Chapter Text
It was a cold late winter’s day. Snow had fallen and wrapped the landscape in a white coat. The sky was clear with no cloud to be seen which announced that the temperature would only drop when the evening would fall again. Here on this cold day, in this white landscape there was a small hill close to the edge of the forest. On that hill stood a small house waiting for the sun to touch it with its first light. To give a little bit of warmth these harsh winter days.
‘And don’t forget your other coat,’ Kie Kamado said while fixing the hair of her oldest son. Her face full of worry.
‘I’ll be fine mom, don’t worry,’ Tanjiro said with a smile that was common in this family. ‘I got my coat and dad taught me everything I need to know.’
‘I know but,’ Kie said with eyes almost in tears, ‘I can’t help but worry. Your father hasn’t come home in weeks. You know it is unusual for him to do that. I’m just scared something happened this time.’
‘Don’t worry mom,’ Tanjiro said, gave her another smile and a kiss on her forehead. ‘I’ll find father. Nezuko will look after you.’ Kei smiled as well and closed her eyes for a moment. Only her brow showed that she was not fully relaxed.
‘I don’t have any doubt in your sister,’ she said and opened her eyes again. ‘She has shown to be as strong as you are, maybe even stronger.’ Tanjiro laughed.
‘Then don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘I’ll find father, and Nezuko will keep you and the others save.’ Kei smiled and took her oldest son into a warm embrace.
‘Stay safe,’ she said and Tanjiro nodded. He straightened his coat, laid his hand on his sword and took a deep breath. His backpack was heavy but would provide him with everything he needed.
‘I’ll find him,’ he said but before he could disappear a small body had clung to him.
‘Don’t leave,’ Takeo said with tears in his eyes. Hanako and Shigeru came running to him as well. Soon Nezuko had joined them with Rokuta and Tanjiro hated that he had to go.
‘I’ll protect them,’ Nezuko said when everyone had made their goodbye.
‘I know,’ Tanjiro said. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ Nezuko nodded full encouragement.
‘See you soon,’ she said and this time Tanjiro did leave.
____
It felt weird going alone to the city their father had gone to. It had been some time since Tanjiro had made this trip without his father and he could not shake the ominous feeling he got while taking a well-known path. The grip on his sword tightened while he paid extra attention to his surroundings. He watched every tree, he tried to catch every smell. Something was lurking in the shadows but did not want to show itself.
Some miles farther, he arrived at the village his father should have had gone through. It was quiet but pleasant even with the big wall full of spikes that greeted him. What was lurking in the dark some moments ago did not feel the need to follow him into the barricaded village. And let Tanjiro feel more at ease.
‘Tanjiro,’ a familiar voice called. ‘Haven’t seen you here a while.’ Demon slayer smiled.
‘Yes. I see the village is still standing?’ he asked, the man nodded.
‘Yes, after you and your father killed those nasty beasts they did not bother us anymore!’ he said. ‘You saved the village in their darkest hour.’
‘We were glad to be at your service,’ Tanjiro said and remembered the sum of money the village had given them after they had been fighting for hours. That money helped them restore their house that had been showing signs of decay. Something which was caused by time and a terrible storm. But with the money the village gave them the roof had finally been fixed and the door closed as it should. No more creaks, no more creaking.
‘Anything I can do for you this cold evening?’ the man asked after saying good night to a woman that just passed by.
‘Well, actually,’ Tanjiro said. ‘Have you seen my father in the last few weeks?’ The man frowned and for a moment he was quiet. To quiet to give Tanjiro any hope his father had even been here.
‘It had been a while since I’ve seen him...’ he said with caution. ‘I know I’ve talked to him. He did say something about a demon that escaped him? No, that can’t be right… It was something else but-’
‘So he has been here?’ Tanjiro asked, hope slipped back into his body. The man nodded.
‘Yes, but just for one night,’ he said. ‘Then he was gone. To the next village, I guess.’
‘That was everything I needed to know,’ Tanjiro said with a smile and a new feeling he was not keen on. ‘Thank you.’
‘No problem,’ the man said, but stopped Tanjiro before he could walk away. ‘Tanjiro, could I ask you something?’
‘Yes?’
‘How long has he been gone?’ There was a tremble in his voice.
‘Three weeks,’ Tanjiro said, the feeling in his stomach increased. He did not like the fact that his father had been gone for so long. It happened a few times before, but both times he had sent them a letter. This time he had disappeared without a trace.
‘I hope you’ll find him,’ the man said. ‘We can’t have another demon slayer disappear. There are so few these days.’ Tanjiro nodded. He knew that there we not many who thought the life of a demon slayer was a good one, even when you were paid handsomely when you helped people get rid of the monsters. The training was hard and should be done by yourself. Those who were a demon slayer did not bother to take apprentices. Those who knew how to use a sword lacked the skill to kill a demon. And if you did not have any connections in the demon slayer world it was hard to even get the equipment that could kill a demon. It was the reason why most did not start as a demon slayer at first. Some started as a bounty hunter and accidentally got into killing demons as well. Others were soldiers that survived a demon attack by pure luck and got the hang of killing them, even more, when they acquired a more effective weapon. Tanjiro was lucky that his father was a slayer otherwise he would not have bothered to be one in these sixteen years he had lived. Even if that would have meant he could get killed every step he would take because the woods around their house were crowded with those nasty beasts. Thanks to being demon slayers, their home was never destroyed by demons and made Tanjiro want to stay a slayer even when he knew the dangers it would bring. The dangers of which he feared had finally caught up to his dad. With a sigh and a determination to find his father he still decided it would be a better idea to stay the night in the village than to resume his path this day. Yes, he wanted to find his father as soon as possible but he knew that a rested body could run longer.
The next morning Tanjiro left early and he moved swiftly to the next village. He asked around, but his father was not there. Some people did remember someone that had his description, but that was someone who went away long ago. It was a small lead but a lead nonetheless, and Tanjiro took off again. Day after day he walked from village to village, asking questions and looking for answers hope to find a clue to the whereabouts of his father. But after a week of searching, he suddenly reached a dead end. The people of the town he just arrived in could not help him. Nobody remembered a man wearing earrings with red suns. As frustrating as it felt, Tanjiro saw this as a good opportunity to inform his family of his findings. He asked around to be pointed to a post office which used ravens to deliver messages across the land. Every raven had a different district and Tanjiro was lucky that the raven for his district was present. The letter he wrote was small but would serve its purpose. The moment he paid, the raven was released and he followed the bird’s flight. Its wings strong and making the raven disappear at the horizon. Tanjiro watched as if the bird was still there until a horrendous scream reached his ears. In one smooth reaction, his hand went to his sword and without any hesitation he started to run towards the scream. It was just a few blocks away and Tanjiro discovered the yells came from a small house. The screaming got higher. Knowing that did not mean anything good he kicked the door in and got inside. It was dark, but that did not stop the yelling or Tanjiro's way to it. While his eyes adjusted, the yelling continued. It came from upstairs. Following many claw marks on the walls and the floor, he went up as fast as he could hoping he was not too late. He arrived in a small hallway with more closed doors than he would like, but the screams guided him.
‘Help! Somebody! He-’ The voice was cut off by the horrible sound of someone suffocating in their own blood, a sound rather familiar to the young demon slayer. Where some demon slayers would stop moving, Tanjiro kept going. Even though the sound meant death, he always hoped he could at least save whatever was left. Or kill the demon who had taken a human life. By the sickening sounds of it, he was heading in the right direction and kicked open the right door. In the room, two dark eyes looked at him with murderous intent. Before the beast the body of the one who had been screaming for help. Their body was torn apart and partly eaten by that bloody demon. Tanjiro drew his sword. The demon eyed him for a moment; scared. Then it spoke with a raspy voice:
‘You’re too late to find your father alive now,’ it said with a wicked smile before Tanjiro could try to decapitate him.
‘What did you just say?!’ Tanjiro said more angrily than he intended to. It had been long days and the fact that he had reached a dead end in leads to his father had put him on edge. The demon chuckled.
‘You’ll never find him,’ it said and Tanjiro hit it in the face. The demon received a broken nose and started to cough up blood. Tanjiro hit him again, giving it no time to regenerate.
‘What do you know about my father?!’ Tanjiro said angry but he knew that was exactly what the demon wanted. That ugly beast! He wanted to kill it so badly that it took all his willpower to withhold himself from slitting the demon’s throat. So he hit him again.
‘Just that he’s gone,’ the demon said while blood ran from its mouth. Another hit and blood was spat in Tanjiro's face. ‘We finally got rid of the great Kamado!’ The demon had a nasty grin and in a roar of fury, Tanjiro forced his sword into the demon’s body. One hit followed the other and he stabbed the creature multiple times. More blood splattered on his face and scattered around the room when he ended with a final blow. The demon's head fell to the ground and rolled against a wall. With heavy breathing, Tanjiro suddenly realised the mess he and the demon had made.
'Fuck,' he said while wiping the blood off his face. He should have known better than to kill this demon. It had knowledge about his father and he just killed his only lead. He cursed again but he knew not to linger. He got his breathing under control and went outside. The sun was awfully bright compared to the darkness inside. Tanjiro had to blink a few times to see that some of the town's people had come to take a look.
'Is she alright?' one woman asked and Tanjiro shook his head.
'I'm sorry,' he said with pain painted all over his face. 'The demon already killed her when I came in.' Tears left the woman's eyes and with a sad smile, Tanjiro comforted her. When she calmed down he took it on him to find someone who might know how the demon got into the house. It had to be last night, for demons could not walk in the sunlight. He asked around but left and right people shook their heads. He could not find anyone that knew more. With a deep breath, he sat down in an alley. The alley was somewhat shadowed from the outside world and gave Tanjiro the privacy to think. The demon's words were still messing with his head and he forced himself to get his thoughts straight. He tried to think of what he knew. His father was a month gone without a trace, that was a fact. And it meant something was wrong, the demon's words had confirmed that. If he should believe the words of the wicked creature was another thing to think about. What if it was just to distract him? To mess with his head? But then again, how did the demon know about his father? How did it know who he was and that Tanjiro was looking for him?
‘Excuse me, sir?’ Tanjiro looked up from his thoughts and stared into two golden-brown eyes.
‘What is it?’ the demon slayer asked with a kind smile. The boy seemed to relax and looked left and right.
‘Are the rumours true? You killed the demon?’ he asked, Tanjiro nodded.
‘Yes,’ he said and saw relief flooding through the boy’s body. He then smiled brightly.
‘Thank you! Thank you so much!’ he said suddenly in tears. ‘I did not know what to do! I’m so worthless as the village’s demon slayer! I should find a wife before I die but no-one wants to marry me and-’ Tanjiro stopped his rambling there with a laugh.
‘What’s your name?’ he asked and got up.
‘Zenitsu,’ the boy said.
‘You’re a demon slayer?’
‘Yes?’
‘So where were you?’
‘What do you mean?’ Zenitsu asked puzzled. ‘No no no! I’m not going near a demon ever again! I killed one by accident and now everyone thinks I’m a slayer! But I don’t want to be one, but the old man keeps insisting because we don’t have one. We survive by travelling slayers. Like one a month ago! He was a big help!’
‘Wait,’ Tanjiro said before Zenitsu could talk any further. ‘Are you sure that was a month ago?’
‘Yeah,’ Zenitsu said. ‘Something like that. But-’
‘I’m sorry to interrupt you again, but could you tell me what that slayer’s appearance was?’ Tanjiro asked as kind as he could. He knew that when you interrupted people you should be as kind as you could be or they would get mad at you. If people got mad then you were no better than a demon.
‘You think you know him?’ Zenitsu asked. ‘Well, it has been some time ago so I don’t know if I get his description right… But I remember it was a demon slayer older than you normally see and he had earrings if I remember correctly. He fought really hard, there were a lot of those monsters. And the weird thing was he did not want any rewards for it… He seemed to be in a hurry.’ Tanjiro waited for him to continue, but nothing more came.
‘He didn’t want any rewards?’ Tanjiro asked and Zenitsu nodded.
‘So I said that I would take it, being a demon slayer as well,’ he said. ‘So I got this new coat!’ He showed his yellow coat proudly, but Tanjiro’s eyes were elsewhere. The foul smell in the shadows had followed him all the way here.
‘Duck!’ he yelled but knew Zenitsu would not react quickly enough. He jumped to the other slayer and pushed them both to the ground.
‘What are you doing! My coa- Oh shit!’ Zenitsu said when he saw the small but angry demon lurking in the dark.
‘It has blood magic, stay back,’ Tanjiro said and was on his feet again, sword already drawn.
‘We have to get into the light,’ Zenitsu said with a suddenly high-pitched voice. ‘It can’t do us anything there.’ He was already up and out the alley but stopped when Tanjiro stayed put to deflect another blood art attack with his sword.
‘What are you doing!’ Zenitsu screamed. ‘We have to run away! We can never win against it!’
‘No,’ Tanjiro said with a dangerous glare in his eyes directed to the demon that hissed when her attack missed her target. ‘We have to kill it.’
‘K-k-kill it?!’ Zenitsu asked and fainted. The demon made her attack and Tanjiro decide it was time for him to put in an effort as well. With the speed of lightning, he chopped the arms of the creature that screamed out of surprise.
‘Before I kill you,’ Tanjiro said grabbing its head, placing his sword against the demon’s throat. ‘Tell me: What do you know about Tanjurou Kamado?’