Chapter Text
Nezuko was upset. One thing everyone knew about her is that she was rarely angry. She was calm, sweet, and the personification of gentle, but today, she was none of those things.
"Big brother, I don't care if you think you can handle it or not," She scolded Tanjiro, not even batting an eye at his appalled expression. "I'm not letting you down this mountain with a sprained ankle" Nezuko stomped her foot with a sense of finality.
"Who… told you about that" Tanjiro turned his head around, feeling betrayed as his other siblings simply snickered at his misfortune.
Tanjiro was meant to visit the village under the mountain and make money for the family. However, before he could leave Takeo convinced him to chop wood with him, and Tanjiro being the sweetheart (pushover) he is, couldn't say no. Of course, since nothing can go his way, he twisted his foot while swinging his axe and was now being scolded mercilessly by his younger sister.
"It doesn't matter, now I'll be taking this,” she grabbed the basket of coals right off his shoulders, without giving him a second to blink. "and you will stay home and rest while I sell coal today."
Predictably he started protesting, but Nezuko wouldn't pay mind to a single word. Instead, she turned to their younger siblings, smiling as they ran up to her.
"Can we come along too?” Shigeru spoke with sparkles in his eyes, the same could be said for Hanako and Rokuta, both shivering in excitement.
"Are you stupid?”
Takeo scoffed as they all turned to look at him. "You'll all get too tired from walking and big sister can't carry us on the cart." He proudly pointed at himself with a smug smile on his face. "That's why I should obviously be the one to go with her, I never get tired.”
"Didn't you collapse after doing the laundry yesterday?" Hanako asked innocently.
"Wh-What do you know?!”
Nezuko smiled amusedly, only pausing when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Tanjiro looking at her worriedly. “Just, be careful.” He removed one of his Hanafuda earrings and put it in her hand. "For good luck.”
That was their late father's earring.
The significance of the gesture wasn’t lost, despite his happy smile, she could tell their father's death affected Tanjiro more than he let on. She couldn’t help but stare in awe.
Then something changed.
Her eyes shone of something fierce, something that sharpened Tanjiro's expression in response. “I’ll be back before you know it!”
She grew up so quickly.
Nezuko wore the earring and watched as her mother held back her younger siblings from coming along. Snickering at the scene, she adjusted the basket straps and set off.
“I’ll make lots of money and come back.” She waved back at them. “I’ll see you all later!”
Trekking forward with her goal in mind, Nezuko missed her older brother's nostalgic gaze following her figure.
“Do you think she’ll be fine by herself?” It was the first time Nezuko had gone down the mountain for a while, and Kie couldn’t help but be worried.
Tanjiro turned to his mother and smiled. “Yeah, she’s stronger than she looks.”
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Finally reaching the village, Nezuko walked around wearing a grin on her face. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had gone down the mountain, her older brother had taken on all chores that required leaving the safety of their home. However, everything seemed to be just as it was when she was a child.
“Oh, Nezuko!” an old man exclaimed. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you here, are you selling coal?”
Barely two minutes and she already had her first customer! A big smile spread on her face. Seems like today would be a good turnout. “Yes sir, would you like some?” she asked, already reaching a hand into her basket.
"HELP ME!!"
Nezuko turned around swiftly. A man was on his knees, stumbling away from a woman who looked more than ready to clobber him, judging by the slipper in her hand. His eyes lit up when he spotted Nezuko as he practically crawled towards her.
"Nezuko! Gosh, it's been so long. Please, is your brother nearby?" He was in near tears at this point.
This man must've been one of the many people Tanjiro has helped when visiting the village. Her admiration for him only grew by the second. She felt bad for the poor man who had to go without her brother's aid.
She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm very sorry sir, but I've come alone today.”
"Now what will I do?” He furrowed his brows before letting out a despondent sigh. "It's just, this lady is dead set on the idea that I broke her vase,” he pointed at the woman behind him waving her slipper menacingly. "But I promise I didn't!"
"Oh, save your excuses!" It seems the lady had run out of patience. Before Nezuko could say a word, she clutched the man's arm and dragged him back into her house. "I'll teach you to stay away from my things.”
.
.
.
Well then.
There was still coal to be sold. It was her first time out in a while and she would not let everyone down! Ignoring the man's silent save me’s she made her way around the village, excitedly thinking about her family's reaction when they saw how much money she would make.
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"Wow, Nezuko, you're so cool!" Tanjiro exclaimed.
The rest of her siblings gathered around her basket, instead of coal, now filled to the brim with yen. Their eyes glittered, both from excitement and the reflection of the wealth shining in their pupils.
"We're rich now!"
"We'll have enough food for decades!”
"Big sister, you're my hero!"
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"Nezuko?” Oh. Someone was waving a hand in front of her face.
She immediately bowed, eyes shut tight with shame.
“Sorry! I got distracted…" Maybe she should save the fantasies for the trek back up the mountain. It's less embarrassing that way. She dug her hand through her basket and quickly handed out the coal. That was the last one she had.
Nezuko looked down at her waist, where a pouch with all of the day's earnings hung peacefully. Sure, it wasn't enough to feed her family of seven for decades, but it was good enough for now.
Nezuko looked up at the sky; it was getting late in the evening. With no time to lose, she rushed up the mountain, excited to show her family all the money she had made. Sure, it was a little creepy in the dark, but NOTHING could stop Kamado Nezuko! Except for slipping on the snow.
She pushed out her hands in front of her to block the fall, to no avail. Her brows furrowed. Now that her clothes were covered in snow, they would surely grow wet once the snow melted later on. Her mother had always been very strict about not going out in the snow when wet.
"What is all that racket?"
Nezuko flinched. Perhaps she had unknowingly trespassed? It's not like she knew her way around here perfectly. Turning around, she was relieved when her eyes met a familiar face.
"Are you going up the mountain this late?” Mr. Saburo shook his head disapprovingly before ushering her inside. "You can stay here for the night.”
Nezuko was old enough to know that staying at a man's house alone —in the middle of the night too!—was never a good idea. But this was Mr. Saburo! And at this point, she would've stayed in a bear's cave, she was so tired. Even still, her mother would disapprove.
"Thank you Mr. Saburo, but I'm almost home, I'll be fine!” she smiled.
"Just hurry in before the demons come.” He opened up the door for her.
Demons? Nezuko wasn't a little girl anymore to be scared by such folktales. But still, the wind did seem very eerie all of a sudden…
Huffing slightly, she made her way down to his cottage. Had Takeo been here, he would never stop teasing her for being scared of a story. But she wasn't scared! It's just impolite to refuse from the elderly. Yeah…
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"Thank you for the meal.” She couldn't get his words out of her head. Demons huh? The last time she heard of such creatures was from her late grandmother. What would they even look like? Horns? Sharp teeth?
"Um, Mr. Saburo," she turned around to face him. "What are demons like?”
He paused. "Man-eating demons have always roamed once it gets dark,” he said while setting up the futons. "That's why you should never stroll around at night."
Nezuko's brows furrowed in thought. This sounded awfully familiar to what her grandmother had told her. "Say, could these demons come inside your house?” she asked.
Oh. Maybe she shouldn't have asked. His shoulders were hunched as he looked downwards, avoiding her eyes. "Yes, they could.”
Even with sensing the tension in the air, she couldn't help but ask. “Then, why are we all still safe? Wouldn't we all be eaten up?"
"We would,” He took a deep breath. "if the demon slayers didn't protect us." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "It's late now, go to sleep." With that, he walked over to his room and left her to sleep.
Demon slayers? Honestly, Nezuko was left with more questions than answers. Mr. Saburo must've felt lonely, he lost his whole family not too long ago. Maybe she should bring her siblings around next time and visit him, if only to reassure him that there are no demons. Her eyes grew heavy with exhaustion as she finally fell asleep.
When morning rose, Nezuko set off as soon as she could. Everyone must've been so worried for her when she hadn't come back last night. Luckily, she made great headway yesterday on her trek up the mountain, so she didn't have a long way to walk.
Before she knew it, the path seemed extremely familiar and she was almost home. The snow had picked up throughout the night, making a magical scene in the forest. She would definitely go out to play with her siblings later.
She stopped in her tracks, something felt off. This feeling that nestled in her chest was unfamiliar, something different, something more. Dread. She walked ahead a little more, footsteps close together, and there it was.
Blood.