The Dancing Star

Chapter 3

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.


Tanjirou's POV


Have you ever had an event occur in your life that caused you to adapt to the change in environment?

Earth shares many different climates, different conditions, and different standards to survive. Even the most desolate and harshest of environments on the planet, when looking deeper is always brimming with life.

Tanjirou was adaptable to the changing environments his life threw at him. He currently lived on a snowy mountain, a place that had air thinner than what those could handle. But not for the Kamados. The Kamados had been living on the mountain house for centuries, and have adapted to the environment. Tanjirou was able to run up and down the mountain with a bag on his bag, thanks to this. This was what adaptation did when it was allowed to strive.

While it was from an environmental standpoint, it also extended to certain situations that resulted in social decisions. For example, when he was kicked out of the house, he realized he would have to perform the Hinokami Kagura to keep himself insulated, whilst gaining tips when he danced at the place of worship.

This dance would occur from sunset to sunrise.

Whilst Tanjirou being kicked out occurred irregularly, and only when he failed badly, the act of being kicked out to perform the Hinokami Kagura was an annual event, on New Year's Eve, to the point that he did it himself. The downside was that he never got to celebrate it once with his family. No doubt did he miss some family bonding time during those times.

So it wasn't just the environment that one could adapt to. Then, there were questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. In one example, Tanjirou would occasionally smell something horrid whenever he and his siblings would go to sleep. It was infrequent, but reoccurring. Whenever he would ask his parents about the weird smell, they would dismiss it too suddenly and suspiciously. If Tanjirou got too adamant about wanting an answer about it, he would suffer a beating from his parents.

Tanjirou knew it was best to remain quiet about the smell, only managing to endure it and discouraging the rest of his siblings from asking too much about it. For their safety of course.

As a coal burner, his family did not have 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.

To further worsen their poor living conditions, Tanjirou and his siblings were sometimes the subjects of abuse. Suffering injuries that varied through bruises and scars across their body, in combination with Tanjirou having to burn and sell the coal to the village, he certainly was a strong individual despite overexerting himself. Alas, it was impressive how one can adapt to certain events. Either you survived or died.

His father and mother would hurt him and his siblings badly, and he was no stranger to having scars on his torso to show this. Some burn marks, some whips, and other scars that he has a story for, whether it was protecting his siblings, or being unable to progress in swinging a wooden blade, Tanjirou had a lot to tell.

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. Even if his father was abusive to them when it came to them progressing their sword skills, Tanjirou thought there was another, external reason.

Tanjirou could always smell a sense of regret hanging onto his father. Not to mention the look he gives his eldest son as if he was apologizing for what he was about to do. Even despite the conditions, he had to care for his younger siblings, and so he had to work to care for them. His advanced smell also further helped his reputation around the village, since then he could be able to help people find lost things, or even survey a suspected crime scene.

The topic of love and affection was something the Kamado siblings never learned, for their parents were unable to show them that. Instead, they only knew the concept of care, fear, and protection as a result of the environment they were living in.

Tanjuro was a large part of Tanjirou and the family's lives. To Tanjirou, his father was a conflicting figure. On the one hand, he always had a sort of calmness around him. He seemed genuine, with a nice aura. The only problem was that his soul seemed tainted, and hurt. As if someone was pulling the strings on his father's and mother's souls. However, Tanjirou was never able to decipher it.

As much as his parents' souls were hurting, they were guarded, and they only fought back whenever Tanjirou tried to intervene, getting more scars as he tried. Eventually, he gave up, and could only manage with the horrendous smell he kept smelling sometimes. He tried, especially considering the advice his father had given him, but regardless, the threat and influx of beatings only served to stop Tanjirou on his track.

When his father passed away due to a chronic illness that deteriorated his health 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. In the end, even when sick, his father would sometimes hurt him, albeit it hurt much less.

Even if his father was the subject of countless conflicted thoughts Tanjirou had, he was still his father, and he would do what he could.

"Useless... Worthless..." Tanjirou shook his head. He knew his father probably didn't mean it, as he could smell the lying intent his father was telling the strange individual. Even if his father was terrible to himself sometimes, Tanjirou did have some notable conversations with him.

"I'm sure my father had a reason to call me that... But who am I kidding... I don't know any scenario in which my father would express disappointment in me..." Tanjirou sighed as he remembered his thoughts. As optimistic as he wished, it was ultimately futile.

In the end, he failed to make enough money and 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.

He felt like a failure and ironically felt so useless and worthless, being unable to save his father.

It was just like the words his father had once told him. He had failed to save him from his illness, only realizing how severe it was until it was too late...

"Maybe I am just a failure... A man of no value in this world..." Tanjirou thought to himself. Before he was about to fall into his thoughts, he felt something in his side pocket.

It was the book of the Hinokami Kagura. Almost immediately, Tanjirou felt his thoughts fade away from his head. He felt capable again as the memories of happiness he had whilst performing the Hinokami Kagura. It was enough to make him feel happy about himself, especially since his father had complimented his work on the dance.

"One day, even the people who didn't believe in you will tell everyone how they met you."

Tanjirou remembered that was a quote from the book. Seems the book liked to have some quotes relating to insecurities in a battle environment.

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. Even if his family were prone to mistakes, but even through this, Tanjirou knew he had to be better than them.

His family life was far from perfect and stable. Every day, Tanjirou felt fear from his parents. Fear that if he messed up, he would be subject to pain. There was never a day when Tanjirou was not beaten up for his supposed failures. The very pain he would continuously feel. He wished he could have adapted and had it hurt less, but that was not the case. If anything, they hurt the more it came, especially when it came from the people he looked up to.

Every time he was around his father, he was either hurt or insulted for being worthless and useless. Except for one thing.

The only thing he could do according to his father... The only thing he wasn't a failure in, and if anything, the one thing he excelled at.

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? Sadly, it was the only thing his father had ever taught him, specifically with bonding time.

Tanjirou was able to do it within 6 months of learning, whilst his father revealed it took him 2-3 years of practicing, trial, and error before he was able to do it perfectly.

As for the breakdown of the actual dance, 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.

All the while, Tanjurou would be forcing his children to perform sword strikes with breathing techniques, for reasons Tanjirou and the children were unsure about.

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. This was somewhat different than what was usually done.

Tanjirou would always be kicked out around New Year's Eve, with a book telling him the instructions to start and prepare for the Hinokami Kagura. This included hanufuda earrings, a robe to get to eventually start dancing, and a set location in the village.

That way, they would get extra money, and in addition, safety. But from what? Tanjirou was unsure. His father had always told him he only did this to protect his children, but aside from a reoccurring horrendous smell, Tanjirou was never able to see whoever was threatening his family. A beatdown from his father when he brought it up shut Tanjirou down.

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, once again, there was nothing weird about Tanjirou it seemed, other than being believed to become a strong swordsman.

The only times he remembered fondly of his father was when he was younger.

Most specifically, he remembered a story he was told by his father about his ancestors.

"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. This was before his father suddenly began to become more ruthless, wanting his children to swing swords and breathe properly.

A 4-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. As he got older, he learned more about demons, and whilst he never once encountered one, he had a feeling they were alive.

The main reason, was that why else would people talk about them? For starters, his father, grandmother, and Saburo all told their vision and experiences regarding demons. That meant they had to be alive unless those three were unwell.

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. He was learning, and was very quick in learning it, almost being better at it than his father.

As a result, the Hinokami Kagura was something Tanjirou held deep in his heart. Even when he was bombarded with the words of hatred, uselessness, hopeless, worthless, and everything by his parents, the Hinokami Kagura held his heart together, reminding him that he was at least a good dancer. It became such a crutch for Tanjirou that he began to perform it whenever he was stressed.

Unfortunately, his father would only hurt him more. He would tell Tanjirou that the ritual was forbidden in the house and to never be used around or near the proximity. Tanjirou didn't know why, and thus he resorted to just dancing whenever he felt pushed into a corner by the reoccurring words of demoralization his parents always told about him.

Even if they didn't mean it, it still hurt and left an everlasting impact on Tanjirou.

"Tanjirou!" Tanjirou turned around, noticing his mother, Kie, calling out to him.

"Yes, mother?" Tanjirou asked, giving a small smile toward 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.

Even then, he had to smile in front of his mother. It was more of a respect to the motherly figure, due to the abuse she too would send to him and his siblings. He did not want to suffer from the pain again, and if a simple smile would make him escape it, then it was fine.

"Come here." His mother, Kie, motioned for Tanjirou to come closer to her, which he did hesitantly, and with some fear.

When Kie raised her hand, Tanjirou instinctively closed his eyes, and his body tensed, as if he knew pain would follow.

He had probably messed up, and now his mother was going to slap him... He tensed heavily, waiting for any form of contact, followed by pain...

...

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 nervously before he sighed, "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?" This shocked Tanjirou a bit, but he probably assumed this was to give him enough energy to perform the Hinokami Kagura without any stress prior.

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. "You need to be careful, and please make sure you are back quickly."

Tanjirou could smell the worry in his mother's voice. Even if she too took part in hurting her children, that didn't mean she didn't love them. She did love her children. Tanjirou could tell, because despite how cruel both she and father were, he could tell there was a nagging reason why they did what they did.

It was truly confusing for Tanjirou.

On one side, both of his parents could be very threatening, the reason for sleepless nights, for being outside in a cold blizzard, forced to dance so that he could withstand the cold, and the site of them alone causing him to remember the screams he would yell out when he felt his body being burned.

However, then they showed a bit of care. Like Kie smiling when giving out food to them, or when Tanjurou gave them all a sad smile before he went up to burn coal or rest.

"But we want to see Tanjirou tonight!" Hanako begged Tanjirou's mother, who could only look to Tanjirou, wanting his opinion. Tanjirou smiled at the expression, especially since beforehand, none of them wanted to be near him because of his constant failure to produce his affinity whilst sword-swinging.

Tanjirou scratched his head, "I don't know. You don't want Mom to hurt you all, right?"

Immediately, the rest of the children shivered, and mumbled a yes, before making it back in the house. Tanjirou sighed, looking at Kie.

She merely nodded with a sad smile again, the same one Tanjirou's father would show him whenever he was about to get hurt. It always confused Tanjirou why she gave off such a sad scent.

"I wish they told us why they would hurt us like this... Why..." Tanjirou sighed. It was always one step forward, three steps back when it came to figuring out his parents. "Why did we fail so much to receive such punishments?"

"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 gulped. He knew immediately what that serious tone meant. If he didn't make it back, she would hurt him.

Tanjirou quickly nodded, "I think I'll head down now so I have more time to sell this coal bye!" Immediately nodding, not wanting his mother to continue ranting.

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. Plus, he also knew his siblings would want him back soon, so he had to come up with a compromise.

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 in the house, clearly eavesdropping, 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, as she smiled with Rokuta on her back.

"That's fine, I know how much everyone's been struggling and confused 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. "And for the record, our family's always been struggling, whether through harm, or exhaustion," Nezuko added.

Tanjirou smiled and sighed, "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. For Tanjirou, sometimes the villagers would ask for extra help, which Tanjirou would gladly do.

Since he usually offered the village the usual annual dance, he would receive a lot of money as a result. Even if none of the villagers knew of the circumstances Tanjirou and his family were under.

Saburo was perhaps the closest to the second parent for Tanjirou and the others. Whenever Tanjirou was sometimes kicked out of the house, Saburo's own house was a second one and haven. Even then, Saburo didn't know the abuse he suffered at home alongside his siblings.

Besides his grandmother, Saburo was the other individual who would tell Tanjirou about demons.

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.

He wanted to say hi back to Saburo, as he was one of the people he talked about demons, and thus understood the dangers of going out at night. However, the risk of being punished by his mother was enough to make him ignore Saburo's cries to stay back, and instead rush faster home.

He was able to endure and run long distances pretty well because of his experience and his lungs being better than the average human's.

He didn't want to be beaten again for being late. He had to make it back.

"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, malice, 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. He felt his heart wanting to beat out of his body, his entire body was shaking, and his whole being wanted to become frozen in time.

However, considering his own family might be in danger, he had to force himself to move regardless. Monster or not, strong or weak, he wouldn't let anyone or anything threaten nor harm his family.

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. He knew this creature, or monster was nearing his house, with it being its destination.

"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.

His eyes contracted, as all he saw was this person. This ruthless person.

Almost immediately, his body and senses, specifically his smell recognized him. He was just waiting for his mind to catch up with it.

"THIS WAS THE PERSON I KEPT SMELLING AS A CHILD WITH My FATHER!" Tanjirou yelled to himself, as his rage from this smell began to shroud his mind. He had to kill this person.

*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 around, 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. Even despite this, Tanjirou was doing his best to suppress the pain, trying to specifically hurt this individual s much as he could. However, Tanjirou was only a human, and he was bound to reap the consequences of his reckless actions with time.

With a quick slap, Tanjirou found himself on the ground, groaning in pain as his vision was darkening. His left forearm was hurting, but it was still functional, 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. Only his right eye was no longer functioning.

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.

Tanjirou growled, as he rushed to pick the hatchet with his free hand, his other one damaged to use properly, he once again charged towards the man.

The man noticed Tanjirou, clearly unimpressed. The monster immediately stabbed his hand toward Tanjirou's face.

If Tanjirou was a normal human, he would have died on the spot right there.

However, Tanjirou's smell was a lot faster than his vision, in terms of how he could gather intel on a person's strikes. Here, this was just enough for him to avoid the strike, having only been grazed on the right side of his face, suffering a slash to his head. Thankfully, it wasn't a serious wound and only a bit of blood came out. Tanjirou had without realizing it, managed to avoid a strike from the demon king, not trained at all.

The man's eyes widened once he realized the boy had managed to avoid his strike. Tanjirou eyed the spot he wanted to aim, and he did. Launching the hatchet, Tanjirou struck it hard into the demon's side. The left side. This was where the liver was for humans and a kidney. For any human, being struck there would cause immense pain to erupt into them.

Tanjirou hoped that even if a demon was different, it would at least be similar anatomically, at the baseline. He hoped this individual would get stunned enough for Tanjirou to follow up.

The demon's eyes widened, "How dare you graze one of my hearts." The demon growled as he tried kicking Tanjirou out. He quickly took the hatchet out of the opponent's side and placed it between him and the demon's legs spreading out uncharacteristically to strike him.

Thankfully, Tanjirou was able to escape that unscathed, however, he lost the hatchet as it was embedded in the man's leg. Even then, the man looked unfazed. A testament to his strength compared to Tanjirou.

Tanjirou was vastly overpowered by this individual, and there was no hope.

But despite himself feeling hesitant, and wanting to cry at how useless everything would be, he had to continue.

"It's either I die, or I kill him somehow," Tanjirou told himself, as he landed himself safely, clearly hurting from the injuries he was gaining from his fight.

He couldn't use the hatchet anymore, and the demon began to approach his now, probably dead siblings.

"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. Sure, the demon's side was also damaged, but he focused on the neck as a weak spot for the demon.

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 would hold that statement down, hoping it was true, for what he was about to do might be one of pure desperation, but in this case, he had to.

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, wrapping his arms around the demon's head to keep it still.

"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.

He didn't care about the blood that was spewing out, nor the flesh he was unexpectedly eating out. All he cared was to eliminate this demon through any form of damage, hopefully with the intent of killing this demon. He had to.

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. He needed to do this. He had to fight this demon with everything he had. He was desperate, damnit, and he had to protect Nezuko and the other siblings, he hoped were alive.

For a second, Tanjirou thought this could work. As he felt himself biting through the demon's neck, he knew it was managing to slice through it a bit with nothing but his human teeth. 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.

"You were right, I truly am worthless... Everything that man said about me is true..." Tanjirou thought as he looked down in shame and acceptance. At least he was ready to see his family in the afterlife, to watch over Nezuko with them.

"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 a sadist, wanting to see others in pain for his benefit. Maybe he was 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 scar on Tanjirou's forehead. At this, the demon grinned. "So it's you... How pathetic and comical..."

At this, the stranger chuckled louder, as he poked the scar on Tanjirou's forehead. 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 Tanjirou's ears out from his head, as glared at the mortally injured boy 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. Tanjirou knew well, primarily once Muzan had observed Nezuko, what he wanted Nezuko to do.

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. He begged Nezuko not to fall under this man's rule.

There was a bit of a stall, but Muzan continued to chuckle, "Right, you probably cannot talk, about 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.

"You know, this is funny. For years, I've had your family under my wing, telling your parents to follow my orders. I wanted one of their siblings to be able to master that breathing style. But to my surprise, none of them could. Especially you." Muzan growled, as he pierced Tanjirou right in his eye, the very one that was already slashed.

"AH!" Tanjirou yelled as he felt the intruding pain of his eye being stabbed by a tendon by Muzan.

"I hate you the most of your family's siblings. All six of you, and only your sister was able to show some promising signs. But the rest of your family is weak. Especially you, for being unable to perform any breathing techniques. Not only are you hideous, but also useless..." Muzan smirked. "I'll take the glee of tearing you apart. One. By. One."

"So useless... So hideous... So... Worthless... Why did I ever spare you and your family once I found them? Why was I ever threatened by someone like you..." Muzan chuckled as he eyed Tanjirou, like a lion ready to eat its prey.

With a devilish smirk, Muzan eyed Tanjirou with glee, clearly centuries of pent-up aggression were finally accumulating to his satisfaction, as he was now able to cause the most amount of pain onto the descendent of that monster. Muzan was going to enjoy what he was about to do to Tanjirou.

Gripping the disfigured, broken left arm of Tanjirou, he pulled it apart, then slashed it apart. He then went to Tanjirou's next arm, then snapping his arm apart, all the while Tanjirou screamed in pain.

Muzan chuckled as he was enjoying what he was doing. He next aimed for Tanjirou's legs, all for the same treatment.

Once he was done with Tanjirou's extremities, he then focused on his bones, stomping, and stabbing Tanjirou, as he was breaking all of his bones.

Tanjirou wished he was dead by now. It was so painful. It was worse than every burn he sustained by his father, any time he almost developed frostbite. It was the worse thing ever.

He ultimately felt something was keeping him alive, and he didn't know what was. His mind was blocking everything out, as he was wishing to die, alongside the rest of his family. His smell only told him that Nezuko was mordaciously still alive.

The last thing Tanjirou felt, was each of his limbs being broken and snapped off. Tanjirou's yelling and screams of pain shortly died after Muzan pierced his throat. Tanjirou was now choking on blood, but Muzan wasn't done. "I should give credit to your father and mother, for they even beat you and your siblings when I ordered them to. How much of a god I am." Muzan smirked as he continued to torture and slowly kill Tanjirou in the worst way he could.

Ever since he was almost killed by Yoriichi, Muzan had been waiting for this moment. To kill one of his descendants as painfully as possible. It was truly ironic that this descendant of Yoriichi was hideous, weak, and useless. Not even being able to learn a breathing style, Muzan chuckled at the thought of worrying about that man coming back.

"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 been 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 at 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.

"Father, why did you do this to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why am I cursed with such a life?" Tanjirou asked. He was never the type to ask why he was where he was, but now, for once he was. He was nearing his death, and it only seemed right.

His senses were fading. First his vision, then his smell.

Even in spite of 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 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 death.

"I hope I can be reborn and you are still alive, so I can gain revenge on you in the next life."

Tanjirou could smell the pure malicious 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 where his sight was now gone. All he could do was hear and smell. Shortly after no longer felt his body.

He felt himself wanting to cough out blood, but it just hurts too damn much. Everything hurt. This demon wasn't just killing him... He was torturing him... For his pleasure... Why...?

"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. 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, son... 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, with his hand pushing Tanjirou in the chest, away from the separation 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 their sad face of them, as they couldn't spend more time with their eldest brother.

"We're so sorry brother! We're sorry for staying away from you all those years! Father and mother also are sorry for their actions!" Tanjirou could hear his siblings all begging for him to come back, all the while Tanjirou felt his body fading away. His senses become clouded, even near the afterlife.

"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 on 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. This surprised, Tanjirou, considering he expected his father and mother to hurt him for his failure. Even in the afterlife, he thought the pain was the only thing he would feel from his parents. But now, it seemed he was getting a simple pep talk...

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.

Tanjirou was very confused, clearly wanting to ask his father more, but considering that man smelled like the other guy from his childhood, he assumed that his father had talked with the man. His father was in fear as well...


A.N / Third chapter is up, and this was the original start of the story for Hinokami's Blessing. Of course, the rework has a new name, and now we are starting the actual canon story. There will be some branching points, don't worry, with the occasional mission to show some author creativity.

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. In addition, I do want to give Genya his breathing style, either just one of the few that aren't used all that much, or even one from the Hashira, as I'll probably make him a tsukugo of one of them. I feel like they should be using tsukugos more other than Kanao. Canonically, Kanao was the only tsukugo in the series, and I think the concept should be used more.

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, 13 years old.

- Status: Alive, Human.

- Height: 5'5" (165cm)

- Weight: 114 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: 102 Ibs

Kibutsuji Muzan: Male, ~1000 years old (made up, lol).

- Status: Alive, Demon

- Height: 5'11" (180cm)

- Weight: 142 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, 10 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, 5 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

- Height: 5'10 (177cm)

- Weight: 127Ibs

o Cause of Death: Chronic Illness due to coal burning exposure (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 and Nezuko Kamado are still alive. 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 causes.