THE COLOR OF THE WORLD

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Disclaimer: Kimetsu no Yaiba belongs to Koyoharu Gotouge

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Genre(s): Adventure/ Hurt/Comfort

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Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC and a lot of Angst. I hope.

Beta'ed by LamboLover36. Thank you so much~

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Manga: Chapter 21, 22 and 24

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"Ah...he's dead already. Nezuko realized belatedly, holding the boy—now just a bloody corpse—in a tight hug, holding her tears back. Must've been painful. He must've suffered.

(Nezuko closed her eyes. The feeling of the body going colder and colder was too much already, she didn't want to see how that energetic orange fog disappear as the seconds ticked by)

"He...he isn't our brother," Shoichi whispered, with a barely heard choke. He was trying not to let out the bile stuck in his throat, not wanting the sister to see how the sight of someone dying traumatized her big brother so much. He hugged her even closer as he spoke, "Kiyoshi was wearing an orange haori."

So a lot of people are being kept prisoner here. No wonder this house was full of black fog. This is their eating ground. Nezuko gulped in trepidation, not wanting to imagine how many innocent lives have been taken forcefully inside this normal looking place. She laid the corpse down carefully on the ground, swiping the stones away as to not making the body uncomfortable (but he's dead. He can't feel anything anymore. What you're doing is useless, Nezuko. But heck, she'll do it anyway. Showing respect to the soul she couldn't save). The girl promised inside her heart, that she's going to give the nameless boy a proper burial. After she saved the brother of those two siblings and perhaps, other people who are still alive in there. Either way, there's no time to waste, so she stood up and called to the other demon slayer, "Zenitsu! Let's go!"

He shook his head frantically, face pale, rejecting the idea flat out.

Silence.

The temperature went down a notch, Zenitsu eeped. His body was wrecked with an intense shiver.

"No! Don't look at me with that face full of fury, Nezuko-chan!" he tackled her, who was already turning her back to the yellow-haired boy. He gripped the wooden box tightly, tears and snot decorating his pale complexion, "I'll come along, okay? So please, don't give that expression to me!"

"I don't plan on forcing you..."

"I'll come! I'll come!" he begged. Her tone was light. Yet the recipient could detect the hidden anger within, even without his enhanced hearing. Scary, that was scary, Zenitsu didn't want that kind of voice to be directed at him, no—, "I'll come along as well, don't leave me!"

Nezuko shrugged out of his hold and went to the scared children, pulling down the box that contained Tanjiro and placed it by the pair, "I'm entrusting this to you," she said, even when in actuality, she didn't want to leave her only family alone like this. However, for the sake of the traumatized kids, she'll swallow the urge and prioritized, "This will protect you both in case of danger. Don't stray too far from it, okay?"

After she received the small confirmation, she went in, pink haori flared regally. Making her look cool and dependable (according to the kids watching from behind), very much in contrast to the sniveling scared form of Zenitsu. The moment they took their first steps into the house, Nezuko saw the black fogs crisscrossing across the hallway. It was different blacks, though. Judging from the threads, there were...three demons here, she surmised. They're outnumbered but perhaps they can each take one and then corner the last one together. So even if they're tired, their combined power would still be enough to finish them. The sun colored hunter shivered and opened his mouth, "Ne-Nezuko-chan. This may be pathetic of me, because I'm the man and all but...you will protect me, right?" he sniffed, "you're definitely stronger than me. You'll protect me, right? Right?"

"...Zenitsu," the ponytail girl started, back still onto him, "you see. Before I came here, I fought with a powerful demon. And he managed to fractured my ribs and legs. It was healed, but only partially, so—"

"EHHHHH?" his screech instantly cutting off what Nezuko was going to say next. Zenitsu's eyes popped out from his head and his face turned even paler almost as if someone had poured a bucket of white paint onto him, "why do you have bone fractures? How do you have bone fractures? If you have bone fractures, who's going to protect me? I'M GOING TO DIE!"

"Zenitsu, calm down and hear me ou—"

"YAAAHHHH! What do I do! What do I do! I'll die I'll die I'll definitely die!" he screeched clearly not wanting to hear Nezuko out, and continued ranting. All the while, he was halfway into his previous bridge pose. Maybe this is his default setting when he was overwhelmed by fear, closing his eyes and not wanting to face the truth, "being told you have bone fracture has killed me! I'm already dead! 99 PERCENT ALREADY DEAD!"

"Zenitsu, be quiet! You will be fi—"

"NO! Stop comforting me!" a tick mark formed at the side of Nezuko's forehead. She is starting to get very...very annoyed, "I told you I'm dead already! Dead I sa—"

BUK

Her first was smoking and Zenitsu was whimpering on the floor, clutching the bump on his scalp thanks to the hunter's punch of reality. She put her hands on her hips, huffing, "are you calm now?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good," she rested her hand on the hilt of the blade, gaze lingering around the interior, "as I was saying. You're going to be okay, Zenitsu. Because you are..." She trailed off, her ears catching the sounds of footsteps approaching. It came from the entrance and her stomach instantly churned. Don't tell me. And her fear was justified because one second later, Shoichi and Teruko were there, bounding to the demon slayers frantically, "wha—you guys! You can't come in here!" she stopped the younger one by her shoulders, checking her for injuries.

"It's...it's because neechan's box is rattling around," the brother explained, catching his breath, "we're...we're scared and—"

"B-But even so, you guys can't just leave it there! That box is something even more important than my own life, I—" her heart thumped painfully at the thought of Tanjiro being left alone in the woods, with nobody to watch over him. And the sun was still out, he can't come out from the safe haven to pursue them. Nezuko felt like her head is swimming, her sight hazing, she needs to go back there and collect him before something happens to him and she'll be left alone—

DUNG

She was snapped from her reverie when she heard a sharp sound echoing throughout the mansion. Was that...the sounds of a drum?

DUNG. It continued. DUNG DUNG TAK DUNG

The sound was so eerie, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, "wha—"

DUNG DUNG TAK TAK DUNG

Yet her question was cut off once again when yellow boy shrieked and crouched, covering his ears to block out the sound of the drum, accidentally pushing Nezuko, who was still holding onto the little girl, away with his bum. The moment they were separated from the adjacent door—Nezuko with Teruko and Zenitsu with Shoichi—another smack of a drum was heard—

BLIP

And the room she was in changed; to a shoji room with a hanging scroll, to the empty room with a silent hallway upon the ajar door, to a ten-tatami room with wooden closet at one side and a lone black dresser at the other, before it stopped. The whole thing happened so fast, literally in the blink of an eye; as a quick blackout happened before the environment changed. So unsettling. The dim, red light of this particular room didn't help the matter at all. However, rather than questioning how in the world this bizarre event occurred in the first place, Nezuko was focused on the fact that they were in a completely different room than they were before; Teruko, was her only companion without Zenitsu or Shoichi in sight.

How could it...no. Nezuko sharply stood up from her position of hugging the terrified child down. Rather than the room, were we the ones that moved? Moving along with the drum beat?

"Uuuhhh...hic, hic..." However, she had to abandon her contemplation for now, when Teruko started sobbing, hugging her waist while trembling in fright. Aah...right. This must've been so scary for a little girl. Nezuko felt like she was looking at Hanako, begging for the presence of the family to shoo away the scary things (her heart panged in longing). She crouched a bit, patting her head and wiping the tears, giving her an encouraging smile.

"I'm sorry for getting you separated from your brother," she started, making the kid looked up, "but I'll definitely protect you, okay? Zenitsu—" no matter how pathetic he seems most of the time, he is still a demon slayer. He is strong (his fog is strong. Raging through the world under the cloudy sky. Protecting the people taking shelter under him by banishing their attacker in one, swift strike. Nezuko believed in that. Believe in the color who showed the true nature of someone. Believe in the true nature they hide behind the mask), "—will also protect your brother. So don't worry too much, okay?"

Teruko sniffed. Her eyes shone in concern but she slowly nodded.

She started to smile and opened her mouth to give another consolation.

Before a black fog wafted in front of her widened eyes. Thicker than the other fog. Darker than the other fog. This is—

Nezuko instantly turned to the open door, clamming Teruko's mouth with her palm at the same time. There, slowly, menacingly, a demon appeared; dark brown hair flowing like a calming wave till it reached his shoulder. Red scleras blankly stared ahead, eyebrows scrunched in agitation, making the three claw-mark tattoo at each side of his forehead and two others under his eyes coil. He was almost naked, wearing only two layers of cloth to cover himself. The reason why he didn't wear anything however, was clear. Because at his shoulders, stomach and thighs were drums. Embedded inside him, piercing his skin and bunching up the nerves within like a grotesque picturization of beautiful jewelry. The hunter was sure the red lines on the drums skins was his own veins, it was...disgusting to think about. Nezuko held her breath, knowing the little girl had done the same.

—this must be the house's master!

"Teruko," she whispered, gaze still glued to the demon, not wanting him to surprise her when she was clearly not ready. Slowly as to not making any sound, she unsheathed one of her swords, "don't scream. Don't go into the room even if the room moves. Back away," her orbs rolled to the side for a split second, "hide behind the shelves and don't make any sound, understood?"

Nezuko was still holding onto her lips so she felt it when Terukos' bobbed her head up and down. The child sneakily crept toward the indicated hiding spot and, now that nothing hinders the ponytail movement, she clasped her dual blades, listening to the spew of words the demon had been muttering for the past couple of minutes.

"Why," he growled low, sending a shiver on her nape, "why doesn't everyone not know any manners? Just barging into the home of someone else? Pissed me off..." his sharp, shark like teeth gnashed together in anger, "pissed me off. They are all my prey. They are all my prey I found in my territory..." the air chilled, Nezuko crouched, "that guy is also...that Marechi that I've found!"

("Marechi?")

Nezuko leaped, swords already in mid-swing—

DUNG

The demon smacked the instrument on his left shoulder—

WHISH

The room swerved, changing gravity's pull and sending the slayer's body to the right. He sensed my presence! Or were my footsteps too loud? I still need to get that bad habit out of my system, crap! Teruko let out a small yelp at the sudden move, causing Nezuko's attention to turn to the girl the instant she found her footing, "Teruko!" she called to her. Then immediately realized at what had actually happened to her, to them, moments ago. When she thought the room swerved, she was definitely right. Instead of looking at the cream wall of the room, she was staring right at the tatami built for the floor, the black dresser was at the top left of the ceiling...floor? Anyway, while the demon still stood normally in a normal side of the house and a normal floor made of wood, Nezuko and Teruko were standing on the wall, the ceiling of the room was right behind them. Wait, was the room the one that spinning around or the gravity of us that changed direction? The demon was still standing upright after all. And the furniture isn't even falling.

No matter. This must be the Blood Demon Art of this demon. She grunted, sweat forming at the incredulity of this situation. The entire house is this demon's territory!

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(A fog of...someone fierce crashed like a horse wagon. This is...silver? Such a straight-forward color. It's kinda refreshing, this change of pace)

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Then at the other side of the room, at the exact opposite of the demon who was standing still, the door suddenly broke, flinging the bits of wood everywhere. Behind it was...a human? The fog told her so, storming into the room like a crazed beast. He didn't wear any top, just a black pants and sandals made of animal fur (what's wrong with this house occupants? Half-naked everywhere, is this some kind of trend or something?). And speaking about an animal, the boy—she was pretty sure he's a teenager, judging from his height—was wearing a pig head like a mask. Or a mask crafted to made looked like a living boar. Nezuko hoped so, because wearing a part of an animal—a dead animal, mind you—was a disturbing notion, she gagged a bit.

The boy's voice was deep and rich pleasant to listen to, but also completely insane, "Pig assault!" he exclaimed, laughing uproariously, "Pig assault! Pig assault!"

Zenitsu and Shoichi were standing to the side of the hallway, watching the weird...creature storming out of the room they just checked at the speed of sound. Was that...a human? But he had a pig head? What?

What the heck is wrong with this house?

"I want to be with Nezuko-neechan," Shoichi murmured, looking at the sun-haired hunter with disappointment, "at least I feel safe with her. Rather than having to spend my time with a person who keeps crying and talking about dying..."

And this kid's words are still sharp as heck too!

What's...what's actually going on here? Nezuko was confused, but her grip on her dual blade tightening. This pig mask wearer was holding his own dual swords as well; they were silver—like the color of his fog. Straightforward, refreshing—and chipped along the sharps edge, she didn't know how a sword like that could even inflict the blow needed to kill a demon in the first place. He crossed the blades downward, head tilted high to the sky, letting out another deep shout of invitation to cross blades with him.

"Come on, monster! I'm going to make die out here in the wild!" he guffawed, loud and mighty, as if the prospect of fighting the dangerous monster was nothing but entertainment, "you're going to make me stronger! And be my stepping stone to higher places! AHAHAHAHAHAH!"

The pig head rushed headlong towards the demon, swords drawn. The devil himself didn't move an inch, only smacked the left drum for the second time, making the room swerve again and tumbling them to the other direction. Teruko let out another yelp, igniting Nezuko's instinctive desire to head over to her immediately and protect her while these two battled like a crazy maniacs. Yet, before she could even move, the hairs on the back of her neck rose again and she defended, putting her arms to the side of her head. Right on time too, because the weirdo decided to use her body as his footing after the sudden change of gravity, launching his body back towards the demon. Another smack of the drum, now on the right, spinning the room to the left, Nezuko was starting to feel nauseous.

It was the worst feeling, to get yanked around without consent, from one direction to another; a very grim reminder of her last battle with Yahaba. However, even when she wanted to do nothing but settle her stomach, she was aware of one small detail that made her blood boil.

Teruko, who stumbled away from the black wardrobe because she was too late to hang onto the furniture, was now under the Pig Mask's foot, getting stepped on by the heavy teenager like trash.

"AHAHAHAHA! The room is spinning around and around!" he gleefully screamed, "So interesting! So very interesting!

And he had the gall to keep laughing like a buffon! The nerve of this jerk!

Nezuko sheathed her blade (because, even if the only thing she wanted to do to this uncouth barbarian was to strike him without mercy, she still remembered the main rule of being a part of Demon Slayer Association—this man is indeed one of them, right? The Niichirin blade was the definitive proof of his identity—Not fighting with each other. So, much to her chagrin, she cannot deal any blow to him or else they would revoke her license) then jumped. He noticed her advance, although was a bit too late to react before she grasped his thigh and threw him away, sending him to the air, "don't step on other people like that!"

He changed his trajectory from topsy-turvy to a beautiful cartwheel in a second, landing on the tatami with a silent thump, "what are you doing, you little brat?"

What am I doing? What are YOU doing?! "I'm telling you stepping on other people is not okay!" she cradled Teruko to her chest, noting the shiver she had. This jerk better not have hurt her or Nezuko's fist is going to go flying, "especially not on such a small child! Your body mass alone is going to break her bones!"

"Ahahaha! AHAHAHAHA! Not bad, not bad~" however, it was clear this teen wasn't listening, and didn't hear a single word coming out of her mouth. He crouched low, crossing his swords again like some kind of vagabond, "that was a good throw there! This is the first time I've ever been thrown by a human!" that was some unusual phrasing there, "interesting! INTERESTING!"

And...he was back to rushing recklessly. Now towards her instead of toward the demon as a Demon Slayer was supposed to do. What?!

Nezuko jumped when he swung the sword horizontally, bringing Teruko along with her, "Hey! What are you—" then ducked when the other blade whizzed past her head, "Oi!"

"Getting sliced by one of my blades is going to really hurt, see!" the pig mask guy still didn't listen to her protests. Slash to the side, she jumped. Slashed to the ground, she pivoted, "this isn't a blade that can be used by little children! It can make the person that was struck experience the feeling of being sliced by a thousand blades!"

Okay. Whatever, "can you just—" swing, duck, "—calm down for a sec—" slash, jump, "—and hear me out—" thrust, leap, "—because the demon is right there, you jerk—" spin, roll, "—stop it already!"

"Not until you pull out your swords!" he cackled, "I saw those, you know. I knew you're dual wielder just like me! Let us clash and see who is the strongest!"

Then, while this pig teen was too engrossed with his own world, the demon decided he didn't like it when strangers were jumping around inside his house. Uninvited, and making a ruckus, "damn bug, pissing me off," he gnashed his teeth, palm raised, "vanish from my sight and DIE!"

He brought it down—

DUNG

Both of the hunters snapped their attention to the abrupt gust that rushed onto them like a fine blade, they lept—

SLAAASSHHH

—and managed to evade the invisible attack. It left three nasty claw marks, long enough to destroy, not only the floor but the wardrobe and part of the wall.

Wha—what? Nezuko hissed. The tatami was suddenly torn apart. They appeared at the same time and speed as the sounds of the drum. So that drum is not only for rearranging the interior of the house for traps. It also his primary weapon!

DUNG. The same attack was unleashed, it mainly honed onto the pig mask wearer, who easily evaded the strike. DUNG DUNG. The room moved again, to the right, to the left, all the while, she held onto the terrified child. DUNG DUNG TAK DUNG. The crazy demon hunter was thrown out the way he came in. DUNG DUNG. Another spin to make them dizzy before the room Nezuko resided in instantly changed; now it was a small, six-tatami tea room with a hanging scroll and a small altar to the side. No demon, no Pig Mask.

"Wait. That's strange," Nezuko belatedly realized, as she put Teruko down after confirming no other attack would come their way, "I was sure the demon didn't play the drums when the room changed. There are multiple demons' threads in this room. Don't tell me...are there other demons with drums besides that one as well? And—"

(She watched as the beautiful fog from before flew by. Her beating heart unconsciously calmed down at the sight of a pretty view. Aah...she could really bask in this glow forever, staring at the rainbow painted on the clear sky and clouds swimming by)

—this strange fog is back. Where did it come from?

Nezuko instructed Teruko to followed her closely, as they may encounter other demons out there or worse, another demon with another drum, she didn't want them to get separated the moment the room changed. The black-haired teen turned a corner and instantly froze when her eyes landed on the corpse at the end of the hallway; it was bloody and broken, with its hands chopped off and flesh freshly torn out, there was clear evidence that this victim was just recently eaten. She closed her eyes (stop it. She didn't want to see the disappearing fog. Stop. It!) and went back to where they came, convincing the scared child that that path was nothing but a dead end, and that they should search for another way. It took a minute before she was back on her original plan—well, of course, to get Teruko out of this place will be the main objective. However—her other mission is to locate the beautiful fog. Because this is the fog of a human. A human that clearly is still alive. She could not justify abandoning them just because protecting two people is going to be a challenge for a rookie slayer like her. No. Nezuko will save every single soul if it the last thing she'll do.

They arrived at a plain sliding door, almost at the end of a bleak archway. The beautiful fog came from here. Now that they're right at the source of this thread, Nezuko couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. Looking at it in close proximity, she spotted other elements that complemented the painting; birds chirping and flowers blooming. Magnificent rainbows crossed the sky and the sun was just peeking out from under the white cotton of the clouds, shining the lush grass that was not too hot yet not too cold either. Just the perfect temperature for a nice day, where you can hang your laundry and enjoying the breeze while doing so. There's also a small river separating the land and a group of houses on the far horizon, giving her the illustration of a secret, overlooking hill you climbed to look over the town in peace.

How...how could a beautiful fog such as this exist? Nezuko felt like she wanted to cry at the scenery alone.

She didn't, though. Because along with the incredible view, the ponytail girl could finally see one tiny detail her eyes overlooked. That was a small speck of red fog intertwining the scenery.

Whoever the owner of this fog is, is most likely hurt. Not life-threateningly, fortunately, but hurt nonetheless.

Nezuko let out a small cough and, with a voice as comforting as her tense countenance could manage, she said, "excuse me. Are you, perchance, a human trapped in this house by a demon? My name's Kamado Nezuko. I'm a Demon Slayer, here to banish the beast and help you escape."

No response. She tried again, "I'm accompanying another human here. A girl ...how old are you?" Teruko held up nine fingers, "nine years old. she has black hair, it's styled in pigtails—"

"Teruko?!"

Oh, the human inside finally talked. And because they seemed to recognize Teruko from the description alone, there was only one other person who it could be—because Shoichi's fog is cyan, like the blue sky of this person's color—definitely not this intricate looking—the pink hunter leaned in, "are you Kiyoshi?"

Another silence, "...how can I know you're not just a demon trying to trick me?"

"Good point," she put a palm on the girls' back, smiling, "why don't you talk to your brother, Teruko-chan?"

She nodded and stepped forward, determined even with tears of fright still flowing freely, "Kiyoshi-niichan. It's really me, Teruko. You recognized my voice right?"

A gasp then a choked sob. The person inside spoke after a few seconds, "y-you can come in."

Nezuko did just that, slowly opening the sliding door as to not surprising the traumatized kid behind it too much. When the interior of the room was revealed, she saw the occupant. A boy, perhaps a few years older than her, with short, messy black hair, kneeling on the tatami. He wore an orange haori—just like Shoichi had told her beforehand—hiding the green yukata beneath. The kid had his guard up a second the door was opened. But dropped it the moment his eyes landed onto the girl hiding behind Nezuko. She also let out an excited sound and immediately pounced onto her missing brother, who caught her easily while dropping whatever he held beforehand to the ground.

A black drum rolled, showing its form for her to see.

Huh. So here's the other drum she was searching for. Glad that this dangerous weapon was not in the hands of a demon.

Nezuko stepped closer to the hugging siblings, who were crying their eyes out in relief and not willing to let go of one another after being separated for so long. She gave Kiyoshi an encouraging smile when his body language turned guarded, showing him that she didn't mean any harm, "don't worry, I'm a human. In fact, I'm here to defeat the demon," she pulled out a balm from her breast pocket, "let me treat your wound first, okay? This medicine is really awesome! Master made it for me"

She started talking about her days of training with her strict teacher, about his attitude and the mask he wore, while she tended to the injuries so as to alleviate the fear from the teenagers mind. Although, she knew she couldn't avoid the topic any longer, she asked what had happened here, from the time Kiyoshi was kidnapped to the moment he got the beast's drum to his possession. With a pale face and sweat pouring out from his forehead, he proceeded to recall the traumatizing experience.

When the drum beast brought him here and was ready to eat him, suddenly two other demons appeared. They started to try and kill each other, shouting about who's going to get to eat him. In the middle of the scuffle, the fat beast landed a strike on the drum beast's back, taking out the drum growing from there. Knowing that beating the drum would change how the house looked, he snatched it up from the floor, beat it without them even noticing and escaped from the scary devils. He had since been using the instrument whenever demons started storming into the room, flinging them out and changing the interior in one go.

I did see that the skin on his back looked freshly healed. So that's why, "You're so brave, Kiyoshi. Thank you for surviving in this hell hole for so long," Nezuko patted the crying brother's head. Her lips thinned as she asked another question, "'Marechi'...did that demon ever say that words?"

"Y-yes! He did!" Kiyoshi confirmed, wiping out the tears, "he called me that, and told me that it was the only reason why he caught me and not the others! What does that me—"

"Marechi is a person with rare, precious blood, CAAAWWW!"

"Uwaah!"

"Kyaa!"

SLAP

"Don't just start speaking out of nowhere," Nezuko scolded the whimpering black crow, "besides, how did you get here anyway? I'm pretty sure I didn't bring you along."

"Grrr...a Kasugaigarasu will locate its owner no matter where they are! It's a basic skill! Rather than that, let me continue!" it said, cradling the bump forming on its head with its wings. Still pouting at the pink haori wearer, it explained, "the blood of organisms has a classifying system, see. Even with rare bloods, there are people with even more precious blood to a demon. A person with rare blood can equal to fifty people. A hundred people! Once eating that person, they are able to gain nutrition equal to blood rarity!"

"Rare blood is a demon delicacy! It's the demons favorite, CAWCAWCAWCAWCAW!"

SLAP

"Don't laugh, you callous bird! The kids are traumatized enough, we don't need your grim joke!" she angrily scolded, rubbing Kiyoshi's back when his complexion turned even paler than before. Nezuko ignored the crow's screeches, whining about the stack of bumps now decorating its head as her eyes caught the whiff of a fog flying by.

A black one. The thick, black one. It's the Drum Demon!

"Listen. The demon who kidnapped you are here," the siblings jolted, looked ready to scream in terror. Yet she shushed them, garnering their attention back, "I'm going to walk out of the room and face him. The moment I leave, start beating the drum. I have other companions here, a yellow-haired boy named Zenitsu along with your brother, Shoichi," Kiyoshi perked up at that, "if anyone other than them or me opens the door or makes any sound, beat the drum and run away. Do not hesitate for even a second."

Nezuko then put her palm on Terukos head and continued, "Teruko, your brother is very tired. So you need to take care of him. Can you do that?" the girl bobbed her head frantically, a firm resolution lighting her eyes, "good. I promise that I will follow your color and come back to you. Hang in there for just a bit longer, okay?"

They nodded stiffly in response to the instructions, making the ponytail teen quirk her lips. She stood up and pulled out her dual swords, stance ready. The moment she saw the Drum Demon's red eyes peeking from behind the sliding door, she lept, shouting, "BEAT THE DRUM!"

DUNG

BLIP

WHOSH

The siblings disappeared.

"Damn bugs. I really do hate struggling bugs," the beast mumbled, smacking the drum on his left leg. The room spun and Nezuko was now standing on the ceiling. A smack to the stomach's and right shoulder's drum, a three-claws attack was back, she moved to dodge while the room made a different turn. next strike, another evading.

The fight had been going on for a while, the Drum Demon played his instrument, moving the room around as well as Nezuko in it, leaving her no chance for her to get closer to the target. Sure, she managed to read the pattern amidst the sickening vertigo—the drum on his left shoulder turned things to the right. Left shoulders turned things to the left. Right leg moved things forwards while the left leg moved things backward. Then the stomach's is for the devastating, claw attack (so the one in Kiyoshi's possession was the only drum that can change the interior of the house)—However, the speed of the spin was way too strong! She could feel her previous injuries throbbing! If she rushed in during an opening while she was not completely prepared, her legs would lose their strength because of the pain, and she would be diced into pieces!

Nezuko didn't want to give up, though. Of course, she didn't. She couldn't! She remembered Sakonji's teaching, telling her that water has ten types of sword techniques. Water can form into any shape. Its flow will never be stopped! Surely, there's one move in her repertoire of many that she can use to solve this conundrum. Her bones may be broken, yet she will not let her spirit turn to dust. Because other people were waiting for her. Because—

—the kids' frightened faces flashed—

Her foot landed on the side wall before she twisted.

—Zenitsu's crying face flashed—

Her face scrunched at that pathetic image while she let her shoulder bumped into the ceiling to minimize the damage.

—Tanjiro's smiling face flashed—

Her heart panged and she ducked under the claws attack, "you can do this, you can do this, you can do this, Nezuko!" She managed to find a foothold on the normal floor, and got back into her stance, "I've already endured things this far! No matter if it's today or the future. No matter how hopeless the situation will be—"

"—I WILL NEVER YIELD TO DEMONS!"

OMAKE chapter 23

Shoichi blinked owlishly when Zenitsu hugged the life out of him, crying and sniffling, kept thanking him for the job the kid definitely didn't do.

The black-haired kid couldn't even believe it himself, even when he saw it right in front of him. While their patrolling the hallways, searching the missing companions needed to be cut short the moment a half-naked demon appeared from under the porch—Zenitsu, the brave demon slayer screeched like a little girl at this— it was crawling on the ground like some kind of lizard. Though he thought, with that long tongue of his, he sure did resemble a lizard. Shoichi was depressed, see. When Zenitsus, fear, and dread had overwhelmed him, he decided that moment was the right time to faint, and the kid thought he was going to die. The fours eyes of the demon landed on him, freezing him in place. The two horns on each side of his forehead, along with disgusting nerves around the rim, peeking out behind the calloused skin, didn't help the case, only terrify him even more. The gross tongue had lashed out, ready to pierce his head like the fine blade of a spear and Shoichi thought, this is it. This is where he's going to die; leaving Kiyoshi-niichan and Teruko alone in this scary, haunted place.

Yet the pain didn't come. The strike itself didn't even connect. Because, somehow, Zenitsu cut the tongue when he was still laying on the floor. The yellow teen stood up, silent and calm, and Shoichi knew something had changed. Gone were the tears and snot, in the place was a blank expression, eyes glassy. Those unseeing orbs clearly told the kid that Zenitsu was sleeping—well, fainted really—but he moved like a seasoned warrior. Crouching with one leg drawn back and his knees tensed, his right hand was ready to unsheath the weapon. Then he moved. Too fast for him to follow and a mere second after that, the head of the demon was not on his neck anymore, chopped clean from his shoulders.

Shoichi reminded everyone again that Zenitsu did this awesome thing while he was unconscious.

That was how he got into this situation, with the said slayer clinging onto the kid and begged him for protection. Apparently, Zenitsu didn't remember anything he did and thought Shoichi was the one who killed the demon.

What even is my life, seriously?

"AHAHAHA!" Pig Mask laughed as he chopped the fat, green beast's arms the moment he appeared around the corner, taking advantage of that slight pause to cut off his thick neck. Pig Mask let the face of the demon with one horn and full lips fly over his head as he jumped onto the stomach, bounced on the wall and continued his run to the other side of the hallway, "AHAHAHA! Interesting! Interesting! It's so worth it to get stuck here for three days! Because now—"

—he recalled the images of the girl with pink haori, standing stubbornly over his way while holding a frightened child in her embrace—

"—another strong person I can use for a stepping stone has appeared! AHAHAHAHA!"

(A/N): Okay. I know a character who hit people when someone annoys them is really, really irritating. Example : Sakura before Shippuden. But I...seriously don't know how Nezuko will react other than this whenever Zenitsu cry a ton and won't listen to other people's words. Canon!Tanjiro tried speaking politely to him already and it clearly didn't work. I'm sorry if this chap destroy your view on Nezuko X(

Setting that aside, as you can see, I'll skip the scene if I thought nothing will really change from the canon manga, using the OMAKE section `3`

Also, I want to point out that Tanjiro's lack of stealth and no ability to ambush someone was not mentioned in the anime at all. Man! I'm so disappointed! At least mention it in that Taisho Secret corner or something. That was like, a running joke of Tanjiro's pureness. And this funny moment—of him announcing his presence instead of coming for the surprise attack—happens again when he fights one of the Twelve Demon in the latter chapter.

Seriously...from chapter 21 to 152, Tanjiro didn't change at all! :'D

(LL - I think he changed a bit, but I guess at the core he's still the sweet kid from chapter one. Just with a heck ton more trauma.)

(You're...actually right, my betaer. Dang, we need to send Tanjiro to a therapist. He clearly need it TwT)