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Chapter 88: Tanjiro Returns from Selling Charcoal
Late at night.
Suyan had lit a bonfire outside the Kamado house to illuminate the surroundings.
Kamado Nezuko sat blankly by the fire, her eyelids fighting a losing battle against gravity. Bathed in the warm glow of the flames, her cheeks were flushed pink, and her drowsy head nodded rhythmically. She looked unbelievably endearing.
A little while ago, after learning the truth of the situation, Nezuko had shooed her two younger siblings back inside the house to sleep.
She remained outside alone to keep Suyan and her newly turned demon family members company.
At first, Nezuko had been intensely curious about this strange man who knew all of her family's secrets and had shown up right at their doorstep. She had enthusiastically pulled him into a barrage of questions, asking about everything under the sun.
Suyan hadn't rejected her attempts at conversation and chatted with her for quite a long time.
Of course, for the most part, it was Nezuko asking questions and Suyan answering them.
Young girls always seemed to possess boundless energy. After exhausting all her questions, Nezuko had seamlessly transitioned into rambling about her own life.
Suyan hadn't stopped her, instead displaying genuine interest in her stories. He spent most of the time simply listening, only occasionally chiming in with a few words of response.
Through this lengthy chat, Suyan gained a much deeper understanding of the girl beside him, and the distance between them shrank considerably.
Whatever lingering traces of suspicion Nezuko had harbored toward Suyan at the beginning had completely melted away. She no longer had her guard up.
However, as time dragged on and the night grew deeper, Nezuko finally succumbed to the overwhelming exhaustion. Her head began to nod continuously, looking like she could topple over at any second.
Suddenly, her head took a sharp dive, and her body pitched forward uncontrollably.
Suyan acted swiftly, shooting his hand out to catch her forehead and stop her from face-planting into the dirt.
The young girl's eyes snapped open in a panic. The pink, jewel-like irises instantly cleared of their sleep-fog.
Seeing that she was awake, Suyan smiled and retracted his hand.
Nezuko first glanced over at her family members tied up like dumplings a short distance away, wondering if they were asleep yet.
Then, she looked back at Suyan and asked in a drowsy, innocent tone, "Suyan, can I borrow your shoulder to lean on for a bit?"
Without waiting for his answer, she shimmied closer until their arms were pressed together. Boldly, she rested her head against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and let herself drift off.
.....
At the exact same time.
Kamado Tanjiro, having finished selling his charcoal in town, finally stepped onto the mountain path leading into the forest.
For some inexplicable reason, a deep, gnawing sense of unease had been pooling in his stomach all evening.
Because of it, he had politely declined the kind old man Saburo's offer to let him stay the night. He was pushing himself to the absolute limit, rushing back home as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Is that... the smell of blood?"
Tanjiro's nose twitched. He caught a faint, unmistakable metallic tang hanging in the air.
And the source of that scent wasn't any animal he was familiar with.
It was human blood!
"Mom, Nezuko, everyone... please, let nothing be wrong!"
Tanjiro's heart clenched violently. The crushing sense of dread amplified tenfold as he muttered frantic prayers. Breaking into a dead sprint, he tore through the deep mountain woods toward his home.
"Is that firelight?"
The blazing glow of a fire only exacerbated Tanjiro's terror.
The Kamados were by no means a wealthy family. On a normal night, unless there was an absolute emergency, they couldn't even afford to light a lamp, let alone a blazing bonfire.
Yet now, even from a distance, he could see a brilliant, roaring light.
That meant something massive had happened at the house.
Did something catch on fire? Or was it something worse?
Fueled by panic, Tanjiro somehow found another gear, pushing his speed even higher.
"Nezuko?!"
As he closed the distance, the first thing Tanjiro saw was Nezuko sitting by the bonfire. And then...
Suyan, whom Nezuko was leaning against.
His first thought: Who is this guy? Why is he so close to my sister? His second thought: Well, he looks like a decent match for Nezuko. He's definitely worthy of my sister. His third thought was pure, unadulterated fury.
Because Tanjiro's eyes shifted, and he saw his mother and two brothers bound tightly in silvery-white iron chains, bundled up like three oversized dumplings and discarded to the side.
And the other end of those chains was gripped firmly in Suyan's hand.
Tanjiro immediately drew his conclusion.
This man is not a good person! Taking advantage of Tanjiro's absence, this stranger had tied up his family, using their lives to threaten his sister Nezuko and force her into unspeakable acts!
As for the thick scent of blood in the air?
He glanced at his mother and brothers, whose clothes were stained red but appeared to be physically unharmed. Then, he realized two people were missing: his youngest brother Shigeru and his sister Hanako.
A horrifying conclusion exploded in his mind.
His two missing siblings must already be—
"You bastard! Get your hands off Nezuko!!"
Consumed by a tidal wave of grief and rage, Tanjiro let out a feral roar and charged blindly at Suyan.
"Brother?"
Jolted awake by the scream, Nezuko stared blankly as Tanjiro sprinted toward them like a madman. For a second, her sleep-addled brain completely failed to process why her brother was acting like this.
Then it hit her.
She opened her mouth to yell at him to stop, but before she could even utter a sound, she saw that her brother was already pinned flat against the dirt by Suyan.
"Bastard! Let me go!"
Pinned to the ground, Tanjiro thrashed wildly, his screams loud enough to wake Kamado Kie nearby.
"Tanjiro, calm down!"
Waking up and immediately grasping the situation, Kamado Kie shouted a stern reprimand.
Nezuko also stood up, scolding him. "Brother, you're being too impulsive! Suyan is not a bad guy!"
"Mom? Nezuko? Why...?" Tanjiro stared up at his sister in absolute confusion. "But what about Hanako? And Shigeru... he—"
"They just went back into the house to sleep," Nezuko said, staring at her brother in exasperation. She then turned to Suyan. "Suyan, please let my brother go. I'll explain everything to him."
"W-What?"
Tanjiro froze. His mind raced as he began to reflect. Did I really just completely misunderstand the situation? Once Suyan released his grip, Tanjiro scrambled to his feet and began talking frantically with Nezuko.
Watching Tanjiro constantly bow his head while being scolded by a surprisingly mature-acting Nezuko, Suyan couldn't help but find the scene highly amusing.
"I am truly, incredibly sorry! It was entirely my misunderstanding. I apologize!"
After learning the full truth of the night's events from his sister, Tanjiro immediately bowed at a sharp ninety-degree angle, offering Suyan a sincere, profound apology.
One had to admit, even though the Kamado bloodline seemed to carry a heavy dose of impulsive genetics, their upbringing and manners were absolutely impeccable.
"Since Mr. Suyan came here for the Dance of the Fire God, to express my deepest apologies, and to thank you for saving my family's lives..." Tanjiro continued earnestly, "I am willing to perform our family's Dance of the Fire God for you."
"Would you mind if one more person watched the Dance of the Fire God, Mr. Tanjiro?"
Instead of immediately rushing Tanjiro to demonstrate the Sun Breathing, Suyan suddenly asked a very peculiar question.
"One more person?" Tanjiro was baffled. Who else was there? They were the only ones here.
Besides, he had never considered his family's Dance of the Fire God to be anything particularly extraordinary. If this dance really was a sword technique meant for slaying demons, he would be more than happy if more people learned it. That way, tragedies like what happened to his family tonight could be prevented.
So, without overthinking it, Tanjiro agreed immediately. "That's fine."
"Thank you."
With that, Suyan didn't bother hiding his abilities from them. Right before their eyes, he Conjured the ethereal, shimmering phantom of the Dimensional Gate, and walked straight into it.
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