Tanjiro and his Siblings were getting ready to go down the mountain to sell the last of their Charcoal before Winter started. Considering how fast the cold could sneak up on you on Mount Kumotori, Kie was hesitant to send all of her children down the mountain. What if something happened? But they would be able to buy more medicine for her Husband after selling the Charcoal, and all of her children were happy to help. With Nezuko keeping Rokuta safe and warm, even Tanjuro, as weak as he'd become due to his mystery illness, was fine with letting all of his children go.
Kie made sure they were all wrapped up warmly, "now you be careful, understand? If it starts to snow, you can always stay with someone in town, alright?" she asked. "We will Mom. Don't worry, we'll all be fine" Nezuko said brightly. Meanwhile, Tanjiro was sitting with their Father inside. Tanjuro looked up at his Eldest Son, now 12-years-old, and smiled. "You're such a good Son and Older Brother Tanjiro. It won't be long now until I reach the end of my life. I would like to give you my earrings now Tanjiro" the man said. Tanjiro blanched, "no Father! You still have a while yet! You can't die yet, we all need you! We love you, so, please, just hold on long enough for us to get home and have dinner together. One last meal as a family. Please Father!" his Son begged.
Tanjuro chuckled weakly, "alright. Just one more meal. That sounds nice. Eating and talking and being surrounded by my family as I go. I'll wait until you all get home then, stay safe Tanjiro" the man said, his Hanafuda earrings moving slightly as he lay his head back more comfortably on the pillow. "Now, get going. And bring back lots of food for us to enjoy tonight. I want our last meal together to be happy and joyous, not sad and depressing" Tanjuro sighed as his eyes slipped shut. Tanjiro wanted to cry, knowing that their loving, gentle Father only had a few hours left to live, and they wouldn't be there for most of it.
But, if he wanted to celebrate his life with a feast, instead of mourning his death, then Tanjiro would do that. Not to mention, his younger Siblings would get a lot of good food this way. So he held back his tears and nodded, "Alright Father. We will". Tanjuro smiled, and reached up to pat his Son on the head, "you're such a good boy. Hinokami has truly blessed us with you. I'll have to put more effort into my Dance this New Year as thanks" he said with a soft smile. then he was asleep again. Tanjiro stood up, and looked down at his sleeping (dying) Father, "I won't let you down" he whispered.
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Upon leaving the house, he found his Sibling's waiting with the cart. "Come on Tanjiro! Let's go!" Shigeru cried excitedly. Tanjiro smiled, "I'm coming! Is everyone ready?" he called back. "We're ready Tanjiro" Nezuko replied, Rokuta babbling on her back. "I wonder if Rokuta will get to see his first snowfall?" Hanako asked, as the 7-year-old gripped her Older Sister's hand. "Hopefully not. I'd rather you all not get caught out in the snow," their Mother replied, making sure each of her children was wrapped up warmly, and had everything they needed.
"Yes, Rokuta can watch the snowfall from the windows of our house just as easily Hanako" Tanjiro replied. "Be careful, all of you. Come home safely" Kie said with a worried frown on her face. "We'll be fine Mom. Don't worry" Tanjiro assured her. Then, everyone began on their way down the mountain, waving goodbye as they went.
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In theory, everything should have been fine. It wasn't Winter yet, so there should have been nothing to stop the Siblings from getting back up the mountain on time. Well, except for the freak blizzard that came out of nowhere! The Kamado Siblings were forced to stay the night at an Inn in town. Mr Saburo, who had gone into the town to buy food for the Winter was also at the Inn, so he told the children about how it was good for them to have not been able to go back up the mountain at night.
"Man-eating Demons have always roamed the land at night time. If you're able to, you should always find a place to stay inside. Though, that doesn't mean they can't come inside buildings. The only ones who can stop Demons from killing all of us are the Demon Slayers" Saburo explained, as they were waiting for their dinner. "Why do Demons eat humans, when there are so many animals for them to eat?" Shigeru asked, confused. "No-one knows. There have always been Demons running around after dark though, why do you think people go missing overnight a lot?" Saburo replied.
"Well, it's a good thing that Demon Slayers stop them then" Tanjiro replied placatingly, not wanting to upset the man who was obviously still mourning the loss of his family years ago. Hanako and Shigeru hugged Saburo, "it's okay. We'll protect you from the Demons Mr Saburo" Shigeru said. The older man smiled slightly, patting the children's heads placatingly, "thank you both. I feel safer already" he said. But Tanjiro could still feel the fear and unease from the man. 'He really thinks Demons will come to kill us at night' he thought sadly. 'But we'll be fine. There are no Demons' he thought. After eating, the Siblings went to bed together. Thankfully, the Inn owner decided to let them all stay for free, knowing how hard they were for money.
"I promise we'll pay you back for this sometime" Tanjiro said gratefully to the Owner. That night, Tanjiro and his Siblings slept together in the Inn, safe and warm, unknowing what had happened back at their house.
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That night, as Kie cooked dinner for herself and her Husband, she couldn't help but look out at the storm raging outside her house, and worry. "They'll be fine Kie. They would have either stayed with Saburo, or in town when the Blizzard started. I have faith in them" Tanjuro said with a smile, as he watched his Wife keep looking up from their food at the door worriedly. She sighed, "I know. I know everyone down in the Village would look after them if they couldn't come back up in time. I just can't help but worry, I'm their Mother after all."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Before the door flew off it's hinges. Kie screamed as fridged wind and snow filled the house. "Kie!" Tanjuro cried frantically, as his Wife was slashed across the throat and crumpled to the ground. He squinted through the darkness and snow, desperately trying to stand up from his futon and move over to his Wife. Glowing red eyes pierced through the snow, filling his already broken heart with terror. "You" a deep, evil voice spoke over the howling wind, the Demon somehow speaking loudly without raising his voice. Tanjuro scrambled for something he could use as a weapon, before he was slammed into the wall faster than he could blink.
The man gasped raggedly, as he stared down at the limb piercing his chest. Liquid fire poured into his veins, and Tanjuro choked on his scream. Suddenly the limb was gone, and the man collapsed to the ground, gasping and coughing blood as his body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. "We'll see if you have the ability to conquer the sun. That's the only use scum like you have. I hope you enjoy the food I've left for you in the meantime" the man's voice spoke over the still howling wind. Then he left, and their house was filled with snow. Despite everything, Tanjuro forced his agonized body to move, "K-Kie" he whimpered, coughing blood, even as he felt something else filling him.
As he reached his Wife's body, Tanjuro thought of his children. 'No, I will never harm my family!' he thought, as he finally collapsed to the floor, as all of his strength left him.
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The next day when Tanjuro woke up, he realized that he felt different. Looking around as he stood up, he noticed the frost and snow everywhere. The man frowned, increasing his body temperature and melting all of the frost off of his body. Steam flowed off of him, and around the room, as his body burst into flames, melting all of the snow around the house. "Wh-what is this? F-Father? Mom?" A familiar voice called from outside the house. Tanjuro looked up, seeing several children standing at the broken door. It only took a moment for Tanjuro to recognize them, as the sun escaped from behind the clouds.
"T-Tan-jiro" Tanjuro stuttered. The boy gasped, "Father! Mom!" he cried, as he and his Siblings hurried inside the house. Tanjiro and Rokuta crashed into their Father, while Shigeru and Takeo stood back slightly, tears in their eyes. Nezuko and Hanako moved to check on their Mother. "Mommy!" the little girl sobbed, hugging their Mother. "Father," Tanjiro began, looking into his eyes, "what happened to you both?! Your scent's are completely different. And your bodies!" his Son asked worriedly. Tanjuro breathed out, looking down at his hands. He flexed his fingers, which he saw were a lot thicker and stronger looking. His fingernails were sharpened into claws, and his hair fell all around his face in long, messy strands. "D-don't, know" he replied. He tried to remember what had happened to them, but his head was foggy.
He looked over at his Wife, moving over to her quickly. Instincts that he didn't even know he had told him that she was fine, but he still couldn't help but worry. "Kie" he muttered, holding her face. The woman groaned, and he sighed in relief. Tanjuro looked over his other children, while Rokuta pulled on his Haori, sniffling, "Papa!" he cried. Tanjuro looked down at his youngest Son, before picking him up into his arms. The two-year-old snuggled into him, and Tanjuro pushed his hair out of his face, noticing that the ends of them had turned from his usual burgundy to bright red.
Looking over at his Wife, he saw the tips of Kie's long black hair had turned Silver. "We need to get you both to the Doctor Father! You're hurt" Tanjiro said worriedly. The man looked down at his body, moving the kimono's to show dried blood, but no wounds. "What?! how?!" Takeo asked in confusion. "I d-don't kn-now" Tanjuro replied. Suddenly, Tanjiro picked up a new smell, and turned to the door just as a man shot through it, with a sword aimed for his Father's neck. "Dad!" Nezuko screamed. Tanjuro breathed, before dodging the attack in an instant, having also grabbed his Oldest Son, Rokuta's wailing filling the house.
Tanjuro looked up at their attacker and bared his teeth in a deep growl. It just felt like the right thing to do, as he crouched protectively over his four Sons, while Nezuko and Hanako gripped onto their Mother tightly. The man who had attacked them had long black hair up in a ponytail, and deep blue eyes. He wore a Gankuen under a split patterned Haori, one half being green and yellow, and the other half being plain red. He was also holding a sword, and aiming it right at his throat. Tanjiro quickly passed Rokuta over to Takeo, before moving out into front of their Father, "wait! Hold on! Don't hurt him! He's our Father!" he cried, holding his hands out in front of him.
"That man isn't your Father anymore. He's a man-eating Demon. You're all lucky that he hasn't devoured you yet, probably because he ate some of that woman over there. I am a Demon Slayer, and it's my job to kill every Demon I find. So I'm afraid that I have to decapitate your Father now" the Swordsman replied. "No, you're wrong! Our Dad would never eat anyone, especially not our Mom! He loves her! Besides, Mom doesn't have any bite marks anywhere on her body! Whatever did this to her, it wasn't Dad!" Nezuko cried furiously, as her Little Sister cowered behind her.
This actually gave the man pause, and Tanjuro took the opportunity to body-slam him outside the house, and away from his children. The Swordsman was on his feet again in an instant. Tanjuro growled at him threateningly, body temperature heating up again, as the snow melted around him. The Swordsman's eyes widened as Tanjuro burst into a ball of bright flames, before shooting towards him with a snarl. "Father!" Tanjiro cried, running towards the entrance of their house, eyes wide as he watched the two men fight. Well, actually he couldn't even see them, they were moving so fast. But he could tell where their Father had been by the trail of melting snow that followed wherever the two went.
Tanjuro dodged a strike that moved fluidly towards his neck, and, despite having no experience fighting hand to hand, was able to knock the sword away from him. The Demon was so focused on the fight, that he didn't notice the clouds clearing up, or the sunlight filling the area. The Demon Slayer narrowed his eyes, 'the clouds are clearing. This Demon is strong, even if he hasn't eaten anyone like that girl said. But even if I can't decapitate him, the sunlight will do the job for me. Now!' he thought, as the sun fell onto the Demon man.
And Giyu stopped fighting, shocked into frozen disbelief. There stood the Demon. Directly under the patch of sunlight. And he wasn't burning to death. Giyu was so shocked, that his sword fell from his grip. This should not be possible! How was this possible. "Father!" "Dad!" "Daddy!" three male voices cried, as the three oldest boys of the family ran out to him. Tanjuro wrapped his arms around his Sons, snarling at the Demon Slayer, and glancing down Tanjiro, Takeo and Shigeru in worry. "Don't you dare hurt my children!" he cried protectively.
Giyu stared at them, unable to believe it. The obviously newborn Demon was in prime position to kill and eat the three boys, but instead he was clutching them protectively and snarling at him as a threat. Upon seeing that the Demon Slayer was no longer a threat to his children, Tanjuro straightened up, and let out a sigh, "why did you stop trying to kill me? I thought it was your job?" he asked in confusion, as his three older Sons clutched at him, in a weak attempt to protect him.
Giyu stared at the Demon, who tenderly wrapped his arms around his children, soothing them gently, even as he kept his eyes on him. Then he sighed, "our Swords kill Demons because the metal they're made from has absorbed sunlight. Since you're immune to sunlight, there's no point in my trying to kill you anymore" Giyu explained, sounding utterly exhausted. He eyed the Demon as he took Rokuta in his arms, when Tanjiro held the toddler out to their Father.
"Plus if you're not trying to eat these children, even though you're obviously a newborn Demon, you won't try to eat them later" With a sigh, Giyu pulled something out of his Haori. It was a bamboo muzzle, "use this to gag your Father. It will keep him from eating anyone, just in case his willpower against hunger is reserved for his family." He tossed it to Tanjiro, who fumbled to catch it with one hand.
"Get to Mount Sagiri as soon as possible. Look for an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki who lives at the foot of the mountain. Tell him Giyu Tomioka sent you. I have a Mission to get to, this was just a quick stop along the way, so I'm afraid that I can't escort you there. If any of you can become Demon Slayers, you might be able to find the Demon who attacked your parents" Giyu explained. "We'll do more than that! We'll find a way to turn Father back into a human!" Takeo cried.
Giyu eyed them, looking exhausted, "who knows. You might. After all, your Father has already broken all the rules of being a Demon anyway." Then he disappeared. There was a moment of silence, before Tanjiro walked up to their Father and took his hand, causing the man to look down at him. "Let's go Father. We have a lot of work to do" he said. Tanjuro looked down at the muzzle in his hand, as he allowed his Eldest to lead him back to the house.