—*—
"Um...excuse me," Nezuko asked, "can I take that basket and some straw and bamboo please?"
"Yeah sure," the man replied, "but the basket has a lot of holes in it."
"Oh! That's all right! Can I repay you in some way?" Nezuko replied.
"No, no it's ok, it's a broken basket anyways," the man replied
Nezuko didn't want to leave the man unpaid, since she felt like it was rude, as she was taught, "please, let me pay you!"
"No, that's alright, it's full of holes anyways," the man replied.
"Yeah, please let me pay you!" Nezuko replied. She didn't want to seem rude.
"No it's alright, you can take the straw and bamboo for free too," the man repeated.
Nezuko didn't want to leave the man unpaid, so she stubbornly kept refuting, "but, I'm still paying you anyways!"
"I said it's ok! You're one stubborn kid!" The man refuted.
Stubbornly, Nezuko gave the man some change and forcefully slapped it into his hands.
"Please accept this small piece of change sir!" She stubbornly yelled. Nezuko headed over to the bamboo and straws and carried them over to where she would be heading. "Thank you very much sir!" Nezuko replied as the man cried in agony from the forceful slap.
—*—
"Tanjiro?" Nezuko called out. She hid Tanjiro in a cave where the sun wouldn't hurt him.
"Huh? Tanjiro…?" Nezuko called put once again. He was nowhere to be seen in the cave, as if he's disappeared. Nezuko went into a panic, "H-he's gone!"
As soon as she said that, Tanjiro popped his head out of a hole he created to shield himself from the sun
"O-oh, he's right there." Nezuko sighed in relief.
—*—
'Tanjiro…he dug a hole…?' Nezuko thought. She stared in disbelief at Tanjiro's tiny body inside of the hole he made. 'My big brother...turned into a mole…?'
Tanjiro stared back at her too, with a gloomy expression on his face.
'And he's frowning! He must really want to avoid the sun!' She spoke in her thoughts again.
Nezuko got up from her kneeling position and back up to her feet. "Wait here Tanjiro, I'll be back!" Nezuko exclaimed.
She began crafting a basket out of the bamboo and straw she received from the man. At first, she struggled trying to craft this all on her own, but she eventually kept trying and eventually finished crafting it.
"Tanjiro...Tanjiro?" Nezuko asked, "do you think you can fit inside this basket? I want to keep moving during the day too."
She crafted the basket to make sure it was fully covered to protect him from the sun.
"I'll try my best to carry you during the day!" Nezuko added.
She brought the basket closer to Tanjiro for him to view it.
"Can you fit? In here? Basket." Nezuko tried explaining.
Tanjiro climbed out of the hole he made and crawled towards the basket and stuck half of his body into the basket
'He's too big…' Nezuko mumbled in her head, 'huh...I've gotten older. It feels like almost yesterday that I first met Tanjiro as my older brother…'
She then noticed that Tanjiro laid half his body inside the basket, but not changing his body like he did last time.
"Tanjiro, remember how you turned into the size of an adult last time?" Nezuko asked, "well, can you do the opposite and turn smaller please?"
Nezuko tried encouraging her brother by patting him on the back to get him smaller, "get smaller Tanjiro! Smaller! Smaller!"
Tanjiro then began moving his legs and dug himself into the basket, making it move upright and he disappeared. Nezuko worried for a second fearing that he may have turned himself very tiny, but he popped his tiny head out of the basket, reassuring Nezuko that he was ok.
"Wow! Good job Tanjiro, that was amazing!" Cheered Nezuko as she proceeded to give Tanjiro a head-pat.
—*—
"Mt. Sagiri?" A woman spoke from a distance. Nezuko was walking towards the woman while carrying her brother in the basket and a child proceeding to follow her.
"To go to Mt. Sagiri, you'll have to cross over the mountain but...the sun's about to set. Are you sure you want to go with all that luggage?" Asked the woman, "It's dangerous you know."
"Don't worry ma'am, I'll be careful," Nezuko replied, "thank you very much!"
Nezuko then walked off, heading to Mt. Sagiri. The mother and boy watched Nezuko go off into the distance.
"People have gone missing lately!" Warned the mother, "try not to lose your way!"
Nezuko then turned back to wave goodbye to the woman and her child. She also waved back.
—*—
Night came. It was the time where demons were lurking around the dark, which meant that Tanjiro could roam around without getting hurt from the sun. Nezuko and Tanjiro walked together up a hill, holding hands together. She then notices a temple up over the hill.
"There's a temple over there," Nezuko spoke, "there's light shining through, so there might be someone there. Let's check it out!"
Nezuko then smelled something disturbing, something she wished she wouldn't have smelled.
"I think I smell blood!" She panicked.
Nezuko proceeded to act quickly and dashed to the temple along with Tanjiro, "this mountain path is pretty rough! Someone could have gotten hurt!" She feared.
—*—
Quickly, she hurried through the stairs and up to the door of the temple, where the scent was growing stronger. Nezuko hesitated to open the door at first, but she then grabbed the courage and opened the door without hesitation.
"Are you alright?!" Nezuko asked, but was cut off to a sight of horror.
She dropped the basket she was holding on her back as she looked in a sight of a bloodbath. People lying on the floor, dead or with blank expressions on their face. Then the terror of it all, a demon. The demon was there eating the bodies of the victims.
"What the hell…?" The demon spoke as it had blood all over its mouth, "this is my turf. If you break into my territory, I'll make you pay!"
The demon had green-ish hair, with clothes that had white and blue on them. Blood was all over through his body.
Nezuko watched blanky as the demon stared directly at her, 'it's...a man-eating demon!' Panicket Nezuko in her head.
Tanjiro stood by Nezuko, gazing at the sight of blood in front of him. He then began drooling at the blood, trying to resist the urge to go for blood.
The demon licked his fingers that were fully covered in blood and got up from his position to view the two who were at the front door.
"There's something off about you two, are you both humans?" The demon asked.
Nezuko took a step back from the demon. She felt the adrenaline of fear all throughout her body. She stood face to face with the demon, preparing it's next move.
The lights suddenly turned off. There was a brief silence. Suddenly, the demon lunged at Nezuko, shoving her body all the way out of the temple and leading to the outside. Nezuko instinctively knew what to do and grabbed the hatchet Tanjiro gave her and swinged it at the demon. She sliced open part of its neck off, but not fully enough to chop its head off. The demon jumps back from Nezuko, standing right in front of him with the slash she gave him.
"A hatchet huh? Not bad…" the demon complimented, "but a scratch like this...should heal in no time."
As he said that, the wound Nezuko made on the demon suddenly healed, as if nothing ever happened to it.
"See that? The bleeding already stopped." the demon demonstrated.
Nezuko looked in shock as the demon healed its wounds in no time.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro is still at the temple, oblivious to what is happening behind him as the urge to eat human blood tries to consume him. He kept drooling out of his muzzle, which is holding him back from digging his teeth into the human flesh. Tanjiro tried resisting the urge by fisting his hands together and with the help of his muzzle. He kept gazing at the sight of human flesh around him. But tried fighting back from eating it.
Nezuko stared at the demon, being intimidated by him, but the urge to fight back suddenly kicked in. She grabs the hatchet from the side, but the demon suddenly disappears from Nezuko's sight. In a flash, the demon reappears and jumps on top of Nezuko's body, knocking her down and strangling her.
'He's so fast! And super strong too!' She panicked. Nezuko tried getting a grip on the demon's arm.
"You won't get me twice!" The demon declared, "alright, I'm gonna snap your neck off!"
Tanjiro still stood in front of the temple, trying to contain himself from going berserk. He then heard the cries of Nezuko struggling to battle the demon strangling her. His eyes then change to a demon-like persona, with sharp eyes.
Tanjiro dashed towards the demon, launching his head first and knocking the demon's head off with full impact. The demon's head flew all the way to a nearby tree, and fell to the ground. Nezuko gasped in disbelief. She couldn't comprehend what she had just seen. She turned her head towards the body of the headless body as it fell on top of her. Nezuko panicked and shoved the body of her sight and glanced at Tanjiro, who stood next to his younger sister, gritting at his muzzle.
'He-he killed him!' Nezuko thought, 'w-wait! He's a demon s-so…'
"T-Tanjiro-" Nezuko tried to speak but she was soon cut off by Tanjiro punching the demon's body towards the tree as he was about to reach for Nezuko, protecting her in the process.
'I...can't believe this!' She thought, 'did he just move without his head?'
"YOU BASTARDS!" A voice yelled in the distance, it was the demon's head, "SO ONE OF YOU REALLY WAS A DEMON? YOU GAVE OFF SUCH A WEIRD VIBE!" He exclaimed, "WHAT'S WITH A DEMON AND A HUMAN TEAMING UP?!"
'He-he's actually talking!' Nezuko was stunned as she started at the demon's head, still talking.
Suddenly, the demon's body bolted towards the siblings and launched himself in the air and straight towards Tanjiro with impact. The demon's body threw punches at Tanjiro as he tried defending himself and trying to fight back.
"STOP IT!" Cried Nezuko as she grabbed the hatchet to try and help her brother.
As Nezuko was unaware, the demon's head suddenly grew a pair of arms and crawled up towards Nezuko and launched himself towards the girl. Nezuko quickly glanced to her left and noticed the demon launching himself towards her and she instinctively swung her hatchet to the demon's head. The demon lunged his teeth into the hatchet and got a firm grip of Nezuko's shoulders. She tried gaining control of her hatchet by trying to get the demon off. Nezuko then turned back to make sure Tanjiro was ok, but then witnessed Tanjiro on the floor, while being kicked by the demon's body.
"TANJIRO!" Nezuko cried out. She witnessed the demon's body harm her big brother even more by kicking him and punching him, while Tanjiro seemed to be getting tired.
The demon's body then grabbed Tanjiro by the shoulder and launched him into the forest, where the demon's body bolted into the forest where Tanjiro was thrown.
"T-TANJIRO!" Cried out Nezuko. Her eyes suddenly became watery. She started fearing for her own and her brother's safety. The demon then manipulated his hair to grab a firm grip of the wood, with a sadistic smile on his face and gritting his teeth tighter into the iron.
'W-what's with this demon?' Nezuko thought, 'he suddenly grew arms from his head and now he's using his hair?!'
Nezuko tried analyzing her next move but there was one thing going on in her mind, to help Tanjiro.
'I...I have to help Tanjiro!' She thought.
The demon's expression then turned confused as Nezuko began to get the hatchet away from her body and positioned it to where she could attack the demon.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She yelled as Nezuko raised her leg and kicked it high into the air with force, making the demon lose his grip on the hatchet's iron and going unconscious for a few seconds.
'Hard as a rock…!' The demon thought. He lost sight and only his hair was still holding onto the hatchet.
Nezuko then waited for the perfect angle to kick the demon even harder. She waited until the spot was just right and lifted her leg back for impact.
'This...girl's legs…' the demon thought before Nezuko kicked the demon with full force, 'are hard as a rock…!' His last thoughts were, before Nezuko launched her leg into the demon's head and off it went flying towards the tree, where the demon's head now was stuck on. The demon couldn't get out since his hair was tangled into the wood of the hatchet, so he went flying with it. The demon began screaming as the hatchet finally stopped at the tree.
"Okay! Now for T-Tanjiro!" Nezuko cried out as she ran to the direction Tanjiro was thrown to help her big brother.
"I wrapped my hair around this hatchet and now it's all tangled up! Dammit!" The demon angrily yelled.
—*—
Nezuko ran with all her strength to find Tanjiro and tried calling out his name, "TANJIRO! WHERE ARE YOU TANJIRO?!"
She gasped for air as she struggled to find her brother's whereabouts. Nezuko tried looking left and right for Tanjiro and then heard someone struggling to her left. She immediately thought it was Tanjiro and quickly rushed over the leaves and bushes to lend her brother a hand. Nezuko then arrived at where her brother was, but witnessed the demon's body continue to ruthlessly kick Tanjiro as he laid on the floor.
"TANJIRO!" Nezuko panicked as she saw her brother laying helplessly on the floor.
Nezuko quickly acted and lunged her body towards the demon's body.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY BIG BRO!" She shouted as she knocked both herself and the demon's body towards a cliff as they both fell down. Nezuko then notices the cliff they're falling towards and starts to panic.
—*—
Nezuko knocked the demon and herself towards the end of a cliff, where they bagan falling to their possible end.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Nezuko by her haori, it was Tanjiro. He held onto his younger sister as she let go of the demon's body as it fell into the deep end. The demon's body fell on top of a rock and finally laid at the end.
Meanwhile, the demon's head, which is still attached to the hatchet, shrieks in pain as his body has been completely shut off and what remains of him is his head.
—*—
The moon was shining upon the temple where the siblings arrived back to. Nezuko pulled out a blade from its sheath and stood in front of the demon's head, still stuck with the hatchet attached to the tree.
'How many demons are out there…?' Nezuko thought, 'he has a different scent than the one that came from my house. It was a different demon…'
Nezuko then began hesitating to kill off the demon, 'But...I gotta finish him off or he'll kill more innocent people!'
She took some deep breaths before making the final decision, 'but, I gotta do it, right now!'
Tanjiro stood by her side, looking tired and unfazed by the situation.
'Do it, do it, DO IT!' Nezuko told herself.
Before she could raise her blade, a hand, out of nowhere, rests their hand by the shoulder. What could it be, another demon? Chills went down Nezuko's spine as she fearfully turned around and started shivering. It looked to be a man, wearing a tengu mask covering his whole face. He was wearing a cloud-patterned jinbei kimono.
"You can't kill a demon like that," the man spoke.
'A-a goblin mask…?' Nezuko speculated, 'I-I didn't even hear any footsteps!'
She then felt the assurance that she could trust this person and claimed herself down. Nezuko then turned around to get a better view on who this person is and asked them a question.
"So, how do I kill it then?" The girl asked.
"Well don't ask me!" The man replied, "use your head to figure that out!"
Nezuko then took into consideration on what the man scolded her for and began thinking, 'if stabbing him can't kill him…' she then glanced to her right and an idea came up, 'then I have to smash it with a rock.'
Nezuko held a rock in her hands, large enough to bash the demon's head with. The masked man stood by her, analyzing her movement and how she reacts. She took a step towards the demon's head, deciding what she'll do next.
'To completely crush his skull, I guess I'll have to bash his head multiple times…' she thought. Deep inside her however, Nezuko felt some sort of sympathy for the demon, 'he's probably gonna suffer a lot, isn't he?'
She tried thinking of another way to end his life peacefully, 'isn't there another way to do this than having to viciously harm him?'
The masked man stood behind her, analyzing her movements and then smelling a warm scent within her, a scent of strong kindness.
'This kid's not going to make it,' the man thought, 'she's too kind and can't make decisions for herself. She's facing a demon, yet the scent of kindness still remains,' he analyzes, 'she even has empathy for demons.'
The masked man then recalls a familiar name, 'Kokushibo,' he recalls, 'I'm sorry but, she isn't going to make it…'
The demon's head then awakes from being unconscious for so long.
'I blacked out,' the demon thought, looking around confused, 'so is my body dead then? I feel sick…'
He then looked up and glared at the girl who got him stuck into this tree, Nezuko. He tried lunging his claws towards Nezuko, while she stood there in hesitation.
"STUPID! I SWEAR I'LL DEVOUR YOU!" He shouted, "SO COME HERE!"
The demon's head continued to threaten Nezuko as she stood there hesitating to kill him while trembling with the rock in her hand. Before she could smash the demon's head, the sun began to rise up, even while the demon was talking.
'Oh no! I waited too long. Now the sun's coming up.' She thought.
While the demon still continued to ramble, the sun fully rose and began to burn the demon's head whole. The demon began screaming in agony as the sun consumed him whole and burned him until nothing remained of him. He evaporated right before the poor girl's eyes.
Nezuko stood in horror as she dropped the large rock to the ground and began shivering.
'H-he's gone with that much sunlight?!' She fearfully thought, 'n-no wonder Tanjiro hides from it!' Nezuko then glanced back to see that her brother and the masked man were gone right before her eyes.
"Tanjiro?" Nezuko called out, "T-Tanjiro?!" She called out once more. She began to panic as there was no sight of nobody and she feared for the worst. Did the sun consume her brother?
Since it was daytime, Nezuko thought of a possibility of where Tanjiro could be and immediately ran up to the temple, where she sighed in relief that Tanjiro was protected by his basket and nearby shade inside the temple. He looked tired as he used a lot of his energy to protect his younger sister.
"Tanjiro…" Nezuko sighed in relief. She then tried searching for the man that appeared out of nowhere giving her advice. Nezuko stepped out of the temple and witnessed the masked man next to the bodies of the people killed, who were now buried.
'He buried the people who got killed.' She thought.
The girl slowly walked up towards the masked man, who seemed to be saying a prayer for the dead.
"Um-" Nezuko cut herself off as the man got up from his position and suddenly, he spoke.
"I'm Sakonji Urokodaki," he introduced, "you must be the one Kokushibo told me about,"
"Y-Yes! I'm Nezuko Kamado," she introduced, "my big brother's name is Tanjiro Kamado, and-" Nezuko was cut off before she could finish.
"Tell me Nezuko," Urokodaki spoke as he turned around, "what will you do when your brother devours a human?"
Nezuko stood there in a loss of words, not knowing what to say. She never dared think of that possibility.
Urokodaki then walked towards Nezuko and laid his hand towards the girl's shoulder.
"Too slow!" He shouted, "You're just too slow at making decisions!" Urokodaki then began to lecture her, "you failed to finish off that demon before daybreak! Do you know why you couldn't answer my question right away? It's because your resolve is too weak!"
Nezuko stared at Urokodaki lecturing her, trying to process what he's saying, "when your brother eats someone, there are two things you have to do," he stated, "cut his head off, then slit your own belly and die! That's what it means to travel with your brother who became a demon!"
Urokodaki then calmed himself to explain more to Nezuko about her situation, "but you must make sure that never happens no matter what," he reassured, "your brother must never take the life of an innocent person! Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Y-Yes!" Nezuko replied. She seemed determined as ever with a serious expression upon her face.
"Very well, then I'll test you to see if you have what it takes to become a demon slayer," he stated, "carry your brother and follow me."
—*—
The two of them soon began running to their destination. Urokodaki was ahead of Nezuko, while she tried to keep up and carry her brother at the same time. The man was moving so fast, it seemed as if he wasn't going to wait for Nezuko.
'H-He's so fast! Just how old is this guy?!' She thought while trying her best to keep up, 'and like earlier, I'm not hearing any footsteps at all!'
Nezuko quickly tried moving up while Urokodaki was leaving her behind. But she's doing this for Tanjiro, she has to.
'Tanjiro, this will be rough, but hang in there, I'll help you!' Nezuko reassured Tanjiro as if she was talking to him, 'well, you've always helped our family, even in the darkest times!'
She then remembers a flashback where she sees Tanjiro coming back from the town, carrying a lot of coal on his back.
—*—
'Do you need some help Tanjiro?' Nezuko asks,
'No! No! Nezuko, it's alright,' Tanjiro replied, 'I have to help the family in some way, you don't need to worry!' He reassured, with a smile on his face, 'our siblings have been sad since dad passed away, so I'll do whatever I can to help!'
—*—
Nezuko then became determined and pushed herself to catch up with Urokodaki.
'Tanjiro,' she thought to herself, 'I swear I'll turn you back into a human! And we'll go back to the city and see everyone!' Nezuko vowed. Her eyes began to get watery, 'I'm so sorry I couldn't protect our family, so I'll do this all for you!'
—*—
The two then arrived at a small house. It appeared to be the house Urokodaki lives in. Nezuko laid on the floor gasping for air. She never ran that long before and wasn't used to it.
"Now...have I passed...it?" Nezuko asked as she caught her breath while on her knees.
Urokodaki didn't say anything as he opened the door in front of him and took off his hood that revealed his white hair.
"The test starts now," He replied, "We're going to climb a mountain."
Nezuko gasped with her eyes wide open. She just ran all the way here without stopping and now she has to climb a mountain?!
Before they headed off to the mountain, Nezuko placed her stuff down and laid Tanjiro to a nearby bed that Urokodaki planted out for him.
"I'll make sure to take care of your brother," Urokodaki assured.
"I'm counting on you sir," replied Nezuko as she turned her head back.
—*—
The mountain was filled with fog surrounding it. It became dark, so it was hard to see during this time. Urokodaki and Nezuko walked up the mountain, where they seemed to be walking for a while too. The girl began getting more and more tired as they walked up higher on the mountain.
'I'm so exhausted! My legs feel like they're about to fall off!' She thought, 'I'm starting to get dizzy too'
Urokodaki suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back to Nezuko.
"Now, from here, go back down to the house at the foot of the mountain," he stated, "this time, I won't wait until sunrise." And with that, he vanished along with the fog.
'Is that all?' Nezuko thought, 'hmm...maybe he thinks I'll get lost in all this fog? It's fine, I just have to get back by daybreak right? That'll be easy!' She carelessly thought, 'I have some great reactions so I'll get there in a flash!'
Nezuko began her challenge and dashed towards the end of the mountain, only to trip on a rope, but she quickly regained her balance and stepped forward, looking left and right to see if she didn't trigger anything. Nezuko then heard a noise and turned to her right to see an incoming pile of rocks coming towards her face. She immediately reacted and blocked it from hitting her face.
'R-Rocks?!' Nezuko thought.
She started tumbling backwards only to fall in a pitfall that was hidden by leaves in the dark.
'A-A pitfall?!' Nezuko couldn't believe what was happening to her. She then began realizing her situation.
'I think I get it now,' she thought, 'so there are traps everywhere. That's the deal huh?'
Nezuko then got out of the pitfall and began crawling forward but her hand suddenly touched another rope, which she immediately backed away from it quickly and got up. Out of nowhere, a log swung towards her, hitting her in the back and knocking her over. Nezuko quickly got back on her feet and started panicking.
'Crap, crap, crap!' She panicked, 'if I keep falling for these traps, I won't make it down the mountain by morning!'
'And besides...this mountain...the air's really thin here!' Nezuko thought while gasping for air, 'it's thinner than in the mountain back home! That's why I keep gasping for air and feel so dizzy!'
She began dashing towards the end, continuing to push herself and make it back.
'Can I make it back?' Nezuko doubted, 'I might pass out!'
But she still held onto hope. She refused to give up, 'no, you have to get back!' She told herself, 'get your breathing under control…and sense the traps!'
Nezuko began to calm herself and started using her senses to track where the traps were. She then began to dash towards the end, while avoiding traps that came her way.
She quickly dodged knives that were coming her way and kept her focus on getting towards the end.
'I got it! I think I've got it!' Nezuko thought while moving her feet and avoiding traps, 'the traps that are set by humans, have different scents lingering to them!'
Suddenly, one of the traps released a bamboo pole that launched her up the air. She quickly got back up and began moving again.
'But, that doesn't mean I can avoid all the traps!' She thought. Nezuko's body began to get tired and started to fall, but she hasn't given up.
'I gotta make it back, no matter what!' She told herself while getting her body to move. But she was doing this for her big brother, to get him back to be a human, 'TANJIRO!'
—*—
Tanjiro was fast asleep, being tucked in by Urokodaki. He waited for Nezuko as he waited for Nezuko to return and glanced towards his window. Urokodaki heard footsteps coming towards his home and someone opened the door, revealing Nezuko. She stood there catching her breath as she looked beaten up.
"I...have returned." She stated as she collapsed in front of the door.
Urokodaki stared at Nezuko as he began thinking of the letter sent to him.
—*—
Forgive me Mr. Sakonji Urokodaki, it's been a while since we've talked. I'm going to send a young girl your way who wishes to become a Demon Slayer. She was courageous enough to attack me unarmed, which I was surprised at. Her entire family was slaughtered by a demon and the sole survivor was her older brother, who had turned into a demon. But I have determined that he will not attack humans. I sense something different about these two. The girl has a good sense of smell just like you. Perhaps she'll find a way to break through and could be your heir. I'm asking you to train her. I know this is a self-serving request, but please forgive me. I hope you will take care of yourself in your endeavours. Thank you again for helping me.
Yours truly,
Kokushibo
—*—
Urokodaki stared at Nezuko, who seemed to be unconscious and blood pouring from her head and mouth. The sun slowly began to rise up.
"Nezuko Kamado," he spoke, "I accept you as my student!"
—*—
Yeah sorry for not swapping Urokodaki, and sorry for uploading this super late, I've been getting busy with a lot of things ;-;But I hope you'll stick around for chapter 3! Ok so in this AU, Kokushibo met Urokodaki after he became a demon slayer. He went on a mission and something happened. I'll explain it more in chapter 3. Thank you for reading!