January 28, 1915
Asakusa, Japan
Nezuko Kamado sat at the udon shop, gently swinging her legs back-and-forth as she waited for her brother Tanjirō Kamado and his Hashira-mentor Giyū Tomioka to return from wherever they had run off to. They had come to Asakusa on a mission to kill some demons as they always did, the trio being Demon Slayers after all. Well, Tanjirō and Giyū were, while Nezuko was instead a demon. However, unlike the demons they hunted, Nezuko refused to hurt a single human being.
She saw humans as family, while she saw demons as the enemy and so she'd attack them.
Normally Demon Slayers did not travel with Hashira, unless they were their Tsuguko, like Tanjirō was. Sakonji Urokodaki had been the one to suggest it to Giyū, who was hesitant at first since he apparently felt like a failure as a Demon Slayer for what happened at his own Final Selection back in 1909, however Tanjirō encouraged Giyū and helped him to accept him as his Tsuguko.
The Kamado siblings were like miniature-suns, lighting up the darkness wherever they went.
Back to the present, a little while ago Tanjirō had suddenly tensed while he and Giyū were eating udon that they had gotten at the udon shop Nezuko now sat alone at. Then, without warning, the elder-Kamado let his bowl fall to the ground as he took off. Giyū got up and ran after him, telling Nezuko to stay put, and so she did. Now here the younger-Kamado was, sitting alone, until...
"Oh, why hello there," a voice called out to Nezuko and she turned to see two Demon Slayers, a short-woman with black-to-purple hair and large purple eyes accompanied by a black-haired girl who had gentle-lilac eyes. They both wore butterfly-hairclips in their hair, the girl wearing a cape over her Demon Slayer uniform while the short-woman wore a haori that looked like a butterfly.
"Hmm," Nezuko greeted from behind her bamboo-muzzle as she gave a simple wave. The two Demon Slayers were making her feel nervous, however the younger-Kamado tried her best to not let it show. As they approached, she prayed that Tanjirō and Giyū would return quickly.
"If I may, what are you doing just sitting there," the woman asked Nezuko.
"Mmm...mmm-hmm," Nezuko replied.
"I'm sorry, but I can't understand you," the woman pointed out. "Can you remove your muzzle?"
Nezuko shook her head. It was there as a safety-net in case she happened to lose control.
"Alright, then, how many humans have you killed," the woman asked as she drew her sword.
"Nnnn," Nezuko said nervously as she scooted away from the Demon Slayers.
"Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt you," the woman promised. "Not yet, at least. You see, little one, if you tell me how many people you've killed, I can properly punish you. Then we can be friends!"
Nezuko raised an eyebrow suspiciously, not trusting that this woman really wanted to be friends.
"Can you show me with your hands," the woman suggested, and Nezuko just stared at her. The woman sighed and sheathed her sword. She was getting nowhere. "Can you understand me?"
"Mmm-hmm," Nezuko replied with a nod while the man who ran the udon shop left, feeling quite creeped out and even a little spooked by the conversation between Nezuko and the woman.
"Then tell me...how many humans have you killed," the woman asked again, and Nezuko shook her head, in her mind meaning she hadn't killed anybody. "Are you saying you won't tell me?"
Nezuko shook her head again, before scooting away from the Demon Slayer again.
"Oh, so are you saying you haven't killed anyone," the woman assumed, and Nezuko nodded.
The girl accompanying the woman stared, the two Demon Slayers confused by this revelation.
"Nezuko," a voice cried out as two pairs of footsteps came running up the street toward them.
"Kochō-san, get away from her this instant," a second voice commanded. The Demon Slayers turned to see Tanjirō and Giyū charging towards them, neither looking very happy to see them.
"Oh, Tomioka-san," the woman greeted with a smile. "You're here, too?"
Giyū said nothing in reply as he grabbed the woman, pulling her away from his Tsuguko's sister while Tanjirō ran to Nezuko, giving the scared-demon a hug who whimpered and clung onto him.
"It's alright, you're safe," Tanjirō promised his sister, the child shrinking in her brother's arms.
"Tomioka-san, this demon over here claims she hasn't killed anyone," the woman said, pointing over to Nezuko as she struggled out of Giyū's grasp. "And it seems that you know this demon."
"That's correct," Giyū replied simply. "She's my Tsuguko's little sister."
"Hello, I'm Tanjirō Kamado," the Water Tsuguko greeted. "And this is my sister, Nezuko."
"Mmmnnn," Nezuko whined as she buried her face into her brother's chest.
"I'm Shinobu Kochō," the woman replied. "That's fascinating that she won't hurt humans. I didn't think that it was possible, a 'good' demon...but here she is. I'm sorry that I scared you, Nezuko."
"You're accepting it that quickly," Giyū asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion at Shinobu.
"Kanao-chan and I found her just sitting here," Shinobu explained. "She didn't try to run or attack, and she's certainly not trying to attack anyone now. So, tell me, how did Nezuko achieve this?"
"Hmm," Giyū remarked, narrowing his eyes at Shinobu.
"I'm not stupid or blind, Tomioka-san," Shinobu scoffed at the Water Hashira's doubtful-look.
"Shishō," the girl with Shinobu suddenly spoke up, pointing to a figure standing not too far away.
"What is it, Kanao-chan," Shinobu asked the girl, Kanao, as she looked over at the figure.
"Wait, that's that boy we saw with that demon-lady earlier," Tanjirō realised as he also looked.
"It would appear so," Giyū agreed, recalling what they had encountered just earlier.
"Were you waiting for me," Tanjirō asked the demon-boy. "I could've followed the scent, but..."
"We're under a concealment spell," the demon said as he glanced at Shinobu and Kanao. "So there's no way you could trace us. Besides...isn't she a demon? What's more, she's a hag."
The demon pointed to Nezuko and Giyū sighed, knowing that the demon was in for it now.
Hag...hag, Tanjirō wondered. Does he mean ugly? Who? Then, he realized. Nezuko?
Tanjirō ran at the demon-boy before Giyū or even Shinobu could stop him.
"She's not ugly! Take a good look at those features! Nezuko was known as the town beauty!"
"Let's go," the demon-boy said as he turned away.
"Okay, but calling her a hag is way out of line," Tanjirō said. "Look at her someplace with b—!"
"Tanjirō, that's enough," Giyū said, stepping forward to cut off his Tsuguko.
"My my, you seem to have a handful, Tomioka-san," Shinobu commented with a small chuckle.
"But...he insulted my sister," Tanjirō complained to Giyū. "I can't just let that slide!"
"He's willing to help us," Giyū reminded the boy. "Come on, let's follow him."
"Hold on, can we trust this demon," Shinobu asked as she gestured to the demon-boy.
"I'll explain everything while we walk," Giyū told Shinobu, who nodded gratefully.
"Goodness, what an interesting couple of years you've had," Shinobu later remarked to Giyū.
The demon-boy had led the Demon Slayers and demon-girl to a brick wall that was apparently a trick to hide a beautiful two-story house. Tanjirō had stopped verbally-fuming at the demon-boy.
"We're back," the demon-boy said as he entered the house, the others following him inside.
"Welcome back," greeted a kind-looking woman wearing a long white gown over her clothing. At her side was another young woman who rested on a bed. From what Giyū had told her, Shinobu understood the first woman to be the demon-doctor Giyū and Tanjirō had met earlier when they'd had a run-in with Muzan Kibutsuji of all demons. The other woman, meanwhile, was the wife of a man who the Demon Lord had turned so that he could get away from the two Demon Slayers.
"Unfortunately, there's more of them," the demon-boy said, referring to Shinobu and Kanao.
"Oh," Tanjirō exclaimed. "Are they all right? Sorry to just leave them to you."
"This woman will be alright," the demon-doctor assured him as she softly touched the woman's forehead. "But her husband...it's unfortunate, but we must confine him to an underground cell..."
"From what I've been told, at least he hasn't hurt anyone yet," Shinobu remarked, and the doctor nodded. Shinobu was fascinated by this demon who practiced medicine, being a medic herself.
"Isn't it hard for you to treat people's wounds," Tanjirō asked, and the demon-boy hit him. Or, he would have, if Kanao hadn't stepped forward to grab his arm before he could strike the Kamado.
She didn't say anything, but her message was clear, this demon had to earn their trust.
"Are you suggesting the smell of flesh as we treat humans...makes us drool?"
"Enough," the demon-doctor said as she stood up. "Why are you being so violent?"
Then, she turned to the four Demon Slayers gathered in her home.
"I did not tell you my name," she said as she then turned to the five (technically) Demon Slayers who were in her home. "My name is Tamayo, and this boy is Yushiro. Please try to get along."
That won't be easy, the demon-boy, Yushiro, silently grumbled. Or maybe, impossible!
"I'm Giyū Tomioka, Rank Kinoe, Water Hashira," Giyū introduced, before gesturing to the pair of siblings accompanying him. "This is my Tsuguko, Tanjirō Kamado, and his little sister Nezuko."
"I'm Shinobu Kochō, Rank Kinoe, Insect Hashira," Shinobu added, before gesturing to Kanao, a girl who happened to be quite a bit taller than Shinobu. "And this is my Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri,"
The two Tsuguko bowed politely to Tamayo, who gave the Demon Slayers a kind smile.
"But as for you question, Tanjirō-kun, it isn't hard," Tamayo added. "I think that it is considerably easier than for normal demons. I...I have altered my body and removed Kibutsuji's curse."
That explains why she appears so human-like, Shinobu thought to herself.
Curse, Tanjirō wondered. "Altered your body?"
"I no longer need to feed upon people in order to survive," Tamayo explained, which the Demon Slayers found to be interesting, however they were not surprised since Nezuko existed, a young demon who got energy from just simply sleeping. "It is enough to drink just a little human blood."
"Blood," Tanjirō asked, feeling his stomach churn in reaction. Nezuko made a face, unsure if she liked the sound of that, while Shinobu frowned and the other two didn't seem to react. "That's..."
"You may think it's disgusting," Tamayo said as she and Yushiro sat down, the Demon Slayers and Nezuko coming over to join them. "...but we buy blood from people in need of money, telling them it's for blood transfusions. Of course, we never take so much that it causes harm."
Oh...so that's why these people don't have the distinct smell of demons, Tanjirō thought, raising a hand to his nose, the boy having an enhanced sense of smell. But they do need human blood.
Still, maybe Nezuko can...
"Yushiro needs even less blood than I do," Tamayo continued. "I made him a demon."
"I thought only Muzan could do such a thing," Shinobu pointed out.
"Eh!? You did," Tanjirō explained. "But...eh?"
"Yes, they say that Kibutsuji is the only one who can make more demons...and this is basically correct. In more than two-hundred-years...Yushiro is the only one I was able to do this with."
"In over two-hundred-years Yushiro is the only one you could do it with," Tanjirō exclaimed, the boy absolutely astounded by what he was hearing from her. "How old are you, Tamayo-san!?"
Fwam!
"Don't ask a woman her age, you lout," Yushiro cried as he again tried to hit Tanjirō, but again he was stopped by Kanao quickly catching his arm and shoving him back from her fellow-Tsuguko.
"Tanjirō-kun, I hate to agree with Yushiro, but that isn't exactly good manners," Giyū pointed out.
"Right, I'm sorry," Tanjirō said, bowing his head, but Tamayo's attention was on Yushiro.
"Yushiro, if you try to punch him again, I won't forgive you," she scolded the demon-boy.
"Or my Tsuguko might decide to hurt you," Shinobu added with a look at Kanao. The girl gave a small smile as she brushed her hand against the hilt of her nichirin, causing Yushiro to panic.
"All right," Yushiro agreed. Even her angry-face is beautiful...
"One thing I don't want you to misunderstand...I'm not trying to increase the number of demons," Tamayo assured her guests, Giyū looking concerned at what she was suggesting. "I only treat people who have an incurable illness or injury...so they can live a little longer. And I always ask those patients...if they want to live longer if doing so means they'll become...a demon."
She smells pure and without deceit, Tanjirō thought as he sniffed the air. I can trust her.
"Hmm," Kanao uttered softly, seeing in Tamayo's eyes that she was honest and trustworthy.
"Tamayo-san...once people have become demons..." Tanjirō began to ask, and the two Hashira looked at him, knowing what he wanted to know. "...is there a way to make them human again?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Asakusa, two people were walking through the quiet streets. One was a young woman dressed in a black-kimono over a small sash and bouncing a temari while the other was a young man dressed like he was a monk, likely either Buddhist or Shinto. Maybe at first nothing seemed amiss about these two young people, however they were both demons.
Shuuf.
"Can you see," the female-demon asked her companion as he crouched low to the ground. His eyes were closed, however on the palms of his hands were eyes with arrows instead of pupils.
Staaare.
"I can see," the male-demon replied. "I can see...footprints. That's them..."
Pok pok pok pok.
In his strange field of vision, arrows appeared where a group of several pairs of footprints were.
"They went around there, Susamaru," the male-demon said, but then he frowned.
"Yahaba, what's wrong," his companion asked, seeing Yahaba's expression.
"There are seven of them carrying a large box," Yahaba told Susamaru.
"Seven," Susamaru exclaimed, her eyes going wide as she dropped her precious temari.
"Three adults and four children, I would say," Yahaba clarified, and Susamaru paled.
"So there are more than just the pair of Demon Slayers he sent us after," she asked.
"It would appear so," Yahaba said as he rose to his feet. "You're not scared, are you?"
"No, of course not," Susamaru assured Yahaba as she regained her composure. "How shall we kill them? Tee hee hee hee! Power swells within me...because I just got blood from him."
"How will we kill them," Yahaba asked, pleased Susamaru wasn't scared. "Brutally of course!"
"A way to turn...demons back into humans...?" Tamayo asked Tanjirō. "It does exist."
"It looks like you were right, Tanjirō-kun," Giyū said as he patted his Tsuguko's shoulder and as he also recalled their first conversation...Tanjirō promising to find a way to cure his little sister.
"I'm surprised," Shinobu remarked. "To know that such a thing exists...how interesting..."
"That's great news," Tanjirō exclaimed as he leaned forward. "Please tell me!"
"DON'T GET CLOSE TO TAMAYO-SAMA," Yushiro shouted as he tried to hit Tanjirō for a third time that night. However, Kanao moved before he could, striking Yushiro in the gut with the hilt of her nichirin, giving the demon a cold look. Shinobu chuckled, unsurprised by Kanao's actions.
"You're taking a liking to Tanjirō-kun, aren't you Kanao-chan," the Hashira asked her Tsuguko.
Kanao said nothing, simply sheathing her nichirin as she sat back down, her face tinged-pink. It was only small right now, but there was something deep within her, a feeling she was unsure of.
And for some reason, it seemed to be directed towards the Water Tsuguko, Tanjirō Kamado.
"Yushiro," Tamayo said to the demon-boy, her voice sounding scary.
"I...I was just going to throw him," Yushiro said once he caught his breath. "Same difference!"
Tamayo sighed, returning her attention to the Demon Slayers sitting before her.
"Every injury and illness...has a medicine or treatment," Tamayo explained, and Shinobu nodded in agreement with her. "However...at present, making a demon human again is impossible."
Tanjirō frowned, his hopes feeling crushed.
"Nonetheless, we want to establish a treatment," Tamayo continued. "To do so, we need to study lots of demon blood. I want to ask two things of you. One...I want to examine Nezuko's blood."
That I also want to do, Shinobu thought, curious about how Nezuko was so different compared to other demons. The girl in question was laying on her back nearby and staring up at the ceiling.
"Two...I want you to get a sample from a demon with a high concentration of Kibutsuji's blood."
That may prove to be difficult, the Hashira thought, however they thought better than to say it.
"Right now, Nezuko is in an extremely rare and special condition. I understand she slept for two years, so her body must have changed during that time. Usually, if a demon cannot ingest either human flesh or animal meat for such a long time...it will grow violent without fail."
Tamayo-sama is beautiful again today, Yushiro thought. I bet she'll be beautiful tomorrow, too.
"But surprisingly, Nezuko does not have those symptoms," Tamayo said as Nezuko scooted on her back to Tanjirō, reaching for her brother's hand. "I think this miracle will prove to be key."
"Nezuko..." the elder-Kamado said thoughtfully as he looked at the younger-Kamado.
Kanao also looked over at Nezuko, the adorable-girl reminding her of three particular little girls.
Sumi...Kiyo...Noha...she's like you three, Kanao thought. Hmm...maybe you could be friends...
"The other task will be difficult," Tamayo continued, voicing the two Hashira's worries. "A demon with a high-concentration of Kibutsuji's blood...means a demon close in strength to Kibutsuji."
"The Kizuki," Giyū surmised, and Tamayo nodded.
"Who are the Kizuki," Tanjirō asked, and Kanao looked to the Hashira for answers as well.
"The twelve strongest demons under Muzan," Giyū explained. "To become a Hashira one has to slay fifty demons as a Kinoe...or kill a Kizuki. They're nothing like what you've faced before."
"Very true," Shinobu agreed. "Because of that, most choose to kill fifty demons as a Kinoe."
"And...what did you two do," Tanjirō asked the Hashira, however they remained silent.
"It won't be easy to steal blood from such a demon," Tamayo said. "But will you still try?"
"Studying blood from many demons to make a medicine," Tanjirō replied as she took his hand in hers and placed it against her cheek, closing her light-pink eyes. "If that's the only way, I'll do it."
"And what about you, Kanao-chan," Tamayo asked the other young-Tsuguko. "I must agree with Shinobu-san, it would certainly appear you have taken a liking to Tanjirō-kun. Will you help him?"
Giyū and Shinobu looked at the girl, Kanao being unable to decide anything for herself. She took out a small coin. She decided tails would be no and heads would be yes, before giving it a flip.
Why is she doing that, Tanjirō wondered, unaware of Kanao's unfortunate situation.
Everyone watched as the coin was launched into the air and came back down.
Please...
The coin landed in her right palm.
Please...be...
Kanao quickly slapped the coin onto the back of her left hand.
Please...be...heads.
That feeling towards Tanjirō...it emanated from her heart...as did this desire to help him.
Kanao uncovered the coin...and breathed an involuntary sigh of relief when she saw the result...
...it had landed on heads.
Before anyone could question what she had just done and why she had done it, Kanao pocketed the coin and looked at Tamayo, a small smile on the young-Tsuguko's face as she nodded.
"Yes, I'll help Tanjirō," she agreed and Tanjirō smiled at Kanao.
"Thank you," he said, and she nodded in reply. To the Hashira, this meant that they would all be sticking together from now on. "It will help...not just Nezuko, but lots of people, right?"
"Yes," Tamayo replied, however, Yushiro's face suddenly darkened.
"Uh-oh," the demon-boy said as a temari smashed through the wall. "GET DOWN!"
Yushior shielded Tamayo while the Hashira shielded the children as the temari wreaked havoc.