First Love / Late Spring (Genya Love Story)

1: When A Monster Calls

Aiko collapsed, blood turning the snow red.

She rolled over, looking up at the night sky and finding herself amazed by all the beautiful stars. The pain made her spasm, her back arching. Wasn't death meant to be peaceful? Sadness, pain, regret, anger; all those emotions washed over her. No, my death isn't peaceful... Aniki, where are you? Please be safe. I hope, wherever I go next, that we can all be together again.

Through her groggy pain, Aiko heard Hanako's screams of pain.

No, this death was not peaceful at all.

.

.

"Onee-chan?"

Aiko's day had started out normally.

"Hm? What is it, Rokuta?"

"Mama said you have to wash me."

The little boy was the youngest of the Kamado siblings. He latched himself onto Aiko's dress, chubby fists tugging at the fabric. "Come on, come on," he begged. "I can't play until after I get washed - Mama's orders." He gave Aiko his most convincing puppy dog eyes.

"Alright, alright," Aiko laughed, setting her basket of laundry down. She cupped her hands near her mouth and shouted out, "TAKEO!" Her voice echoed in the barren mountainous landscape, ensuring she would be heard. The pouty boy emerged from the house, still upset that Tanjiro had left without him to sell coal. "Can you hang up the laundry for me, please? It's the last chore for today so you can play afterwards. I'm going to wash Rokuta now."

The sun was quickly setting, casting a pale orange glow upon the children.

There weren't many sunlight hours during the Winter, sadly.

"Mama's orders," Rokuta said for added effect.

"Fine, fine. I'll do it." Still sulking, Takeo did as he was told.

Aiko never imagined how precious these memories would become.

This was just an average day for her. They all chipped in to help their mother, assisting with chores and earning money in whatever way that they could. Tanjiro was the first born so he stepped into the father role after their dad died. Aiko often felt like a stand-in parent too, being in joint place for the second oldest. Her and Nezuko were twins, you see, making them both the next most responsible to help out.

As Aiko bathed Takeo - a scream broke her trance.

No, not a trance.

It was her life flashing before her eyes.

The image of Takeo, shivering under the cold bath water morphed into something foul. His dead, lifeless body. Eyes open but unseeing, blood matting his freshly washed hair.

Hanako was still screaming.

What monster... could commit such a crime?

After this, her pain faded away.

The screams faded away.

And it all went black.

.

.

To be jostled awake was startling.

The world was spinning and spinning until it finally stopped. Aiko continued to lay in the snow, confused. Was I falling? She looked up at the overcast blue sky, hardly feeling the snow fall on her face. Why did I.. fall? Suddenly, warm hands grip her.

"Aiko-chan," a boy shouts. "I'm so sorry, Aiko-chan. I couldn't carry you both, especially when Nezuko moved so, I - I dropped you. Please, just stay alive." He began to cry. His tears fell onto her face, though she couldn't feel them either. "I'll get a doctor okay? You'll both be okay." Was he trying to convince her or himself?

Oh, that's right. Aiko blinks in realization. This is Tanjiro. Aniki, you came back for us?

He disappears from her sight and Aiko sits up to watch him. He's searching for Nezuko, screaming her name. It sounds like a distant memory to Aiko's ears; a name she should recall but simply couldn't. Who's Nezuko? She smells flowers nearby, the wind pushing the smell into her nose. The flower scent picks up speed, running towards Tanjiro and her instincts kick in. Aiko leaps to her feet, barreling into the scent and stopping the girl from attacking him.

She glares into an identical set of pink eyes.

This is... Nezuko?! Aiko's glare melts, memories flashing by. Of them brushing each others hair, playing, cooking. This was her twin sister, the person by her side since birth. That same person looked through her, to Tanjiro, teeth barred in hunger.

Aiko tried to speak but only managed a gurgle.

Nezuko shoved her aside, throwing Aiko into a tree and pouncing on Tanjiro. He used an axe to fend her off, shouting at her in confusion. Aiko struggles back to her feet and runs over, picking up another scent as she does so.

Salty and serene, like water.

It's coming with incredible speed and is already there before Aiko can pull Nezuko off. Tanjiro pushes them both away from the newcomer, aiming to protect them both.

"No, don't kill them," he pleads with the man.

He's entirely silent. Long, shaggy hair is pulled into a low ponytail and cold eyes are surveying the scene. He looks like calm water, not a ripple in sight. But Aiko can sense what's beneath the surface, the tsunami threatening to erupt.

Preparing for this danger, Aiko runs. Not far. Just far enough to put distance between her and the stranger. But close enough to hear Tanjiro beg for his sisters lives, to hear the man call her and Nezuko demons.

Demons... is this why, I feel this way?

Nezuko tries to attack the man but is quickly incapacitated. Lost in thoughts, Aiko can only watch. I'm a demon? Is that what that monster was? The man who took my family? She leans against the tree, tears prick in her eyes. Mama, my siblings... I can't believe they're really dead. I can't believe this is happening.

Tears run down her cheeks.

Aiko falls, curling up in the snow.

Minutes, possibly hours later, the dark haired man appeared before her. Aiko didn't acknowledge him at all.

He scoffed. "I didn't know monsters could cry." Even his voice sounded peaceful somehow. It was flat, emotionless.

Aiko said nothing.

"Crying doesn't change what you are." He knelt down before her. "If you wear this, I won't kill you." He seemed like a man of few words. He held up a bamboo muzzle and Aiko sat up, allowing him to put it on her. She looks back at the clearing, where Tanjiro and Nezuko are laying in the snow. She points to them, silently asking if they're okay, though the man doesn't understand her question. Nor does he care to.

Giyuu knocks her out, carries her to the clearing and lays her next to the other demon.

.

.

Aiko wakes up first.

She sits in between her siblings, resting Tanjiro's head on one lap and Nezuko's on the other. The sky is dark now, the snow has stopped.

Tanjiro wakes up next.

"A... Aiko?" He jumps. "Aiko! You're okay!"

His voice wakes Nezuko and he sighs in relief, pulling them both into a hug.

"My sisters you're..." he can't say it outloud. Alive. Unlike everyone else, they're alive. He cries into their hair, squeezing them with relief.

Giyuu made his presence known, gaining Tanjiro's attention.

"Go, find an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki who lives at the foot of Mount Sagiri. Tell him that Giyuu Tomioka sent you." His cold eyes fall on the twins. "Since it's cloudy now, they seem to be fine. But don't expose them to sunlight or they'll die, understand?" With nothing else to say, Giyuu takes his leave.

He knows in his heart that he'll meet those strange siblings again, someday.