The Changing Tides
Fate is a tricky mistress. It can bring people close, cause tragedy and sadness. For the Kamado family what if there was a sibling between Tanjiro and Nezuko? What if Tanjirou was a few years older? What if there was more to Tanjuro than just a simple life of being a frail coal burner? What if Tanjiro stayed home that fateful day while his younger sister Aiko went down the mountain?
This is a work in progress chapter for something that will become a full flege story soon I just wanted to get a feel for what people will think of it suggestions are welcome
Chapter One- The Color of Despair
'I can't believe this happened.' a young girl in a light green kimono thought as she ran through the icy snow as fast as she could as she carried another, injured girl in a light pink kimono a few years younger than herself on her back as she pushed through the deep snowfall determined to make it to the nearby town before it was too late.
"Nezuko. . . Don't die. Please don't die on me." the girl begged more to herself as she pushed through the snow. " I promise I will save you! Just please hang on!" the tears began to fall stinging her face and eyes. 'Your big sister will save you! Just hang on a little while longer.' she declared to herself more than anything else.
'Tanjiiro, Big brother. Just what happened while I was in town?' the girl thought as she forced herself to breathe through the piercing cold of the mountain stabbing at her lungs. 'Where are you?'
"Aiko, come here" Kie called out to her second-born who had just finished packing a basket of charcoal and had lifted it to place on her back.
The dark-haired girl looked towards the middle-aged woman who had just walked out of the house. She was a kind woman, wearing a white smock over a white and purple checkered Kimono, she had walked out and greeted her daughter by the kiln with a handkerchief in hand.
"Mom?" the dark-haired girl questioned as she looked towards the kind woman.
"Your face is covered in soot. You know that isn't very lady-like of you." Kie chided her daughter with a kind smile. "The town's young men won't be able to see what a lady you are becoming if you are covered in soot all the time." Kie had rubbed her daughter's face and had removed the black soot from her face revealing the clear pale skin under the dust.
Aiko just grinned at her mother's comments. She never cared about what the village's boys thought of her appearance before she wouldn't start now. "Well, they'll have to look deeper than my face then."
Kie smiled at her eldest daughter, she looked over her daughter once more. Aiko was wearing her usual light green Kimono with dark red haori with a bright red flame design at the bottom and ends of the sleeves, a reminder for Kei about the life her husband had left for her and their family.
"You know you don't have to go down the mountain today with the fresh snowfall it could be dangerous," Kie said as she put her hand on her daughter's face gently. "Tanjirou already twisted his ankle yesterday. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"I know," Aiko said as she took her mother's hand into her own. "But like Tanjirou, I want everyone to eat their fill on New Years'. Plus with his ankle hurt, Tanjirou doesn't like he can't go down the mountain so it's up to me other he'll get pouty like Routa."
Aiko and her mother chuckled at Aiko's light-hearted jab at the eldest of the Kamado children.
"Aiko be nice to your brother" she replied in an attempt to scold her, but it held no real heat behind it.
"I always am" Aiko grinned.
"Nee-chan!" Someone calls out and the two turn to see a boy and a girl younger than Aiko rushing towards them.
The girl is wearing a peach kimono tied with a brown obi, with a pink jacket over it, her hair is black and goes down to her shoulders with the fringe right above her eyebrows and her eyes are red like Aiko''
The boy is younger than the girl with the same hair and eye color, his hair is in a buzz cut, and is wearing a light green checkered kimono with a jacket of the same color over it.
"You're going to town today?" The boy asks excitedly. "Instead of Nii-san
"I'm going with you!" The girl declares, puffing her cheeks out as if daring Aiko to deny her.
From the corner of the house a boy similar to Tanjiro their older brother, holding an ax walked by and approached as he heard them talking, he has the same red eyes as the other kids, short spiky black hair, a mole beneath his right eye and is wearing a gray kimono top and a green jacket with baggy pants and boots made from straw and a scarf with a black and turquoise checkered pattern.
"No you're not." their mother said to the younger girl's declaration. "You know you can't walk as fast as Tanjirou or Aiko"
"Mom!" the two young ones complained, looking shocked at being denied.
"You May not." their mother said once more, staying firm. "Aiko won't be able to take the cart today with the fresh snow, she won't be able to give you a ride when you get tired. She also can't carry you when she has the basket.."
The two pouted before they ran over to their oldest sister, and hugged her from both sides.
"I wanna go with you!" The girl repeated as she moved closer to her older sister. "I promise I'll help out!"
Aiko smiled gently as she placed her hand on the top of her head.
"Thanks, Hanako." The girl, Hanako, smiled widely at her words. "But you're staying home today." Her smile was instantly replaced with a scowl as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
Aiko gently moved her brother away before kneeling to his height and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Sorry, you too Shigeru," Aiko said as his face fell. "But when I come back up I'll bring some mochi for everyone from Ms. Sato, how about that?"
"Really?" Shigeru asked with a smile.
"Yeah!" Aiko told her young siblings with a nod making them laugh. "Just think about the bright side. Since Tanjirou can't go down the mountain today that means he can stay with you."
"That means he can read to me," Hanako said with realization. "Bring me back some plum mochi please." Hanako requested before disappearing inside.
"Green Tea for me! Please Nee-san" Shigeru shouted before following Hanako.
"So Takeo, can you manage chopping the wood on your own?" Aiko asked her remaining sibling. " I can stay behind for a bit to help before I head off."
"No, it's fine. But are you sure you can get down the mountain on your own?" Takeo asked
"If you're sure then. Well, at least you can spend time withTanjiro today. Blueberry?"
"Yeah. Be safe nee-san" Takeo said before walking around the corner of their home, disappearing.
"You be safe Aiko come home as soon as you can." Her mother said before she too went back inside as Aiko began her trek towards town.
Just as she did so saw a girl walking in the direction of their home.
She is wearing a pink kimono with a star pattern and a white smock on top of it that she is using as a blanket, she has black hair tied in a bun, decorated with pink ribbons and violet eyes.
On her back, there is a small kid with the same hair color in a bowl cut.
"Onee-san?" the girl called out in surprise upon seeing her. "You're heading out?"
"Nezuko" Aiko greeted her younger sister " Yep you know how Tanjiro will get if I don't"
"Still try to go down with that ankle of his anyway?" Nezuko said with a knowing look before they both laughed at their elder brother stubbornness
"Lucky you don't have to worry about Rokuta making a fuss about him leaving." Aiko pipped up. "When I come back up I'm going to be bringing up mochi from Ms. Sato Sakura Mochi for you?"
"Yeah, Rokuta has been attached to him since dad died." Nezukosaid as the two girls looked fondly at the youngest Kamado lost in thought and memories. " Make Rokuta's sakura too, last time he ate all of my share he seemed to like them a lot. You be careful."
"Always am. Make sure our elder brother doesn't sulk too much." Aiko said.
They never talked about the hole that was left by their father. One that the eldest Tanjiro was constantly trying to fill, a choice that drove Aiko crazy. But she said nothing as he was just looking out for them.
Aiko bid her little sister goodbye for the next few hours and began her trek to the nearby village. It was long and difficult but it was nothing new to her. She had begun making the journey with Tanjiro several months ago, it was difficult but she managed to pull through.
"Hello" Aiko called out once she reached the village.
"Aiko-chan?" the middle ages innkeeper Ms. Natsuki said in surprise. "You came down in weather like this. Where's Tanjiro, he should know better than to have you two come down the mountain on days like today. You could catch a cold. You should be staying home to help your mother. But you have always been one to do your own thing haven't you." the old woman chuckled.
"It's not so bad. To be perfectly honest it's colder on the mountain." Aiko said with a laugh. "Do you need a refill on charcoal by any chance?"
"No we're still good both for the home and the inn," Ms. Natsuki said as she swept the front entrance of the inn. "Though if you could take one of my grandsons off our hands we'd be grateful."
Aiko just internally sighed at her latest attempt to set her up with one of her grandsons. Ms. Natsuki had always been more traditional, never approving of her coming down the village to help sell charcoal with their father, and later just Tanjiro. Thankfully she had stopped with her long lectures about how she should be focusing on finding a husband. Despite the woman being so intense she always meant well.
"Aiko-chan? Did you come down on your own? I want to buy some charcoal"
"Hey, Aiko where's Tanjirou? I'd like to thank him for fixing my sliding door the other day. I'd like some charcoal as well"
They crowd around her and her basket of charcoal becomes lighter very, very quickly. "Thank you, everyone!" she beams; her family will really be eating a feast when New Year's comes around. Tanjiou won't have anything to worry about
"KAMADO-CHAN!" Ritsuka—a teenage boy who lives in the village—calls out. "I'm glad you're here! Tell this old hag that I didn't break these dishes! So please, sniff this! Your nose is like his right?"
Ritsuka had rushed out of Ms. Sato's shop (with a bloody nose) with a small bundle in his hands, the broken bowls making small sounds as he fought against the iron grip of Ms. Sato. His calling her an old hag was not helping his case. While she had an amazing sense of smell like her brother his was the better of the two of them. But she could still help him out. It was apparently his lucky day she was able to tell it wasn't him. Being the son of the town's blacksmith Ritsuka held a strong iron smell to him, the bowl smelt strongly of fish, and flowers.
It was one of the stray cats that wander around the village.
"Smells like one of the stray cats."
"SEE I TOLD YOU" Ritsuka shouted at the woman as he wiped the blood from his nose "Crazy old woman!"
"So it really was a cat," Ms. Sato said out loud, it was apparently another case of her jumping to conclusions.
She didn't hear anything else between the two of them as she continued on through the village sell charcoal and doing the occasional odd job for the villagers.
As the sun waes and the basket on her back grew lighter as they day continued, she felt a warmth in her stomach as she thought about how easy new years' would be for their family this year.
The last of her odd jobs had taken longer than she thought it was night fall by the time she was heading back to the mountain.