ABLAZE | demon slayer

v.

asakusa was beautiful, she had to admit. she always thought it pretty when watching the anime, but now that it was real? it was absolutely breathtaking. tanjirō, however, seemed overwhelmed. he was sweating nervously, eyes wide as he held his half-asleep sister's hand.

"let's. let's. let's go over there, nezuko, [name]-chan." the boy began leading the two girls toward a ramen cart. as soon as the trio stopped, tanjirō looked weary, his voice wavering slightly as he ordered. "i'd like a bowl of yamakake noodle."

"i'd like the same thing, please, sir," [name] stated quietly. yoriichi faded into existence as she sat down on a bench next to nezuko.

"muzan is here," the man stated. she blinked, looking at him with a frown. "be careful."

as soon as tanjirō sat down, his nose twitched. his eyes widened and he stood up suddenly before taking off in a seemingly random direction. cursing, the girl ordered nezuko to stay there and took off after him.

as soon as she caught up, tanjirō grabbed muzan's shoulder, causing the demon progenitor to turn around with a cold expression. a young girl's voice hit her ears and she flinched violently as muzan turned completely, exposing his "daughter" to the demon slayers.

"do you have something you want from me?" muzan asked, eyeing the two pairs of hanafuda earrings. "you're in quite a panic."

tanjirō put a hand over his mouth, as if he was about to throw up.

"is it somebody familiar?" a woman asked, identical to the young girl in muzan's arms.

"no...this is just a child we don't know—seems he's in some sort of trouble," muzan answered. "might it be...that he mistook us for someone else?"

[name] stepped forward, gently pushing the boy behind her. she dipped into a bow. "my sincerest apologies, sir. my brother here thought you were michael jackson, and he was shocked to find out you aren't him."

she stood back up fully, her gaze sharp. muzan struck a hand out quickly, scratching a nearby man and turning the man into a demon. cursing mentally, she tackled the man to the ground despite the man's wife's protests. by the time she looked up, muzan was gone.

she grunted as the man beneath her struggled against her hold. [name] grit her teeth and shoved a balled head scarf into his mouth. tanjirō watched in shock, trembling and unable to move. the man's wife stared with wide eyes at the scene.

"tanjirō!" the sun breather snapped, "snap out of it and keep the crowd away!"

as soon as the words left her mouth, several policemen walked towards them, yelling about drunk fights and how she needed to get off the man's back.

"little lady, please get off of that drunk man!" one of the police ordered, tugging at her arm. she flinched and glared at him.

"please don't pull on my arm, sir. this man is ill and i am the only one who can restrain him," she explained, only to be ignored. she cursed as they kept trying to pull her off. a sweet scent hit her nose and she blinked, looking around to find the source.

a beautiful demon woman was standing nearby, a green-haired demon behind her slightly. 'tamayo,' her mind supplied, 'and yushirō.' they were saved.

"even the ones who have turned into a demon...you still refer to them as a person," tamayo started. "and you are trying to save him. then i shall lend you a hand as well."

tanjirō blinked. "why? you...what is this smell you are giving off?"

"that's right. even though i'm a demon, i am also a doctor. i want to eradicate that man, that calls himself kibutsuji," the demoness confirmed.