Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. I decided to continue this story, so, here it is the fourth chapter!
Tanjiro walked through the corridors of the place. He had finished eating a while ago, and with nothing better to do, he had decided to look for the kind woman he had met earlier. However, since he didn't know the place well, he ended up getting lost. He sighed and looked at his hands.
He noticed that there was some dried blood under his nails, which annoyed him. He grumbled as he realized it would be more difficult to clean it off. Resigned to staying there until someone found him, he let himself fall to the floor and sat with his back against the wall.
Unaware, his mind began to wander in an attempt to fill the huge gaps in his memory. He closed his eyes when he felt a headache coming on and brought both hands to his head, starting to massage his temples.
"All I know is my name," the boy thought, ignoring the increasing headache. "And according to what Tamayo told me, I've just become a demon. So, what was I before? A human?"
Tanjiro clenched his teeth as the headache intensified, and he was about to dig his nails into his temple. However, in doing so, he accidentally bit his tongue and got a wound. But it only took a couple of seconds for it to heal without a trace.
"And how did I end up here exactly? Have I always lived here? No, that's not possible. But if not, where did I live before?"
He growled again, frustrated. He had the feeling that there was something very important he was forgetting, but the more he tried to remember, the more his headache intensified. He let out a groan of pain. At that moment, he felt as if his head was about to split in two, and his ears began to ring. And although he couldn't see it, he was convinced that what was running down his nose was blood.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a soft female voice. "Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?"
He tried to respond, but all that came out of Tanjiro's mouth was a pitiful groan. Instead of responding, the other person rummaged through his clothes and pulled out a cloth handkerchief. Tanjiro felt her carefully wipe his nose and gently remove his hands from his temples, using the cloth to clean the blood from there. The boy made an effort to open his eyes, even just to see that kind person who had helped him.
He was mesmerized by the beauty of the woman. She had purple eyes, one of which had something written on it, or so Tanjiro believed. He didn't understand what it meant, really. But the most striking feature of the woman were the two purple butterfly wings on her back. And the white dress she was wearing had the same design as them.
At that moment, the woman, realizing that the boy couldn't stop staring at her, laughed playfully and extended her hand. She helped him up and observed him, smiling.
"You must be the newcomer, right?" she asked. "I'm Shinobu, pleased to meet you."
"I... I'm called Tanjiro," the boy replied, somewhat blushing. Now that he wasn't focused on recovering his memories, his headache had started to ease.
"And what were you doing here, Tanjiro?"
"I got lost," he admitted. "I was looking for Tamayo, but I couldn't find her."
"Oh, poor thing," Shinobu sympathized. "But I'm afraid she's not here right now."
"Where exactly are we?" Tanjiro asked, seizing the opportunity.
"The Infinity Palace," Shinobu replied promptly. "The headquarters of our king and the Twelve Demon Moons." Tanjiro looked at her confused and was about to ask about it, but Shinobu continued speaking. "Kagaya Ubuyashiki is the king of all demons, and we, the Twelve Moons, are, so to speak, his personal guard."
"Oh..."
"Come, I'll take you to the others. They were looking forward to meeting you."
Tanjiro abruptly stopped. He still had blood staining his face and clothes. He couldn't present himself like that, what kind of first impression would he make?
"Could... Could I wash up first?" the boy timidly asked.
Shinobu observed him, her gaze becoming even kinder. "Of course, follow me. I'll show you where the showers are."
"Thank you so much, Miss Shinobu!"
Nezuko silently gazed at the ceiling of her dormitory. Due to her master's condition, the training always took place at night, from dusk until dawn, with only brief breaks for her to eat.
She let out a sigh. When she wasn't running downhill, dodging traps on the terrain, Kokushibo made her perform a thousand consecutive thrusts. It was an exhausting training regimen. But Nezuko refused to give up.
She turned on her futon and closed her eyes. At that moment, what she appreciated most was that the sunlight couldn't enter the room thanks to the planks covering the window.
"What is Tanjiro doing now?" the girl wondered. Kokushibo had told her that demons couldn't be exposed to sunlight or they would burn and die in a horrific way. Nezuko shuddered at the thought. "Tanjiro will be fine, nothing will happen to him. You're worrying over nothing, Nezuko," she scolded herself.
Memories of her family flooded her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered how happy they had been until that fateful night. It was all because of the demons. They had robbed them of their happiness.
"I swear I will avenge them, make them pay for what they've done," she promised herself. She would personally take care of it. For the future that had been stolen from them. At that point, Nezuko began to cry, unsure if her tears were due to pain and sadness, the helplessness of not being able to do anything yet, or the anger that had consumed her heart since that day.
With such gloomy thoughts, sleep slowly overcame her, and unknowingly, Nezuko drifted off into slumber.
Nezuko ran desperately uphill. The sky, for some reason she couldn't comprehend, was red. But all the girl could think about was reaching her home as soon as possible. Ever since she had finished selling all the charcoal, she had the feeling that something very bad had just happened.
At that moment, she finally caught sight of her house and quickened her pace. But as soon as she reached the clearing in front of her home, she abruptly stopped. Her older brother was crouched over Hanako's lifeless body. His face was smeared with blood, and he was eagerly chewing on something.
"T-Tanjiro?" Nezuko's voice trembled as she called out to her brother. The girl grew pale and covered her mouth with one hand. She felt the urge to vomit and cry.
Upon hearing his name, her older brother abruptly lifted his head, and their eyes met. Nezuko couldn't help but let out a scream. Tanjiro's gaze showed no trace of recognition. The boy stood up and revealed teeth too sharp to belong to a human.
Instinctively, Nezuko took a step back. But that was all she could do before Tanjiro launched himself at her. They tumbled to the ground, and the boy sank his fangs into her right shoulder. Nezuko screamed in pain and tried to push him away, but her brother was stronger than she had expected, and she couldn't move him even an inch.
Nezuko sat up abruptly, looking around in disorientation. Her heart was pounding as she recalled her dream. She brought her hands to her face and wiped away the tears streaming from her eyes.
"I-It was just a nightmare, Nezuko," she said aloud. "It's not real. Tanjiro would never do such a thing."
Although she tried to reassure herself, she couldn't calm down completely. What she had seen felt too real, and despite her resistance, the words of Hakuji and Kokushibo about demons lingered in her mind at that moment.
She raised her right hand and, without hesitation, slapped herself forcefully. Her left cheek reddened slightly. But the pain she felt served its purpose and brought Nezuko back to reality.
"How could you doubt your brother!? TANJIRO WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!" she scolded herself angrily.
She heard the door open, and Kokushibo peered in. His six eyes fixed on her, causing Nezuko to shudder under his scrutiny.
"I heard you scream. Has something happened?" the demon asked.
Nezuko sighed and briefly considered lying, but it didn't make much sense since it was obvious that she wasn't okay. "Just a nightmare," she replied.
Kokushibo silently observed her for several seconds. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked, approaching her.
Nezuko vehemently shook her head and tightly gripped the futon. She looked down at the floor in silence.
"Come with me to the kitchen," Kokushibo then requested. Nezuko raised her head and looked at him, not understanding. The demon cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable, and added, "The best thing in a situation like this is to have a relaxing infusion. Otherwise, you won't be able to sleep, am I wrong?"
"No..."
Reluctantly, the girl followed Kokushibo, and when they reached the kitchen, she sat on one of the chairs while the demon poured water into a teapot. He placed it on the stove and turned it on.
Neither of them spoke as Kokushibo prepared the infusion. It wasn't an awkward silence, and Nezuko appreciated that because, at that moment, she didn't feel like talking.
Unaware, she became lost in her thoughts and didn't realize that Kokushibo had finished making the tea. When he placed the cup in front of her, Nezuko couldn't help but startle and raise her gaze.
"Here you go. Blow on it before you drink, or you'll burn your tongue," he said.
Nezuko nodded absentmindedly and obeyed. She took a small sip and observed the contents of the cup. It was green tea, one of her favorites. She smiled a little nostalgically. Her mother also loved it and would always prepare it whenever she could.
"I dreamt of my family's death," the girl confessed, not taking her eyes off the cup. "But it was my brother who devoured them."
"I'm so sorry," Kokushibo said, it being the first thing that came to his mind. He wasn't sure what he could say at that moment. Admitting that such a scenario was highly probable wouldn't be a good idea.
"I know it wasn't real. Tanjiro would never do that. He's too kind for something like that."
"You have a lot of trust in him," Kokushibo commented.
"Of course!" Nezuko exclaimed, indignant. "I know him well!"
Kokushibo sighed and didn't say anything further about it.
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