Chapter Text
The deer carcass was nothing but bone now since his siblings finished their meal while he was crafting their muzzles. If the situation was like it was now, he would probably be saving the bone for a broth in the future. But there was no need for something like that since his family would be craving more blood than anything else. He had to drag it into the shadowed part of their home when the sun started to come up.
Tanjiro’s fingers hurt after making five new bamboo muzzles for the rest of his family that matched Nezuko’s. But he felt better once his mother had pushed a bowl of her famous soup in his hands that she took off a shelf for him. It was cold like it was waiting for him for hours and made him tear up at the first swallow at the familiar taste.
The warmth of his mother’s bloodied sleeve against his cheek was more comforting than he realized after everything that happened.
Luckily, with Nezuko’s example, everyone fit the muzzles over their faces except Rokuta who needed Nezuko to fix it for him. Somehow Rokuta was more... open to nibbling on his skin than his other siblings. Hopefully they can get that under control, so Rokuta doesn’t bite into an actual human.
“Thank you. Whoever is listening up there, thank you,” Tanjiro mumbled a prayer while he watched his demonic family hiding in the shadows of their home. Shigeru was tangled in Takeo’s limbs as Hanako was attached to his back. Nezuko had Rokuta in her lap, holding him back from joining the siblings dogpile before them. All while his mother watched all of them with a serene look in her purple snake-like eyes.
Hah, he needed to get moving. He had to get to the mountain that Giyuu told him about, but he couldn’t leave any of them behind. Goodness, he needed some sort of cart to transport them all there.
“I made money with the coal I sold yesterday and—ah! I dropped the box somewhere on the way up here. It should be a bit further down the path, so maybe I can use that...for something.” Tanjiro whispered as he tried to break down possibilities of what he could do.
The coal basket is not big enough for all of his family. Maybe he could weave together several baskets and then pay extra for a covered cart? That seemed possible. He heard somewhere along the tree branch yesterday that one of the aunties in town was selling an older cart because of a lopsided almost-broken wheel.
If he could make enough baskets, all of them would be safe from the sun and safe for travel. And even if he couldn’t get a cart, he could simply tie the baskets together and drag them... Although that option didn’t seem quite comfortable
“I vow that I will make sure everyone is back to normal.” Tanjiro promised, his voice catching the attention of his family who turned to watch him carefully. He pulled out one of their sharper knives they used for dealing with tougher meats. The glint of the metal reflected his determined expression. “Until then I will provide what all of you need wherever it might be.”
If he has to kill a few rabbits to keep his family satiated, so be it. As long as they didn’t harm any humans on the way. They couldn’t draw any demon slayer’s attention. From what Giyuu said, they wouldn’t hesitate with their sword if they saw him and his family.
They would not be merciful.
*
The day passed quicker than expected since he spent most of it making bamboo muzzles and then watching over his siblings as they hunted for a fresh new body the next night.
After their kill, he spent time emptying blood into canisters for the mountain trip. He would keep the last, older one for himself to fill with water from the stream nearby.
As soon as the morning rose, he escaped into town to collect the materials he needed with money in his pockets. He washed the deer bones he had no idea what to do with the intent on trying to trade or sell them.
And with a combination of asking politely, bargaining, and placing money in their hands despite some protests, he got exactly what he needed.
A rickety cart that squeaked with each turn of the wheel and enough material to weave several large baskets. Hopefully it will be able to fit everybody. If not, there was a holy tarp that was thrown in with the cart that was big enough to cover the large space.
It was just past midday when he returned with his findings. He got to work braiding material together to form into large baskets. He kept an eye on Takeo who was watching him steadily while Nezuko steadily distracted Rokuta.
Once he set the basket down, Takeo hopped into it like a game of hide and seek. He choked on a laugh as he saw his little brother’s pinkish orange eyes peering out from the lip of the basket opening.
Takeo grunted as Tanjiro started on a new basket.
Tanjiro grumbled as he noticed how much material he had to work with to wove baskets. He thought he would be able to make much more with how much he got. But it looks like he was more limited than he thought.
“Takeo, you might have to share with someone else if you can. I don’t have enough for six baskets,” Tanjiro said to his little brother who looked like they understood because of the snort he got in response. He patted his brother’s head who ducked into the basket further. He focused his attention back on his hands as he steadily worked with the long leaves.
He pursed his lips as he surveyed his ongoing work and back to the material he got. Tanjiro replied. “I can probably squeeze out three at minimum, possibly four at most depending if I can find material here to use too.”
It took a while to finish the second basket, but it seemed big enough to fit Hanako and Shigeru. But he needed to rest his fingers from the basket weaving he has been doing for hours now.
“Everyone stay here,” Tanjiro said to his family. His mother’s eyes trailed after him as he made his way to the door. He waved at them as Takeo popped his head out of the basket to watch him go. “I’ll go see about getting some food for you and checking on the cart.”
He closed the door behind him and turned his attention to the old cart. It was nothing special. It was a simple wooden cart with two long wooden handles meant for a man to drag through a field. It wasn’t anything like the carriages or carts that needed animals to pull it.
He hurriedly fixed a few bits of the cart like using the broken pieces of the door from the attack to patch some parts of the cart. He tried his best to fix the rickety wheel. But it was pretty limited with the things he had back at the house.
After the cart was in better condition, he was tired but he traveled deeper into the woods surrounding his home to find some fresh animals for his family to feast on.
It took some time to find enough small animals and decent sized fish to satisfy his family’s hunger. Strangely, Nezuko refrained from it, instead she watched the others eat and even broke pieces down for Rokuta.
Tanjiro didn't notice his own stomach rumbling as he tried to throw together some rice for himself when Hanako’s small hands appeared in his vision with haphazardly sliced fish held between her bloody clawed fingers.
Tanjiro smiled. “Thank you, Hanako.”
The pieces of fish and rice were satisfactory enough for his stomach as the sun started to set. After his stomach settled, he went back to work on making another basket with what he had leftover. He was right that he could only make three baskets, the pieces he had leftover could make a bowl, but not a full basket.
It was deep into the night when he finished the last one. Yet as soon as his fingers had nothing to do, he collapsed onto the floor in a tired heap and slept through the night. Once he woke up, he saw all his family cuddled around him.
Tanjiro smiled as he set the plan in motion.
It really helped that his family could shrink down since the baskets couldn’t hold his mother or Nezuko. So when they shrunk down, it was even easier to lift them onto the cart.
Once all baskets were on the cart, he covered them all with a blanket to hide them from the rising sun peeking out from the tree branches. “Rest now. I’ll take care of it, count on me.”
The response he got was a rhythm of knocks against the baskets, making him smile once again. He almost felt tears come up again when he brushed them away as fast as he could.
Tanjiro gently guided his family down the mountain as slowly as he could so the cart wouldn’t start rolling down without his control.
He passed by old man Saburo’s house who looked surprised to see him with a cart. Saburo called out to him as he was passing. “Tanjiro, where are you going?”
“The house was too close to a demon attack that you warned me about,” Tanjiro replies. He casted a glance over his shoulder back to his old home. He packed meaningful memories away under the floorboards to keep them safe while they were away. He brought only a few pieces with him to travel as light as he could.
Although he had to bring toys for his siblings. That was a must especially for Rokuta. Even though they were demons, they would get bored inside the baskets for sure. “I’m finding a new place out there for everyone to be safer.”
Saburo shook his head with a heavy sigh, “With those demons out there, you might never find a safe place.”
Tanjiro hardened his gaze. “I still have to try. I want what’s best for them.”
“Well then, I wish you luck on your journey. Actually...”
Saburo started to mumble under his breath before holding up a hand to him and instructing him to not move. Stunned, Tanjiro listened as the older man went inside his house. He waited several minutes before the man came out once again with a filled burlap sack and a rusty knife.
Saburo placed the two items in his arms, taking in his expression. “Take this for the road just in case along with some rations. You will need it no matter how short your journey might be.”
Tanjiro brightened up at the old man’s grin. “Thank you again for your help. I must—“
“No. No. You must get on with your journey before the night starts to creep in before you get settled somewhere safe,” Saburo started pushing him away before he could dig into his bag for money to repay him.
Tanjiro pouted as he was pushed away from his house and frowned when the old man escaped into his house before he could give him any amount of coins.
Sighing, he let it go for now... not without flipping at least two smaller coins into the bucket outside his door he used to collect rainwater.
With a smile, he started back on his trek through town when he kept getting stopped by the locals who recognized him and were curious about the new cart he was pulling.
“Where are you going, young Kamado? I thought you sold all the coal already.”
Tanjiro smiled, “I did, ma’am. I’m heading to a mountain away from here.”
“What about your family?” Another man chimed in.
“They will follow soon,” Tanjiro glanced behind him to his cart.
“Oh, will you come back?”
“As soon as we can.” Tanjiro promised with a smile, his hands tightening on the wooden handles of the cart. “Keep yourselves safe and warm.”
It took some time to get out of the town when all of the friendly locals kept somehow sneaking food rations and sweet snacks into his cart when he wasn’t looking. But Tanjiro was frustrated since no one wanted to take his coins!
“I don’t get it. Mom, I’m doing exactly what you taught me about repaying kindness. But they are waving it away all the time to the point I have to push it into their hands.”
They got away with it this time because there were too many people. Each time money was placed in a hand, it was placed into a bag and out right back on the cart between the baskets and new snacks. Once he saw it as soon as he was far away from town, he sighed yet he was reminded that he would have more than enough money for food for his travels. Possibly fresher meat or blood alone for his hungrier siblings.
“At least we are still all together, huh? This could be our first family vacation outside the town limits.”
Tanjiro started to speak with his family, so he didn’t feel as lonely with the silence in the air around him. Nothing beside the grass rustling and the cart wheels rolling behind him.
“Maybe Hanako and Shigeru can dip their feet in the waters around the mountain. And Takeo continued practicing with his wood carving skills. Rokuta can explore the new plants there and make new flower bouquets for you, mom.” Tanjiro tried to remain cheerful as his memories flashed between his family dead, alive and as demons.
They were cheerfully waiting for him to come back. Then their bloody, dead corpses staring at him with dread like they were waiting on him to save them. Then all of their inhuman eyes staring back at him with blood running down their chins.
“Nezuko—“ Tanjiro fought back against the wave of sadness threatening to slow down his stride. He bit his lip as he walked forward with his head held high. The baskets behind him remained silent except for one single knock.
He relaxed his posture as he continued addressing his family. “I will find a way to make all of you better. Then things can go back to normal on our little mountain. Our life of selling coal and not having to worry. And I can do dad’s fire god dance for the new year. Takeo, I could even start teaching you the moves soon.”
“We’ll be okay.”
Tanjiro will make sure of it. If he has to fight until he drops dead, he will if it means they got a chance to live.