Chapter Text
“Please lay down,” Hanako pleaded with Tanjiro. He has gotten a severe cold, yet her idiot brother still insisted on selling the coal. Since their father died, he has been pushing himself like crazy, and just like she told him, he got sick.
“I can,” Tanjiro wobbled and everyone in vicinity went to catch him, but he stabilized himself, “-go.”
“No, no you cannot!” Takeo yelled, which had Tanjiro wincing. Nezuko, she stayed back at the doorway. She had no intention on letting her idiot brother go, and if her siblings failed to tier him out, she would drag him back to bed before he even left the room. With how things have been going, she wouldn’t need to.
In the end, mom gave him the mom guilt trip and sent him back to bed. “You don’t need to go either,” Mom gave her a knowing smile, which didn’t hide her worry. Being the eldest daughter, she had just as many responsibilities at tanjiro, but different. However, those can hold on for a bit, but earning money cannot.
“Not to worry, I can handle it. I could sleepwalk down and not trip on a root,” She said proudly. With the amount of times she accompanied the boys down, she may as well do the coal by herself. But being a daughter is tough, with overbearing brothers who want to keep her safe. What about them?
“Very well, but stay safe, don’t travel in the dark, don’t carry anything heavy on the way back, bring food. Are you wearing that, you should also-”
“Mom,” She smiled kindly, which hushed her mother, instead she earned a warm kiss on the cheek.
“Be safe,” She said, then turned to face the crowd.
“You all, I got an important job for you, so line up,” She stated in her best bossy general voice, very good if she might say so.
“You all have an important mission to keep Tanjiro in his bed. He is not allowed to leave till his fever is down. This may sound easy,” She looked each in the eye as she passed the line-up, “But this is are very own formidable Tanjiro. Known to over work, sweat talk his way out of things, and even sneak out of are sights. You must stay on your toes, and do not let him out of your sight!” She exclaimed. The younger kids shouted their agreement, while she heard laughter from the other room. Laugh it up, you are about to be spoiled rotten Tanjiro.
With that she went on her way. The Mountain is in good weather despite the snow, so she got to the town pretty quick. Just half a day. When she arrived, everyone greeted her with a warm smile, most asking where Tanjiro was.
“Nezuko-chan!” One of the boys ran up to her. They always tried to impress her, puffing up their chests, faking themselves. How is that anyway to get a woman? Are they always planning on faking their relationship? That just isn’t right.
“How can I help you,” She said politely.
“Mrs. Puff is gone. Can you help?” He said. Mrs. Puff is their cat, apparently one of his siblings named them, she isn’t sure which.
“Sure!” Focusing on the noise around her, she heard three cats, two closer, one farther, the closer ones were sounding a bit aggressive, while the third one was making defensive noises. Was it… Yep. “She is down the alley, follow me!” The two ran and stopped Mrs. Puff from being attacked by some ally cats. She shooed the other two away.
“Keep a better eye on him, they are on strike two, right?” She scolded. The cat is going to be the one to pay if they can’t train and keep them safe inside. She doesn’t want animals hurting others, and with him excaping all the time. Their humans need to step up.
“Right, thanks,” He said shamefully, then headed off.
“I think you just scared another one off. You really must try and be nicer, young lady, or you’ll never find a lad.”
“Ma’am, I don’t want to be fake with the one person I should be honest with.”
“Times are heard for women, you should think of your family,” and she left.
Geez, why does everyone feel the need to yell at her about her marriage. She is only thirteen, let her be. With a worsening mood, she delivered the rest of the coal, and started heading home right as the sun went down.
“Nezuko! Come Inside!” Mr. Soboru yelled. He was their closest neighbor, living at the bottom of the mountain.
“It’s fine, I can hear if something is coming.”
“There are demons! Come inside quickly!”
She really wanted to get home, especially with Tanjiro feverus, but it is getting dark, and she might just give him a heart attack if she arrives after dark, hours after sunset.
“Come come,”
“Fine, I’m coming,” She headed inside, and insisted on helping prepare dinner as a thank you. So the two went to work.
“You said something about demons?” She said as she stirred the soup. Soburo was finishing up the fish, so all thats left to do is set the table.
“Yes, for thousands of years, Demons roamed the night. Being unable to come out during the day when the sun is out.”
“Oh, can they not come inside?”
“They can.”
“Then how are we safe?”
“Warriors who fight them during the night. They are the protectors.” He said. She thought about what her grandma used to tell her about demons, all the fairytales to scare her and her siblings to stay inside during the night. Worked for a little bit, but we grew up, and things need to get done.
Maybe the man is lonely, his family did pass away. She should bring her siblings down next time.
With that, they had a pleasant meal and headed to bed.
A few hours ago she said goodbye to the man, and headed home. She managed to get some medicine, so if Tanjiro still needed it, they would have it. If not, they can store it for later.
The trip up wasn’t all that heard, she didn’t even run into any animals, not a lone deer. But she supposed that's a good thing, since they can get violent at times.
Still, it's a little unsettling to be completely alone. The mountain has never really been this quiet, the winter animals are at least making some noise by now, and she should be able to hear her family from here. Laughing and goofing off while they are supposed to be doing chores, but it is very silent.
Maybe Tanjiro got worse, maybe she needed to get him the medicine last night, and with those intrusive thoughts, she booked it up the mountain.
She did not find her family huddled around tanjiro, nor were they sleeping in. There in front of her house, the door is left open. The snow is already inviting itself inside. Not good, Tanjiro already sick, this might make it worse, she thought.
But that wasn’t what she found. No, her family is huddled together, their corpses layed on top as if something tossed them into a stack of firewood. Her brother layed next to her mother, both reaching out for the younger ones.
“MOM! TANJIRO! HANAKO ROUTA TAKEO SHIGURU! WHAT HAPPENED!” She screamed for answers nobody gave. No one moved to acknowledge her, or even with the signs of waking up. They just laid prone to the cold, because it is cold. They are all so cold. Except for Tanjiro, he is still warm. She rolled him onto his back, and choked back her breakfast at the sight of his eye, smashed, bleeding, she couldn’t make out the skin or eyeball itself under all the blood. She ignored it for the moment to check for a pulse, breathing, and heartbeat. It was there, faint, weak, but she could do this.
She tied a handkerchief around his eye, and hoisted him into the family’s wagon. From there she set off once more.
Tanjiro’s breathing was harsh against the cold, she could hear it clearly despite the raging wind. Why, why is it so harsh? Yesterday not a breaze passed by her hair, but today it feels like it's cutting into her skin, peeling it away as punishment for not being there. For not being there for her family. They were almost there, they could do this, she repeated.
She didn’t know if she said that out for Tanjiro, or herself, maybe both. But either way, when he started yelling, she startled and fell. Shit. Shit shit shit shitshitshitshit. She is going to die. No, wait, she is alive, right. She is still thinking, so she must be alive. Did the snow save her, ya, most likely.
Sitting up, she stalked her surroundings, noticing Tanjiro standing next to a far away tree.
“I’m sorry, That was on me, tanjiro, you need to sit. I can carry you. Don’t worry.” She didn’t know what happened to the cart, gone, broken, shattered maybe, but unimportant, she has her legs. He can just ride on her back. She can do this.
“Can you-” Tanjiro looked at her with maniace eyes, blood thirsty, animalistic, then lunged. Reflectively, she dodged, and backed away enough to get the ax. The ax she grabbed to protect them. The ax was near Tanjiro, but unused. The ax she is using to keep tanjiro from sinking is teeth, because he has fangs now, into her.
What is happening, why is he… is he a demon? Not impossible, he was born a human. Just yesterday he collapsed under the sun. Demons can't be in the sun. So why.
“Tanjiro, it's okay, I'm sorry I wasn't there. You must have been in pain, it's okay, we will figure this out. I will figure this out, so please, please stay with me.” She sobbed. Tanjiro’s hold weakened, and is he bigger? But he was crying, he was crying and pulling away. Away into a sword.
She lunged for him. Tanjiro seemed momentarily shocked, but they were roiling, and her head felt weird. Where are they, who is he. The man in question glared at them, as if she did something wrong. But he is the one covered in scares, wearing short sleeves in god damned winter, and worst of all, he tried to cut Tanjiro’s head off. Definitely a bad person.
“The hell you save it for?”
“HE is my brother, stay away!” She held onto tanjiro the best she could. He had shrunk, but still wrestled to leave her grasp.
“It is a demon, and it just tried to fuckin kill you brat. Get out of the way already.”
“Screw you! He did not, he stopped himself!”
“Did he stop himself from eating those people? Up in the house up there?”
“That is- was my family, he didn’t, he would never!”
“How, they're dead and he is alive. So he killed them.”
“YOUR WRONG! Tan-” What, where did he go? She held Tanjiro tighter, but he was also gone.
“Grrrrrr.” Tanjiro was in the man's grasp, with a blade pointed at his head. “Your belief and hope aint good enough.”
“He doesn’t have blood on his hands or mouth. There is no way the blood still wouldn’t be there, and I found him in a protective stance, protecting our family.”
“Maybe so, but not anymore. He is a demon now, my job is to kill them. So shut up, close your eyes if you don't want nightmares, like that will do much good.” He muttered the last part to himself as he went to cut the boy's head, when a rock was thrown at him.
“HOW DARE YOU! HE IS THE KINDEST, NICEST PERSON YOU WILL EVER FUCKING MEET. HE WOULD STARVE TO DEATH IF IT MEANT KEEPING SOMEONE ELSE ALIVE.”
“Him being alive right now is a risk you your life, and everyone else around you. How are you going to stop him from attacking people? Are you just going to hope he is strong enough to stop himself?”
“He is, he did.”
“BULLSHIT! IT IS A MONSTER NOW, EVERY MINUTE THAT GOES BY IS ANOTHER MINUTE HIS SANITY IS GONE. IF I LEAVE HERE WITHOUT SLAYING HIM, HE WILL DEVOUR YOU. HOW WILL YOU STOP HIM!”
“I WILL, I WILL GET STRONGER. Strong enough to protect him, and everyone around him. I will be so fucking strong that I will kill the ones that did this to my family and brother.”
“Fuck that, you are just a weak girl, with nothing going for you. What can you do now, not if a fantasy you created on the spur of the moment.”
What can she do, he is so ficking strong, she doesn’t, no, she has the ax. She grabbed it on her way out, thank god. But this guy has a sword, how is she supposed to combat that?
The man in question stabbed Tanjiro again, this time in the shoulder, and she did the one thing she could.
“Please, please spare him, he is my brother. He is all that I have left.” She sobbed. The man looked shocked, but then, “YOU BITCH! I HAVE A BLADE AT YOUR BROTHERS HEAD AND YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK TO ME. DO YOU WANT TO DIE AS WELL! STOP GROVELING ON THE GROUND YOU WEAK ASS, AND FUCKING FIGHT ME!” He dodged a rock that came at him, and watched as the girl ran around the threeline, throwing more rocks.
The boy kept trying to escape, but he didn’t allow an inch as he prepared for the child coming at him. Sighing, he knocked her out cold. He didn’t think she had any training, but to leave yourself wide open, and charge an enemy that is way stronger. She should have stayed in the- FUUUUUUUCk, that was close. He stared at the ex wedged in the tree, right where his head used to be. If he didn’t move, he would certainly be dead.
No, no don’t hurt her, please, stop hurting them.
The demon kicked Sanemi away, and charged for the girl. ‘Shit, i'm too far, she’ll die!’ but she didn’t. He stared in amazement when he stood in front of her, guarding her from him.
“My brother is the nicest, kindest person you will ever meet.”
The demon charged, and sanemi blocked. He was much stronger then his sister, but being newly changed, stood no chance. The demon boy jumped on a tree, propelling himself towards sanemi, and at this moment, he know he was fucked.
‘I’m sorry Nezuko, please protect tanjiro for us.’ Kie said as she stroked her daughter's heir one last time. Each of her siblings have their own words of encouragement and goodby’s before they fade into the darkness. ‘Wait, don’t go!” Reaching out, she went to grab them, but it was tanjiro. He laid on his back, a bamboo shoved into his mouth, and he wore his hiori property, to keep the cold away. She got up from her prone position on her stomach, the snow already seeped in and is chilling her to the bone. But that doesn’t matter as she holds her brother to her chest, thanking everything out there he is still alive.
“Finally, I was about to ditch your ass out here if you slept any longer,” The man from before said. She cradled Tanjiro to herself, daring the man to come any closer.
“Go to —------- mountain. There you will meet a fine lady called Hisa. Tell her that Sanemi Shinawagaza sent you.” and he was gone.
“Mom, Tankeo, Shiguru, Routa, HAnako, I’m heading off. Watch over us, would you?” She asked. She finally finished burying them, with Tanjiro's help, and is now saying her final goodbye. Tanjiro stood to the side, with a doll-like appearance to him.
He hasn’t said anything since he woke up, and hasn’t even attempted taking off the bamboo.
“Lets go,” She squeezed his hand, and for the first time, he squeezed back. They will be okay, she will make sure of it.