Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. I decided to continue this story, so, here it is the second chapter!
Nezuko was ascending the mountain towards her home. The girl was softly whistling a melody as she made her way up. It had recently dawned, but there was enough light for her to progress without difficulty.
She picked up the pace a bit. Her family must be waiting for her and she had already made them wait long enough.
"I hope they haven't worried too much," thought Nezuko, feeling somewhat guilty. That thought, the accompanying guilt, made the girl start running up the mountain.
The house couldn't be too far away, so it wouldn't take her long to get there and see her family. She chuckled at the thought of her younger siblings bombarding her with questions about the village. The look on Hanako's face when she saw what Nezuko brought her would be worth it.
However, all those happy thoughts faded as soon as she reached the clearing where her home stood. Nezuko stopped abruptly, completely paralyzed. Her red eyes were wide open and she covered her mouth with her right hand.
There was blood staining the snow and the door to her house was smashed. A man was kneeling there, his back to her. Nezuko dropped her basket and the sound it made as it hit the ground alerted the stranger. The man quickly got up and turned around. Their eyes met.
"Who are you!?" Nezuko screamed, agitated. She tried to push him, but the man didn't budge. In fact, he blocked the door even more, preventing the girl from seeing inside. He dragged her away from the house, no matter how much Nezuko tried to resist.
"Calm down, I haven't done anything to them," the man said. "I just arrived and they were already..."
"As if I'm going to believe that lie!" she snapped at him. But the stranger's grip remained firm.
"Please listen to me, miss," he pleaded. His voice had become urgent. But Nezuko wasn't listening to reason. At that moment, completely desperate, Nezuko kicked him in the groin.
The man, who hadn't expected that, let out a scream and covered the sore area with both hands. Nezuko took advantage of being free to run to the door and peer inside.
No matter how many years passed, Nezuko would never be able to forget what she saw. Completely pale, trembling uncontrollably, she looked at the lifeless bodies of her mother and younger siblings. She screamed at the top of her lungs without being aware of it as she cried uncontrollably.
She didn't even react when the man's right hand rested on her left shoulder. She allowed herself to be dragged away from the house without offering any kind of resistance.
She had stopped crying, but tears continued to flow from her eyes and she had started to wail.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," said the stranger. "If I had arrived earlier, perhaps your family would still be alive."
"You know who did this," murmured Nezuko between sobs.
"That's right," declared the stranger. "But before we talk about that, let me introduce myself. My name is Hakuji Soyama."
"Ne-Nezuko Kamado," she introduced herself. She looked at the man more closely this time. The first thing that caught her attention, aside from his eyes, which were a light blue color, was the black uniform he was wearing and the sword hanging, sheathed, from his white belt. "What did this?" murmured Nezuko, trembling. It couldn't have been the work of a human, she refused to even consider that possibility.
"A demon. This was the work of a demon," declared Hakuji, adopting a more serious expression.
"Excuse me?" murmured Nezuko, with a thread of a voice. Her eyes, filled with sadness, also reflected confusion at what she had just heard. "Demons don't exist, they're old wives' tales to scare children."
"I wish it were so," interjected the man, looking away. He didn't add anything else, leaving Nezuko there. He walked towards the house and went inside. The young girl, stunned, followed him. "I advise you, Miss Nezuko, not to do this. It's better if you leave this to me."
"What?" asked the young woman, not understanding. Although she followed his advice and stopped several meters from the door. Her gaze, however, remained fixed on her home.
"I'm going to bury the five bodies," shouted Hakuji. "Do you know where I can find something to wrap them in?"
"Wait a moment, did you say five?" Nezuko asked, thinking she had misheard. Unable to resist her impulse, she ran back towards the house. She peered inside and scanned the bodies lying there. She had to suppress the urge to vomit again at the sight of their condition, but it confirmed Hakuji's words. "...Tanjiro isn't here."
Hakuji, upon hearing that, turned his head at a dizzying pace and looked at her. "What did you just say?"
"My older brother isn't here," Nezuko repeated, more to herself than to Hakuji. Her eyes lit up with hope, and without giving Hakuji a chance to speak, she ran off calling out for her brother. Tanjiro must have been able to escape.
Hakuji watched her hurry away and sighed. He looked at the bodies again, there was something very strange about all of this, but now, the important thing was to stop the girl. He jumped in front of her. Nezuko, unable to stop in time, collided with his chest.
"I'll help you look for him," Hakuji said. "What does he look like?" he asked, and Nezuko described him as quickly as she could. As soon as she finished, she turned around and tried to resume her march, but Hakuji stopped her. "You said he sprained his ankle. He couldn't have gone far in that condition," Hakuji reasoned.
"And so what? We have to find him! What if he needs help?"
Hakuji looked away, hesitating for a moment. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. When he opened them, he locked eyes with the girl. The compassion and pity he saw reflected in her blue eyes made Nezuko take several steps back, shaking her head frantically.
"No, you're wrong!" Nezuko cried. "Tanjiro can't be dead!"
Hakuji gently shook his head. "I didn't say he was, but if this was the work of a demon and your brother isn't here..."
"THEN I'LL FIND HIM, NO MATTER WHAT!"
"If that's what you want, come with me and I'll help you find your brother."
A somewhat calmer Nezuko helped Hakuji dig several improvised graves with a pair of shovels that the Kamado family kept in the wooden shed next to their home.
The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the small hole she had been able to dig. It wasn't too deep, but it would be perfect to bury her younger brother. She walked over to where the five bodies wrapped in a blanket lay.
As she arrived, she stopped, pale. As minutes passed, she came to terms with what had happened. She closed her eyes and held back the tears that threatened to escape.
"It's not time to cry, Nezuko," she scolded herself dryly. She opened her eyes and carefully picked up the smallest body. The state Rokuta had been left in after the brutal attack came to her mind, and her face twisted in disgust as bile rose in her throat. She made a titanic effort to swallow and forced herself to keep moving.
She delicately placed the body in the hole and mechanically began covering it with snow until nothing was visible. Hakuji watched her worriedly without saying anything. He had taken care of burying Kie Kamado's body and was doing the same with one of Nezuko's siblings.
"You don't have to do this," Hakuji said kindly. "I can do it alone without any problems."
"No, I have to do it," she retorted. She turned sharply, and their eyes met. Hakuji sighed inwardly, seeing a glint of hatred in the crimson eyes of the girl. "They are my family."
"Then let's keep going," Hakuji relented. He continued with his task, and the girl imitated him.
She started digging another hole quickly. The shovel full of snow and dirt was too heavy, and Nezuko had obvious difficulty holding it. Drops of sweat beaded on the young woman's forehead, but she refused to give up, ignoring the pain beginning to creep up in her arms.
"I want to find my brother," said Nezuko after they finished burying the last member of her family. "And kill whoever did this."
Hakuji turned and looked at her thoughtfully. His eyes scanned the young girl's body, pausing briefly on her arms. He nodded in understanding and sighed. He had been dreading this moment, but he was in no position to stop her. She had every right to want to avenge her family.
"If that's what you want, come with me," Hakuji said, his tone serious. Nezuko looked at him, determined, and nodded vigorously. "I know someone who can help you."
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
Nezuko stepped back several steps, terrified by the being in front of her. She had followed Hakuji for days, trusting his word that he would help her. And he, in return, had led her to a luxurious oriental house inhabited by a monster.
Monster. There was no better way to describe the humanoid creature standing before her. Nezuko was completely paralyzed in front of the six eyes of that being, which scrutinized her minutely.
"When you wrote to me saying you had a possible pupil, I wasn't expecting this, Hakuji," reproached the being, looking away from Nezuko and focusing his eyes on the man, who remained unfazed.
"I'm convinced that Nezuko has potential," defended Hakuji immediately, smiling relaxedly.
"That's for me to decide, don't you think?"
"You won't regret it, I assure you, Kokushibo," insisted the black-haired man.
Nezuko looked incredulously at Hakuji. "Is he going to leave me alone with this monster?!" She opened her mouth with the intention of protesting, wanting to refuse all this nonsense.
"Nezuko, I can't stay much longer," declared Hakuji at that moment, adopting a more serious expression. "I have to go back to headquarters."
"Say hello to Kibutsuji for me," Kokushibo requested, sighing resignedly.
"I will!" assured Hakuji, leaving at a speed that, under normal circumstances, was impossible for an ordinary human being.
"Come in, we have a lot to talk about," Kokushibo requested, stepping away from the door. Nezuko swallowed hard. It was too late to run away, not only was it pitch black and she didn't know the area well, but it also seemed like every window in the room was covered with wooden boards. She began to pale considerably. It was starting to look less like a house and more like a prison. She swallowed hard and forced herself to obey her host's request.
"Hakuji told me that your family was killed by a demon," said Kokushibo, staring at the young woman with his six yellowish eyes. Nezuko fidgeted a little, intimidated by his scrutiny, and nodded.
"May I ask something, Mr. Kokushibo?" Nezuko asked, trembling. The man nodded, and Nezuko, still unable to hold his gaze, swallowed hard. "You're a demon, right?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so," admitted Kokushibo without hesitation. "But, unlike others, I don't need to feed on humans."
"I see..." murmured Nezuko. She began to sweat nervously and felt uneasy. Kokushibo noticed, but ignored it.
"Although Hakuji says you have potential, it's up to me to decide," the demon informed her sharply. "To prove that you're worthy of learning the Breath of the Moon, I will test you myself."
The demon watched as she clenched her fists tightly. Nezuko, overcoming her fear, lifted her head and held his gaze. The demon chuckled inwardly when he detected a glimmer of determination in her crimson eyes.
Tanjiro abruptly sat up and looked around frantically. He quickly got out of the bed he had been lying on and tried to locate the exit with his eyes. The young man was breathing heavily and had his eyes wide open, completely terrified.
When his cherry-colored eyes stopped at the door, he quickly moved towards it. He placed his right hand on the knob and pulled hard. An unpleasant sound was heard and the wooden door came off its hinges. Tanjiro let out a scream of surprise and instinctively let go of the knob. The door fell to the ground, causing a considerable commotion.
Tanjiro retreated, frightened. He looked at his right hand. He saw nothing strange about it, but what had just happened made no sense. He didn't have that kind of strength, did he? The torn door was proof enough.
The sound of someone clicking their tongue made the boy look up. A woman, possibly drawn by the noise, had just entered and was looking disapprovingly at the mess. Their eyes met, and the woman's violet eyes changed slightly, showing kindness.
"I'm glad to see you've woken up," she said, smiling amiably. "When Ubuyashiki brought you here, you were pretty bad off."
Tanjiro frowned at hearing that. He tried to remember what had happened to him, but his mind was completely blank.
"My name is Tamayo, nice to meet you," said the woman, extending her right arm. Tanjiro looked at it and followed suit, shaking hands.
"The pleasure is mine, I'm Tanjiro," he introduced himself. That was the only thing he remembered. At least he knew his name.
"You must have a lot of questions," Tamayo said kindly, "but first, I think you should eat. Your body has consumed too much energy with the transformation and healing your wounds."
"Transformation?" Tanjiro asked, frowning in confusion. Tamayo sighed a little and looked at him.
"You are a demon, like me."
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