Within Kaguya's Memories…
.
As snow began to lightly fall from the sky, a mid-20s Kaguya laid down on the ground, looking up into the pitch black sky, not once shivering from the cold. As she continued to stare, her nose was lightly touched by a snowflake causing her to sniff the frozen water. Extending her tongue out, Kaguya licked the snow that fell on her face.
.
"It taste weird." She spoke to herself as she began to hear footsteps in the snow.
"What are you doing here, little one?" As Kaguya looked up, she noticed a man with a similar appearance to Tanjiro holding an axe over his shoulder. "You know, if you stay out here you're going to catch a cold."
"There is no need for you to concern yourself with me, stranger." Kaguya spoke as she once again turned her attention back to the pitch black sky.
"There's no need." Then the strange man bent down and sat next to Kaguya. "I believe it's always a good thing to concern myself with others, especially if they are demons."
.
Jumping from his words, Kaguya placed a considerable distance between the two of them. She knew that "that man" had taught the Demon Slayer Corp a new way of fighting, but for one to come up to her and not attack, was something she was never used to.
.
"Oh, and by the way, I'm not with the Demon Slayer Corp. I'm just your average coal maker." The man answered as he threw his axe far away from him. "See, I mean no harm."
"What do you want?" Kaguya asked as her eyes began to glow a bright red, only for her head fall off. "What was that? I didn't even see him. It was almost like, 'he' was standing in front of me."
"I see. You didn't even try to attack nor defend. So…you are her." The man spoke as he turned back to face Kaguya, who at this point had reattached her head to the rest of her body.
"Just who are…" Then Kaguya noticed the Hanafuda earring hanging from his ears. "I get it. Am I to presume that you are the man that 'he' saved?"
"He saved my family, as well as myself. So, yes." Accepting the fact, Kaguya closed the distance.
"Forgive me. Most demon hunters, when they see me they just attack without question. Can we make a compromise?"
"Why not." The man answered.
.
Their compromise between the two was this: Neither group shall attack the other, and if one does, then the other will have no ill-will if the other group kills the one who attacked.
.
"But how will I know who belongs to you?" The man asked only to see Kaguya loosening her kimono. "Wha-what-what are you doing?!" The man asked in a panic as he shielded his eyes from seeing the young girl's chest.
"This mark." Kaguya parted her breast with both her hand to show a large crimson star-like emblem sitting in between her breast. "This mark will be your identifier for any demon who follows me."
.
Now staring at the mark fully, the man began to understand why "that man" trusted her so much. She wasn't like any other demon, she truly cared about humans, and was willing to die by his hands if it meant they could be at peace. Dropping to his knees, the man asked.
.
"Can you ever forgive me?" He asked, as tears began to fall from his cheeks.
"I will. Only if you allow me to give you something in return." Looking up, the man noticed blood dripping from Kaguya's thumb, then as she began to trace a mark on his face, she smiled. "Now…we're even, Sumiyoshi."
.
Waking up from the dream…
.
As her eyes opened and wandered the enclosed room, Kaguya rose from the bed and looked out the window, only to see no sunlight trying to enter through the closed curtain. Walking out from the bed, Kaguya, looking to be 13 or 14, opened the door leading to her room and walked out.
As she walked the quiet corridors, she walked out to what appeared to be the garden, where a certain young demon slayer stood, just watching the moon. Curious by nature, Kaguya walked out into the garden and stood behind her, and just waited. And waited, and waited, and waited. Now even more curious as to whether or not the demon could sense her, Kaguya extended her hand, only for the young slayer to turn around quickly and grabbed hold of Kaguya's hand. Seeing that it was Kaguya, the young slayer let go and began to walk away, only for Kaguya to step in her path.
.
"Don't walk away, Kanao." Kaguya spoke fully, surprising Kanao. "Sit. I want to talk."
.
Listening to the demon, Kanao sat down about 2 feet away from Kaguya, for her own safety. As Kaguya sat down, she looked up towards the moon.
.
"The moon is pretty, no?" Kaguya spoke, only to hear a coin flip, then land.
"It is." Kanao spoke quickly.
"Must you always rely on that?" Kaguya asked as she pointed at the coin.
"I must. I can never think for myself." Kanao answered.
"Hmm?" Kaguya answered, only to then come up with an idea. "Can I see that?"
.
Agreeing to it, Kanao passed on the coin to Kaguya, who at this point eagerly jumped up to her feet and walked around in front of Kanao.
.
"Okay, since it's important for you to follow orders, let's make this an order." Kaguya said as Kanao agreed. "Whatever side this coin lands on, will determine your faith. Heads you follow my orders, tails you continue doing what you do, okay?"
"Okay." Kanao agreed without even thinking.
.
Then before she could even take her words back, the coin was launched right into the air far from any prying eyes. As the two began to look into the pitch black sky, which was illuminated by the Moon's light, the sound of the coin falling back to Earth resonated in the night, then the sound of hands slapping against each other, caused Kanao to look back towards Kaguya, who at this point was standing in front of her.
.
"Are you ready, Kanao?" Kaguya asked, then looked up. "Shinobu?"
"Yes, let's see what Kanao's fate is." Shinobu spoke spooking Kanao. "Oh my."
"Okay, Kanao, here we go." As Kaguya's hand slowly began to move away from her other hand, it began to reveal the coin underneath. "And it's…head." Sure enough, the coin showed the letters of head written plain as day. "I guess she's listening to me now, huh, Shinobu?" Kaguya smiled, with her intentions hidden underneath.
"Oh my, is that so?" Shinobu smiled as well, with the exact same intentions.
.
All the while, Kanao sat in between them confused as to whether or not take her new master's side or Shinobu's side, because in her eyes, she saw a dragon appear behind Kaguya, and a tiger appear behind Shinobu.
.
"I…I don't know what to do." Kanao thought to herself.
.
At Joichirou's Estate…
.
As the sound of bamboo swords hitting each other echoed throughout the forest, Nezuko and Joichirou began to fight like their lives depended on it. Swing up, blocking up, swinging down, blocking to her left. Their swords moved so fast it was all a blur to anyone who just so happened to come across them. But even so, Nezuko continued to catch up to Joichirou's fast movements, if not caught up entirely.
.
"Dance of the Dragon, 7th Form, Revised: Spinning Rapid Scales!" Nezuko yelled in her mind as she placed a considerable distance between her and Joichirou, and spun counter-clockwise, catching Joichirou off guard. And at the same time, Joichirou noticed a water dragon form beginning to shape and follow Nezuko's blade.
"Impressive." Joichirou thought to himself. "Looks like what Tomioka said was true, she was a demon before. Well, not that it matters now." Not being able to contain his excitement, Joichirou called up his own form. "Dance of the Dragon, 1st Form: Triple Sun Dragon Dance!"
.
And right in front of her, Nezuko slowly saw three blades come into existence, but it was odd. The blades seemed to be a lot slower than usual. But it was no surprise to her since her eyes had become adjusted to seeing things slowly, with the help of Joichirou.
.
"Too slow. It's far too slow." Nezuko thought to herself as she switched forms midway. "Dance of the Dragon, 8th Form…" Nezuko flipped herself with ease, creating a circular flame as she flipped. "Solar Flaming Dragon!" As she yelled the name deep within her heart, the water burst into a low, crimson red and blocked all of Joichirou's oncoming attacks.
.
Seeing this, Joichirou, for the first time backed up as he was astounded upon seeing Nezuko, a person whom he has taught for no more than a month, successfully change forms in a matter of seconds, without losing the momentum needed to make her blade deadly.
As the two froze, Nezuko's blade was at Joichirou's neck, while Joichirou's blade was at her stomach. Smiling at the sight, Joichirou dropped his blade and surrendered.
.
"I…win…" Nezuko proclaimed as she began to catch her breath.
"So, it would seem." Joichirou smiled grandly at the sight. "Congratulations, Nezuko. From this point forth, I have nothing else to teach you."
"Huh? Wait that can't be. There has to be more!" Nezuko panicked only to feel a flick to her head.
"Nezuko, you are far different from the rest in terms of passion." Joichirou explained. "Besides, I heard from Tomioka that you were once a demon, but all I see before me is a young girl, who will do anything to protect those she loves."
"Ah, even when you heard that, yet, you still took the risk of teaching me?" Nezuko asked.
"It's because I feel most responsible." Joichirou answered.
"Responsible…how?"
.
Not even answering Joichirou began to walk away, with Nezuko right behind him. As they walked through the dimly lit forest, Joichirou began to talk.
.
"It happened roughly 20 years ago. When I was about to turn 25…I met Muzan Kibutsuji." As the name caught Nezuko off guard, she began to back up, only to shake her doubts and treaded forward.
.
20 years prior…
.
"I heard Muzan usually took advantage of people's fears and weaknesses. And since I had a curse upon me, I acted in such a way to try and grab his attention. And wouldn't you know it…it worked. Far too well."
.
As a young Joichirou, looking down and defeated with the lighting mark plastered across the right side of his face, saw Muzan before him, looking at him with a sinister smile.
.
"Why are you looking so defeated, slayer?" Muzan asked cockily.
"I'm a cursed man." Joichirou answered, trying his best to contain his emotions.
"Oh…is that so?" As Muzan looked up and down at Joichirou he noticed really good features about him. "I can save you." Muzan answered.
"Huh?" The question grabbed Joichirou's attention. "Save me, how?"
"Become a demon." Muzan extended his hand out. "And if you do, you could even surpass Death itself."
.
As Joichirou began to walk up ever so slowly, his face lightened up at the fact that he might be able to surpass his curse and become even stronger. Or, so Muzan thought. As Joichirou began to approach, ever so slowly, he stopped where he was, only for Muzan to fall to the ground.
As Muzan began to spit up blood, he noticed Joichirou's face and began to shake. Never in almost 500 years, has a demon slayer been able to cut him so effortlessly. And not only that, he noticed his blade a dark crimson red, not from the blood that soaked on it, but from the color of the blade instead.
.
"I successfully had him in my sights, and not wasting a single moment, swung my blade down, and sliced and diced him more, leaving only his head in my grasp."
.
Muzan, continuously coughing up blood caused Joichirou clicked his tongue.
.
"You are a stubborn one, I'll give you that." Joichirou spoke, his voice filled with malice. "But don't think that you can just go on doing what you do, Muzan Kibutsuji."
"You…you're…" Muzan began to speak only for Joichirou to speak up.
"That's right. I'm his descendant. You better thank that demon woman, since it was her who helped my family. Say your goodbyes!"
.
As Joichirou began to thrust his blade at Muzan's head to completely kill him, another blade came into view and caused Joichirou to back up and drop Muzan's head.
.
"Shit. I took too long!" Joichirou thought to himself as he backed up only to see Muzan putting himself back together through the tiny pieces Joichirou cut. "No!"
.
Rushing forward, the blade once again struck, only to be stopped by Joichirou's blade.
.
"Out of my way!" Joichirou spoke, far angrier than when he spoke to Muzan.
"I won't let you." The voice spoke, as it swung its blade. "Breath of the Moon 5th Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy." As multiple curved slashes came rushing towards Joichirou, it looked to resemble a rising vortex. Not liking the situation, Joichirou readied his blade.
"Dance of the Dragon: 11th Form: Fiery Dragon Vortex!" And with a swing of his sword, Joichirou created his own vortex, which counteracted the oncoming attack.
"What?" The demon spoke, as he saw the attack, and its similarity to an attack from someone he recognized a long time ago. "Who are you?" The demon asked.
"Why would I tell my name to a demon?" Joichirou continued to look at Muzan who at this point was almost completely restored.
.
Not letting the opportunity pass him, Joichirou rushed forward and attacked once more.
.
"Dance of the Dragon, 1st Form: Triple Sun Dragon Dance!" And thus, three blades appeared and cut his enemy down, and continued to rush forward towards Muzan, only to see a monstrosity coming towards him.
.
Out of instinct, Joichirou quickly swung his blade at the worm-like creature, as fast as he could. Cutting, slicing, dicing. All of it was meaningless as the creature continued to heal itself and continued its barrage.
.
"I can't get closer. This thing…it's ginormous. Damn it. I was so close! I can't let it end here." Feeling a bad presence behind him, Joichirou timed his attack as the creature circled around and went straight for him.
.
Moving at the last moment, caused the creature to move past Joichirou and straight into his enemy. Now running forward, he noticed that Muzan was gone. Running in the direction of a clearing, Joichirou knew the path well, since the village of his friend was nearby. And with all the injuries Muzan sustained, he was going to need a ton of sustenance in order to survive. Not like the situation one bit, Joichirou put everything he had into his legs and boosted himself forward.
But as he arrived, he noticed the damage was already done. Blood splatter was everywhere you looked. The screams of families as they saw the carnage of their loved ones taken away so horrendously. Gritting his teeth to the point to where they looked like they break, Joichirou ran forward and towards a certain house. Upon arriving, he noticed two people dead up against a door. But one of the people caught Joichirou's attention.
.
"Kazuma." Joichirou's voice broke upon seeing his family friend dead and pinned toward the door. Then looking at the woman, Joichirou closed his eyes and began to walk away, only to hear a muffled cry.
.
Hearing the cry, he moved straight towards his friend's corpse, moved it out of the way, and sliced opened the door. Upon entering he saw a young girl, no more than 1 year of age, crying as loud as she could. Picking up the child, with the dim light entering through the door, Joichirou said a name he remembered from one of the letters sent by his friend: "Ozaki". Feeling sorry for the child, Joichirou held it close, and began to apologize, and continued to apologize even as the sun began rise.
.
Present Time…
.
"Later, when I heard from Tomioka after our fight at Mt. Natagumo, he explained to me that when last he saw you, you were a demon and thought that your blood contained a cure of sorts." Joichirou continued talking even as they entered his house. "But I was more interested in the Hanafuda earrings your brother was wearing so I never really cared for the matter. But now that you stand before me, I can't help but feel responsible for the loss of your family."
"You've been dealing with a lot, haven't you?" Nezuko spoke after a few minutes of silence. "But don't feel responsible. You were stopped and distracted, there was no way you could've saved all those people and defeated Muzan as well. Maybe it wasn't your responsibility."
"Perhaps, but even so…If I ever see that man again, I will stop him long enough for someone to give him the finishing blow. Even if it cost me my life." And with that the night had begun to end for the two slayers.
.
As they sat in silence, they just listened to the sounds of the night, not knowing what was ahead for them.