Chapter Text
Tanjiro’s point of view, three months prior
The leaves crunched under my boots as I walked in to the forest. I have been traveling for days just to find one demon, I’m starting to doubt my crow informed me truthfully about my mission.
“WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TURN LEFT YOU DIMWIT,” Inosuke yelled at Zenitsu. Zenitsu flinched back and started to yell too, this was going to be a long night.
“WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TURN RIGHT, I READ THE DIRECTION,” Zenitsu yelled back.
“IT WAS LEFT”
“NO, RIGHT”
“LEFT”
“RIGHT”
They yelled back and forth for at least five minutes because I stopped walking. I sighed into my hands, I loved my friends, I really did, but sometimes they can just be so infuriating.
“Guys, stop fighting, we are going to find a way to get through this. We just need to stop-“ I stopped for a moment and gagged, what was that foul smell.
Zenitsu turned back with a concerned look on his face, “are you all right Tanjiro.” He asked.
“I’m okay, just do you smell that,” I finally replied with as the scent got stronger and my eyes started to water.
“I smell smoke, nothing more,” said Inosuke.
“Me too, what do you smell Tanjiro?” I breathed in the smell deeply and almost choked, a demon had never had a scent this strong before, this had to be something else.
“I-I don’t know,” I finally settled on. I could tell no one liked that answer. Inosuke is probably on guard even more than he already was and Zenitsu is probably trying not to drop to his knees and cry about how he’s going to die. Zenitsu suddenly gasped and I spun around, “Look! There’s a house,” he exclaimed.
Inosuke grinned, “Finally, time to fight,” he announced.
“The scent is stronger here,” I whispered,
“defiantly demons.”
Inosuke cheered as Zenitsu whimpered. Inosuke practically skipped up to the door while I dragged Zenitsu, with him digging his heels into the dirt and protesting. Inosuke burst through the door. This wasn’t a normal house, it looked almost like…..a maze. Inosuke grabbed Zenitsu’s arm and took him away towards the left. “I’ll take him, meet me in the middle of this thing,” Inosuke called after me.
I had been wondering around the maze for hours. All I could see were walls and an occasional window. I turned left and….another dead end. But, there was a door there. Its hinges were rusty and the wood was badly chipped. I wonder how such a neat and pristine house could have a door like this. That scent was even stronger next to the door and it took everything in me not to run as far away as I could possibly go. I need to go in, something important has to be in there, I reminded myself. I took a deep breath and pushed through the door, one of the worst mistakes I had made so far.
……….……………………
The smell from the room almost knocked me back, death. There were decaying bodies all over the floor, covered in blood. I felt like I might throw up from the sight of it. I looked towards the middle of it and felt the horror dawn on me. Because there, in the center of the room was my family. My sword slipped from my grip and hit the ground with an agonizing ping. I fell to my knees as hot tears streamed down my face.
“mom.” I finally whispered. Her once beautiful face was now covered in blood. Her cheeks were sunken and she was covered in dirt.
I felt myself start to slide down the wall as I whispered, “Mom, mom, please wake up.”
suddenly I was back on the mountain, staring at my families bloody remains. Desperately checking for a pulse, for hope that I wasn’t completely alone. I never found one, I still haven’t.
“Why are they covered in dirt,” I thought, and then I sobbed harder as I realized.
That thing had dug them up from where I buried them. It had stolen my family. The deep ache in my chest returned, the same one from that night. It had gotten better, but it never went away. I don’t think it’s going to get better this time.
“b-brother, sister, please, a-are you still there,” I called out weakly. My only answer was silence.
“please, I need you,” I sobbed again.
I curled up into a ball against the wall, the cool surface grounding me.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” I whispered to them, I needed them to hear this.
“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you, I’m your big brother, I was supposed to, I’m so sorry” I cried harder, my hands curling weakly around the hairpin I had stolen from my mothers hair. I couldn’t bear to this this again, I had seen it two times already, too much, this was all to much. My breathing became shallow and my heartbeat quickened. I couldn’t breathe, I tried desperately to suck in a breath but to no avail. Total concentration breathing, I lost it. “I’m sorry,” I whispered again, it is pointless, I know, but I had too, “it should have been me who died that night, not you, I’m sorry.”
“It should have,” said a voice from behind me, a demon.
“Please,” I whispered hoarsely, “kill me so I can join my family,” I picked up my sword from the floor, as much as I wanted this demon to end me I couldn’t go down without a fight.
“Will do,” the demon said with a grin, and he lunged forwards.