Although during the Final Selection the three of them hadn't grouped up and acted together, after the Selection ended, they naturally started traveling as companions.
Through spending some time together, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Yaeko felt that the three of them got along extremely well and could talk about anything. Before they knew it, they had become friends.
Along the way, the three chatted happily and even made a promise: after joining the Demon Slayer Corps, they would remain friends and not lose contact just like that.
The three were traveling at a relaxed pace, but since they were eager to get back, they chose to push through the night.
As they walked along this road, Zenitsu and Yaeko didn't notice anything unusual at first, but Tanjiro suddenly froze!
Tanjiro's entire body stiffened. He stood right in the middle of the road, pupils dilated and unfocused, staring fixedly ahead as if his soul had left him.
This feeling… this feeling was…
This sensation coming from the closest blood tie—there was absolutely no mistake!
At this moment, Tanjiro's heart was surging with excitement. He desperately wanted to run forward and confirm whether it was who he thought it was, yet he was terrified that he might be wrong and face even greater disappointment.
For a moment, Tanjiro was caught between advancing and retreating, able only to stand there in a daze.
Tanjiro's abnormal behavior drew puzzled looks from Zenitsu and Yaeko.
The timid Zenitsu, seeing Tanjiro like this, couldn't help feeling worried:
"Tanjiro? What's wrong? Did you see something?"
Yaeko, noticing Tanjiro's state, immediately became alert. Her hand instinctively moved to the Nichirin Blade at her waist as she stared seriously toward the road ahead:
"Is there a demon up ahead?"
In a certain sense, Yaeko had guessed correctly—there really was a demon ahead.
Tanjiro didn't move forward; his whole body was rigid, which made Zenitsu and Yaeko too afraid to continue walking. The three little ones simply stood in the middle of the road, waiting.
Soon, the sound of rapid footsteps came from the road ahead of them.
Hearing the footsteps drawing closer and closer, Tanjiro's heart grew more and more excited.
Zenitsu was only a little scared and hurriedly drew his Nichirin Blade.
Yaeko, however, managed to stay relatively calm. She stared fixedly ahead, ready to strike and slay any demon the moment danger appeared!
Finally, a figure appeared in front of the three little ones.
It was actually a young girl running toward them!
The instant Tanjiro saw this long-awaited figure, he nearly burst into tears from sheer excitement. His emotions were incredibly complicated:
"Nezu… Nezuko…"
Because he was so overwhelmed at that moment, his voice came out very soft when he spoke those three words—Zenitsu and Yaeko beside him didn't hear them at all.
Zenitsu looked at the girl running toward them, puzzled:
"Huh? It's a girl. Why would a girl be running on the road in the middle of the night?"
Yaeko was clearly sharper. In a flash she drew her Nichirin Blade:
"This girl isn't human! She's a demon!"
"What!?" Zenitsu was shocked. "Such a pretty girl is actually a demon!"
"She's definitely a demon. Zenitsu, get ready to fight!"
Just as the two of them were about to charge forward with blades drawn, Tanjiro forcefully suppressed his surging emotions. He reached out with both hands—one on each of them—and grabbed them to stop them from rushing ahead, while hurriedly shouting:
"Don't misunderstand! Don't misunderstand! She's my little sister Nezuko! She's a good demon!"
"What!? She's your little sister Nezuko!?" ×2.
The restrained Zenitsu and Yaeko were both stunned. They spoke in unison, looking at Tanjiro in shock, then turning their astonished gazes toward Nezuko on the opposite side.
In that short moment, Nezuko had already run right up to them.
Zenitsu looked at the approaching Nezuko. Unlike in the original story, he didn't act like a total simp—his expression was normal. He simply thought Tanjiro's little sister was quite pretty.
Yaeko watched Nezuko approach, still feeling a bit wary and ready to respond if Nezuko showed any sign of going berserk.
Nezuko ran up.
She looked at her brother Tanjiro; the excitement in her eyes was plain to see.
Then Nezuko leaped forward in one flying pounce, straight into Tanjiro's arms!
Tanjiro, of course, immediately wrapped his arms around his little sister without a second thought!
Brother and sister embraced tightly. In this long-awaited reunion, both siblings were overwhelmed with emotion—especially Tanjiro. Now he was truly crying, tears streaming down his face.
Holding his sister tightly and feeling Nezuko's warmth, Tanjiro sobbed uncontrollably while shouting in near-hysteria:
"Nezuko… it's so good… you woke up… it's really so good…
You slept for two whole years. While you were asleep, I was so scared… so terrified that you might never wake up again.
It's so good… waking up is really so good… so good…"
From the extreme excitement and emotion, Tanjiro's speech had become a bit jumbled. He clung to his sister, crying his heart out, and in the end could only repeat the words "so good" over and over.
Nezuko also clung tightly to her brother, refusing to let go no matter what—extremely dependent, extremely intimate. This kind of closeness and reliance was something Horitake could never compare to.
After all, the two of them were the only blood relatives left in this world!
While Tanjiro cried his eyes out from overwhelming joy, Nezuko—due to her currently lowered mental capacity—didn't cry. She simply held her brother happily.
Zenitsu and Yaeko, watching this sibling reunion, were also deeply moved.
Zenitsu simply marveled at the depth of their brother-sister bond.
But Yaeko was moved almost to the point of breaking down.
Why?
Because Yaeko's background was similar to Tanjiro's—her entire family had been wiped out by demons. The only difference was that Tanjiro still had a sister who became a demon, while Yaeko truly had nothing left.
Seeing such a touching reunion made Yaeko think of her own situation. Amid the emotion came a trace of sorrow, and tears began to fall.
Not only were Zenitsu and Yaeko moved—they also realized something important.
Although Tanjiro's sister was a demon, she was clearly different from other demons.
Although they had already heard about Nezuko's situation from conversations with Tanjiro, hearing about it was one thing—seeing it with their own eyes was another.
Now, witnessing this touching brother-sister reunion right in front of them, the two of them finally believed. They believed that Nezuko was a good demon—a kind demon who didn't eat people.
Any lingering doubts they had about Nezuko in their hearts completely vanished.
They also naturally accepted Nezuko and, in their minds, began treating her as a friend too.
The sibling reunion was filled with overwhelming emotion.
After going through so much, Tanjiro finally seeing his sister safe and sound was almost more than he could bear. He held her and cried his heart out.
Although crying like this was embarrassing, it was unavoidable in a moment like this.
After being moved for quite a long while, Tanjiro finally managed to calm his surging emotions to some degree. Reluctantly, he loosened his hold on his sister and haphazardly wiped his tears with his sleeve.
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