Tengu and Yuki-onna

Welcome to another chapter for TanKana Spookytober!

Theme for day 26 is 'In the woods' and I got inspired by the new Halloween art for Kimetsu.

Fair warning, I took a few liberties with the myths of Tengu and Yuki-onna, the creatures that inspired Tanjiro's and Kanao's outfits respectively, so don't expect it to be completely accurate to the actual lore; just saying that now.

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.

A figure dashed through the storm, jumping from branch to branch with inhuman agility, the snow piled up barely even moving by the sudden shift in weight and only a little bit falling to the ground.

Even if someone were to see this movement, the fallen snow would have been confused in the blizzard that raged, the snow masking almost any movement.

Yet, the figure didn't seem perturbed at all, as if it was the sunniest of days and he was simply taking a stroll instead of jumping between tree branches at enough altitude to break a human's bones should they fall.

'Almost there.' The figure thought, his face hidden behind a red mask with a large nose, his light grey kimono top hiding among the snow in contrast to his black pants, a staff secured on his back just above a pair of black wings that sprouted from his back.

As a tengu, he was the 'owner' of this mountain and, as such, he felt it his duty to at least investigate when oddities happened around it.

He will admit that a part of it came from the fact that he could recognize the scent of a human walking around this blizzard; normally, that wouldn't be any of his business, he doesn't have anything against humans but if one chose to climb the mountain, in the middle of a blizzard, of his own free will, then it wasn't his place to stop them.

Even if they hadn't come here by their choice, he still didn't have any duty to intervene, unless they threatened the forest or were outright hostile against him.

For him, that had changed around ten years ago; it had been on a whim, a human child, no older than six or seven years old, had gotten lost in the forest when a bear happened to spot them.

The child had tried to run away only to trip and hit their head.

He still isn't sure what made him take action but he had jumped between the bear and the human and scared the former away, the beast realizing that a larger 'predator' had just appeared.

The child had looked at him for a moment before falling unconscious from the wound.

The tengu had then patched up the wound and carried the unconscious human to the base of the mountain before yelling to grab the attention of the humans in the nearby village.

The faces of the parents of the child, who had likely been looking for them and thus were the first to come running, full of relief and joy stirred something in him, a feeling he couldn't quite place at the time but a pleasant one.

He decided then, he won't get involved more than what's necessary and he won't be a… what did the humans called it again? A 'babysitter', he won't go around the mountain looking for humans to help but should any of them call out for help, depending on the circumstances, he will be willing to lend a hand.

Now, if a human walked here, in the middle of a blizzard, that wasn't something he would intervene at unless there was a very good reason for them to risk it.

And, while there was no cry for help, there was another presence that made him move.

One that clearly wasn't human.

That was the reason he had dashed from his home, the human aside, another creature in his mountain could be a problem.

'Their scents are getting stronger, I'm close.' Increasing his speed, he focused on his sense of smell to pinpoint their locations. 'The human, a male and… this is that scent human men tend to have when they see a woman they like… why would he have that scent here-?!' The question stopped when he caught the other scent. 'What's this?' He had smelled all sort of emotions from humans, and even from some other creatures like him he had met during his life, some of them, he realized, had even started to affect him, maybe he should have been worried about that but, try as he might, he just couldn't bring himself to do so.

There was no reason or logical explanation, he just… wasn't worried about being affected by emotions.

Be that as it may, the scent he had just caught a whiff of was.

'So sad.' He felt that the phrase 'almost moved to tears' that he had heard from a human one time might apply here. 'This scent… how could a scent be this sad…?'

Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, he increased his speed even further to reach the two.

.

.

Not long after, he finally saw the two 'intruders'.

Faster than any normal person could see, he closed the distance and hit the human man in the back of the head, instantly knocking him out and catching his body before he hit the snow.

He then moved his eyes, hidden behind the mask, towards the other unexpected visitor and understood why the man was braving a blizzard.

Standing in the middle of it all, her skin as white as the snow that was falling, wearing a white kimono that turned light blue at the end with snowflake patterns and a pink and green butterfly ornament keeping her hair in a side ponytail, stood a Yuki-onna.

He wasn't surprised, he had identified what the other intruder was thanks to his sense of smell and, in retrospective, a Yuki-onna would be one of the most likely reasons for a human man to be walking around a mountain in the middle of a snow storm like this.

Still, there was something odd about her.

He had met a few Yuki-onna in his life when they appeared in his mountain, they had all tried to fight and kill him, leaving him no choice but to retaliate.

Yet, he didn't feel the same hostility coming from the one in front of him.

Her purple eyes were fixated on him and her posture told him that she was ready for a battle but… there was no animosity behind her gaze, not even fear of what could be her executioner, the two emotions that were most prominent in the ones he's fought before, just a gaze that said she would defend herself but didn't have a real intention of fighting.

If the scent full of sadness he felt before hadn't make him question what could have happened to her and why she was here, then this definitely did.

"Are you alright?" Her eyes widened slightly, the question clearly coming as a shock for her. 'She probably expected to be attacked without a word at any moment.'

He stood in place, waiting for her to speak but received no response, her expression had gone back to the neutral one he saw at first.

"My name is Tanjiro." The tengu, Tanjiro, continued. "I live in this mountain." Still, there was no response. "I don't know your exact situation but I can tell you didn't intend for him to follow you." Her eyes widened again. "I will bring him back to the village." He pointed to a spot near the top of the mountain. "My house is there, if you want, you are welcome to rest there so we can talk." Tanjiro moved the human over his shoulder to carry him back. "This isn't an order or a threat, just an invitation, if you don't wish to talk then feel free to go to your home; unless you give me a reason to, I promise not to attack you." With that, he nodded his head as a way of saying goodbye before disappearing from sight.

Leaving a befuddled Yuki-onna behind.

'So she isn't here.' Tanjiro thought before even opening the door of his home, a simple cabin separated in two rooms by a paper separator, noticing that the scent of the Yuki-onna he met before wasn't anywhere near his house. '…I'll wait a few days before looking for her, I still need to find out why she is here.'

Like he had planned, he waited a three days before tracking the Yuki-onna, his supernatural sense of smell allowing him to track her scent.

Walking on top of the snow covered ground, he eventually reached a cave and stopped about ten feet from the entrance.

"Good morning." He called out after making sure that no humans were around. "I know you're there, you don't have to come out, I just want to ask why you're here."

The tengu stood in place but, after ten minutes of silence, he simply shrugged.

"Very well, I understand that it's not easy to trust a stranger, much less a Tengu." Tanjiro continued. "I'll leave you be for now but I'll come back tomorrow to ask you again." He turned around. "Ah, like I said last time, I don't mean to threaten you, I just wish to know why you're in this mountain." No response. "Until tomorrow."

True to his word, Tanjiro came back tomorrow, wished her a good morning and asked her why she is here again but there was still no response so he said he'll do the same the next day.

This cycle repeated for around four months, enough time to let the season change and for snow to melt and give way to the flowers of spring.

"Good morning." Tanjiro called out.

He didn't say anything else, ready to wait ten minutes before saying goodbye and come back tomorrow but.

"Good morning." At around the three minute mark, he heard a reply.

It took him a moment to realize it, thinking that he might have imagined it but no, there was definitely a reply.

"It's nice to hear your voice." He said, smiling behind his mask. "I already said this before but my name is Tanjiro, can you tell me yours?"

"…Kanao."

"It's nice to meet you, Kanao." He sat down, looking at the cave. "Can you tell me why you're in this mountain?"

"What will you do after I tell you?"

"Unless you give me a reason to do something, nothing at all." Tanjiro said before frowning. "I will ask that, if you wish to go outside, you ask me first; I can tell when there are humans in the mountain so I can tell if it's safe."

"…I'm a Yuki-onna… why would I care about that?"

"If you didn't, then you wouldn't have had such a sad scent when we first met." He said back. "You don't want to kill humans, do you?"

"…"

"…"

"…I've just… grown tired of it." She eventually answered. "It was never my intention, human males just… follow me, regardless of my intentions, my race can only go outside when it's snowing and I thought it would be fine to do so during a blizzard, humans should be indoors in that weather, but… there was always someone." He heard a sigh from the cave. "I grew tired of it so I left the town I was staying near of during the last blizzard and came here, I thought no human would go to a mountain if it was snowing like it was four months ago… I was wrong."

"I see…" Tanjiro trailed off, a sympathetic look behind his red mask. "I'm sorry to hear that happened to you." He stood up. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"…"

No answer.

"I didn't mean to push, sorry." The tengu said. "I have to get going now but I'll come back tomorrow… if you don't mind that is."

"You didn't ask for my permission but you kept coming here all this time." Kanao pointed out.

"It wasn't my intention to bother you but I had to know why you're here." Tanjiro said. "I'd like to keep coming, it gets… I believe humans call it 'lonely' when you don't have someone to talk to but, now that you answered my question, I won't come here if you don't want me to."

"…I don't mind."

Tanjiro didn't know hearing that would make him smile so much but he didn't bother to stop.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow, Kanao!"

"…until tomorrow."

And with that, he was gone.

True to his word, Tanjiro came back the next day.

"Good morning, Kanao." He called out, standing at the usual distance.

"Good morning." She answered almost immediately.

"How have you been?"

"Fine, it's only been a day."

"I know but… well, you've been inside that cave for months now, I know you can't get out unless it snows but it must get boring."

"Not really, I'm used to it." He could almost imagine her shrugging. "Besides, every time I go outside I end up killing a human, I don't think it's a problem to stay here."

"…why does it bother you so much that you kill humans?" Tanjiro asked. "Don't get me wrong, it's not that I think it's good to kill without a reason but… every Yuki-onna I've met before you didn't seem to have a problem with that."

"I told you before, I just grew tired of it."

"Then why do you sound so sad when you talk about it?" The entire area seemed to have gotten colder as soon as those words came out. "That won't make me go away." Tanjiro said calmly. "I won't pry but feel free to talk if you want."

"…it's a stupid reason."

"Ah… wait… what was the saying?" He frowned in thought.

"What?"

"I heard a human saying this to someone that said something similar to that one time… ah! 'If it bothers you then it isn't stupid.'" Tanjiro repeated. "And I think it's true, something that bothers you can't be stupid."

"…I had gone out for a walk about two weeks before we met." She began. "A human happened to spot me and came after me, there was a blizzard going on and he wasn't wearing very much." For the second time, Tanjiro felt 'almost moved to tears' from the scent he could catch from her. "I knew he wouldn't stop so I decided to at least give him a quick and painless death; the next day, I could hear the humans scream… they were cursing me… well, not me exactly, just Yuki-onna in general but still… they sounded angry but also… broken." Tanjiro thought he heard a sniff but didn't mention it. "I don't know why but… hearing all that… it made me want to stop." There was silence for a few minutes. "I clearly can't as the 'incident' four months ago proved but I did want to try." Another minute of silence. "Isn't that a stupid reason? A Yuki-onna affected by the words of humans?"

"Not at all." Tanjiro answered immediately. "Tell me, why do you think I intervened that time?"

"Eh… because you noticed I was there?"

"That was part of the reason." He admitted. "But not all of it. About ten years ago, a human child got lost in the forest and, in a whim, I helped them and took them to the base of the mountain before calling for other humans." He looked up, a small smile forming as he saw a few clouds moving around the sky. "I hid myself and observed and… seeing them so happy… it affected me." Tanjiro looked back at the cave. "I didn't really care about humans before that but, while the circumstances are clearly different, I can understand being affected by human words or actions."

"…"

"…Kanao?"

"I… I would like to be alone to think for a while." She said.

"Alright." The tengu nodded. "Can I come back tomorrow?"

"…yes I… I think I would like that."

"I'll see you then."

The next day.

"Good morning." Tanjiro greeted as he sat down looking at the cave.

"Good morning." Kanao replied. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday."

"And?"

"I think… I think it helped." She answered. "I thought there was something wrong with me and… well, maybe as a Yuki-onna there is but… it was nice to know that I wasn't alone in that."

"Humans can be strange; I didn't even realize I was being affected at first." The tengu said with a laugh. "Still, I don't think it's wrong; at the very least, there are no rules that say that we can't be affected by their words or actions."

"That's true…"

"Is something wrong?"

"Tanjiro."

His eyes widened, it was the first time she had called him by name.

"Yes?"

"You asked if you could come in one time, remember?"

"I remember."

"…do you still want to?"

"…as long as you're fine with it."

"There isn't much here but rocks… but feel free."

The tengu's smile was the complete opposite of the angry visage his mask has.

As time passed, Tanjiro and Kanao grew closer, with the former coming to visit her every day and the two spending the entire time talking about anything that came to mind; from their lives, to something interesting they saw, to humans, to other yokai they've met, the list went on.

They even tried a few games they saw humans play with varying results.

"Tanjiro, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why do you always wear your mask?"

"Ah… no reason, really; it's just a habit." He shrugged. "I take it off at home and when I sleep, though."

"Then… can I see your face?"

"…sure." The tengu nodded. "Umm… I'm not sure if my face is weird so just tell me if you want me to put it back on."

"Alright."

Tanjiro nodded again before moving a hand to his mask and slowly take it off; revealing a pair of red eyes and a scar on the left side of his forehead.

"…"

"What do you think?"

"…"

"Kanao?"

"…that mask doesn't suit you." She said, before suddenly cover her mouth with both hands.

"Is that so?"

"Y-yes…" The Yuki-onna relaxed a bit, seeing that he didn't seem offended. "The visage in your mask looks angry but…" She stopped, closing her eyes in thought. "How to say it? Your face looks too… 'kind', I think would be a good word, by comparison."

The tengu hummed, moving his gaze to the mask in his hand.

"I never really thought about it." Then he smiled. "Thank you, Kanao!"

"Y-you're welcome." She said back, looking at the ground.

"Something wrong?"

"N-no… I'm just not used to seeing your face."

"Oh… should I put my mask back?"

"No, no… it'll just take some getting used to." Kanao quickly assured him. "I prefer it like this if I'm honest."

"…I see." His smile widened.

"Do you… want something?"

"Hm?"

"For showing me your face I mean."

"Ah, you don't owe me anything, Kanao."

"Take it as thanks, then."

"Well… are you sure?" He saw her nod. "Then… could you smile for me?"

"…eh?"

"I know it's only been a month since we've actually seen each other face to face but I've never seen you smile so I'm a bit curious." He explained.

"…"

"Kanao?"

"I'm sorry."

"Eh?"

"I… I don't know how to smile." The tengu's eyes widened at hearing this. "Maybe I knew at some point but… I just don't know how to now." Kanao said before bowing her head.

"I'm sor-"

"No, no, please raise your head." Tanjiro said quickly. "I'm not mad, a bit surprised but not mad, I promise."

"…really?" She raised her head enough to see him.

"Yes." He nodded. "So don't worry about it."

"…alright."

After that, the two continued to talk as normal.

Around a year since they first met has passed and snow was once more covering the mountain.

"Good morning, Kanao." The tengu said as he entered the cave, seeing his friend sitting in seiza.

"Good morning, Tanjiro." She said back.

"Would you like to go out?" Tanjiro asked.

"…pardon?"

"You've been in this cave almost a year, don't you want to go walk for a bit?"

"B-but-"

"There aren't any humans around." He said, moving a step closer. "I won't force you or anything but if you want to go for a walk, I can make sure no humans are around and if any happen to enter the mountain then I'll tell you so we can get away from them before they see you." Tanjiro kneeled so they were at eye level. "What do you say?"

"…are you sure there aren't any humans around?"

"Positive, my nose has never failed me before." The tengu smiled.

"…alright." Kanao nodded before getting up. "Lead the way."

Tanjiro's smile widened.

"Let's go!"

Alright, how many words am I at…? Seriously? It's over 3000?

Ok, I'm stopping here for now.

I still have a few things I'd like to add but this has gotten really long… I'm very happy about that, hehe.

Oh! I will make a second chapter with the other stuff I said I'd like to add for 'Free Day', there is no way I'm not adding it, hahaha.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed! Please don't forget to comment~

Until next time!