Within Her Eyes - Kimetsu No Yaiba

12. Boar Man

The trio of demon slayers trudged through thick forest. They had been walking to their destination for a while now and Zenitsu had complained the whole way. He wanted to stay behind but Tsukiko would not let him. To get the blonde to be quiet, Tsukiko let him hold onto the edge of her haori.

      Zenitsu had stated how lucky he was that Tsukiko was his fiancé. Tanjiro shot him a look of warning in return and the blonde spoke no more. Tsukiko missed the entire exchange as she was staring into the treetops at the time.

      Tanjiro followed his nose, Tsukiko followed Tanjiro, and Zenitsu followed Tsukiko. This was the order in which they walked out of the trees into a clearing.

      The three of the stood gazing up at the house they had found in the clearing. There was something about it that gave the trio a bad feeling.

      "I can smell blood," Tanjiro said, "but it's strange."

      "Wait. You can smell something here?" Zenitsu asked Tanjiro.

      Tsukiko continued to stare up at the house. She could see through the opening in the doors. The inside of the house was not normal. It was moving.

      "Yea, but this a whole new smell."

      "A smell?" Zenitsu asked. "But what about that sound?"

      "Sound?" Tsukiko looked at him. Zenitsu must have enhanced hearing like her sight and Tanjiro's sense of smell.  "Something is wrong with the interior of the house."

      Behind Zenitsu there were colors that did not belong in the forest. Two kids hung onto each other and when Tsukiko's head turned to them, they cowered in fright.

      "There are children," Tsukiko informed her companions with a point. Their heads snap to the spot where the kids stood. A boy and a younger girl. The two kids only shook more.

      Tanjiro approached them and they looked as if they would die of fright. Tsukiko moved closer to them but did not get too near them as her veil could be frightening. Tsukiko and Zenitsu watched the tree from where they stood.

      "Do you want to see something cute?" Tanjiro asked the kids. In his hand he produced Zenitsu's sparrow. "Ta-da! It's a friendly sparrow."

      Zenitsu's sparrow did a little dance in Tanjiro's hand. The kids let out a huge breath and relaxed. Tears filled their eyes as they fell to the ground. They were crying tears of relief because people in front of them were not there to eat them. They were there to help.

      "Talk to me, " Tanjiro told the two kids. "Did something happen?"

      "Is this your house?" Tsukiko called from over his shoulder.

      The two kids looked to her and their faces became a little more scared again. The veil she wore, despite how beautiful it was, put the kids off after their encounter with a demon. Tsukiko's heart contracted. Tsukiko turned to Zenitsu with a frown upon her lips. She loved children but they never seemed to love her.

      The boy stuttered out that the house belonged to a demon. He explained that their older brother had been taken by a demon while they were walking at night. The duo had followed their brother's blood to follow the demon to the house.

      Tsukiko looked back to the house. Their brother was trapped inside.

      "Zenitsu," Tsukiko was formulating in her head, "can you hear any footsteps from inside the home."

      Zenitsu closed his eyes and cupped his ears to get a better listen. Instead of giving Tsukiko an answer he opened his eyes distressed.

      "Tanjiro. Tsukiko. What is that strange sound?" Tanjiro turned around from the kids to look at the boy who called him. "It's really unnerving. It never stops." Tsukiko narrowed her eyes at Zenitsu. He had been hearing it the entire time they were there? "It sounds like a drum."