Nezuko ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the Demon Slayer Headquarters. She ran up the stairs and knocked on the door desperately.
The door slid open, revealing one of the Ubuyashiki children, with her distant eyes and straight white hair.
"The Master has been expecting you," she murmured stepping out of the way so that Nezuko could step into the room. The girl closed the door behind her and led Nezuko to a room that was full of candles and was completely hidden from sunlight.
Master Ubuyashiki was sitting in a chair being looked over by -
"Lady Tamayo!" Nezuko cried happily, she ran and hugged the woman who hugged her back, smiling softly.
Yushiro entered the room, saw the exchange, before he scoffed and crossed his arms, irked that the girl could so easily embrace the Lady. Nezuko pulled away and looked up at the demon.
"What are you doing here?" Nezuko asked.
Tamayo smiled, "I'm an old friend of the Ubuyashiki family."
"She has been working diligently to try and find a cure for my family's ailment," Master Ubuyashiki smiled, his eyes distant, "I'm glad you are here, Nezuko. I've been wanting to talk to you."
Nezuko was reminded of why she had come and she ran up to the Master's side, "Master, I felt Tanjiro again, while I was recovering. He was with Muzan and there were other demon slayers and a demon... Upper Two, I think, it's hard to remember but - "Nezuko began frantically, "But the demon slayers! Muzan - "
The master held up his hand and Nezuko immediately was silenced.
"Hinaki," the Master asked softly. His eldest daughter, who stood in the doorway, nodded and walked away. She returned a few moments later holding a bundle of something. She laid it down softly in front of her father and Nezuko felt a heavy lump seize her throat.
"What is it?" The master asked softly.
There were five demon slayer swords, wrapped together in a familiar green and black checkered haori.
"It's Nii-chan's haori," Nezuko murmured weakly reaching out and touching the fabric that was stained with blood.
"I feared as much," the Master murmured.
Lady Tamayo put a reassuring hand on Nezuko's shoulder, "Tanjiro is alright, I'm certain you would know if he was - "
"No, Nii-chan's... alive," Nezuko nodded, certain.
"Hinaki... unwrap it, please," the Master ordered softly.
Hinaki crouched down and unwrapped the haori revealing its contents. Yushiro stiffened from where he stood and Tamayo closed her eyes for a moment. Nezuko only stared at the contents in horror. The five swords were all broken and covered in blood, but lying among them were five eyeballs, with kanji etched into them. Laying among the demon slayer swords were all that remained of the Lower Moons.
"The eyes of the lower moons, but only those that Muzan touched," Master Ubuyashiki murmured knowingly.
"What does it mean?" Yushiro asked in a low voice as he looked to Tamayo.
"It means he is disposing of those he deems as 'weaklings' in his ranks," Tamayo murmured, opening her eyes and gazing sadly at the eyeballs.
"He's also struck out at a few of my children," the Master stated sadly, Nezuko looked over the demon slayer swords and grimaced.
"Where did you get this?" Nezuko asked, trembling.
"It arrived on our doorstep at midnight," Hinaki explained, "A human who served Muzan must've delivered it."
"Humans serve Muzan?" Nezuko asked incredulously.
"Most of them don't know who they're serving, I expect this one was a simple one-time job. He paid someone and they delivered... I also expect that they came home and found that they were to be a demon's meal," Tamayo explained.
"But what does this mean?" Yushiro asked again, "What message is he sending?"
"War," the Master stated, "He's warning us, showing us what he is willing to do. He killed his own comrades, disposed of the weaklings, and sent their remains to us to warn us that if we fight... we fight a terrible war."
"We are already at war," Yushiro growled, "We have been for centuries."
"Yes," Tamayo nodded, "But now we have something that disturbs him."
"What?" Nezuko asked.
Tamayo looked at her, "You."
Nezuko's eyes widened. "What?"
"It's what I wanted to speak to you for," the Master murmured.
"What?" repeated Nezuko.
"Your brother is the closest to Muzan," the Master explained.
"If he could tell us where Muzan is, give of inside information on the Demon Moons - " Yushiro began.
"He can't," Nezuko murmured, "Tanjiro can't..."
They all looked to her.
"He found out," Nezuko gritted, "Muzan knows that Tanjiro and I are connected... that's why he sent this," she looked to the broken swords and eyeballs. "It's to tell me... remind me that he can destroy Tanjiro and break me. He's telling me to stay away."
Tamayo's gaze was full of nothing but concern for the girl.
"I cannot expect you to jeopardize your brother's safety then," Master Ubuyashiki murmured kindly.
Nezuko's anger burned within her and she clenched her jaw, "I know that you hoped for more information... but... but Tanjiro's shut himself off from me. Even if I could talk to him, I'd be putting him in danger. I can't."
"I know," the Master nodded, "I know you can't."
"All might not be lost," Tamayo assured the girl, "Your brother has already given us critical information. We know Muzan's pattern of movement because of him, we have seen Muzan's cunning, you've seen a few of the Upper Moon's through his eyes, you've already done enough."
"Not to mention you saved Kyojuro's life," the Master smiled, "And everyone aboard that train."
"The train!" Nezuko cried, suddenly remembering it all, "Everyone's alright!? How are Zentisu and Inosuke!? Rengoku-san is okay too? What happened to the Upper Moon? How long was I asleep?"
Master Ubuyashiki laughed softly and leaned backward, "Everyone is fine. Inosuke and Zentisu went off on a minor mission, Kyojuro did as well. You gave them quite a scare, you've been sleeping for five days, a consequence of your regeneration I suppose."
Nezuko released her breath and sighed, "So everyone's alright?"
"Yes," Lady Tamayo assured her.
"You did well Nezuko, Kyojuro has done nothing but praise you since his return," the Master smiled.
Nezuko smiled, a bit embarrassed, "It wasn't just me..."
"No, but it couldn't have been done without you," the Master smiled, "Now, return to the butterfly estate. Something tells me that those girls will not be too thrilled that you've run out of their building before they've released you, again."
Nezuko laughed nervously thinking back to the girls who would reprimand her just as they did last time. Her gaze shifted and settled on the bloody checkered haori.
"Master," Nezuko murmured, grabbing the haori gently and looking at it's contents, "Could I... take my brother's haori."
"Of course," Master Ubuyashiki smiled, "Hinaki... could you take the swords and bury them... for my lost children."
"Of course, father," Hinaki murmured walking over with a towel and moving the broken swords from the bloody haori to the towel with help from Nezuko.
Lady Tamayo gingerly picked up the eyeballs and studied them. "There is not much to work with, but we may be able to extract some of Muzan's blood from these."
"My Lady, you are truly brilliant!" Yushiro smiled.
Nezuko picked up the now empty haori and clutched it between her fingers. She studied its hemming that was coming undone and remembered the long nights that Mother had stayed up re-sewing the cloth. She pulled the haori into her chest and clutched it for all she was worth. It felt like having a piece of Tanjiro in her arms and she was grateful and distraught all at once. She stood up slowly and held the haori out. Bloodstained or no... it was still Tanjiro's... it was a connection to her old life and so she slipped it over her shoulders and pulled it around her.
Tamayo and Yushiro looked at her, seeing the pain in her eyes as she covered herself in the haori.
"Thank you," Nezuko murmured, bowing to her master. She looked to Lady Tamayo and Yushiro, "I'll see you two soon."
"Yes," Tamayo nodded, "I hope so."
With that Nezuko turned and walked out of the house. She stepped into the sun and felt strangely powerful dawned in her brother's haori, with his earrings swinging on her ears.
"Nii-chan," Nezuko vowed even though there was no connection, "I will find you. He cannot hide you forever."
And then, suddenly, he was there.
Tanjiro could sense that Nezuko was striving to reconnect. Tanjiro was eager. His hatred for Muzan had been festering and was threatening to burst. Every action, every movement... Tanjiro despised how much power Muzan held over him, he hated that he was a puppet for the demon. What he wanted, more than anything, was to shove Muzan under the sun's gaze and watch his Master burn up in agony. He wanted Muzan dead.
But... he was in a dangerous spot. A treacherous position... but a powerful one.
Muza stood beside him, looking out over the Upper Moons. Tanjiro had never seen them all together, in fact, he had only barely met a few of them. They were all fervently discussing demon slayers and the prospect of killing hashiras but Tanjiro was only focused on them. He seared all of their appearances into his mind and noted their visible weaknesses and strength.
The demon lord seemed distracted, with so many powerful demons in the same room, his mind was surely focused on the others... perhaps...
Tanjiro connected to Nezuko, just barely.
"Nii-chan?" Nezuko's voice whispered happily.
Tanjiro's lips twitched into a smile that vanished quickly. He poured his emotions of caution into Nezuko so that she'd speak quietly... it seemed that the quieter thoughts were, the harder it was for Muzan to hear them.
"Nii-chan are you alright?" Nezuko asked softly.
Tanjiro wanted to assure her that he was fine... but that would be a lie.
"We're trying to find you, I promise. Lady Tamayo and Master are collaborating, I've heard rumors that the hashiras are training mercilessly. After Rengoku-san beat Akaza, everyone got pretty motivated." Nezuko explained.
Tanjiro pondered this as Akaza and Douma threatened each other.
If the Demon Corps were also preparing for war... they'd need more then just dumb luck and training... they'd need to know what they were walking into - they had to be warned about this literal hell. Tanjiro looked over the Upper Moons and then over to Muzan... and his hatred bloomed into rebellion.
Nezuko dashed back into the Ubuyashiki house and burst into the Master's room.
"Nezuk-" Lady Tamayo began.
"It's Tanjiro! He's with the Upper Moons right now!" Nezuko cried.
"What?" Master asked.
"Yushiro, take notes," Tamayo ordered sharply. Yushiro ripped out a small paper and glared at Nezuko as she relayed the images she saw through Tanjiro's mind.
"Upper six isn't one demon, they're two demons... they seem to be siblings," Nezuko began feeling through Tanjiro. "I see Akaza... he seems to be angry at Upper Two..."
Tanjiro carefully gazed out over the demons and focused on each of their strengths. He could sense that Nezuko was relaying the information to someone and that gave him reaffirmation that what he was doing was right.
It was a terrible risk, but he knew that Nezuko and the demon corps needed. It also brought the demon slayers one step closer to slaying Muzan, and that was all Tanjiro wanted.
Muzan relayed orders to the Upper Moons and the Upper Moons all listened intently, it seemed as though Muzan had completely forgotten about the boy to his right.
"I've gathered you here because there is a problem that I need to be solved," Muzan stated darkly. The Upper Moons became dead silent, listening to their Master with ferocious intensity.
"The Demon Slayer Hashira have become too annoying. For the first time in centuries, they've held their own against our kind. I wish to cripple them," Muzan continued.
The Moons all looked to him eagerly.
"We shall attack the source of their power. We'll start by slaughtering the new slayers, then the mentors, the outlying villages, everything that they fight for. We shall spread their ranks thin and then we will attack the swordsman village."
"Brilliant as always Master," Hantengu, Upper Four, praised, the ancient-looking demon smiled.
"Daki, Gyutaro," Muzan ordered looking to the two Upper Moon Sixes, "I want you to stir up trouble. Draw in demon slayers. Kill them and devour all you can. We must prepare ourselves for this fight."
"Yes, Master!" Daki nodded excitedly. Gyutaro smiled at his sister's eagerness.
"Hantengu, Gyokko," Muzan stated, Upper Five and Four looked up to the man, "You will be in charge of attacking the swordsmith village when the time comes."
"Happily," Gyokko smiled, his green lips in his eye sockets turning upward.
"And you three," Muzan murmured turning to the final Upper Moons, Kokushibo, Douma, and Akaza. "I want you to stir up trouble."
"Oh, how exciting," Douma smiled. Akaza's eyebrow twitched at the mere sound of Upper Two's voice.
Muzan would've continued, but he suddenly felt something... Like someone else was listening.
Nezuko relayed it all, every memory that Tanjiro sent her. The connection strengthed and Nezuko found that she was looking through Tanjiro's eyes, that she was feeling his rebellious spirit, and he, her anticipation. The Upper Moons were discussing plans fervently, and then, suddenly, Muzan gestured for silence. The Upper Moons fell deathly silent and Muzan looked over calmly to Tanjiro.
Muzan's brilliant eyes fixed upon Tanjiro's soft ones, filling both siblings with icy horror that settled in their stomachs.
Nezuko froze, remaining absolutely still and silent even though it was Tanjiro who was under the fierce gaze of Muzan's scarlet eyes. She was miles away from the demon but seeing him through Tanjiro's eyes filled her with inexplicable dread.
Muzan turned on his heel and walked up to Tanjiro who was desperately trying to hide his trembling.
"Nezuko... What's wrong?" Lady Tamayo asked fearfully touching Nezuko's shoulder. The girl was staring into space with a look of sheer terror blanketing her face. Every muscle in her body had gone taunt, and she was still as a stone... it even seemed that her breathing had stopped.
Tanjiro was a mirror image of his sister's terror, those brilliant red eyes seemed to see right through him and Tanjiro knew that they had been caught.
"How fascinating," Muzan smiled reaching out a hand and running it through Tanjiro's hair. Tanjiro shivered as the cold fingers caressed his head and his heart hammered in his chest.
Nezuko's heart hardened as she felt Tanjiro's terror. She hated Muzan as much as Tanjiro feared him.
"Tell me, Nezuko," Muzan smiled staring into Tanjiro's eyes, his own red eyes filled with sick pleasure. "Do you love your big brother?"
Tanjiro wanted to sever the connection, he wanted to close Nezuko away from this monster but he was frozen in terror. Muzan's eyes were like glowing disks of blood that froze Tanjiro in place and replaced the boy's thoughts with icy dread.
Nezuko clenched her fists as she looked to Muzan through her brother's eyes. She kept her mouth shut even though she wanted to scream at the demon to leave her brother alone.
"I don't think you do," Muzan murmured softly, his gaze moving from Tanjiro's eyes to Tanjiro's hair which he held gingerly between his fingers, "If you did, you would understand that all you're doing in hurting him. You're torturing your own brother by making false promises and offering foolish hope. And here I thought humanity prided itself on love," Muzan smiled cruelly.
Muzans other hand flew outward, its claws raced towards Tanjiro's eyes and the boy watched in stunned terror.
Nezuko screamed and held her own eyes as she flew backward, feeling her brother's agony and screaming his screams. Lady Tamayo caught her and gripped the girl, terrified for her.
"STOP!" Nezuko screamed desperately as her brother's cries echoed in her head. "PLEASE STOP!!"
The pain ceased for a moment and Nezuko opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything through Tanjiro's eyes anymore but she could sense that he was still in pain and could faintly make out his whimpers.
"Please," Nezuko pleaded, quivering. "Please don't hurt him..."
"Hurt him?" Muzan's voice whispered in her ear.
Tanjiro was on the ground, his hands covering his bloody face that burned in agony. Muzan held him and was whispering in his ear with that sick tone that he spoke to all of his victims when he was in a good mood
"Nezuko," Muzan laughed quietly, "The only one hurting him is you."
Tanjiro tried to whimper assurance to Nezuko but those whimpers turned into screams again as Muzan continued what he had started.
"NO! PLEASE!!" Nezuko begged, holding her hands over her ears to try and block out her brother's screams of agony.
"This isn't my doing. It's yours. This wouldn't have happened had you just let him be," Muzan's voice was like a piercing knife. Nezuko knew she shouldn't listen, that she shouldn't believe a word the filthy bastard said. But, Tanjiro's whimpers tore her heart apart and tears ran down her face.
"Please... please don't hurt him anymore," Nezuko begged through her tears.
"I was about to ask you to do the same," Muzan murmured.
Tanjiro gritted his teeth through the pain and focused on Nezuko. She was full of guilt and terror and he hated it.
No one else had to suffer because of him!
He focused on her face, how grown up it was... How beautiful. If she was back home like they should've been, perhaps Tanjiro would be chasing suitors down the mountain as they pleaded for her hand in marriage. Of course, only in the perfect world. But this wasn't a perfect world, Tanjiro was encaged, but Nezuko...she was far out of his reach. Yes... she was still out of Muzan's reach. She was still safe.
Nezuko saw Tanjiro... momentarily. It was the real, human him. He was standing up in front of her and smiling. He placed a hand on her head reassuringly and smiled a wide and pure smile.
"Nii-chan," Nezuko sobbed reaching out for him. He smiled again at her.
Tanjiro let out a powerful yell and he used every piece of will power he had to sever the connection.
Nezuko crumpled into Tamayo's arms in shock as she lost her brother's senses and emotions.
"No..." she choked still reaching out for the ghost of the memory. Tamayo pulled her into a reassuring hug and let the girl sob into her kimono.
"It's all my fault... it's my fault," Nezuko sobbed.
"No." Lady Tamayo looked down at Nezuko, her gaze firm, " Those are his words. He is trying to sway your fortitude. Don't let him Nezuko. Tanjiro wouldn't want you to blame yourself."
"But Muzan... it's my fault... If I hadn't -" Nezuko trembled.
"You did not force Tanjiro to connect to you... Right?" Tamayo asked gently. Nezuko trembled but didn't respond.
She didn't respond because she knew in her heart that Tanjiro wouldn't have done anything... But she asked... and Tanjiro couldn't say no. It was her fault.
(Okay. Sorry this is late but I hope you enjoyed. I swear I'll stop hurting Tanjiro, this will get better eventually!! Thanks so much for reading, have a great day/night, love y'all.)