"Caw! Demon on the mountain! Caw! Hurry, hurry!"
A crow shouted in human language as it flew overhead, directly above a running figure.
The person below was a stoic-faced young man who appeared to be around twenty. He had long, uneven black hair reaching his shoulders. Over his black uniform-like clothing, he wore a distinctive haori made of two different patterns.
His deep blue eyes stared sharply ahead as he climbed the mountain with steady breathing.
At his waist, a sword rested in a black sheath, tied to his belt.
"Caw! A human child is approaching! Caw! The demon is at the top! Caw!"
Hearing the crow, the man thought:
'Did the child slip past the demon's notice? Or was he hiding…?'
While thinking, his honed senses caught sight of a boy ahead. However, when he saw the boy's actual position, his eyebrows rose on their own.
The boy was calmly sitting on a tree branch, nothing like what he had imagined.
As he drew closer, the boy simply jumped down with a smile.
The young man narrowed his eyes and rushed forward.
'Has he gone mad…? Was I too late?'
Hoping to catch him in time, he dashed.
Yet the boy twisted mid-air and landed perfectly upright on the hard, snowless ground.
He had dropped from that height onto solid rock…!
The man stared blankly, his expression almost comical.
The boy, clearly Tanjiro in black clothes and a red haori, inwardly enjoyed the Water Hashira's stupefied face.
"Who are you? State your business. Carrying a sword in the mountains—are you a thief?" he shouted, gripping his axe in response.
Giyu stared.
The crow stared.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
After a long second, Giyu's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"…What?"
Tanjiro didn't break character. He rested the axe on his shoulder and shouted again, louder this time.
"You want me to repeat myself?"
Hearing the boy's ringing voice, Giyu froze for a moment, then exhaled and answered in a calm tone.
"I'm Giyu. My job is to hunt man-eating demons. I'm not here to steal from you. There's a dangerous demon in these mountains. I came to kill it. And you shouldn't move around like that. You might have hurt your feet in that fall."
Even as he spoke, his mind was spinning.
Why was this boy protecting a demon?
He could clearly sense demonic presence farther up the mountain. And whether it was the boy's sudden appearance or that impossible leap, everything felt wrong.
Who or what was this kid?
Tanjiro let a faint smirk cross his face.
"Oh, so you hunt demons? Does that mean you're strong?"
No reply came from Giyu this time.
'Not playing along, huh? Fine. Let's see if you can feel this.'
With that thought, Tanjiro released a burst of pure killing intent straight at the swordsman.
Instantly, Giyu's body shuddered. His hand shot to his sword hilt on reflex.
The boy hadn't moved an inch.
Snow whipped through the air.
Giyu's deep blue eyes widened in shock at his own reaction.
What was that? Why did I…?
"What did you do?!" Giyu shouted, voice cracking slightly. He drew his blade in one smooth motion and leveled it forward. "Drop the axe right now!"
Something was seriously wrong.
The boy still felt completely human, yet for a split second Giyu's instincts had screamed that a starving predator was staring him down, one that could end him in a heartbeat.
Tanjiro glanced at the shimmering blue sword now pointed at him and frowned.
"This is getting us nowhere. Let's end this without wasting more time," he said with a sigh.
Giyu's eyebrows shot up. He stared harder.
'He's ignoring me completely. What is he planning?'
Before the thought finished, Tanjiro's figure vanished, like he had never been there at all.
....! W-What…?
Giyu's heartbeat thundered as he barely managed to raise his blade and block a blindingly fast strike from the left.
DUN!
Sparks flew where steel met steel.
It was that same axe.
The sheer force of the blow shot down his arm and numbed it instantly.
What is going on? This boy's speed and strength are above mine? And he is using Total Concentration Breathing... Just what is he?
Pain flashed across Giyu's face as his hand trembled from the impact.
But it wasn't over. The boy swung the axe again with a joyful grin, clearly enjoying himself.
Shit... Block it... Here it comes!
With effort, Giyu lifted his shaking arm and tried to parry the horizontal slash.
DUNN!
Crap…
He blocked it, but his sword was ripped from his grip and sent flying several meters away.
"Heh. Are you sure you aren't lying? How are you supposed to hunt demons with only this much strength?" Tanjiro shook his head and laughed.
In the blink of an eye he appeared beside the fallen sword and picked it up.
Giyu narrowed his eyes sharply.
I was defeated? By a child?
His mind refused to accept it.
How could this be…
Tanjiro ignored the stunned Hashira. He gripped the Nichirin sword for the first time and the moment he did, the blue blade flared bright crimson, steam rising into the cold air.
"Oh, it changed color. What a nice sword…" He swung it a few times, the air whistling, then casually sliced a nearby tree clean in half with one effortless stroke.
'Still prefer the Heavenly Demon Sword though,' he thought.
Giyu stood in complete silence, at a total loss for words.
Until Tanjiro spoke again.
"I got what I wanted. Now let's go, or breakfast will get cold. My siblings are probably hungry." The boy glanced at him oddly and started walking, the crimson Nichirin sword still in his hand.
Giyu finally found his voice, flat and monotone. "There is a demon up ahead."
Tanjiro didn't even slow down.
He had seen the crow fly off earlier, so he knew someone from the Corps would come looking soon enough.
Giyu no longer interested him after losing so quickly.
He simply headed home.
His figure vanished from Giyu's sight in moments.
After a brief pause, Giyu dashed after him.
....
Meanwhile, the speaking crow that had come with Giyu had already flown down the mountain, crossed the village, and vanished toward parts unknown.
…
When Tanjiro reached the house, he found Nezuko standing at the entrance of the charcoal shelter. Her whole body trembled.
"Mother… H-How…?" Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Kie sat quietly in the corner, head tilted, staring at Nezuko with faint curiosity. Her memories were a fog. She felt instinctively that this girl was precious, yet the feeling wasn't strong enough to stir her body or mind. So she stayed still.
Nezuko noticed the changed eyes, the glowing red-tipped hair, the flawless skin, the long nails. She understood, with a child's sharp intuition, that her mother was no longer completely human.
A hand settled gently on her shoulder.
"Kyaa…!" She spun around in fright, then relaxed. "Onii-chan…" She threw herself into his arms and sobbed. "What happened to Mother? She looks different… and she's… she's not…"
Tanjiro sighed and stroked her back.
"She's fine. I promise. Let's eat first, and I'll explain everything, okay?"
Nezuko sniffled and nodded against his chest. "Mm…"
He glanced over his shoulder at Giyu, who had followed in stunned silence and was now staring wide-eyed at the calm demon sitting in the corner.
"You too, Giyu, was it? Come inside. We have things to discuss."
Giyu narrowed his eyes but could only nod, feeling utterly powerless.
He had lost pathetically in a fight.
His Nichirin sword, his only weapon, had been taken.
And now the boy who beat him was inviting him to breakfast… in the presence of a demon who showed no hostility at all.
Giyu's mind raced.
Sunlight wasn't reaching the area at all, so why wasn't the demon attacking?
Countless questions swirling in his head, Giyu silently helped carry the dishes and followed Tanjiro into the only intact room, where the rest of the children were waiting.
*****
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