Dance of the Moon Goddess

4 Years Later...

Sitting next to a charcoal kiln, a boy around 4 years of age with a scar on his forehead was patiently listening to his father's teachings.

He has ruffled, black hair with burgundy tips, combed back to expose his forehead. And he has wide, dark red eyes with white pupils with a look of determination in it that was hard to describe.

His name is Tanjiro, the eldest son of the Kamado family. And as the eldest son of the family, he expected to take good care of his family.

A gentle-looking mother was guiding a girl around the age of 5 on how to use a sewing thread in a separate room.

This was Kiyomi, ever since she turned four years old, she has been practicing sewing to prevent herself from getting bored.

Unknowingly, with an entire year's worth of time, a small heap of incomplete clothing had quietly stacked in the corner of the room.

"Look, mom! I did it! I finally made a complete haori!" Kiyomi happily chirped as she finished her last thread.

Holding up her finished product, a checkered, black-and-sea-foam-green haori.

Feeling the Joy of her daughter, Kie smiled.

"Good Job darling, how about showing it to your brother? You know he'll love your gift."

"No way!" Kiyomi retorted.

"I'm planning to surprise him and use this as a birthday present! Please keep it a secret!"

Looking at the cute pleading eyes of the little girl, Kie promised to keep the Haori a secret from Tanjiro.

Popping up from behind a doorframe, a small head emerged.

Seeing Tanjiro curiously peeking inside the room, Kiyomi quickly stuffed the haori behind her back.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Tanjiro.

Pouting, Kiyomi replied, "Hmph! It's a secret stupid little brother! Right, mom?"

"Yes dear, please go out Tanjiro, we're not yet finished with our lesson. And didn't you want to go selling charcoal with your father? I'll allow it just this time." With a chuckle and a helpless smile, Kie hurriedly escorted Tanjiro out of the room.

"Really mom?! Thank you so much!" Tanjiro, hearing that he can finally go along with his father to sell charcoal, instantly forgot his original goal, and rushed out of the house.

At dinner, Nezuko excitedly asked Tanjiro about his experience down to the village with Tanjuro.

Being born a year after Tanjrio, Nezuko is a petite young girl with fair skin. Her hair is long, black, and reaches just below her waist, turning a flame-orange color as it passes her elbows, and appears to be crimped into large, straight ridges, worn side-swept drastically to her left.

She has soft-looking, pale pink eyes that appear a lighter color around the rims of their irises, slanted downwards towards the sides of her face and framed by notably long eyelashes.

'Has it already been five years?' Sipping on a bowl of porridge that was filled with more rice than usual, Kiyomi reminisced about the time when she had just crossed into the Demon Slayer world.

"Onee-San!" a loud voice knocked her out of her thought.

"Ah~!? What's happening?!" Startled, Kiyomi almost dropped her bowl onto the ground.

"What are you thinking Onee-San?" Sitting beside her was Nezuko, who was nibbling on a small piece of vegetable.

Kiyomi, sensing her concern, smiled. "It's nothing, my cute little Imouto!"

After finishing her bowl of porridge, Kiyomi started helping her mother with washing the dishes.

Just as she was about to leave, Tanjiro came running towards the mother and daughter.

"Mom? Where does dad go for the entire night every time new Year comes around?"

Surprised by the question, Kie smiled and quickly replied "How about I take you to see? You can ask your father that question."

Deciding that it was finally time to start learning the breath of the Moon, Kiyomi also chimed in, "Can I go too, mom?"

Nodding, Kie quickly put on some warmer clothes and carried Tanjiro on her shoulder.

Trekking through the snow, the three finally arrived at a small clearing that was surrounded by torches. Tanjuro was seen in the middle of the clearing wearing ceremonial clothing.

Dancing barefoot on the only ground that wasn't covered with snow. Tanjuro's dance seemed striking when combined with dark snowing weather and the bright scorching torches.

"Tanjiro, Kiyomi? ..Look. It's your father's kagura dance." Breathing deeply in the cold weather, Kie explained.

"Our family works with fire, so to ward off injuries and disasters, we would offer this dance to the Hinokami, along with our prayers, on New Year's day."

The sound of bells echoed in the air as Tanjuro performed sudden strikes using the ceremonial staff, creating an even more ceremonious atmosphere.

Tanjiro, as if his soul had resonated with the Kagura dance, blankly asked, "Hey, mom... "

"Hm?"

"How can father dance like that in the snow for so long when he's so frail?"

Tanjiro, who had known his father to be a fairly frail person, just couldn't understand how his father could dance in the snow for hours and hours and hours without getting tired.

"I bet my lungs would freeze." Tanjiro talked in a soft voice, as if afraid to disturb his father who was dancing.

Kie smiled but didn't answer Tanjiro's question, "Maybe you should ask your father. He'll tell you."

While Tanjiro and Kie were admiring Tanjuro's Kagura dance, Kiyomi, who was also mesmerized by the dance, was quickly analyzing and comparing the Kagura dance with the Moon version of the Kagura dance.

The family of three watched for another twenty minutes before Kie insisted that they go back.

While Tanjiro readily agreed, Kiyomi did not. "Hey mom, I want to stay here with dad and watch the entire Kagura dance."

Surprised by her daughter Kie sternly reasoned with Kiyomi. "You should know better than to stay in this cold weather for the entire night Kiyomi."

The 5-year-old Kiyomi wanted to argue, but seeing her mother's resolute appearance, she lowered her head down in disappointment.

Seeing this, Kie's expression softened "You'll always have a chance when you grow older darling. What you need now is sleep, so that you can grow taller and healthily."

Taking the two children by the hand, the three returned to the small wooden house.

A few hours before dawn, a small figure can be seen wandering back towards the ritual site.

Retracing her steps, Kiyomi quickly reached the small clearing and started observing her father's movement.

Sensing that her daughter had sneaked out to watch him dance, Tanjuro's face was full of helplessness as he continued to dance without stopping.

He has heard the dialogue between his wife and children, and he felt a small fire of warmth within his heart.

Thinking that Kiyomi was going to get tired and go back to the house soon, Tanjuro continued to dance vigorously.

An hour later, Kiyomi slowly got up from the ground. Seeing this, Tanjuro felt relieved.

However, Kiyomi did not leave, instead, she walked into the clearing and started dancing as well.

Tanjuro, bewildered by her daughter's actions, subconsciously made room for her so that they would not collide.

At first, Kiyomi's movements were stiff and looked messy, but with time, her movements, gestures, and poses seemed more natural and graceful.

Different from Tanjuro's sharp and strong dance, which was like a flame in the winter snow, trying its hardest to keep burning.

Kiyomi's dance was more agile and graceful, her posture seemed more flexible and delicate and her movements were nimble and swift.

With two contrasting dances being performed next to each other, not only did it not create a sense of disharmony, it was as if the two dances were one.

While Tanjuro would strike out with great force, Kiyomi would move with gracefulness, and it created such a sense of compatibility between the two dances that Tanjuro couldn't help but sneak a few more glances at her daughter, who did not seem tired at all.

With the two dancing until the sun came up, Kiyomi quickly became more and more skilled in the movements of the Dance of the Moon Goddess.

When the sunlight can finally be seen, as if agreed beforehand, both Tanjuro and Kiyomi started a dance move different from their original dance styles.

Ending the dance at the same time, Tanjuro turned towards her daughter, who was now panting slowly.

Deciding not to pry into her secret, Tanjuro slowly took her into his arms and started walking towards their home.