Chapter Text
Blood. The air reeked of blood. The basket of gifts Kamado Tanjurou had bought for his children slipped free from his numb fingers to land in the snow.
Red.
His wife and Rakuto lay crumpled together at the entrance to their home. Numb, Tanjurou followed the blood trails inside.
Takeo.
Hanako.
Shigeru.
All.
All bloodied.
All still and unmoving, so different from how they'd been days ago- alive and well and wishing him a safe travel. His wife's gentle kiss to his cheek. His children tugging on the edges of his clothes, their little hands warm and their smiles bright. Tanjiro and Nezuko's light laughter as they herded their younger siblings away so that Tanjurou could leave.
"No." This wasn't happening. They weren't-
His children didn't move from their splayed out positions around the bloodied main room. No on stirred at the sound of his voice. Tanjurou knelt by Hanako's slumped form. He reached out with shaking hands and gently shook her as if he could wake her from a mild nap, not- Not- His daughter didn't move. Her skin was cold to his touch. He stood on shaking legs and made his way to Takeo. Cold. Shigeru. Cold. The man stood and looked back toward his wife and their youngest son. He had to put his bloodied hand to the wall to support himself as he walked back toward them. Little Rakuto's eyes didn't open when he touched his boy's cheek. Tanjurou didn't wipe away his tears as he reached for-
Warm.
He gasped. His wife's pale skin was warm to his touch. The man immediately knelt and lowered himself further into the snow and blood so that he could roll Kie over his shoulder. He stopped cold halfway up to full standing. Rakuto looked so small alone in the snow. He.... He couldn't.... Tanjurou kept his touch as light as the brush of a butterfly's wing as he cradled their youngest to his chest. He looked back in at his other children. If only he could carry them all, but....
"Tanjiro!" he called out. "Nezuko!" Where were his son and daughter? It was a horrible relief not to see them with their siblings, but where could they have gone? "Tanjiro?" he yelled his son's name. "Nezuko! I'm home! Come out!" If they were hiding, neither came out at the sound of his voice. The man swayed on his feet, torn between looking for his children and carrying his wife and child down to the village. If he reached the village, he could recruit those there to help him look for Tanjiro and Nezuko. The villagers would find them faster than Tanjurou would on his own. "Stay where you are! I'll be back! I promise!" He cast one last tear-filled look at his other children before turning and hurrying as fast as his weak legs could take him back through the winter paths.
He couldn't breathe right between his shuddering and sobs. The cold burned his lungs as he reached the forest line and then struggled through it. The snow beneath his sandals was slick. His mindless forward struggle made him slip. Unbalanced by his wife and child's weight, he fell. Shivering in the cold, now wet with snow as well as blood, Tanjurou heard the whisper of metal through air. He looked up. A younger man in mismatched clothing sailed through the air where they had been. His outstretched sword cut air instead of flesh. Tanjurou gasped. The man landed not far away. He turned, his sword still in hand, toward where Kie and Rakuto lay.
The man's killing intent was colder than the snow around them.
"Stop!" Tanjurou gasped out. He scrambled to his feet.
"That woman is a demon."
"My wife is no demon!"
"I followed your tracks from your home," the man said. "She killed your children."
"You're wrong!" Their family had been attacked, but not by Kie! "She'd never hurt our children!"
"She would." Across from them, his wife's eyes slowly opened. Red eyes so unlike her dark ones found his.
"Kie?" He saw no recognition there.
"If only I'd arrived sooner," the sword wielding stranger said more to himself than Tanjurou. Kie gave a low, guttural growl that made the hairs on Tanjurou's arms go straight. He'd never heard his wife make such a sound before. "That demon isn't your wife anymore. She killed your children. She'd have killed you too."
"No!" Kie would rather cut her own wrists than raise her hand against their children in such a way! Kie pushed herself to her feet. Her bloodied clothes clung to her as she crouched like an animal, her hands going clawed as she let loose another snarl. "Kie!"
His wife stepped forward-
And slipped, nearly falling.
She looked down.
Tanjurou's breath caught in his throat. He watched, frozen in place, as Kie slowly lifted her right foot from Rakuto's little leg. His wife stared uncomprehendingly down at their son. Her growling tapered off into silence. Very slowly, she crouched beside the boy and picked him up.
"No!" The stranger rushed her. The man ran faster than any person Tanjurou had ever seen, his sword raised high as he reached-
"Ah." Kie's small sound made the swordsman stop cold. She didn't look at him or the sword hovering just above her head. Her eyes were for Rakuto alone. His wife tilted their boy upright. His tiny head flopped with the movement. Kie sucked a breath in. She gave Rakuto a light, gentle shake. Their son stayed limp his her hands. Eyes the color of the rising sun found Tanjurou's. His wife gave Rakuto another gentle shake. Their boy didn't wake. He didn't breathe. Kie's eyes slowly widened. Tanjurou's wife shook their child a little harder, bringing him close to her face so she could sniff him. She pressed her cheek first to his cheek, then his forehead. "Ah." The sound that came from her was thin. It wobbled through the air. "Ah!" Harder. Louder. Kie looked at him again.
The first of many tears slid down her cheeks. Tanjurou's broken heart broke further as she stumbled toward him, heedless of the swordsman watching her with wide, shocked eyes, as she clutched Rakuto to her chest with one hand and reached out with the other. Graceless, exhausted, the two parents shuffled through slippery snow until they met in the middle. Kie thrust Rakuto into Tanjurou's arms. Her sharp nails closed tight on his arms but didn’t break his skin. Her red eyes were larger than he'd ever seen them. "Ah!" He knew what she wanted. They had to take their child down to the village. They had to save him.
But....
"I'm sorry," he whispered as he held Rakuto close. He reached out with his free hand to return Kie's grip. "I-" Their child was- Their children- Kie's form blurred through his tears. Tanjurou took a thin breath. It felt like knives through his lungs. His wife looked from him, to their son, and back again. The last vestiges of inhuman rage drained from her face. Her delicate features crumpled then. She reached for Rakuto. Instead of pulling their boy from his careful hold, she put her hands over his. Her legs gave out. Tanjurou sank into the bloody snow with her. She cradled Rakuto close, huddling against Tanjurou as he ran a hand through her long, loose hair.
Kie sucked a breath in.
She wailed.
It was a long, high cry- a sound that Tanjurou knew he'd carry to his grave. The man let his own tears fall faster as he held his wife and child.
The snow crunched before them.
It took everything Tanjurou had to raise his head and look up at the stranger. The younger man's grip was loose on his sword. His harsh expression had softened into confused disbelief. Tanjurou lowered his head to his wife's shaking back. They lay against each other, grieving, until the day's toll was too much. Tanjurou's eyes shut. His wife's weeping followed him into the darkness.