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?
A/N- This story results from me wanting to write a demon Tanjiro story but not feeling like I could do Nezuko justice as a human.
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 while carrying another. An injured girl in a pale pink kimono a few years younger than the elder of the two, on her back while forcing herself through the unforgiving tundra that their mountain home had become, determined to make it back to town before it was too late for her little sister.
'Nezuko. . . Don't die. Please don't die on me.' the girl begged 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?'
Early in the morning on Mount Hinote, a young girl was standing by the cooled kiln as she was placing the last bits of charcoal in a basket that she lifted on her back. The young girl in question was Aiko Kamado, the second-born daughter of the family, and she was of average height for a teen of 13 years old. She wore a light green kimono with a black obi belt with a worn red haori with dark red flame designs along the sleeves and bottom.
As she was moving away from the kiln, a young boy came running from the house. He was several years younger than Aiko, about eight years old. Like everyone else in their family, he had a fair complexion with dark red eyes, and he had dark hair worn in as a buzz cut. He wore a checkered light green and black kimono with a light green haori over it.
"Nee-chan!" he called out to her as he ran over-excited for something.
"Shigeru?" Aiko said, surprised that one of her little brothers came near the kiln, Shigeru mainly avoided it, claiming it smelt bad, but considering how sharp of a nose their eldest brother Tanjirou it was up for debate. The family's current theory was Shigeru's nose was stronger than Tanjirou's and herself.
"You're going to town, right?" he asked. "I wanna come with you."
"Shigeru." Aiko said as she looked down at her little brother with amusement, "Don't you wanna stay home where it's nice and warm?"
"But it's been so boring around here, with Tanjirou's foot hurt and Nezuko sick," he begged. "Let me come, please."
"I'm sorry, Shigeru, but I won't be able to carry you when you get tired," Aiko said while thinking about how to compromise with her little brother. "Why not wait until the weather gets nicer? Then you can come down with Tanjirou and me."
"No!" Shigeru said as he pouted for a minute before throwing himself at Aiko, who managed to brace herself quick enough, so she didn't fall from the sudden force.
"What do you mean no?" Aiko asked, amused at her little brother's desire to go to town. "With Tanjirou hurt and Nezuko sick, mom's gonna need your help, you know."
Aiko pulled her brother off her side as she knelt to look him in the eye. "How about a deal? You be good and help mom while I'm gone. I'll bring you some goodies from town." Aiko smile at her little as she placed a hand on his cheek.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but you have to be good."
Shigeru was grinning at his sister at the thought of whatever kind of goodies he would be given.
"Aiko," a voice called out from their home; the two siblings turned to look and saw their mother Kei in her purple and white checkered kimono under a white smock.
Aiko stood up and faced their mother, who took in her daughter's appearance as she sighed; as she took out a handkerchief, she realized why she had gotten soot on her face again.
"Come here," their mother said as she bent down and began to wipe her face. " A young lady like you shouldn't have soot on her face. I know you're doing this because Tanjiro's leg hasn't healed yet, but with the snow, the path down to town, it's more dangerous," she said as she had finished cleaning her daughter's face, worry still clearly on her face. "You don't have to go."
"Tanjiro and I want everyone to have a good new Year feast and eat their fill. So I want to help sell as much charcoal as I can for him. Even if it's just a little." Aiko said as her mother cupped her cheek tenderly. "Plus, we need to get more medicine just in case Nezuko needs more.
Her mother smiled. "That's very kind of you."
"Huh?" a voice came from around the house. Turning to look, Aiko saw her other younger brother Takeo carrying one of the axes on his shoulder and one of her younger sisters Hanako. Takeo was in his usual clothing consisting of wearing. To better protect himself from the cold, he wore his favorite turquoise and black checkered scarf and straw snow boots. Beside Takeo was her youngest sister Hanako, who had the family traits of dark hair and red eyes; she was wearing a peach-colored kimono with a pink haori partly tied closed with a pink ribbon.
"Nee-chan? Are you going to town?" Takeo asked, seeing her with the basket and her snow boots on, and her kimono hiked up to give her legs more room to move in the snow.
"I'm coming with you!" Hanako declared, pushing past Takeo, who just ignored it.
"No, Hanako," their mother said with finality as she stood up. "I need you to stay at home."
"But, Mama," she complained, looking crush as their mother walked towards her.
'Me and Tanjirou are gonna have our hands full when the snow melts, Shigeru and Hanako want to go down the mountain.'
"I can help her." Hanako offered in an attempt to bargain her release from the mountain.
Aiko smiled at her youngest sister. She would until she gets distracted by the other children and ends up playing.
"No way, Aiko isn't like Tanjirou. She isn't taking the cart. So she won't be able to give you a ride when you get tired, and she won't be able to carry you with the charcoal on her back."
Hanako's slumped in defeat as she relented to her mother's demands and agreed to stay but looked upset at the result.
"Nee-chan, are you sure you'll be okay taking the charcoal by yourself," Takeo asked, worry in his voice.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I make the trip with Tanjirou all the time," Aiko said as she smiled at her brother's concern.
She said that she saw Takeo didn't look convinced, and Hanako was getting teary-eyed at not being allowed to come with her. She knelt and put an arm around her siblings, embracing the three of them.
"Okay, guys. While I'm gone, I'm going to need you to make sure Tanjirou takes it easy with his chores. Make sure Nezuko doesn't overdo it; she's still recovering from her cold."
"Okay!" Shigeru pipped up, grinning.
"Sure, I was planning on helping him chop the firewood anyway.
"Good boys," Aiko chuckled as she stood up.
"Thank you, Aiko. Try to be back before night falls," their mother asked. "Alright?"
"I'll try." Aiko nodded, knowing that she might get caught up with the odd jobs she takes at the village both for extra money and just being a nice person. She saw Hanako was still looking down at the thought of not coming with her. "Aw, Cheer up, Hanako. I'll bring you some paper so we can make origami with I get back."
Hanako's eyes perked up at the mention of her favorite thing to do. "Really!" Aiko in confirmation. "Yay! Okay!"
"You cheered up real fast, Hanako," Takeo mentioned in mock suspicion. "Were you planning on helping her?"
"Haha. Busted!" Shigeru shouted as he pointed towards her.
"Be nice," Aiko said as she pushed his head down; he just grinned at her as he managed to turn just slightly to look up at her.
"What's that supposed to mean! Of course, I was!" Hanako snapped at the two as she released Shigeru and took a few steps, and patted her on the top of her head
"Don't worry, Hanako. I believe you."
"See," Hanako glared at her brothers. "Nee-chan believes me" at this point, Hanako had turned her nose up at the two and crossed her arms away from the two.
Soon enough, they all were laughing at Hanako's adorable pouting.
"Come back as soon as you can!" Shigeru called out as she began to walk away
"Be safe; come back soon," Hanako shouted.
Aiko smiled as she waved her family goodbye, as she was closing in on the tree line when a smiling figure jumped out of the bush, startling her.
"Boo!" the small boy shouted. See, it was her youngest brother Rokuta.
Rokuta was in a blue kimono with a white diamond with tan and black checkered pants and snow boots. He was grinning like a fox.
Stepping out from behind tree behind a tree was her older brother Tanjiro. He was a couple of heads taller than herself being 15 to her 13, and had inherited their father's height. Like most of their family, he had his chief of black hair with a red hue. His hair was brushed back into a growing ponytail showing a scar in the corner of his forehead, and hehe was wearing a checkered, black and green haori over a white robe and black pants with a blue scarf. On his ears were the heirlooms that he had received from his father upon his death. Due to his injury, he had a brace on his left foot and one of his straw snow boots on the other foot with a cane to help him get the weight off his foot as much as possible. He was laughing as he came out from the tree.
"Hey Aiko?" he said. "You heading out?"
"What are you doing out here, Tanjirou? You need to be inside resting your leg," Aiko scolded. "You know what the doctor said"
"You worry like Nezuko," Tanjiro pipped up, "Don't worry, it's almost healed. Beside Rokuta and I were just enjoying the snow some."
Aiko was patting her youngest brother's head as this was said, while Tanjiro's smiled shifted into a frown.
"Hey, I'm sorry that you have to go down the mountain alone," he said
"Don't be. We're family. That means being able to do things alone when someone is injured or sick, like how you and Nezuko are right now. The only thing you two need to worry about right now is getting better. okay?" Aiko said as she patted her brother's shoulder.
Her words appeared to ease her elder brother's worry and guilt about her sole trip to town.
"Hey, hold on for a second," he spoke up just before she was going to her trek back up. He was then holding one of his earrings out to her. "Here, I want you to hang on to this for a bit."
"Tanjiro, you really shouldn't lend a family around like this. Even between siblings."
"Father once said they were like protective charms. So just keep it until you come home, please."
"I swear, Tanjiro, you need to relax some," Aiko said as she took the earring before she took one of her own out before handing it to her brother, who took it when she held it out to him while confused. "To be fair, I take one of yours are? yours's you take one of mine."
Taking her earring as she walked away after putting in the family heirloom on her ear as she waved goodbye.
Aiko bid her eldest and youngest brothers goodbye for the next few hours and began to way down the mountain to the nearby town. It was long and difficult, but it was nothing new to her, as she had started making the journey down with Tanjiro for several years now, so she managed to pull through.
"Hello," Aiko called out once she reached the village.
"Aiko-chan?" the middle-aged 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. 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. I'd like to thank you 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 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 your brother's, 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 a fantastic sense of smell like her brother, his was the better of the two of them. But she could still help him out. It was 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 was a cat," Ms. Sato said out loud; it was another case of her jumping to conclusions.
She didn't hear anything else between the two of them as she continued through the village to sell charcoal and doing the occasional odd job for the villagers.
As the sun was and the basket on her back grew lighter as the day continued, she felt a warmth in her stomach as she thought about how easy new Year' would be for their family this year.
The last of her odd jobs had taken longer than she thought it was nightfall by the time she headed back to the mountain.
"Hey, Aiko! You are heading back to the mountain." a voice called from behind her.
Aiko turned and looked behind her to see Old Man Saburo leaning out of his small home's window, looking up at her with an almost haunted look.
'That's strange.'
"It's too dangerous to go up with this weather," he called out to her.
"It's okay. I have a good nose. I'll be careful." Aiko said as she turned to continue her trek.
"I'll let you stay the night. Come on down."
"But-" Aiko began, startled at how desperate old man Saburo was sounding.
"Enough, come on in before the demons show up."
Aiko gave the mountain path one last look before turning around and taking up the offer. If she was right, she was sure that she was smelling fear from him, so it shouldn't hurt anything if she stayed the night. As she thought about it, her mother would understand that she would prefer such an arrangement to her wandering in the dark on the mountain.
She would probably break her neck in the attempt, but she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, that she should be with her family.
Aiko gave a smile to old man Saburo as she headed towards his home.
"Thank you for your hospitality."
She was sure everything would be okay; her family had Tanjiro there injured or not, he would fight to protect them.
As Saburo prepared dinner(she had wanted to help him, but he had refused such help. Aiko decided to ask him about bugging her after eating the simple but good meal he had made for them.
"When you were talking about demons earlier, what do you mean?" Aiko asked as Saburo pulled out another futon from his small closest.
"Man-eating demons have always stalked the land once it gets dark. That's why you should never stroll around at night." Saburo said shortly as he placed the second futon on the floor. "Time for bed. You'll need to set off for home at first light. Your mother will worry otherwise."
"These demons. Can't they come inside? Can they?" Aiko asked as she settled in.
"They could."
"Then how come they don't eat everyone."
"It's because of the demon slayers. They work to kill as many as they can, even many dying in the process to protect us, humans," Saburo explained as he turned off the lights " It's lights out, Good Night Aiko, see you in the morning."
With that, Saburo had fallen asleep himself.
Looking over to the old man, Aiko thought, "Saburo had been alone for some time. Now that I think about it, no one talks to him much. He must be so lonely" turning on her side, she looked towards the box of mochi she had for her family on a small table by the window "I think next time I come down, I'll bring Shigeru, Hanako, and Takeo. They'll be a nice visit for him."
"But, come to think about it. Granny used to say similar things to them before she passed away." Aiko thought as she fell into an uneasy sleep.
The coming morning was uneventful as she got her belongings together to begin her trek back up.
"You be careful now."
"I will take care now. See you in a few days."
It was still snowing, so the trek up was still tricky, but it was made easier than last night's rest. She looked at the bundle in her hand, and it was a box of mochi from Ms. Sato's shop and a pile of paper for Hanako and Nezuko. She couldn't wait to see her family's faces as they ate the surprise treats, and she, she, and her sisters got to practice making origami.
There's one thing that never changes when happiness is destroyed. The scent of blood always follows it.
The treats in her hand dropped as she stared in horror at the sight that greeted her when she had rushed up upon smelling the scent of iron. Nezuko was lying in the snow on top of Rokuta as if she was protecting him.
"-Nezuko!" Aiko shouted, dropping her basket in the snow as she rushed over to her younger siblings. "What happened?, What's going on here?" she had futilely asked them as she looked over the two, afraid to touch them, being afraid what touching them would answer.
When she looked inside their home, her stomach dropped at the sight that welcomed her. Her mother and the rest of her siblings laid out on futons covered in blood.
"No, no,-no" eyes filled with tears as her knees gave out at the sight of her family slaughtered like they were nothing but animals. Her knees failed her as she made a step inside. She had to make sure they were dead.
But there was so much blood. There's no way anyone could be alive.
After cradling her deceased family's faces in her hands confirming their passing, that's when she noticed the bloodied green checkered haori that followed what seemed to be the heaviest trail of blood.
Forcing herself to sniff the air, she was able to smell Tanjiro but- different. The blood on his haori was his, and it was strong enough for her to believe that he was alive, but the smell was distinct. But why was his blood of all things smelling different? It was like it was changing?
What happened?
Aiko shaky made it back to the front door, where she lost what little was in her stomach, as her body was raked with violent shakes as she made attempts to hold back her grief.
Her thoughts were cut short when a soft groan sounded through the small clearing the Kamado family home sat inside.
She stared in shock at where it came from; Nezuko made a sound. Rushing over to her fallen sister, she put her hand to Nezuko's face, cold, but she could still feel light traces of warmth under her fingertips.
She was quick to throw her haori over her younger sister as her chest was filling with hope for her to have anyone survive this slaughter. She gently removed their youngest brother from Nezuko's protective embrace before getting her sister on her back before grabbing the nearby hatchet and begin running down the mountain with her young sister in tow.
'Nezuko is still warm! If I get to town quick enough, she might survive,' Aiko thought as she was running downhill. 'Just what happened? Was it a bear that woke up early?
'The air is so icy, and it's burning my lungs'
'But I have to keep moving, for Nezuko'
'Aiko-chan, to dance like Hinokami, you have to get your breathing under control like dad and me. Relax and breath.'
'Why am I thinking about that at a time as this" Aiko thought. "Never mind, that can work here. Both dad and Tanjiro danced through some pretty bad weather. Even if I can't use it for long, every little bit helps!"
Aiko focused her breathing on the familiar pattern that she had practiced on her insistence with Tanjiro many times. She soon felt a warmth burst through her whole body as though she was standing in the sun.
"Don't worry, Nezuko, you big sister will save. Just hold on," Aiko said more for her own sake than Nezuko's.
She was running down towards a cliff when she felt Nezuko began to more, and it had distracted her long enough that she had lost her footing that the two sisters when over the cliff.
Upon landing several meters below, Aiko just laid there, shocked by her fall. She was shaking but not just from the bitter cold that was catching up to her. I slipped because of the snow, but it was also the snow that saved me, but - she forced herself to push the shock to the back of her mind as she spotted her sister a few meters away, standing. She scrambled to her feet as she rushed over to her side.
"Nezuko! Let me carry you to town. You don't have to stand!"
Nezuko hunched over her undone hair shadowing her face, and she didn't speak.
When her younger sister looks up, Aiko felt her stomach drop at her appearance. Her once kind red-hued eyes had turned into slit violet-pink-like color with veins bunched around her forehead, angry and raw teeth had sharpened into fangs. Before she could react, she had lunged.
The elder girl was just barely quick enough to wedge the handle of the hatchet between her younger sister's fangs before they got to her.
A demon?
No, impossible. Nezuko can't be a demon. She's human since the day she was born. Aiko recalls faintly that Nezuko was born, so small, fragile bundled up in soft fabrics that dwarfed her tiny body. But she lacks her usual scent, even the faint smell of charcoal is gone from her.
'But she couldn't have done it. She was lying on top of Routa like she was protecting him! Not to mention there wasn't any blood on her hands or mouth so she couldn't have been the one that killed them. And then there was scent new scent, one that smelt.
Nezuko had her pinned to the ground by her shoulders, grasping them tightly, her newly sharpened nails threatening to cut through her skin. Whatever caused Nezuko to turn into a demon make her a lot stronger than she used to be.
Aiko's chest burned with grief at everything that had happened; almost her whole family was dead, except for Nezuko, who was turned into a demon, and her elder brother, who was missing. But if anything, she has to protect her little sister, find a way to turn her human again!
With resolve in mind, Aiko pushes back against the ax. But then Nezuko's body began to creak and groan, and she began to grow bigger and bigger until she was about the height and size of their late father. With her new size came a fresh burst of power.
"How are you getting bigger?" Aiko asked, not expecting an answer. I don't know how much longer I can hold out, but I have to for Nezuko.
While I was sleeping like a baby at Saburo's, everyone else was being brutally murdered. It must have been awful, I was supposed to help protect everyone but I failed you, everyone.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help," Aiko said as tears began to form in her eyes.
But I have to at least safe Nezuko, though, but she's too strong for me to do anything.
Nezuko, Hang on, Nezuko, don't give in! You got to hang on," Aiko begged of her little sister as she pushed against the ax keeping her little sister at a distance.
In the far distance from where the two sisters were in a struggle, a young man quickly closed the distance between himself and the nearby demon. He had just left the home that was attacked and had found an odd sight.
Just what was that no matter I have to slay that nearby demon before it kills again.
The dark-eyed man pushed onwards, following the tracks in the snowing hoping he wasn't too late.
"Don't let it take control! You got to stay strong. You can do it! PLEASE!"
Her throat hurts from the screaming, and she can just barely see anymore with the tears in her eyes as she kept her sister from trying to take a bit. She felt her arms begin to give way as her sister began to get closer.
"Please, Nezuko! You're my little sister. . . You're all I have left! Fight it!" she begged one last time as the tears finally fell from her eyes.
That was when she felt it, teardrops falling on her face.
Nezuko was crying, she no longer acted like a crazed animal, and she had calmed, and her eyes, while no longer holding their reddish hue, held the kindness that was Nezuko. Just before she was going to embrace her now mostly calm crying sister she someone was leaping over them, someone with a sword poised to strike.
Aimed for Nezuko
Acting quickly and not wanting to lose her remaining family, she promptly quickly pushed NEzuko out of the way to avoid the strike from the man's strike. Her head feels lighter as a significant force hits the ground where they were moments before forcing the two sisters to go tumbling towards a tree. Aiko taking most of the impact once they hit a tree.
She took in the man standing before him. He was tall with dark hair and a pale complexion; he was wearing an emotionless expression with a dark-colored uniform of sorts with white leg wraps. On top of it, he had an unusual haori the right half was a solid red, and the left side was a geometrical pattern with squares of green, orange, and yellow. Getting a look at the characters on his katana, she knew who he was. Destroyer of Demons
He was a demon slayer, just like from Saburo's stories; she held Nezuko tighters as she realized what he might do now that she knew who he was.
"Why are you protecting it?" the man's voice was harsh with a scent of hatred surrounding him and a faint scent of the salty ocean that they once visited shortly after Nezuko was born and their father wasn't as ill.
"She's my younger sister!" Aiko blurted out while Nezuko was screaming in her arms, growling and trying to get out of her iron grip. It hurts by Aiko knows that she can't let that happen; she knows what the slayer will do if he gets his hands on Nezuko.
"You call that thing your sister?" he says. Aiko picked up the scent of disgust coming from him while a fire lit under her skin at the man casually calling her little sister an 'it,' Nezuko, no matter what was not a thing. She was a person.
Before Aiko could reply, he rushed at them, sword drawn and raised in the air. Aiko attempted to get off the ground to avoid his incoming attack while trying to go for the hatchet she had lost upon his first attack.
But in a mere blink, her sister is no longer in her grasp.
'But how?'
Nezuko was now in the grasp of the slayer, struggling and screaming.
"Nezuko!" Aiko shouted, scrambling to get to her sister.
The man shouts, "Don't Move!"
Aiko froze in place, feeling panicked at what he might do with his apparent target in his grasp.
"My job is to kill every demon I find. Needless to say, I'm going to have to decapitate your sister."
Aiko felt the wave of coldness that dwarfed the cold of the mountain wash over her at those words.
'Kill Nezuko?'
'Please, don'! She hasn't hurt anyone' Aiko cried out, "There was another scent back at my home. One that smelt like hundreds of corpses. Whoever it was was probably the one who killed my family."
"But Nezuko different. I don't know why she's acting like that-" Aiko pleaded with the man keeping an eye on her younger sister, hoping that this wouldn't be their final moments together.
"It's really quite simple. She's turned because her wounds were exposed to demon blood. That's how the man-eating monsters multiply," the slayer said, still holding onto her sister like he was talking about the weather.
"Nezuko would never eat a human!" Aiko declared, feeling the fire under her skin once more at the insult to her sister's humanity
"You much be joking. If I hadn't gotten here when I did, she would have devoured you."
"Your' wrong. She knows I'm her elder sister! She recognized me! I won't let her hurt anyone. I'll turn her back into a human; I will heal her! I swear."
"She can't be healed," the slayer shot her down. "Once you become a demon, there is no turning back."
"There is a way! I'll find it no matter what it takes," she shouted. "So please let her live. I'll hunt down the one that slaughtered my family, I promise. Please Stop!"
My elder brother is missing. He could be dead for all I know, Nezuko's a demon, and everyone else was murdered. Please don't take my only remaining family.
"Please stop," she whispers. "Whatever you do, don't kill my sister, I beg of you."
The snow bites into her skin, She's prostrated in the snow, and she's begging for her sister's life. How far has she fallen? "I beg of you," she whispers once again.
Unseen by Aiko, the slayer was gritting his teeth in annoyance at her actions.
"Don't grovel like that and give your enemies the chance to kill you!"
All your doing is making yourself vulnerable. If it was even a little bit effective, your family would still be alive right now.
How could a weakling like you have any hope of healing your sister? Or hunt down a demon. Don't be ridiculous. The weak have no rights. They don't get to make choices. All they can do is be relentlessly crushed by the strong."
"Now may the demons know of a way to cure your sister. Maybe! But don't think even for a moment that any one of them will have any respect for your wishes, just like how I have no respect for you. That's reality. Why the hell did you throw yourself over her like that? Was that your way of protecting her? Why didn't you swing that hatchet? Why would you ever turn your back to me?" the man was now holding his sword out of the shell-shocked girl. "I could have simply skewered the both of you and been done with it!
Aiko felt tears running down her face, unable to move as she felt the truth of the man's words. He was right. She was too weak to protect her little sister, and she was captured by this man as a result.
The man gave the girl a stern look before turning his sword back towards the pink-clad girl in his capture, who struggles harder as if she knew what was about to happen.
Nezuko screaming in pain from the sword cutting through the flesh and bone of her shoulder.
Seeing her sister in danger and being in a position to try to help gave Aiko the motivation to do something to protect her little sister.
She first throws a rock at the man. He quickly knocks it away with the but of his sword. Aiko is already running, so she doesn't pay mind as she headed towards the forgotten ax. This has to work!
Using the sudden gust of snow as brief cover, she circles around through the trees. She throws another at him, and he blocks it again, but now she's rushing towards him.
Please let this be enough, she prays, 'let this work for Nezuko. Her life depends on this. If it kills him, I will atone. Just let my little sister live.'
She gives out a battle cry and gives it her all. Soon enough, she was only a few short feet away.
"You are a fool."
Those were the last words she heard before she felt an immense, immense enormous pain in her back before the world flashed into darkness.
"Please be safe, Nezuko."
The world is an inky black around her. It reminded her of her obi belt when it was brand new.
She faintly heard worried mumbles of her family. Was everything just a bad dream?
"We have to leave you behind now, Aiko," her mother's voice said in her ear. "I'm so sorry. Be there for your brother, and take care of Nezuko."
No, don't leave.
The world explodes into light.
Aiko rejoins the world by grabbing a fistful of the fabric of a dark red haori. Tears stung her eyes as she saw her sister was still alive.
Tears streamed down her face. Quickly she wiped them off with her sleeves and scrambled to her knees, ensuring that her sister was in her arms once more.
"You're awake."
Aiko's head snapped up as she looked towards the sound of the slayer's voice. Briefly, she noticed that he no longer had his half and half haori on, that that it was on her.
"Get to Mount Sagiri as soon as possible. Look for an old man named Sakonjii Urokodaki. When you find him, tell him that Giyuu Tomioka sent you."
'He's sparing her' Aiko felt her eyes beginning to sting once more again with tears. She almost bows low again before remembering his words from before. She lifts her head high and gives him a nod. When his eyes soften for a brief moment, she knew that she did the right thing.
"It's cloudy, so she appears to be alright at the moment but never left her be exposed to sunlight."
With that, the demon slayer Giyuu Tomioka seemingly disappeared, only leaving behind footprints and his haori.
She took another look at her sister and saw that she was now wearing a bamboo muzzle of sorts. Tears stung her eyes as she held her sister as she wept for their slain family. Soon enough, with Nezuko waking up, she forced herself to stop crying.
They needed to return home so they could give their family the proper burial they deserve.
With Nezuko in tow, the two sisters make their way back up the mountain; as they closed in on their home Aiko had her eyes clenched shut, not wanting to see her family in such a state again, but she knew she had to, so she could give her family their burial.
She had her sister sis in the furthest corner of the house so she could bury them. Heading around back, she was greeted with the sight of her family's bodies gone, along with the massive amounts of blood. If it wasn't for the smell of iron still in the air, it would have been as if nothing happened.
She felt her stomach drop for a moment.
Did the demon come back and eat her family? Is there anything left to bury?
A thought suddenly struck Aiko before she ran towards their family burial garden that was behind the kiln.
Falling to her knees, she saw the five freshly made graves. Tears then freely begin to fall as she saw the familiar earring laid on her father's marker. It was the earring that Tanjiro had kept before she headed down the mountain.
Tanjiro was alive; she was sure of it. While there was the chance that Tomioka could have dug the grave, he wouldn't have known how vital the earring was to their family.
Returning with Nezuko to say their goodbyes, hands clasp together, she prayed for their safe passage. Her hands, somewhat soft, would harden with the story of her path when she would return with Tanjiro.
These would be the hands that kill the demon that tore her family apart.
She takes Nezuko back into the house, gets her dressed in nonblood-stained clothes, and grabs the money pouch. She looks behind them as they begin to walk away. They wouldn't return until their family was avenged, Nezuko was human again, and they have their elder brother by their side once more. That was an oath she would die by.
The two sisters began running, ready to start the harrowing journey ahead of them.
A/N- Dear lord, it's finally done. This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Anyway, I have no beta, so sorry for any mistakes. If I make any significant changes by the time I post chapter 2, I'll make sure to let you lovely readers know. So here it is, my long-awaited demon slayer fic.
Let me know what you think. I'm open to hearing any ideas for changes for canon, request, and the works.
Story Recommendation- Doves by StormofDiamonds (Harry Potter + Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
This is a story written by a friend of mine. It's very captivating, but it's receiving very little attention, so I would appreciate it if you all give my friend's story a shot. I know very little about Xenoblades and I still find it's a very good story.