Nezuko opened her eyes. A faint light was seeping into the house from the windows.
It's bright.... it's morning.....
Her entire body felt heavy and dull. Especially her head -- a strange sensation was stuck on her forehead, like something sticky had dried...
It felt like she was having a nightmare.
Her eyes were dry: she must've been crying while asleep.
——"You. You become a demon."
Nezuko remembered those cold, blood-red eyes in that moment, and the words he had told her.
"Ah.... Aahhhh!!??"
Nezuko got up, pulling her sprawled limbs back to herself. She blinked a few times.
What spread out in front of her vision was a nightmare.
"Mother.... Shigeru..... Rokuta..... Takeo.... Hanako...."
As she called their names, tears started to wet her vision.
She lowered her gaze at the figure sprawled next to her.
"Onii-chan...."
Tanjiro was laid face-down on the floor. A hand extended was reaching towards Nezuko.
Blood had stained his entire kimono -- just remembering the level of injury he had sustained during that night sent shivers up Nezuko's back.
Trembling without control, she reached her hand towards Tanjiro's head.
"I'm so sorry.... Onii-chan... everyone..."
I'm sorry, mom. For not being able to save our family.
I'm sorry, Takeo. I couldn't answer you when you told me to run.
I'm sorry, Hanako, Shigeru, Rokuta. Big sister couldn't protect you.
I'm sorry, Onii-chan. You were hurt so much as you tried to protect me.
I'm sorry for being alive when all of you.....
Nezuko slowly touched Tanjiro's hair. She shifted her body to turn Tanjiro over so she could see his face.
"Onii-chan....."
A tremor went through Tanjiro's entire body. Nezuko instinctively pulled back her arm.
"Eh.....??"
He's.... alive!!??
"Onii-chan!!!" Nezuko cried, her voice cracking up because of her dry throat. She quickly reached towards Tanjiro, to lift his body up...
Tanjiro's head snapped upward.
What came in Nezuko's sight was his face matted in blood.
His open mouth dripping with saliva revealed four of his canine teeth extended into sharp fangs.
The scar on his face was nowhere to be seen.
And... his eyes. The whites of his eyes were dark red, and his pupils were constricted like a cat's.
Seeing her older brother's warped face sent a shock through Nezuko's body.
She was even more shocked to find that her fear towards Tanjiro had overwhelmed her emotion of happiness at finding him alive.
"Grr..... Rrraaaaarrrgghhhhh!!!"
Releasing a cry like that of a beast, Tanjiro leaped towards Nezuko. She saw him open his jaws wide, aiming his teeth towards Nezuko.... as if to bite into her.
Nezuko quickly picked up a pillow next to her and stuffed it into Tanjiro's face just as he was about to bite into her. There was a muffling sound as Tanjiro bit hard into the pillow and released a low growl.
"Hnghhh!!"
Tanjiro, still biting the pillow in his mouth, pinned Nezuko down with his arms on her shoulders. His nails - which had elongated into short claws -- sank into the skin of both Nezuko's shoulders.
Pain travelled through her body like an electric shock.
"Ack..... Onii-chan!! What's wrong, Onii-chan!!??"
The pillow dropped to the ground as Tanjiro widened his mouth and growled again. Feathers floated into the air from the hole in the pillow.
"Aaaaarrrrhhh!!"
Tanjiro reached his face downward towards Nezuko's face. She saw through her teared-up vision Tanjiro's face twisted into an expression like that of a wild beast.
——"You. You become a demon."
She remembered the man's words.
A demon.... Onii-chan became a demon...??
Nezuko resisted as she pushed back on Tanjiro's shoulder with all her might, but there was no way she could beat her older brother in strength. Tanjiro's open mouth was slowly approaching Nezuko's neck.
Tears rolled down uncontrollably from Nezuko's eyes, down the side of her face.
"Onii-chan.... don't lose!! Please!!"
"Grrraaarrr...." A deep growl rang in response from his throat.
"Don't become a demon!! Please!!"
Nezuko's strength was starting to fail her. With her trembling arms, she continued to resist Tanjiro.
"You're stronger than this, Onii-chan!! You're my.... our older brother...!!"
Tanjiro's body shuddered. His power pushing down Nezuko lessened in that instant.
"Please.... I'm frustrated too.... I couldn't protect our family..."
The trembling in Tanjiro's body increased as Nezuko continued her words. She closed her eyes, unable to look at Tanjiro's warped face anymore.
She remembered her family's smiling faces.
Mother, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, Rokuta. Father.
Tanjiro... you're smiling along with them, you know....
"I don't want to lose you too, Onii-chan...."
* * *
"...?"
Nezuko felt warm liquid drop onto her cheek. She opened her eyes slightly, and looked up at Tanjiro.
Crying. Tears dropped from Tanjiro's open eyes.
Nezuko could see the deep red colour in his eyeballs slowly subside, returning to its normal white colour.
"Tan...jiro...?"
Unable to believe the sight in front of her, she called his name out.
What coincidence, what miracle, is happening before me...??
"Onii-chan!!" She cried. "Please, Onii-chan. Wake up!!"
Tanjiro shuddered again. And finally, he retreated his body from Nezuko, and sat down in front of her.
Nezuko got up as well, wincing from the pain that shot up from her shoulders. She couldn't see his expression beneath his drooped-down hair.
"O-Onii-chan......... —Ah!?"
Tanjiro reached forward, grabbed Nezuko's arms, and pulled her to his body. She released a cry of surprise as he squeezed her body to his.
Tanjiro had hugged Nezuko. As her eyes widened in shock, she finally understood what had happened.
——Slowly, she circled her arm around Tanjiro's back, and squeezed back.
* * *
* * *
* * *
Nezuko was staring blankly at five moulds of earth that protruded on the surface before her.
Nearly two hours had passed by since she had woken up.
In that time, she had brought out all the bodies and cleaned them. She dressed them up in nice clothes and laid them outside the house, where thick clouds were covering the sun.
The snow had piled up from the blizzard last night -- however, it was no longer falling from the sky.
As she cleaned the house, Tanjiro had sat at the side of the room, staring blankly at Nezuko work quickly and precisely. She covered the blood marks on the tatami flooring with white clothes.
Almost mechanically, she dug up five holes outside the house and completed the burial of her family. She was so efficient in her labour, it took just below two hours to complete all of these tasks.
I wish... I took more time doing the tasks.....
Nezuko thought as she stood blankly in front of the five graves of her family.
Now that their bodies were covered beneath the earth, Nezuko finally realised that she would never see her family again. Immense solitude welled up in her.
Nezuko cried and cried in front of the graves of her family members.
She continued crying for a long time -- sending her beloved family gratitude for everything they had done for her and Tanjiro. After throwing up all of her emotions through her tears, she rose up before them and bid them farewell.
Next to her, Tanjiro was curled up into a ball, hugging his knees in a child-like way. He faced the five graves and were silently rolling tears down his cheeks.
——after what happened in the morning, Tanjiro had been acting strangely childish. His actions were almost infantile, and he no longer released intelligent words back at Nezuko.
He really became a demon, Nezuko thought.
The whites of his eyes returned to their normal colour, but his pupils remained constricted into thin lines like those of feline animals. His teeth also remained elongated and sharp.
Even though he became a demon... it's not like our kind Onii-chan was lost.
Because....
She looked at Tanjiro, who continued to flow tears down his face.
Because... he's crying so much, thinking so much of his family.
Nezuko returned her gaze to the five moulds on the ground.
Everyone... I swear I will protect Onii-chan, no matter what it takes.
So... look after us. Please watch us from wherever you are.
I won't... cry again. Not until I've saved Onii-chan.
Nezuko blinked deeply, letting out a final drop of water from her eyes. She then opened her eyes again — and returned a determined look to Onii-chan.
"I swear... I will save you, Onii-chan."
* * *
Thanks for reading chapter 2!
Did you guys watch the movie yet!? It's playing right now... it's like... it makes you love Kamado family so much more...