No ones pov
After their recovery, they were ready for missions again and the winged demon will accompany Tanjiro. No ones know when they'll come back so everyone grinned at the burgundy slayer as if they were expecting something until he comes back to the estate.
"Goodbye Ryu, be a good kid!" the winged demon said underneath the fox mask on Tanjiro's head.
"You don't have to say the same thing all over again oneesan!" Ryu sulked, "I'm big now, I can take care of myself."
"Yes, yes. Bye!"
"Bye oneesan, bye Tanjiro-nii!"
Their mission was on a snow mountain, the crow informed that several demons roamed there so it will take a while to kill all of them.
It was already dark when he arrived and and the darkness blinded him as he climped up the mountain. Suddenly, a snowstorm occurred as he was looking for shelter.
"To your right is a cave." he heard the mask say so he went there as told while picking up some sticks along the way.
In the cave, he tried to make a fire while y/n came out from the mask. With a hand motion, she covered the entrance with vines to avoid cold wind coming in. As she finished, the fire was also ready.
"Looks like, it will take a while before the storm calms down again. Let's continue tomorrow." y/n suggested while sitting at the fire.
Nezuko came out and snuggled into her. The cold might not affect her but nobody could resist the warmth. She also gestured Tanjiro to sit next to her.
"Come, I don't want you to freeze to death."
She wrapped her wings around each of the siblings while her body remained cold.
"Thanks," Tanjiro felt how warm and cozy it got after she wrapped her wing around him, he hold his hands closer to the fire.
Nezuko looked at her friend and then at her brother who's face was slightly red.
She had an idea; she stood up and went to her brother's side and tackled him into a hug causing him fall and lean on y/n's shoulder. She in response, wrapped both wings around them protecting them from the cold.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro exclaimed but froze after y/n placed her cold hand on his forehead.
"Are you alright? Your face is red, must be the cold." she spoke, "Nezuko, let your brother sit up, I'm making him cold."
Her wings might be warm but the rest of her body were cold as ice.
"You're not that cold..." Tanjiro commented, because around her, his body temperature has risen.
"Hm? You're turning warm..." y/n pointed out, "Fever?"
Nezuko pointed at her, "Hm, am I the problem?" y/n started.
"Not, of course not!" Tanjiro begged Nezuko to stop who only gave him a sly smirk in response.
"Do you perhaps have something to say, yet you can't?" at this Nezuko perked up and nodded wildly and Tanjiro's face turned redder.
"It's alright, I can wait."
'Wait?' Tanjiro thought for a while, the winged demon must have waited for something for a long time. Perhaps how she waited to finally find her brother, because the way how she said the phrase, it was like it was natural. She's demon who can wait for eternity and he, a human whos life ends one day.
He decided to tell her now.
"Y/n..." he gained her attention, "there is something I must tell you."
The winged demon turne dto him waiting for him to continue and Nezuko's eyes sparkled.
"I... I like you! I don't know since when but you make my heart flutter if you're around and I always caught myself staring at you, so that's when I realise, I fell for you! And it pained me to see you get hurt! That is why I'm so worried about you!" he exclaimed in one breath.
"Ah, now I know. Also, I remember that day clearly where you said I'm the most beautiful girl you met, remember it?" he remembered, it was the day Yushiro called her ugly and his face heated up in embarrassment.
"I like you too Tanjiro," at this the boy hold his breath, "But I need to warn you something. You're human, I'm demon, between these two kinds, it's impossible. It's like the moth and fire. Besides, I may have kept my human emotions but love is something... that I'm not sure of myself."
"I don't care if it's like moth and fire, and it's okay if you don't know how, c-can we just... try?" he asked desperately but to his surprise, a wing wrapped around his full body and something cold was meeting his lips. She kissed him while covering the sight from Nezuko.
He kissed back before she pulled away and retreated her wing from him. Now she raised her other wing between both of them hiding her red face, "We can try... boyfriend."
"I didn't know you can get shy too, girlfriend." he commented with a smile.
"Well...now you know."
Nezuko decided to return to her box leaving both of them alone.
"Can we hug?" Tanjiro asked.
She replied, "I'm cold, demons don't have warm body temperatures. You can have my wings." she moved her wing down taking a peek at him and his expression turned sad?
She sighed, removed her wing between them and leaned her forehead against his shoulder blade, "Only if you don't mind it..."
"Of course not." he hugged her and in response while making sure to avoid her antlers. Her wings covered him and he wasn't cold anymore.
He breathed her scent in which smelled like mint and flowers while she enjoyed his warmth.
'They're finally together.' Nezuko thought.
On the next day they continued their journey on the snow mountain Soon, the sun hid behind the clouds and another blizzard occurred.
"It doesn't feel right..." the winged demon commented as she appeared next to the slayer, "another blizzard? That soon?"
"It's indeed strange, perhaps a demons work?" Tanjiro said his thoughts out loud.
"That is possible..." she covered him with her wing from the blizzard, "Keep walking forward, I see lights ahead."
They arrived in a village and someone noticed them, "Hey, traveler! Come here!"
"Did they mean us?" Tanjiro asked and the wing before him morphed into leaves and floated back to the mask on his head.
"Why are you still standing there?! Come here!"
Tanjiro did as told and entered the strangers house, "You're not around here right? I tell you, this blizzard can make get lost, so stay here until it's gone." the owner of the house spoke.
"Thank you, sir." Tanjiro thanked.
"Once the blizzard is gone, you should leave this place. Some people dissappeared in the blizzard and never came back. This also goes for the villagers here." he explained further.
"Why? What exactly happened here sir?" Tanjiro asked as he Sat beside the fireplace.
"Soup?" the owner asked but he didn't wait for an answer since he already handed the slayer a bowl, "The blizzards appeared several weeks ago and kidnapped people here. Whoever stands in the blizzard will be taken away by a strong wind. So we don't dare to go out anymore. I've seen your uniform before, slayers right? They also never returned."
"Is that why you called me?"
"Leave this place, I don't want to see dissappearances anymore." he sighed, "But if you insist to go, I won't stop you. The slayers before went anyways but I did warn them and you."
"Taken away by the blizzards..." Tanjiro muttered and he knew what to do after leaving.
The blizzard calmed down again, "Thanks for your hospitality, sir. I'll be going now!" Tanjiro announced and the owner watched him leaving.
"I did warn you kid." he muttered.
"You know what to do now?" y/n asked beneath the mask.
"Yes, I'll let myself taken by the next blizzard. It will take us directly to the demon." he said determined.
"I can sense the demons energy now, there are plenty of them, be careful." right after she finished the sentence, the blizzard appeared again and it become stronger.
The blizzard unleashed its icy fury, forming a swirling vortex of snow around the slayer. The biting winds howled, creating an otherworldly dance of flakes that enveloped them, pulling them into the heart of the tempest. The world outside vanished as the blizzard's grip tightened, carrying them into a frigid abyss of white.
Tanjiro hissed as he was forcefully dropped down on the cold ice floor.
"Where are we? Huh?!"
He was trapped in a cage along with other people who only looked at him in despair.
'Another victim like us...' they might thought.
"Ha?! Another slayer hahaha!" a female demon laughed at her ice throne, "welcome to my place, slayer~ watch how these humans are getting eaten by the winners."
"Winners?" Tanjiro muttered and the ice demon heard him.
"Oh right, you're new." she snickered, "Then let me explain before we begin; you see, I'm not satisfied by only eating people now and I always wondered why I wasn't offered a rank by the kizukis yet! So, since the most powerful one in this territory, I thought I deserve some entertainment~"
She clapped her hands and two large door opened, many demons entered and surrounded the hall, "I announced that I have free food here and all of them came!" she laughed crazily as she continued, "but they have to fight against another in order to get eat! In other words, you and those humans are their trophies! May the match begin!"
As she announced it, many hands from the demons raised who want to be picked for the fight and after selecting two, the ice demon asked them, "How many?"
"I want five!" the one declared as the other one only wanted two.
"Interesting! Same rules as always, if you want five then defeat five demons!"
It was like watching two wild animals fighting over their last meal. The one who only wanted two got their limps ripped apart and thrown to the side. They didn't die, but they have to deal with no meal today.
The demon who wanted five trophies won another three battles and with a final win, he can get five humans. The others didn't want that to happen so they didn't step out to give him the last victory.
"WHO ELSE!" the demon shouted, "If no ones fights me, then I'll take four!"
"Me." they heard a female say.
The other demons stepped to the side revealing the demon who raised her hand behind them, it was y/n herself.
'When did she leave the mask?!' Tanjiro thought but he didn't dare to make a sound fearing that he might reveal her plan.
"You?! You look thin and small, I bet you haven't eaten many!" he laughed and the others laughed along, "You must be new here! Hahaha!"
"Indeed," the winged demon admitted, "I heard you can eat as much as you like here, so I'm here. And I want all of them."
At this the ice demon perked up, "Ha?! A small one with big dreams~ Hahaha!"
The other demons also laughed at the joke.
"If you want all of the trophies, what do the others get?" she added.
"According to the rules then, I'll fight all here." y/n said calmly.
"Oh? Amusing! Then don't cry if you lose~"
With swift elegance, the winged demon walked calmly towards her opponent. The male demon lunged ferociously, claws bared, but she sidestepped with preternatural grace. In a blink, their paths crossed, and her razor-sharp strike cleaved through the male demon's form. His upper body, separated from the lower, met the frigid embrace of the ice-covered ground, a testament to the lethal precision of the winged demon's deadly dance.
"What?" her opponent gasped and the demon audience also grew speechless.
He cried in rage, now that he lost he won't get any trophies.
"Next one." she said.
Amidst the ominous ambiance of a demonic arena, the winged demon with antlers found herself surrounded by a malevolent audience hungry for chaos. With a steely gaze, she prepared to face the horde. As the first demon charged, she summoned twisting vines from the ground, ensnaring the assailant in an intricate dance of nature's fury. The audience erupted in demonic cheers, their anticipation palpable.
Undeterred, the winged demon turned her attention to the next adversary. Her wings, now transformed into gleaming blades, sliced through the air with deadly precision. The demons approached in relentless waves, but her movements were a mesmerizing waltz of death, each twirl and pivot an artful evasion or lethal strike. Petals and glowing insects burst forth from every object she touched, creating a surreal and beautiful chaos on the battlefield.
As the dance of blades continued, the antlered demon exhibited a supernatural grace, seamlessly transitioning between summoning spikes, creating cascades of flower petals, and dispatching foes with lethal elegance. The arena echoed with the clash of steel and demonic roars, yet she moved with an almost ethereal poise.
The crowd of demons, initially jubilant, began to murmur with a mix of awe and unease. The winged demon's prowers seemed otherworldly, a deadly ballet that left a trail of defeated adversaries in her wake. Her antlers glowed with an ominous energy as she harnessed the very essence of the demonic arena to amplify her abilities.
With each adversary she dispatched, the winged demon's movements became more intricate, her waltz evolving into a symphony of destruction. The once rowdy audience now watched in hushed amazement, their initial bloodlust replaced by a grim appreciation for the artistry of combat unfolding before them.
In the end, as the last demon fell beneath the graceful onslaught, the arena fell silent. The winged demon, with antlers adorned in the remnants of her foes, stood alone amidst the battlefield, a living embodiment of both beauty and carnage. The demonic audience, subdued and humbled, paid silent homage to the deadly dance that had unfolded before them.
"Any more volunteers?" her voice seemed different as before, it turned more demonic and wicked.
The audience of demons muttered between each other in unease and stepped back.
"Ha? The trophies are all mine now!" she declared.
"Wait!" A big demon stepped out from the audience, "I'll kill you, and the trophies will turn mine." he growled at her.
"We'll see." she said amusingly.
He lunged at her while she dogded each of his attacks. She summoned a lathe thick vine which wrapped around the demons leg. The vine lifted him up and threw him towards the large cage, breaking it.
Tanjiro stepped out and sliced its head off.
"The slayer is out!" the demons shouted and charged at him. The ice demon remained on her throne and watched the show before her.
Nezuko also came out to help and while Tanjiro dealt with the demon horde, y/n summoned a large flesh-eating plant which swallowed the other demons, and what only met them was a pool of wysteria in its belly.
"Why aren't you going for the slayer?!" some demons shouted only to be the next victim of the flesh-dating wysteria plan.
"Hehehe!" the winged demon lunged at several demons but her attacks seemed to turn more and more wild which didn't suit her.
"Y/n!" Tanjiro called her worriedly but she didn't response. What worried him more was her wicked grin after seeing more blood.
Nezuko got also scared, it wasn't the y/n she knew so she hugged her hoping it might calm her down.
The winged demon turned into a statue as she felt the familiar embrace which become tighter. Her wicked expression faded into her usual gentle one.
"Ah, I think I just loose it, sorry." she blocked another assault towards them.
"Mh!" Nezuko snuggled into her face.
"I must have looked scary, sorry but let's help your brother first."
"Ha?! Two demons siding with a slayer?!" the ice demon couldn't sit still anymore since it looked like that the slayer was going to win with the help of the two demons. So, she joined the battle.
Ice spikes emerged from the ground under her command and she creating some ice needles throwing at them.
Y/n stood in front of the Kamado siblings and blocked the ice needles with her wings after dodging the ice spikes.
"Tanjiro, Nezuko, get the people to safety before they get buried under the snow!" y/n exclaimed.
"What are you going to do?!" Tanjiro asked concernedly.
"Something I'm doing for the first time, just do as I say, trust me!" with that she ran towards the ice demon who sent more ice spikes at her but she morphed into leaves vanishing in front of her.
'Where did she go?!' the ice demon thought.
"I'm here." She looked next to her and the winged demon broke a part of her antler and shoved it inside her opponent's mouth.
"Hgnh!" she then coughed, "What did you give me?!"
Y/n didn't answer, instead she ran away.
"Hey!" she felt strange as if something was growing inside her. She started to cough violently until she coughed something out; a stick stained with blood.
The demon gasped in horror so did the remaining demons. The winged demon was able to hit a fatal blow on the ice demon, they thought.
As seconds passed, the demon convulsed, spewing forth a torrent of blood-soaked sticks. With each retch, the splinters intertwined and thickened, weaving a grotesque tapestry within. Over time, a twisted tree emerged from the her maw, roots entangled with agony, its branches a sinister testament to the curse's unholy growth. The tree grew bigger and bigger and as it reached the ice ceiling the whole abyss started to shake.
"Nezuko! Get inside the box!" y/n shouted as she morphed into leaves and hid under the mask on Tanjiro.
The growing tree lifted up the whole ceiling and snow kept falling down, until it lifted the whole mountain top.
The sun shone inside the abyss and the remaining demons started to burn into ashes. Tanjiro gasped at the sight; a large tree grew from the inside of a mountain and peeked out of the large abyss hole towards the sky. It was a stunning scene.
The ice demon had a very painful cursed death.
"Y-you did this y/n?" Tanjiro asked flabbergasted.
"Yes, sorry for the horrific sight." she apologised.
"That's alright, you wanted to help me fight." he said softly, "Thank you. Look, the snow is melting!"
Tanjiro helped the people out of the abyys and they returned to their homes after thanking him.
"The tree you created looks beautiful." he commented while looking up.
"You think so?"
"Yes, I think everything you create is beautiful."
"How sweet of you, Tanjiro. If you don't mind, I'll take a nap, I'm tired."
"Alright, sleep tight."
They descended the mountain which was now lightly snowed and as he looked back one more time, he still saw the treetop of the beautiful shining tree.
____________
3200 words