Kibutsuji Muzan's reprise (sequel to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)

Chapter 4: The beginning of the end

Nezuko was prepared to go to bed. She was in her comfortable yukata and her hair was out in long, dangling tresses. She had currently gone to blow out the candles to cut off the light supply when Zenitsu poked his head into the room.

"Ehh? Tired so soon?" 

"Mmm, I've been feeling quite tired recently. Is it fine?"

Zenitsu nodded fervently. "Yeah! As long as you feel better the next day!"

Nezuko wished Zenitsu goodnight and settled down in her futon to sleep.

---X---

Nezuko suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. She really wasn't feeling very well. Her head was pulsating with immense pain and her stomach was doing somersaults. She felt very queasy.

Nezuko looked to her left, where Zenitsu would be sleeping. There he was, peacefully snoring lightly next to her. The soft moonlight from the window lit up his skin, and strands of his hair were covering his face in an ungraceful manner. He was knocked out cold, he would definitely not notice his wife away from bed.

Careful not to disturb her sleeping husband, Nezuko got up and tiptoed to the latrine.

---X---

She was sprawled on the floor, next to a hole dug into the earth. Some while ago, Nezuko had puked into the hole, and she was now recovering from the exhaustion. Beads of sweat decorated her eyebrows, and trickles of residue still dripped from her cheeks.

Nearly half an hour later, Nezuko forced herself to get up, clutching her stomach with some force. She trudged over to a small stream outside the latrine, and decided to wash her face. However when she held out her hands to pick some water up, she noticed something very strange. The nails on her left hand, they were long. Really long. And sharp as well. From the top to the part which touched her finger's skin, the nails were dyed red. Blood red.

That's funny, Nezuko thought, I don't recall dying my nails. And how could I have allowed them to grow so long and sharp?

Nezuko could not think straight yet, for she still hadn't recovered from her sickness yet. She ignored her hand and washed her face. She then used her sleeve to wipe her dripping but clean mouth, and got up and set towards bed.

---X---

Tanjiro got up to Chuntaro's chirping. It was two days since Zenitsu and Nezuko came to his home.

He turned around to find the small sparrow sitting on his windowsill. Chuntaro was Zenitsu's messenger sparrow, from their days of living as demon slayers. Tanjiro and Kanao also had messenger crows as well. Ordinarily, the birds should have left, but they decided to stick around with their owners for the rest of their lives, given the thick bond they had developed with their owners.

Presently, Chuntaro had a piece of paper tied to his leg. Tanjiro held out his hand for the sparrow to walk onto and gently took out the paper attached to his leg and unfurled it. Written on the piece of paper was a small, simple message.

"Nezuko's pregnant! We had checked with the doctor yesterday morning and he confirmed it! Please join us as we hold a festival to celebrate this joyous moment!"

Tanjiro's eyes lit up! Nezuko was pregnant! 

Tanjiro turned around to tell Kanao of this good news, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forehead. Those headaches, no matter how many times Tanjiro rested it out, it still came back with a higher intensity. Tanjiro felt his head again for some time until the pain dulled down. He then took in a small breath, steadied himself, and ran off to find Kanao to tell her of the happy news. But one thing Tanjiro did not notice was the transformation which took place in his left hand- the emergence of sharp appendages on his fingers, which resembled nails. And their tips were dyed red. Blood red.