Chapter Text
Walking out of the house a 12 year old black haired girl walked away from gathering coal to sell, “alright I’ll be off everyone!” She calls out before 2 younger children run up to her.
“Nee-san! Take me with you!” A small boy with short hair says as he runs up to me.
“I wanna go too!” The girl called out.
“You know it’s dangerous to go down the mountain this time of year you two, You know it with what happened to Tanjiro the last time he went down the mountain. The older said to her younger siblings.
“Aww ok” The young girl said while the boy huffed looking away.Bringing out her hand she ruffled the two kids' hair.
“Takeo!” She calls out as a kid rounded the corner from the side of the house.
“Nezuko! Do you have to go? I was hoping we could cut wood together” He grumbled out with an axe swung over his shoulder.
Letting out a laugh she ruffles his hair as well, “Nezuko!” She hears her mother call out for her and turns her way.
“Kasan!” I called out.
Her mother brought up a cloth to her face, “You should be more careful about getting charcoal all over your face” She says rubbing the cloth across her face. Nezuko lets out a laugh as her mother wipes her face.
“Thank you Kasan” Nezuko says with a smile before turning around and walking the other way waving to them “Bye everyone!” She calls out.
“Nezuko!” an older boy calls out to her.
“Ah! Tanjiro!” Nezuko says with a smile, noticing the child on the ground holding Tanjiro’s hand. “And Rokuta!” She smiles
“Rokuta just wanted to say goodbye,” Tanjiro says with a smile.
Rokuta lets out a big smile and nods, letting go of Tanjiros hand and running up to Nezuko, “Bye bye Nesan!” He said, hugging her leg. Nezuko smiles and puts a hand on his head.
“I’ll see you later, ok Rokuta?” Nezuko says and Rokuta nods before running back to Tanjiro. Nezuko looks at Tanjiro, “He’s really gotten close to you after tosan died huh” Nezuko says.
“Yea, he’s been clinging to me ever since” Tanjiro says as he looks down at Rokuta who was hugging his leg tiredly, “Alright, I’m going to go put him down for a nap, good luck selling coal!” Tanjiro says, grabbing Rokuta’s hand as they walk away back to the house. Nezuko sighed seeing Tanjros limp as he walked. She turns and starts walking down the mountain. She waves back at her family as she walks away.
As she got down the mountain she felt uneasy and she didn’t know why. Walking through the town she goes around everywhere and sells the coal for her family so they can do something nice for the new year. As she walks around she helps a few people with other things as well.
Everyone in the village adored the Kamado family. The family would come down and often played with the other kids in the village which made everyone laugh at the antics the children would get up to in the village. So with that Nezuko promised to bring her siblings the next time when Tanjiro got better and could bring the cart.
Nezuko was all sold out and she started walking back to the base of the mountain. As she got there and started climbing up the mountain she heard a voice.
“Hey! Nezuko! Get in here! It’s not safe to go up the mountain at night!” Old man Saburo called out from the door of his house, he seemed sincerely worried about her Safety on the walk back up the mountain.
“I’ll be safe! I’m strong! Don’t worry about me Mr. Saburo!” Nezuko called out with a smile on her face and bringing her hands up in reassurance.
“No, you won’t last against those demons, get in here” Old man Saburo claims.
‘Demons?’ Nezuko thought, ‘Grandma told us something about them before, But they can’t be real can they?’ Nezuko quizzes herself. She lets out a sigh, “Alright Mr. Saburo, but I have to leave first thing in the morning, I don’t want to worry my family” She says to the man as he leads him inside.
Nezuko asks herself about the demons that Old man Saburo had mentioned as she walks in, she turns to him, “Those demons you mentioned” She says as he turns to her, “They can’t get inside your house can they?”
“Well…” He pauses, “They can, Demons are stronger than you can imagine” he says, “They can break down the door; but, they are also more likely to attack those who are out in the open after dark” He explains.
Nezuko looks down, “I see”
“Now get to sleep, you need your energy” He explains. She nods slowly glancing over at him before laying down on the futon and closing her eyes.
The next morning she wakes up with a call for breakfast from Mr. Saburo. Nodding she quickly puts her futon away and grabs breakfast while sitting down and eating. She soon gets up grabbing the basket, “I’ll be off Nor Mr. Saburo!” She calls out to him as she walks out. Walking up the mountain she finds herself still wondering about the demons that the old man had mentioned. She still couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong. As she walked into the clearing where her family's house lay the first thing she thought of was the strong smell of blood in the air. Even if she didn’t have that strong of a sense as Tanjiro did she could still definitely smell how strong the blood was. Looking towards the front door of her house she let out a scream. One she had never done before then. She drops the basket on her back and runs up to the door.
“Tanjiro, Rokuta” she whimpered before she glanced inside and let out another scream, “Takeo…. Hanako…. Shigeru….. Kasan….” Nezuko lets out. She quickly checks all of them over growing more and more saddened. The only one who was still warm and had a pulse was Tanjiro. She quickly picked him up, putting him on her back. She struggled but she pushed through it and started running. Down the mountain that was until she was suddenly thrown off the side of the cliff that was next to the path. She let out a yelp as Tanjiro was thrown off of her and landed a few yards away.
“Saved by the snow…” She muttered to herself before quickly standing up and looking for Tanjiro only to see him standing, blood covering his body. “Tanjiro! You don’t have to stand! Let me carry you to the village!” She shouts as she runs up to him putting her hands on her shoulders.
Seconds later he looked up with a look in his eyes that was so unfamiliar that I took a step back. “Tanjiro…?” Nezuko questions him, looking him up and down. He didn’t have any injuries on him but he was covered in blood. She looked him in his eyes. They were different from mere days ago. They weren’t those kind dark red as they were before they were a bright red and he had slitted pupils. Standing there she keeps looking at him before moments later he grabs her and shoots down to the side. She let out a yelp as she shoved behind Tanjiro as he stood in front of her in a defensive position.
A man with long dark hair stood there with a uniform looking outfit and a purple and black haori. He had deep red eyes and a scar. Was it even a scar on his forehead? The man looked shocked at the scene in front of him. “Girl, get away from that demon” The man says calmly.
“No! He’s my brother! I won’t leave him!” She yells out.
“That demon isn’t your brother anymore” He says glancing at them before in a mere second Tanjiro disappeared from in front of Nezuko and appeared in the man's hand.
“No! Stop!” She yells out as she stands up. Tanjiro struggled in the man’s grip and Nezuko ran at the man before the man quickly knocked her out. Tanjiro struggled some more in his grip before he kicked the man out of the way and ran at Nezuko. Tanjiro then put himself in front of Nezuko as a protective barrier. The man's eyes widened in surprise even though seeing almost the same thing earlier he never expected it to happen again. Tanjiro didn’t jump at him, he just stood there protecting his sister with a growl directed at the older man.
“Leave my sister alone” Tanjiro growled out.
The man looks at the two siblings ‘maybe these siblings are different’ He thinks watching the two of them, Nezuko is still unconscious. “You, Demon, What is your name?” The man says towards Tanjiro.
“Tanjiro…. My name is Tanjiro Kamado” He growled out to the man.
The man looked at him, before his eyes landed on one thing, the earrings that the boy wore, “Kamado…. I won’t hurt you or your sister, just calm down” he says, still staring at the earrings that the boy wore. “JUst wait for your sister to wake up and I’ll explain myself” He says . “But I do have a question for you”
The boy tilted his head as he calmed down slightly, still standing in front of Nezuko protectively. “What is it…?”
“Your earrings, where did you get them?”
“My father gave them to me when he passed,” Tanjiro states, glancing at the man.
“I see…” He says. That was when Nezuko started stirring awake, Tanjiro immediately turned around and grabbed her hand.
“Nezuko!” He says as she sits up. Nezuko glances at him before wrapping herself around him in a hug. Tanjiro glances over at the man that was now leaning against a tree. Nezuko glances over at where Tanjiro was looking, seeing the man. She brings herself away from the hug with Tanjiro as she goes in front of him. Tanjiro puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Nezuko looks at him and takes a deep breath before turning to look at the man before them.
“My Name is Michikatsu Tsugikuni” He says “I would like it for you to come with me and train to become a demon slayer” Michikatsu states looking at Nezuko.
“Demon Slayer…” Nezuko says, glancing at him. “As in killing demons?” She asks Michikatsu nods looking at the girl across the clearing from him, “Wait! Is it possible to turn Tanjiro back into a human!?” She asks Michikatsu. As she says that Michikatsu seems to freeze.
“As of now no” He says, glancing over at her.
“Then I'll do it! I’ll find a cure for Tanjiro and turn him back into a human!” She says. Tanjiro glanced at his sister and sends her a smile.
Michikatsu huffs and nods, “Although I do need get your brother something” he says as he glances around before walking over to a bamboo tree and chopping a part of it off, he then rips a part of his Haori off and walks over to the two siblings he glances at Tanjiro as he just sat there behind his sister, before glancing at his sister, “May I?” He asks her. She slowly nods before sitting down on the snow next to Tanjiro. Michikatsu pulls the Bamboo up to Tanjiro. He just sits there and lets him do it as he ties the bamboo around his mouth with the piece of his haori he had ripped off efficiently creating a muzzle. Tanjiro just looked at MIchikatsu with a look of interest. “Alright, how about we go and bury your family?” Michikatsu asked Nezuko with a blank expression.
Nezuko looks down, “Yea… let’s go do that” She says as her voice breaks. She glances over at Tanjiro and grabs his hand. He squeezes her hand in reassurance as they walk up the mountain with Michikatsu back to their family home.
As they finish burying the bodies Nezuko notices how tired Tanjiro looks. Michikatsu walks up to the pair, “We should get going so we can make it to at least another village before sunrise” He says looking at them. He glances at Tanjiro, “Hm, he looks tired, I didn’t know demons could get tired” He said thinking back on his own brother's words.
Nezuko glances at her brother, “yea.. I noticed that earlier, "she says.
They then start walking, walking off the mountain.
When it was nearing morning Michikatsu grabbed the siblings hands and pulled them over to a cave. Nezuko let out a startled yelp and Tanjiro was just too tired to care. As they get into the cave Nezuko notices the sun rising.
“What was that for?” She asks Michikatsu.
“It’s the sun, Demons die in the sun” He says with the straightforward face he usually has.
“HUH!? Really?” she questions in surprise looking at Michikatsu. Michikatsu hums and nods.
“The sun harms demons and kills them, that’s why I dragged you in here”
“I-” She glances at Tanjiro who was hiding in the corner of the cave, “I see” Tanjiro looks at Nezuko, “How about we find something so we can carry him around during the day?” Nezuko asks.
Michikatsu nods, “yes let’s do that” he says as he glances at Tanjiro, “Are you ok alone?” He asks. Tanjiro nods and sits down in the cave.
The two of them walk out into the village.
Nezuko walks up to a woman that had a broken basket with her, “Ma’am could I have that basket please?” Nezuko asks
“You want this piece of crap?” The woman asks, “Yes you can take it, along with a few pieces of bamboo to help fix it I don’t mind!” THe woman says.
“Thank you Ma’am! Here take this for my gratitude” Nezuko says, placing a few coins in the woman's hand.
“No! You don’t have to!” The woman says rejecting the coins.
“No! I Insist!” Nezuko says, pressing the coins into her hand, grabbing the basket and bamboo and then running off.
Michikatsu sighs and follows after the young girl.
When they reached the cave Nezuko started stringing the bamboo through the basket to fix it. As she fixed it Tanjiro came over and sat next to her watching her fix the basket. Michikatsu watches the siblings reminding him of himself and his brother when they were younger.
Later when Nezuko finishes she glances at Tanjiro with a smile,”Alright, let’s see if you can fit in here” SHe says with a smile. Tanjiro tilts his head, “Oh uh, Tanjiro can you get in the basket?” She asks as Michikatsu watches with a quizzical look not thinking Tanjiro would be able to fit in the basket. As Tanjiro starts crawling in he struggles not being able to get in the basket, “Hm, not working..?” Nezuko questions. “Can you get smaller..?” She questions.
Tanjiro glances back at her before shrinking and fitting in the basket, “Oh! Good Job Tanjiro!” Nezuko says with a smile and Pats his head. Tanjiro looks at her. She couldn’t help but notice he still looked tired. She then grabbed a big piece of fabric that she had found and put it over the basket so she could carry around Tanjiro. SHe glances over at Michikatsu, “We should get going then” Nezuko says.
“Yes, let's get going,” He says. Nezuko nods and picks up the basket with Tanjiro and puts it on her back.
They walked all the way to Michikatsus house which took them a couple of days. When they got there Michikatsu had Nezuko put Tanjiro in one of the rooms that didn’t have windows. When they had gotten there they had realized that Tanjiro was asleep so Nezuko laid the tiny form of her brother down on a futon to let him sleep. Then Michikatsu called her outside.
“Alright, We’ll be starting training now” Michikatsu says as he pulls out a sword. “Do 500 swings for me” He states nonchalantly.
“HUH!?"