The young man ran quickly into the small house, desperately searching for any sign of life among the mutilated bodies. He found a small child breathing and quickly left with her, probably heading to the nearest village he knew, practically ignoring the two adults talking, until the Hashira stepped in front of him, blocking his escape.
"Your sister isn't the same person you know. I advise you to leave her inside for now and bury your relatives."
The boy quickly noticed the blood on the teenager's body and the sword in its sheath next to the Hashira. Assuming the worst, the boy began to run faster with his sister on his back, but this would be of little nothing against a Hashira.
The Hashira would quickly catch up, while the small 12-year-old child attacked the Hashira, jumping off the young man as he fell directly onto the snow after losing his balance. However, his sister remained defensively between the Hashira and the young man.
- (How interesting, it's the first time I've encountered an Oni defending a Human and those earrings, now I know why Muzan killed his family, could he be connected to that man?)
Dismissing that thought for now, he watched as the sky began to take on a brighter blue, quickly taking off his shirt and throwing it at the Oni, covering its head with it.
- (I can't leave an Oni who can override his will for human flesh, maybe Tamayo knows what to do.)
The Hashira looked at the Oni, now covered, and at the young man the Oni was protecting, vaguely remembering his dead sister, something he still blamed himself for, while he didn't know exactly what to do, after all, he was still a hunter, but he didn't want to kill an Oni that didn't devour humans.
"Report to Master, an oni capable of repelling its own will through human flesh has appeared. I'll take them to the former Water Hashira; I was already heading there, but give her your haori for now. I don't want her to die in the sun."
The Hashira looked at him as his old crow flew away after a nod. The young man clung to his sister, crying, while the Hashira placed his haori over her. The four retreated from the forest to the small wooden cabin. Upon arriving, the haori was returned as the Hashira left.
With only the three now alone, the young man introduced himself properly: Kamado Tanjiro and Kamado Nezuko, those were their names. After Tanjiro buried his siblings and mother in tears, he wiped his face before placing Nezuko in a small wooden box.
Around 3 PM, they both set off towards Sagiri Mountain, with Tanjiro following silently while Kenjaku continued observing the sky.
- "Why do you have a hole in your shirt?"
- "The Oni who killed your family did this to me. It hurt a little, but I got used to it over time."
- (In the end, that Hashira forgot about the conversation with the appearance of this boy, but there's certainly something strange about it: a boy with earrings and an Oni who can suppress her hunger for humans.)
Kenjaku found himself thinking about the past, awakened by another question. His eyes met the boy's determined gaze as he walked in the snow.
- "Who was he? The one who killed my family."
- "Kibutsuji Muzan, the first Oni to walk this planet. He's strong, right? I should explain everything. That other young man and I are part of the Demon Corps, an organization whose goal is to exterminate Oni, and obviously, he's our main target. Any questions?"
- "Yes, several. It's possible to reverse the transformation, to turn an Oni back into a human."
- "No, at least not for now, but maybe that woman could find a cure; she's probably the person who has studied Oni physiology the most while alive."
- "Where is she?"
- "It's not time yet. You still need to reach the level of a Lower Moon to survive in this world. After all, Muzan could send an Upper Moon against you."
- "What's an Upper Moon?"
The sky darkened as they both stopped at a small hotel, Tanjiro continuing with his questions while the hunter listened attentively, until his nose twitched and he spoke openly.
- "I smell blood."
- "Sharp sense of smell. I'll take care of that. Stay here and look after your sister."
With that, the hunter left the room, leaving the two children alone, Nezuko sleeping next to Tanjiro while he pondered the current situation.
Following our protagonist, he spotted the source of the bloody smell: a gray demon with a small horn on its head. As it bit into the dead body, it growled, demonstrating little intelligence.
- (Could it be recently transformed? That means some Upper Moon 3 is nearby, or perhaps Muzan did this. The village is relatively far from the Kamado family's cabin, but it's still possible.)
The demon quickly noticed its new meal, throwing its body at the hunter. The hunter drew his sword and, in a swift movement, decapitated its head, its movements fluid, without using any swordsmanship techniques.
- (It's quite weak, so it was probably recently transformed. I'll go back to the hotel and wait for dawn to leave and report this to that grumpy old man.)
He soon left after the demon disappeared, arriving at the room and entering, seeing Tanjiro already asleep. He lay down on the tatami mat and fell asleep.
He soon awoke to the sound of swords clashing against wood, witnessing the sunrise. He quickly woke Tanjiro, and they both left the village, hearing rumors of a mutilated body being found, while his own crow returned after recounting his encounter with the Demon King.
The crow then took flight to report to a hunter investigating the case of the previous night's demon, while both young men set off again towards Mount Sagiri, arriving at a mountain near Mount Sagiri, which lay in their path.