SEASON 1, EPISODE, 1
CRUELTY
Tanjiro and {Name}, the woman calls out, your faces are all covered in soot. Let me clean you guys up.
"You know, you and {Name} don't really have to go," she says as she cleans their faces.
"All this snow could be dangerous," Woman says. "I want us to have a good New Year's celebration," Tanjiro says.
"Yeah, Mom, we want you guys to have an amazing New Year's," {Name} says proudly.
"Where everyone can eat as much as they want, especially [Name]-chan," Tanjiro states.
{Name} starts drooling at the thought of food, picturing all the food they can eat together.
"So, we'll sell all the charcoal we can," Tanjiro says.
The woman remarks, "How thoughtful of you two. [Name], you're drooling a bit," she says, pulling out another cloth and cleaning your drool.
"Hey, bro and sis! Are you two going to town again today?" the boy asks.
"I'm coming with you guys!" a girl says, putting her arms to her chest.
"No, you're not. You know you can't walk as fast as Tanjiro and [Name] can, sweetie," the woman says.
"Aw, come on, Mom!" the boy says.
"No way," the woman says again.
"[Name] is not going to be able to carry you guys today, and Tanjiro can't use the cart today."
"Which means when you guys get tired, they won't be able to carry you or ride you around," the woman explains.
The two both groan in disappointment.
"[Name]-chan! We wanna come with you guys!"
"I promise I'll help you out," the little girl says as the little boy clings to Tanjiro.
"That's very sweet of you, Hanako," [Name] says as she picks up Hanako and spins her around. "We would," the girl smiles, but then her smile fades and she looks down in defeat.
"You're staying home today," Tanjiro says as he puts the girl down and pets Hanako's head.
Tanjiro then pulls the boy away from his waist, gets down on one knee, and puts his hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Sorry, Shigeru, you are too," [Name] chimes in, saying, "We'll bring you goodies if I don't eat them all!"
"I will make sure she won't," Tanjiro says, scratching the back of his head, as his other siblings look at [Name].
"Promise?" Shigeru asks Tanjiro, not wanting his older sister to eat his sweets. Tanjiro laughs and says, "Yeah."
"And Hanako," he says, rubbing her hair, "I'll read for you when I get home later," Tanjiro says to the girl.
"And I'll play dress-up with you," [Name] says. Hanako's face immediately lights up, and she hugs [Name].
"Kay!" Hanako replies with a huge smile on her face.
"Good girl," Tanjiro says.
"Thank you guys for doing this," Tanjiro and [Name] say.
"Of course," Tanjiro replies.
"Mom, there's no need to thank us. We want you guys to have the best dinner ever," [Name] says, jumping around.
"Time for us to head out," Tanjiro says.
"Hey, Takeo, do me a favor. While I'm gone, okay?" Tanjiro says. "Chop as much wood as you can," he says.
"Yeah, I was already gonna do that anyway," Takeo says with a hatchet hanging over his shoulder.
"I have a request as well!" Takeo looks at [Name] questionably. "Please take care of my teddy bears for me!"
"Fine," he says a bit embarrassed that you stated that you two take care of a teddy bear together. "I was kinda hoping we would do it together this time. Hmph," he says, turning his face away.
Tanjiro comes up to him and pats his head. "There, there," Tanjiro says.
"Knock it off, would you!?" Takeo says while blushing.
[Name] then proceeds to hug him tightly.
Shigeru laughs while pointing at him. "You're blushing, Take!"
"Shut up, you brat," he says as he tries to get out of your grasp while everyone teases him.
"No need to get so flustered," you say while spinning him around.
You and Tanjiro tease him for a bit.
"I told you, cut it out!" Both you and Tanjiro release him from your grasp.
All the family laughs.
"Come back as soon as you can, okay?" Shigeru says.
As you two start walking away while talking, Nezuko says hello to you guys.
"Hey, [Name] and Tanjiro," Nezuko says to the two. "I had to put Rokuta down for a nap," she says. "Otherwise, he would throw a fit. Ever since dad passed away, he would be glued to you guys' sides." Tanjiro moves forward and puts a hand on Rokuta's head.
"In fact, everyone seems to follow you guys everywhere you go," she says.
You and Tanjiro both smile.
"I'll see you guys when you get back!" she says while smiling.
"We don't exactly have an easy life, but we're happy," Tanjiro says in his head.
"Life can change though, as sudden as the weather," he thinks in his head again.
"It shifts and moves on," he thinks again.
The sun can't shine forever and the snow has to stop at the some point. But whatever happens when happiness is destroyed it's always followed by the smell of blood
"Hey, Tanjiro, can't you just drool at the thought of food?" [Name] asks him.
Tanjiro chuckles at [Name's] question as they walk down the hill.
You can see a woman sweeping the ground while sighing.
"Ah, Tanjiro and [Name]! You guys came down the mountain on a day like today?" the woman asks the two teenagers.
"Don't you guys ever stop working? You could catch a cold," the woman says worriedly.
"It's not as bad as you think," Tanjiro says, with his hands on his straps.
"I just think about all the amazing food we can eat afterwards. Speaking of, I'm getting hungry," [Name] says.
"You need a refill of charcoal, by any chance?" a man calls out to Tanjiro and [Name].
"Eh?" Tanjiro questions. [Name] just starts walking over to the man.
"Wait, [Name], come back!" he says while walking behind you.
"I'll take some more," the man says to [Name] and Tanjiro.
Another man says, "I'm good, but thanks for fixing my sliding doors the other day."
"A woman calls out, 'I need some charcoal too!'"
Tanjiro chuckles while you put your hands over your face happily.
You guys hear a boy wail from behind you and instantly turn around.
"TANJIRO!" the boy gasps out while shouting.
"I'm so glad you're here!" the boy says in a panic.
"I've been accused of breaking this plate!" The boy says while on his knees.
Blood was dripping down the sides of his mouth while a woman stands there looking at him angrily.
"Can you help me out here?" the boy asks Tanjiro.
"Give it a sniff!" the boy says, putting the plate in Tanjiro's face while an angry woman and man say while walking behind him.
Tanjiro leans over while sniffing the broken plate that has cloth under it.
"It smells like a cat to me," Tanjiro says.
"You see!" the boy says to the angry man.
The angry woman says, "So, it really was a cat."
The boy shouts, "I tried to tell you I didn't do it."
"Hey there, [Name], could you give me a hand with this luggage? Could you?" the man asks [Name].
.
.
.
.
"It's now nighttime, and the wind is blowing in the night air.
Tanjiro and [Name] are walking with their baskets now empty.
"How'd it get so late?" Tanjiro asks.
"Well, at least we sold all the coal!" [Name] says excitedly.
He chuckles a bit and says, "Yeah, we sold lots. I can't wait to have dinner with the family!"
"I agree with you, Tanjiro," [Name] says.
A man calls out to the pair.
"Hang on, Tanjiro and [Name]!"
"Eh?" Tanjiro says, confused but also tired.
"You guys are not gonna go up that mountain now, it's simply too dangerous."
"Oh, we will be fine. Tanjiro has a great sense of smell, and I have fantastic hearing and strength. Together we are unbeatable!" [Name] says jokingly.
"You guys can stay here for the night," the man says to the pair.
"Come on, get inside."
"No, I'm—" Tanjiro's sentence gets cut off by [Name].
"Of course, we will. We have been working all day, and I'm getting sleepy and hungry. Well, mostly hungry, but you get the idea," [Name] says while grabbing Tanjiro's hand.
"Exactly, listen to your sister and get in here, Tanjiro," the man says.
"Before the demons show up," the old man says to the two teenagers.
The scene skips to the two teenagers eating some food, both in white yukatas.
[Name] lays down in a daze after eating all her food, meanwhile Tanjiro's still eating and finishes after a few minutes.
"Thanks for dinner," both Tanjiro and [Name] say to the man.
"Hey, uh, Mr. Saburo, what did you mean by 'demons?'"
You lay down on your stomach with your feet kicking in the air while you fold your arms under you.
Saburo replies to Tanjiro's question, "There have always been man-eating demons."
Saburo starts pulling two mats for the two to sleep on.
"Prowling about after dark," he tells Tanjiro and [Name], "that's why it's not safe to go outside at night," Saburo finishes.
[Name] hides behind Tanjiro and hugs him tightly while shaking in fear. Tanjiro pats her head reassuringly.
He lays the beds down on the floor.
"Alright, time for bed," Saburo says. "You guys can set off for home at first light," he says while going to lay down.
You fall fast asleep afterwards while Tanjiro stays up looking at the ceiling.
"These demons, they're not able to come inside the house, are they?" Tanjiro asks Saburo.
"Yes, they could come in," he says while smoking.
"But then wouldn't they just eat everyone?" Tanjiro asks.
"The demon slayers would protect us by killing as many as they can, they always have."
Now go to sleep the lights are out Saboru says as he puts out the smoke and goes today down
.
.
.
.
.
.
The scene skips to a beautiful view of the snowy mountains but immediately comes back to the two teenagers and the old man.
"Now you two get back safely!" Saburo says to the teenagers.
"Thanks!" Tanjiro says to Saburo.
"We'll be back soon!" [Name] says to the old man as they start walking home, with [Name] skipping in front of Tanjiro with a joyful look as always.
"Whenever happiness is destroyed, it always follows in the smell of blood," Tanjiro thinks.
"Eh?" Tanjiro says while sniffing the air, with [Name] behind him wondering why he is smelling the air.
"The smell of blood!" Tanjiro says while [Name] looks worried and starts running up the hill immediately.
Once the teens both get up there, they take deep breaths while also panting.
The two teens look up to see Tanjiro and Rokuta covered in blood, with Nezuko on top of Rokuta.
Both your and Tanjiro's eyes widen at the sight of the blood. You both start running, you immediately going to shake Nezuko and Rokuta.
"NEZUKO! WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" he yells.
Meanwhile, [Name] just lays there with her hands on her head, crying.
Tanjiro turns his head to look into the house, only to see the rest of his family bloodied and their eyes looking dull.
The scene changes after to you and Tanjiro running down the mountain with Nezuko on your back.
Panting and footsteps can be heard, along with light sobs from [Name].
"Nezuko's the only one who is still warm," Tanjiro thinks to himself while trying to catch up with [Name].
"If we can get her to a doctor, she might still live. How could something like this happen? Maybe a beast that couldn't find a place to hibernate?"
You jump over another log in a race against time to get your younger sister some help.
"I CAN'T BREATHE," Tanjiro thinks.
Nezuko's hand starts twitching, then she starts gurgling and moving her head around, starting to growl while rocking you back and forth, forcing you to fall off the cliff. Both you and Tanjiro fall.
"Oh no!" Tanjiro thinks, and then he starts screaming.
"The snow broke our fall," [Name] says out loud. She then sits up and looks around for Nezuko.
"Nezuko!" you yell out to your sister.
"Nezuko, are you okay? You don't have to walk. I'll carry you to town, Nezuko?" you say while you run up to her.
Nezuko lets out a growl and starts trying to attack you, only for you to pull out a hatchet and put it towards her mouth.
She falls on top of you still growling and looking at you as if you're prey
Tanjiro tries to get her off of you, but it doesn't work.
"She's a Demon!" Tanjiro says out loud.
"I knew it was true!" you yell out.
"But she isn't the one who killed them; she was on top of Rokuta in a protective manner!" you say to Tanjiro.
"You're right, she doesn't have Nezuko's scent anymore, but there was another scent!" Tanjiro says.
Nezuko grows bigger than before, and you use all the strength you have to still keep her away from your face.
Tanjiro is still trying to pull her off of you, but it doesn't work. Not wanting to give up, he still tries.
"I'm so sorry, Nezuko! I should've come home sooner. I'm a terrible person. I should've protected you guys, even if it meant I died. This is all my fault!" you say loudly, tears forming in your eyes as you still keep her away from your face.
"NEZUKO, HANG ON!" Tanjiro shouts, still trying to pull her off of you.
"Don't give in, you gotta hang on," he says to her.
You feel tears fall down on your face; they were Nezuko's. Your eyes widen in shock.
You start to hear the sound of someone running towards you guys. You have no good feeling about whoever this is running towards you.
A man jumps high and has a blade ready to attack. You immediately hug your siblings and flip them over. Your hair gets cut off in the process, and the wind gusts, and snow goes everywhere, and your back hits a tree while you hold onto the two very tightly.
You grunt at the sudden hardness hitting your back. Nezuko grows smaller.
"What the..." Tanjiro thinks in his head, at the strange man with black hair and a mismatched haori. He had his hair in a long messy ponytail, his eyes are like the ocean, pretty yet so empty.
You sit up with Nezuko and Tanjiro still in your lap. You look towards his sword; it says "Destroyer of Demons."
"Why are you protecting her?" the man questions you.
"She is my little sister, and I will protect her even if it costs my life," You then shouts, "She's our sister; we were taking her to get help!"
Nezuko starts snarling again, not really helping the siblings' case as of right now. She starts trying to crawl away, with you pulling her back towards you.
"You guys call that thing your sister?" the man asks, another question.
She continues snarling and trying to get away from your grasp, but with your strength, it was a bit impossible.
The man comes rushing at you guys, with you pulling Tanjiro down so he wouldn't get hit by the man's sword.
Tanjiro gasps, and Nezuko's growling could be heard. You look up to see Nezuko in the man's hands, with him pointing a sword at her.
Tanjiro looks up in shock at how fast the man is, but you look at him a bit nervously because if you were truly going to fight this man, you would need tons of skill.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro stands up and says her name, seeing she was trying to get out of the man's grasp. She puts Tanjiro behind her.
"Don't move!" the swordsman says to the two, making you shake in fear of what he was going to do to your younger sister.
"My job is to slay every demon I find," the swordsman says to the girl and the boy, "which means I have to kill your sister here," the man says while [Name] sucks back her tears.
"No, WAIT! Nezuko hasn't hurt anyone!" Tanjiro shouts from behind you.
"Back at the house, there was another scent I'd never smelt before," Tanjiro says.
"That's probably the one who killed our family," Tanjiro says to the swordsman.
"There is no reason trying to reason with him, Tanjiro, he doesn't care. All we can do is try to stop him, even if it means we died trying to protect who we loved most. We must try and never stop, and I mean never!"
The man looks at you because he knew you were somewhat right about what you said about him. He was going to kill your sister regardless, but the fact that you wanted to put up a fight beforehand reminded him of someone.
But Tanjiro still wanted to reason with him no matter what.
"She didn't do it! I don't know why she turned into something like this, but still," he shouts.
"It's really quite simple," the swordsman says to you guys.
"She's turned because her wounds were exposed to demon blood," the swordsman explains.
"That's how the man-eating demons multiply," the swordsman says, "Nonsense, Nezuko would never eat a demon," Tanjiro says.
"You must be joking, if I hadn't gotten here when I did, she would've devoured you," the swordsman says to Tanjiro.
"No, she wouldn't," you said to the swordsman. "She even was crying as she attacked us. She's not a bad demon," you say while gripping onto your kimono.
"She knows where her older siblings are; she would never ever hurt us," Tanjiro says.
"And I won't let anyone hurt her!" you say.
"I'll turn her back into a human. I will heal her!" Tanjiro says.
"She can't be healed," the swordsman says to Tanjiro.
"Once you become a demon, you can never turn back," he says, looking at the two with his empty eyes.
"There's a way," he says while putting his arms out to his sides. "And I'll find it no matter what it takes. So please let her live. I'll hunt down the one who slaughtered my family," Tanjiro shouts to the swordsman.
"I promise I'll make everything right, just let her go!" you yell at the swordsman.
The swordsman raises his sword at Nezuko, plunging it into her shoulder. You look at him in shock.
"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" you and your brother shout at the same time. Tears fall down your face. You truly felt pathetic. You wish you were just a bit stronger so you could protect your brother and sister, but you weren't. For the first time in your life, you wish that you didn't fall asleep. You felt useless. You wish you didn't beg for your sister's life. Maybe if you just didn't make Tanjiro stay, you could've gotten them all help.
"DON'T — DON'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM US! PLEASE, WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYONE ELSE!"
You and Tanjiro both get on your knees in front of the swordsman.
"I'm begging you," you both say, tears streaming down your face. "Please don't do it. Please!" you beg and plead.
"Don't kill my little sister," Tanjiro chokes out through his tears.
The swordsman grits his teeth together, his face showing anger. It was weird because he was just looking so dull to being angry.
"DON'T GROVEL LIKE THAT AND GIVE YOUR ENEMIES THE CHANCE TO KILL YOU! ALL YOU'RE DOING IS MAKING YOURSELVES VULNERABLE! IF IT WERE EVEN A LITTLE BIT EFFECTIVE, YOUR FAMILY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW! HOW COULD A WEAKLING LIKE YOU HAVE ANY HOPE OF FINDING A WAY TO HEAL HIS SISTER OR HUNT DOWN A DEMON? DON'T BE RIDICULOUS! THE WEAK HAVE NO RIGHTS! THEY DON'T GET TO MAKE CHOICES! ALL THEY CAN DO IS BE RELENTLESSLY CRUSHED BY THE STRONG! NOW, MAYBE THE DEMONS KNOW OF A WAY TO CURE YOUR SISTER, MAYBE! BUT DON'T THINK THAT EVEN FOR A MOMENT THAT ANY ONE OF THEM IS GONNA RESPECT YOUR WISHES, JUST LIKE I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR YOU! THAT'S REALITY! EVEN YOUR SISTER KNOWS THE COLD TRUTH OF THE WORLD. YOU'RE TOO STUBBORN TO LISTEN TO HER BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU CAN HEAL HER!"
The swordsman then looks at you and opens his mouth to ask you a question.
"And why did you throw yourself over her like that? Was that your way of protecting her? Why didn't you swing that hatchet? And why would you ever turn your back to me? Those mistakes are what led to her capture! I could have easily skewered all three of you and been done with it!" he yells.
"Don't cry, don't succumb to sorrow. This isn't the time to despair."
I know you two are devastated right now you're family massacred, you're sister a demon I know it hurts I know you guys want to scream I understand if only I'd had gotten half a day sooner
Maybe then maybe you're family would still be alive however there's no way to turn back time,
So feel it, feel the pure rage of being unable to forgive let it be what gives you the strength to take action with the fragile resolve of yours you can't protect you're sisters, or heal them and you'll never get revenge for what happened to you're family the swordsman thinks in his head
NO! Tanjiro calls out as he sees the swordsman raise his sword. Nezuko starts growling as the swordsman stabs her shoulder, making her shriek in pain.
You feel bad and want to help. Tanjiro yells out, "DON'T TOUCH HER!"
You rise up and throw a little rock at him, while Tanjiro does the same. You start running behind trees, continuing to throw rocks at him while he's distracted. With him focused on you throwing rocks, you toss your hatchet.
Tanjiro charges at him while you continue to throw stones and rocks. The swordsman takes the back of his sword and hits Tanjiro in the back, making him fall to the ground.
"You are a fool!" the swordsman yells at Tanjiro.
Meanwhile, you sink to your knees, crawling over to Tanjiro and cradling him.
Tanjiro gasps at the sight of you cradling him. The swordsman starts to wonder what happened to the hatchet.
"Huh? What happened to the hatchet?" As the swordsman looks up, he gasps, seeing the hatchet flying at him. He quickly moves his head.
Right before she went behind that tree, she threw the rock at the same time as the hatchet. She was pretending to attack me so she could throw the hatchet.
They knew they had no chance at beating me. Her whole plan was to bring me down. She did say she wasn't going down without a fight, the swordsman thinks.
Nezuko starts growling and kicks the swordsman, making him let her go. She starts going towards her siblings.
"She'll kill them!" the swordsman thinks.
The swordsman's eyes widen as he sees the girl protect her siblings, standing in front of them.
"I knew she wasn't going to attack us," you think to yourself.
Nezuko growls as she tries to land a hit on the swordsman. As he dodges her attacks, Nezuko then flips and lands on a tree, jumping off and getting ready to attack.
The swordsman puts his sword in his sheath as Nezuko comes at him. He pulls it back out, hitting her in the stomach with it. He hits the side of her neck, making her pass out.
.
.
.
.
.
The scene cuts to [Name] holding both of her siblings in her arms while closing her eyes. She's not asleep, just thinking, as she hums.
Tanjiro wakes up to make sure his two sisters are still there. He feels Nezuko's arm and he can smell [Name] and hear her humming as she rubs his hair gently.
"You awake?" the swordsman asks Tanjiro.
Tanjiro turns around and hugs you and Nezuko.
"Get to Mount Sagiri as soon as possible. Look for an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki. When you find him, tell him Giyu Tomioka sent you. It's cloudy, so she seems to be alright at the moment, but never let her be exposed to sunlight," Tomioka says.
Tomioka disappears as you, Nezuko, and Tanjiro walk back to the house to bury your family. As you and Tanjiro pray, Nezuko just stands there.
"Let's get going," Tanjiro says as he holds your hand and you hold Nezuko's.
Tanjiro turns back to look one last time. In sorrow, he turns back around and runs while holding onto you and Nezuko.
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
4147 WORDS
I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BUT Y/N