Chapter Text
Suddenly feeling wet and cold. I shivered, “Since when did it start snowing….?”, I muttered to myself,
My eyes snapped open, greeted with the color white. Startled, I used my arms to push myself into a sitting position. Then wiping some wet snow off my face, I noticed a lot of trees. A…forest…?
I quickly stood up, the cold feeling dripping off my hoodie. “...c-cold…” I shivered, holding my arms to try and warm myself. “...is this a dream? If so, it’s a really weird dream.” I thought out loud, walking around slowly. The sound of my feet crunching in snow slightly nerved me.
Gah, I should take off my socks. Wet socks are the worst. Before I could act on it, I noticed someone a few meters away from me. I squinted my eyes, noticing…checkered clothing…? Wait.
I recognized the pattern, and there’s no way this is real.
I watched him subtly sniff the air, then turn to me. I got the view of his face, black hair with burgundy tips, and dark red eyes. “Oh. my. gosh.” I breathlessly whispered under my breath.
I froze, but Tanjiro quickly rushed over to me.
“ Are you okay? ” He said something, was that Japanese? I’m pretty sure he asked me if I was okay.
“Umm… y-yes …?” I stuttered out, due to both the cold and hesitation. Tanjiro quickly noticed my shivering and took off his haori. He handed it over to me, I numbly took it from him. “ Thank you…? ” It felt weird speaking Japanese to a native, even if I still wasn’t sure if this was a dream.
Tanjiro smiled softly in reply, I fiddled with the fabric of his haori nervously. What type of dream is this…?! Then again…this probably isn’t a dream. If it was, maybe I wouldn’t be so cold right now, or maybe Tanjiro here would be speaking English. Then how did I get here?!
You know what? I’m not thinking about that.
I returned my focus to Tanjiro who was saying something I couldn’t understand. “ Could you follow me? ” I recognized the word ‘I’, and that he asked me something.
“...um, I don’t understand?” I hoped he would catch that I couldn’t speak Japanese (fluently).
He paused, looking confused for a second. “ Do you understand Japanese? ” He asked something again, I recognized most of it this time. I quickly shook my head, then paused, then held out a ‘so, so’ sign.
He seemed to have understood that and then pointed at me, then pointed back at himself. He then pointed to the distance, which might’ve been where his home was or something.
“...follow you?” I instinctively said out loud, but he probably didn’t understand me. I quickly stood up, showing that I understood him.
I wrapped myself with his haori, the new source of warmth welcomed. We started walking, and during the next five minutes, I shivered nonstop, even with the haori he gave me. But finally, I squinted, noticing a clearing of the trees. We were getting close!
“... So, why were you out there alone, if you don’t mind me asking? ” I barely understood that. “...uh… I don’t understand. ” I hope I got that right.
“ Oh, that’s fine. ” He assured me in a soft tone…this was still so weird. Then I noticed some movement in the corner of my eye. I soon caught a full view of the hut. It was...larger than I thought, but still kinda small for a family of seven to live in.
I saw a woman with kind, dark purple eyes, and a small beauty mark located on the left of her face below her lower lip. She had black hair, worn tied back in a messy bun with a few loose strands left to dangle over her face. It looked like she was washing some clothes in some kind of large bowl. I’m pretty sure her name was Kie, right?
“So pretty…” I muttered in an awed whisper, Tanjiro softly pulled me toward the hut. The sound of our steps crunching in the snow alerted her to our presence. She looked up, smiling when she saw Tanjiro, “ Welcome back, Tanjiro! ” She got up and walked over to him.
“ I sold all the coal again this time, but while I was coming back, I found a girl in the cold. ” He said something, yet again I could barely understand. But he was directing attention to me, so it must’ve been something about me.
I kinda just toned out the conversation at this point, since I could barely understand anything anyway.
I was pulled back when Kie walked up to me, “ Sweetie, I know you may not understand me right now. But, I can help you clean up if you’d like? ” She had a soft tone, she was asking me something, but of course, I couldn’t understand. This language barrier is starting to get annoying.
Kie pointed to herself, then inside the hut. Which confused me, was she trying to give me something? “... yes ?” I agreed to something in a hesitant tone, Kie smiled at me.
She then led me inside, it was surprisingly a lot warmer here. Three other people were inside, I easily recognized Nezuko who was looking after the youngest one. I’m pretty sure his name was Roku…something. There was also Hanako (I dunno why I remember her name specifically…) and the kinda bald one, his name was like Shi-something. I knew there was supposed to be another kid, like, the grumpy one.
“ Nezuko, could you lead everyone outside? Tanjiro found this girl in the cold while coming back, Do you mind if I help her change into something warmer. ” Using my context clues expertly, I knew she was asking Nezuko to do something regarding me, still not sure though.
Nezuko said something I didn’t understand, then turned to me briefly (What a beauty!) to smile reassuringly. Or at least that’s what I think she smiled at me for.
Nezuko carried the youngest one in her hands while telling something to Hanako and the other one. The only thing I could catch was ‘Tanjiro’, but she soon led the kids out. Hanako kinda just stared at me in a curious childlike way for a bit before rushing out to follow Nezuko.
Kie then walked to a pair of doors, and when she opened it, It kinda seemed like a mini closet. There were a lot of clothes in two bowls similar to the one she was using to wash the clothes outside earlier.
She searched through the clothes while I awkwardly stood off at the side. After a good 15 seconds, she pulled out a light grey kimono. It had pink flowery patterns, and the obi was a dark red.
“ I’m hoping this will fit you, this is one of Nezuko’s kimonos. But she hasn’t worn it for quite some time now. ” She said something about Nezuko and kimonos.
This was probably one of Nezuko’s kimonos then?
She handed it over to me, though I was kinda stuck on what to do with it since…I’ve never worn a kimono before. I nervously looked back up at her, “...uh, Help me …?”. Kie quickly replied, “ Oh, of course! Sorry about that. ”
She quickly helped me change, though, putting on a kimono was easier than I thought. I kinda feel embarrassed for asking now.
I held the clothes that I was wearing before in my hand, plus the haori that Tanjiro let me borrow. Honestly, all I had was a black hoodie and cargo jeans (plus undergarments). I didn’t what I’d do with the jeans, but I did want to keep my hoodie, especially in the cold.
I realized I’d been staring at blank space for too long, “Ah, sorry. I mean, uh, thank you! ” I thanked her, and Kie smiled warmingly. “ Oh, do you need me to dry your clothing? ” She pointed at the pile of clothes in my hands, did she want to dry them, or something?
I nodded slowly, making sure I understood her first. She took them from me, minus Tanjiro’s haori. “ Ah, make sure you give that to Tanjiro, will you? ” She pointed at the haori, then pointed back outside.
It was pretty easy to understand this time, I nodded then walked out searching for the red-eyed boy. Turns out he was getting crowded by his siblings, it seemed like a nice moment and I didn’t want to intrude. I sat down on the…porch? (not sure what this is actually called).
Doesn’t the family die at the start of the show?
My stomach churned in sadness realizing this, I turned back up to see them just enjoying each other's company. ‘How close am I to it happening? Could I stop it? But if I did…then canon would never happen. Even though I haven’t actually finished it, a lot more bad things would happen if Tanjiro wasn't a demon slayer.’
“ Are you okay? ” Someone asked in front of me. I was brought out of my thoughts to see a worried Tanjiro. He probably smelled how I felt(that feels so weird to say…).
“...huh? Yeah, I’m fine.” It took me Tanjiro’s confused expression to remember he didn’t understand English. “Oh, I mean yes .”, Tanjiro did not look convinced but dropped it either way.
I realized I still had his haori in my hands, “Oh, here. Your haori…” I held it out to him. He smiled when he realized what I was doing (What is with this family and smiling?!).
“ Thank you…um…I just realized I haven’t gotten your name yet? ” I tilted my head in confusion, what was he saying? He looked stuck for a second before having this dorky look on his face like when you’d get an idea. He pointed at himself, “ My name is Kamado Tanjiro, and you? ”
I realized what he was doing, “Oh, um. My name is Theresa, just um…Tessa.”. He smiled, “ Well, it’s nice to meet you, Tessa-san! ”.
I got the nice to meet you part, but I didn’t know how to say ‘you too’ in Japanese. So I just gave my best smile.
—-----------
I pretty much spent the rest of the day introducing myself to everyone. I got everyone's names too. I was close with most of them, the youngest one was Rokuta, and the second youngest aka slightly bald kid was Shigeru. And the grumpy one was Takeo.
Takeo wasn't there when Tanjiro came back because he was gathering wood for the night.
Unsurprisingly, everyone’s incredibly welcoming. Even though I kinda expected it, doesn’t mean it sometimes bewilders me how kind they are.
The sun had started to set about 10 minutes ago, Kie had called everyone back inside for dinner. It was a low…table? I was talking with Hanako before Kie called everyone in. So I sat down on my knees next to Hanako, and Hanako sat next to Nezuko.
Once everyone was seated, “ Thank you for the meal! ”, Startling me, the family said in unison before eating. With that, I started to eat as well.
—----------------
Since the hut was only one large room, everyone slept in the same room. The futons were placed on the floor evenly so everyone had space. My futon was next to Nezuko and Hanako. It was kinda like the boys were side by side on one half of the room and the girls were side by side on the other half.
“... Goodnight …” I hesitantly spoke up.
“ Goodnight !” They all replied before Kie blew out the candle.
I lay awake, staring at the now-dark ceiling. That feeling in my stomach returned, ‘What am I supposed to do about their deaths?! Do I just…let them die? It feels wrong. I hope they live as long as possible…’
I teared up, wiping my eyes quickly. I could feel the floor through my futon, but at this point, I was too tired to care.
—---------------
For the next three weeks, I lived with the family. They were all so nice and seeing them do the chores for the first two days was eating me alive. So I insisted on helping, I often helped Tanjiro and Takeo gather wood.
Turns out, chopping wood is a lot harder than it looks. Swinging with the axe sometimes left my hands feeling stiff and looking calloused. Handling charcoal would leave them bruised.
Even though Nezuko and Kie worried, I smiled and brushed it off, I was happy to help them.
I also looked after Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta from time to time, whenever Nezuko needed to help Kie with anything.
Either way, it was nice, being a part of such a lovely family. I feel grateful to get to know such wonderful people.
—------
I opened my eyes, quickly sitting up, I looked around the room. Realizing that everyone else’s futons were already folded, I must’ve woken up pretty late then.
The sound of the sliding door opening caught my attention, and Nezuko walked inside. She was carrying a sleeping Rokuta in her hands, She noticed me sitting up. “ Oh, good morning, Tessa-chan! ” She greeted me with a cheerful tone, “Ah, good morning to you too, Nezuko.” I yawned with my mouth closed.
“ Where is everyone? ” I asked Nezuko as she tucked in Rokuta. “ Outside saying goodbye to Tanjiro. He’s going to town to sell coal today. ” I couldn’t really understand a lot of that, but Nezuko pointed outside to help with that.
“ Thank you, ” I said before walking out of the room, closing the Shoji behind me. I saw Kie wiping off some soot off of Tanjiro’s face. I snuck closer, catching their conversation (it isn’t like I could understand them though). “ It might get dangerous if it starts snowing. It’s fine for you to just stay home. ” She had a worried tone.
Something about this scene is eerily familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Well, I want everyone to eat their fill on New Year’s. So I’m gonna go sell as much charcoal as I can. ” He mumbled back while she continued to wipe his face. She stared back at him in an exasperated fondness type of way.
She smiled, “ Thank you, ” She let go of his face. It seemed like they were done talking, so I walked up to the both of them. “ Ah, Good morning Tessa !” Tanjiro smiled brightly, “ Good morning , Tanjiro.” I smiled softly, still kinda tired.
“ Where are you going? ” I made the confusion on my face more apparent, “ I’m going to town to sell coal for New Year’s! ” I know he said something with ‘coal’ in it since I have been living with this family for three weeks. They do a lot of stuff with coal.
“You’re selling the coal?” I pointed toward the coal basket on his back, and he nodded.
Wait . ‘No, no, no. Please, not today. Fear gripped my heart. I knew the day could come any time, but still! I can’t even try and save them…because if I did, then what would happen next? I could make things worse somehow.’
Tanjiro had a confused and worried expression, “ Are you okay ?” he asked me. “Uh…what? Um. Y-yeah, yeah.” I nodded anxiously. I paused, “Can I-” I pointed to myself, “ go with -” then pointed at Tanjiro, “ you ?”.
He understood what I meant pretty quickly, and so did Kie. She was the first one to speak up, “ Are you sure? I know you can take care of yourself, but it’s a long way up and down the mountain. And the weather is particularly cold today. ” She seemed worried so I’m guessing she’s asking if I’m sure or something like that.
“Yeah, I’m positive.” I nodded, Kie sighed, “ Okay…But, Tanjiro are you okay with this? ”. “ Hmm? Uh, Y-yeah... ” I pretty much tuned out their conversation once it was clear that I was going.
“ Tanjiro !” Shigeru’s voice shouted as he and Hanako ran up to us. “ You’re going to town again today? ”. Hanako walked forward, “ I’m coming with you! ” She exclaimed, a pouty expression on her face.
I sat down on the porch(I dunno the name of this thing!) watching Hanako and Shigeru try to come. My stomach churned watching Tanjiro promising Hanako that he’d read to her and Shigeru he’d get something sweet for him.
Takeo looked like he really wanted Tanjiro and me to get wood together today, and how the family laughed at Tanjiro and Takeo’s antics.
I felt sick, is this seriously it? It seemed so…normal.
I brought my attention back to the group when Tanjiro was ready to leave. I stood up and walked after him. Nezuko finished putting Rokuta to bed and came out to say bye. Now they were all waving goodbye.
“ Come back soon, okay ?”
“ Take care, okay ?”
I waved back and so did Tanjiro, my vision blurred a bit with tears once we got far enough from the hut. I kept my eyes on the ground, not daring to look up.
‘It’s too late to go back now…what’s done is done. Just, keep looking forward. I have to keep going…!’
—------------
“ Oh, Tanjiro! Working hard as always I see ?” An old woman called out, seeing the basket of coal on his back. I walked up close behind him, “Oh? And who’s this young lady, Tanjiro? ” the woman had a kind of mischievous curiosity in her tone.
Tanjiro walked closer, “ This is Tessa, I found her in the cold not too long ago. She wanted to help today with selling! ” Tanjiro had a somewhat fond tone when he spoke with the lady. I bowed a little, hoping not to come off as rude or anything.
Another voice came from a different house, “ Ah, Tanjiro! Could you and your girlfriend help me with these boxes? ”. Tanjiro’s face got red (for a reason I wholeheartedly wouldn’t know), then before Tanjiro could reply, a guy and an older woman came out from the shoji behind us.
“ T-tanjiro! Perfect timing! ” The guy had a bloody nose, he held some broken glass in a cloth. The woman followed behind him with something like an impatient expression. “ Smell t-this! There’s no way I broke it! ” He stumbled and held up the glass to him.
‘That’s kinda dangerous, but hey, what do I know?’
Tanjiro sniffed the glass, pausing for a second before speaking up. “ It smells…like a cat. ”, “ SEE! I TOLD YOU IT WASN’T ME! ” The lady didn’t really seem that apologetic though.
——----
The sun had already set by the time we’d sold out. My legs were starting to ache, “Ugh…why’d that take so long…?” I groaned, Tanjiro chuckled beside me as we went back up the mountain.
“ Hey, Tanjiro! You two don’t plan on going up the mountain at this time, do you?!” A gruff voice shouted which caught both of our attention, that must be the old guy…
“ We’ll be fine! ” Tanjiro assured him, but Saburo(I’m pretty sure that’s his name) insisted. “ You can stay with me tonight! Come on, get inside. ”, I can vaguely remember what this conversation was about.
“ But I- ” I tugged Tanjiro’s haori, catching his attention. “ We stay. ” It probably sounded weird to him, but I hope he got the message.
Tanjiro paused, before sighing, “ Okay. ”
—-----
“ Would you both like some dinner? ” Old man Saburo asked both of us, “ No, thank you… ” I declined, Tanjiro glanced at me worriedly before accepting his offer. I don’t think I could eat anything with this hole in my stomach.
I went to lay in the already set up futon, ‘What’s happening with the Nezuko and everyone now? Has Muzan appeared yet? Are they dead now…?’ . Eventually, Tanjiro had finished the dinner Saburo prepared.
“ Time for bed, you can set off for home at first light, ” Saburo told Tanjiro, which I guessed he was telling him to go to bed.
Tanjiro had settled into his futon and glanced at me worriedly again. Then he looked back up at the ceiling, once it was clear that I wasn’t going to say anything.
He spoke up, “- ”.
“ Yes .”
“ Then why don’t they just eat everyone? ”
“ The Demon Slayers protect us by killing as many as they can, they always have…” He trailed off “ Now go to sleep. It’s lights out. ”, Saburo got up and left to a different room.
Once he was out of earshot, I hesitantly muttered, “ Sorry, Tanjiro…”. I could tell he heard me and seemed confused. Then he smiled before turning his head back to me, “ It’s fine, I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready. ”
—-----------
“ You two be safe now! ” Saburo said goodbye, “ Thank you, Saburo-san. ” I bowed, before quickly following Tanjiro to leave. We walked up the mountain together in a comfortable silence.
Not even five minutes later, Tanjiro stopped mid-step. Sniffing the air, realizing what was happening anxiety pooled in my stomach. He muttered, “... The smell of blood… ”, then turned to me, “ Tessa, someone might be injured back home! ” He pointed up the mountain. Then he sprinted up the mountain, with me following close behind.
Tanjiro slid down and I slid down close behind him, we rushed up to the hut as we caught it in sight. Tanjiro saw it first, stopping suddenly, causing me to bump into him. He was breathing heavily, “Oh, sorry…” I trailed off, finally seeing what he saw.
A thick trail of blood from the house with Nezuko lying outside with Rokuta in her hands. Both their bodies were bloodied, I rushed in first.
‘WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Why did I think I could brush this off? This isn’t anime, this is real life…Why didn’t I save them?!’
I shook Nezuko frantically, “W-wake up…!” I breathed out, “Please, Nezuko!!”. I almost didn’t want to look into the house, already knowing what I would see. Tanjiro was on the other side of Nezuko’s body, “Nezuko, w-what happened?” He turned into the hut seeing the rest of their broken bodies.
I couldn’t bear to turn around, keeping my eyes shut, tears dripping down my face rapidly. ‘This is all my fault…!!’ .
He walked up to the doorway of the bloodied hut, muttering their names in horror. I kept my eyes shut, sobbing now.
I didn’t realize when Tanjiro was back near Nezuko again, “ Tess! H-hurry, Nezuko’s the only one who’s still warm! We n-need to get her to a doctor!! ”. I quickly helped Tanjiro get Nezuko on his back. Wincing glancing at Rokuta’s corpse. Tanjiro secured her in his hold, before rushing off, while I was close behind him.
It was snowing so hard, I…I can’t breathe! My body shook heavily, the kimono I had on was damp weighing me down, I could feel my fingers freezing. I forced down another sob as I noticed the cliff that Tanjiro would soon fall off of.
We both slid down another slope and then quickly stepped over a dead tree. The air felt so icy, my lungs…they hurt!
I stared in shock as I saw Nezuko suddenly sit up with a growl, she shook around on Tanjiro’s back aggressively.
He slipped, falling off the cliff. “AAWGH!”
I quickly ran over to the edge, seeing him lying down in the snow with a shocked look on his face before sitting up quickly. “T-tanjiro! I’M…uh…COMING DOWN!!”
I stood up, then backed up a little. ‘I can do this, I can do this…I probably won’t die from this.’ . I ran up, launching myself off the edge. Closing my eyes as tightly as possible, as I waited for the impact. I landed face-first, the wind getting knocked out of my lungs, leaving me breathless.
“...oof…”
Tanjriro hurried to where I landed, “ Are you alright?! ” helping me up. “... t-thank you… ” I muttered, still feeling winded. Tanjiro quickly got back to looking for Nezuko, and I quickly followed after.
“ NEZUKO!! ”
“Nezuko!”
We shouted, I spotted her standing near a tree in the corner of my eye. “Tanjiro! There!” I pointed, and Tanjiro quickly rushed to her.
“Nezuko! Are you okay?! You don’t have to walk! Let me carry you to town!” He fretted, but Nezuko remained silent. “...Nezuko…?” He sounded confused, and suddenly Nezuko launched herself onto Tanjiro. Looking like…a demon.
She tried biting him, but he quickly pulled out his hatched, her teeth trying to bite through it. She pushed harder, forcing him to the ground, Tanjiro struggled to hold her up.
“Tanjiro!” I shouted, seeing her pouncing him, I ran over to the two of them. I held Nezuko from behind, putting my hands on her shoulder, trying to pull her off of him.
Nezuko grew larger, surprising both of us. She grew large enough that her shoulders were too large for my hands to grasp. “ ...How are you getting bigger ?!” It was getting harder and harder for him to hold her up.
I struggled trying to pull her off of him, “Tanjiro! Say something!!” I shouted to him. “ Nezuko! Nezuko, hang on! Don’t give in! Don’t let it take control! YOU GOTTA HANG ON! PLEASE! ” He cried out, causing me to spill a few tears as well.
I caught sight of tears dropping on Tanjiro’s face, she’s in control. I sighed in relief. She’s gonna be okay.
The next thing I felt, I was pushed off of Nezuko, hitting a nearby tree.
Groaning, I stood up, hoping to get to Nezuko and Tanjiro quickly.
The wind kicked up a lot of snow as I covered my eyes, hurrying over to the two. Once the snow cleared up, I realized I was standing in front of Tanjiro and Nezuko, Nezuko being held by Tanjiro while they sat against a tree.
I could see Giyuu from here, glaring at the both of us (Why must he be so gorgeous?!). I blushed a little, but quickly faded away when Giyuu started speaking in a threatening tone. “ Why do you two protect it? ” Giyuu spoke up, and Tanjiro immediately shouted back, “ She’s my sister! ”
I didn’t understand what Giyuu said, but I know Tanjiro said something like ‘She’s my sister’.
Nezuko growling and struggling in Tanjiro’s grasp was not helping our case at all (at one point she did shrink back). I crouched down near her, trying to keep her calm. “Nezuko! We’re fine!”, “ Nezuko !”. For a moment she did stop moving for a bit, her expression softening when she saw my face.
“ You call that thing your sister? ” Giyuu said something, which quickly got Nezuko back to growling, glaring at Giyuu. The next thing I saw was Giyuu charging at Tanjiro and me, then I blinked, and then Tanjiro was gone from Tanjiro’s grasp. I gasped, I couldn't even see that!
I heard Nezuko’s growling again and turned to see Giyuu holding Nezuko with just one hand.
“ Nezuko !” Tanjiro stood up, but Giyuu quickly cut him off, “ Don’t move !”. There was a silence (aside from Nezuko’s growling) as the wind blew, kicking up some snow. I stood in front of Tanjiro, hoping to protect him if anything went wrong.
Giyuu began to talk about something to do with demons and something about Nezuko. I didn’t understand at all of course. So I was kinda just standing there like an idiot.
“ No wait! Nezuko hasn’t hurt anyone! ” Tanjiro shouted, in a desperate tone. “ Back at my house, there was another scent! A scent I’ve never smelled before! That’s probably the one…who killed my family! Nezuko didn’t do it! ”. He went on, trying to change Giyuu’s mind somehow.
“ It’s quite simple...she’s turned because her wounds were exposed to demon blood. That’s how the man-eating monsters multiply. ”
They did a back-and-forth as to what I’m assuming (what else would it be) is arguing whether or not Nezuko gets to live. Lemme just tell you, it gets boring when you can’t understand what other people are saying.
I huffed in frustration, and then suddenly, catching me off guard, Giyuu started shouting.
I looked back at Tanjiro to see him on the floor in front of him, groveling. “ DON’T GROVEL LIKE THAT AND GIVE YOUR ENEMIES THE CHANCE TO KILL YOU! ”, “ All you’re doing is making yourself vulnerable. If it were even a little bit effective…YOUR FAMILY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!” .
I flinched when he turned to me, “And you! What do you think you’re doing standing there like an idiot!? Standing in front of him like that, you think you can protect him when you were easily pushed aside earlier?!” . I didn’t even know what he said, but the fact that he was shouting at me aggressively made me lower my head (don’t you dare start crying!).
He turned his attention back to Tanjiro (Thank God…sorry Tanjiro.), “ How can a weakling like you have any hope of finding a way to heal his sister? Or hunt down a demon?! ” Tanjiro sat up, shock on his face.
“ DON’T BE RIDICULOUS! The weak have no rights, they don’t get to make choices! All they get to do is get relentlessly crushed by the strong! ”
Giyuu aimed his sword, pointing it toward both of us. Saying something before aiming back at Nezuko, intent on hitting her. I flinched, “ No -!” Both of us exclaimed simultaneously.
I needed to do something to help! Before I knew it, he stabbed her through her left side. “DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!” Tanjiro shouted, instantly throwing a rock at Giyuu(incredible aim tho).
Giyuu caught the rock with his sword in hand, and another large gust of wind kicked up a bunch of snow. Leaving it hard to see for a quick moment, I used this chance and ran to Giyuu, I hoped I could try and hold him down.
Tanjiro had reached Giyuu pretending he had the hatchet, but Giyuu had knocked him out with the hilt of his sword. At the same time, he kicked my feet causing me to lose my balance and fall head-first onto the hard snow.
“...a-ack…that…hurt…”
I could feel the blood flowing down my forehead.
Before I lost consciousness, I heard the sound of the hatchet slamming into the tree, and Nezuko breaking out of his hold.
—-----------
I faintly heard a familiar voice whisper to me, “I know we’ve only known you for less than a month. But we all consider you part of the family. Please take care of Tanjiro and Nezuko for us. Thank you,”
I heard the faint voice of Giyuu speaking, before my eyes snapped open, “Good, Now that she’s awake.” “Ugh…”, I pushed myself up from the floor. I stared at the blood that stained the snow below my forehead for a second. Then pushed myself into a sitting position, rubbing my head.
I saw Giyuu leaning on a nearby tree, in an emo kind of way.
I saw Tanjiro sitting up next to me, he was holding Nezuko close to him, and she was still asleep (as expected).
“ Now head to Mount Sagiri as soon as possible. Look for an old man, Urokodaki Sakonji. Tell him Tomioka Giyuu sent you once you find him. ” He got off the tree, “ It’s cloudy, so she’ll be alright for now. But never let her be exposed to sunlight.” With that, he disappeared in a flash. If I blinked, I would’ve missed it. Nah, my eyes were wide open and I missed it.
We sat there in silent shock for a bit, (more Tanjiro than me). After a bit, Nezuko had woken up, So Tanjiro led us back to the house.
It was… unpleasant…to go back into the house. I grabbed the only clean clothes I could find, which was one of Kie’s old kimonos. Then found a cloth to wrap my head wound, I couldn’t find a mirror, so I just hoped it wasn’t sloppy or anything.
I slipped on the kimono, even though it was a little larger than me it was warmer than the kimono I was wearing earlier. It was a white color with a lavender obi and flower patterns. Also finding Nezuko a new kimono, which was of course the iconic brown kimono.
I helped her change into that, while Tanjiro started burying their bodies. I helped with the last two who were Takeo and Kie. Kneeling next to Tanjiro to pray briefly.
Soon after, he stood up,
“Let’s go.
” I got up right after him. We sprinted off to descend the mountain, after a minute when Tanjiro took my hand. We sprinted through the cold hand in hand.