Chapter Text
When happiness is shattered, it is always accompanied by the stench of blood.
”It’s alright Tanjiro, really!” Nezuko said while hanging about in the doorway. Her hair was done in a nice bun with wildflowers, and she was smiling like the sun.
”You already sold enough charcoal yesterday, and I want you to have a break for once,” she continued as she slipped on her torn leather slippers.
”I know, Nezuko, but I can’t help but worry about you. I’m the eldest, so I should be taking care of everyone. Won’t you just let me go like usual?” Tanjiro sighed, already almost at his wits end from trying to convince his sister to just leave it to him. He’d been at it for almost an hour already.
”I’ll be alright, brother,” Nezuko replied, her kimono shifting slightly as she picked up Rokuta from the ground and put him in a sling that was fastened around her shoulder and waist.
”I’ll be careful and mind my feet in the snow. I’ll be safe and back before nightfall. I’ll even take Rokuta with me so that he can see the town,” her expression shifted toward one of an almost childish defiance, likely showing that she would not budge or change her mind no matter what Tanjiro still threw at her.
Tanjiro seemed to sense that his sister was done trying to convince him, and would not budge, so he sighed wearily and finally conceded.
”Fine, but you have to remember to be incredibly careful, alright? And remember to buy some more rice, but not too much, so that you can still carry it.”
Nezuko beamed and picked up a bag to put on her back. She carefully counted the money she had and then hid it in her breast pocket. ”Don’t worry Tanjiro, I’ll be just fine!” she said, and started to turn around to face the icy path that lay before her.
”Wait!” Tanjiro called out suddenly. His adolescent voice carried over the snow covered ground and reached Nezuko at record speed. Tanjiro hastily moved toward Nezuko as if in a great hurry, and when he was just about to reach her, he skidded to a stop on the icy ground.
”Take one of my earrings, Nezuko,” he said, moving to take one of his rising sun charms off.
”Wait, Tanjiro, I can’t! Father gave them to you!” Nezuko exclaimed, her eyes widening. Rokuta stirred in his fabric cocoon, eyes wide open and surveying his surroundings.
”It’s fine, sister. I want you to have it. That way it can protect you from the yokai and evil spirits like it does me. I’ll have the other one, and to ease your mind, you can give it to me when you get back home. But please, just take it for now,” Tanjiro’s eyes were sincere and shining with unending and unbridaled love for his sister.
Nezuko sighed and extended her hand to take the earing Tanjiro was offering. She slowly turned it over in her hand, and finally, after thoroughly observing it, she slipped it into her own pierced ear. It dangled like a piece of the sun, vibrant and complimenting her complexion, making her seem livelier.
”Thank you, brother,” she whispered.
”It’s nothing,” Tanjiro said as he moved to hug her small frame. Nezuko reciprocated the embrace and smiled sweetly. Tanjiro seemed happy to give her this. the weight of the earing felt foreign, but it made her feel more grounded then before.
After what felt like minutes, Tanjiro let go and said one last time, ”Remember to prioritize your safety, alright?”
”I will,” Nezuko responded. With that she turned around with the earing weighing on her ear and Rokuta weighing on her shoulder. She looked straight ahead and begun to brave the icy road down from the mountain and into the village.
Nezuko kept descending the mountain at a slow pace that would have seemed quite dull to anyone who was older or quicker at mountain-descending, but for her, this was as fast as it got. Nezuko didn’t want to say it to Tanjiro’s face, but she was afraid of descending the snowy and icy mountain. She just wanted her brother to have a break for once since their father’s death, and to do that, she felt it was the best plan to volunteer to go buy some items in the village.
As Nezuko surveyed her surroundings, she felt a bit confused. Normally, it did snow quite a lot in and around their mountain home, but this year it had been even more frequent and heavier. The snow wasn’t the powdery kind she was more accostumed to, but instead wet and sloppy. It was slow to walk in and clung to her clothing like no tomorrow. It almost felt like walking in a swamp of some kind. It was almost like the gods had decided to pour even more snow to the ground to make it harder to descend their mountain into the village, where there was no doubt less snow. Tanjiro had mentioned it before, but she hadn’t believed him, as she hadn’t seen it herself. When she used to go down the mountain with her father when he was still well enough to travel, all of the snow had been nice and powdery, like delicious sweets. She had even eaten some of the snow back then, when their father wasn’t watching her. It certainly didn’t taste like sweets, but she had hopelessly clung to the thought for many years.
As Nezuko freed herself of her thoughts, she couldn’t help but notice the abundance of ice that was also foreign to her. It was the treacherous kind, the one that hid beneath a slippery covering of snow and almost made her trip multiple times. To her horror, she once almost fell on Rokuta, but managed to break the fall just before it happened. She felt relieved but shaken. Relieved that Rokuta had not woken up, and shaken that it almost happened.
Nezuko continued on her way, and after half an hour more of walking, she saw the village in the distant horizon. She sighed, her lungs feeling constricted after so much walking and breathing in the cold winter air. She quickened her pace slightly, and after not much time at all (atleast compared to coming down the mountain), she was next to the first houses on the outskirts of the village.
Nezuko smiled as she witnessed the liveliness of the village, people bustling through the houses and little stands that sold all kinds of goods, from food stuffs to clothing and fabrics.
She started weaving herself through the people and clung to Rokuta a little tighter. Nezuko wasn’t used to the amount of bustle here, as she usually spent her time at home as opposed to in the village.
She looked around in an almost confused daze, and spotted a rice stand a few paces from her. She heaved a quick sigh and started moving towards it in gratitude of finding a safe spot like it so easily.
As she continued weaving herself through the large crowd as before, she glanced around.
Nezuko saw many people that she wasn’t used to. An old man weaving baskets with suprisingly deft hands, a young couple enjoying the broth by a noodle stall, an old lady putting all of her power into creating a wooden flute and even a mother trying to wrangle her toddler daughter into behaving.
Nezuko felt slightly overwhelmed. Before she even noticed it, she had made it to the rice stand, and the seller was looking down at her expectantly.
She cleared her throat and gave the seller a small smile. It just felt appropriate to do so. She opened her mouth and asked in a small but melodiously polite voice, ”How much do you think I’d be able to carry? I came here today instead of Tanjiro.”
The stallkeepers eyes searched her face for a bit, and then regognicion flashed across his face and a little twinkle was born is his black eyes.
”Of course, hello Nezuko-chan! I’m sorry I didn’t regognize you right away! It’s been ages since I last saw you. You’ve grown so much, such a beatiful young miss!” The stallkeeper smiled brightly and leaned over the counter of his small pullable wagon, to get closer to Nezuko.
”You’ve come instead of Tanjiro, eh? Well the lad does need a break once in a while, he’s so hard working it’s unbeliviable! If only my son was more like him!”
Nezuko laughed and her eyes shone brighter than before. she laughed so much, indeed, that Rokuta woke up and started to look around by himself from his little safe cocoon. The stallkeepers eyes widened even more and he seemed to beam even more then before.
”Well if it ain’t little Rokuta! You’ve already grown so much that this uncle can barely regognize you!” the stallkeeper let out a bellowing laugh and smiled widely. Nezuko grinned brightly and replied with great vigour, ”I took him with me so that he may see the village now that he’s young. he’s gotten so used to the mountains that my mother fears he won’t be civilized anymore!
The stallkeeper and Nezuko chuckeled at her joke, and then got back to business.
”So, a bag of rise, you say? Well, you ain’t large and I don’t think you can carry much up the mountain. I’d reccomedn one kilo, but I know that won’t last with you lot for even a day, and your brother usually buys the ten kilo one. What do you say about the five kilo bag? I know it sounds heavy and I bet it is, but I teckon it’s the smallest that will last your family.”
Nezuko nodded along bravely at the challenge brought before her. She was a bit afraid of walking up the mountain with such a weight, but she had promised herself to do well in Tanjiro’s stead.
Tha stallkeeper beamed once again and bent under his stall to fetch a sack and the measuring tool for the rise. He started humming a tune as he skooped the rice in doses into the bag in front of him. Nezuko watched, almost entranced, as he worked. Swiftly and efficiently. In almost no time at all, the stallkeeper was finished.
”Here you are! The cost is 100 yen,” he said and handed the bag over. Nezuko braced herself and let the sack fall into her arms. It weighed a lot and almost tipped her over. She set the bag down, as it’s cloth was thick enough not to get wet even if she did put it in the snow.
Nezuko took her bag off her back and glanced down at Rokuta. He was looking wildly around himself, so she unfastened the cocoon he was in and let him stand on his own two feet.
Rokuta looked awed and snapped his head up, looking toward Nezuko with a happy and pleased face. He opened his little mouth and called to her, ”I’ll be careful, sis, so that Tanji doesn’t get wor-worried! Can I go play with the other kids, please?”
Nezuko smiled and looked around quickly. There were indeed a couple of other children Rokuto’s age playing around and about the stalls. Nezuko looked at her younger brother, and he put on a pleading expression, one that made her heart melt with love.
”Alright, but remember not to stray too far off, okay? I’ll come get you when I’m done shopping,” Nezuko said, her expression fond.
Rokuta smiled brightly, his reddish eyes shining like tiny suns. he turned around and quickly made his way over to the other kids, introducing himself in a flash. In no time at all, he and the other children (two boys and a girl), were already fast immersed in a game only they understood.
Nezuko looked on for a moment, and then turned around, her expression searching high and low. She still needed to get some vegetables that they couldn’t grow themselves, some meats and a little fruits for the celebration of the New Years.
After Nezuko had bought the vegetables (aubergines and tomatoes, both preserved) and the meat, lamb and beef, she started to look around for a fruit seller. She had kept a tight eye on her little brother, who was still happily playing with the other children (who she had sound out from conversing with the meat seller were named Tomie (the girl), Satsuke (the boy in yellow) and Yorijo (the boy in green.))
Nezuko felt content knowing that her brother had playmates that weren’t his siblings, as it was something she had worried about recently. She gave a glance at him and his friends again before moving on swiftly to locate the fruit stall.
Nezuko knew that no fruit grew in the winter, but she was hoping to find some dried or otherwise preserved plums to give their family some nice celebration spirit and a little sweetness to ward away the cold. She walked on, skipping and weaving through the obstacles that blocked her path, not minding the weight of the produce and rice on her back, having long gotten used to it. It didn’t bother her too much anymore, it felt grounding and quite reassuring, telling her that she was strong enough to help her family.
After some more looking and peeking around, she found a dried fruit seller. She made her way closer to the woman manning the stand and coughed quietly and politely to attract her attention.
Five minutes later, Nezuko found herself walking away from the stand, dried plums in hand. She dropped her bag to the side of the street and fell into and inelegant squat, storing the plums into it.
Finally, after a long time of gathering everything up, Nezuko was ready to return back to her home. She fetched Rokuta from where he was with his friends, and listened to him babble about them for a bit. Then, when he was done, she opened her lips and asked, ”Do you want me to carry you up the mountain? It’s alright, I’m a master at carrying a lot of weight now! Your sister’s like an ox!” She exclaimed in a silly way.
Rokuta giggled and responded between his laughter, ”Since sis's an ox, she can carry me like it’s nothing!” He started jumping around her, and she picked him up, put him in his safe cocoon once more and continued walking onward.
She continued until she was at the very edges of the village, the part where there were almost no houses. Just as Nezuko was about to start her treck up the mountain, she heard someone yell after her.
”You aren’t going up the mountain today, are you? It’s almost nightfall, and it’s dangerous out there! Come on in, I’ll give you a place to sleep tonight!” The voice belonged to old man Saburo, a lonely man whose wife and son had died tragically from a bear accident whilst he was away.
Nezuko didn’t know what to make of this. She did want to continue up the mountain this night, but old man Saburo was right. It was growing late. Reluctantly (but not as reluctantly as she’s like), Nezuko started skipping towards the house. It wouls be nice to rest for now, it had been an energy draining day after all. Nezuko just assumed that she didn’t want to admit it because of what she had promised Tanjiro. She continued on her way to the house and smiled as old man Saburo came to open the door. No matter how rough the old man sounded, he was sweet and caring! It was a shame his family had died so tragically.