The 2 sides of Fate

Nezuko and Tanjiro often took turns reading to their younger siblings.

It was something their father loved to do with them when they were really little. Sometimes he would read from the meager supply of books they were able to afford on their trips to town. Other times he would make up tales based on the day's events. More often than not, though, he would tell them stories that had been passed down to him from his own father (their grandfather). Those would be the most mesmerizing tales, telling of bravery and warriors of good, each with their own messages rooted in spreading kindness and other important lessons.

And so following the passing of their father, the two eldest siblings took it upon themselves to continue to tell these stories.

But tonight, Nezuko was reading from one of the few books they kept at home. She was sitting up in her futon with her foot propped while Hanako and Rokuta sat by her, listening with rapt attention as she read the small adventure story aloud. She could hear Takeo having some sort of mini argument with Shigeru over something, but it was quiet enough that it didn’t seem to be serious and sounded more playful. Her mother was in the other room, getting ready for bed and coming in soon to tell the kids to go to sleep. And Tanjiro was—

Wait, where was Tanjiro?

Their mother walked in and told everyone to get ready for bed. Hanako begged for one more chapter and Takeo said something too, but their mother was firm about it being late and all of them needing their rest. Nezuko promised to read more to them tomorrow, giving her younger sister and little brother pats on the head. She closed the book and watched her siblings move to bed. She glanced at the doorway, as though she were expecting someone to come in at any moment.

She was probably waiting for Tanjiro. Yes, he went out to sell charcoal earlier so he should be back by now. It was going to snow a lot the next day and the ice was dangerous. He should have been back by now—

She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up, and her mother said something reassuring, the older woman’s purple eyes silently backing up her words. Nezuko still felt a pang of worry, but allowed herself to be comforted for the time being. After all, Tanjiro probably stayed down the mountain for safety. That’s what she would do.

Nezuko gave the door one last look and allowed the bits of worry plaguing her mind to rest for now. Everything would be fine, she would see her brother in the morning. They were safe.

There was no need to—

BOOM!

The door to their house was blown down, cold air blasting inside and stealing the light of their lanterns.

There were screams. There was crying. Nezuko heard her mother say something. Nezuko sprung out of bed and grabbed the hatchet nearby.

A figure with violet eyes walked inside and landed their gaze on her.

They reeked with the scent of evil and death.

“Leave!”

They smiled.

Nezuko took a step forward to charge the intruder and felt stabbing pain in her ankle, forcing her to stumble.

Something cold grabbed her and she was flung outside into the freezing snow. She felt as though all of the air had been knocked out of her lungs and her entire body burned in the snow. She didn’t know where the hatchet had gone.

No…No…No…

There was more screaming and crying. Someone was begging. The sound of banging and something wet being spilled echoed clearly in the cold silence.

Nezuko couldn’t move.

NO NO NO NO NO NO!

And then it all stopped.

Everything was quiet, and faintly she could hear crunching snow as someone approached where she was paralyzed and unable to move. Something cold grabbed her by the throat and lifted her, forcing her to meet blood red eyes and a face concealed by darkness.

They said something, but she wasn’t paying attention. All she could feel at that moment was a burning hatred toward this person, whoever…whatever they were. It was such a foreign emotion, something she had never felt before, but she allowed herself to feel it, to let it course through her like the blood in her veins.

This THING had killed them all. And I will never forgive it.

They smiled, as though reading her thoughts, then reached for one of her earrings and…

…

The faint sound of bells chiming…

And a deep, quiet voice…

“Remember.”

Nezuko surges awake.

Her eyes darted around, with only darkness surrounding her and what looked like walls. Where is her home? Was the intruder nearby?

Is Tanjiro okay?

A hand gripping her arms tightened.

Nezuko rolled aside and saw her demon brother sleeping, pretty much dead to the world. His hair looked almost ruby-like from the moonlit night, reflecting the dark flame marking on his forehead. He shifted in his sleep, almost like a little kid as Nezuko regained her bearings.

Right, they were in a cave. Nezuko had decided to retire here after they met that Kaigaku guy. Nothing bad has happened since coming home and meeting said demon slayer. Granted, it wasn’t the best, but she figured she could use a break after all that drama and traveling for the day (her feet almost got frostbite).

Everything was alright. Well, as alright as they could be now, anyway (it was not a very high bar).

It was just a dream.

A scary, super realistic dream.

Nezuko rolled over slightly so she was snuggled up against Tanjiro and still clinging to his arm tightly. Even though the nightmare pretty much ruined her sleep for the night, the fear from her nightmare slowly faded.

 The only thing she couldn’t forget, even awake, were those violet eyes. And the voice. 

Why were they both so familiar?

“Excuse me, sir? Would it be alright if I took that old basket with some straw and bamboo?”

The farmer looked up from where he was working and looked toward where Nezuko was pointing to the basket and the materials off to the side. He shrugged, getting to his feet. “You’re more than welcome to it. Though it probably won’t do you much good. That basket’s full of holes.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Nezuko replied. “Thank you so much. Please let me pay you for it.”

The farmer waved his hand. “No, don’t worry about it. I don’t need it anyways. Same for the straw and bamboo.”

Nezuko still reached into her kimono and pulled out a small amount. “Really, I’d like to pay you for it.”

The farmer shook his head. “I told you, it’s fine.”

“Let me pay you!”

“No! Just take the stuff, you stubborn kid!”

“I REFUSE!”

“JUST LET IT GO, KID! THAT’S MY FINAL WORD ON IT!”

Nezuko glanced at the man and his wife (who had been watching the exchange from the side with a confused and bewildered expression), and sighed, lowering her hand with the money. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” The farmer made a shooing motion at her. “You’re very kind to offer but it’s fine. Please don’t worry about it.”

“Alright,” Nezuko said. She gave the couple a short bow. “Thank you for your kindness.” She then held out her hand for the man to shake. He gave her a strange look, but shook it nonetheless. But he then raised an eyebrow at her appearance, his eyes zeroing on her bruised throat.

“Hey, are you-?”

“TAKE THE MONEY!”

Nezuko gripped his hand hard and used her other hand to slap the few coins she had forcibly in his palm. The man looked on with shock. “What the-?!”

“TAKE THIS SMALL OFFERING FOR YOUR TROUBLE, PLEASE SIR!” Nezuko then ran toward where the materials were and gathered them quickly before running back the way she came, passing by the flabbergasted man and his equally shocked wife. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!”

Nezuko didn’t look back at how the couple reacted as she ran away, but a few quick glances behind after a while gave her enough calm to slow her pace to a walk back to where she and Tanjiro were staying. She knew she may have been a little pushy with offering the money, but she would have felt guilty taking the items without offering anything in return.

Plus, she didn’t want to bring too much attention to her lopsided hairdo and the reddish-purple bruising still fading from her throat.

Maybe I should have asked for some fabrics, Nezuko thought as she walked through the woody area to the cave. Or at least something that can be used to properly cover Tanjiro’s mouth. Then I can at least use the scarf.

The idea of having to muzzle her brother still left a sour taste in her mouth, the very idea felt wrong. She knew the reason for it was important and necessary, but that didn’t make doing it any easier. At least the scarf seemed mostly humane and didn’t hurt Tanjiro. But it was still slightly torn and could rip easily if he tried to claw it off. So maybe the scarf just needed to be replaced altogether.

Add that to the list of things she hadn’t thought of working on yet.

One thing at a time. First, fix the basket. Then worry about finding more clothes.

Nezuko saw ahead the small cave she and her brother had spent the night in. She speed walked the rest of the way to the entrance, setting the basket and materials down before crouching to peek inside.

“Tanjiro, I’m back.” Nezuko scanned the small space and frowned when she didn’t see her brother. The only thing she could make out were his green and black checkered haori in the very back along with her brown one. She had left hers for Tanjiro to use as a blanket since he was still sleeping when she left. But now they were bundled in the back all by themselves. “Tanjiro? Where are you?”

The haori pile shifted and Tanjiro’s head peeked out from underneath. He made a low groaning sound, and his gaze looked unhappy as he stared back at his sister.

“Are…you okay?” Nezuko asked, coming inside the cave and approaching the bundle. He grunted and moved his head a little so he was looking around her. Nezuko followed his gaze and realized that a little more sunlight was starting to reach inside the cave. “Oh I see, the sun’s bothering you.” She turned back and gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry Tanjiro, I guess demons really don’t like sunlight.” Tanjiro nodded in agreement before pulling his checkered haori over his head and disappearing once more.

So I guess Mr. Kaigaku was telling the truth about the sun. I can’t believe he almost walked away without telling me about that.

Actually…

I’m surprised he said anything about it.

Well, at least Tanjiro is trying to adapt to the situation, even if it means he’s acting like a turtle. 

If it were me, I’d probably dig a hole.

“Don’t worry, Tanjiro. I think I know how to fix this,” Nezuko said as she turned around and brought the basket and materials closer to her. She moved the basket in front of herself and tried to position her body to block as much sunlight as possible. “Just give me a little time.”

With that, Nezuko spent the next hour or so working on patching the old basket up with the straw and bamboo. It wasn’t too hard; it was just time-consuming to weave together the strands she was making while ensuring that all of the holes were covered. It reminded her a bit of whenever her younger siblings would ask for her help whenever one of their toys would break or clothes were ripped while her parents were busy. She liked helping with tasks like these-they were like puzzles, and there was just something relaxing about working on such tasks that made her enjoy them even more.

The only time the basket gave her a little trouble was with splitting the bamboo. Since the family hatchet had been destroyed, the only weapon Nezuko had managed to find before leaving home that might be useful was a hunting knife that was rarely used. The bamboo was pretty sturdy, but it did seem a bit dried out so she developed a system of sawing up the pieces as much as she could with the knife before either using a hard rock to bash the cracks open more or kicking it down the rest of the way.

Once the basket was patched up and in better condition than it was before, Nezuko once again addressed where her brother was hiding under their haoris. “Tanjiro, take a look.”

Her demon brother once again lifted a portion of his haori enough to peek out a little and see her handy work. He still looked mildly displeased, but she deduced it probably had more to do with the sunlight that was still creeping in a bit into the cave. Still, he poked his head out a little more to see the whole basket and gave a light hum and nod after giving it a once-over.

Nezuko smiled at her brother’s attempt to praise her work. “Thanks, Tanjiro. I thought I could use this to carry you during the day so we can keep moving.” Tanjiro’s eyebrows rose a little, but he squinted at the basket and tilted his head. Nezuko put the basket on its side so the opening faced him. “Here, do you think you can fit inside?” Tanjiro stared at the basket for a moment, but eventually rose from his crouch and sat back on his knees, letting the coats he had hidden under fall around him. He titled his head again, glanced at Nezuko, then back at the basket, then back at her again.

“What?” Nezuko asked.

Tanjiro turned back to the basket and grabbed it by the rim. He then proceeded to lift it over his head and let go.

“Oh.”

It only covered the upper half of his body.

Nezuko could see the problem.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Nezuko said, slightly disappointed. Tanjiro hummed, letting his arms fall to his sides, so even with the basket on she could still see his hands and most of his forearms. “Sorry, Tanjiro. I guess we’ll have to think of something else.”

Nezuko crawled past her brother and picked up his discarded haori to help him put it back on. She paused when she noticed that the ends of the sleeves were starting to fray a little. One of them also had a small tear in it.

She sighed, feeling a bit of stress from earlier building back. She still needed to mend her kimono a bit since there were a few tears and bits of blood from that day. Her haori too, but it was dark enough that the stains were hard to see, so she could put that off and hide most of her kimono.

(Not to mention the fact that she and Tanjiro were on a bit of a time constraint. Even though two years was far off from now, she knew that learning to fight would definitely take a great deal of time and she needed all the experience she could get. 

One day could mean the difference between life and death.)

But this was her brother’s favorite haori and she felt bad putting it off.

He deserved to have his favorite belongings taken care of.

It’s hard to believe how much it had to be fixed over the years. Nezuko couldn’t help but smile to herself. 

He’s grown so much. I can’t believe Mom was able to fix it so it would be big enough for him.

Nezuko paused. Wait.

Big enough…

She thought back to when Tanjiro had first turned into a demon and had attacked her. He had grown bigger at one point to try and overpower her, and was able to shrink back down to his normal height as well.

Could he manipulate his size?

“Hey, Tanjiro?” Nezuko turned back to face her brother, and found that he had not moved from his spot, the basket still on his head. He hummed and shuffled on his knees to face her. It threw her off a little, but she shook her head and helped guide his hands to lift the basket so she could see his face. “Uh, remember when you got really big the other day? Do you think you could try and get smaller?”

Tanjiro tilted his head, staring at her with a blank expression. Nezuko made sure he kept the basket above his face, and put her hands parallel to each other, bringing them closer together to create a visual of someone getting shorter. “Smaller. Like, Rokuta size? To fit in the basket.”

Tanjiro’s eyes focused on the space being manipulated between Nezuko’s hands. With a firm grunt, the demon let go of the rim and once again allowed the basket to fall over his body. This time, he made more of a growling sound and started shaking and twisting his body as though trying to escape invisible bindings. But as he did this, the basket began to lower to the ground, making more of Tanjiro’s body disappear. He was even able to stand without worry of hitting his head against the cave ceiling, but his feet quickly vanished and soon enough, all Nezuko could see was the upside down container.

“Tanjiro?” There was a hum, and tiny fingers peeked out from underneath and lifted the basket, revealing a child-size Tanjiro sitting on the ground in his now oversized clothes.

Nezuko couldn’t help but gasp and clap her hands. “You did it, Tanjiro!” She scooted closer, giving her brother a pat of the head, akin to an infant. He raised his hands, pumping them up and down happily. “Good job! I’m so proud of you!”

Finally, one of their problems had been solved!

When Nezuko had been confronted by the swordsman and given a chance to prove herself as a demon slayer, she had most of her focus on just doing whatever it took to get Tanjiro out of a situation that would have ended with his head cut off. So in all honesty, she probably overlooked a few minor details.

Where she and Tanjiro were going to stay most nights.

How she was going to pay for food with the little money they had.

What she was going to use to properly muzzle her brother long-term.

But the one thing she realized at the time was she needed to find someone to train her. Because in all her twelve years, the closest thing to a weapon she had ever held was a kitchen knife. And the man, Kaigaku, thankfully answered her request by telling her to head east to find a peach orchard.

It wasn’t until several days later, when Nezuko truly believed that she had a plan constructed, that she came to a very crucial realization.

She had been given incredibly vague directions.

The young girl and her brother simply headed east after leaving their home, but it wasn’t until the basket situation had been settled that Nezuko began actually asking for directions. Of course, the only way she could ask for directions was stopping people and asking them if they knew of a peach orchard. And unfortunately, it seemed as though no such location existed (at least within the area) according to the locals.

So for nearly a week, Nezuko traveled during the day with Tanjiro in the basket (covered by a large cloth she managed to come across-some of which she cut and tied around her neck to hide her bruises) in the general east direction. At night, if she wasn’t still tired, she would continue walking with Tanjiro out. Even if her brother was unable to say anything, she would try to talk to him about whatever she had observed hours earlier and ideas she had about where the mystery location may end up being.

It was weird. Nezuko could no longer get a clear read on Tanjiro since the day he had turned. Whenever she touched him, there was still a feeling of wrongness that could be sensed in his aura. But since then, the cold and sickly feeling had begun to wane, so she felt more slightly uncomfortable than filled with terror being near him. She assumed that it may be linked to his behavior, as Tanjiro had become much more mellow and willing to let Nezuko guide him around. It was almost as though he was lost in his own head daydreaming or half-asleep most of the time.

As much as the new behavior worried her, Nezuko decided that it was better than him trying to attack her. She couldn’t detect any feelings of pain from Tanjiro, so she chose to stay optimistic and saw it as a sign her brother was trying to find a balance between himself and his newly found demonism.

But it was also thanks to his new form that the pair were able to find their destination.

On the seventh day of their trip, Nezuko decided to rest by a river that was in a more forested area before continuing for a few more hours. It was late-evening and the sun had all but vanished from the dark purple and faint orange sky, so she figured she could catch up on sleep until it was dark enough to continue with her brother out of the basket. Satisfied with that plan, she let Tanjiro out of the basket, and after making sure that he was situated to keep watch, slept for a few hours against a tree.

When she woke up, it was night, and the area was alight with enough moonlight to make out her surroundings. She rubbed her eyes and found that her haori had been taken off and put over her to act like a blanket. Nezuko smiled at the gesture and looked up to find Tanjiro sitting on the ground a little way off, staring off into the distance. He immediately turned back to her as though sensing her gaze on him and crawled towards her. The demon wasted no time removing the haori and opening it so Nezuko could easily slip it back on.

“Thank you, brother,” Nezuko said, allowing him to help her put her haori back on. “I’m feeling a lot more rested. Let’s keep going.”

Tanjiro nodded, and they both got up. Nezuko helped put the empty basket on Tanjiro’s back for him to carry and took his hand to lead him. However, as they took a few steps forward, something fell to the ground. Nezuko looked behind her and realized that the pendant she had been given fell out of her haori.

“Oh, we can’t leave that behind,” she said to herself. She bent down and picked up the broken necklace, giving it a once over to make sure it was still okay. Her thumb did linger on the blue cracks that stretched across the faded yellow surface, though.

It was strange; although she could sense a human presence lingered on it, there was also a detached emotion she could still make out of it. Usually, she could only use her ability to sense feelings and auras on humans (and sometimes animals), but objects were harder. She couldn’t track where the pendant had come from, but she could still feel something on it.

It felt vaguely like the feeling of…heartbreak.

Had that man been wearing this?

 Or did it belong to someone else?

Nezuko tried showing it to a few people when asking for directions, hoping they might recognize someone wearing it in the past. But no one had ever seen it before, so Nezuko figured it was a lost cause.

“Hmph?”

Nezuko looked up and noticed Tanjiro peering at the necklace. She held it out to him. “I think this belonged to that Kaigaku guy. I have to give this to the old man at the peach orchard so he’ll teach me.” She allowed Tanjiro to take it and examine it closer. “It’s really interesting, huh?”

The demon hummed. He almost seemed transfixed by the object, staring at it intently in his cupped hands. His eyes widened somewhat, as though realizing something, and gripped the necklace by the pendent itself. His expression became focused, bringing the charm closer to his face and sniffing it.

Wait, is he…

Nezuko felt her own eyes widen when she realized what he was trying to do.

Tanjiro must be trying to see if it still has a scent he can follow!

“Brother, you’re a genius!” Nezuko exclaimed. She completely forgot that Tanjiro had inherited their father’s incredible sense of smell! Her brother had often used it as a way to locate people or objects, as well as to read people and their emotions/levels of honesty, similar to her. However, her brother’s nose was always stronger than her own senses, so perhaps he could trace the pendant back to the supposed orchard they were looking for. “Do you think you can track the orchard with it?”

Tanjiro hummed, smelling the pendant a few more times before lifting his head and sniffing the air. He took slow, hesitant steps around them, his eyes closed and brows furrowed in concentration. He did this for a few minutes, wandering around and moving in small circles. Nezuko didn’t want to interrupt whatever thing her brother was doing to track the scent, but she soon began to worry that it either didn’t exist or was just too faint for Tanjiro.

After all, the orchard may still be miles away.

Maybe we waited too long and the object lost whatever scent it may have had.

Nezuko was about to tell Tanjiro that they should probably keep moving and perhaps try again later, but suddenly the demon stiffened and dropped the necklace. He dropped to the ground and started sniffing the path they had been following, but slowly crawled towards the left, where there would be nothing but forest. At the same moment, Nezuko moved around to look at his face, Tanjiro’s eyes flew and he launched himself in the direction he was now facing.

“Tanjiro! Wait!” Nezuko’s call was ignored as the demon ran off the path and into the trees. She quickly grabbed the dropped pendant and gave chase to her older brother.

Immediately her surroundings darkened, leaving her with very little light to navigate due to the immense foliage above and below them. The only source of semi-visibility she had came from the faint moonlight filtering from above and it was just enough that Nezuko could at least avoid tripping over any fallen trees or branches. Thankfully, Tanjiro’s hair was now a bright enough red that even with the faint light she could keep track of him and follow. But it still wasn’t easy due to how fast he was running and how little he seemed to care about bumping into or tripping over something.

Normally Nezuko could (easily) outrun her brother, but combined with the amount of woodland obstacles, darkness, and Tanjiro’s newfound speed, she was lagging far behind.

When did he get so fast?

“Tanjiro, hold on!” Nezuko called out. “I-I can’t keep up! You have to slow down!” Her running was becoming more of a stumble through the forest undergrowth with low tree branches and bushes whacking her and pulling at her haori and kimono. Even though she was creating tears in her clothing and was becoming covered in dirt and leaves, her attention rested on the widening distance between them and how it was growing to the point that her brother was becoming more of a faint red blur. “Tanjiro, please, wait! W-We need to stay together or we might-AAAGH!”

Nezuko was cut off when her left foot got caught on a large tree root and tripped. She fell to the forest floor, but quickly got up. She had barely taken another step before she almost fell and nearly tumbled down again. Her hand flailed out and braced herself against a tree on her right, feeling slight stinging from the roughness of the bark. She glanced down and found the bottom and sleeve of her haori were caught on what seemed to be a very prickly bush (she couldn’t see in the dark). Nezuko pulled at her overcoat with frantic yanks until the fabric ripped free, causing her to actually fall again on the tree roots and cut her arm a bit. Still, she ignored the aching protests of her body and forced herself up.

Upon looking around, though, Nezuko found no sign of her brother.

She was all alone in the dark.

“Tanjiro?” Nezuko took a few unsteady steps in the direction she had been running in, trying to see in the pitch black darkness for his red hair or any sign of him. “Brother, where did you go? Tanjiro?”

There was no reply. All alone and without anything to guide her, the forest shadows and sounds suddenly became much more ominous. As Nezuko tread carefully in the dark, she felt her breathing beginning to pick up from the slight panting she had been doing earlier from running, burning her still tender throat and making it painful to swallow. Her heart was thumping painfully against her chest as her eyes darted around her surroundings. When a branch snapped nearby, Nezuko nearly shrieked and found her hands clutching her chest, cradling her slightly bleeding arm. She barely even noticed that she was shaking.

Nezuko wasn’t a fan of the dark. It was a slight fear she had growing up as a child, so used to constantly living with light that it took her many years to learn to sleep without a candle, only comforted with being near or surrounded by her family. It was also probably heighted due to the fact that whenever she did go out, it was with a family member or for a special celebration (such as the yearly performance of the Hinokami Kagura). Being alone and unable to see without any light had made her feel isolated and trapped in a sea of darkness, but it was one that she learned to overcome as she got older and eventually conquered thanks to her older brother and father.

So she couldn't understand why she was reacting this way to a fear she had conquered.

(Perhaps it had to due to her encounter on the mountain, with the memory of the cold feeling and the creature with red eyes that seemed much more familiar after having that strange dream the other night. Perhaps it was the knowledge that she wasn’t safe.

That there really were monsters that prowled around in the dark, looking for humans to kill and eat.)

But thankfully her search for Tanjiro didn’t last too long. She heard a noise up ahead, and slowly moved towards it, doing her best to block out the pain in her arm. Nezuko felt an immense amount of relief when she recognized the back of her brother’s haori.

“Tanjiro, what did you find?” Nezuko walked up to him, and noticed how still he had become. He didn’t even make any noises to show that he had heard her, standing in place with the basket on its side as though he had allowed it to slide off his shoulders. In fact, now that she was close enough, she could see that he was trembling and was making some sort of low noise. The scarf covering his mouth was slowly becoming wet, to the point that drool was starting to leak through and drip from his chin onto the ground.

But it was the intense look in his trembling pupils as he stared at something on the ground ahead that made her realize that he was one wrong move away from snapping back into the feral demon on the mountain.

Nezuko followed his gaze and felt cold dread wash over her.

There were dead bodies littered on the forest floor. They seem to be all young men, covered in blood with wounds that looked as though some sort of wild animal had attacked them, and had been crunching their corpses.

It was then that she realized that something was still eating one of the humans with its back turned to her and her brother.

Nezuko gasped and backed into her still entranced brother, stepping on a fallen branch and causing a SNAP sound to echo in the silence.

The feeding creature stopped eating and whipped its head around, eyes widening at the sight of the two.

It looked like a normal man at first, with a narrow head and a black cap covering his head. It was wearing a tattered black yukata with a striped pattern and a striped mask that covered its mouth, with a pair of wooden sandals. But in the faint light, Nezuko could see that its skin had a sickly grayish-white pallor and large eyes with blackish pupils that glowed like black oil. It also had pointy ears and strange markings that looked like glasses on its face, drawn over its eyes, giving it more of a resemblance to a tailor of sorts.

And even with all of that, Nezuko could sense the same sickly presence that had nearly overwhelmed her when being attacked by Tanjiro without even touching it.

This wasn’t a human.

This was a demon.

“Hey, this is my territory! Get lost!” the demon barked, standing and wiping its mouth of the human’s blood. It didn’t do anything about the blood staining its yukata, letting it drip down its front and sleeves. But then it squinted, eyeing Nezuko up and down. “Wait, you’re a human? Why do you smell like a demon?” The orange gaze lingered on Tanjiro before returning to the girl. “You both do, actually. Weird.”

What should I do?! Is he going to attack me? Should I fight back? What if he’s just confused? I don’t know what to-

Nezuko was launched backwards and pushed against a tree, cold and sticky hands grabbing her arms. The demon leaned its face close to hers and gave her a disgusting, hungry smile. “It’s been a few months since I got to eat a young girl. You’re a rarity around these parts, you know?” Its gaze trailed down her body until it rested on her injured arm, grabbing it so her sleeves fell and revealed her bloody wound. The demon licked its lips with a long slender tongue, a crazed look in its eyes. “This is a real treat for me, you know? You beauties are the real delicacies I CRAVE for.”

He leaned in, his tongue inches from her arm-

“GET OFF OF ME!”

Nezuko grabbed the hunting knife from her haori and slashed at the demon, causing it to cry out and fling itself several feet away from her. The girl dropped to her knees and held the knife out toward the creature as it shook its head and removed its hand from the slash wound on its neck.

“A knife? Really? You think that’s going to work against me?” The demon smirked oily at her, and wiped the blood off of his neck, revealing how the cut had disappeared and all that remained of it was some dripping red. “See? All healed up. Not a scratch left on me.”

Nezuko barely had time to process that before it was in front of her again, this time holding her down by her throat with one hand while the other grabbed her knife hand and pinned it to the ground. The creature leered over her and got so close to her face that she could clearly see its small black pupils up close and smell the blood from the corpses on his breath. She tried to struggle, but just like before with Tanjiro, the demon was too fast and strong, easily keeping her down despite one of her hands being free. She could only claw at the pale arm ineffectively and squirm, trapped.

“This is going to be so much fun!” the demon cackled. “I’m going to snap your neck, and feast on your intestines! Oh, lucky me!”

His hand tightened around her neck and Nezuko screamed.

“TANJIRO!”

Just eat and you’ll feel better.

The humans were all dead, and the other demon seemed to be finished with eating. The aroma they were giving off was making Tanjiro’s stomach growled and twisted painfully as he stared at them. The cloth around his mouth was becoming uncomfortably wet from his drool and panting, but he couldn’t stop.

He was starving; he hadn’t eaten anything in days because nothing seemed appetizing anymore. He was offered food before by someone (What was her name? He couldn’t remember) but turned it away because it didn’t smell right anymore. But not eating made it harder to stay focused on what was going on around him and made him tired. It didn’t help that the hunger pains only grew with each passing day, making him crave something that he couldn’t have.

(He couldn’t remember why he couldn’t eat what he wanted. It was bad for some reason, despite knowing it would make him feel better. He promised himself that he wouldn’t. But why?

He just…couldn’t remember.)

But now? The humans right in front of him were the first thing he smelled in ages that made him RAVENOUS. On scent alone, he knew that they would be the first actual delicious meal he’d have since…well, it didn’t matter. The blood and flesh were pulling him forward, closer until he was standing over a body.

Just eat and you’ll feel better.

He wanted to listen to that voice, but something was holding him back.

Something that was telling him NOT to even though everything in his body wanted to.

This was bad. But would anyone really notice?

What was he even doing here?

He was…following a scent before the bodies distracted him.

It was important, but…why was he doing it?

He was leading…He was doing it for…

Just eat and you’ll-

“TANJIRO!”

He stiffened.

And Tanjiro remembered.

NEZUKO!

 “Quit your whining and hold-HOLY SHIT!”

The demon was ripped off of Nezuko and lifted into the air. She gasped and watched in absolute shock as Tanjiro held the demon above his head with inhuman strength, a look of pure fury burning in her brother’s slitted red eyes. Tanjiro gave a strangled roar and threw the screeching demon into a nearby tree. There was a loud crack as its back hit the wood, and the creature fell into a crumpled pile of bloody, mangled bones at the bottom.

There was a moment of silence as Nezuko gaped at her brother before slowly turning her head to stare at the body of their attacker.

Was that the back?! Did Tanjiro just kill it?!

She got her answer when the body twitched and something sounding like a bone cracking and resetting echoed, causing the demon to sputter and whip its head up to look at the siblings. Nezuko barely had time to process that when Tanjiro gave off a threatening growl growing in volume and marched toward the fallen body, still breathing heavily and drooling.

“What the hell?! You’re actually a demon?! What are you doing with a human?” The demon’s eyes kept flickering between the two humans with a mix of pissed off and confusion. “Were you just saving her to eat later? Well, you shouldn’t hold off on meals like her, you know! I-Hey, what are you-wait wait wait hold on!”

Tanjiro ignored the demon’s pleas and grabbed it by the front of his yukata, once again lifting it but only enough so its feet were off the ground. He shoved the body against the tree and leaned in very close to growl in its face.

“Okay I got the message! She’s yours!” The demon cried out, panicking, cowering as Tanjiro’s pinkish-red gaze bored into its black one. The grip on the yukata tightened and the demon yelped, raising its hands in surrender. “I-I’m sorry, okay? I’ll leave you guys alone. Just let me go, okay?”

Tanjiro didn’t respond or make any indication that he heard the demon. He kept glaring at it while pushing its body more and more against the bark to the point that the wood was starting to moan from the pressure. The demon made pained noises and struggled helplessly against the newer demon’s strength.

“Hey, girl! Help me out here!” The demon turned its gaze to Nezuko, the fear in its eyes becoming more and more apparent as the tree it was up against began creaking louder, beginning to sound dangerously close to uprooting and tipping over. “Call off your demon! I-I’ll leave you guys alone, I swear! Just get him to stop!”

Nezuko didn’t respond, only able to stare at the scene before her. She watched in growing fear as Tanjiro seemed very close to pushing over a tree just to intimidate the demon (or maybe worse). Everything in her was telling her to get Tanjiro to let the demon go, but…she remembered all the dead bodies nearby. 

Could she really let it go? 

What if it tried to kill again?

But what if it was like Tanjiro?

What if it needs help?

Maybe…Maybe we can give it a-

“AH, SCREW BOTH OF YOU!”

Tanjiro cried out and was flung back, landing in a patch of bushes.

“Tanjiro!” Nezuko stood up and was about to run over to him when she heard an ominous noise coming from the demon. She turned and saw it on all fours, head bowed and shaking.

“Screw you both,” it hissed. “Screw you both. I guess we’re doing this the hard way. One way or another, that human girl is MINE!”

The demon gave a loud screech and suddenly it began to grow in size, similar to how Tanjiro did on the mountain. Except it wasn’t just getting bigger; its whole body was shifting. Its finger became longer and bonier, with nails that resembled sharp sewing pins. The muscles on its back spasmed, forming two large lumps that quickly burst through the fabric of the yukata and unfurled into leathery, bat-like wings. And when it finally looked back up at Nezuko, its head had become triangle-shaped with larger, fully black eyes and two sharp long fangs, dripping with venom. Its body was lengthening and joining together up to the point where its legs resembled a snake’s.

Nezuko nearly dropped the knife as she stared back at the bird-like bat-snake monstrosity before her. She forced herself to grip the wooden handle tightly with both hands while subconsciously backing up until her back hit the tree she had been pinned against before.

“That’s better,” the demon growled in a more nasally voice, smiling and displaying sharp teeth within its new mouth. It stood back up, now a full foot taller and ready to pounce. “Now, where were we?”

Do something!

The demon screeched and launched itself at Nezuko.

She couldn’t move, paralyzed into a frozen state.

She didn’t know what to do.

Do something Nezuko! Or you’re going to die!

DO SOMETHING!

 She screamed and blindly slashed the knife at the creature. But she didn’t hit anything, as a blur of red and green rammed into it and took it to the ground in a flash.

“Seriously? Again, with you?!” The demon yelled. It was flat on its back with Tanjiro holding it down by its new wings, the look of rage still remaining on his face. “Fuck you! Just die!”

The demon slashed Tanjiro across his face, forcing him to grunt and recoil, clutching at the long gashes. The moment of hesitation gave the demon the opportunity to push him off and rise back up, landing a slap of its tail to the chest. Tanjiro howled and attempted to throw a blind punch of his own, but the demon easily evaded and zipped around its opponent, using one of its large wings to backhand him from behind. 

Tanjiro was sent flying into another tree but somehow managed to stay on his feet when he landed, severally unbalanced and with blood dripping in diagonal streaks across his face. The winged-demon wasted no time zooming in front of Tanjiro and grabbing him by his white robe and throwing him with a burst of strength. Tanjiro gave another shriek of pain and flew through the air, disappearing into the darkness of the forest. The pale demon made a squawking sound and used its wings to launch into the air and followed.

And Nezuko…

Nezuko just stood there. Like an idiot.

Do something do something do something do something DO SOMETHING-

Nezuko gave chase after them.

She ran and ran and ran, ignoring the pains and plants and darkness sounding her and followed the two demons and the vague sounds of their fighting.

Come on, come on! You have to help Tanjiro! Don’t leave everything to him like before! 

Be useful!

She finally reached a slight clearing and slid to a halt just in front of them.

Nezuko watched in horror as the demon kept repeating the same moves it had been using earlier, either throwing Tanjiro or slapping him with its wings and tail, sending her brother crashing into nearby trees or the ground with enough force to make each impact leave a loud THUMP each time he was hit. The speed of the creature didn’t slow and the attacks only got more brutal with claw slashes being integrated into the assault, leaving Tanjiro to be thrown and beaten mercilessly, unable to do anything but be tossed around like a leaf caught in a turbulent stream.

DO SOMETHING! DO SOMETHING!

“Stop it! Stop it please!”

Nezuko yelled. Her plea was ignored as the demon punched her brother once more, sending him into a collapsed pile on the ground. His robe and haori were stained with blood and cut up with claw marks. There were bruises peppering his skin and leaves and dirt tangled in his hair. The slashes across his face covered his eyes and what was left of his tattered scarf still clinging to the lower half of his face with dried blood, the color of rust and dirt.

“Finally!” The demon laughed, licking the blood off of its talons and fully unfurling its large gray wings in victory. “I thought you were never going to go down. Guess you haven't eaten any humans yet. Too bad so sad, since demons get their strength from eating, you know. Oh well, not my problem anymore.”

The winged-demon brandished its sharp talons and loomed over Tanjiro. It raised one arm and grinned wickedly and-

DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW!

Nezuko finally moved and took a note from Tanjiro.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Nezuko charged the demon and tackled it away from her brother.

“TANJIRO!!”

And failed to see that just beyond the clearing was a cliff. 

That she’d just pushed them all off.