The Good Demon [KNY]

Part 17: Bad Memories

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They had been waiting for an agonizingly long time before some Kakushi brought the unconscious Tanjiro to the pebbly garden.

"Where's the uh- the box thing the little sister is in. Where the demon sis? Akai looked around.

"I'll be right back." Sanemi cracked a vicious smile and walked away.

"Oh Shush! Shush! He's waking up, stand up straight!" Uzui quietly ordered the other Pillars to get into formation for maximum flamboyance as Tanjiro slowly awoke.

(The pillar meeting follows. The hashiras talk about wanting to kill Tanjiro, Tanjiro argues innocence. It's a bit much and kinda boring so I don't want to add it. Come to think of it I'm a hypocrite for skipping when I said earlier that skipping was bad)

While the trial was held, Akai was staring at a butterfly. Butterflies are cool. He wondered how they can flutter those wings forever while just being powered by flower juice. Akai wasn't completely out of focus though. He heard Sanemi being a prick, Tanjiro fighting him, and Mr. Ubuyashiki showing up. The butterfly flew off, leaving Akai to focus again. Mr. Ubuyashiki's kids had just finished reading some letters. It seemed like everything would be alright. Until Akai saw Sanemi get ready to speak.

"So what if Giyu commits seppuku!? There's still a danger, isn't there?" Sanemi shouted.

"We cannot prove she will attack humans." Ubuyashiki said.

"It's unacceptable." Sanemi got ready to pull out his sword.

"Which is why I've come up with a plan." Akai jumped in and Sanemi froze for a moment. "I have devised a foolproof plan to test Nezuko's bloodlust." Akai stood up.

"I'd like to hear about it." Ubuyashiki said while Sanemi glared daggers at Akai.

"I will simply go into her memories." Akai said. Literally, everyone there but Shinobi looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm serious. I did this once with Shinobu. You see, all I do is touch someone's forehead and I see their whole life from their point of view, and they see mine." Akai explained.

"Well, It's not the most unusual demon power." Ubuyashiki nodded. Allowing Akai to proceed with his test. He brought the box to the shade and popped it open. The small demon inside slowly got up. She had blood soaking her chest from where Sanemi stabbed her.

"Hey, kid. Sorry about the bad man." Akai mentioned Sanemi and patted Nezuko on the head. "I'm just gonna give you a bit of a boop, okay?" Akai reassured the child. Nezuko raised her eyebrow, confused. Akai sighed and touched her head with his thumb.

Akai woke in the dark plane once again. He was situated in front of a new wall of memories. He took in a deep breath and brought his hand to the wall.

Happiness. A loving family, a cheerful mom and day, happy siblings.

Pain. Father dies in an accident.

Comfort. Learn to live a life without a father. Live happy with your mom and your sibling.

Fear. A demon murders your family, and nearly kills you.

And this is where things got weird. Once Akai hit the demon stage, he felt off. The thoughts became short and quick. Hunger, anger, exhaustion, hunger, anger, exhaustion. It felt like a repetitive nightmare. It nearly drove him crazy. Eventually, Nezuko learned to cope with it. She became focused and committed to one thing. Protect people. Protect your family.

"Oh god!!!" Akai woke up and started crying.

"What did you see!?" Sanemi yelled.

"She's- she's fine but- GOD!!! Why does everyone have a tragic backstory!!!" Akai choked on tears.

"I don't believe this shit." Sanemi stared at Akai as he wept his eyes out.

"Oh, you don't believe eh?" Akai walked over and tapped Sanemi on the head. They both collapsed.

"Master, I think they died." Mitsuri stared at their limp bodies. Suddenly, they both jolted awake. Akai and Sanemi made eye contact for a moment. They stared at one another before starting to sniffle. And then they started to tear up. And then they both started crying violently. They held each other as they wept at what they had witnessed in each other's memories.

Everyone: What the hell is going on???

While crying, Sanemi cut himself with his own blade and handed it to Akai. Akai trudged over to Nezuko while weeping and showed her the blade. Nezuko stared at it before pushing it away. Nezuko seemed more concerned with why Akai was so sad. Weirdly, she seemed like she didn't see any of his memories.

"See? She's fine!" Akai exclaimed before going back to crying on the floor with Sanemi.