A boy hefted a big basket of charcoal onto his back.

His mother called to him, "Tanjiro. Your face is covered in soot, come here." The boy, Tanjiro, was about 13, with a green and black checkered haori, a blue scarf, straw waterproof boots, a gray-ish jacket, and hanafuda earrings. Tanjiro walked over to his mother where she wiped off the soot. "It's dangerous with all this snow. You don't have to go, you know?"

"Well, I want everyone to eat their fill on New Year's, so I'm going to sell as much charcoal as I can."

The second oldest sibling, Nezuko, interrupted them, "Big brother!" She looked at her mom, "I wanna go instead this time!"

"Oh, no. You're not. You know you can't walk as fast as Tanjiro.

"But look at him, if he goes, he won't get back until dark."

Tanjiro wilted a little.

"Tanjiro." His mom gave him a stern look, "I know you've been working extra hard this past week, chopping wood, and making the charcoal, but if you stay up too late doing that, then you won't be able to sell all of it."

This wasn't the first time Tanjiro had done this, he got scolded every time he did, but he kept doing it anyways.

Nezuko smiled a little and practically stole the backpack off of Tanjiro, knocking him over, and sending the charcoal everywhere.

Her mom gave Nezuko an incredulous look as if to say really?

"Oops." Nezuko scratched the back of her head a little.


[In the village at the bottom of the mountain]

The first person to greet Nezuko was on the edge of the village, she was an elderly woman "Oh, Nezuko! I can't believe you came down from the mountain on a day like this!"

"This is nothing, really. Do you have enough charcoal."

The lady nodded her head.

A man across the street called, "Hey, Nezuko! Can I get some charcoal?"

"Tell your brother thanks for fixing my sliding doors the other day!" another person shouted.

Behind Nezuko, an old-ish lady, held a struggling adolescent by the collar of his striped yellow kimono.

"Oh, Nezuko!" He tried to escape the lady's grasp, but she just held on tighter, so he dragged her over to where Nezuko was standing, "I've been accused of breaking this vase! Help me out, will you? Feel it!"

She put her hands on the edge of one of the broken shards of the vase. She dragged her hands across it until she felt what she was looking for. she held up the cat hair, "Looks like a cat did it."

"Oh," the lady had a more apprehensive look, "so a cat did it?"

Nezuko nodded.

The boy had a few tic marks by now, he shouted a little, "I told you it wasn't me!"


[Night on the side of the mountain]

Nezuko walked up the mountain having just sold all of the charcoal, Wow, it's really late already. I'm glad it sold out, though.

"Hey, Nezuko! Are you going to head back up the mountain?" Nezuko turned around to look at the man. He was known as Old Man Saburo, despite him not actually being all that old. He lived about halfway up the mountain, alone. "You'd better not. It's dangerous."

"I've got an innate sense of everything, I'll be fine." (A/N By everything, I mean her senses are higher than the average person, she can feel really will [though not as well as Inosuke], she can see really well [though not as well as Kanao], she's able to smell really well [though not as well as Tanjiro], and she can hear really well [though not as well as Zenitsu])

"You can sleep here for tonight, just come here before the demons get here."

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"Hey, Mr. Saburo?"

"Yes?" Saburo looked up from where he was making both of their beds.

"What are demons like?"

"Man-eating demons prowl the land at night time. So you can't just go on a stroll at night time. If you're done eating, go to bed. You can set off for home at first light."

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"Hey, Saburo?" Nezuko asked from her bed.

Saburo didn't verbally respond, he had a pipe in his mouth, but he waved his other hand telling her to continue.

"Can demons come into a house?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Then, everyone would get eaten by the demons."

"But that's why Demon Slayers protect us from them... they have for a long time."

Demon Slayer? But before Nezuko could ask about it.

Saburo tapped the pipe against a metal ashtray/bucket, getting her attention, "Lights out now. Go to sleep."

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"Be careful now."

Nezuko nodded, "Mhm. Thanks!"

She continued up the mountain.

I wonder what it's like to live alone like that. He's been alone ever since his family died.

Wherever there's death, there's always...

Nezuko stopped walking for a second. She pulled up the sleeve on her pink kimono and her bright yellow haori, she put her the sleeveless arm to her ear, cupping it - trying to hear something.

"Nothing."

Nezuko took off the straw basket, and threw it aside, before racing up the rest of the mountain as fast as she could.

At the top, she gagged and almost threw up. The first thing to welcome her home, was Tanjiro, laying face first on the ground, with one arm wrapped protectively around their baby brother Rokuta. Both were motionless, red, and silent. The snow under them was a little melted from the body heat the blood gave off, leaving the two siblings to lay, perfectly still, in a pool of blood.

"Tanjiro! What happened?! What's going on?! Where's everyone else?! What did this?!" She raced over to her brothers.

But then the sight of the inside of the house greeted her.

Every door inside the house had been ripped off its hinges and torn to shreds. Everything was covered in red, the foor, the walls, the ceiling, the doors, the kitchen. There were scorch marks in some places too, like right after each door, each door had evidently been blown off of it's hinges. There were scorch marks on the nearby trees, and on the shed where the charcoal was made.

Hanako, her little sister was leaning against the wall of the bedroom with a dripping red kimono, her mom was leaning against Hanako, as if she'd been protecting her when she died.

Takeo was laying down with his head lolled over the step to the bedroom. His throat had been slit open, and his intestines were missing, with a shredded stomach to show for it.

Shigeru, the second youngest brother, and third oldest sibling, wasn't any better. He was under Takeo, as if he was woken up by when Takeo tried to escape. Shigeru hadn't even gotten the chance to escape from the covers of his bed.

Mom! Hanako! Takeo! Shigeru! Tanjiro! Rokuta!

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Nezuko was running down the mountain, with Tanjiro on her back. She stumbled under his weight every few steps.

Tanjiro was the only one who was still warm, she thought that if she could get down the mountain in time, he might survive the ordeal.

How did this happen?! Was it a bear? A bear that wasn't able to hibernate? Nezuko tried to think of something logical, that could be dealt with, but she remembered Saburo's words

Man-eating demons prowl the land at night time. So you can't just go on a stroll at night time. If you're done eating, go to bed. You can set off for home at first light.

She hopped over a fallen tree and fell. She caught herself, and slid a few feet, I can't breathe. The air's so cold. My lungs hurt.

Breathe, Nezuko. Like this...

Nezuko tried it. Her lungs started to feel a little better, but she didn't know if it was a placebo, or if it actually helped. Either way, she did it anyways.

At Nezuko's side, Tanjiro's fingers twitched a little. He raised his head, ready to strike. But Nezuko didn't notice.

Nezuko was running along a cliffside, when Tanjiro started growling, he was hungry. He didn't know why, or how, he just knew that he was hungry.

Tanjiro whipped his head around, shouting like a feral animal.

Nezuko's balance got thrown off a little, and they both fell all the way down to the bottom of the cliff.

She screamed as she fell, but was saved by the two feet of fresh powdery snow that had been falling for the past two weeks.

She sat up, and looked around for Tanjiro.

"Tanjiro!" She spotted him, "Are you alright?!"

Tanjiro stood up, dangling his arms at his side, taking shaky steps towards Nezuko.

"You don't have to walk. Tanjiro?"

Tanjiro looked at her. His eyes glowed white, and his forehead was veiny. His mouth now had fangs and was drooling.

Tanjiro leaped at Nezuko, who had the presence of mind to be able to pull out the axe at her waist, and stop Tanjiro from biting her throat out. But the force of Tanjiro hitting her knocked both of them to the ground. Tanjiro's hands rested on her shoulders, holding her to the ground, and he bit onto the handle of the axe, which held against the force.

H-He's a... he's a demon! Tanjiro's a man eating demon? No, Tanjiro's a human, ever since he was born. Except, it's no longer... Tanjiro... But is wasn't his doing. He was laying as if he was trying to protecting Rokuta. There was no blood on her mouth or hands. And there was one more presence. That must be it!

Meanwhile, Tanjiro grew to full size, putting even more weight on Nezuko's arms. She had to dig her elbows into the snow, and only use her forearms, because the weight of an adult is too much for her to bear.

While I was sleeping at Saburo's house... they were all brutally murdered like that! I know it must've hurt, you suffered didn't you? I'm sorry I couldn't get back in time, either to join you, or protect you. If only I could help Tanjiro at least. But he's too strong for me to push him back!

"Tanjiro! Hang in there, Tanjiro! Don't give in! You gotta hang in there!" Nezuko started crying as she shouted over the loud growling that was Tanjiro. "Don't turn into a demon! You gotta stay strong! Hang in there!"

Nezuko closed her eyes for a second, trying to collect her thoughts, despite everything that had happened. When something set splattered on her cheek. She opened her eyes expecting blood, but she saw tears. Tanjiro was crying, visibly holding himself back from killing Nezuko.

A Demon Slayer, dressed in a weird half red half geometric pattern haori sprinted into view. He jumped and raised his sword, ready to kill the demon.

Tanjiro saw and tried to say something, but Nezuko reacted first. She twisted her body weight, digging her left elbow into the snow, and shoving her right arm up. She shoved Tanjiro to the side.

The swordsman missed and struck snow, sending up a cone of the white powder, that traveled all the way to the cliff side they fell off of.

Tanjiro rolled into a tree, but Nezuko, being lighter, didn't quite hit the tree, saving her from the brunt of the impact.

Tanjiro shank back down to his normal size, having starved his body of all of it's energy.

Who's that? Nezuko gave the attacker a once-over. He was wearing a black-maroon uniform, made of a material she'd never seen before, and had a haori on. She couldn't tell the pattern of the haori though, he was facing her, and the haori was not. And in his right hand, he held a blue katana in a lax grip.

"Why are you protecting it?"

"He's my brother!" She shouted back. "He's my older brother!"

Tanjiro started struggling in Nezuko's grip, now that he was back to normal size. Tanjiro was trying to escape the absolute powerhouse that was the new-comer.

"You call that thing your brother?"

Nezuko gave him a shocked look, before diverting her attention back to Tanjiro.

The new guy launched himself at Tanjiro, in hopes of cutting his head off.

Nezuko bent down, trying to shelter Tanjiro and dodge the sword. But Tanjiro wasn't there anymore.

"Tanjiro-!"

"Don't move," The person ordered. "My job is to slay man-eating-demons. Needless to say, I'm going to need to decapitate your brother."

"Wait! Tanjiro hasn't eaten anyone, or killed anyone. I don't know why he turned out like that, but... but still!"

"It's quite simple. Because her wounds were exposed to demon blood, she turned into a demon. That's how man-eating-demons reproduce."

"Tanjiro would never eat humans!"

"You've gotta be kidding! Just now you were about to be devoured."

"You're wrong! I'm sure he knows who I am!"

Tanjiro stopped struggling, having little blips of memory leak through.

"I won't let him hurt anyone! I'm going to turn Tanjiro back into a human! I swear I'll heal him!"

"You can't heal him. Once you become a demon, you can never go back to being a human."

"I'll find a way! No matter what! So, please... So, please, don't kill him! I'll find the one who killed my entire family, and I'll kill him! I'll fix everything! So, please..."

Tomioka raised his sword, preparing to stab Tanjiro in the neck.

"No! Please...! Don't do it!" Nezuko fell to her knees, "Please,... don't take anyone else from me. I'm begging you..."

Tomioka clenched his teeth, "Don't ever give others a chance to murder you! Stop that pathetic groveling! If it was the least bit effective, your family wouldn't have been killed! Can a walkling who can't take the initiative in such a situation heal her brother?! Hunt down the enemy?! Don't make me laugh! The weak have no rights or choices! Their fate is to be relentlessly crushed by the strong! The demons might know how to cure your brother! But don't think that a demons would respect your will or wishes! Naturally I have no respect for you either! That's reality! Why did you throw yourself over your brother earlier?! Were you trying to protect him?! Why didn't you swing your hatchet?! Why did you show your back to me?! All of those blunders led to your brother's capture, I could've skewered you along with him!"

Nezuko didn't move. She just stayed still, staring at the man. He pointed his sword at her, as a challenge.

Don't cry. Don't despair. Now is not the time for that. I know you're devastated, your family was massacred, and you brother's a demon. I know it's painful. I know you want to scream. I get it. If only I'd gotten here half a day sooner, your family might not have ended up dead. But, you can't turn back time. Feel the rage, the pure rage of not being able to forgive or forget, will become your unswerving drive to take action. With a resolve as fragile as yours, you can't protect your brother or heal him, or get revenge for your family.

Tomioka raised his sword again, ready to kill Tanjiro, again.

"No!"

Tanjiro started struggling in his grip, trying but failing to escape the iron hand. Tomioka stabbed Tanjiro in the heart, which would've killed him if he wasn't a demon.

"Stop!"

Nezuko picked up the nearest item she could reasonably reach, a flat, disc-shaped rock. She held it like a skipping stone, and threw it at Tomioka, with a sidearm, just like how you'd throw a skipping stone. She'd learned very early on, that because she's weaker than a male her size (A/N, I mean physically weaker, that's it; I didn't mean it in a sexist manner), she had to learn how to fight with the strength of everything else, because her strength isn't always enough. The stone spun through the air. Tomioka blocked it with the handle of his katana, but the spinning launched it at his hand hitting him, and cutting open the smallest gap.

Tomioka looked at his hand with little to no interest, "Hm." Guess I wasn't on guard, huh? He shrugged, Doesn't matter, she won't hit me again.

A small wind picked up, giving Nezuko the needed opportunity to get the axe that was a few feet away. She tucked it into the belt that they had made to hold the axe, and hid it under her haori. She sprinted around the clearing where Tomioka was standing. She picked up a branch that had broken and a smaller-ish stone. Nezuko tossed the stone, and swung the branch like a bat. The stone rocketed towards Tomioka who smacked it out of the air.

She charged Tomioka, holding her hands inside her haori, as if she were holding the hatchet.

He knocked out Nezuko with the hilt of his sword.

"Where's the hatchet?"

It wasn't in Nezuko's arms, he looked around for it, and saw it spinning towards him, from above. He moved an inch to the side, dodging it.

She planned to get me no matter what. Tomioka smirked, "Well, that went well."

Tanjiro struggled and broke free of the man's laxed grip. He jumped up and kicked him away. Tanjiro jumped towards Nezuko, and Tomioka panicked, Crap! He's gonna eat her! Then something about Tanjiro's demeanor changed, he landed in front of Nezuko, and put his arm down protectively, trying to keep Tomioka from doing anything.

He'd never eat humans! Tanjiro leaped at Tomioka, ready to strike. Long ago, someone once said the same thing, only to be devoured by a demon. When a demon is starving, they'll do anything to get food, eating parents, siblings, friends, relatives, just because they're nutrient rich. I've seen it so many times, I've lost count. This kid has been severely wounded, and he's using lots of energy to heal those wounds. He also grew to full size, and that drains incredible amounts of energy. He's got to be starved right now, without a doubt. He must've wanted to eat his sister. Yet, he protected her instead, just like an older brother should.

Tanjiro leaped onto a tree, and used it like a spring board, sending hi rocketing towards Tomioka.

I'm starting to wonder if these siblings are a little different from others. Tomioka took his hand off of his sword, and smacked Tanjiro in the side of the head. The impact knocked out Tanjiro. Before Nezuko woke up, he put a bamboo muzzle on Tanjiro so that he could bite something instead of human flesh. Tomioka set Tanjiro down near Nezuko, and retreated a few steps.

Nezuko woke up and instinctively grabbed in front of her. The item she grabbed was part of her brother's haori. She relaxed a little.

"You awake?" Tomioka asked.

Nezuko looked up at him. She crawled over a few feet to where Tanjiro was, and hugged him, thankful that she hadn't lost another family member.

"Go see an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki who lives at the foot of Mt. Sagiri. Tell him that Tomioka Giyu sent you. He seems to be alright because it's cloudy right now, but never let him be exposed to the sunlight." Tomioka told her, before he vanished, leaving the scene with out a sound.


Nezuko and Tanjiro went back to their house. They cleaned it up, and buried the bodies

"Let's go." Nezuko whispered.

Right before they crossed the ridge of the mountain, Nezuko looked back one final time.

Goodbye everyone. Rokuta, Hanako, Shigeru, Takeo, Mom, Dad. Hopefully I won't be joining you any time soon.