The day when it happened, Phos hadn't felt anything different.

Sure, Hanako and Shigeru begged to go down the mountain with Tanjiro, Phos, Padpa, and Yellow, but that was usual. Since there was snow, Tanjiro couldn't bring the cart to carry Hanako and Shigeru when they inevitably got tired. Takeo was upset, but calmed down. Cinnabar was far away as usual, so Phos didn't think of them.

Phos shouldered their basket of coal, and began walking down the mountain with Yellow, Padpa, and Tanjiro.

"Hurry back, okay?" Shigeru yelled as the rest of the family waved the four off.

Hanako asked, "Be safe, okay?"

Phos and Tanjiro waved back.

Cinnabar had not been absent entirely. In fact, they were with Nezuko and a sleeping Rokuta.

"Big brother! Phos! Padpa! Yellow!" Nezuko carried Rokuta since Cinnabar wasn't able to.

"Hey, Nezuko, Cinnabar!"

"I was putting Rokuta down for a nap, or he'd make a scene when you leave,"

While Tanjiro and Nezuko started a conversation, Phos looked at Cinnabar, and was struck with a desire to give Cinnabar something to do.

Wait, where did that thought come from?

"Hey, Cinnabar?"

"What?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come down to town with us. Do you want to come?"

Cinnabar frowned. "You know I can't be near people, right?"

"Well, yeah, but you should at least see it! You've never seen it! So please?"

"Ok,"

Phos was surprised at how easily Cinnabar agreed, but shrugged it off.

Phos turned towards Tanjiro and Nezuko, who were finishing up their conversation.

"Hey, Tanjiro, Cinnabar's coming with us!"

Tanjiro smiled. "That's great!"

Finally, after getting everything in order, the five descended the mountain.

Tanjiro thought about many things while climbing down the mountain.

We don't have an easy life, but we're happy. Honestly, I think the best thing was finding Phos and the others. They've made our lives so much better. It's a shame about Cinnabar's condition though.

Of course, life changes as easily as the weather. It shifts and moves on. It's not like it always stays sunny, and it's not like it ever snows endlessly. And whenever happiness is destroyed, there's always the smell of blood...

While Cinnabar stayed in the forest, looking at the town, the other four went into the town.

An old lady swept in front of her house.

"Well, now, Tanjiro! And Phos, Padpa, and of course, Yellow! I can't believe you all came down the mountain on a day like this! You're such hard workers! You might catch a cold, though!"

Phos smiled. "Don't worry! We make sure we don't get colds!"

"Yeah, don't worry!" Tanjiro agreed. "By the way, do you have enough charcoal?"

"Hey, guys! Can I have some charcoal?" An old man peeked out from behind a building. "Thanks to you all, my sliding doors are fixed, so I owe you!"

More townspeople showed up, asking for coal.

A door opened up behind the four travelers. A young man with a bloody nose held by an older woman came out of it.

"Hey, Tanjiro! Oh man, perfect timing! You have the best nose, so smell this! I've been accused of breaking it!" He set out a broken plate.

Tanjiro sniffed it. "Hmm, I smell a cat,"

"You see?"

"Oh, my, so it was a cat?"

"I told you it wasn't me!"

Another man asked Padpa to help with the luggage he was carrying. Eventually, all the charcoal was sold out.

By the time Phos and the others had met up with Cinnabar and started walking home, it was already dark. The gems were all used to moving without sunlight now, but it didn't make them any less tired. Of course, since Cinnabar had been on the night patrol before coming to Japan, and their poison absorbed light, it was easy to stay awake. Tanjiro led the group.

They were stopped by an elderly man, Saburo.

"Hey! Are you guys gonna go back to the mountain? You'd better not, it's too dangerous,"

Padpa scoffed. "Dangerous?"

"Yes, dangerous. Come inside, all of you,"

"But-"

"Don't argue, come here! Before the demons show up,"

Cinnabar decided to stay just outside of the house. They didn't want harm to come to the old man. They didn't believe in demons either. Cinnabar used the snow to cover themselves up.

Poor Cinnabar. Tanjiro thought. Because of their condition, they can't come inside the house.

"Hey, Mr. Saburo? What are demons?" Padpa asked, as Tanjiro inhaled the food he was given.

"Man-eaters. They prowl the land once it gets dark. That's why you should never stroll around at night. If you're done eating, go to bed. You can set off for home at first light,"

"They wouldn't come inside the house, right?"

"Oh, they would,"

"But that doesn't make sense. Then everyone would get eaten by demons," Tanjiro interjected.

"That's why the demon hunters protect us by slaying them since way back when."

Lights turned out, and everyone went to sleep.

See, the thing about Saburo was that he was alone. He had lost his entire family. But Tanjiro and the others were about to find out what took Saburo's family.

Morning came, and the group shouldered their baskets and set off for home. The mountains were beautiful.

"You be careful now," Saburo waved them off.

"Okay!"

Whenever happiness is destroyed, Tanjiro thought, there's always…

He sniffed the air.

"The smell of blood!"

Phos's head whipped around to stare at Tanjiro. Since coming here, they understood that the smell of blood meant bad things. One example would be when Shigeru was accidentally cut. He bled a little, a liquid red substance coming out of his wound. It had frightened Phos.

Padpa was stone-faced outwardly. But inside, they were worried. Surely it was nothing, but Padpa couldn't help but share Phos's dismay. After all, they owed Phos, and they would be lying if they said that they hadn't gotten attached to the Kamado family.

Cinnabar knew something was wrong as soon as Tanjiro said he smelled blood. They started thinking about all the negative scenarios that could have happened. Over and over, Saburo's warning flashed in their mind. There might have not been actual demons, but something wasn't right.

Yellow dashed ahead immediately. They couldn't bear to lose anyone again. Not ever again. Images flashed in their mind, of Green Diamond, Pink Topaz, Ruby, Sapphire, even Zircon. When Yellow got there, they collapsed.

Phos, Padpa, Cinnabar, and Tanjiro caught up to Yellow. Phos tried to ask Yellow a question, but Yellow couldn't answer anything. What they saw was too much. Tanjiro, upon arriving, started breathing heavily. The house looked quiet. Too quiet.

In the front of the entrance to the Kamado home, were a blood-soaked Nezuko and Rokuta.

Tanjiro screamed.