Y/n PoV
A light breeze whispered past my ears as my eyes blankly stared up towards the blanket of blue above we call the sky. Leaning upon a branch high up, beautiful white snow encompassed my surroundings. A dim ball of fire above glistened through the chilling air as my unnatural yellow hair gently danced to the wind. My skin turned pale in response to the freezing air, my sharp blue eyes seemingly staring into the abyss of blue. The scars and bruises on my hands slowly tinted to a purple as a minute hum emanated from my mouth.
My hand slowly wavered to my cheek, caressing my lone scar; one of the last remnants of Naruto's legacy.
"It's really been.. such a long time." I murmured to myself as my hand dropped to my side, slightly touching the branch below. "At this point.. I can barely remember what he looks like.".
Ahhh!
A chilling screech of agony rumbled through the relatively peaceful landscape, sending a flock of birds nearby to soar up in fright. I jolted to my feet, standing upon the branch, and swiftly leapt down, analysing the source of noise. A sharp breath blew into my lungs as I leapt to my right, my eyes scouring my surroundings like a predator looking for prey. Dull snow below crunched minutely as the glimpse of a wooden hut of sorts appeared from within a tornado of snow afar. Jumping off a nearby tree, I instinctively propelled myself towards the house as my mind slowly held grasp of the situation.
Suddenly, I stuck my feet into the snow, releasing all of my momentum, as I peered on at the treacherous sight;
a massacre.
A trio of innocent children lay on the ground, their oozing blood soaking into the snow below. In the middle was a lean, long haired girl, whose stature seemed nostalgically familiar. Neglecting my curiosity, I leapt up to the trio, checking their bodies for a pulse; there was none. My head suddenly perked to my right, where the wooden hut stood. A horrid stench of sweet blood flew up into my nose as I rushed into the cabin, gaping at the miserable sight.
Blood. Flesh. Guts. Miserable.
A true massacre had taken place; the massacre of a seemingly happy family. Bodies were scattered upon walls and floors, their ages ranging from young to old, small and big. Horrified at the sight, I silently shut the door, paying my quiet respects to the innocent family.
Crrrunch!
The minute crunches of snow echoed through the landscape as a nostalgic aura dashed towards me. Instinctively, my body swerved behind a nearby tree, my hand on my hip in anticipation. The footsteps only grew louder as they approached the sight, until they suddenly stopped. A miserably long silence ensued as the person, who seemed to be a young boy, froze up in pure fright, his gaping jaw invariantly open in shock. The boy's gleaming maroon eyes hid behind a shadow of despair as the boy rushed towards the corpses, horribly screaming in trauma.
"Nezuko! Wake up! Nezuko!" The boy pleaded as I continued to peer on, the familiar name suddenly tightening my heart. The boy shook Nezuko wildly, desperate to save her, but she gave no response. "She.. still has a pulse." The boy murmured with a hint of happiness as he slumped Nezuko over his back, his burgundy hair blowing through the harsh wind. A sudden glimpse of realisation shook through my body as I inspected the boy's stature;
Burgundy hair, maroon eyes, hanafuta earrings, a large forehead with a large scar, and knows someone named Nezuko.
"Nezuko! Don't worry! Your big brother is going to save you!" The boy yelled as he swiftly leapt down the steep mountain, slapping me out of my overthinking. Hopping over numerous logs and rocks, the determined boy desperately rushed towards the village down below.
'I.. mustn't interact with them.' I thought to myself as I swiftly followed, sneaking through the midst of shadows.
'Interacting with either of them at such young ages might.. overload them with trauma.'. I shook my head, hoping to ignore my own thoughts, as I continued to peer on at the struggling boy.
Suddenly, a faint demon-like aura seeped through Nezuko's body as her eyes opened, revealing only a canvas of white. My heart skipped my beat as Tanjiro's body swerved in confusion, desperately hoping to regain balance. Grunts and groans echoed from within Nezuko as the duo suddenly fell down a cliff-like platform, sending shivers of fear down my spine.
Instinctively, my body followed suite, leaping off the cliff. My feet penetrated the chilling snow below as a half-conscious Tanjiro lay next to me, his eyes still frozen in shock. My gaze jolted up to a deep shadow from within the dense forest in front; Nezuko. More and more groans echoed from her mouth as visible veins of pain popped out from her body.
"N..Nezuko? Are you okay? Your big brother's here! You don't need to worr−", Nezuko suddenly tackled her brother, interrupting his speech. Her long, straight hair with unusual orange tips covered the poor boy's view as the sister's gaping jaw struggled to creep closer to cannibalisation. Instinctively, I threw Nezuko off Tanjiro by the collar, ignoring the fact that interacting with the duo may lead to their death. Nezuko's body smashed into a nearby tree as razor-sharp nails minutely grew out of her fingertips, their glistening purple tint reminding me of my own hands.
Cling!
The rustle of blades suddenly creeped closer to me as a traumatic aura swiftly dashed towards the scene. A flash of black hair soared through the air behind Nezuko as a gleam of blue raced toward's Nezuko's nape. Tanjiro's hand desperately flew up in defence, helplessly trying to prolong his sister's life. My own hands dashed to my waist, gripping onto two seperate blades, as I kicked the Hashira into a multitude of trees in the far distance. Suddenly, Nezuko's body jolted to it's feet as the Hashira immediately recovered, persistently rushing towards the puny girl. Slightly annoyed, my hands flew to Nezuko as I leapt out of the Hashira's trajectory, crashing into a few trees in the process. A blizzard of snow washed up upon the bloody landscape as I resisted against Nezuko's squirming attempts for freedom.
"Why are you protecting it? It's a demon, you kno-" A familiar voice called out as the blizzard suddenly evaporated away, leaving only a single figure to stand in the midst of glistening snow. There was no need to even spare a glance towards the man, for his penetrating, yet shocked gaze spoke more than enough.
"Long time no see," I murmured as I clenched onto Nezuko's clothes tightly, both to relieve myself of my emotions and to ensure she wouldn't run off. My silent gaze locked with his fiery, ambitious gems as his eyes slowly widened in terrible realisation. "Giyu.".
Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!
A wave of glistening water swept towards my neck, fuelled by what could only be described as agony. A blizzard of white blew upwards, enveloping the battlefield in a sheet of snow. The carpet of light would slowly crumble, revealing nothing but the exposed trunk of a cut tree. Giyu's gaze flew upwards to meet mine as I sat leaning against a different tree, desperately gripping onto Nezuko's flailing body.
A smile grew upon Tomioka's usually lifeless face.
"I see you haven't lost any of that monstrous speed of yours," he murmured before inhaling a dreadful amount of air. Veins popped out of his hands as his feet shocked themselves into an offensive stance.
Water Breathing, Tenth Fo-
"No! Please! That's my little sister!".
Giyu suddenly stopped before swerving his gaze over his shoulder, interpreting the frail boy's request. Sensing no hostility from me the man assumed a casual stance, albeit still clenching his blade in anticipation.
Suddenly, Nezuko's struggle came to an end as a few drops of water fell to the ground. My gaze looked down in confusion, but her messy hair covered her entire face, leaving me clueless. Trembling slowly arose from her lungs as the drops of water slowly turned to a river.
"But she's still a demon. There are no excuses for a dem−",
"Who taught you that?" I interrupted, my cold tone echoing through the chilling landscape. My fists wrapped themselves around Nezuko as a longing sense to protect welled inside of me. Something I hadn't felt in years. "Because I sure as hell didn't.".
Giyu slowly treaded towards me, his freezing glare locked onto me. He inched closer until he was eye to eye with me, as he swiftly sheathed his nichirin blade. He must've been able to smell the fact that I didn't want to fight.
"Tell that to all the people who have been brutally eaten by demons." Giyu started harshly as his invariant glare peered into my soul, as though the statement had been personal. "Now, hand over the demon.".
"This is one hell of a reunion isn't it?" I scoffed as I suddenly threw Nezuko over to Tanjiro, my hands gripping my blades like never before. Giyu followed suit as he immediately unsheathed his blade, leaping back a few paces in defence.
"Go tell Ubuyashiki and Urokodaki," I stated, readying myself into a defensive stance. Nezuko, using my momentum, dashed towards her older brother as Giyu held out a helpless hand in desperation, hoping to make sure she wouldn't eat Tanjiro. However, unlike anything that had ever happened, Nezuko's dash came to an abrupt stop as she readied herself in a defensive stance, seemingly copying mine. A smirk stretched onto my face as my mysterious blades vanished from my grip, my ocean-blue eyes peering on at Giyu's shocked expression.
"That the Leaf Devil's back." I demanded, slowly walking over to the siblings. Tanjiro, who, for this entire time, had been in a single place, watched on in shock as his demon sister glared angrily at Tomioka. Slowly, Tomioka began to interpret the situation. Realising that he wouldn't be able to beat me in a one-on-one duel without me fleeing or hurting the children, the Hashira bitterly sheathed his blades.
"Take care of those two," he snarled, turning his back to us. "Damn traitor.". Suddenly, the man vanished, clearly shaken by my sudden appearance after all this time.
A gentle breeze gleamed through the air as I crouched down to Tanjiro with a large smirk, peering on at his half-shocked, half-terrified expression. I held out a hand in friendliness as Nezuko's defensive stance broke down, leaving her to only watch me. Tanjiro, still shaking from shock, accepted the handshake.
'It really has been such a long time..
..right Tanjiro?'.