ꨄ︎

third person pov

"tanjiro!"

the boy named tanjiro turned to look at who was calling him. tanjiro who wore a checkered, black and sea foam green haori over a white robe and black pants and a turqoise scarf wrapped around his neck. with a little look on his ears, you could spot a distinct pair of hanafuda earrings dangling on his ears as he swayed his head to look at his mother who had called him, the earrings was styled in a white and red flower and his long hair kept tied in the back with a small ponytail causing his earrings to show.

"your face is all black, come over here." tanjiro's mother called out. without saying anything, tanjiro approached his mother who had kneeled before him.

"it's okay if you don't go, it's dangerous when the snow is falling." said tanjiro's mother as she wiped her son's face with a clean cloth.

"it's almost the new year, and everyone wants to eat to their heart's content. i'll only go sell a little charcoal." answered tanjiro, tanjiro's mother had softened. she knew tanjiro is a soft young boy, he grew up being educated, kind, and caring and she can never ask for more.

"thank you." said tanjiro's mother as she finished wiping his face.

"nii-chan you're going to the village today?"

"i want to go too!"

voices from tanjiro's younger siblings protested. tanjiro who had been the main support to his family ever since their father had died. tanjiro became the man of the family, he who had helped with everything he can as he was born as the first son.

"no. you can't walk as fast as tanjiro can." said tanjiro's mother as she approached hanako and shigeru.

"but mama!" protested shigeru, even after protesting tanjiro's mother immediately shut them down with a single no.

"he can't pull the cart today, so you can't come as he wouldn't be able to give you a ride when you get tired." explained tanjiro's mother.

tanjiro smiled at his younger siblings trying to ease the tension of them wanting to come with him down the mountain. he then spotted another one of his siblings, takeo, who held an axe as he stood at the side staring at the commotion in front of him.

"ah takeo, could you chop a few trees while i'm gone?" questioned tanjiro as he stared at his younger brother who held a pout on his face.

"i guess i could." sighed takeo as he turned his head from the side, showing how disappointed he is as he wouldn't be able to cut trees with him, "i thought we'll all do it together."

tanjiro who stood still let out a small chuckle as he reached for takeo's head, he then ruffled his hair causing the younger one to yelp and scold tanjiro for doing that.

out of the corner stood a young lady who wore the same checkered, black and sea foam green haori and over it is a white long-sleeved blouse and black pants, she also had a distinct pair of hanafuda earrings dangling on her ears and her chest length hair had been tied in a half bun.

"tanjiro, may i come?" questioned the young lady known as kamado y/n.

kamado y/n is a relative of them, they're cousins. her father had died due to an illness and she was left alone since then, tanjiro's parents who heard the news had kept y/n in and raised her like their own child. she is at least two years older than tanjiro.

"of course." tanjiro exclaimed showing a smile as he watched the young lass approach him.

they knew each other since they were young, the news of her being left alone had worried tanjiro so he had seen his parents and asked for them to take her in, unknown to him his parents had done that already and she was in the same home as he is that day. he was so delighted when he had seen her during their dinner.

"please come back quickly!"

"be careful nii-chan!"

"see you later nee-chan!"

their farewells had been heard as both tanjiro and y/n made their way down the mountain, y/n had waved them a goodbye before facing forward. on their way, they had bumped into nezuko who was carrying rokuta.

"onii-chan, nee-chan!" exclaimed nezuko as she smiled at the two, y/n and tanjiro.

"nezuko." bid tanjiro as he stopped on his tracks, smiling at nezuko.

"i just lulled rokuta to sleep, he'll start making an uproar once he noticed you and nee-chan gone." said nezuko as she stared at the youngest sibling, tanjiro approached them both and placed a hand on rokuta's head as he smiled at him gently.

"he's lonely because papa died, it's like everyone is stuck with you nii-chan. he also enjoyed nee-chan's presence so once he had seen you gone he'll cause a lot of disturbance." nezuko giggled as she continued staring at the sleeping rokuta.

"i won't be taking your time any longer, take care down there!" said nezuko as she waved at the both as they made their way down the mountain.

✰★✰

after minutes of making their way down the mountain. they were able to spot the village located near the mountain. they entered the village immediately recognizing the people who are busy minding their own business.

"well if it isn't tanjiro and y/n." said an old woman as she had spotted tanjiro and y/n walking side by side.

"you really came down the mountain on a day like this, good work. but settle up as you might catch a cold."

"ooiii, i want to buy some charcoal."

"i also want some charcoal!"

"thank you for repairing my sliding door the other time."

"thank you for fixing my broken window y/n, i'll be calling you again when it needs repairing!"

the villagers had bombarded tanjiro and y/n with compliments as they pass the village. they are quite well known as they mostly help whenever they can. tanjiro who had always been helpful towards humanity had helped them in any way he could and y/n who had been with tanjiro for so long that she had gain tanjiro's personality and characteristics.

"ahhh tanjiro i'm glad you're here!" cried the young lad as he was covered with bruises and blood, he had carried a cloth carefully as he rushed towards tanjiro's side.

"can you tell who is the culprit who broke these dishes?" said the young lad as he showed tanjiro the broken pieces of an object. "please help me, smell these!" he had continued as he shoved the pieces towards tanjiro's direction.

tanjiro who didn't mind the shoving then bend a little to be able to reach the object that needed sniffing. he then sniffed the broken object and his eyes snapped open once he realized who had broken it.

"it smells like a cat" exclaimed tanjiro as he stared at the old woman in front of him.

"really? a cat?"

"see!!"

"it wasn't me, just like what i said!"

said the teen boy as he snapped at the old woman who had blamed him for breaking an object.

"tanjiro, can you help me carry this luggage?"

"y/n, dear please help me sell these flowers!"

y/n and tanjiro then sighed, they knew it will be a busy day as tanjiro would be selling the charcoals while y/n will roam around the village figuring out who needs help with things that needed to be done by the end of the day.

y/n kamado pov

by the end of the day, tanjiro ended up selling all the charcoals and getting enough money for his family while i had helped around the village earning myself some couple of coins.

"it's getting late, we should head back." exclaimed tanjiro as he let out a small sigh, it had been a long day.

this is how it usually works everyday, we'll go down the mountain and sell charcoal while helping some villagers that needed help. it's not like we could refuse, i mean i guess i could refuse but tanjiro couldn't so i decided to just go along with it.

tanjiro is a kind young lad, he knew how he could help and he will if it is needed. he was just the same when we were young, he had always been helpful. he had helped me adjust to his family when they first take me in and took care of me. he would always approach me and ask me to play with him.

"hey tanjiro and y/n? are you returning to the mountain?" questioned saburouji-san as he called out from his home.

"you can't it's dangerous!" he continued as he ushered the both of us to enter his home.

"my nose can smell anything, it'll be alright." convinced tanjiro as he stared down at saburouji-san.

knowing why saburouji-san is acting this way, i decided to just follow him. tanjiro does have a good sense of smell but he does not have any battle experience which can hassle the both of us.

"come tanjiro, it will only be for a night." i stated as i reached for his hand.

he then made a worried face before grabbing my hand with his, he then followed me towards saburouji-san's home.

"hurry before they appear." exclaimed saburouji-san as he opened the door for us, we then entered his home and left our shoes near the door.

saburouji-san had been living alone as his family died. he must have been feeling lonely but held it in, the next time i should bring tanjiro's siblings so we could accompany saburouji-san.

saburouji-san had prepared us a meal, he continued talking to tanjiro as i stared at an empty space while continuing my eating. it is not like listening to him saying demons does exists will do something good for me, i had known they exists since i was a young kid so there is no use of listening to their conversation.

after eating, saburouji-san had laid two futons for both me and tanjiro. i laid on my futon and stared at the ceiling trying to make myself fall asleep, i usually stare at the ceiling whenever i wanted to fall asleep, this helps my system shut down and after a few minutes i would be sleeping like the dead.

"can the demons not enter houses?" questioned tanjiro, snapping me from my thoughts.

"no, they can enter." said saburouji-san.

✰★✰

the morning then came by, me and tanjiro had bid saburouji-san a goodbye as we thanked him for letting us stay in his home yesterday night.

we then started walking towards the house, me feeling excited into seeing rokuta. i do love tanjiro's siblings but rokuta had a different effect. when he was born, he was always by my side and after the death of their father. he had trouble sleeping and will only sleep whenever i'm by his side. he's a cute little bean that i wouldn't want to lose, he's important to me.

"the scent of blood." stated tanjiro who had been beside me when we started climbing the mountain.

he then rushed towards the house, i was left frozen on the spot as i stared at his panic state. snapping out of thoughts when i heard him scream, i then rushed towards the house only to find a scene i wouldn't want to see ever again.

there laid nezuko and rokuta, nezuko had her body faced towards rokuta looking as if she was protecting him. and there stood tanjiro staring inside the house with nothing but pain showing through his face, knowing what had happened to his family i slowly approached him and stared at the scene that causes him to go wild. and there the scene of tanjiro's family massacred, i was lost for words as i stared at tanjiro's mother, hanako, takeo, and shigeru on the floor covered with blood as their eyes remained open. my eyes then stared at nezuko who was laying on top of rokuta protecting him from the one who had attacked them.

my trembling hands reached to touch nezuko and found her quite warm yet, i then switched and touched rokuta to find him warm and uninjured. that's right, nezuko's form was to protect rokuta, it looks like he wasn't slayed by the demon as nezuko protected him causing her to get the injury that was supposed to be for rokuta.

"tanjiro! rokuta and nezuko are still warm. come quick!" i demanded as i reached for nezuko, laying her to the side comfortably to see if rokuta was indeed still alive.

"go get rokuta, i'll carry nezuko!" said tanjiro as he carried nezuko on his back. following him and not questioning any further, i had carried rokuta in my arms and rushed down the mountain along side tanjiro.

is this even worth questioning? of course a demon had gotten into them, it is either muzan who had massacred tanjiro's family or a random demon who had come across the kamado's home. if it was muzan who had killed the family and nezuko was still warm when we found her, she was clearly injured when i raised her from rokuta. does that mean?

my thoughts were cut of by nezuko's screaming, her hands had been acting weird and her nails had turned long. her body then swayed from left to right and due to this, she and tanjiro ended up falling down the mountain.

"TANJIRO!!" i shouted as rushed towards the edge only to find him safe.

thank goodness the snow was thick enough, the snow had prevented him from causing damages to his body. knowing he was safe, i rushed down the mountain to get to tanjiro and warn him about what happened to nezuko, as much as i adored nezuko we have to dispose her soon as she might have turned into a demon.

when nearing tanjiro, i spotted him going towards nezuko and with just one swoosh of the wind tanjiro had layed on the snow with nezuko on top of him trying to feed herself but thanks to the axe tanjiro had carried, he had stick it to nezuko's mouth to prevent her from devouring him.

"try your best nezuko! hold it off. somehow you had turned into a demon but please pull yourself together. I know you can do it, I believe in you!" shouted tanjiro as he encouraged nezuko to not eat him and hold it off.

i was about to approach them and cut nezuko's head with the axe that i had manage to get before leaving the house. but then stopped and frozed in spot as i stared at nezuko who had let her emotions take in, she was crying.

i then dropped the axe and was supposed to come and get nezuko and pull her into a hug when suddenly someone came from above and swung his katana only to be met with tanjiro's hair.

who was this guy?

"why did you protect it?" questioned the man as he stared at tanjiro and nezuko coldly, he then probably sensed another presence and turned his head towards me and found rokuta who was laid in my arms comfortably.

"she's my younger sister!" exclaimed tanjiro as he tried holding nezuko who was struggling to get out of his grasps.

the man then frowned as he heard nezuko growling, he stared at the scene happening in front of him and found tanjiro struggling to hold nezuko.

"that thing, is your sister?" said the man bluntly as he pointed out nezuko as a thing. this causes my blood to boil, i know nezuko was turned into a demon but she was a once a human.

in a split second of me blinking, nezuko was no longer in tanjiro's grasps. i let out a gasp as i see nezuko in the hands of the man who wanted to kill her, he looked like someone from the demon slayer corps but this is too much. at least hear tanjiro's explanation or something, if he tried killing her then i'll act on my own but then again i can't as rokuta's in my arms and i still need to bring him in a nearby medic to check if he had gotten ill or something due to the cold weather.

"y/n let me handle this, go and get a doctor to check if rokuta's fine!" shouted tanjiro as his gaze never left the man and nezuko. the man then turned his head towards me and pointed rokuta.

"is that thing a demon too?" he bluntly asked and i narrowed my eyes, thing? is that it?

"no he isn't, if you aren't going to say something nice then i suggest you stitch that up cause i'm not listening to any of your bullshits!" i exclaimed as rage had been filling my body, i had enough of this day. witnessing tanjiro's family's dead bodies and only nezuko and rokuta survive, finding out that nezuko had been turned into a demon and not even sure if rokuta could make it. what a horrible day.

"y/n just leave and let me take care of this! we'll meet back in the house i promise!" begged tanjiro, he must have been desperate to know that his little brother could live, it must have been a pain knowing that rokuta had manage to live in a few hours but what happens when he isn't treated immediately.

i then let out a small 'tch' before sprinting down the mountain and towards the village where i could find a doctor that could possibly treat rokuta. i knew that leaving tanjiro is not a good choice but he was desperate to get rokuta treated that i'll have to leave him for awhile. i just hope he could handle himself and bring back nezuko with him.

✰★✰

third person pov

after visiting the village, y/n had rokuta in her arms as she made her way up the mountain. rokuta was safe, he had caught a cold after laying on the snow for a few hours. the doctor had praised y/n for hurrying her way down the mountain as rokuta would have not survived for a few more hours.

y/n clutched the sleeping rokuta in her arms, she had held him dearly afraid of him leaving her and tanjiro too. she was relieved and happy for the news that he had survived but then became depressed after knowing that most of the family didn't make it. she grew up in the kamado household, she had treated the siblings like her own and tanjiro's mother like her own as well, why did they have to do this? why did muzan have to do this?

y/n knew about muzan as her father had talked about him long before he had died. she was away from home when that happened, when she returned the house was surrounded by her neighbors. they had consulted her and mourn for her father's death, they didn't give her the chance to see him as he had been buried already.

y/n then reached the house and found tanjiro praying for his family, he must have buried them while she was away with rokuta. she also noticed nezuko standing on the side and relieveness filled her body.

"tanjiro!" she called out, tanjiro then immediately turn to look and found his younger brother in the arms of his cousin.

he then let a few small tears drip down his face as he ran towards y/n, he had his hand on top of rokuta's head and cried as his younger brother didn't pass away and left him too.

"thank goodness." mumbled tanjiro as he stared at rokuta not wanting to break contact as he might snap out of thoughts and find out he was only daydreaming.

"rokuta's fine, he caught a cold but he's safe. he's uninjured as well, nezuko had taken the blow for him." y/n stated.

tanjiro let out a small sigh before turning back to grab nezuko's hand, he held her and pulled her towards where y/n is standing with rokuta in her arms.

"that man's name is tomioka giyuu, he told me to visit an elder, urokodaki sakonji who's living at the foot of the misty mountain." said tanjiro as he pass by y/n walking down the mountain and y/n joining him.

"who's urokodaki?" question y/n as they made their way down the mountain and tanjiro could only hum in response.

"i don't know as well, we should head there and find out." said tanjiro.

and there, tanjiro had left his home with a heavy heart. he had witnessed his family's dead bodies covered with blood in the house, only nezuko and rokuta had remained alive. he had wished he didn't stop by saburouji-san's home and continued his way back home in order to stop the cause of this but it was too late. therefore he would move forward with a distinct goal in mind.

he'll find the one responsible for his family's death and kill it with all his might, he'll avenge his family who had been slayed by the demon and promised himself that he'll take nezuko wherever he goes alongside y/n and his younger brother rokuta.

and that is how it all started, the rise of the kamado trio.

ఌ︎

To be continued...

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