Chapter Text
— December 11, 20XX—
Snow crunched under multiple hurried footsteps, voices nearly drowned out by the harsh snowfall.
In the distance, a light guides them to warmth and safety along with multiple voices urging them inside.
"Over here! Come here!"
"Inside! Everyone over here! Get inside!"
"Tanjiro! Nezuko! Come in here!"
"Mitsuri! Mitsuri!"
"Inosuke! Inosuke— DON'T YOU DARE RUN THE OTHER WAY!"
"Oi! Zenitsu! Come here you idiot! Over here!"
Tanjiro gritted his teeth, keeping a grip on his sister's hand as they pushed through the blizzard that seemed so determined to keep them all in its cold clutches. The light of the school's doorway seemed so distant from the overwhelming curtain of white and grey, he could barely hear the shouts over the roaring wind.
Suddenly, he felt Nezuko stumbled, which made him stumble as well. Tanjiro yelped, eyes instinctively closing as he anticipated falling face-first into the snow.
Only to feel someone clutch the back of his coat.
Tanjiro yelped again as he was instead lifted off the snowy ground, panicking for only a moment when he felt Nezuko let go of his hand only to hear her voice. "Yoriichi-san!"
Opening his eyes, he finds himself tucked underneath Yoriichi's armpit with Nezuko underneath his other armpit. His uncle's friend (housemate? best friend? babysitter? lover?) showcasing once again how strong he was as he effortlessly trudged through the snow with both children in his grasp.
Uncle Sumiyoshi was already at the doorway of the school, looking relieved when he saw all three of them. "Tanjiro! Nezuko! Yoriichi!" He called out, reaching out to quickly tug Yoriichi into the warmth of the building with both children in hand. Yoriichi grunted, gently letting both Tanjiro and Nezuko down on their own feet where they were immediately taken into Sumiyoshi's arms into a tight hug, Tanjiro hugged him back, sharing a smile of relief as their uncle looked up. "Yoriichi! Thank you! I was worried!"
"It was no problem, Sumiyoshi." Yoriichi replied with a small smile, reaching over to pat Tanjiro and Nezuko's heads. "Come on, let's get away from the doorway to somewhere warmer."
Behind them, Tanjiro's P.E. teacher, Tomioka Giyuu, and Homeroom Civics teacher, Himejima Gyomei, worked together to shove the snow back enough so that they could fully close and lock the door to prevent the blizzard's coldness from permeating into the school any longer.
The Kamados and Yoriichi kept close together as they followed the others into a warmer room, Tanjiro's History teacher, Rengoku Kyojuro, was bringing in multiple heaters while his Biology teacher, Kocho Kanae, was handing out a few blankets and heating pads full of warm water to those who needed it.
Tanjiro thanked his teacher for the blanket, giving it to Nezuko who glared at him and dragged him into sharing it together. He smiled helplessly at his amused uncle who accepted another blanket while Yoriichi accepted a heating pad.
"Goodness, this blizzard really came out of nowhere!" His senpai, two years above him and Kanae's sister, Kocho Shinobu exclaimed as she looked out the window. There was nothing but a thick curtain of heavy snow outside.
Tanjiro's Chemistry teacher, Obanai Iguro, was fussing over miss Kanroji Mitsuri, who blushed underneath his attention and nodded to her friend, Shinobu. "It really did! I know it was supposed to be snowing today, but they said nothing about a blizzard."
"Kocho-sensei! I need another blanket! I'm FREEZING!" Agatsuma Zenitsu, one of Tanjiro's best friends, wailed dramatically while wrapped in one of the given blankets only to wince when his adoptive brother, Inadama Kaigaku whacked the back of his head. "MEAN! MEAN! Jii-chan would scold you if he was here!"
"Jii-chan would tell you to shut the hell up!" Kaigaku argued back with a scowl as he shoved a heating pad into Zenitsu's face, ignoring the shriek from the younger boy. Tanjiro smiled slightly at the sight of them bickering as Zenitsu wordlessly moved the heating pat into his blanket while arguing with his brother.
The school's main doctor and resident Health teacher, Maaya Tamayo, was making rounds in the room. Checking on everyone who'd been in the blizzard, even Giyuu and Gyomei who'd been at the doorway. "Hashibara-san, please settle down. I would hate to call your grandma and tell her that you got sick." Tamayo gently said to Hashibara Inosuke, Tanjiro's other best friend, who'd been rowdily and stubbornly rejecting the blanket. Saying that he was too strong and healthy to care about temperature when he was clearly shivering, the boy froze at the mention of his grandmother and immediately was cowed. Accepting the blanket with a grumble, perking when Tamayo offered a small cookie as a reward for good behavior.
Tanjiro snuggled against Nezuko in the blanket, blankly looking over the room in a slight daze.
His best friends were here, Zenitsu's brother was here, his uncle and uncle's housemate? lover? friend was here. A lot of his teachers were here— Ah, the school's janitor, Urokodaki Sakonji, was here as well! He was wheeling in another heater because one of the heaters Rengoku brought in was broken. Miss Kanroji was here. He had to wonder who else was in the school.
He hoped no one was outside in the blizzard.
"I don't think there's anyone outside anymore." Tanjiro blinked when Yoriichi suddenly addressed him, the man smiled at his startled look. "Don't worry Tanjiro-kun, there's no one outside. I promise. Everyone's safe inside."
Ah, what a relief then. He trusted Yoriichi's words because he was a close friend of the family, of Uncle Sumiyoshi and Aunt Suyako. Plus, his cousin Sumire absolutely adored Yoriichi for good reason. Him and Uta, Yoriichi's girlfriend who not only lived with them but was also oddly close to his uncle and aunt as well were very much welcomed and trusted by their family.
As everyone who'd been caught in the blizzard slowly warmed up, the school's intercom system pinged to life. Practically everyone perked to attention as the school's director, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, spoke from the speakers.
"Good evening everyone. It's rather unfortunate for me to say that the weather has summarily trapped everyone within the school for an unknown amount of time. The blizzard was too sudden, and is currently too heavy for any outside help to come for us to rescue. But worry not, for Kimetsu Academy is well stocked and capable of housing us for the time being. I do not know how many of us are stuck inside, so please, gather to the school's main cafeteria so we may do a head count. Thank you."
"Alright, you heard Ubuyashiki-sama! Towards the cafeteria!" Kyojuro proclaimed, "Urokodaki-san! Help me move the heaters to the cafeteria!"
"Alright."
"Careful Mitsuri, do you need another blanket?"
"Wahahaha! Cafeteria! I'm hungry! I want tempura!!"
"Everyone, please form an orderly line. Let's get you all to the cafeteria."
"If anyone's feeling off, please let me know. I will check on you and see what I can do to help."
"Tannjirooo! Neezuukooo! Kaigaku's being meeaan to meeee!"
"Shut the hell up! Why're you tattling to the Kamados 'bout me?!"
Ignoring Zenitsu's attempts to drag him and his sister into their brother bickering, Tanjiro focused on his sister instead, making sure she was alright before helping her up and letting her keep the blanket.
"Nii-chan! You need the blanket more!" Nezuko insisted with a pout, trying to hand off the blanket to him.
Tanjiro resolutely shook his head, "Nope! You need it more, you still feel cold!"
Before the Kamado siblings could get into a bickering banter of their own, Tanjiro was suddenly covered by a different blanket. "Calm down you too, here Tanjiro. Take my blanket, I wasn't in the blizzard as long as you were, and I can share Yoriichi's heating pad!" His uncle declared, linking arms with the faintly amused Yoriichi who nodded wordlessly.
With both siblings covered with their own respective blanket, they followed everyone else to the cafeteria.
There's a surprising amount of people already there, almost everyone Tanjiro recognizes immediately on sight. The Tokito twins; Muichiro and Yuichiro. Shinazugawa Genya and his older brother who was their respective maths teacher, Shinazugawa Sanemi. Ubuyashiki's children; Kiriya and Kuina, Kyojuro's little brother Rengoku Senjuro, his friend Ayaki Rui. Miss Tamayo's assistant, Yamamoto Yushiro.
Shinobu and Kanae's adoptive little sister and Tanjiro's senpai, one year above, Tsuyuri Kanao. The Soyama couple, third year Soyama Hakuji and first year Soyama Koyuki. Giyuu's husband and their physics teacher, Tomioka Sabito was here too, along with their other teachers. Their art teacher Uzui Tengen and their home economics teacher, Haganezuka Hotaru.
Tengen's wives were going around, providing warm meals and other little items, Uzui Makio, Uzui Suma, Uzui Hinatsuru.
Tanjiro sat with his sister, uncle and Yoriichi with Zenitsu, Kaigaku and Inosuke sitting right besides them at another table.
It didn't take long for the director to arrive at the cafeteria accompanied by three other people. Otogawa Nakime, the vice principal of their school. The other two… Wasn't that man a politician from the National Diet? Kibutsuji Muzan? What was he doing at their school? And that man beside him… He looked kind of familiar?
Yoriichi made a small noise of surprise, gaining the Kamados attention as he looked at the man standing besides Muzan. "Aniue?" He murmured quietly.
A-Aniue?? He was Yoriichi's brother??
As if hearing him from across the room, Yoriichi's aniue looked over to Yoriichi, startling for only a moment before a scowl set itself on his face and he looked away. Ignoring Yoriichi who seemed more than a little hurt and slouched against the cafeteria table.
That was rude!
Tanjiro and Nezuko's cheeks puffed up angrily but they couldn't do anything as Uncle Sumiyoshi motioned for them to stay put and quiet. He patted Yoriichi's arm with a reassuring look, although the look he briefly sent Yoriichi's brother was just as angry as the younger siblings had felt.
"Is everyone here? Let's wait a little longer to make sure no one else is somewhere within the school." Director Kagaya called out loud enough for all of them to hear, looking around and mentally counting the faces he saw within the room.
They waited for a little longer, no one else came.
Kagaya hummed, nodding as he called out once more, gaining everyone's attention. "Alright, I suppose this is everyone. I've counted everyone, including myself, there is thirty-seven of us. Again, it's rather unfortunate that we're stuck here but there is nothing to be done. The blizzard is too thick for us to leave, the snow is already piling high and I've received a call saying that rescue is not possible for now. At most, we will have to wait till tomorrow at most, perhaps further if the blizzard does not abate." There were multiple groans and complaints going around, grumbles and mutterings that were shared.
"In the meanwhile, Kimestu Academy welcomes you to its abode. We're willing to accommodate and provide in this time of crisis, my staff and I will be here to help you should you need it, please simply ask and we will do our best to assist you. We have plenty of food stocked up, our power is safe as we have a back-up generator, so we have no problem in providing food, water, even heating. Should you become sick, our resident doctor Maaya-san should be able to help. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and cooperation."
Tanjiro smiled, clapping happily after the director's little speech. It was really reassuring and helped soothe any lingering fear or anxiety over being stuck in school in a harsh blizzard! Actually, it would've been worse if he was alone, but thankfully he wasn't! He had his friends, family— ah, he just hopes that the rest of his family were safe at home as well. They should be, right?
He should check as soon as possible! Hopefully the signal was alright…
"Sumiyoshi-oji-san, do you have battery and signal on your phone? Can you contact Okaa-san or Suyako-oba-san?" Tanjiro asked, seeing his phone was dead. Unfortunately he forgot to charge it today, and Nezuko forgot her phone at home.
Uncle Sumiyoshi shifted, looking through his pockets for his phone. "Ah?" Sumiyoshi's eyes widened as his searching turned frantic. "Ah?! Ah! My phone! It's gone! I think I lost it in the blizzard!"
"Oh no!" Both Kamado siblings stared at their uncle in concerned horror, "Sumiyoshi-oji-san, that's bad! My phone's dead, I can't call Okaa-san or Suyako-oba-san!"
Sumiyoshi tensed, a look of panic briefly on his face before abruptly looked over to Yoriichi who was already rifling through his own pockets. "Yoriichi…?" He asked quietly, hopefully.
The man didn't answer for a moment, expression pinching in concern before relaxing. "I have my phone." He revealed with a pleasant expression and immediately all three Kamados brightened, cheering happily. "… Ah." Yoriichi suddenly startled, which paused celebrations, "I can only send texts through my phone. It's very old, or so I'm told."
Looking closer to Yoriichi's phone, Tanjiro was shocked to see that the phone was like, an entire decade old! He doesn't even recognize the model! Just that it was really old! The scratches made it very obvious that it was an old phone too! "Yoriichi-san, that's ancient!" Nezuko blurted out, hesitantly reaching out to poke at the flippy-part of the phone. Oh! Right! It was called a flip phone, right? Shouldn't it still make calls?
"Yoriichi, you still have that old phone?! I thought I told you to get a new phone! It's so old, the microphone can't work anymore, you can only send texts can't you?" Uncle Sumiyoshi frowned, looking at the slightly put upon Yoriichi. He sighed, shaking his head, "Still, it's better than nothing. Can you send texts to Suyako and Kie-chan? Tell them we're safe in Kimestu Academy, okay? Oh, and tell Uta to handle with bedtime tonight for Sumire, I don't think you can do it this time…"
Yoriichi seemed to droop at the end but he nodded, immediately getting to work in texting Tanjiro's mother, aunt and Yoriichi's own girlfriend who also lived with Sumiyoshi and Suyako.
It wasn't a phone call but a text was better than nothing.
Tanjiro looked around and saw that everyone had the same idea in texting or calling their respective relatives, friends or guardians. Oh, they could have also borrowed someone else's phone… No, everyone else were busy and worried enough. Using Yoriichi's phone was enough.
That aside, Tanjiro really hoped that everyone else was alright. His father would be safe in the hospital, and the bakery should be well protected from even a harsh blizzard like this…
CRASH
Tanjiro was instantly on his feet, he wasn't the only one.
"What was that?!" Someone called out, concerned from the sound of breaking glass that came from somewhere else.
"It came from two rooms away to the west!" Zenitsu exclaimed, Tanjiro didn't hesitate, trusting Zenitsu's hearing. He had really good hearing after all.
Tanjiro was a bit too focused on trying to find the room that Zenitsu was talking about to hear his uncle's voice calling out to him, though he wasn't the only one who went to find it. "Here it is!" Tanjiro exclaimed, already seeing and feeling the cold air growing from the room he found. A stark contrast to the warmth of the school he'd just adjusted to.
"Tanjiro, wait—!"
"WAHAHAH! Don't forget me Monumo!"
"Inosuke! You idiot come back here!"
It was too late, Tanjiro had already opened the door even when Yoriichi reached him and snatched him up. Even more cold air seeped into the school, causing those who were nearest to shiver. Peering inside, Tanjiro was shocked to see a window broken. "Something broke a window and now cold air and snow is coming in!" Tanjiro called out, squirming in Yoriichi's grip.
"Quickly! Someone get a tarp and tape! Or nails even! Anything to block off that window!" Someone shouted, teacher Sanemi, Tanjiro recognized that barking voice from anywhere. Behind them, several footsteps rushed off.
Tanjiro looked up at the man who was keeping him from the floor, "Yoriichi-san, can you help them? You're good with the cold." He asked, remembering that despite everything so far, Yoriichi had managed to look the most unaffected by the cold. And he'd even been fast in the snow back when they were in the blizzard.
Yoriichi looked down at him, then at the broken window before nodding. "Okay. But please keep away from the broken window and snow, Sumiyoshi is worried." Tanjiro gave him a sheepish smile as he was set down and the man went into the room to survey the scene.
With how dire the situation was, it wasn't long until someone came back with a tarp, nails, and even some planks of wood to ensure the tarp was secure and no snow or cold breeze could escape, Inosuke had been surprisingly helpful since he was the one who brought the planks of wood from somewhere. "Yes! Praise the great Inosuke!" The teen puffed out his chest, turning his blanket into a cape with a smug look.
"Don't push it kid." Sanemi replied bluntly as he and Yoriichi got to work nailing down the tarp.
Tanjiro and Giyuu were cleaning up the glass, Tanjiro insisting on helping.
Though, as he was helping in cleaning up the glass… "Eh? Tomioka-sensei! Shinazugawa-sensei! Yoriichi-san! I found something! I think it's what broke the window?" He called out as he finds the object which had rolled underneath a desk. He doesn't know how they missed it, since it was so big and was mostly covered in snow, but there it was.
Giyuu blinked, sweeping the glass to the side before coming over to Tanjiro, motioning to Sanemi and Yoriichi that he was going to check it out. The two of them weren't done with covering the window yet after all. "What is this?" He questioned aloud, shifting the desk out of the way to look at the object.
It was hard to tell as it was covered in snow and what seemed to be ice. "Was this thrown in here? It's heavy, the blizzard couldn't have just blown it into the window, it broke the glass…" Using his sleeve to cover his hand, Giyuu brushed away the snow and Tanjiro copied him to help with the clean up.
At first they thought it was round-shaped because of the amount of snow it was under, but no. It was an actual sphere or orb, it looked to be made of gold, with something carved into the surface. A language neither seemed to recognize.
"Maybe it's Uzui-sensei's art piece? It looks pretty!" Tanjiro proposed as the uncovered more of the weird sphere. Since it was outside and covered in snow, it was cold to the touch. "Should we bring it to the cafeteria Giyuu-sensei? Maybe it belongs to someone?"
Giyuu hummed, eyes narrowed as he looked over the round object. It looked expensive, it could be an art piece that Tengen had either made or bought and forgot about… but it was outside, not to mention, it had somehow gotten inside through the window. Did someone throw it? No, they would've heard someone by now if someone threw it through the window just to get their attention. Not ot mention, it was too big for someone throw it so far.
Giyuu tested its weight and— He grunted, managing to life it off the ground. Tanjiro was quick to help him. It was easier to lift with two people, but still cumbersome to throw it… "We might as well show this to Ubuyashiki-sama and the others, so yes." He turned his head towards his fellow teacher and Tanjiro's… family friend? "Shinazugawa, Tsugikuni-san."
"Yeah, we heard ya! Go take that thing to Ubuyashiki-sama. We'll finish the window and make sure it's sturdy." Sanemi waved off, hammering a few more nails into the plank and tarp. The room was still cold, but at least it wasn't as cold as it was when the window was broken.
Yoriichi nodded in agreement, silently helping the man with the window.
Tanjiro smiled before grunting as he and his P.E. teacher began to haul the sphere back towards the cafeteria. Thankfully, the room wasn't too far away from it so it wasn't that hard of a task. On the way there, they met with a few others— Inosuke who immediately wanted to know what they were carrying, Zenitsu who finally left the cafeteria out of curiosity himself, Kiriya and Kuina as well with Sabito overseeing them all.
"What is it? What is it?" Kuina asked, hopping alongside Tanjiro and Giyuu as they carried the sphere.
Inosuke grinned, "It's a giant egg!" He declared as it it was a fact.
"Idiot! It's not an egg!" Zenitsu immediately refuted, glaring at his best friend's idiotic declaration before looking at the sphere curiously. "Whatever it is, it looks expensive. How much do you think it costs?" Money symbols practically flashed on his eyes as he grinned at the thought of selling this expensive-looking thing.
"I don't know, but it must belong to someone! Maybe Uzui-sensei since it's kind of pretty looking!" Tanjiro replied and instantly the thoughts of money disappeared from Zenitsu's head, replaced with disappointment and disdain.
Sabito snorted, amused by the trio's antics like always as he walked alongside Giyuu, "Looks heavy. Need some help, Giyuu?"
Giyuu declined after glancing at him, "No, Kamado and I can carry this just fine Sabito."
"Alright, if you say so."
Arriving back to the caferia with little fanfare, Tanjiro smiled sheepishly at the unimpressed expression his uncle gave him for running off so suddenly. "Nii-chan!" Nezuko, on the other hand, was glad to see him again. She seemed a lot warmer now, she didn't need the blanket anymore. "What's that?"
"We don't know!" Tanjiro replied cheerfully while Giyuu looked around for Tengen.
"Oi! Uzui! Is this yours?"
Tengen looked up from where he was flirting with his own wives with a squint, "Pft! It's certainly flashy enough to be an art piece but it's not mine! Pretty though! Carving language into a gold-painted surface… Oho! I have inspiration for my next piece!" He exclaimed with a wide grin.
"Oh dear, Tomioka-san, Kamado-san, where did you find that?" Kagaya questioned, stepping forward to look at what they were carrying. "It seems heavy, set it down you two."
Tanjiro beamed, "Okay!"
He thinks he hears the strange politician man, Muzan, mutter something under his breath. Something about ostentatious? Whatever that meant? Yoriichi's rude brother nodded to whatever it was he said.
Both he and Giyuu slowly lowered the sphere unto the ground, "There we—"
The words carved into the orb as well as its seams began to glow.
"—go? Huh?" Tanjiro blinked, surprised for a moment.
Then, out of nowhere, his vision- everyone's vision was overtaken by white, causing a ruckus as Tanjiro stumbled backwards, landing on his behind with his family crying out his name while Sabito cried out Giyuu's name.
"Tanjiro!"
"Giyuu!"
"AHHH!! What's going on?!?!?"
"What the fuck is this?!"
"Papa! Nii-chan!"
"Kiriya! Kuina! Here!"
"Muzan-sama, stay behind me!"
"Nezuko!"
"Tamayo-sama!"
"What is this?! Where am I?!"
"Huh? Huh? What's— Giyuu-san? Giyuu-san is that you? Where am I? What happened? What's— these scents—"
Tanjiro rapidly rubbed at his eyes, trying to gain his vision back. The strangest thing was that he swore he heard him…self…?
His vision returned surprisingly quick, eyes blinking rapidly to get rid of the white spots and blurriness. However, as he did so, he realized that someone was standing in front of him. He was a young man wearing a checkered black and green haori with a white robe underneath. He had black pants and straw-made boots. Around his neck was a soft violet scarf with a small butterfly pin at the end. What the most shocking thing was though, was his face.
He looked exactly like Tanjiro, only older but his right eye was lighter than his left and the birthmark that Tanjiro had was slightly different shaped. His look-alike was staring right back at him with a very similar shocked expression to his own.
Behind him, he could see another man, taller.
He looked exactly like his P.E. teacher, Tomioka Giyuu. Only his hair was really short, and instead of a tracksuit, he wore a distinct haori, it was two different designs on each side with the split in the middle. One side was completely carmine, the other was traditional green, dark green, orange and yellow rhombi pattern. Underneath was a plain white robe and black pants with charcoal blue tabi socks. He was staring at Sabito, who stared behind an equally staring Giyuu.
"… Sabito?" The man, who looked like and sounded like his teacher whispered.
And then all of a sudden his gaze shifted and his grieving, shocked expression turned into righteous fury and malice.
"Kibutsuji Muzan!"
The fighting started afterwards.