Chapter Text
What happened?
Tanjiro’s breathing was unsteady and hysterical. How could it not be? His feet were shaky, his chest clenched so tightly that it ached. The empty basket that slung over his shoulders felt like a dead weight dragging him down.
There was blood everywhere .
How could this happen?
Tanjiro cried out, his throat choking on the sudden rasp as he rushed forward. He tripped over the fallen snow and flew to his knees, bending over a still body.
“Nezuko!” He put a gentle, shaking hand on his sister’s back. “What happened? What’s going on?”
Nezuko didn’t answer. Her arm was tucked beside her, and Tanjiro could see his youngest brother peeking beneath her bloodstained kimono. Rokuta was only three.
His breath hitched. “What happened here?” he asked, desperate. Tanjiro turned towards the door—or, what was the door—and stopped cold.
“…Mom?” he whispered, his eyes stinging. His world was shattering before him but he pushed himself to his feet. He staggered towards the torn door, unable to look away.
Mom…Hanako…Takeo…Shigeru…
Everyone.
Winter air was always cold. The sight of a bloodbath sent a chill down to the bone.
Why?
Tanjiro’s vision began to blur when a huff of someone shivering caught him off guard. He whipped his head back to Nezuko and Rokuta. His little sister hadn’t moved an inch but—
But Rokuta did. His fingers clenched at Nezuko’s leaf-hem kimono, tugging on it weakly.
Tanjiro jumped into action, prying Nezuko’s (cold) arm off of his youngest brother and cradling the three-year-old in his arms. He placed a finger under Rokuta’s nose. He’s breathing. He’s warm.
There’s still a chance to save him.
I won't let you die.
Tanjiro didn’t know how long he had been running, but he knew his legs would give out any minute.
Not that it mattered. He needed to get Rokuta to a doctor now.
So he continued down the mountain, tripping rocks and slipping on snow. His elbow and knees were scraped and bruised in his rush but his adrenaline was still pumping in his veins. Tanjiro would not let his tears fall.
He needed to be strong.
I’m so sorry, he apologized profusely. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I should have been there. I promise everything will be okay.
How did this happen?
Was it a bear? Did a bear wake up from hibernation early? Did it try to find a home in his family’s cabin?
Old man Saburo’s words rang in his head. Demons. Man-eating demons.
Those were just children’s stories to scare kids. Demons aren’t real.
An intrusive thought wriggled into his brain. What caused all this carnage?
In his thinking, failed to realize that the weight in his arms was shifting.
There was a cliffside, and Tanjiro skidded across the ice.
Rokuta arched his back in his arms, giving out a wild growl.
“URAAA!”
The three-year-old boy toppled right out of Tanjiro’s arms. Tanjiro’s eyes widened, hands outreached to grab his baby brother.
They both went tumbling.
Snow kicked up around them and Tanjiro caught Rokuta midair, cuddling him close as his fall came to an abrupt stop.
The snow was deep enough to soften his landing. Rokuta was struggling in his older brother’s arms, kicking and growling. Tanjiro shook off the snowflakes in his hair, the wind making his body numb and cold.
“I-It’s okay, Rokuta!” Tanjiro reassured, though his tone was empty. “Everything’s is fine, but we need to—“
Rokuta's eyes were wide and wild, his iris a blood red instead of the sweet maroon it normally was. His pupils were narrowed into slits and were unfocused. The baby teeth that made his smile adorable were now lined with pointed fangs.
Rokuta lunged for Tanjiro.
Startled, Tanjiro fell onto his back. Rokuta's tiny clawed hands grappled with his scarf, the fabric tightening and ripping in his grasp. Saliva dribbled from his mouth as the toddler aimed for Tanjiro’s neck.
A click and clash filled the silent air as the older brother shielded himself with the handle of an axe. Teeth marks were engaged onto the wood and drool splattered across his checkered haori. Rokuta growled and hissed, his noise inhumane.
His scent has changed, Tanjiro realized.
Rokuta has become a man-eating demon.
Heat pooled under his eyes. Other than his wounds, his baby brother was clean of blood. His hands were still small, they could barely hold onto his chopsticks. Rokuta would laugh when Hanako or Shigeru played hide-and-seek with him and cried when any of his siblings got a scrape or bruise.
Rokuta was never a demon before this.
What happened?
A searing pain shot through his limbs, and Tanjiro looked up at his toddler brother. Rokuta’s eyes were focused on him, yet there was no recognition in his eyes. His fingers were now on Tanjiro’s arms, and an unbearable heat coursed through his veins.
He’s burning me, Tanjiro startled out of his panicked sadness. Being much bigger than Rokuta, Tanjiro threw him off and pinned his brother-turned-demon into the snow. His hands gripped the tiny wrists gently, though it didn’t stop Rokuta from thrashing.
He can burn me. Tanjiro’s eyes watered again. He is threatened by me.
Rokuta kicked at the older’s stomach, desperate to get out from under him.
Tanjiro’s heart broke.
What was I doing? Sleeping at old man Saburo’s house?
Everyone was murdered while I was dreaming.
I’m so sorry, Rokuta. You’re scared, aren’t you?
A three-year-old shouldn’t have the experience of this!
I’m sorry I couldn’t save our family.
I’m sorry I couldn't save you.
“Rokuta!” Tanjiro cried desperately, unable to hold back his tears. “Please! Hang in there!”
Water formed and fell like rain during the spring. Tanjiro couldn’t fathom its end.
“You’ve got to hang in there! Don’t turn into a demon!” he shouted, hoping that, somewhere in this demon, Rokuta still resided. That some part of his soul remained. “You’ve got to stay strong! Rokuta? Rokuta!”
His throat was sandpaper. “Please, don’t lose yourself,” he rasped, his body trembling. Tanjiro sobbed. He can’t lose Rokuta. He can’t lose him now.
“…ura?”
Maroon eyes shot open. Tanjiro blinked away the tears that clouded his vision and looked down at his toddler brother, holding his breath.
Rokuta gazed back. His eyes were still red and animalistic but globs of water trickled under them and melted the snow. He stopped struggling, his brow furrowed in confusion. Fangs loosed on the axe’s handle, leaving his small mouth slack.
Then Rokuta wailed.
Even when the noise was backed by inhuman growls, it was a relief for Tanjiro. It was Rokuta. His loud cries that always tapered into quiet sniffs, a reminder that he was still just a baby. His eyes dilated back to normal as his brother bawled.
“Rokuta…” Tanjiro sighed, his shoulders sagging. He carefully pried the axe out of Rokuta’s mouth. “I-It’s okay-“
His little brother shoved at Tanjiro’s arms. Maroon eyes widened as the baby's feet landed harsh blows to his stomach. Tanjiro doubled over, coughing. Rokuta scrambled onto shaky legs and began to run.
“Rokuta!” Tanjiro began a chase after the toddler. “Wait! Where are you going?”
Rokuta was much faster than he used to be when he was a human but tiny legs can only carry him so far. Tanjiro wrapped his arms around the toddler’s waist and hoisted him from the snow, trying his best to shush the baby. He wiped the quickly forming tears from Rokuta’s face, sighing out icy air as Rokuta clung to him.
As if it was an apology.
“H-hey, it’s okay,” Tanjiro reassured, though his voice was shaky. His limbs felt so cold now…was the snow getting heavier? Tanjiro looked up at the grey sky, watching as white dust hailed around him. His vision was hazy.
“You’re safe now…I promise,” Tanjirou heard himself say, though the voice felt far away. He could sniff other scents still, the rotting stench of a demon that slaughtered his family still lingered in the area, now faint and distant.
There was a new scent, too, smelling of heavy rain and the ocean, accompanied by distant footsteps Tanjirou could hear while laying on the forest floor.
…when had he fallen?
Rokuta was still in his arms, curled up and asleep. He patted the toddler’s back rhythmically, closing his eyes.
It wouldn’t hurt to rest for a moment right?
“Tanjiro?”
Was someone talking to him? He couldn’t see anything, but he felt warmer now. Still, he couldn’t move.
“I’m sorry to leave you, Tanjirou.” That sounded like his mother. Her voice was always soft like a songbird, her words breathy as she spoke.
He felt other presences around him. Five of them. A phantom hand clutched his own.
“I wish we could’ve spent one more New Years together, Nii-chan,” Takeo sounded so, so sad. Tanjirou had never heard such a somber tone from him.
“Nii-chan! Stay alive! Please!” Shigeru? He always did worry so much when Tanjirou went out, despite wanting to go with him. What was he worried about, again?
“You don’t need to read books to me anymore, Onii-chan.” That’s strange. Hanako always loved books. Why would she want to stop now?”
“Onii-chan.” Nezuko's voice was louder than the rest of them. Her desperate anger leaked into her voice. “Wake up. Protect Rokuta.”
Protect Rokuta. Rokuta was a demon now.
Protect Rokuta.
His mother’s voice rang once more, though she sounded distant now. “Watch over your brother for me, okay?”
Protect Rokuta.
Protect him.
Tanjirou woke up to the scent of metal. He jolted into a sitting position, shifting the snow around him. Damn! I passed out in a snowstorm, he berated himself, still clutching onto Rokuta as his life depended on it.
Snowflakes kicked up. Suddenly, Tanjirou found himself face to face with a sword.
A man with a mismatched haori pointed it at the teenager's head, his face a mask of no emotion. Eyes were blue, a turbulent sea.
“So,” the man says, “you’re awake.”