Chapter Text
Heavy, messy, protruding panting.
A certain [h/c] haired girl was leaning against a cold spruce tree, her friend--Hiroto--sitting besides her. You were gazing down the slope that was before you, analyzing the snow that was falling. It was calming, watching the snow descend in a mesmerizing pattern. It eased your mind just to watch snow trickle down from the sky and onto the ground; sometimes melting sometimes not. But, sadly, the pleasing feeling of calmness could only last for so long. The sound of panting hit your ears with a slight tingling after feeling.
You kick your body off of the tree to get a better look down the slippery slope.
"What the fuck..?" Moving your gaze to the left; your eyes catch sight of a burgundy haired boy; a forest green and black checkered haori over his shoulders. He was the one interrupting your inner peace. His silhouette was oddly disproportionate; a large object was being hauled on his back.
The large object suddenly lifted it’s head. It was a person.
'No', you thought, 'their scent is far off from being human.'
You didn’t have a unique sense of smell, but, you could decipher who’s a human and who’s not with a quick sniff.
Hiroto picks himself up and onto his feet. He approached your side, his eyes looking at yours and following your gaze until he saw the two seemingly teenagers. He lets out a low hum, “Would you look at that… travelers. That’s rare,” you could see his breath as he talked. Small, white puffy clouds emitted whenever he spoke. He tilts his head; his brown, messy locks framing his slim face. “They look about your age. Maybe older, pipsqueak.” He teases. His voice was rough, deep, and quiet. Uncanny even.
“I'm fourteen, Hiroto,” you run your tongue across your bottom teeth, tearing your gaze from the two unknown children to Hiroto.
You send him an irritated look. “I’m not that young, so don’t call me pipsqueak. They're probably twelve or some shit. Younger even."
Hiroto flashes a playful smile your way, his pointy, white teeth making themselves known. Turning his attention back to the two youngsters, his eyebrows raise up. The person on the boy’s back was now growling. "I don't know [Name],” he doesn’t take his attention off the two as he speaks.
“I don't think someone younger than twelve can carry another child while running through a blizzard of all things."
You give Hiroto an annoyed eye roll. He was always right and you hated it. Hiroto was about to send more teasing comments your way, that is, until you jumped down from the edge and onto the slope. Your feet slide a bit as you try to keep a steady balance. The male looks your way when hearing footsteps. You could walk as fast as he was ‘running.' It wasn't an issue for you to say the least.
"Hey, kid!"
His eyes widened when he saw that you were grinning. Your teeth were shining; despite there being little to no sun seeping through the dense clouds up above. The craving for human flesh shot through the roof when seeing his distraught face. Drool dribbled down your chin slowly. Your skin was very pale, comparable to the snow on the ground, so it wasn’t too noticeable.
His main attention was on his sister on his back, Nezuko, so he couldn’t connect the dots and realize you were a demon. He sniffs loudly, opening his mouth to say something; but all that came out was a strangled cry. He abruptly slipped on the snow, toppling backwards and down the cliffside.
Making a ‘tch’ sound, you observe the boy as he lands on the snow down below. His sister had flung herself off of his back and was now standing away; head hung low. He was staring up at your now tiny form, breathing in slowly to try and calm himself down. You were going to eat him right there if he hadn't slipped on the god forsaken snow. You allow your nails to go back into their original short, stubby state.
They had sharpened out of instinct. You blow a piece of hair from your face; flashing the world your rolled over eye.
It was completely white; the iris and pupil in the back of your head. It would never look straight ahead unless you forced it, and there was no need for that. You could see just fine with one eye.
Regaining his once lost senses, the fearful teenager sprung up from the cold snow; puffs of white following his abrupt movements. His eyes were darting everywhere in a panic. His sister was on his back just a few moments ago, she couldn’t have gotten too far. His dark red hues land on his sister. “Nezuko!”
His sharp, unplanned movements, his quivering eyebrows, his scared demaneor; all of it which made you let out a hearty laugh.
“He’s so defenseless, Hiroto!” You comment, nails sharpening once more out of habit. “Let’s go eat him.” Raising your foot forward, you go to jump down the mountain and approach the frightened boy.
Hiroto suddenly slaps his hand on your shoulder, yanking you back with such force you thought you would collapse on the ground. Luckily, the tall boy was kind enough to not allow that to happen.
“[Name],” your name left his lips in a hushed tone; almost as if he was out of breath.
“You know I can’t allow you to do that. I was assigned to look after you. I was assigned to make sure you didn’t go running off consuming every person you saw. I was assigned to be your “guardian angel.”” He used air quotes for the “guardian angel” part, because well, demons are far from angels.
The fact that he had the audacity to say something so truthful and blunt to you was starting to get on your nerves. “Hiroto!” Your eyebrows stitch together; little snowflakes grazing over them. “I’m sick of sleeping! I’m sick of craving humans! I’m sick of constantly being confused about what I can and cannot do! I’m sick of being this half and half thing! I just want to be a full demon! And most importantly," lifting your hands up, you drag your nails across your face, down your neck, stopping once you got to your shirt. You clutched onto it.
"I’m sick of you telling me what to do!”
Your words had remained ineffective for the dense boy. He had dealt with worse people and demons in his life span. You were just another pawn in his little game of chess.
And oh boy was this game of chess difficult.
He narrows his eyes down into slits; giving you the most intense expression you’ve ever seen him given. “[Name], you don’t want to be a demon.”
Shining him an annoyed grin, you place your hands on your hips like a mere child. “And why the fuck should I listen to you now of all times?”
“Take me as an example. I rarely smile. And if I do smile it’s out of pity for others or I force it. You don’t want to end up like me,” he extends his arms out to the sides, as if expecting to look dramatic and serious. And he did.
He looked very dramatic but not so serious.
“Craving humans… everyday, all the damn time.. It’s unbearable.” He places his arms back to his sides and lowers his head slightly. “It makes me feel psychotic almost… you’re lucky you’re alive. When I was assigned to watch over you I almost couldn’t resist eating you,” he looks back up at you and lets out a forced, dry chuckle. “Be thankful.”
You scoff, annoyed by another lecture from your 'supervisor.' Who wouldn't be? Someone constantly watching over you and making sure you don't eat anyone, how annoying. Especially now, with the urge becoming stronger than ever. He's never even told you why he watches over you, or why you don't even remember the first time you met him. It's like he's always been there, since day one, since you were born, all day every day. Hell, you couldn't even remember anything you did with your family; Hiroto was the only thing you could remember.
Hiroto and Hiroto only.
"Don't scoff. You're even luckier since you smell like a human and not a demon." Hiroto scolded.
Sucking air in through your clenched, white teeth, you curl up your hand into a fist. "Hiroto! Shut the fuck-"
"NEZUKO!"
The sudden scream made Hiroto and you flinch, breaking the conversation into two. You’d forgotten all about the boy and the demon.
Now paying attention to the scene, you hear a new voice cut in. You and Hiroto peer over the ledge and watch everything go down. "My job is to slay demons," a raven haired male started, "for short, I'm going to decapitate your sister."
You rubbed your hands together with excitement, grinning like the maniac you were. "Oh ho ho, this is about to get good..." Completely jumping down, you creep up behind the frantic kid, your body pressed against a tree. Your presence went undetected by the demon slayer, the demon and the kid.
Hiroto was about to jump down after you but stopped when seeing the man holding the demon, Nezuko.
The blade the man held is what stopped Hiroto.
It said 'Destroy Demons.'
He wouldn’t move.
The other boy gripped onto his kimono. "Wait! Nezuko hasn't killed anyone!" Tanjiro's hands hesitantly spread out in front of him as he took small steps towards the demon slayer. "There was a strange scent back at my house... one that I've never smelled before! That's probably the one that killed my family! It wasn't Nezuko! She wouldn't do that!"
He was shaking and his eyes were welling up with tears, making your grin widen even more. "I don't know why she turned into something like that.. but.. but still...!" he pleaded.
The man’'s expression remained the same; dull. It almost seemed like he didn't care at all. "It's simple," Nezuko struggled in his grasp, "Because her wounds were exposed to demon blood, she turned into a demon." Giyuu tilts his head down a tad. "That's how man eating demons multiply."
Tanjiro took a step forward, the snow beneath his boot puffing up in a cloud of pure white. "Nezuko wouldn't eat humans!"
The demon slayer tugged Nezuko back. "You gotta be kidding.. Just now, you were about to be devoured."
Tanjiro's eyes snap open. "You're wrong! I'm sure she knows who I am!" His hands shot up to his head, and his fingers grabbed at his hair. "I swear I won't let her hurt anyone! I'm going to turn Nezuko back into a human! I'll heal her!"
"She can't be healed." The man scoffed. His icy glare didn't falter one bit. It made you intimidated actually. It almost felt like he was glaring directly at you, though he couldn’t be. "Once you become a demon, you can never turn back and go back to being human."
The boy’s face contorted into an expression of horror. It reminded you of Hiroto just minutes before. "I'll find a way! No matter what!” Tears were streaming down his cheeks. “So please.." Tanjiro curled his hands up into fists and brought them above his chest.
"So, please don't kill her!" he yelled.
His voice only got more and more frantic, making you flinch from the shrill ring his voice emitted. "I'll find the one who slaughtered my family.. I'll make everything all right!"
But the man’s katana raised up anyway, inching towards Nezuko's neck ever so slowly.
"Please!"
The demon slayer glared deeply at Tanjiro, and then suddenly his eyes snapped directly to you. He had noticed you. Then you realized he had long before. "Don't do it..!" Tanjiro yells, oblivious, beginning to kneel down and place his hands onto the cold snow. "I'm begging you not to...!"
His thoughts were running freely once more. He didn't want to lose anyone else if he didn't have too. Nezuko could be cured, he all but knew it. He was going to no matter what, even if it cost him his own life.
Your own heart twisted itself into knots. It was wrenching to see someone so.. low. This boy would have no hope for anything in his life, should his sister be taken away. You almost wanted to step in and say something to stop the situation and return the boy’s sister back for him.
"Please don't kill my little sister..! I'm begging you.."
You hadn't noticed, but the demon slayer's eyes were already off you and locked onto the snowy ground below you all. He was grinded his teeth together before looking up with an expression of complete rage. It sure was a sight to see. "Don't ever give others the chance to murder you!" he yelled at the boy.
The kid gasped, loud enough for you to hear and watch him instead of the man, who had cracked and was now yelling at the boy to "stop groveling".
"If it was the least bit effective, your family wouldn't be dead!"
His voice only continued to get louder and louder. It made Hiroto back away in fear. He was lucky as hell that his scent hadn’t been noticed.
You take a step forward, slowly reaching a hand out towards the boy. "Hey.." you said in an understanding and soft voice.
No one heard you. The demon slayer was fiercely continuing to give the kid a reality check. "Can a weakling who can't take initiative in such a situation heal his own sister?! Hunt down the enemy?! Don't make me laugh!" His furrowed eyebrows and scrunched up nose was far from 'laughing.'
"Hey." You spoke up a bit louder this time in hopes of the boy catching onto your voice, or to just stop the yelling. You hated watching this unmerciless attack on a defenseless child.
"The weak have no rights, or choices! Their only fate is to relentlessly be crushed by the strong!" the man pulled Nezuko in front of him, fury guiding his actions. "The demons might know how to cure your sister, but don't think that a demon would respect your will or your wishes!"
You had taken enough. Taking a few steps forward, you grabbed the boy's kimono and pulled him up roughly. "Get up!" You snap. His eyes go wide, the tears hanging onto the edge's of his eyes cascading down his face and onto the floor. "Can't you see this dude has little to no respect for you?!"
The man’s eye twitched.
You were getting in the way. Again.
He kept going. "This is reality, you can't cure your sister that easily! Stop dreaming! It isn't going to get you anywhere!" An irk mark forms itself on your forehead. Man, it was difficult not to eat him right then and there. As Hiroto said before, you're lucky enough you smell like a human and not a god forsaken demon.
"What were you doing throwing yourself over your sister earlier?! Was that your way of protecting her?!" the man pipes harshly. "Why didn't you swing your hatchet?! Why did you show your back to me?!" He points his blade directly at the bewildered boy. "All those blunders led to your sister's capture!"
His blade then points to you. "And you! You're doing nothing to help the situation! Get out of here!"
Nezuko was still struggling in his grasp. She was more violent.
"I could've skewered her along with you!"
The demon slayer's facial expression softened a bit. Not with remorse or pity, no. Not guilt either. More like "know I'm being serious and to stop acting like a fucking child."
Tanjiro started to cry more. He made no sound though. It was just tears slipping past his tear ducts and hitting either the floor or sticking to his face. Your hand raises up and slaps the back of his head. "Stop crying!"
He hiccups lightly, looking up at you since you were a bit taller than him. "There's no time for that! That man is going to kill your sister," you point to them, the blade pointed right at Nezuko’s shoulder, "so do something! Save your sister!"
You push him forwards. "No!" The demon slayer doesn't hesitate for a moment to bring the blade down and stab the girl violently. The sharp impact makes Nezuko let out a loud cry of pain, her eyes squeezed shut in agony. "Stop!"
The boy picks up a rock, throwing it at the man as you get pushed back by him. But he swiftly knocked back the rock with his katana. He didn't even blink.
Tanjiro runs over to his hatchet just as a gust of wind comes, picking up the snow and making a cloud dense enough you can barely see through it. He goes behind a tree, throwing another rock right before he passes it.
"Smart kid.." Was all you muttered when seeing that he had also thrown his hatchet into the air. He was planning on killing the demon slayer without even moving.
The man dodged the rock this time as it hit the tree right besides his head. "You fool!" You can see everything coming together as the boy pretends to still hold the hatchet, charges at the man, screaming out his emotions just as the blade is brought up. The katana’s handle hits the boy square in the shoulder.
The boy lets out a small choke before completely falling to the floor, unconscious. Nezuko had finally stopped growling and looked at her brother in disbelief.
You crossed your arms and walked towards them. Cautiously of course. You didn't know how well this man could smell. "So uh.."
The demon slayer looks at you before his eyes open up. Wide.
The hatchet.
He moves his head to the side, just as the blade was about to hit his head and split his skull open. "Yeah so... kid threw his hatchet and shit.."
But he didn't listen to what you had to say, as he was still shell shocked that this kid had tried to bring him down, after he was knocked unconscious. "Kid's got a brain... give him that much credit at least.” You muttered, looking at the lump in the snow. “Oh, I'm [Last Name] [Name], thought you should know since like.. we're friends now.. haha..!" Of course, you were joking.
You didn't want to be friends with him, he seemed scary and serious. You were stupid and irrational.
You two wouldn't be the greatest of friends.
"Friends..? Friends? Are you being serious? Y-" The demon slayer didn't have time to finish his sentence, as Nezuko had suddenly broken free and kicked him back. Far enough that he couldn't stab her instantly.
"She's going to eat him!" He yelled out to you.
You freaked out, going to protect the kid. But Nezuko had already beat you to it.
"What the- why is she protecting him?! YOU SAID SHE WAS GOING TO EAT HIM!" You waved your arms around like the child you were.
"I wonder.." The man stepped back every time Nezuko was about to strike him down with her claw like hands. Instead of going to decapitate her, he sheathed his sword and brought his hand up, harshly hitting the nerve in her neck and knocking her out as well.
"J..JeSUS! Man! You're strong! What's your name dude?"
He didn't spare you a passing glance and went up to Nezuko, pulling something from his haori and placing it over her mouth. It was a muzzle.
"Tomioka Giyuu."
That's all he said before leaning against a tree, just like you had a few times before.
It only took around five minutes for the boy to wake up. You were leaning against a tree as well. Giyuu didn't talk, nor did you. It was just.. an awkward silence for most of the time. That is, until Tanjiro gripped onto Nezuko's haori and perked his head up.
"You're awake?"
Giyuu shifted himself on the tree, hand resting on his blade just in case. "Go see an old man named Urokodaki Sakonji who lives at the foot of Mountain Sagiri. Tell him that Tomioka Giyuu sent you." He crosses his arms this time, his expression calm. For once it seemed. He always seemed so serious.
He pushes himself off the tree. "She seems to be alright since it's cloudy out. Make sure she's never exposed to sunlight, okay?" With that, you blink.
That's all it took. A blink. A blink and Giyuu was nowhere to be seen. "What the-" Your arms shoot out to your sides momentarily, before resting back down against your body.
"So uh.." Looking over to the boy, you force a smile. It was almost like your mouth was full of food, that's how ugly and forced it looked. "What's your name?"
His dark eyes look over at you. "...Kamado Tanjiro."
"Kamado, eh? I'm [Surname] [Name], nice to meet ya."
It seemed like he was still in fear. Fear of losing his only family left. He stood up, grabbing ahold of Nezuko's hand before walking away. She had kinda woken up over the course of Giyuu and Tanjiro talking, so she was able to walk on her own without being needed to be carried.
"H-Hey, wait up kid!"
Tanjiro continued to walk with his younger sister and back up the mountain, towards his home. "Where are you going?"
"Back to my home.. I need to bury my family. They deserve a proper burial. They don't deserve to be left there."
Deserve.
He didn't say "needed" or "had too," he said deserved.
They deserved a burial and don't deserve to be left there to rot ever so slowly.
You could already tell he was a kind boy.
You began to get lost in thought, thinking of all the possible ways his house could look at this very moment. Would it be completely destroyed? Blood all over the walls? Dismembered bodies?
What if it's worse than that?
Organs spewed out all over the place, demons still lurking in there; waiting for Tanjiro to come back to finish the job and devour him as well. Maybe even Nezuko. Would they even eat Nezuko? She's part demon.
Or fully demon, you didn't really understand what was happening. All you knew was that Giyuu was bad, then good for a moment, and then disappeared. Or he was good all along and he was just doing his job as a demon slayer to kill Nezuko.
“I’d be totally okay to come along, you know.. Uh, I’ve got the time, so..” You weren’t entirely sure how to express to Tanjiro that you wanted to help. Or why, for that matter.
The boy is somewhat taken aback, but he takes the chance. "I'll.. get the bodies. Watch after Nezuko, please..." Tanjiro turns to look at you with pleading eyes.
"Uh..? Okay? Nezukoooo, come here.." You gently replace Tanjiro's hand with your own and hold onto Nezuko to make sure she wouldn't run away or something.
Tanjiro sighed, turning around and walking into his old house to grab his once thriving family, only to bring them outside and bury them right next to the entrance.
You took action and dragged Nezuko inside their house. Grimacing, you ignored the putrid smell and made your way towards a random room. You slid open the door and grabbed a brown haori and a pink kimono, for Nezuko. Her outfit was completely destroyed; ripped to shreds.
"Change into this, Nezuko."
She nodded and began to mindlessly take off her clothes. Spinning around, you smack your forehead in irritation. "Just how dumb is she..! Getting dressed in front of another person!" You mutter out to yourself angrily.
Feeling a light tap on your shoulder, you almost let out a loud shriek until realizing it's only Nezuko getting your attention. She was done getting dressed, her old clothes on the floor carelessly. "Alright, let's wait outside for your brother."
You grab her hand again and hesitantly walk back out, passing Tanjiro on the way. He was still gathering his family's bodies for the burial that was about to commence.
It didn't take him too long to come back out though with all the bodies. He made a small hole for each family member and delicately placed them into their respective graves. He covered them with dirt and made sure everything was neat looking.
He didn't want to 'disrespect' them by making it sloppy, by making it look like he didn't care about their well beings.
Once finished, he stepped back, knelt down and clasped his hands together. He began to pray.
He began to pray for his family.
That they would have a good afterlife, that they would get a better second life, that they would rest easy until it was their time.
You hesitantly let go of Nezuko's hand to kneel down besides Tanjiro and pray as well.
You didn't even know why you were here, honestly. You should've just eaten him and ignored Hiroto. Hiroto never helped out in the long run anyway. He always bossed you around and made sure you didn't eat humans. And he made sure you got plenty of sleep so your stamina would replenish, so you wouldn't have to eat humans.
But where was Hiroto? Had he run away? You would find out sooner or later, but first you needed to figure out what you were going to do with the company you were with.
You sat up mere seconds before Tanjiro did. Tanjiro looks over to Nezuko, grabbing her hand with a gentle touch. "Let's go."
He began to walk away with you and Nezuko by his side. He would sometimes glance back and look at his buried family, only to turn back around and hold in his tears that were begging to slip out.
He started to lightly jog, going straight for the town he was heading towards merely an hour ago. "I will heal you Nezuko.. just please wait, your big brother will save you.." He mumbles to himself, gripping onto Nezuko's hand a little tighter.
Save her? How was he going to save her? He was a child. A child can't save someone, even if they tried.
He can't save her.
"He's hopeless.."