눈⬩ On a cold and windy night, Tanjuro Kamado heads out to sell coal for his family, only to stumble upon a young girl.
──────불쌍한 소녀──────
A young nameless girl is found battling against death on a cold windy night. Tanjuro cant help but take pity on...
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𝙉𝙚𝙯𝙪𝙠𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙚. Staring at the back of the doctor as he made his way down the hill, she could barely hold back a frown.
"He has one to two months, I believe," the doctor had said.
No, Nezuko thought back. He'll be gone by tonight.
There was a cold pit of certainty in the bottom of her stomach. Nezuko couldn't have explained how or why she knew even if she'd wanted to, but she knew it was true. Just as the sun would always rise in the east, her father would die tonight.
"Nezuko?"
She turned, meeting the worried burgundy eyes of her older brother, Tanjirou. Their father's health, always poor, had worsened considerably in the past few weeks. As the eldest son, Tanjirou had worked himself to the bone, making and selling charcoal. His cheeks were wan, and Nezuko could see his collarbone showing beneath his yukata. She made a mental note to give her brother an extra big portion at dinner tonight—he was the type to give his food to her or their younger siblings.
If she had to sleep tonight with hunger gnawing at her belly, then so be it—Tanjirou needed it more.
"Are you alright?"
Nezuko blinked. Tanjirou's voice brought her back to reality, anchoring her. She glanced around; they were alone, everyone else having gone back inside. She could hear Hanako's giggles as she teased Takeo, the gentle tones of her mother's voice, and Rokuta's quiet fussing.
The door was closed. A sweet spring breeze swept through the mountain, tugging at stray strands of hair that had gone loose from her bun.
This was her brother. She could tell him anything.
"I think Dad's going to die tonight," Nezuko said quietly.
Tanjirou's eyes went wide. She saw the instinctive denial that rose to his lips, but he pressed them shut firmly, swallowing it.
"Are you sure?"
Not how do you know. Not you're wrong. Not you must be mistaken.
No, instead, are you sure?
She'd never loved her brother more than in that moment. Tension she hadn't realized she'd been holding suddenly melted, and she felt as if a great weight had been taken off her shoulders.
Nezuko nodded, and Tanjirou swallowed. His face crumpled for an instant before he blinked and drew himself back together. He put a hand on her head and smiled. The gentleness of it made her want to cry.
