Tanjiro was sad.

It was no wonder why, either. After what he learned from Arisu, the pillar forest was more tragic. The metal pillars, named ‘skyscrapers,’ were buildings, which used to light up the night more so than the city of Tokyo. The shards of glass that littered the ground like traps for ‘ghouls,’ Tanjiro guessed it was the new term for demon. The glass shards were once from windows from shops or ‘skyscrapers.’ The shops gutted from past scavenging. Tanjiro could hear the groan of the pil-skyscrapers as the wind whistled pass. Dust blew from the ground, at the rush of air, clouding the demon slayer’s vision.

Tanjiro hissed, the wind was blowing away from him. He gripped on his sword. The elements were not in his favor, today.

He sniffed once more, before coughing out the dust that went up his nose. He groaned, before continuing on.

The shattered glass door screeched as Tanjiro pushed it open. Glass shards crinkled at the motion. Tanjiro sniffed the air. He ran to the back of the abandoned store. His eyes scanned through the shelves, until they landed upon a clear container. It was labelled ‘DRIED FRUIT.’ He grabbed the containers, as well as the box of ‘ramen,’ he’s never seen containers of ramen, it didn’t feel heavy so he guessed it was used for bowls? He grabbed a lone pot as he walked by the cookware aisle. Before he left the building, he fished through the pockets of his uniform before setting the cash on the counter adjacent to the door.

On his way back to where the woman and his sister Nezuko were staying, he found a lone clothing shop.
He grabbed a few coats, scarves, and hats. He struggled to hold the materials, when his eyes spied upon a bag. It was made of canvas and it would hold almost everything.

The clink of the coins echoed throughout the unlit clothing store. Tanjiro clasped his hands together and bowed his head at the corpse of the dead employee decaying in front of him.

I’m so sorry you had to die here. I wish I had gotten here in time.

He felt the tears leak from his eyes.

It started snowing.

He watched the flakes of sky frost flutter down onto the solid rock path and melt at the contact. His breath came out as visible warm clouds in the cold air. He knew it was a good idea to get those coats-

He halted in his tracks as a smell invaded his nostrils.

The smell was a strong flowery perfume scent, but it was purposefully hiding another.

The smell of coffee and blood.

He yelped and ran for the campfire. The scent trail led him to the smell of ash.

He stopped at the snuffed campfire, there was still visible smoke rising from it. There were no visible blood stains.

But Nezuko and the woman were nowhere to be found.