Encounter with a Creature

As the group was going to head inside, Tanjiro walked back out for a second and picked up a Temari ball. "Ball… The ball…" Tanjiro heard a voice cry out.

Sadness could be seen in Tanjiro's eyes as he looked towards the blood puddle with the Temari Demons remains. *ring* Tanjiro grabbed the ball and limped over to the remains, putting the ball on the ground.

"... your ball is here." Tanjiro said as he looked down with empathic eyes.

"Come… Play… Come and play…" Tanjiro could hear broken words come through. 'Such a child-like personality. But she killed so many people…'

As the sun came over the wall, the bloody remains of the Demons started to sizzle and burnt into ash, floating away as the wind's breeze sweep them up towards the sky.

'They were coerced, lied to, and forced to do battle, all because of that supposed 12 Demon Moon title… And in the end, she died because of following Muzan's orders. There was no way to save her after her brother's attack. She disappears without a trace after her death. Is this their deserved fate for taking the lives of other people?' Tanjiro reflected in his thoughts, thinking of the events that transpired.

"Muzan, That man… He instills so much fear into the Demons he created himself… the Demons that admire him are no more than puppets to be used. He is… The real Demon."

Hiroto walked over and patted Tanjiro's crouched shoulder. "There's nothing that we could've done to change their fates. The one to blame here is Muzan. Let's go back inside." Hiroto helped Tanjiro up as they walked back into the house.

"Tamayo-san," Hiroto called out.

"Here." Tamayo's voice sounded out from behind a door. "Come to the basement."

It was day time, and with the wall being broken down they had to hide in the basement. Walking down the stairs leading to the basement, the turned the corner and saw Nezuko, Tamayo, and Yushiro standing in between some wooden prison bars.

"Nezuko!" Hiroto said, as she runs forward and hugs Hiroto then Tanjiro. She got out of the embrace then turned around, walking towards Tamayo.

"Nezuko…" Tanjiro muttered as Nezuko proceeded to hug Tamayo. Yushiro looked on to the side as veins started bulging on his head.

Nezuko then reached out and patted Yushiro's head causing him to not know how to react. "Nezuko-san has been in this state ever since things ended…" Tamayo said, patting her back. "It's alright."

"It's okay, she probably thinks the two of you are people she knows from our old home," Hiroto said. "A man we know placed a suggestion upon Nezuko so that she treats Humans as family."

"But… we are Demons." Tamayo said confused.

"Stop it!" Yushiro cried out, trying to stop Nezuko from patting him.

"It's because Nezuko decided to treat you two as Humans, that she is willing to protect you," Tanjiro said.

Tamayo was shocked at this fact. Not knowing how to react.

"I… Even though I hate the fact that Nezuko was given a suggestion to her behavior against her will... It seems that she still retains her own will, so I'm grateful for that fact…" Tanjiro said a bit on edge at the decision his brother and Urokodaki made to place a suggestion onto Nezuko.

Tamayo stared at Nezuko's back, as tears started clouding her eyes, falling along her cheek. "... Thank you, Nezuko san. Thank you…" Tamayo cried, burying her face into Nezuko's shoulder, happy to be treated as a Human by someone.

Yushiro was sad as he looked on at the scene, thinking back to when he first encountered Tamayo. 'Do you want to continue living? Even though… you won't continue living as a human… At this rate, you will die. However, a non-human life... It is very difficult and very painful.' Thinking back on this, Yushiro remembered the pained look in Tamayo's eyes back when he was dying as a Human child.

"Grrrr Urgh Urgh." The man who was turned into a Demon by Muzan started gnawing on the wooden prison bars.

"We will leave this place," Tamayo said, leaving Nezuko's embrace. "This place is too close to Muzan, If we don't hide quickly, we will be in grave danger. And also…"

Tamayo continued, "Even if we can hide through some craft means, as a doctor that needs to come into contact with other people there will eventually be a day when other people find out that I am a Demon. The sense of children and old people are especially sharp."

"Hiroto-san, are you willing to leave Nezuko-san with us?" Tamayo asked worriedly.

"Eh?" Tanjiro voiced out.

"Even though we can't say for certain that we can keep her away from harm, it's still much safer than bringing her into a battlefield," Tamayo added.

Meanwhile, behind her Yushiro stared at Tamayo's back and had a mental crisis. "No. Please, no. Dear god please no.'

Hiroto turned to look at Nezuko's eyes and asked her, "Nezuko… do you want to stay here with her? It might be safer here." Hiroto's sounded a bit pained and reluctant, knowing that he would have to leave his little sister with someone else and away from both him and Tanjiro.

Nezuko stared back into Hiroto's red, and purple colored eyes. She grabs the hands of both Hiroto and Tanjiro each. "Mmm," She muffled.

Smiling at this, Hiroto turned and said, "Thank you for the offer, but we will continue down this path of our together. We will not be parted. Even if we are, at least one of us will remain with her at all times." Hiroto patted Tanjiro's shoulder with his free hand.

Tamayo smiled, causing Tanjiro to blush a little. "Grrrr," A low growl came from Yushiro when he saw this.

"I understand, then I wish you the best for your coming battles. Good, now, we will leave once we erase all traces of us from this place. You two should hurry along." Tamayo said.

"Yes, we need to go and grab the box Tanjiro, it's bright outside." Hiroto said as they turned to leave.

"Hiroto." Yushiro's voice sounded out from behind.

Turning around in surprise, the two looked back at Yushiro who faced the wall away from them. "Your sister isn't an eyesore."

…

Tanjiro gave off a big smile hearing this, Hiroto smirked a bit before walking off and shouting behind him as he guided Nezuko up the stairs. "You're damn right she isn't it. She's a great beauty!" Hiroto's voice trailed off as they ascended the steps.

[Outside of the city]

As Hiroto carried the box Nezuko is and Tanjiro walking beside him, a crow came down and started shouting in their ears. "SOUTH SOUTHEAST, SOUTH SOUTHEAST, SOUTH SOUTHEAST!! THE NEXT LOCATION IS SOUTH SOUTHEAST!!"

"Calm down already we heard you the first time," Hiroto said, covering his ears. "Looks like we're on this mission together for once Tanjiro"

"CAW-"

"PLEASE!!" A yell suddenly sounds out from down the road. "I beg you, I beg you!! Please marry me!" Looking at the voice, Hiroto instantly facepalmed and sighed.

"I can't believe it, that's the guy from the exam…" Hiroto muttered tiredly.

"I don't know when I'll die!! So please marry me!! I beg you-" The blonde-haired boy shouted. Hiroto recognized him as the boy he saved from a Demon during the Final Selection Exam, 'If I remembered, wasn't he called Benistu?' Hiroto thought to himself.

"Huh?" Tanjiro looked at the scene in disbelief.

Suddenly a sparrow jumped towards them and started chirping towards them. "Chirp Chirp! Chirp Chirp!"

Tanjiro quickly let it land on his palm, as the sparrow pointed its wings out to emphasize it's points. "Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!"

"I see, I understand," Tanjiro said.

"Eh? You do?" Hiroto asked. "*Sigh* of course you do." Deciding not to question how Tanjiro was able to understand animals. 'Maybe because his sense of smell is as strong as an animal, that he is part animal himself' Hiroto thought to himself with a hand stroking his chin, lost in his imagination.

"I'll think of away!" Tanjiro told the sparrow, while the sparrow looked up at Tanjiro as though it saw its savior.

"I beg you!! Marry me!!" Benitsu continued crying.

Hiroto grew tired of this scene and walked over to Benitsu before lightly kicking off to the side. "Oi, what do you think you're doing harassing this lady here?"

"Ah! It's you! The one from the Final Selection! My savior!!" Benitsu yelled out before jumping to hug Hiroto.

Hiroto raised his feet and planted it on his face, "I've never met you before, I would never want to meet someone like you. Not!"

"What! You were the one who saved me from the Demon during the Final Selection! You've got memory issues!!" Benitsu shouted out.

Tanjiro walked up and shouted at him, "What the hell were you doing in the middle of the road anyway! Can't you see that this lady doesn't want anything to do with you? And you're bothering the sparrow too!" Tanjiro pointed towards the sparrow, which nodded its head.

Hiroto turned to the girl and said, "You should head back home young lady."

"Thank you very much." The girl bowed towards the two boys.

"Wait! She still needs to marry me, she likes me!" Benitsu yelled out.

*Smack* "Shame on you!" The lady yelled out, smacking his face.

*Smack smack smack* She continued beating Benitsu down, Tanjiro had to stop and pulled her back, while Hiroto was looking off and saw a butterfly. 'Pretty…'

"Calm down for a moment." Tanjiro pulled the girl off of Benitsu.

"Uwahhh!" Benitsu cried holding his head.

*sigh* "Benitsu, can you act more mature?" Hiroto asked from the side.

"WHO'S BENITSU?! IT'S ZENITSU!! YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER MY NAME?!" Zenitsu cried out. "This girl is going to marry me because she likes me!"

The lady scoffed and started walking away.

"Wait!! Wait! Why did you have to come and mess with…" Zenitsu turned towards Tanjiro and saw him looking down at him with an expression of disgust.

"AGHHH!! YOU'RE DOING THE SAME FACE AS HE DID WHEN HE SAVED ME!! DON'T DO THAT! Don't use those eyes to look at me like you would use to look at some other sort of creature! It's both of your fault that I didn't get married!" Zenitsu yelled out, pointing at them.

…

Both Hiroto and Tanjiro's faces grew with even more disgust, looking as though some weird creature too horrific to witness with their mortal eyes, was crying in front of them.

"SAY SOMETHING!!"

"I'm leaving…" Hiroto said, before walking off to his next mission.