Howdy guys. As I said in my other fic "The Wandering Fox", I will be sharing my time with this and the other fic.
I also am planning on posting my own story, something original. I don't know where I will post it though. I've seen Archive of Your Own, Commaful and Royal Road, but I will try my best to find a easy and safe place to post it. Not now, obviously. I'm not that famous. Yet.
I should thank PaulyThide for inspiring me to do it. By the way, go read his fic, it's really good. Especially the "Demon Empress".
I wrote this story on Wattpad for only 5 people to see, but I wrote it in Portuguese, and my country isn't famous for their reading habits, or lack thereof I suppose.
Anyway, I thank for the 3 followers!
"I hope you don't nerf Freya for plot convenience"
No problem friend. I wasn't going to make her useless.
Tanjiro was a happy boy. He told his family about his encounter with the foreigner and they were more than delighted to see that the older Man of the family finally got a crush.
The amount of teasing was gonna be engraved in Tanjiro's mind.
He pushed these awkwardness aside, since it's just his family caring for him. Ever since his father, Kamado Tanjuro, died.
Tanjuro was a frail man with black hair tipped with red, red eyes, and a pale skin complexion. His son Tanjiro has a striking resemblance to him in hair and eye color. He suffered from an illness that made him frail and caused his skin to appear dull. He had a mark on his forehead, but the origins of said mark are a mystery.
Hopefully it wasn't a burn of hot water.
Ever since, Tanjiro needed to work to keep his family safe, just like his father did. Tanjuro was, for all intents and purposes, a simple and humble man. He didn't like to have a spotlight on him, always doing his own share of work.
He also did this strange dance, the [Kagura Dance]. Even with his weak body and the constant snow from being on a isolated place of the Japanese Empire, he still could do this dance for hours. Tanjiro could only see his father as an example of determination and motivation.
Being a great teacher helped. Tanjuro always talked about various topics of life, society, philosophy and people in general. If not for these times, maybe Tanjiro wouldn't be half the person he is.
He taught Tanjiro and his entire family that life has value, purpose and justice.
When he met the strange woman, Freya if he recalled, she basically spoke about the same topics as his father, but the conversation quickly turned more deep as each frase was spoken. Even existential crisis made themselves know.
The story of the world and it's religion, myths, culture and differences between the basics as "personal space" greatly intrigued the young man. Tanjiro Sighed internally, knowing full well that he wasn't going to experience one percent of what Freya told him.
He prepared another basket of coal. Another day of work, just as usual.
"Tanjiro?", Kie's voice echoed as she looked for her son.
"Yes?", Tanjiro replied, still putting some coal in the basket.
"Your face is all dirty, boy. You will clean this face of yours before leaving", She scolded him, just as a preocupied mother would.
"Don't worry mom, I won't show myself like... this... Wow I stink", He said sniffing himself.
"If you're saying that with that nose, imagine me. I am not even near you", She joked, giving a small chuckle, "Come here".
Tanjiro did as she asked. She took of a handkerchief as cleaned the boys face. He was a soft boy, who was one of the most precious people in here life. She could only feel guilty seeing her oldest son work so hard for them.
"You don't need to go. It's too cold, even for us", She said with her soothing voice.
"I just want everyone to eat well until the year ends", He said, full well knowing that she won't stop him from doing such a. noble act, "I will try to sell as many as I can".
"Thank you", Kie said after a brief silence.
She couldn't stop him, even if she tried. He is just that pure.
"Hey, brother!", Shigeru called after running towards him, "Are you going to the city again? Visit that lady you saw the other days?"
"I will go with you!", Hanako declared protectively.
Much to Takeo's surprise. Ever since Tanjiro spoke about this woman, everyone in the family got curious, especially after he told them about the stories. How they have these "guns" that can shoot "bullets" and whatnot.
"No you won't", Kie said, killing the hopes of the children, "You know that you can't go as fast as Tanjiro when he gets serious. And he can't let you go on the wheel cart".
"Mom... Please...", Shigeru tried his puppy eyes. Unfortunately for him, she saw these eyes for far longer than he lived.
"No, and that's final", She said with finality and precision.
"C'mon guys, take care of home for me and I will bring a lot of delicious food in compensation", Tanjiro said giving head pats to his siblings.
"Really?"
"And I'll tell more stories about lady Freya, if she has more stories", Tanjiro promised, but soon regretted.
"So you are going to see her!"
Way to go, Tanjiro.
"Enough you two!", Takeo said, even though he didn't have the authority to do so.
"Hey, Takeo, can you cut the wood? As much as you can?", Tanjiro asked, briskly changing the subject.
"Yeah, I can but... I wanted to cut with you...", He pouted.
Takeo was slightly envious about the whole "responsibility" thing.
Tanjiro's reply was to head pat.
"There, there", He said as he caressed the boy's hair.
"What's with you now?!"
"You're blushing, Takeo", Kie said, much to everyone's amusement.
The amusement soon turned to laugh. This exchange was very common in the Kamado Family. They loved each other and would do everything in their power to help of needed.
That's is one of the many reasons why Tanjiro in content with his life.
"Safe travels!", The family said in unison.
He didn't walk too much until he saw his sister, Nezuko waving at him.
"Hey", She said quietly.
She's carrying Rokuta, who was peacefully sleeping in the Haori of Nezuko.
"Nezuko".
"I was putting Rokuta to sleep. You know how sad he would be when you left. Everyone is looking for you now since our father died", She said smiling at Rokuta.
Tanjiro, again, head pats one of his siblings.
They said their good-byes, both walking in different directions.
"Our life isn't easy, but we are together", Tanjiro thought.
But time changes. Even the snow stops falling. Happy times can't remains forever, and with every happiness that ends, comes the smell of blood.
Freya had a frown in her face.
The incident of yesterday was still fresh in her mind. It was too sudden and too memorable to forget. I mean, how many times you can witness and fight another species in a world full of humans?
Excluding Freya, no one could.
Despite her desire to rest, she couldn't. The decades she spent studying pretty much everything there is to learn in the world never spoke about "Vampire-ish Demons" nor about their unique characteristics. Not even the libraries of the Old Nine Realms had anything similar.
The problem was that they became ash as soon as the sun shines on them. Meaning that even experimenting is quite tricky. But if one could take perspective on the Vampirism side, maybe it's something biological? Maybe alchemy? Too much to think.
She opened a bunch of History Books, searching for tales and similar entries or records of suchlike events. She found a few, but they are most of the time too vague for any conclusion to be made. It gave the overall idea of what it should be and look like, but there is no indubitable evidence.
After a few groans of annoyance, Freya decided to study this later. She would need a lot of preparation. A place hidden enough for experimentation and a few "employees" to help her. She still has her Rune of Frigg that she can use to maybe convince some of the Frigg Clan to help her in some way.
She glanced at the window of her room. It has daylight.
"I lost one night of sleep", She thought, sighing inwardly.
"TANJIRO!"
A rather loud voice made her wince, since it was a very calm and silent moment in her life. And "loud" to a woman that didn't sleep wasn't a good sign.
"You've appeared on a perfect timing! They've accused me of breaking this pot! Give it a snif", A man in a rather deplorable state begged Tanjiro.
He did snif it, much to Freya's amusement.
"It smells like a cat", He said after thinking a bit.
"SEE?!"
"So it was a cat...", a woman, probably the one that dragged the poor man said with rue.
Freya grabbed her stuff and left her room. The boy was probably going to talk with her again. It's been a few days and his company was quite enjoyable. A little partner of sorts. It reminded her of the few times of happiness she had with Baldur before the... well...
"Lady Freya! It's good to see you again!", The boy said making Freya leave her thoughts.
"I see you're seeling coal again. Even with this snow", She commented giving a small smile.
"Oh, this? It's nothing compared to starvation in the middle of winter", He gags, but with some dark honesty behind it.
"Oi, Tanjiro! Can you help me with these boxes?", A old man asked tiredly.
"Sure! I'm sorry, but we'll need to talk later, lady Freya", He said, taking a bow.
"You assume I can't carry boxes, young Tanjiro?", She teased the boy, who could only fluster in embarrassment.
"No! That's not what I—"
Both Freya and the old man start laughing.
"Dammit Tanjiro! That's the second time today!"
"It's getting dark", Tanjiro said, looking at the sky.
Both him and the unknown goddess are going to his house, per his invite. He did so much for everyone in the village that he barely had time to talk with her. Add to the fact that everyone is rather curious about Freya and the invitation has some solid convincing basing.
"At least you sold everything. The people in there seem to like you", Freya said, while turning a few pages in her book.
Despite helping Tanjiro in some tasks and also taking time to speak with him, she never stopped looking for clues as to the Demon's origins.
"Everyone looked at you, like you're some kind of goddess", Tanjiro said thoughtfuly, not noticing how true his statement was.
Freya blinked at that. She had an idea.
"Well, you started speaking a lot with me in recent days. Maybe they are envious of you for having the privilege to speak with a gorgeous lady like me, huh?", She said remembering some women's faces when she arrived at the village. They had quite a murderous gaze...
"Yeah, maybe— Wait, what?!", Tanjiro blushed hard.
She wasn't the Goddess of Love — And many other dominions of Godly titles — for nothing.
Freya didn't look at him that way, of course. She has eons of age, and this boy has probably like, twelve? thirteen? To be frank, everyone else is a baby compared to her. But it never got old to see the reactions to such teasing.
It got awkwardly silent after this.
"Hey! You two are going up the mountain?", A man asked in his humble house.
"Huh? O-oh, yes! We are", Tanjiro answers, still blushing.
"You two shouldn't go this late at night. Come in, I'll let you sleep here", He offered with genuine concern, "The demons are watching".
They accepted, although Tanjiro did show he wanted to protest. Freya was intrigued by the last comment of the man, which basically sold her over.
After a nice meal after a hard day of working, Tanjiro felt like something was off. Like he shouldn't be here.
"Hey, Uncle Saburo, how are demons like?"
This question raised both Freya and the now named Saburo attention.
"The demons that devour the man come when the sun sets down. That's why we shouldn't go out in the middle of the night", Saburo replies, while he puts his futon down.
That information was underwhelming to Freya. It's common knowledge, yeah. But she kinda wanted something more coherent. Maybe she's asking too much from a simple commoner.
With a plain face, Tanjiro still thinks about it, "So they don't enter the houses?"
"They do", Freya says, joining in the conversation.
"But then everyone would be devoured", was the childish conclusion of Tanjiro.
"That's why the Demon Hunters kill them, protecting us since a long time", The mas says after lighting a smoking pipe.
"Ok, that's new", Freya thought.
She's never heard about these "Demon Hunters" before. Maybe they are a new Clan? But if so, she would've read about them already. No, they would be more secret, a open secret of sorts of this man knows about them. But again, Freya did have a lot of people when she opened her hospital. Something like that should have gotten in the reports. Yet, not a single mention of them was made in her thirty years of service.
Weird.
"Safe travels", Saburo said while both his guests left.
Freya and Tanjiro said their goodbyes and walked forth the mountain.
The Goddess managed to sleep really well, despite being in a stranger's house. Tanjiro seemed to trust Saburo, so she didn't bother. What she did bother was to ask more about those Hunters. The information was small, but not useless.
Apparently, a group is trained to specifically kill these demons. They use swords made of "Nichirin" or in blunt terms, Scarlet Ore. The location as of where the ore is, he didn't know, nor how it works. She thanked the man who was rather pleased to talk about it and not be ridiculed.
After this small chat, she searched for any Nichirin related records in her books since she woke up. But at least for now, she doesn't know much.
"Is that...", Tanjiro spoke, which made Freya put the book away for now.
"What's wrong?", She asked, a bit distressed at the face Tanjiro was making.
"It's blood!", He said after sprinting towards his house.
Freya needed to run seriously, since the boy was running as if his life depended on in. It's unusual to see this coming from Tanjiro, but whatever the "it's blood" meant, for mortals at least, usually is bad.
She had some experiences with blood she'd rather not remember.
The boy finally came to stop, but was hyperventilating. It wasn't because he ran, but of what he is seeing.
Freya looked and saw a girl and a child, dead with blood everywhere.
"Nezuko! What happened here?! What's going on?!", He screamed at no one in particular. His emotions speaking for him.
Freya analyzed the corpses. It was obvious that these attacks weren't made by a blade. She looked at Tanjiro who was looking inside his house, with the other family members in a similar state.
Tanjiro felt like puking right there and then. He muttered every name of his family, the next being harder to say than the previous.
"This is too convenient", Freya thought.
She touched the girl Tanjiro refered as "Nezuko". She was still warm. But didn't have a pulse?
"She's alive", Freya says, still unsure.
"I can't breathe! The air is too cold! My legs can't go faster... Go faster dammit!", Tanjiro thought while carrying Nezuko in the snowstorm.
Freya offered to carry her, but since the boy isn't in the right state of mind, he refused.
Nezuko didn't look harmed. She wasn't beaten, cut, violated or anything. She was, for all intents and purposes, completely fine. But Freya watched the girl intently, as if something was odd about her. Was her skill usually that pale?
"Grrr", Came a groan from the girl.
"What?", Freya thought confused.
The girl started to twitch and move violently. Tanjiro lost balance and was starting to fall, but thanks to Freya jumping and cathing him mid-air, he wasn't harmed in any way.
"Where is she?", the boy asked, still worried.
The look around and see her, standing there. Menacingly.
"Nezuko! You don't need to walk, I'm gonna carry you there, ok?", He asked while approaching the girl.
"I have a bad feeling about this...", Freya whispers.
Tanjiro put his hands in Nezuko's shoulders, trying to comfort her. Only for said girl oper her jaw and show fangs so big that could make a panther jealous. The boy managed to use the axe that was still with him to not be bitten by his own sister, which on itself is a traumatic event.
Freya stopped being shocked and took action. From what she could understand, it wasn't her who killed everyone. She doesn't have blood in her arms or legs, only her head, meaning she was attacked.
"[Biding Roots]", Freya casts her magic in her Vanir language.
As soon as she speaks, many tree roots bind her in place. Tanjiro looks at Freya with shock and relief, since he can now breathe without the impending danger of dying.
"What's that?", He asked as he looks at the glowing hands and tattoos of Freya.
"Not now", She says, almost authoritative, "She became a Demon".
"I know, but it wasn't her who killed everyone! It had another scent, someone else did that!", He please to the woman, who shook her head.
"I know, but that is still our problem", She said, pointing at Nezuko.
The girl, who was a bit shorter than Tanjiro, suddenly got as big as Freya and with muscles as big as Kratos, which forced the Wich to reinforce her spell.
"Two spells, eight remaining".
"Hold on Nezuko! Don't give up! Please, don't become a Demon!", The boy tried to calm his sister as best as he could.
Freya heard someone walking, no, running towards them.
The grunts and growls of Nezuko suddenly stopped and were replaced by crying. Tears falled down from her eyes to Tanjiro's cheeks. Her feral physic was gradually going back to normal. Much to Tanjiro's relief.
Out of instinct, Freya saw a man coming from above with a sword in his hand, ready to strike down the girl.
"[Iron Construct]!", Freya ran, creating a sword with her magic, quickly blocking the attack of the stranger.
The clash was so strong and had so much impact that made both siblings roll away.
The stranger, even if he had a stoic and unreadable expression, he failed in conceal his surprise at the Vanir Goddess.
"Why you two are protecting her?", The man asked. His voice was calm and collected.
"She's my sister! Of course I will!", Tanjiro shouted while Freya remained silent.
The man frowns a this, clearly irked.
Nezuko suddenly gets a reaction, trying her best to leave her brother's grasp.
"You call that thing your sister?", He asked, still irritated.
He suddenly dashes out to attack again, only to be blocked by Freya. She doesn't stop, attacking the man when the opportunity came. Whoever he is, managed to dodge the attack with a back-step.
He "tsk"ed, "My job is to kill Demons. And obviously, I'm decapitating your sister", He said with a monotonous voice.
"So they need to be decapitated. But I did it and it didn't work. Maybe it's those Nichirin related weapons", Freya rationalized.
"But she didn't kill anyone! I don't know why she is like that now, but it wasn't her who killed everyone! It was someone else!", Tanjiro pleaded, still not fully trusting Freya's abilities.
"It's simple, really", he said, nonchalantly, "Your sister's wounds got exposed to the blood of a Demon, which made her one herself".
"She wouldn't devour a man!", Tanjiro shouts, still worried.
At this, the man sighs in annoyance, exhaling by the nose, "You gotta me kidding me. She was ready to devour you if not for that woman's... abilities".
His voice was full of suspicion and Freya noticed it. What she didn't notice was that Nezuko wasn't with Tanjiro. She started to run in the direction of the man, taking his opportunity to make her hostage. It was so fast that only Freya could see it, and even so, he was not in a hurry to save someone. He stopped.
Why he didn't kill her, was something that they didn't know.
"No!", The boy screamed, "Please! I can save her! I can cure her! So please, don't kill the last of my family!"
"It's impossible. There is no way a Demon can return to be human".
"What is he waiting for?", Freya was starting to realize something. She looked back to Tanjiro.
Only to see him, face on the snow, begging for mercy.
"Please... I will find a way, I won't let her kill anyone... I will find who did this... Please...", His voice was... desperate. Deplorable. Miserable.
"Tsk".
The man made a grimace, but not one of pity.
"You fool! Don't give others the chance to kill you!", He shouted full of anger.
That took both Freya and Tanjiro off guard.
"Stop prostrating yourself! If that did any good your family wouldn't be dead!", He continued in the same time of voice, "A walking who can't take initiative in a situation like this can save his sister?!".
Tanjiro looked like he had an epiphany. He basically invited the man to do as he pleased with both him and his sister. His job was to kill, which meant that in situations like these, this would be the best possible scenario.
"The demons might know who to cure her, but you really think that begging would make them, devourers of man, give it to you?! They wouldn't even respect you! Obviously, I don't respect you right now, because I only see a stupid weakling trying to beg me something!"
Call it rude, but even if it's a tough way to say it, it's the truth.
"Why didn't you un-sheath your axe? Why didn't you attack me? Why did you stop looking to me and put your head in the ground? All these mistakes would make successful to your sisters capture, if not for that woman!"
After this rather emotional speech, he recollected himself. Now, full of determination, he prepared his blade.
"This is a test", Freya thought, "He wants to see what Tanjiro will do".
"No!", Tanjiro threw a stone at him while he grabbed his axe.
Freya saw the whole exchange, but didn't pay that much attention. She realized earlier that whoever this man is, was just testing the boy. The irrefutable proof that Nezuko wasn't going to attack anyone was when she herself protected Tanjiro from whatever the man was going to do.
After that, Freya casted [Sweet Dreams] on the siblings. Nezuko so she won't enter a berserk state and Tanjiro so he can rest.
"There, now we can talk", Freya said while dispelling her previous sword.
She wanted to talk with this man for a few reasons. The first is that she doesn't know about the Demon Hunters. The other is that this man has magic levels. Which is good news for Freya. Maybe she can go back to the Eight Realms.
The man was silent, still looking at the siblings with a unreadable expression. He seemed to think, to reflect about something...
"Who are you?", He said, sword still in hand.
"Freya Vanadís. Although my surname is more of a title than family heritage", She said while putting Nezuko near Tanjiro, "And you are?"
"Giyu..."
"Very well, Giyu. Thank you for not killing my friend and his sister. I suppose you have questions, but consider mine as well", She said in a friendly tone, but still sharp and on guard.
"You're a foreigner...", Giyu eyed the Goddess, "Are you affiliated with any clans? Maybe on a diplomatic mission?".
"Yes and no. I have an insignia of the Frigg Clan, but I'm not in any mission", She said, showing the insignia.
"Those abilities of yours, they aren't [Blood Arts]... None that I can recall", He commented with a frown.
"I certainly don't use blood in my magic, although this type of magic does exist", She said, showing her tattoos.
Giyu finally sheaths his sword. This "Freya" isn't a demon. And even if she is, they are not that far of the unclouded areas, so he could follow her if his paranoia is worth something.
"Now that I've answered, maybe you could listen to me".
"Go on".
"Who do you work for?"
"The Demon Slayer Corps", He said after a brief pause.
Ok, at least this organization has a name. It narrows down Freya's research.
"What is your rank?"
"[Hashira]. Basically one of the Admiral or Grand Marshal of my organization".
"Wow, that's basically the top of any military", Freya thought.
And that's very disappointing. His magical levels are decent. If he is one of the best of his field, she can't expect better numbers from anyone else. Maybe retired Slayers, but that's it.
"Why did you decide to test Tanjiro?"
He hesitated before speaking, as if considering his next words, "I know how he feels. Showing weakness will only lead to disaster in his life. But his words have truth. Is so, he needs to improve himself".
"How?", Freya asked, interest peaked.
"He needs to train with Sankonji Urokodaki. He lives at the start of Mount Sagiri. That is if he ever wants to cure his sister", He says while putting a hand in the bridge of his nose.
"I know the place. We'll travel there shortly", She said, tending to the siblings.
"'We'? Why are you going there?"
"To see it for myself. I work for the Frigg, if there is a cure they will want it and they will pay me", Freya gave a basic motivation, not that Giyu needed to know.
"You know this path will lead to pain, right?"
"Every path that's is worth has pain in it", She said sagely.
That even took Giyu by surprise.
"Very well, safe travels".
"Safe travels".
Date of Publication: 14th, October, 2023