Chapter 3

Warnings: death and detailed scenes of blood and gore. Small depiction of a dead baby.

{First}

  Huffing out deep sharp breaths I blinked in surprise. The cold and frigid air doing nothing to cool my heated body. Adrenaline from the run still coursed through my veins and my heart pounded at a fierce pace.

  Icy snow pricked its way through my hakama as I kneeled, soaking it as it melted from my body heat. Even my hair was covered with the tiny flecks of falling snow.

  It was the sticky warm sensation of blood seeping down my forehead that reminded me of what happened. Bringing me back to reality.

  The cuts still open; the cuts caused by the demon's long claws. How was it still bleeding after all this time? Well, the troublesome thing about the human body is that it has many tiny blood vessels running all along the head. So it causes bigger bleeds despite the tiny cuts.

  So it continued running down my face, caking over my eyebrow and eyelashes as it traveled over my left eye. Sealing it shut as the air froze it to my skin, creating a trail as it went slowly down my rosy yet paled cheek. Then rolling along the path of my jawline before taking a brief rest at the tip of my chin.

  Only then, would the tiny scarlet droplets fall. Falling to stain the pure white canvas with its filthy and sinful red color.

  I blink once more, my hazy gaze focusing on what stands before me—the person that spoke the question. One my static filled ears nearly missed.

  I put my sole attention on the child looking woman, her body blending into the blackened night as she donned a thick dark brown kimono and abyss black haori. But her most defining feature was the tanuki mask that blocked a portion of her face. Hiding her forehead, eyes, nose, and upper cheeks from view.

  Due to my fatigued state—tired from all the running and crying—I was not shocked that someone was able to sneak up on me. Hell, I didn't even realize that she was standing there in front of my pathetic kneeling figure until she shouted at me.

  The silence stood between us for a moment longer. That's when the stranger decided to talk once more, unbothered by my frazzled appearance.

  "What are you doing," she sighed apathetically. Sounding more like a statement rather than the questioning tone she held earlier.

  She tilted her head expectantly, her messily put up brown hair following the action. It was covered in snow—I was most likely in the same boat—and I could see pieces of long red string poking out in several spots between clumps of the tied up hair. Many long strains slipped out of the high tailed pony, caused by the harsh winter winds passing by.

  "Well," she huffed out a sigh several seconds after another prolonged silence. All due to my dumbfounded state of mind. "What's your answer, brat? I'm not going to ask a fourth time."

  I quickly pushed more of my thoughts aside as I glanced at the long sword at her hip. I was starting to feel the adrenaline rush fade and tremble as the cold pierced my senses. I could even feel the throbs of pain starting to make itself known.

  I bit my lip and moved my eye to the speckled snow. I'm so tired... I couldn't help but internally complain as my 9 year old body began to shut down from the unusual experience. It hadn't become used to stressful life or death situations. Especially those that involved facing against a demon—a demon as powerful as Muzan.

  Not yet anyway.

  "I-I ran," my hoarse voice faltered as I sniffled—both from the cold and my earlier crying. "From home, I mean."

  I heard the child sized woman click her tongue; in what seems to be annoyance. "Really?" She grumbled out, "you ran from home... and thought it best to go through the woods opposed to a safe path. Without a plan in mind to top it all off! Looks like you didn't learn your lesson! It's like that day you ran head first into this forest, just to get a stupid temari ball back! A temari ball—a child's toy you could easily get at a market rather than risk your safety over!"

  I jumped in shock at her strict tone and looked back up to her frowning face, both in shock by her familiar words and loud voice. I stumbled as I corrected my weak footing and rushed over to stop her echoing yells.

  I was scared. No scratch that, I was terrified to find out what would happen if he found me—his target—talking to someone who may be connected to demon slayers. Muzan would kill us both, that I'm sure of.

  "What would your parents say if they found out about this-!"

I stuttered and stumbled over my hissing words as I clamped a hand over her mouth, the other trembled as it gripped her haori. "That was you-?! Wait-that's not important right now! Sh!"

  I quickly hushed her and looked about the dark forest for any signs of something watching us. Whispering, "don't yell! I still think that scary demon is chasing me!"

  A pause as the tanuki woman moved my hand off her face. A look of pure hostility and defense now covering her visible expression.

  "Demon?" I nodded slowly as fresh tears laced my eyes, flashes of what just happened that night crossing my mind.

  ...

  Another, heavier, silence followed and I backed away from her. Carefully gripping only a corner of her sleeve instead as a form of comfort. My mind and body were still reeling from the traumatic memories.

  Tanuki lady sighed and looked at me through her mask. "If that's the case, lead me to them. I may not look it... but I am strong enough to handle whatever person might have broken into your home. We may also have a chance to save your family."

  At her words of supposed reassurance my trembling body broke once again. I let out a croaked sob and looked at the woman with sorrowful disbelief. "You-you can't... it's already too late! That... that-man has killed them! Mama... Pa... Haru and Kouta... even little Shujin!"

  I couldn't even form a proper sentence now. My throat closing tightly as tears fell down my face anew. The heat of them felt akin to molten hot lava on my frozen face—similar to the running blood that still crawled down my face.

  "I couldn't protect them! I promised!.. And yet I..!" I tightened my grip on the stranger's clothes, "I still was helpless when the time came!"

  I closed my one open eye and continued my fit of tears and broken sobs. I felt the stranger move her arm as my mind went over that night. I didn't want to believe what I witnessed as truth.

  I really didn't want to believe in the reality; one where I had just lost another family.

  Is this how Tanjiro truly felt when he saw his massacred family? What a terrible thing to go through-.

  WHACK!

  "That hurts!!" I yell as I placed both hands on top of my throbbing head. I took a step back and glared the best I could with one eye. "Why did you hit me?!"

  The tanuki lady crossed her arms. "Because I don't like dealing with crying brats, nor do I have the patience to try consoling them. Besides," she let a smirk appear on her face, "a punch to the noggin' usually gets them to stop 9 outta 10 times, better than any sappy crap others try to dish out."

  I puffed my cheeks and sniffed, not enjoying how apathetic this short lady was acting. She acted so nonchalant about a young child injured and collapsed in the woods. Crying and screaming her head off no less. Add in that this masked woman only started caring about her when she mentioned a demon.

  Maybe Tanuki-san was an uncaring sadist?

  The woman huffed and shifted her arms once more; a hand on her hip while the other rested on the hilt of her blade. It creates a small sound of metal bumping into something lightly. The long katana hidden in the black sheath was strapped tightly to her right side of her obi string*.

  I had only now noticed how much it resembled a nichirin sword. Perhaps that's exactly what it was, she did act in a way most slayers would when hearing of a demon.

  "Let's go."

  "Huh?" I say in confusion as I snap out of my stupor. I watch as the brunette begin her walk towards the direction I came from. "Wait, you can't go that way! I said there was a demon!"

  "I know, I heard you the first time, brat. Didn't I tell ya' already... that I would be taking care of it." She stopped to look at me—at least I think so, as I couldn't see her eyes under the tanuki mask—and let a confident grin take over her lips. "I am a demon slayer after all."

~~四~~

  "So," Tanuki-san started, "a demon with black hair and red eyes massacred your entire family, and you ran after saying you'd protect them." The tanuki woman said as she summed up the night's events in just a single sentence.

  I winced and stared down at the snowy ground. She didn't have to add that last part... I thought as a depressive aura rested over my head.

  "That was a good decision to make. Whether you like to believe it or not," Tanuki-san's words had caught my attention and I glanced back up in shock at her.

  "Running when a tough situation you can't fight on your own pops up is a good strategy. Even if it means there are some sacrifices. It means you can live to fight another day, and possibly find others that are willing to fight with you. And in some people's situations... search for a teacher that could help them grow stronger."

  I halted my steps as I digested the slayer's words. An idea suddenly flashed in my head at that moment, like a lightbulb turning on. "Tanuki-san... could you become my teacher?"

  The older woman—who was still walking and had yet to notice the lack of my footsteps—froze in her spot. Still like a statue, only a few feet in front of me. Then I watched morbidly as she suddenly turned to fully face me. Then, like Usain Bolt, she ran back over to me with a raised fist.

  WHACK!

  A second after the sound of her hitting me echoed through the forest I flinched back. My face cringe in pain and I groan as the ache pounded through my skull.

  "Don't call me tanuki, brat! And ain't no way I would take someone like you as a student!" She yelled, an irritated fangy grimace twitched on her face.

  "Then what can I do!? I want to do something to catch the demon that killed my family!" I started clutching tightly at the pendant that hung heavily around my neck.

  The slayer was hesitant to speak. Appearing to internally debate whether or not to continue the conversation. She nearly growled in frustration and clicked her tongue.

  "You won't... more like you can't. The demon you encountered was not an ordinary man-eating beast. From your description it was most likely who we like to call the 'demon lord'. His true name being Kibutsuji Muzan," she paused to see what kind of reaction this sudden development would make me have. And honestly I was a broken down orchestra of emotions.

  "He's not someone a person who is untrained—hell, even if they were trained—could ever hope to beat." She continued on walking, speaking as we went, "he is not only physically powerful but his added abilities as a demon makes him harder to kill than a common cockroach. Mix that together with his thousand years experience, intellect, and cowardice... you wouldn't be able to breathe in his presence before he kills you. So count yourself very very lucky that you survived."

  I could only let out a silent nod and clench my hands in frustrated dissatisfaction. She started walking and I followed, quietly grumbling to myself. Damnit, I know she's right but I still have to do something! I can't let her 50 year old sage-like advice get to me! Besides, aren't I technically older than her?! I mean, yeah sure, I'm in the body of a 9 year old but technically I'm 31 if we add up! And what about Tanuki-san?! How old is she, 13 or 30?!

~~四~~

{Third}

  The small demon slayer let out a tired sigh, watching the interaction it had with the outside frigid air. Making a tiny puff of fog before dissipating seconds later. The two were still walking along, the little girl's house coming into view.

  An ominous air radiating from it, a sign of a very powerful demon present, making the brunette worry.

  She was honestly hoping that the 9 year old was lying. That it wasn't Muzan that she was about to face in there, and instead an upper moon. That she could handle; albeit with some difficulty, but she can win a fight against them alone.

  But the king himself... that is a different story. Very different.

  Frankly though, in truth, the masked woman was only a demon slayer in name and there by sheer coincidence. In actuality, she has been 'retired' for well over a decade. So when she suddenly got word of a mission in the east needing her assistance greatly surprised her. And then while on her way, bumping into a strange blue haired child that had possibly come into contact with Muzan. In addition to that, surviving the encounter.

  Perhaps it was high time she send a letter to her master to find out what the fuck was going on.

  The tanuki woman rested a hand on the hilt of her sword—an all too familiar feeling washed over her—it was muscle memory at this point to prepare in advance for a battle. Yet she knew she was preparing for a losing fight against the originator of all demons.

  But she still didn't hesitate to begin entering the darkened house. Prepared to go about scouring the carnage left behind: what that poor child had witnessed her family become.

  The elder turned to the still trembling girl that stood several feet behind her. The moonlight reflecting off the pendant tied around her neck, this makes the brunette eye down the pendant longer than she should have.

  Before she got lost in thought, her attention went back up to the holder of the necklace. Then bluntly spoke, "he's not here anymore, but I still sense a demon. Stay outside and start digging graves, the least we can do for your family is give them a proper burial. I'll be bringing them out once it's safe to do so."

  She watched as the silent girl just nodded and left slowly. Walking into a direction where she would presumably get a shovel to help her in the grueling task. The stranger—despite her cold exterior—couldn't help but feel a strong sense of empathetic understanding as she look at the numbed expression on the child's face.

  This girl had been severely traumatized after what she had been through. She had just lost her whole family, in just a few hours, all right before her very eyes. She didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to them before they left this cruel and unpredictable world.

  ...

  "Damn it..." she cursed under her breath and turned back to the house, "guess I've got no choice."

  With silent steps the slayer wandered about the entirety of the minka, all 5 senses hyper aware of her surroundings. Looking for the demon that was causing such a strong pressure upon her. Yet nothing could be spotted out of the ordinary; not even remnants of spilt blood caused by the injury the girl made on Muzan.

  So she relaxed a smidge, making her way over to the one room she had yet to look through—the washitsu. The place holding all bodies of the deceased, including that of small children.

  The brunette scrunched her nose and tried her hardest to hold her breath, never getting used to that metallic scent. And even now it permeates through the thick fusuma: the smell of death and spilt blood. It was very potent, due to the amount of bodies and how severe the wounds were.

  Yet once she opened the sliding door the slayer couldn't help but wince as she spotted the remains of a baby. Or at least, what was left of them.

  The slayer couldn't help but huff out a frustrated sigh, rage towards the king of demons growing exponentially larger at the gruesome sight. This is why she became a slayer in the first place; to stop these horrible acts from continuing. And that's why—even after being forcibly retired—she still trains her body to become stronger.

  "My god this is brutal!" She hissed in anger, "what the hell?! Was he trying to turn them into mashed blood puddles..? It doesn't look like he was planning to eat them though..."

  The woman continues muttering to herself as a distraction while she prepares to move the bodies. This was a frequent habit of the brunette, a dark sense of humor created to keep the woman from emptying the contents of her knotting stomach each time she dealt with the dead.

  Yes, one would think slayers would be desensitized after decades of dealing with corpses and demons. But that is not true, humans have a way of being disturbed by things they've seen a million times.

  Does this make them weak? No. On the contrary most would say that makes the person more sympathetic to others.

  The slayer continued on, her mind now more focused on not vomiting over the poor child's deceased family rather than the surrounding room. She easily picked up 2 larger forms that still held that majority of them together despite the deep gashes over the chests and limbs. They were older in age and appeared to be the parents of this unit.

  The slayer can't help but furrow her hidden eyebrows in confusion as she stared at the killing wounds.

  "But this family has such aggressive wounds on them. Was Muzan pissed off or something?" She gagged lightly as she slung the parents' bodies over her shoulders—holding them like a sack of potatoes.

  It didn't take long for her to return outside, where the younger girl was cumbersomely digging a large grave. The woman said nothing and gently placed the 2 on the thickening snowy ground. Then turned and bounded back the way she came to continue her task.

  During the second—and easier—trip she brought out the elder boy along with the swaddled remains of the baby. Then, after handing the girl the baby, she went for another repeat for the last son. The boy that held little injuries compared to the others.

  But as she reached a hand out, preparing to quickly grab the last body and rush out of there before a demon pops out, another hand latched onto hers. A clawed one. She jumped in shock as the strong grip tightened over her non dominant wrist, crushing it.

  The brunette had little time to register what was happening, as she was then flung across the room and into a paper wall with inhuman strength. As she flew, eyes wide from the turn of events, her mind rushed through her thoughts.

  Shit! One of them turned! Tanuki woman thought a second before the painful crack sounded when her small back landed against the thin wall. What to do now?! She fell to the floor, nursing her broken wrist in the cradled hold of her right hand.

  She glanced over to the standing figure covered in its own blood—and perhaps some of his blood. The feral boy growled out a hungered snarl, a completely inhuman sound. He didn't hesitate to leap towards the fallen slayer, its fang filled mouth open and prepared to tear chunks out of the child sized adult.

  As he flew to her, the tanuki masked woman swiftly abandoned her obliterated wrist and unsheathed her sword. Ready for the incoming attack marking to take her life.

~~四~~

  Silent.

  All was silent on that mountain.

  Now not even the sounds of rambunctious children yelling could be heard echoing. Not the sound of laughter from (Name), not the nagging lectures from Haruto, not the interesting jokes made from Kouta, not the wondrous cheers from Eiji as he encourages his kids, and not the calming voice of Amiya soothing her family.

  Only the quiet sniffles of a broken-hearted (Name) could be heard. She stared with half lidded eyes down into the warped grave she attempted in making.

  She was tired. Oh so very tired. Tired of death, tired of loss, tired of digging, tired of running. (Name)... was just tired of everything.

  She was even tired of waiting for her body to finally shut down after this grueling and traumatic experience. Her body was sore and mind numb; weighed down from emotional breakdown after breakdown.

  (Name) never wanted this. Never wanted to go through this, the pain of losing her family and then being forced to be the one to bury them all. All 5 in an early grave; including what was left of the swaddled baby boy she currently held.

  Even when his soul no longer resided in that body, (Name) still selfishly wished to hold him one more time. Eyes wander over the forever young visage while her mind goes over falsified memories of what could have been.

  What kind of person Shujin would grow to become, who Haruto would eventually marry, what kind of adventurous life Kouta would take, and her parents' pride towards her during life changing events. Oh how (Name) wished for that future. She wanted that back.

  She wanted her family back.

  (Name) rubbed at her sore eyes as more tears formed in them. An action that results in her accidentally scraping parts of the dried blood patch that stuck to her face.

  My cuts feel itchy... Her mind thought as she placed the baby in the arms of their parents.

  Even at this point her thoughts were wandering mindless idles. Unimportant things to focus on as her numbed mind was too fatigued to think of anything else that could be deemed otherwise.

  (Name) sighed and sat back, darkened eyes staring down at her ragged, injured, and bloodied palms. The trembling only recently stopped as she got used to the thin cold air. Not even the hold of the icy shovel bothered her as she stood up and grabbed it.

  She noticed then that her tiny fingertips started to look a little more blue than normal. (Name) decided now was a good place to stop and go inside to start a fire. A big one to help stop the process of the hypothermia she was experiencing.

  She could always help the tanuki masked slayer later. (Name) was in desperate need to keep her body from collapsing in the snow and perishing from the cold. She also needed some water for that wreak of a throat she sported after all the screaming and exercise she did.

  As she began walking with a shovel still in hand, the muffled sounds of rummaging and struggles reached her ears. Before (Name) could think—could even blink—the side of a wooden wall in front of her burst open. With quick reflexes that (Name) still somehow possessed, she shielded her face with her arms. Making sure to also close her eyes tight, waiting for the sudden onslaught of flying splinters to stop.

  Oh, now she was trembling again, from fear.

  (Name) was afraid. Afraid to move her arms and open her eyes to what could only be the sight of Muzan killing the slayer she was with. Yet she forced herself to, needing to know what was happening to cause such chaos.

  She slowly moved her small arms down, just enough to see the brunette fighting. Sword unsheathed and glistening in the moonlight as it presses back against something.

  That something came along with sounds of deep growls and inhuman, feral snarls.

  (Name) moved her (e/c) gaze off the slayer and to the demon on top of her, fighting against the blade that held it from its laying prey.

  (Name) stopped breathing. Her eyes went impossibly wide and her jaw fell open without her knowledge. Even her arms fully returned to her sides as she watched on in shock at the display.

  What laid before her was a boy. A boy no older than 13 and one she knew well. With familiar short wild black tresses of hair flying about—the tips now a striking blond color. His clothes still riddled with rips and tears, along with the browning blood staining them. Yet there were clearly no wounds in sight despite the evidence of them.

  His eyes, ones that were previously matching (e/c), were now mixed with a glowing red/pink—causing a heterochromic look—and slitted pupils. Not unlike the common house cat eyes. Even his nails were sharpened into claws and skin the same shade as it had been when he died. Lighter than that of a normal living person.

  Yet no matter how different he looked, (Name) still recognized him. It was Kouta; (Name)'s older brother.

  And with this realization came at her with new waves of emotions crashing into her. (Name) couldn't stop the sobs leaving her lips as she instinctively called out his name.

  "Kouta!" The sound echoed over the mountain and everything seemed to freeze in that moment. As still as the winter snow.

  Then, the both responded by turning towards the little sister in silent surprise. The boy now being lured by the new appetizing scent coming from the blood of her recent wounds—chose her as his new target.

  Kouta took no time in abandoning his place over the fallen slayer and rushing at (Name). But the now crying girl stayed in place, only tightening her grip on the shovel. She wouldn't run—refused to run—now that she knew there was a chance to save her brother.

  Even if it was a small one.

  Instead of leaving, the reincarnated girl opened her arms wide—as if to embrace him—and abandoned the shovel by dropping it in the snow.

  Kouta tackled her easily, pushing them down into the packed snow. However (Name) still managed to unknowingly smack her head on the ice hardened soil underneath. She allowed his claws to take hold of her shoulders, digging in past her flesh.

  But she refused to let a single scream of pain pass her mouth, opting to reach out for his own shoulders. Pushing back on them enough to keep Kouta at bay, disallowing his fangs from reaching her skin.

  "Kouta..." the bluenette spoke, her strained voice faltering at the end. "Please, I know you don't want to do this! It's me, your little sister! The one you love to annoy and tease! The one that always goes to you when she has a bad dream! The one that'll jump on your back just to get a piggyback ride home! The one you love stealing food from!"

  The tanuki woman looked at them in a panic and struggled to get up—both arms and legs covered with several injuries. She needed to get to them quickly. To stop any more death from happening to the traumatized girl.

  "You idiot!" Tanuki-san yelled as she gritted her teeth and began running over to the siblings, preparing to behead the demonized Kouta. "That's not your brother anymore! It's just a mindless man-eating demon!"

  But she went ignored, (Name) was too focused on her brother. Pushing to get him back no matter what.

  She struggled against Kouta as fresh tear streaks lined her face. (Name) knew, she could see it on Kouta's face, that he was attempting to fight against his new demon instincts.

  (Name) clenched her jaw, pushing her already tired body to its absolute limits. "It's me, (Name)! And I won't stop until you're back to normal! Whether I myself become a demon or I fight Muzan himself! I won't rest until you're human and I will never let you harm someone! I promise you..!"

  She looked up hopefully into Kouta's wavering eyes. "So... PLEASE STOP THIS!"

  (Name) yell made her stumble, losing a grip on one of his shoulders, giving a chance for Kouta to strike. But his sister was still determined, choosing to sacrifice her forearm for Kouta to bite. Rather than its intended target; her neck.

  The bit was deep enough for more blood to spill out, a more severe wound than her shoulders. This makes (Name) physically wince from the pain.

  The slayer's panic spiked up more as she prepared to attack—blood spitting out of recent wounds—in the hopes of saving (Name) from a horrible fate. But then, as quickly as she started, she stopped in place. She stood there frozen mid-step with unseen wide eyes.

  The brunette could see that (Name) herself was just as shocked as she was. The slayer lowered her sword slowly as she watched the siblings before her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing at that moment.

  Tears falling down on the 9 year olds face. But these current ones... weren't her own. They belong to Kouta—he was the one crying now. Letting them flow freely as his grip went lax and unlatched his jaw from his sister's arm.

  The uneaten blood dripped from his mouth as it mixed with his uncontrollable drool. He released her bloody shoulders and shakily went to hug (Name) instead. Holding her like she was a fragile porcelain doll, and sobbing out his apologies like any normal child would.

  "S-sunshine..!" Kouta's stuttering broken voice spoke in a tone (Name) has never heard from him before. And she immediately reciprocated the hug, "I'm... sorry! So-so sorry (Name)!"

  She brought him back... He won against his hunger! Tanuki woman thought in shock as she watched the two crying siblings.

  Once that atmosphere of tension left and relief was able to settle on (Name), she let the waves of fatigue crash into her. Lulling her to sleep, she closed her eyes in content, letting the darkness of unconsciousness envelope her.

  She let out a sigh of relief, now able to finally relax. To relax in the safety of the warmth of newfound hope and determination that kept her from freezing entirely that early morning in autumn.

~~四~~

  When (Name) next opened her eyes, she found herself gazing up at a familiar but strange sight of her broken home. She turned her head to meet the form of her sleeping brother. He was resting beside her blanketed self, laying to face her.

  (Name) gave herself some time to look over his new appearance, that now sported a clothed mask. Courtesy of the Tanuki woman herself as she was still concerned of the boy's resistance to his hunger.

  As (Name) sat up she noticed the nearby fire; the source of the warmth she had been feeling. She glanced about the room and noticed they were by the irori* rather than an actual bedroom. She spotted the tanuki masked person poking at the charcoal with an ash stained fire stick.

  (Name) blinked the sleepiness from her eyes and glanced down, not in the mood to talk yet. Instead finding interest in staring at her bandage wrapped hands. Those weren't the only places covered as her dazed self soon discovered.

  Many areas filled with injuries were covered with clean bandages and free of any blood. She could also feel the patches hiding the scratches Muzan marked her with. Somehow even the bite mark was stitched up without a problem.

  To (Name), the Tanuki-san seemed more superhuman than the demons in that moment.

  "Good, you're awake," Tanuki woman stated as she placed the poker beside her. "We have a lot of things to discuss, brat...one of them; involving the future of you, and your brother. But we'll get to that soon, first of all we should give our names. Can't keep calling you brat, now can I?"

  Tanuki-san smirked and gestured to (Name), giving her the room to speak.

  "Why now," (Name) croaked out and she winced at the sound of it. Her voice was still sore from recent events. "I thought you didn't want to know it... especially since you refused to take me as a student."

  "Well things have changed," she sighed while pointing to the pendant that sat on her collarbone. She lost her smirk and crossed her arms. Shoulders tense for a reason unknown to both (Name) and the sleeping Kouta.

  "When I noticed that, I knew I couldn't just leave ya' here in the hands of the village folk. If I did... you'd be a walking target for all sorts of enemies; not just demons. So I want your name and how you managed to get that. To make ya' feel better... I'll start first. Name's Ichiin Sango and my occupation is being a demon slayer, although I am technically 'retired'. But that's a story for another day, and my age is irrelevant so don't even ask. Just know I've lived way longer than a brat like you."

  (Name) let her hand find its way over to the necklace and tightly grip the cool metal that hung from the string. Many questioning thoughts started to swirl around her head, hoping that Tanu-Sango would have answers for them.

  ...

  She took a deep breath to calm her raging mind and looked straight at where she hoped Sango's eyes were. "My name... is Tsugikuni (Name) and that's my brother, Tsugikuni Kouta. And the pendant you're talking about is something that was passed down through my father's family, but no one actually knew about the pendant."

  Sango snorted and tilted her head to the side, "how did no one even notice that thing? It's very eye-catching."

  (Name) ignored the implied sarcasm and answered simply. "It was sealed within a wooden puzzle box, nobody was able to open it till now. That's why no one knew about it."

  "Humph... I see," Sango muttered as she placed a hand under her chin, the sight of her bandaged wrist peeking out from her sleeves. "What was the surname of your father's family, if I may ask?"

  (Name) also tilted her head in confusion but still answered, "Fugiimoto... Why? And what makes this pendant so special?"

  A moment of silence passes before Sango hummed and shrugged her shoulders absentmindedly.

  "...Dunno, all I know is that it's important," She replied with a knowing smirk. "Those names on the other hand... heh. You're in luck, brat, I'll make you my student! You actually may be the only one that's able to be so, as my techniques are so hard to learn, masters of other arts won't ever be able to learn them!"

  The little girl can't help but stumble out incoherent gibberish. Her mind can't comprehend what she was hearing right now. First she had been rejected when asking... So, what changed?!

  "Wait! You're willing to help us?!" (Name) asked in disbelief, she wasn't expecting this kind of development to happen so soon!

  "That's right," Sango laughed while leaning forward, that fanged grin covering the visible part of her face. She was amused by this girl's reactions, "but before I officially make you my student, we need to decide what to do with your brother. He is a demon now, after all. And there will always be chances for him to end up devouring some innocent person."

  "I won't let that happen!" (Name) shouted with clear resolve lighting up her (e/c) eyes. "I promise to stay by his side always and make sure he won't hurt others, even if I end up putting myself in danger like before!"

  Sango's grin widened even more than humanly possible, satisfied with the little girl's answer. She was happy to know she made the right choice. But she'll gloat about that later to the other slayers.

  "Now that that's settled, get some rest. We'll be leaving tomorrow night, and during the walk to my place I will explain what kind of hell you decided to step into."

  "That's fine by me!.. But why at night?" (Name) tilted her head again, acting as if she didn't already know the reason why.

  "Demons burn in the sunlight, and even though it is still cloudy today... We have no way of knowing what tomorrow's weather will be like. So it is best for you and your brother to travel at night for the time being, until we get to my place."

  (Name) slowly nodded as she layed back down. She was now too deep in the story to have a normal life. Muzan took that choice away from her the moment he appeared.

  Now she sets her sights on many future goals.

  First—obviously—is to turn her brother back to being a human like Tanjiro's own goal. While the second is to help in the final battle to defeat Muzan. Those are the main tasks she wants to accomplish.

  But she now needs to put her sights on multiple side quests of saving as many people as she can. Whether it's pillars or just normal side characters; she'll save anyone that's in front of her facing danger. That is one of many silent promises she made to herself.

  With all that in mind, (Name) lets herself fall into a dreamless sleep. Excitement running through her veins of what tomorrow will bring.

Modern Secrets

-Obi string* is like a belt, it holds the kimono closed and holds the Obi up. It can be used to tie on things like a pouch of money or the sheath of a sword. Obi* is a fabric commonly used to wrap around a kimono or yukata. An irori* is a sunken fireplace in the middle of a room, it can be used to cook food and heating.

-Sango is 4ft 3in (cm), very short for her age and only a few inches taller than Mc.

-Sango has this freaky ability of fixing up any injury without waking the person she's working on.

-Sango is not a demon despite having fanged teeth! She was just born with them and wished she could get rid of them as a kid; she kept biting her tongue! Now she uses it to chomp on demons that bite her...kinda like doing a uno reverse on them...

-Kouta did use his height as an advantage against Sango.

-Kouta couldn't stop crying and pulling Mc away from Sango every time she tried to get near them. Sango had to knock Kouta out in the end as she was getting impatient with Kouta's overprotectiveness.

-Mc slept for most of the day, clinging on to her brother for dear life.

-Kouta nearly suffocated in Mc's strong grip.

-Sango is very sadistic and is looking forward to the torture training Mc will go through. She has a lot planned for these siblings and it's gonna be a long ride, so buckle up.

(6638 words)