Release and Loyalty

Trustworthy?

Tanjiro had been running for several hours now, dripping with sweat and panting profusely, he was now on all fours. His vision was hazy, but he could see a house atop a hill. Tanjiro climbed up the hill very slowly, once he reached the house he knocked one time on the door then collapsed from exhaustion. The door slide open and a woman stared down at him.

When Tanjiro woke up he was starving, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. The woman walked into the room and looked surprised.
"Uhm... good morning." The woman said to Tanjiro. "Aren't you the one who saved my husband?"
Tanjiro stared at her, his mouth dripping with saliva.
"Oh! You must be starving! I'll be right back." The woman said.
A few minutes later the woman came back with a bowl of blood and a bandage on her finger. She put it in front of Tanjiro and backed away. Even though he was starving Tanjiro cautiously sniffed the bowl, once he was sure it was safe, he drank it.

The woman told Tanjiro her name was Yakunitatta, when she finally got Tanjiro to trust her, Yakunitatta  introduced Tanjiro to her husband. No matter how many times Yakunitatta  and her husband Totemo asked Tanjiro his name he couldn't speak, all he did was stare and occasionally growl...

A few days later Tanjiro was able to talk but he had trouble with it. "Tanjiro, why don't you go outside? You're immune to the sun, right?" Yakunitatta asked.

Totemo was a demon himself and had been helping Tanjiro control himself.
"I-I'm sure it would b-be nice...to g-go outside" Tanjiro managed to say.
When Tanjiro walked outside it made him remember all those mornings he had spent outside as a child. Tanjiro had spent his nights staring at his hands and wondering why his claws saddened him. He was now staring at his reflection in a pond, his glowing red eyes were so familiar but not his own. The marks on his face shook every cell in his body, but he did not know why.

Tanjiro was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Yakunitatta until she was visible in the pond's water. Tanjiro jumped away arching his back and snarling like a wild animal. "It's okay! It's me: Yakunitatta!" Yakunitatta exclaimed.
"Ya-kuni-ta-ta?" Tanjiro repeated slowly.
"Yes: Yakunitatta." Yakunitatta said.
"Sorry." Tanjiro said, but this apology was empty.
"Is something wrong Tanjiro-San.?" Yakunitatta asked.
"My eyes remind me of someone, someone I hated." Tanjiro told her.
"Would you like to go eat?" Yakunitatta asked changing the subject.
"I thought I might go hunt tonight." Tanjiro replied.

Not too far away Gyiuu was following tanjiro's crow who kept saying; "Caw! Caw! This way! This way! Tanjiro is this way! Caw!"
"You've said that for three days now." Said Gyiuu...

479 words, this was three pages long