Chapter Text
◽◤◦Third Person Pov ◦◢◽
Crimson liquid stains pure white snow, leaking out from various holes in the dead girl's once clean flesh. It pools under her, staining her pretty kimono in it's ugly color. The same ugly color that was also splattered along the wall up ahead.
As one treads closer, eerie, rough cracks grow louder and louder until they're able to be differentiated. A booming crackle there, a softer pop here, disturbing squelching there, and so on. Each noise echoed with some sounds traveling farther than others. They were heard by the same ears nonetheless..
A silhouette sits, hunched over. It's figure lit up in the dank yellow glow of the fire that roared freely from the once confining lantern—which has now been destroyed, allowing the fire to dance freely in the wind and slowly burn the delicate lantern to cinders in the snow..
As one gets closer, they'd be able to see under the silhouette and see the man laid there, bug-eyed and limp. The silhouette which sat on his legs and digged into his neck was the originator of such sickening sounds. Not that the silhouette could help themselves. T hey were hungry after all —r avenous if you will. Human bones aren't exactly the softest, especially the neck and shoulder bone. Kinda like crab legs, it took a lot of work to break them down between their teeth and get to the gooey, delectable center.
A soft patter is overshadowed by loud cracking of bones and loud gulping, but they were heard nonetheless. The silhouette pauses, parting from their dinner to look up — revealing in the process their green skin and golden eyes in the ripped open lantern's light.
A little aways from the monostrous boy stood a man with a sword in hand. The otherwise gentle cloud patterns tatted all over his top glowered threateningly in the moonlight just like his mask — not that seeing the latter in the sunlight would've made the boy leap for joy. Nothing was gentle about it. Like an angry demon, it was colored red and had aggressive, thick eyebrow hair and mustache to adorned it's mad expression.
He saw it clear as day. It made the demon boy want to crawl into a hole and hide away, but he'd never admit something so embarrassing, not even on his deathbed.
The demon boy charged at the man, his claws loudly clanking against the blade in a quick succession as he flipped around. The man had an iron defensive, one impenetrable no matter what angle the boy attacked from. And, in the end, the man's impassable swordsmanship backed him into a corner..
The poor demon held his bleeding wrist in his palm, panting out thick clouds of hot breath as he watched the man. His footsteps were slow. Each crunch of snow under his sandals was an underlying threat that would spike anyone's anxiety.
He was so scared. He had no choice but try and make a desperate escape — which he did attempt. With the blood dripping from his wrist painting a clear trail into the snow and his boots leaving large footprints in their wake, the boy ran as fast as his legs could carry him..
He stops and looks back. The man is gone, leaving the boy too bewildered to be relieved. A chill runs down his spine. He looks back. The man stands above him on the roof of the fence.
His heart skips. The air in his throat leaves him. The man disappers before his eyes and with the sharp slice of his blade echoeing his defeat, everything goes black..
The boy opens his eyes again and this time, instead of that mean-faced man, there's a kinder-faced boy fly down at him from above. His blue, cloud-patterned top flails gracefully in the wind and he had that same blue blade pulled back..
It was almost as if he was reliving the moment his former life ended and this new, tortuous one began. Like dying for a second time..
He blinks. That softer-faced boy was gone and replaced by that same heinous mask he grew to despise. That angry red masked that belonged to that terrifying man. He saw him clear as day in that moment and it struck him with so much fear that the only thought that didn't escape him in that moment was his name..
"Urokodaki?"
Slice! In an instead, the hand demon's head was rolling. It bumped against tree after tree until one finally killed his momentum, causing his head to still on it's side at just the right angle to watch his own body disintergrate.
"Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! My body's crumbling and disappearing!" His mind was racing and blankig at the same time. He began straining, pushing for something—anything to stop the fast dissipation of his body.
Nothing was working.
As he stared on, mind consumed with the distressing realization of his inevitable doom, Tanjiro walks into his line of sight. Those hideous patterns stared back he was covered in forcing their way into the hand demon's view as if they were mocking him and he was forced to watch that blue blade slide along the opening of the sheath before being put away..
"Damnit! To think that the face of a Demon Hunter would be the last thing I'll ever see.." He cursed loudly in his head, finding it pointless to say his words aloud. Or maybe he thought he couldn't because his brain was too scrambled by his defeat to realize that he can still talk despite his mouth having already turned into ash.
Tanjiro turned, staring at the hand demon with those kind eyes of his despite what he had just done to him. It felt like a slap in the face.
How did it come to this? The grotesque demon wondered only to draw blanks. He doesn't remember. He hasn't for a long time and in this moment, it horrifies him. Like being ejected out of a spaceship and forced to wonder that gravity-less abyss all alone until your oxygen tank depletes..
Surrounded by that terrifying, dark abyss, the hand demon — skin now pale and smooth instead of moldy-looking and veiny — crouches down, hand coming up to cup over his face that had begun to dampen with his flowing tears. He sniffled. His large body now withered away, leaving nothing but the soul of the old one — the soul of a scared little boy that had forgotten everything ages ago.
"I'm scared.. I hate this.. Big brother, where are you?" He called out, looking up and around only to see that same darkness. He ends up burying his face in his hands again, too afraid to look on at the shadows any longer.
"Big brother.. I want you to hold my hand like you always do! Please!"
"Why? Why on earth did I bite you to death, big brother?"
He looks up again. His mind confuddled just like his appearance, which has now morphed back into that ugly green and twisted veins with those beady yellow eyes. The same slender appearance he had before Urokodaki had walked him down and captured him.
He finds himself asking aloud to the void, "Wait..who's the 'brother' person? I can't..seem to remember.."
Tanjiro walks up to the twisting remains of the hand demon, stopping before the open palm outstretched and unbearably empty. That, accompanied by the thick, saddening scent of regret, fear, and sorrow, had his heart clenching and shooting this depressing feeling through his veins that quickly moved through his chest and made his face scrunch and his lips dip into a frown.
"Such a sad scent.." He brought his hands up and gripped onto the sides of the large, green hand. His battered fingers looking miniscule in comparison. A second passed, but the hand eventually curled into his gentle touch and relished the feeling of security it brought..
As the arm slowly began to turn black and break away, Tanjiro brought the hand up to his bloody forehead and started muttering, "God.. Please.."
"The next time this man is reborn, please make sure he doesn't turn into a demon.." As he whispered that prayer into the wind, the fingers that held onto him had become weightless and turned to ash. He watched as they slipped through his fingertips, disappearing into nothingness quickly afterwards.
He then looked up. A sudden fog had surfaced and in the midst of it, Sabito, Makomo, and multiple other kids appeared seemingly out of thin air—all of them adorning that familiar mask that likened them to their shared mentor..
"Sabito, Makomo..and everyone else that was killed.. I won. You can all rest easy now," Although he didn't say a word out loud, it seemed his words were heard perfectly clear. After those words passed through his head, he watched as Sabito stood up, turned, and jumped off the boulder he was comfortably sitting on, disappearing into the fog where Makomo and the rest followed suit..
"I guess now you'll all be going home. Even though you're just souls, you're going back to Mt. Sagiri..and back to Mr. Urokodaki, whom you love very much.."
As the fog fades away, Tanjiro looks up at the sky, which he has already grown less unnerved by having it watch over him the whole night.
"I wonder, if I had died too, would I have gone back there as well?"
◂◆▸
Rain falls from the dark sea of the sky, softening the dirt under Tanjiro's feet into slippery mud. He doesn't take much mind to it, having already grown used to it a few days back when the on and off showers first began.
Splat, splat, splat! Every step taken is loud and wet, producing this small splashing clap with each stride he took. He lifts his toes upwards, letting himself slip and slid against the mud and down the small hill into the opening of some twigs that blocked his path.
A demon, eyes wide and cracked out from hunger followed after him and was forced to stop by the ivy of roots and twigs, famine plaguing its mind and preventing it from thinking the intelligent thought of sliding under just like Tanjiro had done seconds ago.
Tanjiro swiftly slid back up and took his stance, relaxing when he saw its predicament. Fearlessly, he looked the starving beast in the eyes and said, "There's something I want to ask you!"
"Do you know of a way to turn someone who's been turned into a demon back into a human?" He made sure to speak loud and clear so that his voice could be heard over the pattering of the rain. He waited patiently, but all that proved to do was allow the demon time to push through the twigs. It ran at him—Slink! Tanjiro severed its head from its body in an instance.
"Please.. Someone.." Looking behind himself, Tanjiro saw that the demon had already crumbled into dust and vanished. Up ahead, demon after demon appeared. Their sight set on him and his delicious flesh and they soon began running at him..
"How can I turn Nezuko back into a human?"
◂◆▸
Exhaustion crept up Tanjiro's legs and arms, causing them to burn with every movement they made. His breath played a steady rhythm, but would occasionally have to start over the pattern after he would sucked in air too quickly or not quickly enough which would cause his lungs to tickle uncomfortably and his mouth to open wider to suck in as much air—and always too much air—as possible.
The rain from last night had made the blood from the gash over his scar spread and dry, making his face resemble that of a crime scene. Nevertheless, he kept a steady pace. Taking pauses here and there to survey the area for any demons before running again.
As he hit his limit, the world around him turned whimsical. His feet slowed to a stop, and as he hunched over to take a breath, the familiarly heavy, pleasant aroma of lilac and peonies blessed his nose. He took a moment to breathe, sweat rolling down his face and dripping down his chin and to the floor. Slowly, his lungs went from being painfully aflame to a more bearable—but still agoinizing singe and he finally straightened his posture and looked up.
And just like when he arrived, tall wisteria trees covered the sky and painted the ground violet. After a week of bloodshed and being surrounded by the smell of death at every corner, he had made it.
He had passed the Final Selection Process.
◂◆▸
"Y/n! Sumiko!" A loud cry alerted everyone standing in the clearing that was surrounded all around by wisteria trees—these ones in particular showing off their baby bird blues in the sunlight.
Everyone turned, those including the two who were called, at just the right time to watch Tanjiro run up to the two girls and throw himself towards them, nearly knocking them over when he crashed into them.
Both girls held shocked expression with the younger girl's eyes lightening up which softened her expression into one more relieved-looking. Y/n, however, had her brows raised and staring down at the injured boy hunched over her shoulder with saucers for eyes which made her look bewildered, as if she had just watched a god descend from heaven at random.
Nevertheless, both girls wrapped their arms around him as soon as he was in their arms.
"You guys made it!" He said into their shoulders. His own beginning to shake as he continued, his voice breaking apart like glass and allowing the cracks in each shard to be made visible, "I'm so glad..!"
Sumiko nodded along, drinking in each word her older brother spoke as she snuggled into his soiled kimono. Her own tears—that had been set free after being relieved from the thick shackles her anxiety had chained and caged her entire body in—disappearing into the blue fabric and dampening it gray.
"You..made it," Y/n whispered. Her expression stayed frozen in that same baffled look and not a tear was shed from her eyes. She whispered again, "You're..alive," but it was obvious nothing had sunk in. She couldn't believe it, or moreso, she was too scared to believe it. Fearing that if she did, the world would realize it's mistake and snatch him away..or even do something unexpectedly cruel like burn him under the sun's rays and force him to evaporate into ashes..
Nevertheless, she was overcome with relief and happy to see him, whether she knew she was or not.
By the time they parted from the group hug they shared, everyone had long since looked away, probably finding the touching reunion boring after so long of staring at it. Or maybe, they didn't find it appropriate to ogle at what would've otherwise been a private moment between the three of them.
Tanjiro took his time to look around at each of the survivors' faces, his own face—which was moist from his previously shed tears—had scrunched as an uneasy feeling slowly filled his body.
"So only seven of us survived in the end? There were at least twenty or thirty when we started.. And that guy..he didn't make it.." And that uneasiness in his gut immediately twisted into a heavy feeling of guilt shot through his veins and latched itself onto his heart, weighing the organ down. That guy he had risked his life saving..was gone. That beautiful soul had be mutilated and devoured in that forest, never to be seen again..
"I'm gonna die. I'ma goner.." A bleak, tremor from the person beside him was what pulled Tanjiro out of the depressing images and insults his mind had conjured up, and dragged him into something just as sad.
The man beside him, who's entire being was loud with its bright shades of yellow and orange, had a spooked look and a shambled appearance that described his experience in that forest as nothing short of hell on earth.
"It's no use.. Even if I survive now, I'm gonna die in the end. It's only a matter of time.."
"Welcome back!" The familiar layered chime from before had brought everyone's head perking to attention. The twins from earlier that week had returned to congratulate them it seemed. They walked from opposite ends, meeting in the middle and turning on the heels of their feet to face the survivors with those same eerie smiles on their faces.
"Congratulations," The white-haired twin said, but her tone didn't really match her words, sounding overall monotonous as did her twin, who spoke after her and said, "We're pleased to see that you're safe."
The boy behind Tanjiro, who seemed to be the scrawniest out of everyone there, spoke up. His voice lower, growly, but sounding more fragile than Tanjiro's with every other word he spoke being accompanied by a dip or crack. Kinda like a puppy trying to mimic it's older siblings' bark and growl.
"So? What now?" He asked, "Where's my katana?"
"First, we shall issue you all corps uniforms," The white haired girl said, "We will take your measurements and then engrave your ranks."
"There are ten ranks in all," Her black haired double said. They then took turns as they named off each rank from highest—Kinoe—to lowest—Mizunoto, starting with the white-haired girl and ending with the black-haired girl.
"Currently, you are all at the lowest rank," The black haired girl clarified.
"And our swords?" The thin boy barked. The white haired girl spoke then, her voice unchanging like her expression, which kept it's small smile.
"Today you will choose your ore for your swords, however, it will take ten to fifteen days to complete," She explained, which caused the boy to groan in response and grumble out, "Are you kidding me?"
"Now.." Trailing off her sentence, the white-haired girl claps her hands twice and immediately, a sour symphony of caws fill the sky, making everyone look up.
Flapping their black feathers in wind, large crows swoop down from the sky. They fly around in a frenzy for a moment—one terrorizes the brightly-dressed blonde in particular, causing him to duck and cry out—before finally settling on the shoulders or elbows of their self-chosen owners.
"We will now assign each of you your own Kasugai Crow," The white-haired girl finally finished. Allowing her sister to explain the rest, which she does.
"These Kasugai Crows are generally used for communication, but not always," She said.
"Crow?" The blonde questioned, staring at his supposed 'crow' that hung on his finger. It's large black wings and form seemingly replaced with a smaller strature and wings—which were stained a pretty brown like a birch tree.
Then, the realization struck him and he looked at the girls with a deadpanned, disbelieving look as he asked, "Isn't this a sparrow?"
In the end, the girls don't acknowledge his question. Not that they had the time to, because before they could even open their mouths, the scrawny boy from before roared out—which startled the blonde boy and his new sparrow friend.
"Don't give me that crap!" He yelled, shaking his arm roughly to force his new crow off. Everyone watches as the growling male stomps past Y/n and stomps forward, screaming, "Who the hell cares about some stupid crow?"
Once in front of the white-haired girl, he grabs her by her snowy hair—the force of his grabbing having completely pushed her head down—before roughly snatching her up to eye-level by the strands in his hand.
"I want my katana! Gimme one now!" He snarled, but it came off more like a shouting toddler begging for its toy after having it taken away..
Just then, callous fingertips wrap around the boy's wrist as black and white fills his vision, catching his attention. Despite their own injuries, Tanjiro and Sumiko had jumped to the little girl's aid—with Sumiko using herself as a barrier to block the boy from getting any closer and Tanjiro grabbing the boy by the arm.
"Take your hand off her!" Tanjiro demanded before adding, "Or else I'll break your arm!"
"Huh?" It seems the boy didn't find the warning all that threatening. He back off nor did his face contort into fear or even surprise. All that he did was turn his head to look at him and ask, "Who the hell are you?"
"Let's see you try it!" In the background, the once serene ambience of chirping birds and gentle breeze had been replaced by panicked yelps from the jumpy blonde boy. A stark contrast to the girl behind him who was unbothered by the situation, minding her business and staring at the crow on her arm..
Seeing that he had no other choice, Tanjiro began squeezing. Slowly, he applies pressure, digging his clipped nails into the black fabric of the boy's sleeves until—crack! The blonde behind them gasps out, seemingly the only one able to hear the sickening sound of bones slowly cracking apart. Y/n's stares on, arms crossed and brows dipped to form a wide v while the girl dressed down in pink finally seemed intruiged enough to glance over.
The girl in the very back had watched everything that had happened from when Tanjiro ran up and hugged his sisters to now. Nobody had paid her any mind despite her peculiar, nearly all white appearance that would remind one immediately of a white dove or mountain spirit.
Her long, slightly curled eyelashes fell, hiding her wisteria-flowers-for-eyes from the world. Her snowy brows towards each other as her glossed lips dipped, scrunching her pale skin. The look on her face was akin to one of a disappointed goddess that had just watched the humans she created kick over a trashcan and spill the trash all over the land she spent hours cultivating for them..
With a loud groan muffled behind clenched teeth, the boy stumbles back, his arm now broken like a cracked mirror and throbbing as if it had been crushed by a tree. He looks over at the perpetrator, face twitching from the sheer pain that he refused to show on his face. The culprit in question, Tanjiro, had already moved to stand beside his little sister, the both of their bodies standing in the way between the boy glaring daggers at him and the little girl who's expression was pretty neutral despite her bleeding lip staining her pink lipstick and her disheveled hair.
And then, her black-haired twin spoke, same smile on her face despite what she had witnessed and asked, "Are you finished chatting?"
The boy was the first to look over, visibly confused at her nonchalance as he watched the girl turn and pull off the purple blanket, revealing the chunks of ore underneath. She then moves aside, saying, "If so, then please select an ore."
"The steel for the sword that will annihilate demons and protect you will be of your choosing," She explained, which spurred the blonde to begin his pessimistic mumbling again.
"Well, not that I'm going to live very long to use it.."
One by one, the seven survivors lined up and crowded around the table. Each harboring their own expression varying from calm to confused to troubled.
"They're asking us to choose, but how are we supposed to pick one out? I've never seen an ore before and I can't tell the difference anyway," Tanjiro thought to himself as he scanned each ore chunk, all of which seemed the same in both size, texture, and color in his eyes.
Furthermore, it seemed the boy beside him was in the same boat, grumbling out, "I have no clue what to pick.."
And that's when the mountain spirit made her move. With her expression seemingly softer compared to before and her movements poised as she stepped forward, all eyes darted over to her. With utter confidence in every step she took, she wasted no time. Darting to grab the ore before her and picking it up before promptly moving aside to hand it over to one of the little girls.
"Already?" Tanjiro thought, "Did she just choose one at random..or is there actually a difference between them?"
"Don't stress over something like this," The gentle murmuring from Y/n is what pulled him out of his own head this time. Tanjiro and Sumiko turned their heads as she stepped forward. She scanned the selection and they watched as her finger caressed certain chunks before her hand stopped at one towards the middle. She grabbed it, lifting it as she stared down at the chunk in her hand and..just stood there, squeezing and feeling it out..
"Ores can say a lot about themselves if you pay attention to its structure and durability," She said before taking a long pause and muttering, "..Just, choose whichever one looks or feels right to you."
As she walked off to stand to the side, Tanjiro turns back to the table, his fiery hues scanning the remaining chunks again. He takes his time, taking in every bump and curve until a peculiar scent causes him to do a double take on a certain one.
He stares at the chunk, sniffing the air one last time, before finally, walking up to the table and reaching out to grab it..
◂◆▸
Somewhere, surrounded by the pleasant smell of wisteria flowers, a man sits comfortably on the wood of his engawa. A large crow, with its neck wrapped in a purple silk cloth that's tied with a small bow, spreads its wings as they flap and swoop down, landing on the man's outstretched hand.
The man's other hand raises, his finger reaching out to pet the crow atop its head with his finger. He began speaking as he did this, his voice deep and smooth, "I see.."
"As many as eight of them managed to survive, hm? Excellent," He says, his tone gleefully calm—allowing one to be able to paint his smile without so much as glancing at him.
"The number of my children has increased yet again. I wonder what kinds of swordsmen they'll become."
◂◆▸
Evening had arrived a while after the trio left Mount Fujikasane, painting the gravel path, the fields, the sky, and everything ahead in a warm orange color—an otherwise pretty sight that the three of them might've stop to take in if the possibility of them collapsing and being unable to get back up wasn't so high..
The three of them walked together, there arms wrapped, tangled around each other with Tanjiro hanging in the middle. From an outsider's perspective, one would've thought that the girls were dragging their brother home seeing as he was too weak to walk himself, but that isn't the case in actuality. From the way, they walked—taking slow, trembling steps with their battered legs that screamed out in pain and popped and ached—to the way Sumiko's body was slightly leaned against Tanjiro—barely able to support her own weight at this point—to the way you could hear the uncomfortable squeak caused by Y/n's teeth grinding together at the feeling of her ribs, which were cracked and feeling uncomfortably loose under her skin, bouncing against her organs and the way you could see crimson smudged between her fingernails that had seeped out from her skin everytime she gripped anything or put any kind of pressure on her arms. It was obvious that the three of them were using each other as crutches while also being used as one..
"I was so naive," After an entire journey of silence finally, something had slipped from Tanjiro's lips that wasn't a grunt from pain. It might as well been, however, with the way his voice came out like a hoarsed cry for help.
"During Final Selection, I encountered eight demons, but I wasn't able to talk with any of them. All they did was rush to kill me.." He explained.
"As expected," Y/n mumbled, "Demons like those must've been starved to the point they went mad from sheer hunger. Not that I'd expect them to know the answer to a question like that even if they could think straight. You shouldn't have even wasted your time."
Tanjiro's head droops lower after hearing that. As blunt as she was about it, Y/n was right. He was stupid to think it'd be that simple. Even so, he couldn't help the sinking feeling of guilt that had drowned his entire being.
"I'm sorry, Nezuko," He thought, the image of his sister filling his mind, making that sea of hopelessness deepen like a bottomless pit, "I never got to ask them how to turn a demon back into a human.."
To add onto their despairing predicament, Sumiko's feet drag and catches on themselves, causing her to tumble and ultimately drag her siblings down with her one by one. They each hit the ground with a rough thud that knocks the little air in their lungs out from their mouths. Their bodies are barely able to move, feeling as if their hands and feet had been stabbed with knives with each blade attached to a boulders by an iron chain.
And what makes things all the more humilating was that people watched, staring on with eyes of confusion, worry, and judgement, as they passed them by, not even giving them the luxury of glancing back at them a second time..
"C'mon.." Y/n mumbled, being the first and only one able to force herself to her feet, "We can't die now, not after we've passed.." And with that tumbling from her cut up lips, she moves between her siblings and helps them up. Her arms wrap around their torsos as their arms slither over her shoulder, meeting at the nape of her neck where their hands clasps together to hold each other and keep from falling to the ground again.
..And once again, the three pushed forward. Trying their best to ignore the aches of their bones and the uncomfortable feeling of their warm blood seeping into their clothes as they stumbled. The sight of the large mountains standing tall over the horizon growing closer to them being their only motivation in that moment.
◂◆▸
By the time the hut was in view, it was barely visible and shrouded in a dark blue tinge as did everything else around them. After much trial and error, the three had made it home at last.
"We made it.." Tanjiro breathed out, his chest rising and falling at a brisk pace from the feeling of his lungs stinging, begging for air and relief.
"Nezuko.. Mr. Urokodaki.." He called out, and although it was barely over a whisper, it seems as though he was heard. With a loud grunck, the door to the hut had come barreling down, allowing the one who kicked it to walk out. That person in question being none other than Nezuko, who had been asleep for two years. Their eyes widened.
Nezuko was awake. She was alive. Even after being unconscious for so long, she was right there. Completely fine.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro called out to his sister, finding the strength to sling his arms off of Y/n's shoulder, "You're awake!"
Nezuko turns to the sound of her name and immediately upon seeing her siblings, rushes towards them. Tanjiro takes off himself, sprinting towards her with the newfound energy that filled his veins. He didn't make it far, however, as the energy run amok in his body quickly evaporates. His body suddenly grows heavy and since he no longer possessed the strength to keep himself up, he drops. Falling the rest of his way down the small cliff.
His body trembles, struggling to even sit himself upright, but Nezuko does the pleasure of meeting him the rest of the way, her arms falling open to wrap around his head and pulling him in..
To Tanjiro, it felt as if everything happened in slow motion from the point she grabbed him to when she pulled him close to when his bloody head hit her chest, feeling her pulse, her heartbeat, her warmth.
And that's when it finally set in. This wasn't a dream that his mind conjured up after he passed out along or something. This was real. What was happening was real. Nezuko was alive and she was holding him close to her chest in this very moment.
Lifting his arms to clutch onto her, tears quickly fill Tanjiro's vision as his mouth falls open and he lets out a loud wail that formed from his sheer relief..
"Why..?" He sobbed, "Why'd you fall asleep like that? Why'd you sleep for so long..?" As he choked, Sumiko jogged down the small hill, crystal tears cascading down her cheeks. She neared them and Nezuko opened her arms just as her legs gave out and she came crashing into her siblings, not that she cared in that moment.
"You made all of us so worried..! Please don't scare us like that again!" Tanjiro continued as Sumiko's sniffles and weeping whimpers filled his ears.
"I.. I thought..you'd never wake up again! We were worried you were going to die, y'know?" Y/n stepped forward, her eyes blown wide and her cheeks dry. Out of all three of them, she seemed to be the only one not drowning in her own tears. She merely stumbled forward..
It seemed that even in a moment like this, her body and mind didn't allow her to shed tears. It was as if she was allergic to the very notion, proving that she was nothing but a puppet going through the motions of the instructions given to her at birth.
Or maybe, it was because deep down, she was still in chains and obediently following the rule presented to her in the past like a mindless dog.
"Don't cry. Tears are proof that you are weak and weak is the last thing you want to be unless you want to be torn apart," That was what she had been told. That was the rule she had to follow and she did. She listened. She always did. Even when the situation called for tears. Even when she knows that rule means nothing now and all authority it had over her had crumbled the moment the first corpse fell that day, she still listened. Her body listened. Her mind listened. Not because of some unconscious fear of punishment, but because of the looming fear of proving that she'd be nothing but a mindless doll unable to think of or do anything for herself if she ever disobeyed the instructions given to her
Tch, or was it something cliche like she felt like she was with them again if she followed that rule? Hopefully not, such a run of the mill reason like that would bore even the gods above into tears.
She hadn't realized she had walked all the way up to Nezuko, Tanjiro, and Sumiko nor did she notice Urokodaki until he walked closer and she felt his gentle, warm touch envelope her and the moist feeling of tears wetting the ends of her hair and her shoulders..
"You three came back to us alive," He wept, "Thank the gods above.."
She didn't cry. Even when her heart stung and felt as if it had shrunk three times smaller, she kept a straight face which she buried into Urokodaki's shoulder. Not even her bottom lip had quivered—proof of how disiplined she was. How good she was being. How well she had been trained even with the little time she spent with them before they got their just punishment..
As expected, she's was her child through and through, built and molded by her gentle hands made of poisonous thorns. It was only natural that she would be able to do something as simple as trick herself into feeling unbothered even in a touching situation such as this one, don't you think?
◂◆▸
"I see. So you've killed that morphed demon.. At last.." Urokodaki said, lit up by the glow of the fire like everything else in the main room of the hut was, including the three that sat before him.
"I'm truly impressed that you made it back, all of you," He answered truthfully. None of them took offense to it nor did it hurt to hear that from their mentor. Honestly speaking, they had been thinking the same thing themselves..
"As you know, there are several kinds of demons," Urokodaki began, "The demons who use a special skill called the "Blood Demon Art" possess supernatural abilities. From now on, you may come across and be forced to fight those demons and battling them will be far more difficult than anything you've known until now."
He follows up, his tone softening as he says, "Even so, I'm sure you three will manage just fine," Y/n nods her head at this whilst Sumiko doesn't seem to react all that much as she stares at Urokodaki, simply watching him intently. Tanjiro is the only one who's vocal, saying a small, "Right!" before glancing over at the door Nezuko resides behind..
"Um.. I think Nezuko's different from other demons. Do you think it's that.." He pauses, "..Whatchamacallit Art?"
"Blood Demon Art," Y/n corrects, voice pointed as she leaned against her fist—which caused the plump of her cheek to be pushed up and the rim of it to become visible at the top of her knuckle. Tanjiro nods, "Right."
"No, I don't think so," Urokodaki responded, "I wouldn't call that an example of the Blood Demon Art.."
"I'm just guessing here, but it could be that Nezuko's recovering her strength by sleeping instead of consuming human flesh."
◂◆▸
Fifteen days passed—some may have said at a turtle's pace while others may have thought the days passed by too quickly. Nevertheless, the day had finally came for the trio to recieve their swords.
That day, Tanjiro and Y/n stood by the door, the former opting to wait outside and the latter going along with it as she had nothing better to do. Tanjiro's posture was straight, kinda stiff—a stark comparison to Y/n who lounged against the wall, ankles crossed as was her arms against her chest.
Sumiko had decided to stay inside, opting to both keep Nezuko, who asleep, company, and read her books, which she had already read twice or thrice at this point.
The sound of bells jingling could be heard in the distance, alerting the two that, at last, their swords had arrived. Y/n's eyes opened as the mystical clinking grows louder. A man walked towards them, his face hidden by the large, woven hat on his head. It seemed the hat was the main source of the noise due to the wind chimes dangled from it that clinked with every slight movement the man made.
Once before them, the man stopped. No one spoke for a moment since Tanjiro failed to find the right words that would be appropriate for the moment while as Y/n seemed more focused on taking in his appearance. Thankfully, the man spoke up, his voice deep and husky, reminding the two of Urokodaki's stentorian voice.
"My name is Haganezuka," He said, "I have forged Tanjiro Kamado's sword and I am here to deliver it," Tanjiro seems to stiffen up even more at his words, his shoulders raising as he bowed.
"I'm Tanjiro Kamado," Tanjiro said before gesturing at the door behind him, "Please, come inside."
"This is the Nichirn Sword," The man said, completely ignoring Tanjiro's words as he took the wrapped sword from his back and sat on the ground as he said, "And I forged it."
"Um.." Tanjiro mumbled, brows scrunching as a slanted smile made it's way onto his face.
He decided to repeat himself, sounding as polite as he usual, "Please, come in so I serve you some te—" "The materials for a Nichirn Sword can be obtained from the mountain closest to the sun. Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Crimson Ore.." Haganezuka points towards the sky, "These produce steel that can absorb sunlight."
"Wow, is that right.." Tanjiro wearily said.
"Hey, where's the other swords?" Y/n asked the man, sounding much stronger, much more demanding than Tanjiro as she spoke, "There should be three. One for Tanjiro Kamado, one for Sumiko Kamado, and another for—"
"Mt. Yoko is bathed in sunlight all day long, you see. Never a cloud in the sky nor any rain.." He continued to ramble. It was as if Tanjiro and Y/n didn't exist to him in that moment. Or maybe, he believed that what he was saying was just that important. Either way, it irked Y/n greatly. Luckily, as she step forward, about to grab at the man, Tanjiro stepped between them.
As he went about the process of trying to get his sister to calm down and not bash his new sword across the swordsmith's head, Haganezuka continues his long-winded monolouge about the making of his sword. Their voices travel, seeping through the window behind Y/n and right into the ears of everyone in the hut including Urokodaki, who couldn't help his grumbling.
"There he goes again. Never listening to a word anyone says.."
At this point, Y/n was practically fuming from the head. Tanjiro, still attempting to save face and remain courteous to their guest, looks back at Haganezuka with that same smile on his face, although it seems to have started to crinkle towards the ends..
"You're going to get dirty," He commented, "Please, get up for a second. Allow me to— Waah-!" Tanjiro cut himself off, a small yell leaving his lips as the man turned around, revealing the odd, slightly unnerving mask that was hiding underneath his hat.
"A clown mask?" Tanjiro shouts out from surprise, completely turning around to face him now but still keeping his arms out in case Y/n decided to try and reach over him—which she inevitably attempt.
"Hey.." Haganezuka drawled, his voice now seeming a mismatch for his face- er, mask—which cheeks puffed out and it's mouth extended like a pipe, making Tanjiro move his head back whenever the man moves even slightly closer in order to avoid it touching him.
"You're a child of brightness, aren't you? Now that's what I call lucky."
Tanjiro blinks, confused. Child of Brightness? He's nothing of the sorts. He ends up holding his hand up, shaking his head, "Actually, I'm the son of Tanjuro and Kie," He says.
"That's not what I meant."
As his large hands come up to point at Tanjiro's hair, he begins explaining, "See how your hair and eyes are a reddish color?" He brings his hand down, his finger digging into Tanjiro's cheek, "When a kid like you is born into a family that works with fire, it's considered lucky and a cause for celebration."
"Is that right? I had no idea.." Tanjiro mumbled, mostly focused on the uncomfortable feeling of the man's fingernail digging into the delicate skin of his cheek. Haganezuka doesn't seem to notice his discomfort—or he simply didn't care—going on to yell out, "This means there's a good chance this sword'll turn red! Right, Urokodaki?"
At the call of his name, Urokodaki could be heard through the bars of the window, letting out a small, "Yes."
"Forget about that, right now!" Y/n shouted, "What about the other swords? Don't tell me you forgot them or something. If you did, I'll— Huh?" She turns, feeling a sudden, gentle tap on her shoulder.
A man stood before her dressed in an appearance similar to Haganezuka's except for the hat and sunflower-patterned haori—those of which being replaced by a hairtie that seemingly kept part of his dark, wavy hair up and swirled out of his face, and a blue and black haori that had overlapping, small cirlces in patterns that decorated the majority of his haori until you reached the bottom, where it's bare and black, allowing the blue water trails to pop and the contrasting pattern of the leaves along it to also come to life.
With her attention now on him, the man steps back, his hand coming down to his knees as he bends, bowing to her. He begins speaking, his voice smoother in comparison to Haganezuka's and soft like the landing of fallen leaves into a pond, giving off a sense of youth in every word he spoke.
"I am Taniguchi. The swordsmith who forged Miss Y/n and Miss Sumiko Kamado's weapons," He said. As Tanjiro looks over at him, Y/n clicks her tongue. A bit of leftover venom in her voice as she asks, "What took you so long? Didn't you two come from the same place?"
"I arrived at the same time Haganezuka did, but no one noticed me," He commented. Spurring Y/n on to let out a confused, "Huh?"
That's when Tanjiro finally stepped in, saying, "Welcome! We have some tea inside. Please, come in and have some."
Taniguchi nods, already much more favorable to deal with in Y/n's eyes as he says, "Very well.. Thank you," and begins walking inside with Y/n following suit. Haganezuka eventually came in as well, dragging Tanjiro by the hair and ignoring the poor boy's screams and shouts of pain..
◂◆▸
Now inside the hut, the trio sat on their knees before the three older men, their sheathed swords in their hands. Everyone watched on, patiently waiting for them to draw their swords. Well, everyone except Haganezuka, who made wave motions with his arms and hands..
"Come on, hurry up and draw it!" He egged on, only caring about the burgundy boy right in front of him, "Nichirn Swords are also known as "Color Changing Swords". As the name suggests, they change depending on the bearer!"
That's when Taniguchi spoke up, adding a soft, "Take your time and draw when you're ready." The trio exchange glances at one another for a moment before Sumiko nods at them, deciding to go first, much to Haganezuka's dismay.
As all eyes fall on her, Sumiko's eyes dart down to the sword in her hands. Slowly, she grips onto the black sheath, separating it from the flowery guard and revealing the steel blade that was hidden inside..
She props it upright with the blade facing away from her and after a moment, the blade starts changing. Flurrying like a flower petal in the wind, everyone watches as the blade goes from the bland grey to a soft shade of pink.
"It's such a pretty color.." Tanjiro commented and Taniguchi nods in agreement, saying, "It's a rather gentle color. Reminds me of the sky when the sun has just started setting.. I think it suits you, Miss Sumiko."
"I agree," Urokodaki added.
"I'll go next then, I guess," Y/n mumbled. As Sumiko began sheathing her sword, Y/n did the opposite as she mimicked her younger sister's earlier movements, unsheathing her sword with her bandaged hands and propping it up.
It took a moment, but just like Sumiko's, Y/n's sword begun to change. Suprisingly enough, the color that dyed her steel was much gentler than what some may have imagined; a dark shade of purple.
"Purple?" Urokodaki questioned. His tone making questions form on Y/n's tongue which she asks, barely biting back the bark in her tone as she asked, "What? Dissapointed?"
"Not exactly," He immediately responded, "I just wasn't expecting someone like you to get such a color."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's a powerful color," Taniguchi began, "Like a poisonous flower; gorgeous but unexpectedly deadly. A perfect fit for you," He said, but his pretty words and voice and Tanjiro's dumb nods did little to make the girl's heart flutter and only angered her to the point that the ends of her brows twitched.
"Are you trying to call me toxic?" She hissed, but her question is never answered due to Haganezuka's impatience.
"Come on, come on!" He urged, voice having grown much more intense now, "Draw your sword already! Do it..!" And finding no reason to silently refuse him any longer, Tanjiro nods, beginning to unsheath his sword.
Now, everyone had their guesses. Tanjiro was a boy with a tender heart of gold, but a strong will of fire. Not to mention his hair and eyes made most in the room easily assume what color it would probably changed to.
..What no one expected, however, was for his sword to darken into a color more shadowy than the forest on the darkest of nights; an obisidian black that put even a black cat to shame.
"Oh my," Taniguchi mumbled. A stark contrast to Haganezuka's reaction which was nothing short of a dismayed reiteration of what he was seeing, "Black?"
"It's black.." Urokodaki said, failing to contain the surprise that seeped into his voice, and at that point, Tanjiro felt dread seeping into him through his fingertips.
He was almost too scared to ask, fearing what the answer may be. Luckily, he managed to push his question out, although shakily, "Does it mean something bad if it turns black?"
"A bad omen maybe?" Y/n questioned, seemingly much more composed than her brother despite her seeming visibly bothered at the sight of the stained sword.
"No, not necessarily," Urokodaki reassured, "But you don't see this pitch black color too often," And that's when the loud shrieking of Haganezuka—who had been twitching from anger since the sword changed colors—fills the room.
"Agh, damnit!" He yells, "And I thought I was gonna get to see a bright red sword!" And now, with stem practically protruding from his ears and the curving pipe he called a mouth, Haganezuka lept forward. Y/n and Sumiko quickly moved out of the way, but whether it was from shock of his intense reaction or surprise at his sudden agility, Tanjiro failed to do the same..
And in the end, he was landed on and immediately twisted up into a rather comical, yet painful embrace by his own swordsmith.
"Ouch! Stop!" Tanjiro shouted, voice straining from both the lack of oxygen he was getting at the moment and the burn of his limbs being forced into very awkward positions.
"Have you gone senile?" Y/n immediately moved closer, grabbing the screeching swordsmith by his sunflower haori and began tugging as she screamed, "Get the hell off of him!"
"Please calm down!" Tanjiro pleaded, "How old do you think you are?" And, despite his question being rethorical, Haganezuka still had the curtesy to answer it seem, yelling out, "I'm thirty-seven!"
Despite having a front row seat to one of his students being twisted into some origami artpiece, Urokodaki seemed relatively calm as did Taniguchi, who even went as far as to chuckle.
"I'm glad to see you're as boistorous as ever, Hotaru, but please refrain from being so rough. You don't want to scare him away like the others."
Kaw! Kaw! Black wings flap in the wind, flying at high speeds until they fold inwards and cause the crow soaring in the air to begin a fast descent downwards. As the squawking grows louder, the crow swoops in through the crack of the unclosed door that Tanjiro failed to close earlier and landing gracefully before everyone in the room.
"Tanjiro Kamado! Y/n Kamado! Sumiko Kamado!" It said, and despite never seeing a sight like this before, it didn't really earn a worthwhile reaction from the trio. Not that one could blame them when they once had to fight a headless body and a bodiless head.
Sitting upright Tanjiro, along with Y/n and Sumiko, all perked up. Their faces contorting into different expressions at the crow's next words. Their guts twisting at the horrifying order given..
"Make your way to a town in the northwest! Young girls have been vanishing there!" It said before parroting its own words, "Night after night, young girls have been disappearing! Hunt down the demon lurking there and kill it!
◤You have reached the end of this chapter. Now, onto the Taisho Era Secret. Brought to you today by Author Ari! ◢
Author Ari | Hey, everyone! Sorry it's just me today! As you just read, our little trio is kinda busy preparing for their first mission and all to be here with me! ヾ(^▽^*)))
Author Ari | I know this chapter didn't have any fighting or action scenes, but I hope it was still entertaining! Also, what do you guess think of their swords? Did the colors they change to surprise you? Believe it or not, I was! Even though, I wrote this story and semi-planned it out, the colors of their blades weren't really on my mind and I was a little surprised by myself that I went with those colors in the end.. (￣▽￣)"
Author Ari | Oh! Oh! Oh! And did you catch it? Aside from Taniguchi, a new oc has made an appearance this chapter! I can't tell you anything about them yet or else certain people will block me out, but I can let you know how freaking excited I am for you to see more of them! Especially since they'll— *beep beep*
HanakoAi | Hey, guys! Ari's best friend and best assistant here to deliver to you the Taisho Era Secret since she is no longer able to!
HanakoAi | *Leans in and whispers* You know Taniguchi? I heard that him and Haganezuka are cousins! Hard to believe, right? Don't worry, I myself wasn't convinced at first either!
HanakoAi | Anyways, 'hope y'all liked this chapter and will continue to support this book! Ari is always bending over backwards trying to squeeze this book into her schedule, so I'm praying this book will prosper. That said, I need ya'll to give your support in every way you can, okay? Vote, comment, do whatever ya' gotta do, alright! Oh, and remind her to take care of herself! She never listens to me whenever I tell her so hopefully she'll listen to you guys..
HanakoAi | For anyone wondering, my account @CaseyHehe here on Wattpad! I don't write myself, but you will see my account name more than a few times over here since I sometimes read over drafts whenever Ari cannot, like I did for the first chapter of this book, and I usually help out in the making of character profiles! Speaking of which, I hope you'll all have fun reading about Sumiko and Taniguchi!
HanakoAi | Alright, I'm pretty sure that's all for now. Did I do good for my first time around? 'Hope I did! ..Y'know, I really like being up here like this. Maybe I should try to convince Ari to let me bring the Taisho Era Secrets to ya'll more often! ..Ah, but right now will probably be a hard no since she's proably furious at me right now..
HanakoAi | Anywhooo, next, chapter six, "Swordsmen Accompanying a Demon"! Hope to cya there guys! Byeee~!