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Late at night.
Shuya lit a campfire just outside the Kamado house to push back the darkness.
Nezuko sat in front of the flames, eyes heavy, head nodding forward every few seconds. In the warm glow, her cheeks looked flushed and her sleepy little face was ridiculously cute.
A while ago, after learning the full truth, she had sent her younger brother and sister back inside to keep sleeping. She stayed out here alone with Shuya and her newly turned demon family.
At first Nezuko had been bursting with curiosity about the man who knew her family's secrets and had shown up at their door. She peppered him with questions nonstop. Shuya answered every one without hesitation, and the two of them talked for a long time—mostly her asking, him replying.
Once her questions ran out, the energetic girl started telling him all about herself. Shuya listened patiently, nodding along and chiming in here and there. By the end of the conversation, he knew a lot more about Nezuko, and the awkward distance between them had completely vanished. The faint suspicion she'd felt toward him at the start was gone.
But as the night grew deeper, exhaustion finally caught up with her. Her head kept dipping lower and lower.
Suddenly her whole body tipped forward.
Shuya's hand shot out and gently caught her forehead before she could face-plant into the dirt.
Nezuko's pink eyes snapped open, suddenly much more awake. When she realized what had happened, she blinked up at him.
"Shuya… big brother?" she mumbled, still half-asleep. "Can I… borrow your shoulder for a bit?"
Before he could even answer, she scooted closer, pressed right up against his side, and rested her head on his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. Then she closed her eyes again.
At that exact moment, Tanjiro Kamado stepped out of the forest after a long night of selling charcoal.
For some reason, an uneasy feeling had been gnawing at him since evening. He had turned down a kind old man's offer to stay the night and hurried home as fast as he could.
"Is that… blood?"
Tanjiro's nose twitched. A faint metallic scent hung in the air—human blood.
"Mom… Nezuko… everyone… please be okay!"
His heart clenched. The uneasy feeling exploded into full-blown dread. He broke into a run, feet pounding toward the house hidden deep in the mountains.
Then he saw the firelight.
A bright campfire flickering in the distance.
The Kamados weren't rich. On normal nights they barely lit a single lamp to save oil. Seeing a fire this big this late could only mean something terrible had happened.
Was the house burning? Or… something worse?
Tanjiro pushed himself even faster.
"Nezuko…?"
As he got closer, he spotted his sister sitting by the fire—and the stranger she was leaning against.
First thought: Who the hell is this guy? Why is he so close to my little sister?
Second thought: Okay… he actually looks like he'd be good for her.
Third thought: Pure rage.
Because Tanjiro finally saw his mother and two little brothers tied up tight with silver-white chains, bundled like three human dumplings off to the side. The other end of the chains was in the stranger's hand.
Conclusion: This man was not a good person.
While Tanjiro was gone, this bastard had tied up his family and was using them to threaten Nezuko into… something awful.
And that thick smell of blood in the air? His mom and brothers had blood on their clothes, but they didn't look badly hurt. That left only one horrible possibility—his other siblings, Hanako and Takeo, might already be…
"Get your hands off my sister!!"
Fury blazing, Tanjiro charged straight at Shuya.
"Big brother?" Nezuko woke with a start and stared at her sprinting sibling, completely confused.
A second later she realized what he must be thinking and opened her mouth to stop him—but it was already too late.
Shuya simply reached out, pressed a hand on Tanjiro's head, and gently pinned the boy face-down on the ground.
"Damn it, let me go!" Tanjiro thrashed wildly.
The commotion woke Kie, who took one look at the scene and immediately understood.
"Tanjiro, calm down," she called out.
Nezuko stepped forward too. "Big brother, you're being way too impulsive! Shuya isn't a bad guy."
"Mom? Nezuko? Why are you—?" Tanjiro looked up in total bewilderment. "But Hanako and Takeo—"
"They're just inside sleeping," Nezuko said, exasperated. She turned to Shuya. "Shuya, you can let my brother go now. I'll explain everything to him."
Tanjiro froze, suddenly unsure. Maybe… he really had misunderstood?
Once Shuya released him, he stood up and listened as Nezuko laid out the whole story.
Watching the older brother hang his head while his little sister lectured him like a tiny adult, Shuya couldn't help but smile.
"I'm really sorry," Tanjiro said when she finished. He bowed deeply. "I jumped to conclusions. Please forgive me."
The Kamado family might be a little hot-headed, but their manners were flawless.
Once he understood that Shuya had come for the Hinokami Kagura, Tanjiro spoke again. "To thank you for saving my family and to make up for my mistake, I'll demonstrate our family's Dance of the Fire God for you right now."
"Tanjiro," Shuya said, "would you mind if one more person watched?"
Tanjiro blinked. "One more person?"
There was no one else here. And honestly, he had never thought the family dance was anything special. If it really was a sword style for killing demons, the more people who learned it, the better. Maybe it could stop tragedies like what almost happened to his family tonight.
So he nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
"Thanks."
Shuya didn't hide anything. Right in front of all of them, he conjured the glowing outline of the Crossing Gate and stepped straight through.