Tanjuro and Sanemi travelled down the road as the sun started to set. "I don't think we're going to get back to Urokodaki's house tonight. I think it would be safer if we stayed in a town for the night Sanemi" Tanjuro said. "Right, that makes sense" the white-haired boy agreed. Suddenly Tanjuro heard a scream. The Demon picked up Sanemi and carried him on his back to find the person in trouble. "What is it?" Sanemi asked in confusion, as his adoptive Father ran towards the sound. "When I get there, stay behind me, okay?" Tanjuro said. "Right. I'm not a Demon Slayer yet, I don't want to end up causing problems" Sanemi agreed.
"Mommy! Daddy! Help! Please, someone! A monster is attacking us!" a little girl screamed. Tanjuro ran into a side street, finding a Demon attacking a family. The Father was on the ground, blood coming out of his throat. Tanjuro leapt towards it but the Demon dodged. In fact it seemed to disappear. The Demon Kamado stretched out his senses, but it seemed to have just vanished. Suddenly the little girl screamed, "behind you Mr! Look out!" she cried. Tanjuro turned around just in time to dodge an attack from the other Demon as it phased back into existence, and tried to swipe at him. He ignited his Sword in flames and slashed the Demon's had off, "Raging Sun!" he cried.
As it turned to ashes, he checked on the man, but he had no pulse. The Demon grit his teeth, before moving towards the Mother. Tanjuro lifted her Mother gently off of her daughter, as Sanemi checked over the little girl. "I think she's unconscious" Sanemi said. Tanjuro looked over the woman, finding that she had three deep claw marks over her left eye. "We have to get them to a Doctor" he said. "Okay" Sanemi agreed, picking up the little girl and hurrying after his Father as he carried the woman.
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The Doctor came out to them as Tanjuro and Sanemi sat in the waiting room, "are they okay?" the Demon asked. "The little girl is fine, she woke up soon after you brought her in. She kept talking about some monster that had killed her Father and injured her Mother. The poor girl must have got confused because of the trauma. They must have been attacked by a wolf or something outside of town. Neither of them have records in this town." The Doctor said. Tanjuro's lips thinned into a line. He really wished that people knew about Demons.
"Can I see her?" Tanjuro asked. "Maybe that's not a good idea Sir. She's hysterical" the Doctor replied. Tanjuro smiled, "don't worry, it'll be okay" he replied. He turned to Sanemi, "can you stay here for me?" Tanjuro asked. "Okay" he said. The Doctor led him to a room and opened the door. "Hey Akemi. You have a visitor." He said, but the sneer on his face told the Kamado all he needed to know. He ignored the Doctor and entered the room. He found the Auburn-haired girl sitting up in bed. She looked up at him when he entered, and the sad look on her face lifted.
"It's you! You saved Mommy and I" she said with a small smile. "My name is Tanjuro Kamado, I'm the one who saved you, yes" Tanjuro smiled, "I'm glad you're alright" he said. "My name is Akemi. Thank you for saving us. I don't know why no one will believe me about the monster. It really did kill Daddy!" the little girl began to sob, fat tears streaming down her face. Tanjuro moved over to her, "I know. I'm sorry I couldn't get there in time Akemi." He said, hugging the little girl as she cried. "I'm glad that you and your Mother are both alright though. Have they told you anything about her?" Tanjuro asked. Akemi sniffled, "n-no. They haven't told me anything about Mommy" she replied.
"I'm sure she'll be alright. And she'll be relieved that you're safe Akemi. Children should always be their parent's greatest treasure" Tanjuro replied softly. "D-do you have children Mr Kamado?" she asked through her sniffles. "Yes, I have a lot. I have 6 children, and 8 more that I adopted. I love all of them more than anything. Except my Wife. In fact, I have one of my Sons from the children that I adopted here with me. Do you want to meet him?" Tanjuro asked. Akemi nodded, and he stood up with a smile, "okay, I'll go get him now" he replied.
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Tanjuro walked out to the waiting room to get Sanemi. He hoped that Akemi's Mother's injuries weren't bad. When he'd checked her over before, her worst injury had been her destroyed eye. When he got there, he found the white-haired boy sitting on his chair still. "Hey Sanemi, do you want to come meet the little girl? She's awake now" Tanjuro asked him as he walked over. The white-haired boy looked up, "sure," he replied, standing up from his seat. They went back to the room to find Akemi laying back in bed. "I'm back Akemi. This is Sanemi, one of my children" Tanjuro introduced the boy.
Akemi smiled slightly, "hello. It's nice to meet you" she said. Sanemi suddenly flushed bright red, and looked away, "um, yeah. Nice to- meet you too. I'm glad you're, doing okay" he stuttered. Tanjuro's eyes widened. Did Sanemi have a crush on Akemi? Looking between the two, he could see that they were the same age- he smiled warmly, glad for the two of them. He hoped they could be good friends. And then later on- maybe more. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, as he looked at the 12-year-old girl, "hey Akemi, can I ask you a question?" Tanjuro asked as he sat down on one of the chairs beside the bed.
At the little girl's nod, he asked his question, "how did you know that the De- the monster was going to attack me from behind before it even reappeared?" Tanjuro asked. Akemi suddenly withdrew into herself, shrinking down in the bed, "I- I'm not allowed to tell you. Mommy said not to ever tell anyone!" she replied nervously. Tanjuro blinked. He decided to try a different approach, "do you know why it attacked you?" he asked. The little girl looked down, "it said something about- m-mareechi or something, I think. I don't remember" Akemi replied. Tanjuro frowned. So either Akemi, or one of her parents was a Marchi.
Sanemi looked at the girl, "being a Marechi means you have a special type of blood. It's very nutritious for those things. They eat humans, so, a Marechi is like a feast for them" he explained. Tanjuro looked down at the boy, "Sanemi, don't scare her!" he reprimanded gently. The white-haired boy looked up at him seriously, "if she's really a Marechi, she has to know these things for her and her Mother's safety Dad" he replied seriously. Tanjuro sighed, before looking down at Akemi apologetically, "it's true I'm afraid. One sniff of your blood and most Demons will be drawn into a hungered frenzy" the Demon explained. Akmemi looked pale, "b-before the Mon- I mean, the Demon attacked us, I fell over and scrapped my knee," she began to tremble, "I- drew it to us. Daddy is dead because of me!" she began to sob, and curled up into a ball on the bed.
"It's all my fault! Daddy!" she wailed, clutching her pillow tight. Tanjuro looked down at the little girl sadly, feeling his heart break for her. He placed a hand on Akemi's shoulder, "it wasn't your fault Akemi. It was just an accident. It could have happened anytime" Tanjuro assured her. Akemi's cries slowed, "the Doctor will want you to leave" she muttered into her pillow. "Huh?" Sanemi asked. Suddenly the Doctor walked into the room, "alright, visiting hours are over. Please leave" he said, but Tanjuro narrowed his eyes at the man's tone of voice.
He looked down at the girl, would she be alright here by herself? "Akemi, I have to take Sanemi back to the house where he's training. But I should be able to come back soon. We can talk more then, okay?" he asked. Akemi nodded silently. Tanjuro stood up with the white-haired boy, "I'll see you later, okay?" he asked gently. The little girl didn't reply, so he and Sanemi left the Hospital. "Do you think she'll be okay there by herself?" the young boy asked. "I don't know, and that's what worries me. Come on. Let's get this done quickly, so I can come back and check on them" Tanjuro replied seriously.
