

Shit! He'll eat her!

The man was prepared for the worst, reaching out to the young demon boy, only for him to be surprised. The boy was cradling his sister, seemingly happy to see she wasn't badly hurt, gently patting her hair. The man sighs, was he really proven wrong by some brats?

"Hey, demon, let's have a chat."

~☆~

" I'm sorry we have to leave both of you, Nezuko. Please take care of Tanjiro and yourself. " Tanjuro sadly pats her hair, her siblings surround her, a sorrowful expression on their faces.

Nezuko awakes with a gasp, clutching onto Tanjiro's clothes. She realizes that her head is laying in his lap, she looks up and sees him with a happy smile on lips, patting her head again.

"So your finally awake." The man was now casually leaning against a tree.

"With no help thank to you. Why, I should just-!" Tanjiro quickly calms his sister down, patting her hair and shaking his head.

The man simply rolls his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Take your brother and go to a peach orchard Northwest of here. A man named Jigoro Kuwajima lives there, tell him that Kaigaku sent you. Go there and train to become a demon slayer. Don't let your brother in the sunlight, he'll go up in flames."

While Nezuko tries to process this, Kaigaku gets something from outside of his pocket and ties it around Tanjiro's mouth; it was a bamboo muzzle.

"Hey, why is Tanjiro a demon? How did he turn?" 

"The brat's wounds were exposed to demon blood, that's how the man-eating sons of bitches spread. You're very lucky your brother is quite the unusual demon, younglings are normally very feral and will eat any human that's in front of them." He explains as he fixes the strap that holds his sword in place on his back. He takes a few steps away from the siblings, but stops for a moment.

"Oh, and while you're there, look after the blonde haired brat for me." Just before Nezuko could say anything to him, Kaigaku practically disappeared as he was quick to leave.

Nezuko sighs, "What a jackass." Tanjiro proceeded to huff and grumble about her language behind his muzzle. 

She apologizes.

Chapter Text

The siblings were back at their house to give their family a burial, it was the respectful thing to do for them. Nezuko started work on digging out their graves, Tanjiro quietly looked at his deceased family members. There is a little voice, a little feeling tugging in the back of his mind.

Aren't you hungry? Doesn't blood smell delicious? There's a wonderful feast in front of you, don't you want to take a bite?

Although the voice, the instinct is telling him this, he can't help but to disagree. All the blood just made him feel down, it didn't smell good or appetizing at all. Looking at the bodies makes him feel even worse.

The boy couldn't remember who they were, but whenever he looks at them, he feels incredibly sad. Tears well up in his eyes as he looks at the unknown man and young girl in front of him.  Tanjiro thinks they must have been important to him, but why can't he remember them. His red eyes are drawn to the man's earrings, a word pops up into his mind, Hanafuda. He bends down and fiddles with them before finally taking them off of the man's ears. The boy stares at them for a while; a soft hiccup of a sob leaves his lips as he puts them into his sleeve.

“Tanjiro, I need your help-?” The girl Tanjiro believes to be important to him stops in her tracks when he notices the tears slipping down his cheeks. She softly smiles and walks up to him, her arms wrap around him in a tight embrace.

Her fingers comb through his hair, “It’s okay, Tanjiro. I know it all must be so confusing, but I promise as your Onee-chan, that I’ll help you and protect you.”

Onee-chan?

…

Onee-chan.

Nee-chan!

That’s who this girl is to him! She’s his older sister, Nezuko!

“N…N-Nee-chan…?” Words feel foreign to Tanjiro, the words leave his mouth in a raspy voice. Nezuko leans back and looks at him in surprise, but smiles and hugs him again.

"You remembered. Now…it's time we bury our family."

It was painful to carry the bodies and lay them into the graves. One by one, the bodies are placed into the graves, it wasn't until Nezuko placed little Rokuta down did she break down. She falls to her knees and wail, tears stream down her cheeks, quickly becoming cold because of the freezing weather. Nezuko can't bring herself to care, her body shakes and trembles from her sorrow. She wraps her arms around her body and rocks herself.

All these emotions come out at this moment and she can't calm down. A familiar pair of arms wrap around her, the warm presence of her brother soothes her a bit. The two stay like this for a while, at least until the eldest Kamado is able to gather herself and they finish burying the family. Nezuko presses her hands together to start a prayer, but sees Tanjiro just…staring off.

"Tanjiro, press your hands together. We need to pray for our family, remember?" Tanjiro looks at her in a bit of a daze, but follows her example. The demon boy isn't sure what she means by this, does this help the unknown people that make him feel sad? It must, that must be why…that girl, what was her name again? Ah, yes, Nezuko, Nee-chan , is telling him to do this. Tanjiro isn't sure what a "prayer" is, but he looks at the graves and hopes that whoever these people are, they are happy wherever they are now. A sigh is heard next to the boy, the girl takes hold of his hand and they make their way down the mountain, officially starting the next chapter in their life.

~☆~

"Excuse me, may I take that basket and bamboo?" 

The Kamado siblings had made quite a bit of progress to make it to the peach orchard, but they still had a long way to go. Nezuko wants to continue traveling during the day, but with a demon brother who will burn into ash at any contact of a ray of sunlight (allegedly, but she wasn't going to risk it), she needs something to protect him.

"Sure, just go ahead and take it. The basket has holes in it though." The farmer says, wiping some sweat off of his forehead.

"That's fine sir! This isn't much, but here's some payment for them." Nezuko digs out some coins and brings her hand out to give it to him.

The farmer shakes his head, "I don't need that just for a basket and bamboo."

The girl huffs a bit, Tanjiro would have found a way to give the man the money. After mulling it for a few seconds she simply chucks the money at the man, grabs the materials, and runs before he could say anything to her.

Nezuko arrives at the cave that she had stuffed Tanjiro in to protect him from the sun. The girl works on repairing the basket, using the bamboo to weave around the basket and cover the holes. After a once over, she smiles, satisfied at the outcome of her handy work. She walks over to the cave entrance and peeks in. At first she didn't see him, but as soon as she squints she sees him in the far back corner of the cave, softly growling at any ray of light that was near him.

"Okay, Tanjiro, I need you to climb inside this basket. I want to travel during the day, with you inside you'll be protected from the sun." Nezuko explains.

Tanjiro has to let the words she's saying sink in, after a few moments he's finally able to comprehend what she is saying and scoots up to the basket, looking inside of it. The boy tilts his head, even he could see he wouldn't be able to fit. He looks at her sadly.

The elder sister sighs, trying to think of a way to solve this dilemma. She is suddenly reminded of back when Tanjiro had attacked her, he had gotten bigger! Maybe it could work in the reverse?

"Hey, remember when you got bigger on the mountain? Can you shrink?" 

The boy thinks for a moment, he supposes he should try. Tanjiro clenches his fists and scrunches up his face, he tries to think of only getting smaller, hoping to will himself to shrink.

"Oh my gosh! You look so cute!" The demon boy hears her squeal. He opens his eyes and realizes that now the basket was now a bit bigger than him. His eyes crinkle from him smiling, he hops into the basket, now able to fit into it easily.

"My little brother is so amazing!" She pats his head affectionately, making the boy hum in happiness.

~☆~

It was dark out as the two traverse the woods. Nezuko had gotten some directions from a nice woman, appreciatively they were close to the orchard now. Tanjiro was able to walk around now and he was holding his older sister's hand, humming some type of made up song. He seems to be in a playful mood.

Nezuko smiles, his behavior right now reminded her of before he turned, when they were young children. Before they had younger siblings to take care of and more responsibilities, Tanjiro was quite playful and silly, dancing about and making up silly songs about his family. This happy thought isn't in her mind for long when Tanjiro stops right in his tracks. The demon boy sniffs the air, an unrecognizable look comes across his face as he rushes ahead. Nezuko doesn't have time to think as she follows after him, noting the strong feeling of dread that creeps up her body…same as the day her family was killed.

The pink-eyed girl finally catches up to her brother, slightly out of breath. Looking at him, she sees that he's trembling and heavily breathing behind his muzzle, accompanied by heavy drool sliding down his mouth and chin. 

A part of Tanjiro is quite ashamed of himself, he's ashamed that he finds the smell of blood to be salivating, delicious . But, why? Back up at the mountain, the blood from the people there didn't make him feel this way. Was it because the people here weren't important to him? He doesn't understand.

Nezuko's gaze follows where he's looking and she completely freezes, the empty basket slipping off her shoulders and landing on the ground. At least three bodies were laying on the dirt, blood staining their clothes and still oozing out of their wounds. Limbs were twisted and bent unnaturally and chunks of flesh were missing from their bodies. The glazed over dead eyes are what haunt Nezuko, just like Takeo and Shigeru . Just up ahead there was a figure with its back facing the siblings, hunched over. There was another dead body in its hands, it was obviously in the middle of eating. The figure seems to finally notice the two new presences, it turns around as a growl leaves its lips.

"Who the hell is in my territory?" The demon's voice is gravelly and distorted sounding. His face is grotesque, it has three eyes, but they don't fit on his face correctly, they aren't in the places you would expect eyes to be. As its mouth opens, one could see that it's filled with too many sharp teeth that jutted inward and outward as his mouth was too crowded. Nezuko isn't sure but she thinks there's another row of teeth. His skin is a light gray and he had wiry, greasy, thin hair atop his head. His body seems normal, but something was off about it, maybe the limbs are longer than normal?

"Wait a moment, are you two humans?" It fully stands and zeros in on Nezuko. She's only able to gasp when the demon practically teleports in front of her, knocking her onto her back, long claws piercing her skin. His teeth are about to dig into her neck when she swings the hatchet hard into his throat, hard enough to completely break it as the handle snaps off and flies out of her hands. The demon jumps back, dislodging the metal part out of his throat, a hoarse laugh leaving its lips.

"You're a quick one, but something like this wouldn't kill me that easily. It was a nice try though, I'll enjoy feasting on you!" The demon rushes in and wraps his hand around her throat, lifting her up into the air. She kicks her feet in the air, making garbled and strangled noises. She struggles and whispers her brother's name.

Tanjiro is able to rip his gaze away from the bodies in front of him and rushes to his sister. The boy clenches his fist and drives it through the larger demon's head, eviscerating it. The body is sent flying into a tree and lays limp. Nezuko falls to the ground as she coughs and hacks, trying to breathe in as much air as she can. Her fingers touch her throat and she winces when she feels how tender it is

The siblings look at each other in stunned silence, both looking at the demon boy's fist. "T-Tanjiro! You basically made his head explode with your punch!" The boy loudly makes muffled noises in panicked confusion, he didn't know he could do that!

Their cries are suddenly halted when the body of the other demon twitches and then actually moves, struggling to stand up as these veins and fleshy bits wriggle around his neck.

"AHHH! WHY IS IT STILL MOVING!?" 

The two scream as they scramble to get away from the demonic being. They trip and stumble over tree roots as they run through the woods, a blur of trees passing by them.

"You fucking brats! Get back here! Why is a demon working with a human?!" The demon behind them roars, having regenerated enough of its head to form a mouth.

"What do we do?! What do we do?!" Nezuko tries to formulate a plan as she zips through the woods. An idea pops into her head, it may be a stupid idea, but it's the best she got.

She turns to Tanjiro and shouts, "I got an idea! On the count of three, turn around and punch the demon as hard as you can and I'll kick him as hard as I can! Can you do that?" Tanjiro nods, following his sister's lead. 

The siblings take a sharp turn left, jumping over a tree root.

One…

The demon growls animalistically, screaming curses at them.

Two…

Nezuko ducks down as she senses that something is being thrown at her, a large rock shoots just above her head. 

Three!

The two pivot on their feet, Tanjiro clenches her fist and swings as hard as he can, again making the demon's head practically burst. Nezuko brings her knee up to her chest and thrust her foot out into a powerful push kick, the demon's body flies through the air, into the trees. A snapping sound is heard along with the sound of something being pulled taut. 

"It…worked…? IT WORKED!" Nezuko and Tanjiro cheer and hop around, excited that the plan actually worked. "But, I wonder what that sound was? Do you think we should check it out?"

Tanjiro hums as he thinks, he takes note of a new scent in the air, it smells of static and peaches. In the end he nods, taking Nezuko's hand and goes to where the demon and new scent is. They carefully pay attention to tree roots or pebbles that could trip them, both still on high alert after the experience. The sound of struggling is heard overhead, they look up and see the demon they were fighting hung up in a trap. Metal wires and rope wrap and constrict the demon and keep him suspended in the air. All of his struggling must have made the wires dig deep into his skin, blood was dripping from its wounds.

"Whoa, who made this trap? I guess we were pretty lucky we sent him this way." 

"You two were pretty lucky. Did a number on him too."

The siblings whip their heads around to see the sudden appearance of a short old man. He had white hair that puffed out, bushy brows and mustache, and a scar under his eye. He wears a dark yellow jinbei kimono with a white triangle pattern. It was just like Kaigaku's!

This must be Jigoro Kuwajima!

Tanjiro seems to come to the same conclusion (whether or not it's because he knows that the two needed to meet him or if he just was able to see the similarities between the clothing, Nezuko wasn't sure) as he makes excited noises behind his muzzle. Tanjiro nearly loses his balance when the older man knocks the back of his knees with his wooden cane. The boy subsides his excitement.

"Wha? Huh? When did you get back there-ow!" Nezuko yelps, rubbing the spot where he roughly poked her forehead with the cane. "Why'd you do that? Wait, no! I have other things I need to worry about! How'd you get here so fast? How'd you set up this trap? Will I be able to do that too? What-OW!" She was poked in the ribs that time.

"Don't get too excited now. Just because that idiot sent you my way, doesn't mean I'll accept you as my student." 

Of course not, Nezuko can't seem to catch a break. But, well, she expected that. Life wasn't going to be easy anymore, not for her, nor for Tanjiro. 

She takes a deep breath and then nods resolutely, "Okay, then, what do I have to do for you to accept me. I didn't pick a fight with that asshole and make the journey here for nothing!"

A booming laugh leaves Jigoro's mouth, it was loud like a lightning strike, "With spunk like that, you might just have a chance! Follow me!"

The Kamados look at each other. What was this old man about to do?

"Oi! Hurry up! The night doesn't last forever!"

Nezuko has a feeling she's going to be in a world of hurt very soon.

Chapter Text

Nezuko slightly huffs and gasps, struggling to keep herself from tripping as she tries to keep up with Jigoro (how does this old man walk so fast?! With a wooden leg at that!). She's a bit envious of how Tanjiro is able to easily keep up due to his newfound demonic energy. They had been making their way through the woods for at least fifteen minutes now and she still doesn't know where they're supposed to be going. What she has noticed though is that the trees are different from earlier, and that a scent is in the air.

Peaches? Are we finally at the orchard?

Seeing some of the blooming flowers hidden within the leaves of the trees solidified this thought for her. Nezuko runs into Tanjiro when he and Jigoro suddenly stop. She slightly rubs her nose, trying to soothe the slight pain.

"Young lady, I have a question for you," the old man suddenly asks.

Nezuko stiffens up a bit. "Y-Yes? What is it?"

"What will you do if your brother eats a human?"

This completely catches the pink-eyed girl off guard. Tanjiro, eating a human? That's impossible. Tanjiro would never. Sure, he forgot who she was for a bit and nearly killed her, but he remembered her! And sure, further back in the woods he was close to digging into those corpses, but he didn't!

"Tanjiro would never!" Nezuko gently squeezes his hand.

Jigoro's eyes narrow as he looks at her; the grip he had on his cane tightened. What a nïave thought, one that will surely get someone killed.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because-"

"Can you promise that to someone? Can you be one-hundred percent sure that he won't kill someone? What if he was exposed to high amounts of blood? Would he be able to control himself? Would he be able to control himself without you there? Most importantly, would you be able to stop him before he could?"

Nezuko opens and closes her mouth like a fish, trying to figure out an answer to those questions. She droops her head, she honestly couldn't guarantee anything. This old man in front of her is right, but she can't just give up like this.

Steeling herself, Nezuko clenches her fist and looks Jigoro in his eyes. "You're right, I can't promise anything. But…but! I want to be given the chance to be able to protect people from demons, even if it's my brother. That way I can make that promise. That way I have strength and qualifications to do what I need to do."

An inaudible sigh leaves Jigoro's lips, he turns around and keeps walking forward, "I shall give a chance. One chance, and one chance only. I will test you to see if you're fit to become my student. If you pass, you will train under me and your brother will live. Should you fully become a demon slayer and your brother cannot control his hunger, you must be prepared to not only kill him, but to also take your own life. That is the weight you carry as a person who harbors a demon. That is what you must do to restore you and your family's honor."

…

That's a heavy weight to carry …

~☆~

"Now!" The siblings jump at Jigoro's sudden yell, they had been walking quietly. "You, girl, will do a test, if you pass, you'll become my student. If you don't, your brother will have to be slain. Simple, right?"

The pink-eyed girl narrows her eyes slightly. Sure, it sounded easy, but she's sure the test will feel like she's been through hell. Tanjiro hums from beside her, brows furrowed in worry. Geez, even Tanjiro is worried for her.

Jigoro chuckles, "I can practically see your thoughts written on your face. As for the test itself, you will run laps around the orchard following the path I marked for you. If you are able to run ten laps before sunrise, I'll accept you as my student." The old man grabs onto the back of Tanjiro's clothes and drags him back to (what Nezuko assumes to be) his house. The boy whines slightly as a complaint before being roughly poked in the ribs.

…Now, what path markers was that weird old man talking about? Nezuko's gaze sweeps around the area, there has to be something out of place. 

There aren't any rocks that have any arrows or marks on them. There's nothing on the trees either. So, what could it be? It has to be something hidden in plain sight, something inconspicuous.

The girl stares at the ground when she notices the flower petals on the ground. They seem normal at first, but now that she looks at them she notices that certain ones were purposely placed in a sort of line. They were slightly withered in comparison to others as well. 

These must be the path markers! I'd better hurry and do these laps.

Just before she sets off she realizes that she needs to mark a place around here to signify that she's back at the start. Looking around she goes next to a tree just a bit off of the path and makes a tally mark in the bark. There, now she'll know where she started and how many laps she's done. She gets back on the path and begins her test.

Nezuko jogs a bit before getting into a steady running pace. She finds this to be a bit too easy for a test, there has to be a catch. It seems she brought this thought into fruition as on her next step she hears a snap, looking down she sees she's activated a tripwire. Belatedly, she turns around and is pelted by small rocks to her face. The girl yelps and steps back only to trip over another tripwire and falls flat on her back, the petals under her scattering.

"Ow, geez, I knew this wasn't going to be easy." She flips over and sits on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. 

If there were traps like these all over the path, there was no way she'd be able to do ten laps before sunrise. She needs a way to see where the traps are. She presses her fingers to her temples, rubbing them softly as she tries to formulate a way to do that. If Tanjiro were in her position he would have surely used his strong sense of smell to sniff them out or something. She doesn't have that, so what does she have?

…I could try to use my intuition. It's not all that strong, but it could be useful.

She places her hands on her knees and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. Whenever danger was coming she always began to sweat and feel hot, so she'll search for spots of heat. 

Search…

Search…

Search…

It's there if you concentrate, Nezuko, so focus and you'll find it!

…!

The pink-eyed girl's eyes snap open, faintly she feels heat coming from a few places ahead of her. Okay! She can start there. Nezuko gets back to her feet and runs, jumping over the tripwire she sensed earlier, however upon landing she falls through a tiger pit.

Of course I couldn't sense them all. That doesn't matter, just sense and dodge what I can and keep going.

She climbs her way out of the pit and continues running, jumping over ropes and tripwire. Her feet still ended tripping some of them, sometimes she'd be able to narrowly dodge any flying rocks, branches, and tree logs, other times not so much. A new bruise and cut is added to her body any time she trips or she is hit, but it doesn't matter to her she keeps going. Even after she gets a bloody nose from a rock hitting her square in the face, even after a rope grabs her by her ankle and she's dangling in the air for a bit, even after every lap she does it seems that the traps multiply,  she keeps running. She falls into more tiger pits, deeper than the last, and she begins to get dizzy from the exhaustion, but it doesn't matter, she'll keep going.

"FOR TANJIRO!!!"

~☆~

Jigoro observes the little demon boy in his house, who is currently worriedly looking out the window. As soon as he had entered the house he took to looking out the window, even if he couldn't see anything significant.

"She's not going to come back any faster from you doing that." The old man says, beckoning the demon over. Tanjiro sighs and nods, making his way over to Jigoro.

Jigoro could tell Tanjiro was young, maybe around eleven or twelve in age. How tragic it is that his life was changed for the worse while being so young. It made the man want to dote and coddle the boy, but he couldn't, at least not right now. Maybe…maybe if there is a future for him he will. 

Tanjiro sits closer to the old man, finding his scent calming and soothing. The boy had been feeling sleepy for quite a while, he was trying to fight it so that he could watch over Nezuko, but now that he was in a low energy situation, next to a calming scent, he can't seem to stay awake. He sways a bit before completely falling asleep and leans against Jigoro. A slight grumble leaves Jigoro's lips as he maneuvers Tanjiro to lay his head onto his lap. As he stares at the boy's peaceful sleeping face, he thinks back to the letter Kaigaku sent him (the first one that brat has sent in a while).

***

Dear Sensei Old Man,

I can already hear your complaints now about me not writing to you. Well now I am. Be happy.

I sent a girl and her brother your way. Nezuko and Tanjiro Kamado. She's in dire need of your help. Her family was killed and her younger brother has been turned into a demon. She hopes to become a demon slayer to avenge her family and protect her brother. 

Her brother is definitely special, I don't believe he will attack a human. The girl has a strong sense of intuition herself. Perhaps she'll make it through the training and become a slayer.

I just ask that you give her a chance, although I don't want to admit it, she has potential.

I know giving her a chance will most likely cost us our lives should others know about her brother, but there's something about these siblings that are different.

Take care Old Man and the brat if you're reading this,

Kaigaku Inadama.

***

The door is slammed open, revealing a battered and beaten Nezuko. Her nose was bleeding and there was a large bruise on her nose. Her kimono was ripped and torn, her haori looks to be in worse condition. She was gasping and hiccuping for air and her legs quickly gave out from under her as the first rays of the sun peeks over the horizon. 

She looked like shit. But that just means she was determined to make it to the end.

"I…m-made it back. I…made…it." Nezuko soon passed out and collapsed on the floor. 

"I accept you as my student from here on out, Nezuko Kamado." Jigoro chuckles and moves Tanjiro to a shadowed area. The old man picks up on footsteps quickly approaching his house, surprised as the sudden appearance of this person.

"Gramps! I'm back!"

…

"AHHHH!? WHY IS THERE A GIRL HERE?! IS SHE DEAD!? AND WHY IS THERE A DEMON IN HERE!?" 

"Zenitsu! Calm down!"

Chapter Text

"Gramps, this is a lot to take in. I-I mean I understand having a new pupil, but for her brother to be a demon…well it's quite unprecedented." 

It was quite the awkward dinner as the boy known as Zenitsu brought this topic up. When Nezuko had woken up from her impromptu "nap" she was surprised to meet the loud yellow haired boy. Until it was time to eat, there was an awkward silence surrounding the house.

"I understand…I don't expect everyone to accept Tanjiro with open arms so easily. All I ask is that you at least give him a chance. Once he wakes up you'll see how sweet he is." Nezuko looks at the boy, trying to gauge his facial expressions. Zenitsu twiddles his fingers in thought before finally letting out a sigh.

"Alright, if Gramps and Kaigaku are giving him a chance, I certainly can, too."

Nezuko relaxes in her place from relief, at least she doesn't have to go through another difficult trial to protect Tanjiro. She finishes dinner up early and excuses herself, retiring to bed. Opening the door she sees Tanjiro peacefully sleeping under the covers, the tiniest of snores coming from him. She unrolls her own futon and places it next to her brother's.

Nezuko kisses his forehead. "Things are starting to look up for us, Tanjiro. As always, I'll make sure to protect you, I swear on my title as big sister."

~☆~

Hi Tanjiro!

Zenitsu (I'll have to introduce you two when you wake up. He's nice!) found this journal and gave it to me. I'm gonna use this so that you can read it when you wake up and so that I can keep my thoughts in one place. I'm going to start training to become a demon slayer today (I was real beat up, so I had to wait a bit), this also marks a week since you've been asleep. I'm worried about you, but I know you'll be okay, because you're Tanjiro! My kind, sweet, and strong little brother.

I changed your clothes into some clean ones and found Otou-san's earrings in the sleeve of your hoari. I've stored them away in the desk drawer for now, I hope you don't mind.

As your big sister, I'm gonna make sure we both make it out okay.

-Your Nee-chan, Nezuko

Nezuko puts down her ink brush when she hears a knock on the door. 

"I hope you're already dressed, we're about to start training."

"Yes, Sensei! I'll be right out!" Nezuko stands up and stretches. She fashion's her hair into a bun, just like she had at home.

She sighs as turns and looks at Tanjiro, peacefully sleeping on a futon under the covers. The more she looks at him, the more she sees the changes that happened from turning into a demon. His hair is a brighter red and thicker, the small scar on his forehead has morphed into a flame like scar, and the tips of his now sharpened fingernails are tinged red.

I hope you wake up soon, Tanjiro.

~☆~

Nezuko shrieks when large rocks slam into her body, making her crumple to the ground in pain. She huffs, she can't seem to avoid all of the tripwires, they seem to be at a different place every lap she does. Along with trying to train her intuition to be sharper and training her body by doing these laps everyday, she's quickly becoming exhausted. 

A pained groan leaves her lips as she stands back up, after taking a few seconds to collect herself, she takes a deep breath and uses her intuition to search for heat sources to find the tripwires and other traps. Her eyes snap open and she quickly breaks into a sprint, leaping over a tiger pit. She tips a wire and hears another boulder swinging towards her and narrowly dodges it, tucking her body and rolling on the ground. 

I can do this! I can do this! Don't even think about giving up Nezuko!

*

Zenitsu watches from afar, flinching and yelping every time she's either hit by any of the traps or nearly hit by one. One would think he was doing the laps himself with the way he was so nervous observing her.

Gramps! How could you make a cute girl like her do these dangerous laps?! She could get seriously hurt!

He shrieks when another boulder slams into her then unfortunately gets sent crashing into the hard trunk of the tree. He pulls at his choppy hair in anxiety as he watches her get up again and begin running once more.

~☆~

A soft humming comes from Nezuko as she grabs some rice to start making onigiri with it, Zenitsu right next to her assisting. The two had been getting to know each other better these past few weeks. Nezuko found him to be a bit odd, but then she thought about it for a few seconds and remembered that she isn't all that normal herself. She was more surprised whenever she sees him yelling incoherently about whatever was stressing him out at the moment…or when he suddenly bursts into tears…or when he becomes flustered from being around her (well actually she finds that a bit cute).

Wait what? Cute?

She doesn't dwell on this thought long, as she presses the rice into a triangular shape and wraps it in nori. 

"Onigiri used to be Tanjiro's favorite. He liked it to be a bit more salty though…do you think he'll wake up?" 

Zenitsu fiddles with rice, trying to shape it. "...I can't say if he will or won't, but we can always have hope."

A small smile appears on her face, Nezuko hands the onigiri she made to Zenitsu. The yellow haired boy blushes, cheeks flushing a soft pink as he also gives her his onigiri. 

Wow, he really does look cute.

~☆~

"The Demon Slayer Corps has been around for centuries, most likely thousands of years, though it is not officially recognized by the government. Our leader's identity is always unknown to all but a select few, and as you know our duty is to eradicate all of demonkind. 

Demons are creatures of superhuman strength and powers, and of course they consume humans to gain more strength. Though, your brother is an obvious exception. They can only be killed by sunlight and by a sword made from a special steel that absorbs the rays of the sun.

The Demon Slayer Corps was made to fight these impossible beings with our mere strength, even as our limbs are torn off and slow healing wounds. We fight to protect humanity so that they don't go through the horrors we did."

Nezuko nods in understanding as she listens to Jigoro's speech, happy that she has a better grasp on the situation and on demons and demon slayers themselves.

"To that end, I am a demon slayer cultivator, my job is to train fledgling like yourself to become an expert swordsman. There are different styles of breathing and since you're stuck with me you get to learn Thunder Breathing. Once that I feel that you can perform Thunder Breathing well enough, you will enter Final Selection. It's a test that sees if you are fit to become a demon slayer."

Nezuko lets the information sink in before suddenly asking, "So, this breathing. Is it a type of fighting style?"

Jigoro crosses his arms as he straightens his back, "I suppose you could call it that. The purpose of these breaths is to be able to fight against demons on equal terms, it helps to gain power and speed. Thunder Breathing is most focused on speed and strong leg strength."

The girl perks up when she hears the last part of his statement. She knew how strong her legs are, this fact was known throughout the village back at home too. Nezuko just might be able to acclimate to this style of breathing well.

~☆~

The bright moonlight filters into the house, illuminating it beautifully. The stillness and calmness of inside the abode is slightly disrupted by movement from a young boy who had previously been asleep for quite a while. In a seemingly dazed state, he stands up and walks to the door, shoulder length hair swaying lightly. His sister was roused awake from hearing motion near her. 

Nezuko's eyes widen, she whispers out in disbelief, "T-Tanjiro…?" 

He can't seem to hear her as he slides the door open walking out into the main room of the house where a still awake Jigoro was at. The old man stares at the boy in utter shock as well, dropping the brush in his hand, messing up what ever he was writing on the paper. Zenitsu pops his head out of his room after hearing movement outside his room. He nearly screeches in surprise until Jigoro holds his hand up to stop him from talking. The three humans follow the demon boy as he makes his way outside. Tanjiro's body carries him to a clearing in the orchard, he looks up at the moon, eyes beginning to clear from the haze his mind was clouded by. He looks around the area, slightly confused as to where he was. Slowly his memories return to him.

This is…the old man's orchard! He kept hitting me with his cane…that hurt. I came here with Onee-chan. For what reason though…?

The demon returns his gaze to the sky, the stars calming his mind enough for him to have another influx of memories.

That's right, there was a creepy creature thing. I defeated it with Onee-chan. And before that…oh! There was the mean, rude man. He kept calling me a "demon".

…Demon?

…!

Tanjiro sharply inhales, clenching his fist tight enough for his claws to break the skin and cause bleeding, he doesn't even notice. Demon…it was the thing that attacked him and his family. The boy begins to breathe heavily as hot angry and melancholy tears form in his eyes. His breaths come out heavier as he pants, beginning to hyperventilate.

His family was brutally killed, they're gone, and he failed to protect them. He had the weapon , he should've been able to protect them. 

Tanjiro failed them.

The boy wails in despair, letting out screams of anger and anguish. His claws scratch at his face and he roughly pulls at his hair. Tanjiro's knees buckle from under him and he collapses to the ground. The poor boy's cries don't stop, he doesn't even notice how he was pulling clumps of his hair out or the three others that had followed him.

"Why is Tanjiro doing that!? I need to help him!" Nezuko tearfully cries out. A familiar cane is lifted up in front of her to keep her from going anywhere. She looks at the man with an incredulous expression.

The old man shakes his head, "I know it's hard to see your younger brother like this, but from the looks of it I believe he needs to let out these pent up emotions now."

"But, Gramps! He's hurting himself!" Zenitsu has fresh tears flowing down his face as he empathically looks at Tanjiro.

"I know it's hard, but we have to hold out for his sake. He's starting to calm down, see?"

The two look at the demon boy and see that he's now clawing at the ground and his wails and cries have turned into hiccuping sobs.

" ...Otou-san…! I-Imouto…! …O-Otouto-tos! "

Tanjiro's already strained, scratchy and rough voice breaks completely and all he can do is brokenly sob. It's heartbreaking to watch him, even Jigoro has a heavy heart as he observes.

It takes thirty minutes for Tanjiro to calm down, the wounds on his slowly healing and the places with missing hair start to grow back. He sniffles and stands, wiping his tears away and turns to make his way back to the house, but freezes in his spot when he sees three other people there as well. He recognizes Nezuko and Jigoro, but he doesn't know the boy with yellow hair. Tanjiro doesn't know what to do as he clasps his hands together and scuffles the ground with his feet (he now realizes that he only has his tabi socks on). He looks up and focuses on his sister's face, seeing the worried look on her face.

He made her worry.

His eyes moisten slightly as he reaches out to her a hug. Nezuko easily wraps her arms around him, heart aching even more when she hears him sadly growl and whine, it almost seems like he tried to say "onee-chan" as well but his voice wouldn't allow him.

"I'm sorry, Tanjiro. I promise to protect you from now on. I promise, Tanjiro."

Chapter Text

Nezuko sweats in nervousness as two new pairs of eyes watch her train. A few days ago she had started to learn how to handle a sword, which led to a question from her and a short lecture from Jigoro.

*

"So, Sensei, I have a question about sword handling." Nezuko moves the sword around a bit to get used to the weight.

"Go on ahead."

"Whenever I see any picture or illustration of a swordsman, they always wear their swords on their waist, but Kaigaku wears his on his back. Why is that?" The girl yelps when Jigoro roughly pokes her side with his cane.

Jigoro nearly stabs his cane into the ground as he grumbles, "Because he's weird and an idiot! I don't know what possessed him to wear it on his back! If I ever see you wear it like that, you'll run so many laps your legs will fall off!"

The girl quickly nods, swiftly putting her sword on her waist. 

*

"...Can you two stop staring at me so hard?" Nezuko blurts out, not used to having Tanjiro and Zenitsu watch over her. 

It was a cloudy day and Tanjiro wanted to walk around outside for a bit, so he thought what better way to spend time outside than to watch his sister train. Zenitsu still wanted to observe, just to be sure Nezuko wouldn't hurt herself too badly.

The demon boy huffs behind his muzzle, humming out some type of complaint. " Hmph! "

"Tanjiro, I don't need your sass right now."  Nezuko sighs as she continues her sword swings, she was at 200 already, she only needed 300 more to go (so far at least, who knows when that old man will change his mind). Her shoulders were aching though, they quite honestly felt like they were going to fall off.

Zenitsu stares for a few more seconds before speaking up, "Nezuko-chan. Your shoulders are way too tense. You're putting a lot more strain on them than you need to. Do you mind if I help fix your form?"

"Oh! I don't mind at all! Thank you for the help!" 

And, so, the yellow haired boy goes over to her, pointing out things that could be adjusted: the way she holds her sword handle, the way her legs are positioned in her stance, the position of her feet, and most importantly how to keep herself relaxed enough to not put strain on her muscles, but still braced enough to keep the power of each swing.

"Woah, thank you, Zenitsu!" Nezuko felt more experienced already. "How do you know so much?"

"I trained under Gramps. I still practice even now."

"You trained under him? Are you a demon slayer already then, are you still training?" 

Zenitsu presses his lips into a thin line, an unrecognizable expression forms on his features. Nezuko's eyes widen in surprise, she's never seen Zenitsu look like that or make that expression. Tanjiro whines behind his muzzles, lightly tugging on Zenitsu's sleeve. A sigh leaves the yellowed haired boy, then a strained smile appears on his lips.

"Just remember what I said and you won't put as much strain on your body."

He completely ignored my question. Did something happen? It would be rude to ask though…

"I think the sun is gonna come up soon, let's go inside Tanjiro. I have to prepare lunch anyway."

Tanjiro looks at Nezuko with a worried look, she returns it. Why is Zenitsu acting this way?

~☆~

Tanjiro sits inside of his room, a lantern lit to keep light in the room. The demon boy opens the journal that Nezuko had told him about, he stares at the inked on characters on the page, but they just didn't make any sense to him. He flips through a few pages and looks intensely at each character, but they still just look like a jumbled up mess. 

But, that's wrong. It's all wrong! Tanjiro could read. He could have sworn he could've. He's sure that when he was a human he could read and write. 

The boy gnaws at his muzzle the way frustration gnaws at his insides. It twists inside him, and makes him feel stupid. He huffs as hot, frustrated tears gather in his eyes, sniffling. He grips the journal in his hands tightly before throwing it across the room. At the same time Zenitsu was opening the door. He shrieks when the book lands near him.

"T-Tanjiro…? W-What's wrong? Why did you throw that?" He asks, still a bit shaken. Tanjiro sniffles again and picks up the book, pointing at the words written there and shaking his head.

Zenitsu quickly understands, "You can't read it? …I can read it to you if you want."

Tanjiro perks up. Sniffling once more and wiping his nose, he tugs Zenitsu further into the room and places the journal into the yellow haired boy's hands. The two sit down, the younger of the two sitting close to Zenitsu's side. 

"Okay…dear Tanjiro…."

~☆~

Nezuko huffs and slightly drags behind as she runs her laps through the orchard, sword at her hip. She's jealous of Zenitsu, who was joining in with her today, who could easily evade the traps and not set them off. She grumbles and tries to catch up, but her weight is off center and she ends up getting tangled in a rope that drags her up into the air causing her to dangle. 

"ARE YOU OKAY?!" Zenitsu shrieks. Nezuko cringes slightly at his volume, but nods. A sigh leaves her as she unsheaths her sword and slices through the rope tied around her ankle. She twists her body in an attempt to stick the landing, this was somewhat accomplished. 

Nezuko stares at Zenitsu and jokingly glares at him, "How are you so good at this? You must've trained under Sensei for a while."

Zenitsu shyly laughs, "Yes, that is true, but you're progressing at a faster rate than I was! You're doing really well, the more you train the better you'll do."

"Both you and Sensei are good teachers!" She gently pinches his cheek. "Anyways, does Kaigaku ever come around and visit? I mean sure he's a jerk, but I suppose he is nice enough to let Tanjiro live."

Zenitsu clenches his jaws slightly at the mention of his senior's name. Drops of sweat begin to build up on his skin, he's sure his heart is pounding too.

"Hey…are you okay-" a loud laugh cuts through the air.

"Hah, that brat barely comes by, but it seems that he might be returning for a bit near the end of the year. He wants to see your progress since it'll be a year since you came here." Jigoro walks toward the duo, a little Tanjiro following behind (thank goodness for cloudy days), he had come to tell them the news and that it was almost dinner time. Zenitsu clenches his jaws slightly, he still has a few months before he has to face his senior again. Nezuko pats toddler sized Tanjiro's head, a little hum leaves the young demon boy. Zenitsu scoops Tanjiro up and holds him close. 

"You always look so cute when you're this little!" 

Tanjiro giggles at the compliment.

~☆~

"Gramps! I don't think this is a good idea!"

"Hmph!"

Nezuko definitely doesn't think this is a good idea either. She stares up at the dark clouds in the sky and the flashes of lightning, gripping onto the trunk of a tree while trying to steady herself on the branch she was sitting on.

"She'll be fine, Zenitsu! You went through the same training and you're okay!" Kuwajima's voice overlaps with the thunder as it begins to rain heavily.

Zenitsu's eyes nearly bulge out of his head as he screeches, "I WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!!!"

Tanjiro whines behind his muzzle, all he wanted to do was get Nezuko out of the tree and safely onto the ground, especially with the way lightning was striking the ground, getting dangerously close to his big sister. Alas, he couldn't, the weirdly strong old man was holding the back of his clothes, keeping him in place. 

"What am I supposed to do now?!" The pink eyed girl shivers slightly from the coldness of the heavy rain. She nearly jumps out of her skin when lightning strikes right next to the tree she was clambering onto.

"You're supposed to scream into the sky, let out all of your frustration and become one with the lightning and thunder! C'mon, this is supposed to be fun!" The old man only got dead looks as a response.

Well…I don't exactly know what it means to become one with thunder and lightning, but I certainly can scream towards the sky .

"I'M NOT AFRAID OF A LITTLE THUNDER AND LIGHTNING! I'VE BEEN THROUGH WORSE!" The girl screams, shivering as the rain seems to beat against her skin harder after the proclamation. "DID YOU HEAR ME?! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!!!"

Two bolts of lightning strike the ground, one only a foot away from Tanjiro and Zenitsu, the other right next to Nezuko. The kids screech in fear, Nezuko falls out of the tree and the other two practically jump out of their skin. Jigoro's laugh is heard over the loud thunder as he cackles into the air.

"Alright, let's go inside before it actually does get worse."

~☆~

Tanjiro hums softly behind his muzzle as he helps clean up the front room of dishes. All he can think about though is how sleepy he is. He begins to nod off slightly, snapping away when he leans a bit too far forward. 

"What are you doing?" 

The demon is surprised to hear Jigoro's voice. He tries to convey what he wants to say through outlandish hand signals (that only Nezuko could understand at the moment, and maybe Zenitsu). After seeing the confused look on the old man's face he decides to loosen his muzzle a bit and let it dangle around his neck. 

"...Tired…s-sleepy…" he hoarsely verbalizes. 

The old man raises a bushy eyebrow, "Well, why don't you go to bed then?"

Tanjiro's expression shifts to one of worry, "No…sleep…too l-long." The demon boy's voice fades out, he wouldn't be able to use it for a bit.

"Ah, I see. You don't know when you'll wake up again, so you're worried." He gets a nod in response. "I think it's best you get your sleep now. I've noticed that you go into a daze more often now. I think sleeping is how you replenish your energy as well as your awareness."

Tanjiro doesn't know what to say. A small pout becomes apparent on his lips.

"Just go ahead and sleep. If need be, I'll attempt to wake you up. How about that?"

After some inner deliberation the boy nods, letting out a yawn. To the surprise of Jigoro, Tanjiro hugs him, slightly nuzzling him with a small hum. The boy shuffles to his room and shuts the door behind him. The old man stays in his spot, still stunned from the affection before finally regaining his senses.

"Those kids will give me a soft heart…"

Though, would that really be that bad?

~☆~

From then on, it was seen that Tanjiro fell asleep for a few weeks then would wake up and stay away for another few weeks. Just as Jigoro hypothesized, the demon seemed to be replenishing his energy this way instead of eating humans. In the meanwhile, Nezuko continued to train and wrote it all down in her journal for her little brother to read (or rather have Zenitsu read to him).

Nezuko continues to spend more time with Zenitsu both while training and while resting. She's noticed that the closer it gets to the new year he's getting more anxious.

"Nezuko-chan, your breathing was interrupted. Is something bothering you?" Zenitsu had been trying to help Nezuko with her concentration breathing

The pink-eyed girl sighs, "I could be asking you the same thing."

The yellow haired boy simply chuckles softly, "W-Well, everything worries me. You'll have to be specific."

"Well, it's getting closer to the new year and that means that Kaigaku is coming back to visit, but you seem nervous about that." Nezuko absent-mindedly picks at the grass on the clear field they are in.

Zenitsu goes quiet, pressing his lips tightly together. "I-I…well…i-it's just…" Tears begin to well up in his eyes.

"Zeni…? It's okay," she gently holds his face, wiping away any of his tears with her thumbs. 

"I-I'm sorry. It's all j-just…all so complicated and-and I'm just s-so scared to explain it t-to you!" The boy sobs, his tears wetting the clothes on Nezuko's shoulder when she brings him close with an embrace.

The girl rubs his back, "It's okay. It's okay. You can tell me whenever you're ready. Just know I won't think any less of you, alright?" 

He nods into her shoulder.

After that little crying session, they decide to go back home, it was almost dinner time already. So, imagine their surprise when they walk in and see their teacher trying to push away a cuddly Tanjiro.

"Uh…Sensei? What are you doing?" 

The old man huffs, "As you can see, Tanjiro has gotten more affectionate with me in recent times."

As the two kids look at the comical scene, they couldn't help but to burst out laughing, the tension of the situation earlier quickly leaves. "Gramps, I think you should just stop fighting it and let Tanjiro do what he wants."

Jigoro grumbles, but in the end just lets the demon boy follow close to him as he makes dinner for the night.

~☆~

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

Nezuko focuses on her breathing, completely blocking out any other sound. 

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

Quick footsteps approach her, but doesn't notice at all.

…In…out.

The girl somewhat becomes aware of some sort of sound coming from somewhere, but she ignores it.

In…out-what is that noise? It sounds familiar.

She opens her eyes and jumps at seeing her brother's face right in front of her. She is suddenly aware that the sun has set, just soft glows of pink and orange dance across the sky. Tanjiro huffs with a pout on his face, his muzzle dangling around his neck.

"I'm sorry, Tanjiro! I was just so focused." Nezuko tries to explain. The demon boy simply squints his eyes slightly and sniffs the air a bit. His expression relaxes and he produces two wooden practice swords seemingly out of nowhere. He hands one to her.

"Huh? What's this for?"

"New y-year…Hino…kami." He says, slightly rubbing his throat.

Nezuko's pink eyes widen, "I nearly forgot! But, why are you giving me a sword too? The oldest son normally performs it."

He points to himself then to her, "...T-Together."

"I know we both watched Otou-san do it every year, but I don't think I know it enough. I've seen the way you etched the dance into your mind." Nezuko sighs dejectedly.

Tanjiro hoarsely laughs, "St-Start." He points to himself. "Finish..." His voice fades as he points to her.

Her eyes moisten slightly before she smiles, "Well I would be honored."

"Geez, you two are so sappy . What happened to sibling fights?" 

The siblings shriek at the introduction of a new voice. A laugh sounds from a familiar face as he walks out from behind the trees.

"Kaigaku!? Why'd you come back in such a secretive way?!" Nezuko jabs a finger at him.

The man just snorts, "Because it's funny." He picks up the two kids and carries them under his arms and walks toward the house their teacher lives in. Tanjiro scrunches his nose, Kaigaku smells different than before, he supposes that's why he couldn't smell him coming. The man sets the two down when they reach the door and slams it open.

"It's about time you came to visit, boy." Jigoro was finishing a large hot pot, Zenitsu was nearby, he was setting up a table for everyone to sit and eat at. An awkward tense air immediately fills the house.

"Well…the food smells delicious! Is the hot pot almost done?" Nezuko quickly slices through the tension. 

Jigoro hums as he sees his two boys actively avoid each other. "Yes, it had just finished before you three arrived, make yourselves a bowl of it."

Nezuko quickly does this, giving herself a big helping of it. Kaigaku and Zenitsu continue to keep a distance and get their bowls as well, then Jigoro last. Sitting at the table was a quiet affair, the only sound was from them eating. 

Tanjiro stares at his sister's bowl of food, it looks really good, he's sure he must've eaten something like this when he was human. A soft whine leaves him as he stares at Nezuko, silently pleading for a bite.

"Sensei, can demons eat human food?"

"I have no clue. Our expertise is in killing them, not in understanding their physiology." The old man shrugs.

"I've seen a few demons be quite adverse to human food, but never the other way around." Kaigaku mumbles, taking another bite of his food.

After some thought, she decides to feed some Tanjiro, he seems quite delighted by the taste.

*

Okay, so maybe feeding Tanjiro human food wasn't such a good idea.

"Hahaha, I've never seen a demon with a stomach ache!" Kaigaku cackles (it honestly kind of reminds Nezuko of Jigoro's laugh).

"Don't be so mean to him, Kaigaku! He's in pain and you're just laughing at him!" Zenitsu huffs as he soothingly rubs the demon boy's back.

Poor Tanjiro had puked up those few bites he ate only after ten minutes. It was quite violent too, now he's just writhing in pain, clutching his belly. Tanjiro swears this is the worst stomach ache he's had his whole human life and his short demon life. 

"It's just so funny-ow!" The young man clutches his side after being roughly poked by his former teacher's cane.

"Stop acting so childish, brat." The old man clicks his tongue, "I think it's best you stay away from human food, hm?"

The boy quietly whimpers in response.

~☆~

"Ugh, Tanjiro I just can't get it right! I'm nowhere near as good as you!" Nezuko huffs in frustration, tightly gripping onto the bokken in her hands. 

How can Tanjiro remember the Hinokami Kagura moves so well, especially after turning into a demon?

"Hmm." Tanjiro picks up a clump of dirt and chucks it at the back of her head.

"Ow! What the hell-I mean heck Tanjiro!?" 

Through some hand signs, she finally understands. "I know, I know. Don't beat myself up about it. I just want it to be perfect. I'm sure Hinokami and Otou-san won't mind the mistakes, but I want it to be amazing!"

The boy nods in understanding, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulders and shifts his muzzle down, "N-Nee-chan…smart."

The pink-eyed girl blushes in bashfulness, "Thanks, Tanjiro. I swear in another universe, you'd definitely be the eldest sibling."

~☆~

This sucks! This really sucks!

"C'mon, Kamado Brat! You can fend off against me can't you? You've been training for a whole year after all!" Nezuko narrowly dodges a large arcing swing of a wooden sword coming her way.

I'm barely a challenge to Zenitsu! I'm probably nothing more than a little rat compared to Kaigaku!

A cry leaves her when she doesn't watch for a left hook coming way, it lands cleanly on her side, surely to form another bruise on her. Nezuko doesn't let herself fall and twists her body, swinging her katana and knocking hard against his practice one. It creaks a bit and the wood begins to crack a little.

"I see you have improved since first coming here. We can stop for now." Kaigaku smirks, turning in his heel and goes back to the house without even attempting to help her back.

"What a jerk," the pink-eyed girl grumbles as she stumbles through the orchard.

"Hey! Kaigaku! I have something to ask you!" She calls out to him before he gets too far ahead.

He clicks his tongue, "And what could you possibly ask me, Kamado Brat?"

"Well, first of all, don't call me that. Second, hmm…how should I ask…?"

"Hurry up, I'm not known for my patience."

"Fine, I'll just come right out and say it! What happened between you and Zenitsu?"

The young man stops right in his tracks, " What? "

"I mean, it's just so tense in the house now, you two seem so uncomfortable with each other's presence, something must have happened...” Nezuko’s voice fades out when she sees the harsh glare from her senior staring daggers into her.

He exhales deeply, “...I will just say that it’s complicated.”

What happened between the two of them?

~☆~

“Nezuko-chan! There’s gonna be fireworks tonight! The village nearby always has a festival today due to the upcoming new year. There's this clearing in the orchard where we can see the fireworks clearly. Before you came here, Gramps, Kaigaku, and I always went together and watched it. Are you going to watch them with us?” Zenitsu excitedly asks the girl.

"I'd love to! I bet Tanjiro will be happy to watch with us too!" Nezuko smiles. "Let's go tell him right now!"

The two run into Kamado siblings' room and see the demon boy lightly dozing off while sitting up. Nezuko looks at him in worry, he's stayed up longer than usual in an effort to perform the Hinokami Kagura. He seems so tired.

"Tanjiro…Tanjiro, wake up." Zenitsu gently shakes the sleeping boy awake. Tanjiro let's out a muffled yawn as he rubs the sleep from his eyes.

"Hey, Tanjiro, we're gonna watch fireworks tonight, you wanna come with?"

The younger Kamado hums as he tries to remember what exactly fireworks are. They must have been something he's seen when he was human.

Fireworks…fireworks…?

Oh! Bright and colorful things in the sky.

"Hmm." He hums in agreement and nuzzles against the two

Nezuko pats his head, "Once we actually finish performing the dance, you should go to sleep, okay? Everyone can see how tired you are."

A worried look briefly overtakes the boy's features, before nods in agreement once more, deciding it better to listen to his big sister.

*

"I didn't think you'd make it in time, Kaigaku." Jigoro lightly teases. Kaigaku had just come back from a minor mission nearby.

"Yeah right, old man. A little mission like that is little more than a small nuisance." Kaigaku smugly says.

Nezuko rolls her eyes, "Geez, are all of you hashira this smug and arrogant?"

"Sure are, though some are more insufferable than others," the black haired man seems to be picturing someone in specific.

"Well, he wouldn't be wrong. Anyways, there better not be any arguments tonight." Jigoro then leans over to Nezuko, "Actually this day has always been the day when neither of boys ever fought with each other."

"Gramps! Don't tell her that! That's so embarrassing!" Zenitsu blushes in embarrassment. 

Nezuko laughs and takes hold of the yellow haired boy's hand, letting him lead her to the clearing. Tanjiro himself holds onto Jigoro's and Kaigaku's hands.

"Hey, now. Who said I wanted to hold your hand, Demon Kamado?" Kaigaku tries to tug his hand away.

Tanjiro looks at him with a hopeful look in his eyes, though muffled it sounds like he was trying to say please as well. Kaigaku rolls his eyes.

"Puppy dog eyes don't work on me." Although he says this, the young man doesn't try to tug his hand away again.

"Hmph, are you sure they don't work on you?" The old man chuckles lightly. His former student clicks his tongue and looks away.

They all reach the clearing, the sky now pitch black and a nice breeze traveling through the air. Then the night sky explodes into bright colors. Reds, blues, greens, and pinks, painting the dark abyss.

Pretty…so pretty.

Tanjiro thinks in awe, eyes sparkling at the fireworks going off before him. A rare genuine smile is present on Kaigaku's lips, he looks a lot more relaxed than normal. Jigoro's harsh features are more soft than normal as well.

The fireworks are so pretty. I bet Nezuko is just as beautiful. She's so pretty and kind and strong, she's just so amazing! I'm so happy I got to meet her and Tanjiro.

Zenitsu looks over to Nezuko to get a glance only to see her looking right at him with a soft smile. "Wha? W-Why are you looking at me?"

"Because I think you look pretty, tonight. Especially that smile of yours," she very bluntly says as she turns back to look at the sky.

Zenitsu's face burns, he's sure his whole face is as red as a tomato. Stiffly, he looks at the fireworks again as well.

Nezuko has such a way with words.

Chapter Text

This is the day. Tonight is the night that the Kamado siblings will perform the Hinokami Kagura. The sun has set behind the hills leaving bright oranges and yellows in the sky. Torches are lit and set up in a circle in an empty clearing, and a little demon boy stands in the center, a bokken in his hand. 

"You got this Tanjiro!" Nezuko and Zenitsu cheer for him, making him a little less nervous. Tanjiro takes a deep breath, getting into position and seamlessly begins the first form of the dance, effectively starting the first cycle of the Hinokami Kagura. 

The demon boy swings and thrusts the wooden sword in a practiced manner, pivoting and turning on his feet in a graceful yet powerful manner. It feels natural for Tanjiro to perform this dance, almost like he's done it all his life. The fatigue he's felt recently due to not sleeping just melts away. Doing this dance feels so freeing for Tanjiro.

"I think this is the clearest that boy's eyes have been. There's always a cloud over them, but right now, he is aware of everything." Kuwajima taps his finger against his cane in thought.

Sensei's right. Tanjiro looks so free while doing this dance…he looks just like Otou-san.

Nezuko grips her own bokken in nervousness, would she be able to perform the Kagura this well? Tanjiro looks so natural doing it, what about her? There's no way she'd be as amazing as her brother, it's just not possible-

"Hey, Kamado Brat, stop getting in your head. I can tell you're thinking too much about this." Kaigaku whispers, gently flicking the side of her forehead. "Your brother is good, great even at the dance, but he believes you're just as good, right? That's all you need to know and think about. Thinking too much will make that small brain of yours explode."

The pink-eyed girl pouts a bit at the jab her senior made towards her at the end, but in the end feels a bit better as she watches her brother continue to dance. In the corner of her eye, she sees Zenitsu watching in awe. He's etching every detail into his mind, not taking his gaze off of the dance for a moment. 

"So, this dance is performed the entire night?" Zenitsu inquires as he touches Nezuko's arm to get her attention.

"Yep, from dusk till dawn. It was more surprising when my father did it, he was sickly and almost always needed to be sitting down. So, when the new year came around and he performed this dance, it was always amazing to watch him." Nezuko sighs as she recounts those memories. "Tanjiro looks just like him right now…"

The more Tanjiro dances and completes more cycles, the more precise he becomes. The moves blend seamlessly together, every step and pivot, every swing and thrust of his bokken, transitions cleanly into the next form. Jigoro observes the demon boy in keen interest. 

This dance, it seems familiar. It doesn't seem like just a ceremonial dance, some of the moves could easily be converted for battle use. Perhaps I should write to some contacts of mine about this Hinokami Kagura…

Nezuko manages to pry her eyes away from Tanjiro and sees that the sky is starting to brighten. "Tanjiro, complete this last cycle, then get to a dark place." 

Tanjiro grunts in response, getting himself into a place where he could easily swap with Nezuko. The girl gets near the edge of the circle of torches and grips onto her wooden sword. With the encouragement of the other thunder breathers behind her, she doesn't feel as nervous.

After completing one last slash Tanjiro and Nezuko successfully swap out seamlessly and the girl immediately begins the first form. The demon boy immediately runs to a canopy of trees that would completely shade him when the sun fully rises.

Nezuko silently curses when she makes a misstep as she pivots her foot. She gets out of her head and recovers, swinging a perfect slash of her sword. Just when she thought she would be fine, she trips over her own feet and her mind completely blanks. Frustrated tears begin to form in her eyes as she tries to remember what the next step is.

"...Nee-chan…okay, t-take time…" Tanjiro calls out, straining his voice. 

Nezuko takes a few deep breaths, getting back into a proper stance. She takes another deep breath as she gathers herself, finally able to remember what comes next and starts back up. Even though she kept making some mistakes, now it didn't feel like the end of the world. As she finished off the last form perfectly, the sun had now completely risen.

"That was amazing, Nezuko-chan! Tanjiro!" Zenitsu exclaimed, running up to the girl.

Nezuko cheeks slightly tinge a red color. "Tanjiro is the one you should be complimenting, he did all the work."

"You were both great in your own right. Sure you made some mistakes, but you always picked up right where you left off! Most importantly I could see the dedication you both have to this dance." 

Nezuko felt like she could cry when she heard the yellow haired boy's encouragement. 

"Not bad, brats. I suppose you do have some talents." Kaigaku roughly pats Nezuko's back. The girl coughs as she tries to regain air back into her lungs.

He's so heavy-handed!

She glares at him, but his words do make her feel a little happy too. 

Kuwajima places a gentle hand on her shoulder, a proud smile on his face. "You two looked amazing performing your dance. I'm sure your father and Hinokami are proud of you."

Both the Kamado siblings become misty eyed, the words making them feel so elated. "Thank you Sensei. Your words fill me with joy."

Kaigaku lets out an exaggerated yawn. "Alright, alright, enough with all of the sappy stuff. The demon's practically sleeping while standing."

The black haired man unties the blue fabric around his waist and takes off his long black haori. "Hey, demon brat, shrink down."

Geez, would it kill Kaigaku to be nicer? Or at the very least be nicer to my little brother.

Tanjiro sleepily nods, shrinking down to the toddler size he normally frequents. Kaigaku unceremoniously drops the clothing on the young demon boy. "There, now one of you can carry him in."

No sooner does he say this, he ventures into the house himself.

"Sometimes, I wonder if that boy is allergic to being polite." Jigoro slightly grumbles.

"He's like a somewhat nice asshole." 

"Nezuko-chan!"

"Sorry."

~☆~

That day Tanjiro and Nezuko immediately crashed and fell into a deep sleep. The next day Nezuko woke up and, as expected, Tanjiro slipped into one of his long slumbers and didn't wake up. The other three notice how Nezuko seems down, but she needs to move on with her training, especially now that she's going to step into a major milestone.

*

"Alright, me and the old man believe it's about time we give you a final test. Surprisingly, you exhibit talent and have improved leaps and bounds, yada yada, blah blah, I don't really care." 

Jigoro rolls his eyes as he continues to hear his former student's speech. As they walk to their destination, he looks at Nezuko in his peripheral vision and sees the nervous expression on her face (there was a tinge of annoyance, no doubt from her senior's speech).

"If you pass this test, you will be able to go to final selection. Ah, here we are."

They stop at a barren looking field. There was barely any grass and any that was there, it was withered and dead. The few trees that were there were barren and shriveled and blackened as though they were burnt. Nezuko doesn't get how she's supposed to have a final test here. The girl looks at her senior in confusion, to which he just chuckles.

"So, what are you gonna do? Make me run a million laps?" Nezuko sarcastically asks.

Kaigaku laughs loudly, again, reminding her of Kuwajima's laugh. "No, that was a horrible guess! Anyway, see how the clouds are beginning to darken?"

Her eyes travel to the sky and lo and behold the clouds are now a dark gray, with the flashing of lightning hidden within the clouds. She gives Kaigaku a certain nervous look. "Do I have to do one of those "sitting in a tree during a storm" exercise?"

"Of course not! You have to deflect lightning."

"Oh, okay!" Nezuko relaxes at those words.

…

" Huh! What do you mean!? "

Kaigaku's words finally settle in. Deflect lightning? Deflect lightning!? How in the world is that humanly possible?! It just can't be!

"This has to be a joke! There’s no way anyone can do that!"

Jigoro pokes her side with his cane. "Of course it's possible, girl! I've done it, this brat has done it, even Zenitsu has done it."

…Zenitsu's done it? Does that mean he's gone to final selection before?

Before the pink-eyed girl could inquire about this, both Kaigaku and Kuwajima nudge her forward into the field. "C'mon brat! Just give it a try!"

Nezuko huffs, getting into a stance, focusing on any slight shift in the atmosphere. The hairs on her body stand on end as she begins to tense up from anticipation. The sound of thunder booms into the air as lightning zips through the sky.

When will lightning strike? I feel like my heart's gonna beat out of my chest-!

A blinding light flashes across her eyes as she tries to unsheath her sword and strike, but because of her stiffness and lack of speed she only manages to over twist and throw herself towards the side. Her teeth chatter as sees the scorch mark on the ground. It was right in front of where she was formally standing.

"Hey, get up. You're not dead or injured, so get up and try again." Kaigaku doesn't even give her a chance to do anything as he grabs the collar of her clothes and easily lifts the girl to her feet.

I'm starting to understand how Zenitsu feels. I feel like crying right now!

That day, no matter how much she tried, she didn't manage to make contact with any lightning bolts.

~☆~

"Are you all ready to go? Make sure not to forget anything!" 

"You just can't wait for me to leave, huh, Kamado Brat?" Kaigaku clicks his tongue, digging his feet into the ground as Nezuko tries to force him out of the house.

"I certainly can't wait, brat."

"Yeah, yeah, old man."

Today Kaigaku has to leave, headquarters had informed him that he needs to get back to his regular missions, apparently his next mission is an important one. 

I can't believe I have to partner up with that unbearable rainbow eyed freak. I'd rather stay here.

Although the young man wouldn't admit it, he had actually missed living in his teacher's home, so leaving made him feel a tad bit conflicted. Nezuko is surprised when she notices Kaigaku's gaze scanning the room. He has an unsure, pensive look on his face, he seems to be looking for something.

I wonder what he's trying to do…

"See you later, brat. Maybe you'll actually be ready for Final Selection by next year." The black haired man says as he walks out the door, beginning his venture back to where his next mission would be.

~☆~

Nezuko sucks in a large amount of air, trying to become familiar with the feeling of her lungs inflating and her blood pulsing throughout her body. Her pulse points throb uncomfortably, like they were about to burst; veins were bulging and her heart is beating so fast and hard, she can hear it in her ears. Gripping the hilt of her sword, she unsheaths, slashes, and sheaths her blade in record time. Not soon after that Nezuko swears she hears a high pitched ringing in her ears before dropping to her knees and gasping for air as she sweats profusely.

"This is so hard, my whole body is throbbing." Nezuko groans as she sits there for a second.

Like a bolt of lightning, a certain blonde haired boy is right by her side, "Nezuko-chan! Are you okay?! I saw you from inside, you're not hurt are you!?"

A light blush dusts the girl's cheeks as Zenitsu gently tilts her face to check for any injuries. "I-I'm okay, Zeni. I'm just trying to practice concentration breathing. I still need to understand the Thunder Breathing forms as well. And even after that I still need to deflect a lightning bolt. A lightning bolt . Ugh! I'm just so frustrated right now!"

"...Nezuko…" The boy can see the frustrated tears in the girl's pretty pink eyes.

She grabs at her hair, tugging at it as she breathes heavier, "There’s so much I have to do before the next Final Selection comes around. And-and Tanjiro can't help me, I mean he's still asleep! What if…what if he doesn't wake up!?"

"Nezuko! Stop! You're hurting yourself!" The girl can't seem to hear the boy's cries as she just pulls at her hair harder.

"What if he's killed one day? What if I can't I can't pass Final Selection? What if I can't even pass this stupid test!? I'll be failing Tanjiro-!" The girl is interrupted when Zenitsu abruptly hugs her, tears in his own eyes.

…

Nezuko sniffles before a hiccup of a sob leaves her, she hugs him back tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I want my dad and mom! I miss my family!"

"It'll be okay, Nezuko. It'll be okay." He gently caresses her hair and rubs her back. 

They stay like this for a while, crying into each other's shoulders, comforting each other until they're finally calmed down. 

…After all that crying, they're hungry. This thought was pushed forward by a well placed stomach growl from the two. A few seconds passed in complete silence.

1…

2…

3…

The two kids burst out in laughter, they looked absolutely ridiculous with puffy red eyes and red noises and tear stains down their faces. Although they looked silly, they feel better now.

"Let's go inside and eat, I bet Gramps is done with lunch by now."

The pink-eyed girl giggles and nods.

~☆~

"I don't get it! Why can't I deflect lightning!?" Nezuko huffs, throwing her sword onto the ground. No matter how much she tries, the girl just couldn't seem to make a breakthrough.

"...Nezuko." A quiet voice calls from behind her. The girl whips her head around and relaxes when she sees that it's Zenitsu.

The yellow haired boy walks up to her. "Maybe it would help if you actually saw someone deflect lightning." The boy seems more serious than usual, an unreadable expression on his face.

Without saying a word, he picks up the sword that had been abandoned on the ground and gets into the signature first form stance. He waits there, waiting for the perfect lightning strike.

He waits…

Waits…

Waits…

And then…BOOM!

All in the same second he exhales as steam comes out of his mouth and becomes a blur of speed, in a split second he strikes his sword and the lightning deflects into a tree, scorching the base of the trunk.

…

…

…!

"Zeni! That was amazing! You-you really did it!" Nezuko exclaims, running up to him. The boy has an unsure look on his face, this concerns Nezuko a bit.

"You need to get a better understanding of the fundamentals of Thunder Breathing and its forms. I think it's best if you go to gramps for that." Zenitsu explains quietly, handing the girl her sword.

"Wait! Does this mean you've gone to Final Selection before?"

Zenitsu goes quiet again, jaw clenching slightly from nervousness. He averts his eyes, grabbing at the hem of his clothes. Nezuko calls out to him in a concerned tone. He looks at her and a small smile appears on his face.

"I…I-I…" There was a long pause before his next sentence. "...Y-Yes…but that's all I-I want to say a-about this subject." 

Nezuko wants to ask more, she wants to find out more. There has to be something that explains why these Thunder Breathers are so dysfunctional. She wants to push further, but she doesn't want to do that to Zenitsu. He already seems stressed enough about it.

"...Thank you for your help, Zeni. I think I'm starting to understand more now." The pink-eyed girl smiles and pats his shoulder.

~☆~

"Remember, the first form is the most fundamental form. Unless you're like the idiot, Kaigaku, then you won't have any true mastery of the rest of the Thunder Breathing forms without it." Jigoro explains to Nezuko as he picks some peaches off of a tree. The girl had hassled him earlier to help her (which included annoyingly yelling "please, please, please" repeatedly until he said yes).

"Wait, that jerk doesn't know how to do the first form?" The girl asks with a raised eyebrow.

Kuwajima hums, "Not quite, he knows how to do it, he just can't seem to master it. Zenitsu is the complete opposite. He damn near perfected the first form and couldn't master the other five."

Well, that's some interesting new information…best not to dwell too much on it. I don't want my curiosity to get the better of me.

"Anyways, I digress. What is the focal point of the first form? What is the basis of it?" The old man queries, looking at the girl expectantly. 

The core part of the first form…what could that be?

Nezuko thinks back to when Zenitsu deflected the lightning. The speed is one of the things she remembers first, he became a blur of yellow, a trail of lightning following him. It was amazing. Then she remembers the sound of him exhaling while he got into a deep stance…the stance! 

Zenitsu made sure to stay in that stance until he was in prime position to deflect the lightning bolt!

With this, Nezuko finally makes the connection, each of the forms start with that stance! So that means that whatever the situation calls for, that will determine the stance to use!

Jigoro chuckles, "I see you finally understand. I could practically see the gears turning in your head."

"Thanks, Sensei!" Nezuko yells as she goes back out to the clearing where she normally trains.

~☆~

After that day, Nezuko trains tirelessly. She focuses on the forms and using concentration breathing while using those forms. She got help from Zenitsu and Kuwajima when she could and continues to improve herself. 

Tanjiro has been asleep the whole time, endlessly worrying the three in the house. He could be stirred, even Zenitsu, who has his supernatural hearing and could hear the demon boy's breathing from an entirely different room, went to check on him constantly to make sure he was still alive.

Nezuko pushes on, doing laps around the orchard getting better and better at avoiding traps, becoming faster and faster on her feet. 

She was improving rapidly until the next winter came…and she was ready.

The girl had changed over the course of two years. She's grown, now taller than Tanjiro when they previously had been the same height. Her former dainty limbs were now muscular, her soft hands were now hardened from calluses, she had small faint scars scattered across her skin from all of rigorous training.

Nezuko was different from the scared little girl she was two years ago, or the unprepared girl a year ago. She was ready to pass this final test.

The pink-eyed girl stands in the barren field, the sky turning a dark gray as lightning bolts through the clouds. Zenitsu and Jigoro are standing a little ways away observing her. Thunder sounds out, a booming sound in her ears. She sucks in a large amount of air into her lungs as she steps one leg behind her, planting her foot into the ground as she gets into a deep lunge. She exhales and grabs the hilt of her sword.

She waits…

Waits…

Waits…

And then BOOM!

She unsheaths her sword and strikes at the same time using the first Thunder Breathing form: Thunder Clap and Flash. Her sword finally connects with the lightning, hitting the sword and deflecting into a tree, scorching the base of the trunk.

…!

"I DID IT!" Nezuko screams, excitedly jumping a couple of times.

"Nezuko-chan! You did it, I'm so happy for you!" Zenitsu runs up to her, hugging her. She giggles and returns the hug, squeezing him slightly.

Jigoro chuckles as he approaches the two, "I knew you would do it eventually." He pats both of the teens heads, a gentle smile on his lips.

"Now, why don't we celebrate with a little feast?"

~☆~

In the house, before the three Thunder Breathers had returned, for the first time in a year, a little demon boy opens his eyes.

Chapter Text

"Don't look so down Tanjiro. I'd rather you rest than to try and stay up just to see me deflect lightning." 

Despite Nezuko's words, Tanjiro sadly sulks as he lays face down on a pillow. Zenitsu pats the boy's back to try and comfort him, but Tanjiro still was feeling down. If he had known that his big sister had to complete this big final test he would have stayed awake or woken up sooner so that he could support her! A soft defeated whine leaves him, though it was muffled by the pillow.

"Aww, it's okay, Tanjiro, you'll be able to see Nezuko kick butt once she passes Final Selection!" Zenitsu says encouragingly. After a few seconds the demon boy sits up and nods at the yellow haired boy's words. He supposes that is true, but that brings up another concern of his. Will she make it back from Final Selection…?

Tanjiro trusts in his sister's abilities. But what if an unavoidable accident happens? Or what if she's somehow injured so badly that she can't keep going and is…well he doesn't want to think about that.

Don't think like that! Nee-chan will make it back alive! I know she will!

"C'mon Tanjiro! It'll be okay, I, as your big sister, am going to pass Final Selection and then we'll fight together!" Nezuko declares, patting her little brother's head. Tanjiro feels slightly better and nods in agreement. 

~☆~

Nezuko was in her room, looking into a little mirror. She was messing with her hair, trying to figure out what to do with it before she goes into Final Selection. Should she do a braid? A ponytail? A bun like how she used to put it up?

In a moment of impulsiveness she puts hair cutting shears to a good chunk of her hair, maybe she should cut it!

No…no…Nezuko, what are you doing?

Nezuko sighs about to pull the shears away from her hair when a loud scream that she's sure is from Zenitsu rings out. She jumps out of her skin at the suddenness of the scream, however…at the same time she ends up cutting that chunk of hair by accident.

She sits there, dumbfounded by what happened, looking into the mirror blankly as another shriek comes afar from Zenitsu.

"TANJIRO!? DON'T EAT THAT PEACH!!! YOU'LL GET SICK!!!" Nezuko hears him say.

Still the girl sits there, just staring at her reflection numbly.

…

…

…

"MY HAIR!!!"

~☆~

It was the oldest Kamado's turn to sulk now as Jigoro cuts the rest of her hair to the same length, which was just a little past her shoulders. Zenitsu was nearby still feeling bad that his outburst earlier caused this, even if it wasn't actually his fault. Tanjiro seems a bit disinterested in the whole situation, still munching on a peach that he had been earlier reprimanded about eating. He has yet to have vomited yet, so maybe this fruit wasn't too hard on his demonic stomach.

"Cheer up, Nezuko. Your hair will grow back soon enough." Jigoro says, patting her head once he's done with cutting her hair. A pout still pulls at the girl's lips as she sighs, but she nods.

Zenitsu fidgets a little before finally speaking up in a quiet voice, "I…I-I think you still look pretty, Nezuko-chan…"

"Thanks, Zeni…" 

It was obvious that Nezuko was still down about her her newly shortened hair.

~☆~

A few lanterns illuminate the room in an orange-ish yellow color, the filtered flame dancing and causing the shadows of the room to shift a little. It was dark that night, the moon nearly invisible due to it being in the new moon cycle. Two people occupy the room, a teenage girl and an old man. Teacher and student. 

"Nezuko. I know you will do great in these upcoming seven days. You're talented and strong and you're brave. I know you'll survive." The old man's voice rumbles, a distinctive note of kindness and care in his tone.

Nezuko feels her heart flutter, eyes watering a little as she hears these kind words. "Thank you, Sensei. I know you all believe in me. You, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and even that rude senior of mine."

"That's right. We all believe in you, but please remember one thing. Don't overthink or get inside your head. You're smart and capable, but you get inside your head too much, you underestimate your abilities and that leads you to doubt yourself. Doubting yourself leads to mistakes, doubting yourself leads you to getting yourself hurt, doubting yourself leads you to getting killed. So, do not overthink. Stay out of your head. Most importantly, believe in yourself ." Jigoro firmly, yet gently places his hands on Nezuko's shoulders, patting them once…then twice. The pink-eyed girl can feel his confidence in her.

"Yes, Sensei! I'll make sure to believe in myself and I'll come back home to you all!" Nezuko's resolve strengthens even more than it already was. 

She was going to come home alive. She'll make sure of it.

The old man smiles, his signature cackle leaves him as he hugs the girl tightly. "That's my girl! I know you will!"

~☆~

"Are you sure you have everything?"

"Yes, Zenitsu."

"What about your sword? Your food?"

"On my waist and in my kimono."

"Hmph! Mmph!"

"Tanjiro I'll be fine. And yes I have the onigiri you packed for me."

Nezuko sighs as the two boys fret over her. She should've known though. Zenitsu is the world's biggest worry wart and scaredy cat (she says this lovingly), and Tanjiro is always trying to make sure his siblings are safe, even if Nezuko is older than him.

Tanjiro, after all his fretting and worrying, couldn't help but look at his big sister in awe. She has her newly cropped hair pulled up into a ponytail, she was wearing a triangle patterned jinbei kimono similar to the other thunder users, hers was just a paler yellow. A sword rests on her hip and she has a determined expression on her face. Tanjiro is so proud of her. The demon boy gasps behind his muzzle as he makes some hand signs to Nezuko and then runs off to their room. He opens a draw at the desk and pulls out the item he was looking for. He runs back to the front room and hands his sister the item he wished to lend her.

Nezuko gasps as she sees what her brother placed in her hand. It was one of the Hanafuda earrings. The boy had been given them when he was ten years old, it was a sort of coming of age thing since Tanjiro had been helping out more to help take care of the family. These earrings were Tanjiro's most treasured possession and yet he's handing one to her? "T…Tanjiro…are you sure?"

Tanjiro loosens his muzzle and lets it dangle around his neck as he smiles. "Sign…o-of promise…br-bring back to me…y-you alive…"

The eldest Kamado's eyes water as she hears her little brother's words. He truly trusts her enough to hold onto one of the earrings and come back. The earrings he treasures so much ever since their father passed it down to him. The earrings he wouldn't even let their other younger siblings mess with. The earrings that he has never been without. 

The boy has that much trust in her. 

Nezuko sniffles and wipes her eyes and then bear hugs Tanjiro. "Yes! Of course I will! You have my word!"

The girl then turns to Zenitsu and hugs him too. "Promise not to freak out too much while I'm gone, Zeni."

"I'll try, you know how I am…" the yellow haired boy jokes, however, his cheeks are quickly turning a rosy pink color the more Nezuko hugs him in her arms.

Nezuko pulls away and turns to Jigoro and smiles. "I'll make sure not to let your teachings go to waste, Sensei."

The old man simply chuckles and nods.

Nezuko gives one last smile to her little family…and then she's off…off to Final Selection.

~☆~

Mt. Fujikasane has to be one of the most beautiful places Nezuko has ever seen. The vast amounts of the wisteria trees lit the place aglow with a purple hue that just gave the place an ethereal, fairy tale look.

How beautiful…

It was beautiful, it left her feeling warm and calm on the inside. However, her intuition kept her from feeling completely unguarded, she could feel that danger lurks past these beautiful trees, she could feel that demons are roaming around just past these protective confines.

The pink-eyed girl walks through a wooden arch, joining the gaggle of teens and young adults that are scattered across a clearing. Her eyes are immediately drawn to a few participants that have a different air about them than the rest. 

A boy who has black hair that was angled and framed towards his face, it reminded her of spider legs. His eyes were a deep blue, an expression of uncertainty, he also seems quite young, at least younger than Nezuko herself. 

She spots another kid, if she has to guess by their build, she guesses they're a boy. He has a messy mop of black hair on his head, some of it up in a ponytail up top. He wears a mask on his face, the mask wasn't all that remarkable, it was painted white and there were only two spots open for his eyes to see through. 

Another boy, she could tell he was around her age, has hair that goes down to his shoulders, an ombre of black to blue. He has striking green eyes and a look of confidence, bordering cockiness, he also has a very pretty face. He wore some type of animal hide on his back, maybe a boar's hide…?

A sound of soft footsteps bring everyone's attention towards the front of the clearing, up a set of steps where a young girl was now standing. The girl of black hair put into two braids, pink bows near the top of the braids. She scans the crowd, seemingly looking for something for a bit before she smiles slightly. Nezuko surmises that the girl found whatever she was looking for. The young girl then addresses everyone.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Final Selection for the Demon Slayer Corp, I thank you all for your braveness in participating in this tough trial. This beautiful wisteria that surrounds the mountain is not endless. Once you reach half way up the mountain it will be absent. Wisteria is deadly to demons so it is the only thing protecting us from the ones roaming the mountain." 

As Nezuko listens to the girl, she can't help but think about how adorable the girl sounds. The girl was obviously young, not even a teenager yet, of course Nezuko still takes the girl's words seriously.

"These low level demons have been brought here by demon slayers and they are very hungry. If you want to pass the exam you must survive seven days on this mountain, once making it to the top you will henceforth be recognized as a true member of the demon slayer corp! So, good luck, and you may begin!"

A few of the participants take off running up the mountain, including the boy wearing a boar's hide and she catches sight of a participant who has pinstripe pants and he has a bob cut however he has two strands that are a bit longer than the rest.  Nezuko looks around a bit and sees that some others slowly make their way up including a guy that has blue-ish, turquoise eyes, dark hair that goes a little past the shoulders and flares out at the ends. He has a bit of a nervous expression on his face. 

The pink-eyed girl sighs and starts a light jog up the mountain, eastward, towards the sun. A look of determination on the girl's face.

I will survive Final Selection!

~☆~

Demons are just as scary up close as Nezuko remembers. Their grotesque faces and big fangs dripping with drool and saliva-

So scary! So terrifying!

What was worse was them arguing over who would get to eat her!

"Go find your own prey! This is my turf!"

"Yeah right! It's an open game when you haven't feasted on a human in ages!"

The two demons rush towards the pink-eyed girl, reaching for her with their sharp claws, no doubt to tear away at her flesh. Nezuko quickly unsheaths her blade, getting into a defensive position and using her sword to deflect their attacks.

Two demons already!? I've only just started! Can I really…no! Don't get in your head, just do what you need to do!

Total Concentration Thunder Breathing-

Nezuko hones in on her intuition, feeling out the best opening for her to unleash her attack, closely looking at the two demons and then-

Second Form: Rice Spirit!

Nezuko delivers five slashes, her sword slashing off the demon's arms, sending the limbs flying, her last strike glides through both their necks with ease, sending their head tumbling down to the ground, the demon's bodies already turning to ash.

Did I really…

"I did it! I was able to use Sensei's teachings!" Nezuko leaps for joy until she realizes that she is in fact still completing a dangerous test and that she needs to get a move on. She looks to where the demons previously were, only their clothes remain. So, this nichirin blade that she's borrowing really does kill demons.

*

"Look. Does this sword seem particularly special?"

"Not really Sensei…what's special about it?" Nezuko looks at the sword Jigoro was holding, trying to look for any identifying features, but wasn't coming up with anything.

"It's the metal. The metal is known as nichirin, it is the only thing that can truly kill and harm a demon. That, and sunlight." Jigoro explains as he sheaths the sword back into its scabbard.

Nezuko's eyes widen when she hears that statement. "Really?! So that means that no matter how many times I behead a demon, if it isn't nichirin metal then the demon won't die?"

"Precisely! Now, go do 1000 sword swings!"

"What!?"

*

Nezuko looks at the clothes the demon's had previously worn. Part of her feels bad for them, they used to be humans, just like Tanjiro…but they've eaten people…they tried to eat her. The girl can't help but feel a little disdain for them, however she does hope they have another chance at life when they are reborn, to make up for this one. Nezuko can't find it within herself to completely hate these beings.

The pink-eyed girl takes a few steps to her left…one…two…three…! There it is…the overwhelming feeling of danger. Sweat beads up on her skin and her body trembles a little. Her hands shakes as she holds onto the hilt of her sword, her eyes scanning for the no doubt, strong demon. 

"What the hell is this!? No one said anything about a demon this powerful!?" A participant comes running a bit up ahead of Nezuko, other than a sort of small build and short stature, he's mostly unremarkable. 

Nezuko is quickly brought away from that when a tall towering demon comes from behind the trees. The demon has pale gray skin and short black hair atop his head. In his hand is an already deceased participant. The demon laughs, it's deep yet scratchy voice filling the air as it unhinges its jaw, his sharp teeth put on display as he slowly lowers the dead body into his mouth, swallowing down his throat as the sounds his teeth tearing through flesh and crushing bone is heard both by Nezuko and the other participant that had been trying to run away. 

The pink-eyed girl feels her stomach churn as she witnesses this, her face contorting into a facial expression of horror as blood gushes out of the demon's mouth and onto the ground.

Oh…god…

The boy who had been running away keeps going until he trips over a tree root. He looks behind him with a fearful expression, the demon slowly stalking towards him, drool and blood dripping from his lips.

"How is this giant of a demon here!?" He yelps when the demon lunges towards him in a blink of an eye and grabs his ankle, lifting the participant into the air.

Nezuko trembles as she is still in her spot hidden by a tree. Her legs are stuck in their position as she watches on, her hand still trembling as it hovers over the handle of her sword.

What should I do? Can I handle a demon of this size? Can I help save that boy? What if I die? What if-

The gI'll is brought out of her thoughts when she feels something brush against her arm from inside her right sleeve. She briefly looks inside…Tanjiro's earring…immediately the girl begins to calm, she fully grabs onto her sword, her expression hardening as she gets into a stance.

Stop it, Nezuko! You can do this! Believe in yourself, you have the ability to save this person, you have the skills, so use them!

The pink-eyed girl kicks off the ground and lunges towards the demon, she unsheaths her sword and slices through the demon's extended arm, the appendage lands on the ground nearby and quickly turns to ash. The boy that had been in the clutches of the demon drops the ground, letting out a sound of relief.

The tall demon glares at the girl before a look of recognition flashes through its black eyes, a wide creepy smile stretches across his face, pulling at his skin in an unnatural way.

"That damn triangle patterned kimono! You thunder breathers are the bane of my existence!"

… WAIT WHAT!?

~☆~

Tanjiro sits inside his room and stares at the half of the Hanafuda earring set. He sighs, the demon boy thinking about his sister. He has faith in her, he knows she's strong…but what if, for whatever reason she…

The boy takes a deep breath and shakes his head. No, Nezuko will make it back. He knows it. That won't stop him from worrying though. Tanjiro perks up when he smells the signature scent of Zenitsu coming towards his room: peaches, static, and worry.

Zenitsu slides the door open, a comforting smile on his face. "You're worried too? I can hear your sighs and worried state of mind from a mile away."

Tanjiro laughs a little hoarsely from behind his muzzle, nuzzling Zenitsu's cheek affectionately. The yellow haired boy giggles, patting Tanjiro's head. Zenitsu and Tanjiro look to the door when they sense that Jigoro is now standing outside the door.

"I see you two can't sleep either." The old man rumbles, patting both of their heads.

"Don't worry, Tanjiro, Zenitsu. Our Nezuko is strong. She'll overcome any challenges that go her way. All that is left up to us is to believe in her."

~☆~

"Wha…What are you talking about?" Nezuko asks in disbelief.

"Just as I said. You thunder breathers are the absolute fucking worst! It was one of you that brought me here, keeping me trapped for the past…hm, lets see…two and a half years? Maybe it's been a full three years, when you're stuck in a wisteria prison, time escapes you." The demon cynically answers with a roll of its eyes.

"Let's see…it was a tall fellow, short black hair, has resting bitch face, a rude ass in general. Yes, he was obviously a higher rank, he had to help a bunch of low rank runts in the corp, he was quite rude about it too, he was especially chewing out a yellow haired brat. You should've seen it, the kid was sniffling pathetically like a pussy!" He cackles, his voice booming as he recalls the memory 

Nezuko's face pales. A tall guy with black hair? A yellow haired "brat"? They sound exactly like Kaigaku and Zenitsu…

How…why…is this demon the one who caused such a large rift in the relationship between Kaigaku and Zenitsu…?

The demon dons a cruel expression as he speaks his next words. "You should've seen the carnage I laid upon those pissant slayers. I feasted on many, their flesh and blood was meaty and delicious and the sounds of their bones breaking beneath my feet or being crushed between my teeth, ah … it was delightful! I had that blonde haired brat ready and primed to eat! I had broken his leg and lifted him to my-!"

Nezuko's face darkens, her mind begins to get clouded by fury as she listens to his words. She realizes the boy she had saved was long gone, but at this moment she doesn't care. The way this demon is talking about her loved ones…

It's unforgivable!

The pink-eyed girl's breathing begins to become uneven as she hyperventilates from the amount of anger she feels. She grits her teeth and charges at the demon, slashing her sword at his arms that were beginning to stretch at lengths a human could never achieve. Its arms would regenerate quickly and he used the fringes and tassels of his clothes as extra limbs, stretching towards the girl. Nezuko, in her blinding rage, just continues to slash and hack off anything coming towards her, the demon's blood spraying out onto the ground and his limbs flying into the air and turning to ash, a furious scream emitting from her throat.

A little voice in the back of Nezuko's mind was nagging at her. Telling her to calm down and settle out her breathing. Nezuko knows she should listen to this voice…she knows she should…but she's so angry right now that she can't listen to reason. 

Perhaps that's why she lets out a strangled yell as she is hit from the side by a large fist. Perhaps that's why she is getting flung through the air right now. Perhaps that's why she just slammed into a rock, a jutted edge biting into her left shoulder and upper arm. Perhaps that is why she is unconscious right now, completely vulnerable to any attack that may come her way.

The tall demon stalks toward her slowly, a deep and bitter cackle coming from him as he slowly reaches out to the girl. "Stupid girl. You damn thunder breathers are a pain in my ass, even that piss baby, yellow haired brat. It's a good thing you all are easy to spot with that triangle patterned kimono. Oh, I just wish I could've killed that tall rude one, he did bring me here after all. Eh, this is good enough though, I bet that lot will be devastated when one of their own turns up dead. Yes! How wonderful that will be~"

*

…

…

…

Little hands of a young girl gently cradle her big sister's face. The young girl's reddish eyes look at her big sister in concern.

Nezuko…Nezuko. Nezuko!

*

The pink-eyed girl awakes with a gasp as she quickly moves out of the way before the demon could grab her with its large hand. 

Was…Was that Hanako talking to me?

Nezuko doesn't have much time to think about this as she just takes hold of her sword again and evades the onslaught of tassels, fringes, and arms coming towards, slicing through any that get close to her. She lets out a pained grunt every time she swings her sword as it was aggravating her injured shoulder and arm.

"Hah, you can actually move around after being knocked out and injured like that? Color me impressed!" The demon smiles as he was given more time to play around with his prey.

Nezuko ignores his words in favor of concentrating on defending herself from his attacks. 

Damn it. I can't keep just staying on defense, I'll get nowhere. I can't let him go either, I have to attack I have to get close to him-

The girl's intuition flares as she feels her senses pull her sight upwards, there she sees his arms stretching and twisting downwards to grab onto her. She kicks off the ground and launches herself sideways to avoid his grasp, she hits the base of a tree trunk and then kicks off of that, lands on another tree trunk, flipping off the surface and perfectly landing on the outstretched fringes of his clothes. She uses the fabric as a springboard, pushing it down with her body weight, pulling it taut and letting the force help her push off of it in a blink of an eye. A trail of bright yellow lightning following her form as she unleashes her attack.

Total Concentration, Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!

The demon gasps and swallows thickly, his hairs raise up…just like back then. Just like when a yellow haired boy had cut through all of his attacks in a fraction of a second and almost managed to cut through his neck, a serious look in his eyes. Just like when that black haired man had cut off all of his limbs with ease, hitting him in a pressure point he never knew had and paralyzing him, that same intensity in his eyes. These thunder breathers…they're terrifying to this demon. They strike fear into his soul, and this girl would do the same.

Shit! I let the girl get too close! I should be fine! My skin is tough! But…she looks just like that tall black haired asshole! Even that damn yellow haired kid had me nervous and now this girl too!? These damn thunder breathers! They can rot in-!

The demon's thoughts were cut off when the frightening and unfamiliar feeling of a nichirin blade slices through his neck. He feels his whole body shake and shudder for a moment, it felt like his whole body had been hit with a bolt of lightning. His head falls to the ground, bouncing and rolling down onto the dirt. 

He was beheaded…

He was beheaded?

He was beheaded!

No! No! This can't be! I haven't even done anything yet! I wanted to get stronger!  I wanted to get stronger so that I could protect her!

*

There sat a young teenage boy, alone in the void. He was calling out for someone. He was desperate to find this person.

"Momo-chan! Come out! I fought off the bullies! I promise they won't mess with you ever again! I told you that I would protect you, I am your big brother, aren't I? Please come back out… please ."

The boy had now appeared in his demonic form again. A tall scary monster…perhaps more like a pitiful creature.

"I had a little sister…? Yes…yes…I had forgotten about her…I was the one who…who ate her." Tears fill the demon's eyes…he loved his sister…he really did! More than anything…so why? Why had he…?

*

Nezuko looks at the demon's crumbling body that was leaning against a tree. She felt a sadness coming from the demon's spirit, a soft frown tugging at her own lips. She could feel the demon's true human spirit crying out, crying out to a loved one he had lost.

"You may have killed many…but you were human once too. You were dealt bad cards at some point in life and became a demon…I can't forgive you for what you did in this life…but I hope you can be reborn into a life where you can repent and be with your loved one again." Nezuko compassionately presses her palms together and offers a short and quiet prayer to the demon as the last of its body crumbles away. From the corner of her eye, she sees his head slowly turning to ash, just before it completely disappears though, she sees tears flowing from his eyes as he looks at the girl's kind gesture…she swears she could hear him whisper "thank you" into the wind.

*

After the prayer was offered the demon, he sees a light in the middle of the void. He runs to it, knowing that something good comes from the end of it. When he reaches the other side, the demon reverts back to his original human form and a house with a beautiful garden in the front yard was in view. He doesn't care about any of that. No. He only cares about the young girl in front of him.

"Momo! I was looking for you everywhere! I told you I would beat up those bullies and protect you, didn't I?"

"Hehe, yeah you did. You're amazing Onii-chan!"

The brother takes hold of his little sister's hand and the two trek back to their house, hand in hand.

*

Finally, the demon's body had completely crumbled away, Nezuko could tell that his soul found some kind of peace. The air around her slowly turns lighter and less oppressive as she feels that the souls of the demon's victims have finally found closure and can finally rest in peace themselves. Nezuko feels bittersweet with this outcome as she looks up at the sky where the full moon was.

"Zenitsu and Kaigaku have some explaining to do when I get home."

Nezuko sighs and shakes her head as she sheaths her sword. This movement reminds her of her painful injuries. The girl groans in both pain and annoyance as she takes out some first aid from inside her kimono and treats her right upper arm and shoulder injuries.

This sucks! Final Selection has only just started and I'm already hurt!

The distinct sound of her stomach growling breaks her train of thought.

And I'm hungry! I can't wait for Final Selection to be over already…

The girl can only hope that the rest of her time here won't be as bad…

She really hopes so.

Chapter Text

The pink-eyed girl runs through the forest as a demon chases her, she slides down the hill and ducks under a thorn bush. The demon rams into the bush, growling and snarling as he tries to grab at Nezuko.

"Tell me! How do I turn my brother back into a human?!" Nezuko desperately asks, however the demon doesn't answer, he just pulls and tugs at the thorned branches of the bush.

The demon pushes through the bush and is immediately decapitated by Nezuko's sword. Her intuition flares up and she turns, two more demons head for her. Their teeth are gnashing, drool flies out their mouths as they snarl and yell, hands outstretched as they try to tear their claws into her flesh.

They were mindless creatures, slaves to their hunger.

Someone, anyone! Tell me how to cure Tanjiro!

These two demons' heads roll to the ground, just as the others before.

Nezuko tirelessly runs, heavily breathing and sweat dripping down her face. Her shoulder and upper aches from her injury earlier, the best she could do was wrap it up with bandages, but her first aid skills aren't the best. She runs until she's out of breath, needing to stop for a breather. This is when she notices a familiar ethereal purple hue.

Wisteria! I'm safe! I'm finally here!

The girl can finally, truly, safely rest without having to worry about a demon coming her way.

Nezuko gets the singular Hanafuda earring from her sleeve and looks at her triangle patterned kimono and smiles.

Thank you for protecting me, everyone…

~☆~

Daybreak has come, signaling safety and the exam has ended. Nezuko is in a clearing that has a path leading to a table covered by a purple table cloth. The pink-eyed girl looks around and realizes that only five others are here with her.

Are…Are we the only ones who made it out? There were over twenty of us! So that means that boy I saved…didn't make it…

Nezuko is distracted from her thoughts when she hears the boy with black hair angled towards his face and deep blue eyes mumbling to himself.

"I can't believe I did this without Okaa-san and Otou-san knowing…they'll be so mad! They probably already are! Oh gosh…oh gosh!"

Nezuko inwardly feels bad for the kid, it reminds her of her younger siblings when they did something bad and didn't want their father to know. 

Everyone's attention was brought to the front when soft footsteps are heard. It's the little girl from the beginning with the twin braids.

"Welcome back, I'm glad to see that you made it relatively unscathed! Congrats!" The little girl cheerfully says, a smile on her face.

The boy with the boar's hide crosses his arms and addresses the girl. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just tell us what to do so we can get our swords!"

The girl pouts and crosses her arms too, "Just wait a second! First, we have to measure you so that you can get your uniforms, then we gotta engrave your rank in the back of your hand." 

The girl's expression goes back to being neutral.

"For your reference here are the ranks: Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, Mizunoto. You all start at the bottom being Mizunoto."

The boy with the boar's hide looks like he's about to say something when the girl holds up her hand and gives him a sort of annoyed expression. "Soon, you will be able to pick the ore that will be used to craft your swords. It will take about ten to fifteen days before they are ready for use."

The boy grumbles under his breath. Nezuko has to hold back a laugh.

"Anyhow, before any of that-" The girl claps her hands and overhead crows begin to fly towards them, cawing as they fly around to their specific person. "-you all must be assigned your very own Kasugai Crow! Aren't they cute!"

Nezuko looks at the crow on her shoulder, petting it on its head. The pink-eyed girl looks around and sees the young boy that had been mumbling to himself had gotten white crow! The bird was beautiful. The boy with the bob didn't even pay any mind to the crow, just tapping his foot as he looks at the table covered by the purple cloth. The masked boy just looks at his crow, the boy with blue-ish turquoise eyes nervously looks at his crow perched on his shoulder. 

The boy with the boar's hide rolls his eyes and groans, "Listen little girl, hurry up and to the part where we can pick our ore!"

"Yes, the anticipation is killing me!" The teen with the bob says with a sort of dramatic flare.

"You guys are so rude! Fine! Hurry and pick!" The girl with the twin braids says in annoyance as she removes the purple cloth on the table. What laid underneath were raw ore, each with different misshapen appearances.

As the participants go up to the table and look at the ore, no one can tell what to pick. They all looked the same (and they all looked ugly too). Finally, Nezuko closes her eyes and lets her intuition lead her, her calloused hand reaching for the ore that grabs at her, then she picks it up. Nezuko hands the ore to the little girl, however before Nezuko could go leave to get measured and such, the little girl grabs onto her sleeve.

"Wait! Miss Kamado, I am aware that you are a student under Jigoro Kuwajima. Zenitsu Agatsuma still resides at that residence, yes?"

Nezuko nods, not expecting to be stopped like this. Suddenly, she hears a little chirp and a little sparrow comes flying out the little girl's kimono sleeve.

"Then please, hand this little guy to him, he misses Mister Agatsuma greatly."

~☆~

Heavy tired footsteps slowly make their way on the path of the peach orchard. Nezuko feels like she's one step closer to passing out each step, her feet drag every time she moves, her bag that holds her uniform feels like a thousand pounds, and her wounds feel extremely tender and sore. Nezuko doesn't even have the energy to make a sound as she trips over her own feet and collapses to the ground. She lays there for a moment, the tiredness about to settle in. Her eyelids flutter as the energy drains away from her, she's about to give up…

"Chu! Chu, chu!"

Zenitsu's sparrow, he's encouraging Nezuko, he gently pulls at her sleeve and chirps. The pink-eyed girl groans, her body trembling on the ground a bit before she eventually pushes herself to stand back up and drag herself down the path.

It isn't until nightfall that she actually sees the house of her teacher, her home for the past two years. She takes one step…then another…then another-!

The door to the small house slams open and a certain demon boy and a yellow haired boy come rushing out. They see the beaten and battered girl and let out cries and sobs of relief, Nezuko joins in rushing forward only to trip again from fatigue.

"Onee-chan!"

"Nezuko-chan!"

The two boys run up to her and immediately wrap their arms around her body. Only a second more and the three teens begin to cry, tears streaming down their faces and sobs leave their lips as they embrace each other. They were so occupied by these strong feelings that it was only when the old man wraps his arms around the girl and her rude senior puts his hand gently on her back, only then does she realize that Kuwajima and Kaigaku are there too.

"You made it back, just like how I knew you would."

The old man's voice was shaky as a few tears slip down his cheeks.

~☆~

The first few days back home, Nezuko slept and rested, as well as her wounds being properly treated. The little sparrow (who Nezuko now knows is Chuntaro) was reunited with Zenitsu, Nezuko swears it's the most she's seen Zenitsu smile. Nezuko also gave back the earring to Tanjiro, he looked appreciative that the earring had not been damaged at all. This is an important item to him after all.

Once she was feeling better, the thunder breathers had a big dinner feast with hotpot and other side dishes (Tanjiro could only stare sadly at the hotpot as he ate his peaches). As they all sit at the table Nezuko couldn't help but to look and observe Zenitsu and Kaigaku. The two are still not interacting all that much with each other…this pushes Nezuko to finally ask the question that had been on her mind since during Final Selection.

"...Zenitsu, Kaigaku…what happened two and a half years ago? What happened to make you two have the relationship you have right now?"

It goes dead quiet in the room and the air grows tense and thick.

"How the hell-"

"How did you-"

Kuwajima taps the table, signaling for the boys to be quiet. The two shut their mouths, pensive expressions on their faces.

"During Final Selection…one of the first few demons I fought…he knew you two. He said that Kaigaku was the one who put him in Mt. Fujikasane. He remembers Zenitsu too, he said that Zenitsu and other lower ranking demon slayers had been trying to kill him, but he ended up slaining most of them…except Zenitsu, that's when you came in right, Kaigaku?"

The black haired man grits his teeth and the yellow haired teen has a frightened look on his face, tears in his eyes as sweat beads up on his skin. After a moment or two of silence, Zenitsu quietly speaks up.

"Yes…I remember that day clearly…"

*

"Where is this demon? We've been searching the woods for a while now." A brown haired Mizunoto complains.

Six Mizunoto demon slayers had been dispatched to a woodland area as reports of a demon terrorizing a nearby village had been pouring in. Zenitsu was nervously following his fellow slayers, trembling slightly in fear. No matter how many encounters with demons he has, they're just as terrifying as the first time.

A noise stops Zenitsu in his tracks. "D-Did you guys hear that!?"

"Oh calm down, Agatsuma. It's nothing-!" Before the brown haired slayer could say anything, his neck is suddenly grabbed by a large hand and the sickening sound of a CRACK is heard. The brown haired slayer goes limp.

Another slayer screams out, "KENJI!"

The low ranking slayers unsheath their swords, eyes widening when a tall demon fully reveals himself from the shadows. He taunts them with laughter as he brings Kenji up to his mouth, his jaw unhinging as he lowers the slayer into his mouth, teeth tearing and ripping through his flesh and bone.

Zenitsu trembles, sword hilt shaking in his hand as he is frozen in his place. A demon…? This large? He's never faced one this strong…

"Zenitsu! Watch out!"

The yellow haired boy is pushed out the way by a girl, she shrieks when her left arm is ripped out of its socket. Zenitsu is knocked out of his scared stupor and grabs the girl and moves her out of battle, against his tree.

"Don't worry about me! Help the others!" The girl says, using her other arm to push him away.

"But-!"

"Go!"

The thunder breather clenches his teeth and goes back to the battle, only to be met with a bloodbath. Two other slayers bodies are mutilated and tossed to the ground. The last remaining one is in the demon's clutches, screaming and crying.

"Put him down! Don't eat him!" Zenitsu screams, without thinking about it, he rushes in and severs the demon's arm, the other boy, Arata, falls to the ground and is otherwise unscathed.

"I can't believe slayers as puny as you guys were sent to kill me! I'd be offended if it weren't for the fact that a free meal was practically given to me!" The demon laughs, licking his lips that were smeared with blood.

Arata looks at Zenitsu, his face hardening. "Agatsuma. We're the only two left who can fight. I know you're a coward, I am too, but we need to get a hold of ourselves. I will distract the demon and cut at his limbs. When there is an opening, behead him."

Tears gather in Zenitsu's eyes, but he hesitantly nods. The two slayers get into a proper stance for their respective breathing styles. Arata charges forward, in taking a large amount of air in his lungs, he slashes his sword in a large arch, water following the blade as it cleaves through outstretched arms, tassels, and ribbons. The boy flips himself in midair to avoid a wayward tassel that had tried to wrap around his arm. Zenitsu stays vigilant to any opening that may appear, however the demon makes sure that his neck is always protected.

Arata huffs in frustration as he tries to slash away at the demon's defenses, but he always seems to miss a clothing tassel/fringe or an arm. Zenitsu's gaze is so focused on any openings around the demon's neck, the yellow haired boy isn't paying attention to anything else.

That would be a major mistake.

The wind is knocked out of the thunder breather as an outstretched fist buries itself into his stomach and sends the boy flying through the air before roughly landing on the ground and rolling until his body stops. Zenitsu gasps for air, trying to find strength in his limbs.

"I have to get up…I need to help Arata…"

The boy's eyes roll back as he passes out. As Zenitsu's unconscious body lays there, a clothing tassel of the demon slowly slithers towards him. The clothing inches ever so closer to Zenitsu, about to wrap around his neck, surely the boy is about to meet his doom. At least that's what the demon thinks.

SLASH

"Huh…?"

He felt one of his tassels being cut through. Who came to help!? How did they cut through so quickly? 

The demon directs countless amounts of his tassels, fringes, and his stretched left arm to Arata to keep him at bay. The demon turns to the right and raises a brow when he sees Zenitsu walking towards him, sword in hand. He could have sworn he knocked the kid out.

The boy lifts his head.

"...No…he's not conscious!"

The yellow haired boy's eyes were shut close as he takes a stance, the air vibrating around him.

"So, the rumors about Agatsuma were right. He's strongest when he's unconscious. His energy feels completely different than before." Arata smiles a bit. The two may actually have a chance at killing this demon!

The demon growls, he needs to take this more seriously, he's not going to be defeated by these little pissant slayers! More of the tassels and fringes of his clothes extend out and attack, multiplying as they twist and turn in the air to grab onto the two slayers. He tries to take out the yellow haired boy, but he dodges with surprising reflexes and speed. He zips through trees and his attacks like a bolt of lightning. 

Arata takes this chance to go on the offense and push more against the attacks. He lands on the ground and begins a series of intricate footwork, moving with gratefulness and swiftness of flowing water.

Water Breathing Third Form: Flowing Dance!

The water breather pivots and turns as he quickly slashes through the attacks, Zenitsu senses an opening and takes it, kicking off the ground with blinding speed and attempts to behead the demon. The demon uses his arm and uses his clothing as armor against the attack. Zenitsu was only able to slash through the arm, but lost momentum, the boy jumps back and makes distance once again, waiting for another opening.

"What the hell…why is it so much trouble to just take out these two Mizunoto?!" The demon grunts as his left arm is slashed off once more by Arata.

The two Mizunoto fight tirelessly against the demon, their attacks intertwining together as Arata slashes and thrusts through attacks and Zenitsu takes any opening he can detect and makes an attempt to decapitate the demon.

The demon gasps as he feels his clothing getting cut away at a faster rate. He turns and sees Arata, he's foot work…it's getting faster, his rotations are getting more powerful.

"What the…!"

Water Breathing Tenth Form: Constant Flux!

Flowing water follows Arata's blade as he twists and turns his blade, his rotations getting stronger and faster as he cuts away the attacks. More and more his blade cleaves and glides through all of the attacks. Sweat beads up on the demon's skin, he's not regenerating fast enough! His skin tingles as he feels static in the air. 

"No! That damn thunder breather! Shit!"

Arata cuts through both his arms, in that split second, it feels like the world slows down as Zenitsu dashes forward, an intense look of anger in his expression, eyes closed shut and his brows furrowed. Lightning trails behind his body as he swings his sword, the blade hitting the demon's neck.

Arata smiles, they're going to make it! They're going to…!?

Zenitsu lets out an ear piercing scream, his eyelids immediately flying open as a large hand wraps around his leg and snaps the bone. The yellow haired boy drops to the ground when he is let go. He writhes in pain, tears streaming down his face, pained cries leave him. The demon mockingly laughs, a wide grin stretches across his face, his sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

"How do you like that? Focusing all of my regenerative ability into one of my limbs, it makes for a good surprise attack doesn't it?" He cackles, roughly nudging the boy with his foot.

"Agatsuma, no!"

Arata yells out, however, he too is struck. The demon slams into Arata's stomach with an open palm and sends the slayer flying through the forest, inevitably hitting a tree, making him cough up blood. Arata's eyelids flutter momentarily, only to close shut, the boy going still.

"Hah! Only you left, you yellow haired brat! I can't wait to eat you, my fangs are itching for the flesh of a crybaby coward!"

Zenitsu yelps, trying to crawl away, fingers and nails clawing at the dirt under him as he tries to drag himself away, tears rolling down his cheeks. Then he suddenly stops, a gasp leaving him as he looks in the direction to the left.

What the hell, why'd he stop? The demon turns to look to the left and doesn't see anything. Then he feels it. The air vibrating, feeling static on his skin. It wasn't coming from the yellow haired boy…there's another thunder breather!? The demon growls, he still can't see what Zenitsu's seeing…or…is the boy hearing something? The demon can't tell.

The demon's guard was up, but that didn't protect him from the blur of a person rushing towards him, their sword slashing in quick succession at his outstretched clothes and arms. The demon gasps, fear rising up in his body, this swordsman was experienced. Finally, the demon could see the person's face, turquoise eyes, short black hair, and a nasty scowl on his face. 

That same intense look.

The demon's legs were next to be cut off, then the swordsman chops the side of his neck, leaving him going limp and paralyzed.

"How did…? What!"

The demon is brought out of thoughts by the sound of yelling.

"Why the hell were you just blubbering on the ground!? What did you think that was going to do!?"

"I-I'm s-sorry, Kaigaku, but I was injured!"

"Do you think I care!? You're supposed to get up and keep fighting, I don't care if all of your bones are twisted and broken! This is why you're not cut out to be a slayer! This is why you're not cut out to be the next successor to the old man! You are nothing but a worthless, cowardly, crybaby! Look around you! All those deployed with you are dead! You're just lucky you didn't end up the same way! Perhaps that's all you have, luck!"

The yellow haired boy sobs as he hears his senior's words, large tears rolling down his face. "That's s-so cruel…"

"The Kakushi are coming. You should think of quitting while you can. You'll just be in the way." The black haired slayer stalks over to the incapacitated demon and yanks the torso up by his clothes. All the demon can do is limply be held.

"And you , I got just the punishment for you. I hope you've heard of Mt. Fujikasane, that's where you'll live out the rest of your short pathetic life!"

The demon clenches his teeth…well attempts to. His inner thoughts could be felt just by his furious energy emanating from him. "I'll kill you thunder breathers. I'll get my revenge…"

*

"So…after that, I stopped doing missions. I'm still considered a member, just not active. I just…I can't go through that again. I let everyone down…I felt so…worthless, useless."

Nezuko looks in horror as Zenitsu has finished recounting the painful memory. Zenitsu has tears in his eyes while Kaigaku looks…ashamed…embarrassed. Nezuko's mouth opens and closes as she tries to find the words to say.

"Zeni…I…I'm sorry that happened to you…you shouldn't have gone through that…"

Tanjiro hums behind his muzzle and hugs Zenitsu,  nuzzling his cheek. The demon boy rubs his back as he feels the yellow haired boy shake a little from trying to keep himself crying.

"I…I think Kaigaku was right…if I wasn't there and terrified…I think the others would have lived…" the boy quietly sobs.

Nezuko immediately speaks up, "No! Don't blame yourself! That demon was just really strong! Even I had a lot of trouble! I was really injured!"

The girl then points at Kaigaku accusingly. "I can't believe you would say that to Zenitsu after all he had been through! He was hurt and traumatized and you just berated him! I thought you were just a jerk, but you're really cruel! I can't-"

"I know! I know I'm an asshole ! I just-!" The sudden outburst from Kaigaku stuns everyone; he sighs, then lowers his voice. "I…I didn't know how else to act…or what to say…"

*

"Hey, Kaigaku, there was a distress report up in the northern area. I know you're about to go on a mission, but can you go help them out?"

Kaigaku scoffs at the brunette slayer in front of him. "Why the hell should I do that, Miyamoto? They should be able to handle themselves. There isn't even a high ranking demon in the area."

"C'mon you can't just leave them to die! You'll be closest to the area, you can make a short detour can't you?" Miyamoto tries his hardest to convince the black haired thunder breather.

"Why don't you go? Don't you have free time?" Kaigaku fastens his sword to his back as he sighs in annoyance.

Miyamoto shakes his head. "I can't, I just got a mission, it's to the southwest. Kaigaku, I think you should go. Your junior is there! Don't you care about him, plus wouldn't your teacher be sad if he died?"

The black haired man clenches his jaw and balls his hands into fists. "That's even more reason for me not to help! If he's not able to handle a low level demon, then what's the point of that coward even being a slayer! He'll stain the Thunder Breathing lineage!"

"...You're so cold hearted…how selfish of you…" Miyamoto shakes his head in astonishment, turning away in disgust.

Kaigaku clicks his tongue and huffs, he begins his trek to his mission. It wasn't far away, in fact, he could jog to the place and make it in thirty minutes. With every step, his scowl gets meaner and harsher. He doesn't care about that useless junior of his. If the yellowed haired brat dies then he won't have to share the title of successor.

Yes, Kaigaku is selfish and cold-hearted. He only cares for himself. Kaigaku knows that and doesn't regret it.

The black haired swordsman briefly passes by a village. It looks like they're getting ready for a festival. He can see them getting fireworks ready.

Fireworks…

"Kaigaku! Don't they look pretty?"

No.

"Look! That one is a turquoise color!"

No…these memories are useless. They're useless because they have that yellow haired brat in them. That stupid, cowardly junior of his.

"They're the same color as your eyes!"

…

Kaigaku stops his jog and stares at the village. There were decorations, happy villagers, children laughing and smiling. He could see two siblings fighting, an older and younger brother. Their grandfather comes by and lightly smacks them on the back of their heads.

The old man is lecturing them, the boys are distracted by the setting up of the fireworks. The brothers laugh, the younger brother points and says something…

Stop it…

Why are you hesitating, Kaigaku?

"Kaigaku! You're smiling!"

No!

"Haha! You're not so mean!"

…

The black haired slayer tightens his fists so tightly that his nails break the skin of his palms and he bleeds. He turns up and shouts at his crow. "Hey! Take me to where the distress report came from!"

"This way! This way!" The bird caw, turning slightly off the path.

Kaigaku's jog turns into a sprint. The young man almost outruns his crow with how quick he was running, and he could still run faster. The trees are getting denser, the presence of a demon gets heavier.

Yellow hair, a tear stained face, cries of pain. That damn cowardly junior of his, injured, crying, scared. 

For some reason, Kaigaku is furious about this, furious at the demon. Taking down the demon was nothing. The young man didn't even break a sweat.

He turns to Zenitsu, the scowl still present on his face. He has a strange feeling in his chest when he sees Zenitsu hurt and crying. He doesn't like the feeling. He doesn't like seeing Zenitsu hurt. He's angry that Zenitsu let himself get hurt. He's angry and frustrated at Zenitsu.

Why is that? What is this feeling? Why was Kaigaku experiencing it?

So, Kaigaku does the only thing he can do. The only thing he's done throughout life. 

He berates. He says cold-hearted things. He hurts his junior's feelings.

…But…that's not what he really wanted to do. He didn't mean to say all those things. 

No…but what else is he supposed to do…?

*

Everyone can only look at Kaigaku in a sort of disbelief. His side of the story…it wasn't what they expected.

"I…" Kaigaku sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "I was really just going to leave him to die…but…I just couldn't do it…when I saw him hurt…I was so…-"

"Worried about him?" Nezuko quietly chimes in.

Kaigaku sits for a moment before a chuckle leaves him, there was no humor or mirth in it. "Yeah…I guess so."

It goes silent and tense. You could barely hear a breath.

"I thought you hated me…" Zenitsu finally speaks up after a minute of silence.

"I did." Kaigaku bluntly says. "I did . I don't know when I stopped hating you, maybe it was when we had to interact with each other outside of training. Maybe it was when you weren't crying and blubbering and complaining all the time and actually took training seriously. Maybe…maybe it was that night, when we watched the fireworks for a second time. I don't know, but I don't hate you. Not anymore."

…

…

…

"I used to hate you too." The yellow haired boy says quietly. "I thought you were mean, selfish…just a total jerk. You'd bully me and berate me, saying I'm too much of a crybaby, that I'll never be strong enough to be a demon slayer. You'd say I wasn't worthy to be a successor. I hated you for that. But…sometimes, I would spy on you, see what you did when you weren't just training. Like that time you helped feed those defenseless baby kittens until their mother came back a few days later. Or that time you fixed the roof of your own accord because it would leak in here when it rained. Even when you were training, you would do it so diligently and seriously…it made me want to devote myself more too. However, whenever I was always around you, or spying on you, there was, and still is, always this underlying unhappiness I hear from you. It made me want to make you smile or happy for even one moment. So I always chose the night we watched the fireworks each year. You were always calmer then…"

The two thunder breathers turn and look at each other. Their faces soften, their expressions not as intense as before.

"I'm sorry." The two both say.

In an instant, it felt like all the tension in the air melted. A sense of peace filled the air. Jigoro sands and goes over to the two and wraps his arms around them.

"I'm happy my two boys have finally communicated their feelings. Things won't be perfect, but this is a good start. I'm so proud of you two ." The old man rumbles.

Tears fill Zenitsu's eyes and Kaigaku looks as though every single muscle is relaxed.

Tanjiro and Nezuko look at each other and smile in relief. It'll still be a rocky road to mend the relationship, but it has a lot of hope.

~☆~

Throughout the night, the Kamado siblings could hear Zenitsu and Kaigaku talking and conversing in Zenitsu's room. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but they didn't want to. The pink-eyed girl and the demon boy knew that the conversation was personal and private, only for Kaigaku's and Zenitsu's ears as the two communicate their feelings, the past, the present, and the future.

"I think after this, the two will be closer than ever!"

"Mmph!"

~☆~

It's been fifteen days.

Nezuko was standing outside in the bright morning sun to get some fresh air. Her attention is diverted when she hears the sound of footsteps coming from up the path to the house. She sees a man with dark hair that went a little past his shoulders. He's wearing an oni mask, but he had it pushed up a bit showing his mouth. He was carrying something on his back. He wore geta sandals, once he was close up to Nezuko he bends at his waist and smiles.

"I am here to deliver Nezuko Kamado's sword. The name's Urogi." As the man speaks, Nezuko notices something on his tongue, was it…a tattoo!? It looks like it says…"joy"?

Nezuko is quickly snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh! That's me!"

"Delightful!" The swordsmith wraps his arm around Nezuko's shoulder. "Well, Nezuko-chan, I'm sure you're curious about your sword, yes? The ore used to make your sword is called scarlet iron ore, it is found on the mountains closest to the sun. Isn't that amazing!?"

Kaigaku sighs as he hears the conversation from inside the house, the swordsmith is going on and on about the sword and the ore. "Urogi doesn't know how to shut up. He's too friendly as well."

Jigoro chuckles as he hears that. "Well, you certainly aren't wrong about that, brat!"

"Ah…well he is quite cheerful… and has no concept of personal space …" Zenitsu whispers the last part.

Back outside, Urogi slaps Nezuko's back really hard, knocking her down to her hands and knees and knocking the wind out of her. She knows it was meant to be friendly, but damn did that hurt!

Is my spine okay!?

"Say, did your family work with fire or charcoal? This kimono of yours has soot stains on it. Looks like you tried to scrub it off, but it didn't work." Urogi picks the girl up by her collar and sets her on her feet.

"Y-Yeah, we were charcoal sellers." Nezuko wheezes out.

"Oooh, goodie! This sword could turn red! Don't you think so, Kai?" Urogi cheerfully yells out.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" 

~☆~

Urogi and the thunder breathers of the house sit in the main room as Nezuko holds the sheathed sword.

"Hurry and open! I'm dying to know what color the blade will turn!" Urogi was practically shaking with excitement. "Y'know, the nichirin sword is also called the color changing katana due to obvious reasons of course."

Nezuko vaguely remembers Zenitsu saying something about that before. The pink-eyed girl finally unsheathes the sword. At first nothing happened, it was just an ordinary silver blade, but then the change happened. Slowly, at the base, coloring crawls up the blade, changing from silver to a black color with a red lightning bolt striking up the sword.

"Oh my…what muted colors, how dull."

"That's strange."

Nezuko makes a face of worried confusion as she looks at Kuwajima and Urogi. "Eh? Is that bad!?"

Kaigaku waves it off. "Nah, it's fine. Yours is similar to mine anyway. It is rare that the blade lost its shine. You don't see that everyday."

"Yeah, but I'm sure it's fine! It just means you're unique!" Zenitsu says cheerfully.

"How disappointing, all the luster is lost!" Urogi sighs, crossing his arms and pouting a little.

How childish. He looks like Shigeru when his favorite treat is taken away.

Zenitsu turns to the window suddenly, a few moments later, Nezuko's crow comes flying through.

"Nezuko Kamado. I bring you orders."

"Wha…the crows talk?" Nezuko doesn't expect the crow to have such a soft and sweet voice either!

"Hurry, hurry. To a town northwest of here, teens are disappearing every night. You must find the demon and behead it. Nezuko Kamado, this is your first official mission as a demon slayer. Prepare yourself."

Nezuko had thought she would be nervous, but instead, she's determined! She will defeat this demon and complete her first mission!

"Alright!"

The pink-eyed girl grips the handle of her sword firmly.

She will succeed.

Chapter Text

The pink-eyed girl slips her arms into the sleeves of her uniform, the character for "destroy" on the back. She slips on her hemp pattern haori, she tailored it from her favorite kimono. She ties her pale yellow, triangle patterned Kyahan around the bottom of her uniform pants. She had made these out of the scraps left from the jinbei kimono that had been given to her for Final Selection. She pulls her shoulder length hair into a ponytail, finally she's ready. Nezuko really looks like a demon slayer.

Tanjiro looks from inside their bedroom, hiding under the blanket from any sun rays. He looks at his big sister from through the crack of the door and his eyes widen. Nezuko really looks like a strong warrior now. The demon boy admires his strong big sister…she's really matured. It somewhat makes Tanjiro sad that he can't grow with her…

"Woah, Nezuko-chan! You look amazing!" Zenitsu smiles as he sees Nezuko completely in her uniform, Chuntaro chirps in agreement.

"I suppose you did finally make use of yourself, Kamado Brat." The black haired man chuckles, leaning against a wall. He himself was about to leave as well.

Nezuko huffs as she's called "Kamado Brat" by Kaigaku. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Alright, alright you two. Nezuko, I have a gift for you before you depart." Kuwajima brings out a wooden box and sets it in front of Nezuko. "Since you will be traveling on your missions with Tanjiro, I thought this would be a good parting gift. It's a light weight carrier so that you can easily travel during the day with your little brother. There's black lacquer to reinforce it structurally, so it's not going to break easily!"

Nezuko gasps and then smiles, "Thank you so much! This is such an amazing gift!"

"Of course of course, now I should share some more basic information before you go on your way. The uniform you're wearing is resistant to fire and moisture, however quite breathable, you can thank the special type of fabric for that. It also won't tear easily when low level demons try to bite or claw at it.” 

Kuwajima pauses when he thinks about what he’s about to say next. He glances at Tanjiro in the other room, hiding under a blanket, then turns his gaze back to Nezuko.

“As you go on more missions and raise up the ranks, you will encounter more demons, stronger ones than the ones you have faced in Final Selection. These higher level demons will be able to perform "spells" of a sort known as Blood Demon Art."

Nezuko raises a brow. "Blood Demon…Art? Hm, is that why Tanjiro is different from other demons? Why he doesn't need to consume humans?"

"Hah! No, he's just weird. Tanjiro isn't like any demon I've come across, what about you Brat?" Kuwajima laughs as he nudges Kaigaku.

The black haired man snorts, "Nah, as the old man said, he's weird."

"Well thanks for the help, Kaigaku…" Nezuko sarcastically says as she rolls her eyes.

The sound of wings flapping gets everyone's attention, Nezuko's crow had settled herself on an open window ledge. The pink-eyed girl sighs. It's time for her to go. She gets up and brings the wooden carrier over to the room where Tanjiro was hiding from sunlight in. She opens it and places it in front of him.

"Tanjiro, it's time to go."

The demon boy sighs, but nods. Before shrinking and going into the box, he sits up and looks at the thunder breathers in the main room. He smiles and then waves.

"U-Until…meet…again."

Tanjiro then settles himself into the box, darkness swallowing him up when Nezuko closes the door.

The girl sighs then gets the carrier onto her back. She goes back to the main room. Without warning, she hugs Jigoro.

"Thank you so much for all of your help! You've done so much for me, I'll make sure to remember all of your teachings!" 

The crazy old man chuckles as he hugs her back.

Then she turns to her turquoise eyed senior, "You're a real jerk, but you did help me and gave my little brother a chance, and I appreciate that a lot."

Kaigaku rubs the back of his neck, his face softening a tad. "Yeah, whatever. You're welcome…I guess."

"And, Zenitsu." Nezuko smiles as she faces the yellow haired boy, he seems to be on the verge of crying. "I'm so happy to have met you. You've helped me so much, you accepted Tanjiro even though he was a demon, and you helped me with my training. You were with me in my more troubled times while staying here, you supported me and never gave up on me."

The pink-eyed girl's cheeks slightly tinge red as she softly interlaces her fingers with Zenitsu's. The boy's face in contrast had completely turned red and he was sputtering out some nonsensical words. His noises were put to a stop when Nezuko gently presses her lips against his in a short, chaste kiss.

In the background she feels annoyance towards hearing Kaigaku saying something along the lines of, "Holy shit, I can't believe she actually has feelings for him. Actually they're perfect for each other". She knows her senior is being cynical and is making fun of the two. 

How annoying! 

Nezuko decides to ignore that in favor of addressing Zenitsu.

"Thank you, Zeni! I appreciate everything you have done." The girl hugs him tightly. The yellow haired boy is finally able to snap out of his flustered surprise and hugs her back, nuzzling his face into her shoulder. The two stay like this for a few seconds before pulling back.

Nezuko takes a few steps back and looks at all three of the men, smiling. "Thank you, all! I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever loser."

"Make sure to stay safe. And take care of yourself, girl!"

"I love you too, Nezuko-chan! Don't forget to write to us!"

The pink-eyed girl smiles and waves as she begins to walk the path, a bit of laughter leaving her. "I'll write to you guys so much, you'll wish I stopped! Bye jerk, bye Zeni, bye Gramps !"

Slowly, Nezuko's form gets smaller in the thunder breathers' view as she walks further and further away as she follows her crow.

…

…

…

"Are you blushing, old man?"

"Hush up, Brat!"

SMACK

"Ow! Don't hit me with your damn cane!"

"Please don't fight!"

~☆~

The sound of compacted dirt on a path being stepped on fills the environment as a new fledgling demon slayer walks down it. The pink-eyed girl looks around the scenery before deciding to speak up.

"Hey, are you doing alright, Tanjiro?"

Silence…

"Tanjiro?"

A small, sleepy hum is heard within the box, then silence once more.

I guess he's sleeping to restore energy, just like before.

"Rest well, Tanjiro."

Nezuko walks across a bridge and finally reaches the town she was sent to. People walking to and fro, the sounds of conversation were heard. The girl's ears pick up on a hushed conversation between a small group of people.

"Teens are still disappearing every night."

"How terrifying! I've been diligently watching over my boy!"

Nezuko then sees a young man, maybe only a year or two older than her, trudging past her, swaying slightly, his face looking both devastated and blank. His dark blue hair messily spilling over his shoulders.

"Poor Enkai, I hear he was taking a walk with one of his brother and little sister when his brother was taken."

Wait what?

Nezuko quickly turns around and goes to this Enkai person.

"Enkai-san!" 

Enkai turns around slowly to look at the pink-eyed girl. 

"Could you tell me what happened last night? I want to hear the facts straight from you!" The girl says.

The boy's eyes widen a bit in surprise, did this girl really want to talk to him…?

The dark blue haired teen sighs as he watches Nezuko search around the area he brought her to. "This is where Enyo disappeared…it's pretty unbelievable isn't it…?"

The girl immediately turns to him and shakes her head. "I believe you! That's why I'm here to help!"

Let's see!

Nezuko bends down and places her palms to the ground, trying to see if her intuition senses anything. 

Hmm, the feeling of unrest is faintly here…but it waxes and wanes…it's completely uneven, how strange…

Enkai raises a brow at the girl as she oddly drags her palms across the compacted dirt path. 

Who is she anyway?

Now that there was general silence, the older teen sighs and his brows furrow in anguish as he thinks back to last night…when he got home.

*

A door to a nice house slides open when two teens walk into the space. They look distraught as they see their parents and their other brother, Kaito.

"Hey you two…what's wrong? Where's Enyo?" Their mother worriedly looks at her two kids in front of her.

"He…H-He was…he was taken!" The little sister of the family says with tears in her eyes.

Their father's eyes narrow. "What nonsense are you talking about, Tokie? Enkai. What really happened?"

The older teen looks to the ground, fist clenched. "No, it's true…he just…disappeared! One second we were talking, and the next…he was gone!"

Kaito, the mostly silent one of the three brothers, sharply inhales. "It…can't be true! Y-You're lying! He…he can't be another victim…!"

…But it was true…This is the reality of this family.

*

The pink-eyed girl goes through the town, palms pressed against the ground or on other such surfaces, using her intuition to search for the demon on the prowl. The townspeople look at her with looks ranging from confusion to disgust. Nezuko couldn't blame them though, it would be strange to anyone seeing a girl crouch down and press her hands against various surfaces.

Slowly, the sun sets, the sky being painted various hues of oranges, reds, and pinks. Enkai was trailing behind her the whole time, he couldn't help but wonder if this girl is just messing with him. What is the point of all the things she's doing? Why is she working so hard to figure out what happened? The older teen just shakes his head and sighs.

Night time quickly approaches and Enkai was beginning to worry. "Shouldn't we end the search here for now? It's getting late, we should rest. I appreciate you trying so hard…but I think we should pick up in the morning."

"No, I must keep searching now. They're only active now, if anything, it's imperative that I keep searching now." Nezuko bends down and touches the ground again.

The teens are alerted when they hear fast approaching footsteps.

"Nii-san! Nii-san! I want to help!" A girl with straight black hair that goes a bit past her shoulders runs up to Enkai.

"Tokie! You should've stayed home! It's safer there, Okaa-san and Otou-san will worry…Kaito will too." Enkai sighs tiredly, his hands on her shoulders.

Tokie quickly yells back, "I was there last night, too! I should be helping to find Enyo-nii!"

Nezuko turns to the sibling, brows furrowing slightly. "Since she's here now, I think it's best that she stays with us. It's more dangerous if she tries to walk back home alone."

The pink-eyed girl then feels a chill down her back. The demon, she can feel it nearby. She turns her body and begins to make way down a side path, trying to search out the demon.

~☆~

A dark blue haired teen was staring at a bowl of uneaten tonkatsu and rice. The bowl was for Enyo, this was his favorite meal. Kaito knows it's stupid to think that his brother would just suddenly appear and things would go back to normal…but he couldn't help but hold out hope. His teeth begin to grind against each other, his hands clenching the bowl full of food.

A hand is placed on his shoulder. "Son…it's getting late, how about you try to sleep. I'll…store this for later."

Kaito looks at his father for a moment, somewhat hesitant to give him the bowl, however, in the end he hands it over and nods. The older man carefully wraps up the food to help preserve it. He then goes over to his son and presses a kiss to his hairline and pats his son's head.

"Try to sleep well, Kaito. I love you."

The teen hugs his father then slowly makes his way to his room, teeth grinding still, albeit less intense. He slides open the door to his room, sighing softly as he changes into his sleeping yukata and then laying on his futon and sliding the covers over himself. His gaze is stuck on the ceiling, as his mind wanders a bit.

I hope Nii-san and the others who were taken are okay…

The boy then closes his eyes.

…

A dark abyss expands under his futon, taking the place of floorboards. Pinkish-red ribbons rise up from the black abyss before wrapping tightly around the teen's body, dragging him down. Kaito's eyes snap open and he screams for help, trying to fight with the ribbons. His cries for help go unheard from a ribbon firmly pressed to his mouth. Soon, he's fully submerged…

~☆~

Nezuko immediately snaps her head up when overwhelming feelings of danger and dread wash over her. She springs into action and sprints towards where the demon is, following her intuition.

Enkai and Tokie gasp as Nezuko takes off.

"What! Where are you going!?"

"She's so fast!"

Nezuko takes a sharp turn as she speaks up."The demon is active, I can feel it!" 

The pink-eyed girl uses her momentum and leaps onto the roof of a building, it'll be a shortcut to the area of the demon.

The older teen and his sister struggle to keep up with Nezuko, panting as they marvel at the skills of the teen girl.

Demon…the old grannies of town talk about them and the warriors that slay them…but those are just stories…right?

Nezuko abruptly jumps off of a roof and lands onto a side alleyway, smoothly unsheathing her sword as she lands. The girl looks left then right. Her intuition is flaring, alerting her that a demon is here…but she can't see them. 

Hmm…

Nezuko closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, she blocks out any outside disturbance and focuses. 

…

…

…

There!

Nezuko points the tip of her blade towards the ground, right where her intuition is flared up most, she raises her sword then pierces the ground with it. There spreads a dark open that opens, Nezuko has to use some force to pull her sword out of it, it felt like it was going to swallow her weapon whole. When she turns her attention to the opening, she gasps, a body is beginning to rise to the top. She quickly grabs onto the person, pulling them out of the abyss and into her arms. Nezuko is surprised when looking at the unconscious person she pulled out. He looks exactly like Enkai! Same pale skin and dark blue hair!

A demon rises out of the abyss, he had short black hair, gray skin and eyes that were pitch black, even the sclera. The demon has a mildly annoyed look on his face.

This demon…is it using the Blood Demon Art thing Gramps was talking about?

Nezuko then shakes her head, no time to be thinking about that! "What have you done with everyone you've kidnapped?!"

The demon merely clicks his tongue and sinks back down into the abyss.

Enkai and Tokie are panting as they finally catch up to Nezuko. The older teen gasps when he sees the person in Nezuko's arms.

"Kaito!"

"Nii-san! Did he come out of the hole in the ground-? Wha-it's not there anymore!"

Nezuko looks at the unconscious teen in her arms then turns to Enkai. "Hold your brother and stay close, I can protect you best this way."

The older teen nods and takes Kaito out of the girl's arms, looking at his unconscious brother worriedly.

The pink-eyed girl readies her sword and looks around the area, trying to sense out the demon hiding. It could come out from anywhere, in front, behind, on the walls or even directly below her. She closes her eyes and then…a shudder runs down her spine and she immediately turns behind her.

Total Concentration: Thunder Breathing Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!

Nezuko prepares an upward sword slash, when this time two dark abyss openings appear, the same demon from earlier emerges from one, a female demon emerges from the other one, she has long pinkish red ribbons in her hair. The two try to grab Nezuko, but she jumps away just in time to avoid their grasp.

There are two of them!? Alright, calm down Nezuko, don't get in your head.

Thunder Breathing Third Form: Thunder Swarm!

Nezuko uses a nearby wall to spring off of and hit different points of contact with the environment all the while slashing and thrusting her sword to hit the demon pair at different directions. However, she fails to actually hit a vulnerable spot, she only manages to cleave through arms and pierce their torsos. The two demons quickly sink back down into the abyss to quickly recover from their injuries.

Damn it, I don't have good enough sword precision to use that form for an effective killing blow…Don't lose your nerve, it'll be fine, just breathe. I have to wonder though, why are these two demons working together? From what I can tell demons, or at least these lower level ones, don't normally work together like this. 

Nezuko shakes her head to get back on track, taking a deep breath and focusing on the task at hand.

Well, it doesn't really matter, I need to worry about protecting these siblings-

A cold sweat beads up on Nezuko's skin as she her body moves on it's own and turns toward where the demons will appear next, at the same time Tokie screams out in fear when the female demon emerges from the ground, hand outstretched and the ribbons in her hair extending as well.

-and find out from these demons information about the original demon progenitor and how to turn a demon into a human again!

*

"Nezuko, while you're out on missions and traveling around you may come across the demon who most likely knows how to turn Tanjiro back into a demon. The progenitor of all demons." Jigoro says to his student.

It was late at night, a couple days after Nezuko got back from Final Selection, still recovering from her injuries.

"The progenitor of all demons…then this is the first demon… ever ?" The girl asks in shock, eyes wide as she hears this information.

The old man nods. "Indeed. Not much is known about this demon, not even their given name. All we know is that they're at least a thousand years old and their family name. Everything else about them is a mystery. However, if you can get more information about them, that is likely the way to figure out the cure for your brother.

That's demon is Ubuyashiki."

*

Total Concentration: Thunder Breathing Second Form: Rice Spirit!

Nezuko leaps into action, performing five sword slashes, cleaving off the demon's arms, slashing her shoulders and slashing the demon's throat. The girl grows frustrated as she yet again misses the chance to decapitate the demon. She swings her blade horizontally and diagonally, however both times the demon dodges and then sinks back down into the abyss, the opening quickly making space between it and the pink-eyed girl.

The thunder breather huffs, this demon is quite difficult to deal with, she can't go all out or stray too far from Enkai, Kaito, and Tokie or else they'll get hurt or killed.

"You bitch!"

Nezuko is surprised when the female demon spats such a derogatory word at her.

"I'm trying to enjoy a delicious, nutritious meal and you're ruining it! Boys his age are some of the most nutritious y'know. He smells so good too…let him go and give him to me." The demoness scowls as she looks towards her catch of the night.

Enkai and Tokie pale when they hear these horrid words, the older teen clutches both his siblings close to him.

"Satoko, dear, calm down, it'll be alright if we lose one meal. We've been feasting quite well these past few nights after all. Though it is a shame to have our hard work go to waste."

Nezuko whips her head around when the male demon emerges, he seems to have an annoyed look on his face, but he's relatively calm.

The female demon scoffs, rolling her dark pink eyes, her sclera a deep yellow. "But Kazumi! I'm not satisfied! I'm hungry, I want to get stronger. I need this meal!"

The dark blue haired teen grits his teeth, fear, disgust, and anger filling him. "What did you do with Enyo!? The boy you took the other night! What did you do with my brother!?"

"Hmm? Enyo…?" The male demon, Kazumi, raises a brow, then he smiles. "Ah, you mean the fellow who looked exactly like you? I knew your identical appearances weren't a coincidence. He was wearing a jade ring right? Well, my dear Satoko is wearing it. I think it suits her better, don't you think so too?"

The humans all turn to Satoko, there on her thumb was a jade ring. Now that they look at her closely, she was wearing an assortment of jewelry. 

She giggles smugly. "Isn't my Kazumi so sweet? He gets me so much jewelry to wear, our meals have such pretty accessories, my love always makes sure to give me one as a gift!"

Enkai shakes his head in disbelief, his face one of despair. Tokie empties the contents of her stomach onto the ground, face completely pale. Tears gather in the siblings' eyes, rolling down their cheeks as their shaky breaths were heard.

It can't be true, right? They were just out on a walk with Enyo the other day…they were laughing and having fun. They were all supposed to celebrate the three brothers' birthday next week. The three brothers were all supposed to eat Tokie's amazing cooking tomorrow. The whole family was supposed to have a fun hot springs trip next month. They were all supposed to grow up, have families, spend time with each other, grow old and die peacefully after living a fulfilling life!

So…

So, Enyo can't be gone…he has to be alive…

The demon couple sinks back down into the abyss with cruel smiles on their faces.

…

…

…

Nezuko clenches her teeth, veins bulging from her forehead and hands. Her blood boils from listening to the demons' cruel words. How could these beings lack such empathy? How could they not see the pain and anguish they are causing?

Such cruelty and arrogance.

Nezuko will not allow this.

A chill runs down her spine and Nezuko immediately moves to slash off the incoming arm of the demon by the name of Kazumi. She tries to swing her blade to behead him but he sinks back into the ground. She gasps when an abyss opening appears on the wall.

Crap! I got too close!

She flips and maneuvers herself in the air, successfully evading Satoko's quick attack. The demoness sinks back into the ground, but last minute one of the bows in her hair extends and races towards Nezuko. The pink-eyed girl pivots and spins on the ball of her food, avoiding the attack. Nezuko sweats when she feels Kazumi stealthily and quickly rising from the abyss opening and is about to pierce her head with his hand. She's not going to be quick enough-!

The door of the wooden box carrier on her back flies open and a punch is delivered to the male demon, making his neck snap and sending him flying onto the ground. Out of the box comes a demon boy with bright red eyes, growling behind his muzzle with a fierce look on his face.

Satoko emerges with an angry and confused look. "Why the hell would a demon work together with a human? Who the hell are these two? How odd."

Satoko sinks back into the ground, Kazumi's neck finally realigns itself and he's submerged into the abyss as well.

Tanjiro fully steps out of the wooden carrier and onto the ground. His facial expression softens quite a bit and he turns towards the human siblings. He walks towards them and gently places his hands on the cheek of Enkai and on the cheek of Tokie. The two look at him in surprise when he does this.

The demon boy can't help but be reminded of his little siblings when he looks at them. They look so sad and scared. He has to protect them. He needs to keep them safe.

His keen nose picks up on the scent of the demon couple and turns towards the direction they're in, seeing them emerge from the abyss. He walks towards them, veins bulging from his neck and an angry expression overtaking his face as his steps get faster. He can hear Nezuko calling out to him in worry, but he ignores that for now.

He must protect the humans.

Any demons who cause harm to humans are his enemy and he must show no mercy!

Chapter Text

Tanjiro charges forward and attempts to punch Satoko who just appeared from the ground, the demon is already sinking into the ground and just as Tanjiro is about to rush at the demon, Nezuko calls for him.

“Tanjiro! Wait, don’t keep trying to go after her. Come to me.”

The demon boy looks up at his big sister, turning around and running towards her. A black abyss opens up in front of him, Kazumi’s hands reaching up to grab Tanjiro. Just as Nezuko is about to call for him again, to stop this time, Tanjiro adeptly jumps over the blackhole and continues to make his way forward until he’s in front of Nezuko.

…That’s right…Tanjiro’s a demon now. He’s strong. He doesn’t need to be protected all the time. Then again, he wasn’t exactly weak when he was a human either. Then, I needn’t worry.

Nezuko looks towards the sibling trio, then back to Tanjiro. “Alright, Tanjiro, can you protect them while I concentrate on defeating the demons?” The demon boy nods in response, a soft hum coming from him. He walks over to Enkai, Tokie, and the unconscious Kaito and gets into a defensive stance, ready to fight and protect if he must. 

The pink-eyed girl looks down into the abyss that was just open agape in front of her. She shakes her head to try and dispel any unease she feels as she takes a step into the abyss, letting it swallow her up.

It was dark.

The girl couldn’t really see anything, there was definitely an absence of light. She looks around then feels a strong sense of doom from behind her. She instinctively unsheathes her sword and turns, swinging her sword horizontally, slashing off two arms of the male demon. Kazumi hisses and backs up a bit from the girl. Nezuko backs up in the space as well, surprised when something rustling hits her arm. She briefly glances down and sees that it’s a colorful flower pattern obi and a thinner plain red obi.

It must be the clothes of their victims. This is only two pieces of clothes, how many more people did they actually kill?

How despicable!

Nezuko feels that Kazumi is circling around her. She may not be able to see him, but she can certainly feel where he is using her intuition, she has done a lot to hone it over the two years she was living at the peach orchard.

*

“Ow!” Nezuko is hit in the head by another pebble. Her eyes were blindfolded as she tries to dodge things being thrown at her using purely her intuition with some assistance from her hearing.

Kaigaku rolls his eyes and throws two more pebbles at her, she dodges one, gets excited, but forgets there's another one she needed to look out for.

Smack!

“Owww…” The pink-eyed girl groans as she was hit in the stomach with that second pebble.

The dark haired senior laughs. “That’s what you get for celebrating early, idiot.”

Nezuko pouts.

“Don’t give me that look. Anyways, are you even trying to use your intuition? You dodge some of the rocks, but then get hit by others. You get too excited when you manage one measly little achievement. In battle you don’t let your guard down until the demon is confirmed to be dead and no other danger is in the area.” Kaigaku says as he picks up more pebbles.

Nezuko sighs as she nods. “I know…but, I’m not sure how to further train my intuition abilities. Doing the traps around the orchard helps, but I don’t know what else to do.”

Kaigaku walks over and flicks her forehead and pulls the blindfold off.

“Ow! Jerk! What was that-”

“Try meditating. It may be boring, but it can really build your focus. It’ll force you to notice the smallest details, even the slightest shifting of the wind.”

The pink-eyed girl is surprised at her senior’s solid advice.

“Sensei forced you to do it, didn’t he?”

“He’d hit me on the back of my damn knees every time I tried to skip out.”

Kaigaku is still sour about that.

“Nonetheless, it did help. I do recommend it.”

“...”

“What?”

“I guess you’re not such a complete jerk of a senior, you can be useful for some things.”

“...Go run 10 laps Kamado Brat!”

*

Meditating for hours at a time really did make her more intune with her intuition, it made her more sensitive to her surroundings. She is thankful to Kaigaku for that advice. She is thankful to Jigoro for making do laps riddled with traps around the orchard. She is thankful for Zenitsu doing the training with her and giving her pointers as well. All of this led to her being the strong girl she is today. All of this led her to be able to know what to do to defeat this demon!

Nezuko closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and focuses in. She can feel a slight breeze against her uniform every time Kazumi zips past her. With the exception of rustling clothes, there isn’t much sound to be heard. 

Kazumi zipped to the left.

Then right.

Diagonal…then…!

Nezuko is about to swing her sword when at the last moment she feels the demon move away. The demon slayer clicks her tongue, the demon is trying to trick her. He’s trying to make her do excessive unnecessary movements so that he catches her off guard.

The pink-eyed demon slayer focuses in again, although footing in this abyss space is wonky at best, she’s confident she can perform a breathing form. She gets into position and breathes in deeply as she goes deep into focusing on her intuition.

…

…

…

Now! Total Concentration: Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!

Kazumi rushes towards Nezuko, claws outstretched. “You’re finished girl!”

Kazumi didn’t get much further, his body shuddered as it feels like lightning struck him, then his body goes numb…why can’t he feel anything? Then he realizes that his head isn’t attached to his body.

What?

No…this can’t be happening to him! He has to get back to Satoko! They…They still haven’t gotten married yet!

“No! No! How could you do this to me! S-Satoko! I need to get to her! I need-” Kazumi wasn’t able to finish…his head has completely turned to ash…

Nezuko feels a small bit of sympathy for the demon. He obviously loved Satoko. The pink-eyed girl didn’t dwell on this for long though as she suddenly feels a sharp pull on her body. She was getting dragged upward. Why is she…wait! The demon is dead, this abyss is forcing her out of it now!

~☆~

Enkai and Tokie look worriedly at the abyss on the ground that Nezuko had entered on her own, however, their gaze wasn’t there for long as they hear Tanjiro fighting Satoko. Satoko was throwing punches and kicks, attempting to use her hair ribbon to try and capture the younger demon. Tanjiro dodges the attacks, making sure to stay away from the human siblings  he needed to protect. 

The red haired demon growls as he dodges an attack and gets closer to Satoko, rears his head back, then slams his forehead against hers. Satoko screams out a curse as her head is caved-in in a bloody mess. She skids back further when Tanjiro kicks her square in the stomach. She snarls as she digs her hands and feet into the ground to slow into a stop, giving her head time to heal.

How is this brat so strong, he doesn’t even have a Blood Demon Art?! That damn forehead is brutal. He must’ve gotten a lot of blood. Well, it doesn't matter. We are demons, no matter how much we hurt each other, our bodies will heal. Besides, he may be strong, but he obviously isn’t used to combat!

Satoko is able to find a pattern in the demon boy’s simple attacks and starts to parry and block any move of his. The demoness laughs as she throws a punch at him and it connects to Tanjiro’s cheek. She quickly follows up with a punch to his ribs, a sickening crack coming from the impact. The boy cries in pain, taking a step back as he tries to regroup. He could hear Tokie and Enkai gasping in worry and fright as they saw him get hit. He tenses up when he sees Satoko about to hit him clean in the head, when all of a sudden she stops.

…

What happened…?

Satoko suddenly grasps her head and lets out an ear piercing scream, letting out a noise between absolute agony and despair. Tears immediately flood her eyes.

“KAZUMI!”

At this moment, Nezuko is flung out the abyss and flails around to try and land on her feet. The abyss quickly closes up. Satoko breathes heavily as she turns to face Nezuko, the demoness’s face covered in tears.

“YOU! You killed him! My Kazumi! You monster, we were supposed to get married! You killed my love! You murderer!” Satoko wails, pulling roughly at her hair.

Nezuko steps in front of Tanjiro and gets him to sit down. Satoko is unstable right now, Nezuko needs to make sure she’s ready and on guard for if the demoness suddenly attacks.

“Aren’t you just as bad? You’ve killed so many kids-”

“I don’t care! I don’t care! Shut the hell up!” 

Satoko is hysterical, Nezuko doesn’t know how much information she’ll be able to get out of her…but she has to try.

“Fine then. What do you know about Ubuyashiki?”

Satoko snaps her head to Nezuko, conflicting emotions on her face, The demon looks both scared and adoringly loyal. 

“What do you need to know about the demon-kind’s leader? I’m not telling you anything! I’m loyal to my leader, besides what do I have to say to the person who murdered my fiance.” Satoko looks at Nezuko bitterly. “Just kill me. I want to be reunited with my Kazumi. I have no life without him…”

“You and your fiance are horrible creatures for killing and eating all of those kids.” The pink-eyed girl sighs as she unsheathes her sword. “However, I can tell you two really did love each other. I hope you repent in the next life and are able to have your dream wedding.”

Nezuko easily glides her sword across the demon’s neck, Satoko turns to ash pretty quickly. All the stolen jewelry she was wearing clank onto the ground, including Enyo’s jade ring. The demon slayer gathers them all up and turns around and sees Tanjiro sitting and resting on the wall. He was nodding off and the place where he had been punched at on the face was no longer swollen, only bruised. He’s slowly healing.

She takes off the wood carrier and points to it. “Tanjiro, crawl into here and rest. Go to sleep so that you can gain energy.”

The demon boy hum softly around the muzzle and slowly crawls in as he shrinks, darkness surrounding him once the box is closed. Nezuko sighs softly and puts the carrier back on her back then goes over the siblings they were protecting. She worriedly looks at them.

“Are you guys alright?”

Tokie looks up at her and immediately grits her teeth. “Alright? Alright!? How in the world could we be alright!? We lost Enyo! We almost lost Kaito!”

Nezuko looks sadly at the young teen girl in front of her. 

“I know it hurts. I know it’s hard. But you have to keep going, no matter how difficult it is. You have to push through.”

Tokie immediately feels anger overtake her. She grabs onto Nezuko’s uniform.

“What would you know! You’re barely older than me! How could you possibly know what it’s like!? I bet-!”

“Tokie…” Enkai, who had been quiet the whole time, finally speaks up. “Enough. You have no idea what she might have been through.”

“What do you mean!? She-”

Tokie quiets down when she feels Nezuko’s callused hand gently hold her wrist. This girl’s hand was so rough. Then the young teen looks at the demon slayer’s face. Then she sees it. That sad, melancholy look was in her kind pink eyes. Tokie sees now. Nezuko went through something similar. Tokie begins to cry.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, miss!”

Nezuko softly smiles as she brings out the various jewelry she had picked up. “Your brother’s ring is here. There is a lot of jewelry here, try to return it to the families of the victims, okay?”

Enkai hugs Kaito close to his body and nods. “Yes, we will. Take care of yourself okay?”

Nezuko smiles and nods, beginning to walk down the path as the sun begins to rise. She waves to the siblings as she walks. 

As the sun completely rises, Nezuko clenches her jaw as the veins on her forehead bulge from anger.

Ubuyashiki, I will never forgive you. You and your followers have caused despair to many families. You will not be forgiven, not in my eyes, and not in the eyes of the divine.

The pink-eyed girl is brought out of her thoughts when her crow lands on her shoulder.

“Time for your next mission. Asakusa, Tokyo. There are reports of a demon being active there.” The bird says with her sweet voice.

“Wha…already!?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t get any kind of break?”

“No.”

“Dang…”

~☆~

How can a place be so bright at night!? Nezuko looks around as she tries to walk through the masses of people. The vehicles were a whole different number, she had only ever heard of them. She tugs Tanjiro’s hand, but notices he isn’t really moving. She turns and looks at him and immediately feels bad. Her little brother looks so disoriented and overwhelmed!

She had brought him out of the box because he was awake and she thought he might like to see the new sights, but this may be too much for him, especially his hypersensitive nose.

“Sorry Tanjiro. How about we go find a quiet corner?”

The Kamado siblings rush about the city trying to find a quiet corner, after searching for a little while (and running into couples making out in the alleyways), they find an udon stand on the outskirts of the city. It was nice and quiet, as well as peaceful. Nezuko sighs as she goes up to the stand owner and gets two bowls. She gets one with toppings, and she gets one that’s completely plain. Perhaps it won’t be too rough on her demon brother’s stomach.

The two sit down on a bench and sigh. Tanjiro lets his muzzle hang from his neck and sips the broth. It’s nice and mild, yet still tastes good. He lets out a content hum. Nezuko giggles and smiles before slurping on her own noodles.

It was quiet. It was peaceful.

Tanjiro suddenly stands up, his face pale and frightened as he drops his bowl and lets it shatter to the ground. He sniffs the air as though trying to verify if what he smelled and felt just a few seconds earlier was correct. He slowly turns, then sprints off into the city. Nezuko exclaims in surprise, why did he run suddenly. She runs after him. It only took her a few seconds to figure out what Tanjjiro was looking for. The intense feeling of doom and uneasiness washes over her. The same feeling as that morning, at her family home…

Ubuyashiki .

Tanjiro rushes through the crowd, gently moving people out of the way. This scent. He knew it. It was the same scent as the demon who…attacked him and his family. He runs and runs and runs, then he sees it. The familiar white long hair and expensive women’s kimono. Before he knew it, his hand shoots out and grasps the woman’s shoulder. The woman stops, then looks over her shoulder. She had these soulless large purple eyes that just stare into your soul. They both seem startled to actually see each other, though for different reasons. Tanjiro, on reflex, goes to claw at her face when suddenly-

“Mommy? Who’s that?”

A…A child’s voice? The white haired woman fully turns and in her arms are two girls, obviously siblings. They look like the white haired woman. Soon another voice chimes in.

“Amane, dear? What’s wrong?”

A man’s voice. Tanjiro looks past the woman, Amane apparently, and sees a man with straight black hair that reaches almost to his shoulders. He has purple markings on the right side of his face, that eye obviously blind. Three kids surround him as well, one of them a black haired boy. 

That’s not the problem though…the major problem is…they’re all demons. All of them. Tanjiro can smell it, he knows they’re demons like him. What’s confusing is the fact that Amane is the only one with true hostility. She looks like she’s straining to hold back anger. Her gaze is staring intensely at Tanjiro’s Hanafuda earrings. The black haired man looks at where Amane is looking, his eyes widen, then a very worried look overtakes his features.

“Children, worry not. This boy is simply confused.” Amane finally speaks up, putting her two daughters down. The woman then swipes at a person’s neck with such speed that Tanjiro almost didn’t see it. The demon boy gasps as he sees that the woman who had been swiped at the neck was already going through the process of turning, her husband asking what’s wrong. Tanjiro looks back at the demon family who is quickly fleeing the scene, he could smell the scent of worry and even guilt(?) coming from the black haired man, the children smelled innocently confused, and the woman, Amane, smelled angry . 

The demon boy couldn’t focus on that anymore because a scream rang out. The woman, now a demon, was biting deep into his shoulder!

Yet…all that Tanjiro could focus on was the lingering, strong scent of anger and hatred coming from the white haired demoness.

He was frozen in fear, it was just like back at the house…back when he couldn’t protect his family.

The scent of evil.

The scent of rot and blood.

The scent that follows Amane Ubuyashiki.

Chapter Text

Nezuko runs through the crowd of people, searching for Tanjiro. She follows where she last saw Tanjiro run, gently nudging people out of the way, not bothering to mind their bothered and annoyed expressions. The girl desperately tries to find her brother, especially after sensing that Ubuyashiki is definitely in the area. 

Where is he? I need to find him! What if Ubuyashiki hurts Tanjiro?

The pink-eyed girl’s breath hitches as she hears a pained scream cut through the crowd, the injured person is nearby. She gasps as she finally finds a break in the crowd, there she sees three important scenes. Tanjiro frozen in shock and fear, a man screaming as a woman bites his shoulder, and a demon family trying to flee the scene. Nezuko can link the extreme feeling of doom to the long, white-haired demon, this is the demon that was at their home…Nezuko turns to Tanjiro, he is just standing in the same place, his face full of fear and shock. The pink-eyed girl turns to the demon family, she can’t help her facial expression of anger and hate towards Amane. The demoness looks at Nezuko with contempt before trying to push through the crowd with her family.

Nezuko wants to chase after the demon family, but the sound of growling and a scream brings her back to reality, she turns to the demon woman biting the man’s shoulder. She rushes over to them while yelling at Tanjiro to get his attention.

“Tanjiro! Get the woman off of this man, hurry!”

Tanjiro finally snaps out of his frozen stupor and grabs onto the woman, forcibly opening her mouth to remove her from the man with as little damage as possible. The demon boy gets a fresh scent of blood rushing his senses now that he isn’t frozen on the spot. He drools behind his muzzle, breathing heavily as he tries to think of anything else while he pulls the injured man to the crowd.

“Someone put pressure on his wound to stop the bleeding!” Nezuko orders as she pins down the newly turned demoness. As the man is tended to, Nezuko grunts as she struggles to keep the woman pinned to the ground, hearing the woman snap and gnash her sharp, strong teeth. 

The injured man worriedly yells at his wife. “Honey! What’s wrong!? What’s happening!?”

“Please sir, worry about your wound! Make sure pressure is applied firmly by those helping you!” Nezuko says as she grabs the woman’s wrists and pins them down to the ground, hearing snarling and growling in her ear. The pink-eyed girl looks back down at the woman, a tense expression on the teen’s face.

“Don’t worry ma’am. Things will be okay. I’ll get you some help.” The young demon slayer softly whispers to the woman under her.

This woman hasn’t killed anyone yet…if I can somehow get her help, things can turn out okay. Damn it, how did this happen…she can’t have been a demon until just now... 

Amane Ubuyashiki. 

This is her fault. That… monster is ruining people’s lives. To hell with her!

Nezuko gasps as she sits up a bit, feeling that sense of doom starting to feel like it’s getting further away. She sees long, white hair flowing as the demoness and her family leave. Damn coward! Nezuko grits her teeth as she looks down at the growling woman pinned under her. 

Ubuyashiki is right there! Right in her grasp! Right in her line of sight, that damn demon is only a few feet away. She could quickly run up to her and cut her head off. 

But…

Nezuko could only watch as Amane’s figure got further and further away. 

She can’t chase after Amane, it isn’t right. 

She needs to deal with the situation at hand, which is the woman currently under her. Nezuko can’t be selfish.

“Amane Ubuyashiki! You may be able to run away now, but know this! No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, I will find you! Whether it be the ends of the earth or straight into hell, I’ll find you. My blade will slice through your neck, for I will be your executioner!” 

Nezuko’s passion flows from her lips as she lets her words be the one to carry her message.

Nezuko Kamado will be the one to kill Amane Ubuyashiki.

The pink-eyed girl tries to focus on keeping the woman still but the chaos is amplified when the police come running to the scene. 

“What’s going on?!”

“Another drunk?”

“Doesn’t matter. Get away from that woman, kid!”

Nezuko holds onto the woman tighter when the policemen try to pull her off of the woman.

“I can’t! Let me go! I’m the only person who can hold this woman down! Get restraints! Something!”

In the crowd of people two of them, A man and a child, clue into the conversation between the pink-eyed girl and the officers. The girl and the officers argue and struggle a bit, but then something the girl says makes the man softly gasp.

“Stop it! I’m trying to keep this person from hurting anyone!”

A person…

Person.

One of the officers raises their baton, “I’m going to have to use force if you won’t cooperate, little girl!”

Nezuko hunches down as she holds onto the woman under her, bracing for a baton hit. Then she hears something odd. Even through the sound of people panicking and officers yelling, she hears it.

The sound of bells…like bells in temari balls…?  

The pink-eyed girl slightly coughs when a bunch of dirt from the ground is kicked up and spreads through the area like a mini dust storm. She squints her eyes as she looks up and watches as the officers let out surprised noises and are unnaturally shifted away from her and the demon under her. Nezuko feels goosebumps rise up over her skin as a cold sweat washes over her…her intuition was tugging at her, telling her that demons were in the area, other than the Ubuyashikis.

“What the hell? Why did I move?!”

“Where is all this dust and dirt coming from?”

“Do you hear those bells?”

The teen girl hears the officers' confusion, sharing their sentiments.

Is this one of those Blood Demon Art things? A spell?

She whips her head up when she hears the sound of two sets of feet walking towards her…It was a man and a young girl…no, they were demons too. What the hell?

“You still call this woman a person. Even now that she’s a demon?” The man asks. Nezuko looks at his palms briefly and sees eyes on them before those eyes close and the eyes on his face open.

Nezuko swallows a bit thickly as she still keeps a firm grasp on the woman under her. “Yes…she is a person, she hasn’t eaten or killed anyone yet.”

“I guess that’s true, but you seem to have a soft spot for demons, huh? I mean you are traveling with a demon.” The little girl demon says with a giggle as she nods her head towards Tanjiro, holding a temari ball in her hands.

“That’s-!” Nezuko sighs and looks at them with suspicion in her eyes. “Well, you two are demons too.”

The male demon softly lets out a huff of a chuckle. 

“Yes, we indeed are. But I am also a doctor, I can help both people and demons. You also aren’t the only one with a problem with Ubuyashiki.”

~☆~

Amane and Kagaya stand by a car with their five kids, they slowly put their kids into the car, letting the little ones get settled.

“We can’t come with you guys?” Kanata pouts as she looks at her parents.

Amane softly chuckles. “No, not this time. Mommy and Daddy have some business to do that will just be boring for you little ones.”

“Fineeee.” All five kids sigh in an overdramatic fashion.

“Now, now. No more pouting. Behave alright?” Kagaya says with a soft smile, making the kids settle down and giggle. Kagaya then looks at the demoness that is sitting next to the driver. “Do keep a good watch over them, though I have no doubt that you will.”

The demon woman with long colorful hair put into three braids smiles and nods. “But of course, Master!”

That demoness then instructs the driver where to go. As the car leaves, the demon children wave to their parents.

Once the car was gone, the demonic couple makes their way towards an alleyway. Amane was visibly pissed though.

“I can’t believe those brats are still around, that damn demon with those earrings !” the white-haired woman clenches her teeth, veins throbbing in her neck.

Kagaya gently wraps an arm around her waist. “Amane, honey. While it is worrying, that demon is but a child. We’ll just keep a close eye on him and his sister.” The man kisses his wife’s temple softly.

Amane softly sighs and closes her eyes before nodding. “Yes…Yes, you’re right.”

As they walk down the path, three people start coming the opposite way, two men and a woman. They were very visibly drunk with flushed faces and unbalanced gaits. The shorter man was rambling about something or another when he bumps into Kagaya. She clenches her jaw in annoyance but since her husband didn’t kick up a fuss, she stays calm.

“Oh my, what’s a couple doin’ in the alleyway like this?~” The short man slurs, giggling drunkenly. “Tryna get busy I bet!”

Amane turns her head to look at them about to lash out when she hears her husband’s calming voice in her ear. “Calm down, dear. It’s alright.”

The taller man looks at Kagaya and raises a brow. “He’s got a fucked up face though. Who would want to get in the mood with a man like that?”

The drunken trio cackle loudly, obnoxiously. The white-haired demoness lowly growls and slowly raises a hand, but just before she does anything Kagaya softly holds her hand. He was able to say something when the drunk woman of the trio speaks first.

“Guys, his face may not be all that…but I bet he can satisfy her in other ways!” The drunk woman cackles.

The white-haired demoness doesn’t know whether to laugh or kill them, a vein throbbing in her forehead. She was honestly stunned. She can hear her husband mutter a quiet “oh my” under his breath.

“That’s so true! Hell yeah man! Have a wild night!” The shorter man cheers the couple on as the trio leaves out of the alley.

Once they were gone, Kagaya turns to his wife with a smile. “I think that was quite humorous. Besides…were what they said at the end necessarily wrong?”

“...” Amane’s eye twitches, but she is noticeably calming down, she also finally registers what he just said.

“Kagaya!” She gasps, looking at him with surprise. “You look innocent, yet some of the things you say…”

The black-haired demon softly chuckles. “I’ve said nothing.”

A soft huff leaves Amane as she shakes her head and snaps her fingers and two demons appear, fox masks on their faces.

“I’m feeling generous right now. There is a demon that wears Hanafuda earrings, he travels with his sister, bring me both of their heads and I will give you more of my blood…and you’ll be able to see your dear friend again.” Amane says, smiling at the demons kneeling in front of her.

“Yes, Mistress!”

As quickly as they came, the demons left.

“Amane…”

“It’s better to get rid of the problem now, my dear. Those earrings and the people who wear them are nothing but trouble. I cannot bear to think of potentially losing you again.”

Kagaya shivers in unease, remembering all those years ago. That day he was trembling on the ground as a swordsman stares down at him from above, long black hair that fades to cyan ends, his cyan eyes looking down at the demon with slight pity, his Hanafuda earrings moving with the breeze. Kagaya touches the purple markings on his face, his hand trembling. 

“I…I suppose you’re right…”

~☆~

“Now you two listen here! I can’t believe you both wasted two perfectly good bowls of udon! I can’t believe it! I worked hard on that udon and you didn’t even enjoy it!” The udon cart worker yells at the Kamado siblings, the teens looking like scolded kids. Nezuko and Tanjiro had just meant to go back to grab the wooden box and pay the cart owner, but he was a lot more mad than they thought he’d be.

Nezuko speaks up though. “We’re very sorry sir! We would like two bowls of udon again, made just like earlier! We’ll eat it this time!”

Tanjiro nods enthusiastically in agreement.

The udon cart worker stares at them hard for a moment, his short green hair looking a bit wild before he huffs and smoothes down his hair. “Fine, but you better eat it this time.”

He quickly works to make the two bowls of udon and gives it to the siblings. Tanjiro inwardly prays that the food would be mellow enough for his stomach. And then the siblings quickly slurp down their noodles in record time, impressing the udon cart owner.

“Thank you so much for the delicious meal, sir! It was delicious!”

Nezuko exclaims in contentment, Tanjiro nods, the demon boy sighs in contentment too as he puts his bamboo muzzle back on.

“Great! Come back again!”

The Kamado siblings wave to the man as they walk away from the cart. 

Nezuko sighs as she walks next to her brother. “This has been such a tiring night already, and it’s not even over yet…”

“Mm…” Tanjiro agrees, looking a bit sluggish himself before he suddenly stops and stares firmly ahead. Nezuko looks to at where Tanjiro was looking and there was that little girl demon, giggling.

“Hii! I’m here to bring you two back!” She happily says.

Nezuko raises a brow. “Oh, I mean, I’m pretty sure Tanjiro could’ve sniffed out your hiding spot.”

“Nuh-uh! The hideout has a concealment spell, hehe! No one could find it but me and the doc.”

The little girl then skips off in the direction of the hideout, the Kamado siblings looking at each other and silently agreeing that the girl is odd.

“That demon boy looks so silly with that muzzle on! And those flame markings are sooo obnoxious on his big forehead.” The girl giggles, materializing a temari ball. 

Tanjiro doesn’t seem too bothered by what she said, but Nezuko gets offended for him.

“Excuse me! What was the point in saying something so rude!? Tanjiro still looks handsome!”

The girl proceeds to ignore Nezuko’s endless ranting as she just walks towards the hideout, getting to the edge of the woods. She tosses her ball at a specific tree and that activates the hidden spell paper with blood markings on it. The marking lights up momentarily before fading again. The little demon then passes through the threshold, but on the outside it makes it look like she just disappeared.

“-And Tanjiro’s forehead is a normal size-!?” 

Both Tanjiro and Nezuko look around when they don’t see the little girl, then the girl peaks her head through the threshold.

“Hurry up and pass through!”

She then tugs the siblings in, and there they see a nice two-story house.

“What the…”

The pink-eyed girl can’t believe there is such a nice house here just hidden away like that! They get to the front door and the little demon stops them.

"Wipe your shoes on the mat," the girl whines, lazily wiping her shoes before entering the house. "Yahaba hates dirt or uncleanliness... he's so dramatic about it too." The Kamados do the same before entering.

There Yahaba was, sitting on a chair in front of the bed where that woman’s husband lay, his shoulder bandaged up.

The teenage demon slayer looks at the man worriedly. “Will he be okay?”

Yahaba nods. “Yes, he’s fine, but his wife is locked up right now, she’s too feral at the moment to have much freedom.”

Nezuko looks at Yahaba for a little bit before speaking up. “Isn't it hard,” She asks, “I mean treating bloody wounds like that?”

“Of course not! Yahaba wouldn’t be a doctor otherwise, dummy!” The little demon girl huffs.

“Susamaru. No need to insult anyone, she was simply being curious.” Yahaba gently explains to Susamaru. The little girl pouts a little, crossing her arms.

Yahaba then turns to Nezuko and Tanjiro. “Apologies, I never properly introduced myself. I’m Yahaba, and the petulant little girl is Susamaru. Please excuse her impulsive words, she was turned young.”

“Ah, no worries! I’m Nezuko Kamado and this is my little brother, Tanjiro.” Nezuko says with a smile.

“Anyways, Ms. Kamado. To answer your question, it isn’t really that hard for me. I have experimented with my body so my physiological state is different from most demons. I also no longer have the Ubuyashiki curse.” Yahaba explains, softly chuckling at the look of confusion on the Kamado siblings’ faces.

The short-haired man removes his white kimono cover and sets it to the side and opens the door to another room. “Before you come inside, please wipe off your clothes and take off your shoes. I can’t stand dirt getting tracked around.”

They all nod and do as he asks, however, as soon as Tanjiro enters the room he lays on the floor.

“Tanjiro! That’s rude, don’t do that!” Nezuko exclaims as she tries to lift Tanjiro into a proper sitting position.

Yahaba slightly cringes, but chuckles nonetheless. “It’s alright, he was turned young too, wasn’t he?” 

Nezuko softly smiles, a melancholy note to it, and nods, “Yes…he was.”

“Well, as I said earlier, there are considerable changes to my body and Susamaru’s, we don’t need as much blood to survive, it may still seem gross and unnatural for you, but I promise I get the blood ethically. I buy it from those who are impoverished, and never too much.” The short-haired demon explains, watching as Nezuko's facial expression relaxes.

So that’s why my intuition wasn’t set off by their presence…but if they still need blood…what about Tanjiro? There’s no way mild human food actually gives him any energy or nutrients…?

“Susamaru needs even less than me, I was the one who turned her.”

…

HUH!?

“What!? You turned her!? But I thought only Ubuyashiki could! How did you do that!?” Nezuko exclaims, looking completely shocked.

Yahaba chuckles. “Mhm, what you said is basically true. I mean, it took me 200 years to even be able to achieve such a feat, and Susamaru is the only person I’ve been able to do such a thing.”

Nezuko’s jaw drops as she absorbs this information. 200 years…200!?

“2…200 years…!? 200 years!? How old are you, Mr. Yahaba!?”

Tanjiro stops lazily rolling around on the floor and looks at Nezuko like she’s lost her mind! Where was her decorum!?

Susamaru on the other hand bursts out laughing, clutching her stomach and doubling over.

“Haha! She called you ancient! You’re old!”

“Keep laughing Susamaru and you’ll be deep cleaning this entire house for three days straight.”

The laughter immediately ceases and Susamaru gets a serious look on her face. “I would never laugh.”

Yahaba shakes his head and turns back to Nezuko. “Ah, let me clarify my statement. I’m not looking to create a lot of demons like Ubuyashiki. I only ever offer this option when I’m faced with someone with fatal injuries or a terminal illness, and even then, I make absolutely sure they want to be turned into a demon and know the consequences of that.”

Nezuko’s intuition is telling her that he isn’t lying, so she trusts Yahaba.

“Then…Mr. Yahaba, is there a way to turn a demon back into a human?”

~☆~

The footsteps echo in the alleyway as two demons walk down the path, the shorter demon pulls her fox mask over her eyes, her sense of sight even sharper now, she looks down at the ground and can see the remnant aura of footsteps, multiple pairs. She softly smiles as she pulls her mask up slightly.

“There are three sets of footrails, I think one carries a box. There is definitely a demon too. Two of them.”

“Mhm.”

“I think they’ll be a great challenge. Once we’re done here..we’ll be able to see him again. The Queen Mother never goes back on her word.”

The taller demon softly huffs, but the shorter demon can tell he’s smiling under the mask.

~☆~

“There is-”

“Really!? How!? You have to tell me-!”

Susamaru lightly throws a temari ball at Nezuko's head, making the pink-eyed girl yelp and touch the spot that was hit. Tanjiro furrows his brows and lightly huffs at the demon girl.

“Can’t you wait, dummy?” 

“ Susamaru . We do not hit people.” Yahaba scolds the little demon girl.

Susamaru pouts and crosses her arms. “I didn’t hit her hard…”

Yahaba sighs and rubs a hand down his face.

Forget sunlight, Susamaru will be the one to send me to the afterlife.

“ Anyways , as I was saying, there is a cure that I am working on. I do not believe that it is impossible for a demon to turn back into a human. I feel it in my soul, there has to be a way to turn a demon back into a human. I’ve dedicated myself to finding a way, a cure because the life of a demon is sad, lonely, and painful. Especially when you partially or completely lose your sense of self…”

Nezuko can see it. She can see the pain in Yahaba's eyes as he speaks. The teen feels a pang in her heart.

Yahaba must’ve lost a lot…

The demon doctor sighs and looks at the Kamado siblings. “I need your help to do this. In order to even get a good basis for this cure I need samples, blood samples. I would like a sample from Tanjiro as well as from other demons, especially ones more related to Ubuyashiki.”

Yahaba gets a good look at the demon boy laying on the floor, kicking his feet in the air.

“Your brother’s condition is very unique, being able to sleep for such a long time and not consume humans or any type of blood…why, it’s unheard of. Other demons would have gone into a rage. His condition could be a significant factor in how to turn a demon back into a human.” The demon then furrows his brows. “However, my second request of getting blood samples won’t be easy. Demons that are more related to Ubuyashiki are much stronger and their powers are quite similar to the leader of all demons. I know this is a tall order coming from me, a demon you just met, but I really hope we can work together.”

Nezuko gets a pensive look on her face, the teen gently strokes Tanjiro’s cheek with a bent pointer finger. Her brother gently nuzzles against her touch.

“If…If this is the only way, then I will. Plus, it won’t just be Tanjiro receiving help, it can save so many others, right?” The pink-eyed girl says with a smile.

Yahaba’s eyes widen in shock for a moment before a gentle smile spreads across his lips too.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh yeah!” Nezuko suddenly speaks up. “Is it normal for a demon to eat human food?”

Both Susamaru and Yahaba look at her strangely. “What?”

…

…

???

The demons were too stunned to speak.

This bizarre question goes unanswered when, suddenly, Susamaru and Nezuko jerk up, feeling danger looming.

“Yahaba-!”

The demon girl is cut off when the older demon man wraps his arms around her and shields her, Nezuko does the same with Tanjiro. Only a moment later, the sweet scent of a flower floods into the room when a large lotus flower with water droplets delicately holding onto its petals and roots comes crashing through the wall of the building. Behind the lotus flower is a short demoness and a demon with peach-colored hair, both wearing fox masks.

The short demoness softly smiles and giggles.

“I hope you all don’t mind being our ticket to seeing an old friend of ours.”