Hinokami's Blessing
Chapter 1
12Thirtypain03
WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering make you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into a demon/human, or more will be labeled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.
UPDATED, 2nd Edition: May 31, 2023.
Tanjirou's POV
In the vast space of Earth, one may be surprised by how fruitful and full of life a setting can be. Even the most desolate of places can have quite a lot going on.
That was what Tanjirou picked up on whenever he would come back up to his house. Even during the snowy periods in his residence, Tanjirou learned that one should never doubt the adaptability of living beings. Everyone can adapt to the environment they so happened to live in.
It wasn't just the environment one can adapt to, but also to the events that may occur in one's life. Tanjirou knew that very well. Being the eldest son of five younger siblings, named Nezuko, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta.
His job as the living conditions imply, was that he was a charcoal seller. His family nor he had a lavish lifestyle, nor did they ever have a time where they could enjoy life for other activities other than charcoal selling and manual labor.
Tanjirou himself, was among those who worked the hardest. As if their family situation wasn't ideal for the average person living on the top of a snowy mountain, Tanjirou and his family had to reel under the event of their father, Tanjuro's death.
Tanjuro was a large part of Tanjirou and the family's lives. To Tanjirou, his father was a role model, and someone everyone should strive to be. He was always collected, and always in a state of collected, calmness. To Tanjirou, it was someone he strived to be, someone, just as calm and collected, yet responsible enough to take care of his family.
When his father passed away due to a chronic illness that deteriorated over the years, Tanjirou picked up the slack a while ago, when his father became bedridden, and was hoping he could perhaps get any form of medicine to help his sick father.
He failed to make any money but was told it wouldn't make a difference. The illness Tanjuro had suffered from was chronic and degenerative, meaning it was an illness that made someone ill over time. While everyone in the family had cried over Tanjuro's demise, Tanjirou was the most hurt, due to trying to get extra money to pay for any potential medicine that could have helped his condition.
Alas, the most Tanjirou could do now, was continue to provide for his family. Right now, he was the strongest and most capable, and therefore was able to pick up the slack. Was it stressful? Perhaps. Was it worth it? For his family, yes.
As Tanjirou continued to ponder about his father, there was one specific tradition that stuck out.
The Hinokami Kagura. A dance move dedicated to the sun god, a dance to honor and protect the family from harmful ailments. Ironically, even when Tanjuro's own body was weakening, he was still able to dance from sunset to sunrise. How he was able to do that?
Tanjuro once told Tanjirou, that it was that he was conditioned to breathe a certain way, that allowed him to not get tired. When Tanjirou heard of that, it was something he was shocked about. The idea to always do something and never feel fatigued, and when Tanjirou got older, he too was taught specifically by his father to do the ritual dance.
Every New year, Tanjirou would dance the night in turn, for the rest of his family to ask the sun god to protect their family, even as Tanjuro's health declined, he continued to teach Tanjirou the techniques occasionally.
When this happened, Tanjurou began to notice something about his son. It was a scar-like mark on his forehead. Just like him. Both father and son both had the same, jagged, red scar on the left side of their forehead. That scar remained on Tanjurou's head until his untimely death due to illness. As for Tanjirou, the scar remained, and while Kie, his mother was concerned, it seemed that aside from appearance-wise, there was nothing odd about it.
Though, she could have sworn she saw it light up when Tanjirou was performing the Hinokami Kagura.
When Tanjirou asked his father why he did the ritual, he told Tanjirou the story.
"Our family comes from an interesting group of individuals. Whilst I don't remember exactly who the friend is, what I do remember is that both he and our ancestor Sumiyoshi suffered a tragedy." Tanjuro explained.
A 6-year-old Tanjirou at the time asked naively, "Why? What tragedy happened?"
"A demon attacked them and killed both their wives. Both wives died protecting each other's children. Sumiyoshi's wife died protecting her 2-year-old boy, whilst the other friend's wife died protecting their 2-month-born girl. The result is that both Sumiyoshi and that friend had to raise their respective children on their own." Tanjuro responded to Tanjirou's questioning.
"Demons? What are those?" Tanjirou asked, "And those poor babies."
Tanjuro sadly smiled, "Once both children got older, they eventually married each other, and both Sumiyoshi and his friend's bloodline came down through us. As for demons, they are human-eating animals."
Tanjirou remembered, "Isn't that what grandma used to say? Didn't she say they only died from the sun, or by people designed to fight and hunt demons?"
Tanjuro nodded, "Indeed, that's exactly right. A demon was the cause of the tragedy Sumiyoshi suffered. But even in the face of tragedy, he adapted and focused on raising his child with his friend. Both children getting together was kind of a bittersweet ending as now they didn't have to take care of their children. They took care of each other, now."
Tanjirou could only remain silent, as everything was beginning to make sense and he took the time to digest and process everything. As for his father, Tanjirou would tell everyone he was impactful for his character.
Especially when it came to learning the Hinokami Kagura, Tanjirou himself was able to do it for quite some time, and while he did suffer from the feedback of it, Tanjirou had managed to complete it twice before.
"Tanjirou!" Tanjirou turned around, noticing his mother, Kie, calling out to him.
"Yes, mother?" Tanjirou asked, smiling at his mother straight off the bat. It was always nice to see his mother, especially after doing his best to make her feel better about Tanjuro's death. For Tanjirou, it was proud work he had managed to do. For Tanjirou, it was his first test.
"Come here." His mother, Kie, motioned for Tanjirou to come closer to her, which he did, only for her to wipe Tanjirou's face and properly fold his scarf around his neck to protect him from the cold. "Your face is pitch-black."
Tanjirou chuckled, "Thank you, even if it's just a little, I want us to have a great New Year's Feast, so I want to sell as much charcoal as possible to ensure that."
Kie smiled sadly, "Thank you for this, but please don't overwork yourself, alright?"
Tanjirou shook his head, "Sorry Mom, but I must do this to make sure everyone is doing well."
Kie sighed, knowing how stubborn Tanjirou was. Before she knew it, the rest of Tanjirou's siblings began to surround Kie, wanting to go down to the down with Tanjirou.
"Jeez, your stubbornness is rubbing off onto them…" Kie mumbled before she did her best to deny her children's request.
"But we want to see Tanjirou tonight!" Hanako begged Tanjirou's mother, who could only look to Tanjirou, wanting his opinion.
Tanjirou scratched his head, "I don't know."
"It may snow tonight, so you can go down and sell charcoal, but you must return before it turns to night, alright?" Kie asked, being serious.
Tanjirou continued to scratch his head, not knowing what to do. On the one hand, he would not have enough time to sell the charcoal he had, but he also did not want to say no to his mother.
It was something he rarely did, if not at all, and Tanjirou, being an honest individual, knew he would follow his mother's rules and guidelines.
"Alright Mom, but set the table for me, alright?" Tanjirou asked, directing his attention to his younger siblings.
"Yay!" This was enough to cheer up his siblings, as they were excited to be able to see Tanjirou later in the day.
And so, Tanjirou went on his way, stopping by to talk to Nezuko, who was carrying Rokuta on her back.
"I was putting Rokuta to sleep, and then all the commotion outside occurred," Nezuko explained.
"That's fine, I know how lonely and struggling everyone's been since Father died," Tanjirou explained, smiling. He then patted Nezuko on the head, before he went down the mountain. He stared back, noticing the waving figures of his family, before he went down.
"Make sure you be back before the snowstorm." Nezuko told Tanjirou.
Tanjirou smiled, "So, you knew a snowstorm would come soon as well?" Tanjirou asked.
Nezuko nodded, "The air feels unusually cold, and I can't feel anything else."
Tanjirou sighed, knowing how accurate Nezuko's assumption on the air and weather was.
Just like Tanjirou, with his sense of smell, and being able to smell the air around him, including the emotions of others, Nezuko has an abnormal sense of heat detection or thermoregulation detection. In a sense, Nezuko's been able to feel the emotions of others based on the heat around their body, or when the area around them was being attacked by a rabid animal.
The quote Nezuko, "The animal had a lot of heat."
When Tanjirou made his way down the mountain and towards the town, he was immediately bombarded with noises from the town folk, noticing his figure walking down with a bag over his back, showing the contents of charcoal he was ready to sell.
It seemed that the demand for charcoal was relatively high today for the town, as Tanjirou found himself bidding for charcoal, something he did not expect.
However, since the town was preparing for the New Year's Feast, he theorized now that it made sense that charcoal was needed for heating. In the meantime, he had finished selling his charcoal, and it was almost turning night.
Tanjirou momentarily panicked, as he realized the promise he made to his mother. He needs to return at his mother's request.
"I'm sorry, but I promised my mother I would be home before the sky turned dark, I need to go!" Tanjirou explained to the group of buyers, as he was beginning to rush with his purchase. Not realizing he had given the rest of the buyers a discount, he began to make his way up the mountain, at a relatively fast pace.
He had managed to change his breathing to give him better endurance, remembering the quote his father gave him regarding the Hinokami Kagura. Tanjirou assumed if he was able to do it whilst running or even doing regular tasks, it would help him when providing for his family.
Tanjirou sighed before he then began to run towards his house. He noticed the figure of Saburo trying to stop him, but he went past him as he made sure to make it back to his house, despite the sky now being nighttime.
"Tanjirou, wait!" Saburo exclaimed in pure desperation, but Tanjirou was too focused on returning to his home, with his family, to celebrate the New Year Tradition.
"I'm almost there…" Tanjirou mumbled, as he continued to run, with the cash he had on him, he was confident they would enjoy their Festival, due to the surprising turnout of Tanjirou's little charcoal sail.
However, Tanjirou quickly stopped in his tracks due to something smelling.
…
And it smelled horrendous.
Tanjirou wanted to puke. He wanted to throw up so badly, as he had never smelled anything more repulsive before.
It smelt of death, of malice, of pure chaos, devoid of anything sincere. It made Tanjirou's heart thump erratically, as he felt the sheer strength come from this individual or monster.
Whatever creature or thing Tanjirou was smelling, it was a monster.
Quietly, he grabbed the axe that he kept on him for safety in the event he ran into a rabid animal, and quietly made his way to his house, now worrying for his family. He clutched the weapon in his hand with such strength that his knuckles got red and white. He held it with such strength one would think he was holding onto life.
When he was nearer to his house with his family, his heart almost dropped. It was already erratically beating, and now his chest has this weird feeling that made him want to throw up.
He smelt blood, and the closer he got to his family home, the more it smelt, and worry began to run into Tanjirou's mind.
"What's happening?" Tanjirou thought to himself worryingly as he finally spotted what was going on.
What he saw was something that would stick to his mind.
His house was broken, a large dent made next to the door, as if the stranger had forced his way inside. Or, the stranger threw one of Tanjirou's family, most likely his mother into the house with such force the wooden foundation broke down. Not to mention the amount of blood that was spilled, not just across the snow at the entrance of his house, but also throughout the walls of his home.
At the current stage, the stranger was very strange appearance-wise.
The stranger was pale-skinned, which was so pale Tanjirou saw a striking, yet revealing complexion to that of his father.
Unlike his father, the stranger was wearing a fedora, with very curly hair sticking out of them. His nails were blue and was surprisingly formal in terms of attire, a tuxedo with a tie over some black and white pants and shirts.
However, no sense of formality was what Tanjirou cared about when he saw the stranger choking Rokuta out with his pale, yet muscular hands. Tanjirou's eyes widened with such shock, that he wanted to groan and fall over. He felt his body leaning forward as he was trying to move himself. He was angry that such an individual was capable of strangling such a young kid. His eyes turned red, as he felt his adrenaline kick in.
Tanjirou fell into a rage, not caring that the horrendous smell was coming straight from the individual, as he attempted to swing his axe into the back of the stranger's head.
*Clank!*
The sound of a clank was present as if the axe hit a rough, metal surface. Tanjirou heard, but his ears must have been deceiving him. It felt that his neck, while smooth, was not being affected by the hatchet as much as he wanted it to do.
He was attacking bare skin, and likewise, he saw blood begin to fall from the stranger's neck, as he gouged the wound more with the axe, moving it as much as he could to cause internal damage. It was a tactic Tanjirou learned from his father when he pierced wild animals with any weapon.
It was helpful, as Tanjuro was able to once beat an entire, 2m bear with his fists, and with a similar technique. If his father was able to fight a behemoth of an animal, then Tanjirou could hopefully beat down a stranger killing his family.
However, to Tanjirou's surprise, the stranger turned round, having finished choking Rokuta until his heart was no longer beating, and he proceeded to drop him without a care in the world. Tanjirou silently mourned for Rokuta's death but was also enraged, at how a stranger could just take such a young life away.
However, this individual was acting strange. The wound on his neck should have been enough to be fatal to any human or animal.
Whoever this stranger was, Tanjirou would make sure he slayed and killed them for this. But he was now a bit unsure of his abilities. Was he just too weak to cut through this person's neck? But he had chopped wild animals out before! He was strong enough to do such a thing.
However, before Tanjirou had any time to react, he felt himself being slashed violently across the face, a diagonal slash from the stranger that cut through the right side of his forehead, striking Tanjirou's right eye, extending past his nose. He had 3 claw-like scars that now were pouring out blood from his face. Tanjirou grunted, ignoring the fact he couldn't see out of his right eye anymore, as he knew he had to continue his onslaught, and he focused, trying to maximize the damage he could get by applying more pressure on the axe, embedding it deeper into the stranger's neck.
Unfortunately, it was no use, and Tanjirou felt himself being grabbed violently by his left arm, eventually howling in pain once he felt the stranger knee him right in the abdomen.
With a quick slap and Tanjirou found himself on the ground, groaning in pain as his vision was darkening. His left forearm was hurting, alongside his abdomen, making it hard to move. Not to mention that his right eye was failing to pick up anything, but could feel blood pouring down his face from the deep incision the stranger had inflicted on Tanjirou.
The stranger, now finished with Tanjirou, yanked the axe out of his neck and tossed it aside harmlessly, and began to approach an unconscious Nezuko, who had a noticeable bruise on her leg and head, and pushed his nails into her neck. Hanako was next to her, unfortunately bleeding excessively from wounds to her neck and face, her eyes widened, yet stilled, indicating she was dead.
"NO!" Tanjirou yelled to himself in his thoughts, as he got up, despite the large swats of pain he was feeling on his left arm and abdomen. He still had his one eye working, and he eyed the wound on the stranger's neck. Strangely, it was still bleeding, but it looked like it was healing quickly.
Too quickly.
How could this stranger heal so quickly?
Unless…
The words of his family, and what Saburo was telling him became true.
"Demon… This stranger's a demon!" Tanjirou exclaimed to himself, clearly recognizing the threat this stranger imposed. He wanted to weep for his family, but he couldn't when this stranger was still causing him panic, trauma, and grief. He couldn't let this monster get away with this.
"So when I smelled this stranger and said he was a monster, it was true?!"
Tanjirou struggled to get up, he could feel the blood leaving from his left forearm, and the right side of his face from where he was slashed brutally. Ignoring the annoyance from his current injury, he got up and eyed the neck of the stranger, who seemed to want to injure Nezuko more.
"So then, how are demons supposed to be killed? If we run into them, and they can break into our homes, how can we exactly kill them?" Tanjirou was remembering a memory at the moment, specifically one with Saburo he had a bit after he talked to his father about the Hinokami Kagura, his family's ancestry, and even demons. Tanjirou was still a bit confused about the whole thing, and since Saburo was one of the few individuals they knew who demons were, they felt right for Saburo to be the one explaining everything to Tanjirou.
"Well, there are three ways that I know of to kill demons, but they are something not everyone has direct access to," Saburo explained.
"To kill demons, they can only be killed by the sunlight, some poisons, or with a blade that successfully decapitates them." Saburo had told Tanjirou, and that specific sentence had managed to get a grip on Tanjirou.
"For the most part, if you manage to separate a demon's head from its body, they are as good as dead," Saburo told Tanjirou finalizing his statement.
Tanjirou eyed the man's neck, as he knew he had to do something to rip his neck off of the man's body. Even if his axe was dulled from the demon, Tanjirou thought that perhaps if he got his hands on the demon's neck and gnawed it off, he could threaten the demon to make them run off, and maybe even get authorities or someone who is supposed to hunt and kill these demons. Either that, he would somehow have to get the demon to wait until sunrise to manage to stand a chance.
Unfortunately, Tanjirou couldn't rely on that, because of the current cloudy nature. The sunlight wouldn't get through the current snow. He didn't even know of any poisons he could use. Therefore, there was only one thing he could rely on.
Decapitation.
With a mighty jump, Tanjirou got onto the back of the demon and tried to thrash at its head and neck.
"What the…" The man had finally spoken, clearly confused.
Tanjirou, once realized he couldn't rip the demon's head off his body, began to bite down on the demon's neck, managing to pierce through the skin, and yet again making the demon bleed from his neck. Whether it was pure desperation or just an irrational decision, Tanjirou was focused on decapitating this demon through any means necessary.
Tanjirou continued to bite into the demon's neck, hellbent on ripping it off of his neck, and not caring for the blood that was coming off.
For a second, Tanjirou thought this could work. He may defeat this demon with his bare hands. He could see the fruit of his work. The progress, he thought could work. That is until something unexpected happened.
Blood Demon Art. Black Blood – Brambles
The next thing Tanjirou knew, he felt some black, barbed wires protrude out the demon's back, striking Tanjirou point blank range in his torso.
In total, four barbed wires protruded out, and all four struck Tanjirou to an extent. One grazed the right side of his ribcage, the other one struck his left shoulder, and the third one struck the center of Tanjirou's body, in the abdomen.
And the final pierced right through his heart.
Tanjirou gasped in shock as he felt the impact of the barbed wires launch him right into a tree, shattering his back and spine in the process. The damage from the barbed wire struck him right in the spine, paralyzing him. The tree only gave him a place to position himself in a sitting position.
Tanjirou coughed painfully, as his mouth was full of blood and flesh from attempting to bite down the demon's neck. He was in a terrible condition.
His left arm, his left shoulder, abdomen, and especially his left chest was bleeding and in pain. Not to mention that his right eye was damaged beyond functionality, as he could no longer see out of it, and his spine was now damaged to the point he couldn't feel below his waist. He was now paralyzed from the waist down.
There was nothing he could do now. He was done for, his body had taken too much damage, and he had failed.
"I failed you… Mother… Nezuko… Takeo… Hanako… Shigeru… Rokuta… I failed you…" Tanjirou mumbled to himself.
"Father… I'm sorry…" Tanjirou apologized as he then began to do something else.
"To the fire god, I hope you look after my family of what remains. For those who have suffered far to be brought into the next life, may I hope you bless them with a virtuous life…" Tanjirou said as it was painful to even move his head.
Through all of this, he failed to realize the demon in question was approaching Tanjirou, clearly as Tanjirou's mind was preoccupied with his thoughts. The demon, for a part of him, was surprised that the boy was still alive, especially when he killed many humans with a single blow. And yet, this kid took quite the amount and still got up to attack him. The demon was unsure if this kid was stupid or strong-willed and connected to life.
"What a sad story… You did everything you possibly could, only to end up like this." The demon taunted Tanjirou, as Tanjirou could smell the glee. This demon was clearly a sadist, wanting to see others in pain for his own benefit. Maybe also a narcissist, with a large ego, he wasn't sure.
Tanjirou was able to know the demon was approaching him due to his smell telling him the demon was approaching him when the demon spoke and brought Tanjirou out of his thoughts. Tanjirou was barely able to lift his head, only to meet the red, plum, cat-slit eyes of the demon in front of him. They were menacing, blood-red eyes piercing into Tanjirou's soul like how he had been pierced by his barbed wires just then.
"I do admire your determination to try to rip off my neck with your bare arms, you even made me have to activate my blood demon art, a demon god like me, needing to use a blood demon art against a simple, mere human." The demon chuckled, as Tanjirou, as he noticed the hanafuda earrings on Tanjirou's ears. At this, the demon grinned. "So it's you... How pathetic and comical..."
At this, the stranger chuckled louder, as he grasped the earrings on Tanjirou's ears. Poor Tanjirou, couldn't raise his left arm as it was in pain and bleeding. His right hand was too fatigued, and his body was failing him. He couldn't even move, and he wasn't sure if it was due to the paralysis, or the sap of life leaving him.
The stranger continued to chuckle, "Let this be known to you, since you don't have much time left, and you've held onto your life stronger than the rest of what I assume to be your family, that the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan, was responsible for this."
"I'll finally have managed to kill the rest of your kind off, no longer will I have to worry about that man's bloodline. And the evidence is right here." Muzan spoke, as he yanked the earrings out of Tanjirou's ears, as glared at the hanafuda earrings in his hands. "But perhaps as an insult to your family's bloodline, one of them may end up serving me." Muzan continued to chuckle, as he, in his hands, and with Tanjirou eyeing him, Muzan ripped apart the earrings, the hanafuda earrings no longer resembling what they were on Tanjirou's ears, finally throwing them away. Tanjirou knew well, especially once Muzan had eyed Nezuko.
At this, Tanjirou's eyes widened, and his teeth gritted. "Nezuko... Please, if you survive, don't work for him..." Tanjirou begged in his mind.
There was a bit of a stall, but Muzan continued to chuckle, "Right, you probably cannot talk, the faults of being human, and how fragile one's life is. I truly have nothing against you, but rather your family. You're the bloodline of that monster, and I must rid anyone of the tiniest of blood from that ancestor." Muzan revealed as he chuckled. Tanjirou, in the meantime was trying to speak and at least fight back with his words, but he just couldn't. This demon was something else, as he was overwhelmed by both his injuries, and the sheer strength this demon radiated from his smell. Tanjirou knew he stood no chance.
"Enjoy the last moments of your life, and I promise your sister will be in good hands." With that, Muzan walked off, whistling a strange tone that Tanjirou heard, as now he has left alone, unable to move, barely see, and live the rest of his life.
Tanjirou eyed the moving figure of the demon with anger, as he wanted to keep attacking this demon. He wouldn't let him get away.
But alas, he knew this was it. He was as good as dead, and there was nothing he could have done. He was done for. He did everything he could, and in the end, it was futile. His entire family was gone, he would soon see them, and he could only hope Nezuko didn't fall into the grasp of that man.
"Please. Don't be a demon, Nezuko..." Tanjirou begged, as his thoughts were still running rampant. He was surprised on why he wasn't even going into shock. That told Tanjirou his body was still fighting for survival.
He began to cough erratically, as the wound to his chest was bleeding profusely. He was gagging when he tried breathing air and was feeling light-headed. It appeared his body was, unfortunately, losing this battle for survival, and it would only be around a maximum of three minutes before Tanjirou knew his body would just give out and pass.
"Is this death?" Tanjirou asked himself, as he felt the near-death experience. It wasn't something he experienced until now. The scar on his forehead, a now jagged red figure, was glowing as if to symbolize Tanjirou's overexerting to just live. However, this went unnoticed by anyone.
He wanted to see if anyone from his family, but considering both, what he said, and that none of them was emerging yet, Tanjirou was little to hope for.
The most he could hope was that he would join them in the next life, with his father.
He could barely move his head, but he saw the downed figure of Nezuko, the motionless figure of Rokuta, and began to cry at the circumstances of this.
"That man… What did he want…" Tanjirou asked himself, clearly confused, why this was happening.
"Tanjirou." Tanjirou could hear the voice of his father. "It's okay."
"No…" Tanjirou mumbled, coughing when he felt his lungs being hit with blood. It seemed that now his lungs were being filled with his blood. It was only a matter of seconds to minutes.
"I… I failed…" Tanjirou got teary, as he began to unconsciously use the breathing technique for the Hinokami Kagura. It didn't help, but it was delaying his inevitable, permanent unconsciousness.
"No, my son. You fought with all your power, prayed to Hinokami for the blessing of the next life, and made peace." Tanjirou could hear his father's words in his mind, as Tanjirou felt his vision, or what was left of it, begin to fade.
His senses were fading. First his vision, then his smell.
Even in spite this, Tanjirou's emotions were overwhelming him. By all means, Tanjirou was never an erratic person. He was mostly calm, and one to always get stuff done when he needed to. He never bothered about the small things.
So, he found himself surprised at himself seething in anger at the individual who had just slaughtered his entire family, just because of a their supposed bloodline.
"Just, what the hell did my bloodline do for you to commit such murder?" Tanjirou could only think, as it hurt him so much to even talk. He couldn't even move. His body was failing him, as his wounds were seeping blood. Especially as his heart was giving out, having been impaled by the demon's barbed wire.
"Kibutsuji Muzan... You are damned right... I will never forgive, nor forget you... If I somehow survive this, I will murder you for everything you've done to my family..." Tanjirou, in what he assumed would be his final moments would wish death and suffering on the very being who may have been responsible for his own death.
Tanjirou could smell the pure malicion from Muzan. He had no remorse, no emotions, no regret in life. He only ran on fear. And that was the very thing that caused him to do this. Just because he was paranoid that one may rise to kill him. Just like an autocrat, he was simply purging anyone fit enough to potentially kill him. That's what Muzan did to his family.
And Tanjirou could only see that he would be another statistic. He would be another causality. Another death.
He started coughing as he felt his lungs fill up with blood, as his heart began to slow, having failed from the injuries he sustained. His remaining eye, and his sigh was now gone. All he could do, was hear and smell. He shortly after no longer felt his body.
"Curse you... Kibutsuji Muzan... I hope you die a painful death..." With his final conscious thought, Tanjirou wished death on the very being who seemingly was killing him. For Tanjirou, a normally forgiving individual, saw no reason to forgive this particular monster who had just come and killed him and his family.
"Please Nezuko... Live for us..." With that, Tanjirou felt himself fading away.
They say your hearing is the last sense that a human has before death, or to sleep.
However, a human's first sense to activate when waking up, or upon birth, is vision.
For Tanjirou, he was no different, but among waking up, his first sense to be activated, was his smell.
When Tanjirou realized he was in some weird realm, he saw his father and the rest of his family.
He wanted to cry. He wanted to run over and hug them. But he couldn't. He felt ashamed that he failed them all.
"You didn't fail us, brother... We failed you. Please, keep living, for Nezuko's sake." Kie Kamado told her son.
Tanjirou began to run over to his family, but he was stopped, by Tanjurou. is hand had pushed Tanjirou in the chest, away from the separate line between the eldest son, and the rest of his family.
"You aren't done with your purpose, son. Remember what I told you." Tanjurou suddenly spoke up to Tanjirou.
Tanjirou, who was confused by everything, looked at his father shocked. Why was he pushing Tanjirou away from his family?
"Son, your time is not yet intertwined for you to see us again. You still have your sister to care for. Please... Let this family live." Tanjurou explained.
Tanjirou looked at the saddened faces of his younger siblings.
:Mother… Father… Takeo… Hanako… Shigeru… Rokuta…" Tanjirou could see the sad face of them, as they couldn't spend more time with their eldest brother.
"I'm so sorry!" Tanjirou yelled out as he sobbed on the ground. Right next to the line between him and his family, he got on his knees, and bawled out.
A simple hand to Tanjirou's head calmed him down.
"A Kamado does not cry in the face of tragedy, especially one of you, Tanjirou. What advice do I always tell you do to when wishing and protecting this family?" Tanjurou asked his son.
Tanjirou looked up, before he answered. "To pray and breathe to Hinokami? To become him?" Tanjirou asked.
Tanjurou nodded, "Good job son. Just remember that, and you will be able to take care of Nezuko." His father smiled down.
"Tanjirou, please take care of Nezuko, and yourself." Kie added on, smiling back.
"Goodbye Tanjirou! We love you!" Tanjirou's remaining siblings all waved their hands as the distance between his remaining family, and Tanjirou began to increase.
"When your time is right, we will gladly accept you into our arms. But your task is to live. Live for our family, live for Nezuko. Live for those else who may suffer from Muzan." Tanjurou spoke one more time.
"Wait, how do you know him?" Tanjirou asked his father, but it was ultimately futile, as Tanjirou no longer saw his family.
A.N / Didn't expect a Demon Slayer fanfiction, did you? Joking aside, yes, this is the next manga I'm reading, and with the hype around, I am intrigued at not only reading it but also putting my twist on it.
Already straight off the bat, we see a branching path of the story. Tanjirou straight up is promised by his mom to come back before the snowstorm, which eventually causes him to get into a brief, but brutal scuffle with Muzan. It was truly a tragic setting from the start. As much as I wanted to characterize and use the other characters of Tanjirou's family, I decided against it because I was confused about what I would do with them all, and I would have trouble shaping them all to be what they could be based on their POVs. With that being said, I am willing to have Kanae in the story if that is something you all are fine with. Some characters will be a bit different in their appearance, and breathing style techniques, and when I do introduce a character or breathing style change, any notable change will be mentioned in the chapter the character is introduced in.
Another difference in this story is that I gave Nezuko the ability to be extra sensitive to heat and thermoregulation, being able to detect human emotions based on the spread of their heat. It's like infrared vision for Nezuko, and I do have some unique plans for this specific ability for Nezuko, especially since she'll be more powerful as a demon.
As for Tanjirou, I'll just leave him at that, and make you all assume what'll happen to him. I have quite the ideas for what will happen, but I do want some feedback on how I tackle the whole setting and plotline for now. I won't confirm nor deny if he dies or not, but all I'll say is that he will, regardless play a role in the story.
Character Profile:
Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 14 years old.
- Status: Alive, Human.
- Height: 5'5" (165cm)
- Weight: 135 Ibs
- Appearance Change: Vertical slash mark that crosses his right eye.
Nezuko Kamado: Female, 12 years old.
- Status: Alive, Human
- Height: 5'1" (155cm)
- Weight: 105 Ibs
Kibutsuji Muzan: Male, ~1000 years old (made up, lol).
- Status: Alive, Demon
- Height: 5'11" (180cm)
- Weight: 162 Ibs
Kie Kamado: Female, 34 years old.
- Status: Dead, Human
- Height: 5'4" (164cm)
- Weight: 112 Ibs
o Cause of Death: Killed by Muzan, spine severed and neck snapped. Hypothermia.
Takeo Kamado: Male, 11 years old.
- Status: Dead, Human
o Cause of Death: Killed by Muzan, head decapitated, separated from spine. Hypothermia.
Hanako Kamado: Female, 7 years old.
- Status: Dead, Human
o Cause of Death: Killed by Muzan, blunt force trauma from being stomped repeatedly. Hypothermia.
Shigeru Kamado: Male, 6 years old.
- Status: Dead, Human
o Cause of Death: Killed by Muzan, bleeding out from a neck and face injury. Hypothermia.
Rokuta Kamado: Male, 2 years old.
- Status: Dead, Human
o Cause of Death: Hyperthermia, Strangulation by Muzan.
Tanjuro Kamado: Male, 36 years old.
- Status: Dead, Human
o Cause of Death: Chronic Illness (Bronchitis and Asthma likely?)
Abilities: Blood Demon Arts
Muzan:
Black Blood – Brambles: The user can utilize their flesh and blood to manipulate and transform them into black spiked-barbed wires to entangle or pierce the target.
Taisho's Secrets:
Muzan doesn't know both Tanjirou or Nezuko Kamado. He was only aware of a family living at the same house that Yoriichi and Sumiyoshi resided, due to Kokushibo's intel. He was then further cemented by the suspicions of Yoriichi's bloodline through the Hanafuda earrings. He killed the family because they lived where Yoriichi did. He won't even recognize both siblings because, one, he won't see them as a threat, and two, they probably will look different from their human appearances.
Yoriichi and Uta both had a daughter. In the canon, both are said to have died due to demon attacks. In this story, both Yoriichi and Sumiyoshi's wives were killed in the demon attack, but their children survived. Yoriichi and Uta's daughter survive and becomes integrated with the Kamado family through a marriage with Sumiyoshi's son. Both Yoriichi and Sumiyoshi were left to raise their children together before Sumiyoshi was killed by Kokushibo protecting Yoriichi, who died shortly after from natural Yoriichi, who died shortly after from natural causes.
