Our Bond Can't be Severed by Anyone!

12 - Forget

Tanjiro's face stung and burned as its fibers began to stitch back together, slowly reforming his eyes. The boy couldn't see, but his sense of smell was still untainted and so he knew that Nakime had sent him somewhere. The air was musty, old, and felt as if it hadn't the luxury of being breathed in centuries.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of the biwa before the floor had disappeared from under him and he had blindly fallen into this new room. He didn't remember much after he severed his connection with Nezuko, only the memory of Muzan chuckling and then the sound of the biwa. His mind was still clouded with pain with the residue of Nezuko's scream staining his thoughts.

Tanjiro sat up and felt around him blindly. He was in the middle of a room, it had a hard wooden floor that was rough and uneven. The room smelled like the rest of the fortress; of blood, death, and demons...

And Muzan.

Tanjiro stiffened as the scent wafted into his nose. It was getting closer and Tanjiro willed his face to heal faster. In another few seconds, Tanjiro opened his new eyes and blinked them rapidly to clear them of the blood that covered his face.

The scent of the demon lord was stifling now, Tanjiro looked around at the barren wooden room that was dimly lit by a few oil lamps hanging from the ceiling... and found no one.

"Tanjiro," the soft voice spoke shaking Tanjiro to his bones. Tanjiro slowly looked behind him and found himself looking up at Muzan. The demon lord was undetectable, silent, even his scent was fainter than it should've been.

Tanjiro instantly tried to get to his feet but suddenly found himself crashing into the wall at the opposite end of the room. He gasped in shock and sat there, stunned. Muzan must've kicked him, but Tanjiro hadn't even seen it.

Muzan walked over slowly, and crouched down before Tanjiro, his face soft but his eyes firm and terrifying.

"Do you remember, when I first punished you?" Muzan asked softly, gazing into Tanjiro's eyes.

Tanjiro shivered and tried to get to his feet. Muzan grabbed his kimono and pulled him back down without another thought.

"You ran away. Surely you remember, it was the second time that night. You fled from me and ran miles and miles away from me," Muzan recalled, smiling.

"Just before dawn, your transformation had taken its toll on you, and you collapsed. Somehow, you had found a way to exhaust your demon body. But, you were found by such a lovely family, weren't you?" Muzan asked softly, his hand still holding Tanjiro's kimono.

Tanjiro trembled and glared at the demon.

"You remember them, don't you?" Muzan asked, "Their eldest daughter found you and took you home? They cared for you even though they knew nothing about you? You remember, coming to in a bed with the smell of food cooking? You thought you were home."

Tanjiro had snarls in his throat but the fear choked them down.

"You wanted so badly to keep running, but the sunlight terrified you," Muzan chuckled, "So... you waited until night came."

Tanjiro closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, remembering it too well.

Muzan suddenly grabbed Tanjiro by his neck and raised him up, his eyes burning in anger. Tanjiro choked and gripped Muzan's wrist.

"Do you remember what I did to them?" Muzan asked darkly, his gaze burning Tanjiro's soul. "Do you remember watching as I ripped them apart? Their screams? How their father begged for me to spare his children. Do you remember how that was your fault?"