Thank you for LittleDoot and Nobody(Super_NovaGrey) who have helped me proofread. Also, thank you for TungstenCat who has advised me with the romance aspect of the story! As well as euphoric, praise his existence, for betaing this chapter because this difficult chapter has had quite a lot of edits uwu

Warning: Major character death, mentions of gore and attempted suicide. And major canon-divergence, I guess.

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She could feel death nearing.

Her body felt heavy. Her head, lightheaded. She felt cold, so cold, as if the red trickling down from the gaping wounds in her body was sapping her body heat along with it. All she could smell was a metallic odor. All she could see was crimson blood and her unmoving children. All she could hear was a deafening silence.

There was a choked whimper.

She looked up. Her vision was tinged red and blurry, but she could make out his trembling form, crouched at the furthest corner of the room. Alive but terrified, with the blade of an axe lodged in his neck.

She gasped for breath. Dragged her limp body towards him. His whine became louder the closer she got. His clawed hands gripped the axe tightly. He choked on his own blood but he didn't stop breathing. Didn't stop salivating. Didn't die.

"...No," she wheezed, pushing herself up with her shaky arms. Her hand rose to grab his trembling hands before weakly trying to pull them away from the axe. He didn't budge. "No, no. Don't..."

He looked at her, fear clear in his slitted eyes. She realised that he wasn't afraid of death. He was afraid of what would happen should he live.

"M-Mum," he choked, shaking his head imperceptibly. His neck was severed further, but he refused to let go of the axe. "I-I can't—"

"Shhh," she cooed soothingly as she heaved her body up further so that she was at his eye level. He recoiled and held his breath, teeth clenching in an effort to keep the temptation at bay. For a moment, she wondered if she should urge him to eat her. She was dying anyway, and her son would continue to be in pain the more he held himself back.

She banished the thought. She didn't want to inflict further pain on him. His body might be able to heal from the wound, but his heart would never recover.

So she raised her hand to cup his cheek. Rubbed away his tears with her thumb. Smiled her last smile... before covering his eyes with her palm.

"...Listen to me, son," she whispered, leaning her forehead on his. "I'm sorry I can't be with you for longer. I love you. I love you so much, so please..."

Kie closed her eyes.

"Don't… blame... yourself..."

And… live.

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Carnage greeted them.

The living room was covered in slash marks and dyed in red. Corpses littered the floor, broken and bloody. It was a very familiar scene for them—demons always left a trail of death in its wake—but unlike the usual, Kanao could put a name to their faces.

She knew these people. Knew how they smiled and laughed and called her name. Warm and carefree, they were supposed to welcome her with open arms. Not with cold corpses and lifeless eyes.

"A demon attack," Shinobu hissed behind her, voice thick with dread and anger. She unsheathed her blade with a sharp ring. "The blood is still fresh. The sun has yet to rise. Be careful, Kanao. The demon might still be around—"

A whimper.

Both Demon Slayers moved—

A sharp clang rang through the house. The Nichirin blades of the two Demon Slayers clashed against each other.

There was a prolonged silence.

"... What is the meaning of this," Shinobu gritted her teeth. "Tsuchinoe Tsuyuri Kanao."

Kanao stared at her sister's eyes and flinched, but didn't move. Behind her was the demon, who was her enemy. The demon, who preyed on humans. The demon, who she had to kill.

The demon, who was hugging the corpse of his mother, crying out like a cornered animal. The demon, who stared at her with fear and sorrow. The demon, who was once her friend.

"It's Tanjirou-san, Nee-san," Kanao whispered shakily.

Shinobu's eyes flickered. "It's no longer Tanjirou. That's a demon you are protecting."

"It's Tanjirou-san," Kanao insisted.

"It's a demon," Shinobu growled threateningly. "You are a Demon Slayer. What are you doing?"

Kanao was at a loss. Her mind felt slow and foggy. The reality was confounding. The Kamado family was alive and laughing just last month, but they were cold bodies now. Tanjirou was a human last month, but he was a demon now. The order was to kill demons, but the order was also to protect those who were precious to her.

Why? Why? Why? Why them? Why was this happening? What was she supposed to do?

"The first step," he raised his index finger and grinned, "Is to find out what you really want."

"I..." Kanao gulped. "I want to save him."

Shinobu faltered. "...What?"

"The demon is Tanjirou," Kanao said adamantly before flicking her sword. They separated, Shinobu jumping back to stop in front of the dead Kamado children while Kanao stood protectively in front of the living demon. With her blade raised against her older sister, Kanao stared at Shinobu in determination. "The marks on the corpses emit only black mist. Tanjirou-san's is red. He is not the one who attacked them."

Shinobu's nose twitched. She must have noticed it from the scents as well, judging by her widening eyes.

Because Tanjirou was clearly a freshly-turned demon. And there was only one demon capable of turning humans into demons. Only one demon who could possess such a black, malevolent mist, darker than any demonic mists she had encountered before.

"Kibutsuji Muzan…" Shinobu whispered in horror.

Kanao nodded grimly. Bit her lip, when Shinobu didn't loosen up but glared at Kanao.

"That does not mean you can protect that demon," Shinobu hissed. "He may not have eaten a human now, but he definitely will soon. He will not be able to resist the hunger for much longer, especially since he was just turned."

"...I will not let him harm innocent people."

"How? Are you going to lock him up somewhere? He might as well die now than—" Shinobu froze as realisation dawned on her. "You are a Demon Slayer. You are supposed to take humanity's side!"

"The demons are not the only source of evil. Criminals will be executed anyway—"

"Don't you dare, Tsuyuri Kanao!"

Kanao flinched. But she didn't back down. "I am going to protect him. Only when he harms an innocent person will I personally kill him."

Shinobu's eyes widened at her response. Silence fell between them.

"You," Shinobu whispered, her voice low but shaky. "You've made up your mind."

Slowly, the Insect Hashira sheathed her sword. Kanao immediately turned to rush at Tanjirou and remove the bloodied axe lodged in his neck. Her heart plummeted when she heard a distinct click.

Kanao whirled around, blade clashing with Shinobu's once more. They locked blades for a moment, Kanao pushing harder to get the Insect Hashira away from Tanjirou. Suddenly, the Hashira swiveled around, causing Kanao to stumble due to her momentum, before delivering a roundhouse kick. Kanao rolled to dodge before throwing her sword at Shinobu, barely deflecting her slash aimed for Tanjirou's neck.

"Run, Tanjirou-san!" Kanao screamed at him as she tackled her sister from behind. She struggled against the buckling Hashira to buy him some time.

But Tanjirou didn't move. Didn't even look their way. What was he looking at—

Suddenly, Kanao felt a nick on her shin. She jumped away from Shinobu, who had a blade jutting out from the secret compartment in the sole of her shoe. Kanao tried to raise her blade, but it was already too late. Immediately, her body felt heavy and sluggish, causing her to crash to the ground.

"Tanjirou—!"

The last thing Kanao saw was Tanjirou reaching out to grab her abandoned sword before everything went black.

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The demon sprang to life, rushing towards her.

Shinobu sheathed her sword. Coated her blade with deadly poison. Leaned forward, unsheathed her sword and with a burst of speed—

—The demon wasn't looking at her, he was looking at—

—The blade, spinning towards his neck—

Clang!

Kanao's Nichirin sword flew away, embedding itself in the wall. The demon tumbled down with a thud. Still alive, because of her.

"What...What are you doing?" Shinobu gasped for breath. She had forced herself to put on a sudden burst of speed in order to deflect the blade coming towards his neck. "You were about to cut your own neck with…"

His neck, which was half-severed already. The room was dark and everything was dyed in red, so she hadn't seen the mangled state of his neck until now. It was healing slowly, the muscles and skin stitching itself up—a normally fatal wound to a human but harmless to a demon.

There was an axe lying near Kie's dead body. Shinobu had thought Kie had attacked the demon and kept him trapped with the axe. She had seen the same thing happening too many times already; newborn demons devouring their own family. But impossibly, it seemed that this demon was the first who had inflicted not even a scratch on its supposed prey. He was also the first to actively seek his own death.

The demon looked up at her with empty eyes. He then glanced down at her Nichirin blade, and up again, at her eyes. As if urging her to kill him already.

"...I'll grant you a painless death," Shinobu finally said.

The demon didn't give any indication that he was listening, only staring at her blankly. But at least, he had stopped trying to kill himself.

Shinobu sheathed her sword. Hands trembling slightly, she pressed the button for the poison she had promised him. A distinct click echoed through the room.

But she didn't draw the blade.

Shinobu looked at Kanao, who had passed out near his feet. Despite visibly salivating from extreme hunger, the demon didn't even spare a glance at the living body next to him.

Demons did not discriminate against their prey. This demon should be no different. And yet...

"Tanjirou-kun," Shinobu called the demon.

The demon blinked.

"...If I were to kill you now," Shinobu wondered out loud, "will Kanao hate me?"

The demon stared at her silently. Then, he tilted his head to look at Kanao.

Shinobu's eyes widened.

"...You remember me, don't you?" She asked cautiously, because demons generally lost their memory the moment they were turned. There were cases where demons retained their memory, but it usually occurred moments before their death. Not when they were just newborns, and especially not when they were starving.

The demon stared back but didn't say anything.

Shinobu crouched down so that they were on the same eye level. They looked at each other for a long time. It was the first time she had ever stared at a living demon's eyes without having to tear each other apart. The demon's eyes were red, just like the eyes of Kanao's favourite boy. The only difference was the vertical slit in place of the round pupil.

"Don't you feel hungry?" Shinobu tilted her head in wonder. "Look, there is food at your feet. There is even food in front of you. Here." She took Kanao's sword and nicked her palm with the blade, letting blood drip onto the ground before offering her hand to him. "Want a bite?"

As expected, the demon stared at the blood on her hand and began to salivate even more. But he didn't become aggressive. He didn't even approach her. In fact, he recoiled and backed away from her offered hand.

How… curious.

"A demon who refuses to succumb to its primal instinct is unheard of," she mused. "What makes you different, Tanjirou-kun?"

The demon looked up at her, then at the Nichirin blade lying on the ground. Shinobu waved her uninjured hand at him to get his attention back on her.

"Tanjirou-kun," Shinobu said to the demon. "Kanao likes you."

The demon blinked.

"I'm not lying. Kanao really likes you," Shinobu smiled at him. "I've known it from the last time she read your letter. It was the first time I've ever seen her laugh."

The demon tilted his head.

"If I were to kill you now, will she ever laugh again?" Shinobu wondered. "You were the main reason for her change. She has relied less on her coin. She smiles more genuinely. She laughs. Ah, she even defied me just now and went against the rules. You've made her human."

Slowly, Shinobu raised her hand to pat his blood-soaked head.

"Kanao has already lost too much. She didn't even have enough to begin with," Shinobu hummed as she stroked his hair. "You are precious to her, and she is precious to me. I don't mind her hating me, but I don't want to be the reason for her ruin. Selfish, aren't I?"

The demon didn't say anything, merely letting her pat him.

"Don't worry. I will kill you," Shinobu assured him, smiling sadly. "But… not now. If I do that, Kanao will die along with you. She is a budding flower, a butterfly just out of her cocoon. I can't let her wither away. She has decided to save you, so… I know this is cruel, but please, stay alive for now."

Shinobu took out a bamboo canister and poured all of the dried herbs onto the ground. The demon remained silent and unmoving when she reached forward to fix the empty bamboo onto his mouth, tying the strap around his head. The makeshift muzzle was hopefully enough to help him resist his natural urge to devour human beings.

"You have to survive. Live without harming humans. Whether you starve yourself or eat fellow demons, I don't care. Live and never kill people, so that when the Demon Slayer Corps notices your existence, you will have sufficient evidence to show that you are not our enemy."

Shinobu sheathed Kanao's Nichirin blade and gathered her sister into her arms before passing her to the demon. Slowly, he reached out and held her. Shinobu hesitated before kissing the top of her sister's head.

"Kanao shall be your overseer. Should you fail, she will be labeled as a traitor and be immediately executed," Shinobu said, looking him straight in the eye. "Her fate now lies in your hands. You are better off dead, but for her sake, I will believe in you. And I will trust her with you."

Shinobu stood up and took a glance at the corpses of the Kamado family before pointing at the front door.

"Now, go. I won't be able to defend you once the Kakushi get here," Shinobu ordered the demon. "Please take care of my sister, Tanjirou-kun, and do not make me regret my decision."

Tanjirou did nothing for a few moments. When Shinobu was about to give up and just capture him, he nodded before bolting out the door with Kanao in his arms. She was relieved to catch sight of a determined glint in his eyes.

"I wonder, Nee-san," Shinobu hummed, gazing at the remnant of a happy family with a heavy heart. "Will our sister be able to make a human out of a demon?"

Only time would tell.

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