reach out to the sunrise

I Am

'Tanjiro. You must wake up. Nezuko is in grave danger. Go, Tanjiro.'

Tanjiro shot up. That voice... it was familiar. But he couldn't dawdle on things like that. Nezuko was in danger, his memories can wait.

"--anjiro! Tanjiro, what's wrong? You must rest."

That was the tengu masked man's voice. Uroko-something. Tanjiro glanced at him, wordlessly telling his caretaker that he had to go. Taking off, Tanjiro bashes down the door. "Tanjiro!" the masked man called out. "Stop!" His head was throbbing. But that didn't matter. Nezuko needed him. He ran faster. They were far into the woods by now, and yet, the masked man was still keeping up with him. But Tanjiro couldn't be caught. If he got caught, who knows what could happen to his sister? He didn't want to think about what would happen. Suddenly, a visage of a thin and sickly man appeared in front of him, pointing to the edge of the nearing cliff. Tanjiro jumped. He would arrive at his destination, and nothing would stop him. He sped up. He really hoped Nezuko was fine.

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He could see it. The city where Nezuko and the demon slayers are. He just had to run a little bit longer...

Why was he exhausted? The medicine... That thing Nezuko kept on going on and on about finding. It had worked hadn't it? No! He couldn't return to being human. Not right now. He needed to help his sister, although he had no doubt she could hold her own without him. He pushed on, not caring about his pain. An image of his family, waving him and Nezuko goodbye as the pair headed down the mountain that fateful day. The memory of his mother, wiping away the ash on his face. Tears started dripping down his face, as the memories overwhelmed him and forced him to a halt.

The memory of leaving Saburo-ojisan's house in the middle of the night, only to come back to a man slaughtering his family. The memory of Shigeru and Takeo screaming as he shielded them. The memory of that demon trying to make them demons, taking more time to simply just to torture Tanjiro. As the tears reddened his eyes, he remembers Nezuko's similarly dry eyes as she faced down the Water Hashira, Giyuu-san. He then remembers how the masked man, Urokodaki, cared for him during Nezuko's training. It was too much for him to handle. He collapsed, and for some reason, he wasn't in the fields surrounding the city anymore. He was fighting alongside Tamayo-san and Yushiro. He was with Zenitsu, as the yellow-haired boy forced flowers into his hands. He was being gifted golden acorns by Inosuke. He was at his trial, with oyakata-sama overseeing it, with the Wind Hashira's blood dripping in front of him, while Nezuko and the rest of the hashira watched. And suddenly, he was filled by the bright, unmistakable feeling of happiness.

Shinobu-san and Rengoku-san's bright smiles. Uzui and his wives' sheer joy and love for each other. The swordsmiths from the Swordsmith Village. Genya and Muichiro's smiles, which were odd to see on their faces, but it fit them well. As his claws start to shrink, he remembers her. Nezuko's smile. A smile that reminds him so much of home. They've changed so much since that day. And everything, finally, snapped into place. He is Tanjiro Kamado. He is the child of Tanjuro and Kie Kamado. The elder brother of Nezuko, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru and Rokuta. Along with Nezuko, he survived that demon's slaughter. Nezuko... He had to help. Even if he can't do anything as he is now, Nezuko needed him. And so, picking himself off the ground, Tanjiro ran towards the city.

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He had finally arrived at the city. The sun had risen, and Tanjiro saw a massive heap of flesh disintigrate in the distance. Tanjiro knew that the heap was the Demon King. The scent that wafted off the flesh... there was no mistaking it. It was finally over. But that thought and the sight of the demon disintegrating did nothing to quell the fear that had pooled at the bottom of his stomach. Something was wrong. As the slayers and kakushi quickly set to work on tending to the injured, Tanjiro ran to the middle. He could smell Nezuko's scent. Looking around, he could see the Wind Hashira, the Stone Hashira, the Love and Serpent Hashira, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and finally, Giyuu-san, who was kneeling in front of-- Nezuko...?

"I've failed to protect you. Others always protect me. Please, forgive me... Forgive me, Tanjiro." Giyuu whispered. This couldn't be happening. Nezuko couldn't. Why? Why couldn't it be Tanjiro in that position? Why did it have to be Nezuko?! Was this the horrible feeling in his stomach? Taking a look at Nezuko, his stomach dropped even farther. The right half of her face had been covered by an odd growth, and she was missing her left arm. He had failed Nezuko this thoroughly. Suddenly, a familiar scent enters the air. Tanjiro's eyes widen. That can't be. He saw him disintegrate! So why is the scent of his blood firmly latched onto Nezuko?! His eyes widen in realization. "G-giyuu-san..." he stammmered. Giyuu turned to look at Tanjiro, a semi-surprised look on his face. "His scent... that demon's scent... It's back. Giyuu-san, I think he did something to Nezuko." Giyuu's eyes widen, turning back to look at Nezuko, and Tanjiro's suspicions are proven correct. The growth on her face disappears, and Nezuko's eyes open. They're a bright pink, similar to how Tanjiro's were, and yet, they weren't.

Nezuko's eyes mirrored that of the Demon King. And Tanjiro hated it. In an instant, Nezuko regrew her missing arm and used it to slash at one of the kakushi, whom Giyuu, thankfully got out of the way. Tanjiro slowly walked towards Nezuko, hoping to catch her off guard. He couldn't let her hurt anyone. Unfortunately, life doesn't always turn out that way. But Tanjiro would try. And he'll save Nezuko. He knows he will.