Chapter Text
Nezuko runs through the crowd of people, searching for Tanjiro. She follows where she last saw Tanjiro run, gently nudging people out of the way, not bothering to mind their bothered and annoyed expressions. The girl desperately tries to find her brother, especially after sensing that Ubuyashiki is definitely in the area.
Where is he? I need to find him! What if Ubuyashiki hurts Tanjiro?
The pink-eyed girl’s breath hitches as she hears a pained scream cut through the crowd, the injured person is nearby. She gasps as she finally finds a break in the crowd, there she sees three important scenes. Tanjiro frozen in shock and fear, a man screaming as a woman bites his shoulder, and a demon family trying to flee the scene. Nezuko can link the extreme feeling of doom to the long, white-haired demon, this is the demon that was at their home…Nezuko turns to Tanjiro, he is just standing in the same place, his face full of fear and shock. The pink-eyed girl turns to the demon family, she can’t help her facial expression of anger and hate towards Amane. The demoness looks at Nezuko with contempt before trying to push through the crowd with her family.
Nezuko wants to chase after the demon family, but the sound of growling and a scream brings her back to reality, she turns to the demon woman biting the man’s shoulder. She rushes over to them while yelling at Tanjiro to get his attention.
“Tanjiro! Get the woman off of this man, hurry!”
Tanjiro finally snaps out of his frozen stupor and grabs onto the woman, forcibly opening her mouth to remove her from the man with as little damage as possible. The demon boy gets a fresh scent of blood rushing his senses now that he isn’t frozen on the spot. He drools behind his muzzle, breathing heavily as he tries to think of anything else while he pulls the injured man to the crowd.
“Someone put pressure on his wound to stop the bleeding!” Nezuko orders as she pins down the newly turned demoness. As the man is tended to, Nezuko grunts as she struggles to keep the woman pinned to the ground, hearing the woman snap and gnash her sharp, strong teeth.
The injured man worriedly yells at his wife. “Honey! What’s wrong!? What’s happening!?”
“Please sir, worry about your wound! Make sure pressure is applied firmly by those helping you!” Nezuko says as she grabs the woman’s wrists and pins them down to the ground, hearing snarling and growling in her ear. The pink-eyed girl looks back down at the woman, a tense expression on the teen’s face.
“Don’t worry ma’am. Things will be okay. I’ll get you some help.” The young demon slayer softly whispers to the woman under her.
This woman hasn’t killed anyone yet…if I can somehow get her help, things can turn out okay. Damn it, how did this happen…she can’t have been a demon until just now...
Amane Ubuyashiki.
This is her fault. That… monster is ruining people’s lives. To hell with her!
Nezuko gasps as she sits up a bit, feeling that sense of doom starting to feel like it’s getting further away. She sees long, white hair flowing as the demoness and her family leave. Damn coward! Nezuko grits her teeth as she looks down at the growling woman pinned under her.
Ubuyashiki is right there! Right in her grasp! Right in her line of sight, that damn demon is only a few feet away. She could quickly run up to her and cut her head off.
But…
Nezuko could only watch as Amane’s figure got further and further away.
She can’t chase after Amane, it isn’t right.
She needs to deal with the situation at hand, which is the woman currently under her. Nezuko can’t be selfish.
“Amane Ubuyashiki! You may be able to run away now, but know this! No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, I will find you! Whether it be the ends of the earth or straight into hell, I’ll find you. My blade will slice through your neck, for I will be your executioner!”
Nezuko’s passion flows from her lips as she lets her words be the one to carry her message.
Nezuko Kamado will be the one to kill Amane Ubuyashiki.
The pink-eyed girl tries to focus on keeping the woman still but the chaos is amplified when the police come running to the scene.
“What’s going on?!”
“Another drunk?”
“Doesn’t matter. Get away from that woman, kid!”
Nezuko holds onto the woman tighter when the policemen try to pull her off of the woman.
“I can’t! Let me go! I’m the only person who can hold this woman down! Get restraints! Something!”
In the crowd of people two of them, A man and a child, clue into the conversation between the pink-eyed girl and the officers. The girl and the officers argue and struggle a bit, but then something the girl says makes the man softly gasp.
“Stop it! I’m trying to keep this person from hurting anyone!”
A person…
Person.
One of the officers raises their baton, “I’m going to have to use force if you won’t cooperate, little girl!”
Nezuko hunches down as she holds onto the woman under her, bracing for a baton hit. Then she hears something odd. Even through the sound of people panicking and officers yelling, she hears it.
The sound of bells…like bells in temari balls…?
The pink-eyed girl slightly coughs when a bunch of dirt from the ground is kicked up and spreads through the area like a mini dust storm. She squints her eyes as she looks up and watches as the officers let out surprised noises and are unnaturally shifted away from her and the demon under her. Nezuko feels goosebumps rise up over her skin as a cold sweat washes over her…her intuition was tugging at her, telling her that demons were in the area, other than the Ubuyashikis.
“What the hell? Why did I move?!”
“Where is all this dust and dirt coming from?”
“Do you hear those bells?”
The teen girl hears the officers' confusion, sharing their sentiments.
Is this one of those Blood Demon Art things? A spell?
She whips her head up when she hears the sound of two sets of feet walking towards her…It was a man and a young girl…no, they were demons too. What the hell?
“You still call this woman a person. Even now that she’s a demon?” The man asks. Nezuko looks at his palms briefly and sees eyes on them before those eyes close and the eyes on his face open.
Nezuko swallows a bit thickly as she still keeps a firm grasp on the woman under her. “Yes…she is a person, she hasn’t eaten or killed anyone yet.”
“I guess that’s true, but you seem to have a soft spot for demons, huh? I mean you are traveling with a demon.” The little girl demon says with a giggle as she nods her head towards Tanjiro, holding a temari ball in her hands.
“That’s-!” Nezuko sighs and looks at them with suspicion in her eyes. “Well, you two are demons too.”
The male demon softly lets out a huff of a chuckle.
“Yes, we indeed are. But I am also a doctor, I can help both people and demons. You also aren’t the only one with a problem with Ubuyashiki.”
~☆~
Amane and Kagaya stand by a car with their five kids, they slowly put their kids into the car, letting the little ones get settled.
“We can’t come with you guys?” Kanata pouts as she looks at her parents.
Amane softly chuckles. “No, not this time. Mommy and Daddy have some business to do that will just be boring for you little ones.”
“Fineeee.” All five kids sigh in an overdramatic fashion.
“Now, now. No more pouting. Behave alright?” Kagaya says with a soft smile, making the kids settle down and giggle. Kagaya then looks at the demoness that is sitting next to the driver. “Do keep a good watch over them, though I have no doubt that you will.”
The demon woman with long colorful hair put into three braids smiles and nods. “But of course, Master!”
That demoness then instructs the driver where to go. As the car leaves, the demon children wave to their parents.
Once the car was gone, the demonic couple makes their way towards an alleyway. Amane was visibly pissed though.
“I can’t believe those brats are still around, that damn demon with those earrings !” the white-haired woman clenches her teeth, veins throbbing in her neck.
Kagaya gently wraps an arm around her waist. “Amane, honey. While it is worrying, that demon is but a child. We’ll just keep a close eye on him and his sister.” The man kisses his wife’s temple softly.
Amane softly sighs and closes her eyes before nodding. “Yes…Yes, you’re right.”
As they walk down the path, three people start coming the opposite way, two men and a woman. They were very visibly drunk with flushed faces and unbalanced gaits. The shorter man was rambling about something or another when he bumps into Kagaya. She clenches her jaw in annoyance but since her husband didn’t kick up a fuss, she stays calm.
“Oh my, what’s a couple doin’ in the alleyway like this?~” The short man slurs, giggling drunkenly. “Tryna get busy I bet!”
Amane turns her head to look at them about to lash out when she hears her husband’s calming voice in her ear. “Calm down, dear. It’s alright.”
The taller man looks at Kagaya and raises a brow. “He’s got a fucked up face though. Who would want to get in the mood with a man like that?”
The drunken trio cackle loudly, obnoxiously. The white-haired demoness lowly growls and slowly raises a hand, but just before she does anything Kagaya softly holds her hand. He was able to say something when the drunk woman of the trio speaks first.
“Guys, his face may not be all that…but I bet he can satisfy her in other ways!” The drunk woman cackles.
The white-haired demoness doesn’t know whether to laugh or kill them, a vein throbbing in her forehead. She was honestly stunned. She can hear her husband mutter a quiet “oh my” under his breath.
“That’s so true! Hell yeah man! Have a wild night!” The shorter man cheers the couple on as the trio leaves out of the alley.
Once they were gone, Kagaya turns to his wife with a smile. “I think that was quite humorous. Besides…were what they said at the end necessarily wrong?”
“...” Amane’s eye twitches, but she is noticeably calming down, she also finally registers what he just said.
“Kagaya!” She gasps, looking at him with surprise. “You look innocent, yet some of the things you say…”
The black-haired demon softly chuckles. “I’ve said nothing.”
A soft huff leaves Amane as she shakes her head and snaps her fingers and two demons appear, fox masks on their faces.
“I’m feeling generous right now. There is a demon that wears Hanafuda earrings, he travels with his sister, bring me both of their heads and I will give you more of my blood…and you’ll be able to see your dear friend again.” Amane says, smiling at the demons kneeling in front of her.
“Yes, Mistress!”
As quickly as they came, the demons left.
“Amane…”
“It’s better to get rid of the problem now, my dear. Those earrings and the people who wear them are nothing but trouble. I cannot bear to think of potentially losing you again.”
Kagaya shivers in unease, remembering all those years ago. That day he was trembling on the ground as a swordsman stares down at him from above, long black hair that fades to cyan ends, his cyan eyes looking down at the demon with slight pity, his Hanafuda earrings moving with the breeze. Kagaya touches the purple markings on his face, his hand trembling.
“I…I suppose you’re right…”
~☆~
“Now you two listen here! I can’t believe you both wasted two perfectly good bowls of udon! I can’t believe it! I worked hard on that udon and you didn’t even enjoy it!” The udon cart worker yells at the Kamado siblings, the teens looking like scolded kids. Nezuko and Tanjiro had just meant to go back to grab the wooden box and pay the cart owner, but he was a lot more mad than they thought he’d be.
Nezuko speaks up though. “We’re very sorry sir! We would like two bowls of udon again, made just like earlier! We’ll eat it this time!”
Tanjiro nods enthusiastically in agreement.
The udon cart worker stares at them hard for a moment, his short green hair looking a bit wild before he huffs and smoothes down his hair. “Fine, but you better eat it this time.”
He quickly works to make the two bowls of udon and gives it to the siblings. Tanjiro inwardly prays that the food would be mellow enough for his stomach. And then the siblings quickly slurp down their noodles in record time, impressing the udon cart owner.
“Thank you so much for the delicious meal, sir! It was delicious!”
Nezuko exclaims in contentment, Tanjiro nods, the demon boy sighs in contentment too as he puts his bamboo muzzle back on.
“Great! Come back again!”
The Kamado siblings wave to the man as they walk away from the cart.
Nezuko sighs as she walks next to her brother. “This has been such a tiring night already, and it’s not even over yet…”
“Mm…” Tanjiro agrees, looking a bit sluggish himself before he suddenly stops and stares firmly ahead. Nezuko looks to at where Tanjiro was looking and there was that little girl demon, giggling.
“Hii! I’m here to bring you two back!” She happily says.
Nezuko raises a brow. “Oh, I mean, I’m pretty sure Tanjiro could’ve sniffed out your hiding spot.”
“Nuh-uh! The hideout has a concealment spell, hehe! No one could find it but me and the doc.”
The little girl then skips off in the direction of the hideout, the Kamado siblings looking at each other and silently agreeing that the girl is odd.
“That demon boy looks so silly with that muzzle on! And those flame markings are sooo obnoxious on his big forehead.” The girl giggles, materializing a temari ball.
Tanjiro doesn’t seem too bothered by what she said, but Nezuko gets offended for him.
“Excuse me! What was the point in saying something so rude!? Tanjiro still looks handsome!”
The girl proceeds to ignore Nezuko’s endless ranting as she just walks towards the hideout, getting to the edge of the woods. She tosses her ball at a specific tree and that activates the hidden spell paper with blood markings on it. The marking lights up momentarily before fading again. The little demon then passes through the threshold, but on the outside it makes it look like she just disappeared.
“-And Tanjiro’s forehead is a normal size-!?”
Both Tanjiro and Nezuko look around when they don’t see the little girl, then the girl peaks her head through the threshold.
“Hurry up and pass through!”
She then tugs the siblings in, and there they see a nice two-story house.
“What the…”
The pink-eyed girl can’t believe there is such a nice house here just hidden away like that! They get to the front door and the little demon stops them.
"Wipe your shoes on the mat," the girl whines, lazily wiping her shoes before entering the house. "Yahaba hates dirt or uncleanliness... he's so dramatic about it too." The Kamados do the same before entering.
There Yahaba was, sitting on a chair in front of the bed where that woman’s husband lay, his shoulder bandaged up.
The teenage demon slayer looks at the man worriedly. “Will he be okay?”
Yahaba nods. “Yes, he’s fine, but his wife is locked up right now, she’s too feral at the moment to have much freedom.”
Nezuko looks at Yahaba for a little bit before speaking up. “Isn't it hard,” She asks, “I mean treating bloody wounds like that?”
“Of course not! Yahaba wouldn’t be a doctor otherwise, dummy!” The little demon girl huffs.
“Susamaru. No need to insult anyone, she was simply being curious.” Yahaba gently explains to Susamaru. The little girl pouts a little, crossing her arms.
Yahaba then turns to Nezuko and Tanjiro. “Apologies, I never properly introduced myself. I’m Yahaba, and the petulant little girl is Susamaru. Please excuse her impulsive words, she was turned young.”
“Ah, no worries! I’m Nezuko Kamado and this is my little brother, Tanjiro.” Nezuko says with a smile.
“Anyways, Ms. Kamado. To answer your question, it isn’t really that hard for me. I have experimented with my body so my physiological state is different from most demons. I also no longer have the Ubuyashiki curse.” Yahaba explains, softly chuckling at the look of confusion on the Kamado siblings’ faces.
The short-haired man removes his white kimono cover and sets it to the side and opens the door to another room. “Before you come inside, please wipe off your clothes and take off your shoes. I can’t stand dirt getting tracked around.”
They all nod and do as he asks, however, as soon as Tanjiro enters the room he lays on the floor.
“Tanjiro! That’s rude, don’t do that!” Nezuko exclaims as she tries to lift Tanjiro into a proper sitting position.
Yahaba slightly cringes, but chuckles nonetheless. “It’s alright, he was turned young too, wasn’t he?”
Nezuko softly smiles, a melancholy note to it, and nods, “Yes…he was.”
“Well, as I said earlier, there are considerable changes to my body and Susamaru’s, we don’t need as much blood to survive, it may still seem gross and unnatural for you, but I promise I get the blood ethically. I buy it from those who are impoverished, and never too much.” The short-haired demon explains, watching as Nezuko's facial expression relaxes.
So that’s why my intuition wasn’t set off by their presence…but if they still need blood…what about Tanjiro? There’s no way mild human food actually gives him any energy or nutrients…?
“Susamaru needs even less than me, I was the one who turned her.”
…
HUH!?
“What!? You turned her!? But I thought only Ubuyashiki could! How did you do that!?” Nezuko exclaims, looking completely shocked.
Yahaba chuckles. “Mhm, what you said is basically true. I mean, it took me 200 years to even be able to achieve such a feat, and Susamaru is the only person I’ve been able to do such a thing.”
Nezuko’s jaw drops as she absorbs this information. 200 years…200!?
“2…200 years…!? 200 years!? How old are you, Mr. Yahaba!?”
Tanjiro stops lazily rolling around on the floor and looks at Nezuko like she’s lost her mind! Where was her decorum!?
Susamaru on the other hand bursts out laughing, clutching her stomach and doubling over.
“Haha! She called you ancient! You’re old!”
“Keep laughing Susamaru and you’ll be deep cleaning this entire house for three days straight.”
The laughter immediately ceases and Susamaru gets a serious look on her face. “I would never laugh.”
Yahaba shakes his head and turns back to Nezuko. “Ah, let me clarify my statement. I’m not looking to create a lot of demons like Ubuyashiki. I only ever offer this option when I’m faced with someone with fatal injuries or a terminal illness, and even then, I make absolutely sure they want to be turned into a demon and know the consequences of that.”
Nezuko’s intuition is telling her that he isn’t lying, so she trusts Yahaba.
“Then…Mr. Yahaba, is there a way to turn a demon back into a human?”
~☆~
The footsteps echo in the alleyway as two demons walk down the path, the shorter demon pulls her fox mask over her eyes, her sense of sight even sharper now, she looks down at the ground and can see the remnant aura of footsteps, multiple pairs. She softly smiles as she pulls her mask up slightly.
“There are three sets of footrails, I think one carries a box. There is definitely a demon too. Two of them.”
“Mhm.”
“I think they’ll be a great challenge. Once we’re done here..we’ll be able to see him again. The Queen Mother never goes back on her word.”
The taller demon softly huffs, but the shorter demon can tell he’s smiling under the mask.
~☆~
“There is-”
“Really!? How!? You have to tell me-!”
Susamaru lightly throws a temari ball at Nezuko's head, making the pink-eyed girl yelp and touch the spot that was hit. Tanjiro furrows his brows and lightly huffs at the demon girl.
“Can’t you wait, dummy?”
“ Susamaru . We do not hit people.” Yahaba scolds the little demon girl.
Susamaru pouts and crosses her arms. “I didn’t hit her hard…”
Yahaba sighs and rubs a hand down his face.
Forget sunlight, Susamaru will be the one to send me to the afterlife.
“ Anyways , as I was saying, there is a cure that I am working on. I do not believe that it is impossible for a demon to turn back into a human. I feel it in my soul, there has to be a way to turn a demon back into a human. I’ve dedicated myself to finding a way, a cure because the life of a demon is sad, lonely, and painful. Especially when you partially or completely lose your sense of self…”
Nezuko can see it. She can see the pain in Yahaba's eyes as he speaks. The teen feels a pang in her heart.
Yahaba must’ve lost a lot…
The demon doctor sighs and looks at the Kamado siblings. “I need your help to do this. In order to even get a good basis for this cure I need samples, blood samples. I would like a sample from Tanjiro as well as from other demons, especially ones more related to Ubuyashiki.”
Yahaba gets a good look at the demon boy laying on the floor, kicking his feet in the air.
“Your brother’s condition is very unique, being able to sleep for such a long time and not consume humans or any type of blood…why, it’s unheard of. Other demons would have gone into a rage. His condition could be a significant factor in how to turn a demon back into a human.” The demon then furrows his brows. “However, my second request of getting blood samples won’t be easy. Demons that are more related to Ubuyashiki are much stronger and their powers are quite similar to the leader of all demons. I know this is a tall order coming from me, a demon you just met, but I really hope we can work together.”
Nezuko gets a pensive look on her face, the teen gently strokes Tanjiro’s cheek with a bent pointer finger. Her brother gently nuzzles against her touch.
“If…If this is the only way, then I will. Plus, it won’t just be Tanjiro receiving help, it can save so many others, right?” The pink-eyed girl says with a smile.
Yahaba’s eyes widen in shock for a moment before a gentle smile spreads across his lips too.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Oh yeah!” Nezuko suddenly speaks up. “Is it normal for a demon to eat human food?”
Both Susamaru and Yahaba look at her strangely. “What?”
…
…
???
The demons were too stunned to speak.
This bizarre question goes unanswered when, suddenly, Susamaru and Nezuko jerk up, feeling danger looming.
“Yahaba-!”
The demon girl is cut off when the older demon man wraps his arms around her and shields her, Nezuko does the same with Tanjiro. Only a moment later, the sweet scent of a flower floods into the room when a large lotus flower with water droplets delicately holding onto its petals and roots comes crashing through the wall of the building. Behind the lotus flower is a short demoness and a demon with peach-colored hair, both wearing fox masks.
The short demoness softly smiles and giggles.
“I hope you all don’t mind being our ticket to seeing an
old friend
of ours.”