𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, kny

「三」

第三章

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"YOU TWO BE CAREFUL NOW." Saburo said as [Name] and Tanjiro waved goodbye to the oldman and made their journey home.

"I can't wait to arrive home and surprise them!" [Name] exclaimed with glee as she pounds her fist to the air.

"They're going to be surprised," Tanjiro smiled, "and I bet Oka-san is going to be very happy."

Tanjiro and [Name] casually chatted along the way and cracked jokes. Unfortunately, the joy they had had to perish. [Name] abruptly stopped and her face made a sudden change. Her smile had dropped and her eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Tanjiro asked, looking at [Name], concerned.

"Tanjiro..." [Name] trailed off, "do you... smell that?"

Tanjiro lifted a brow in confusion but decided to sniff the air anyways. Blood. Tanjiro panicked and ran to his house immediately.

"Wait! Tanjiro! It's too dangerous!"

[Name] did not only picked up the scent of blood, but also the same scent of the demon who murdered her whole family. That very scent made her tremble in fear. But even though she's afraid, she knew she had to overcome it and catch up with Tanjiro. God knows what could happen to Tanjiro if the demon is still there.

As soon as she reached the top, her legs directly got weak. [Name] fell on her knees as tears started streaming down her face and her breathing became uneven.

Nezuko was lying there, still hugging Rokuto in her arms. Her body lay limp on the crimson-stained snow. She ran her eyes along the trails of blood, which was leading into the house. She could hear heavy breathing from inside the house. As [Name] regained her strength to stand up and walk into the house, her heart was crushed even more.

There were no survivors. Everyone was dead. They're lifeless bodies leaned against the wooden walls and floorings. Their blood stained the insides of the house. The sickening smell was so strong, it made [Name] light-headed. She fell on her knees again, her lips trembling as she wailed in agony. Tanjiro was more miserable. He had knelt beside her, he was in so much pain that no voice could come out. [Name] weakly placed her hand on Tanjiro's shoulder and soon the two indulged into a hug. They cried into each other's shoulders. There were still little hope left. The two children then stood up and checked everyone's pulses. But there was none. They're all gone.

[Name] fell on a deep hole of regrets. She regretted not calling Kie mother. She regretted not valuing her small adoptive siblings more. She regretted not considering them as a family. She regretted everything.

[Name] then kneeled down next to Kie's corpse and held Kie's hands in hers.

"I'm so sorry, I should've valued my time with you much more. If only I knew this would happen, if- if-" [Name] trailed off and started sobbing. She rested her forehead on Kie's cold hands and cried harder. After feeling that she couldn't let out much more, she blurted out her last goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Oka-san," she sniffed, "Rest well."

Tanjiro then came running into the house, panting.

"[N-[Name]! Nezuko's body is still warm!"

There's hope after all.

[Name] quickly ran outside and helped Tanjiro carry Nezuko's unconscious body. They ran downhill as fast as they could, but the weather decided to he harsh on them. It was snowing really hard and the temperature dropped at an unusual amount. The air was too cold. Tanjiro and [Name] couldn't breathe properly.