Tanjiro, the demon.

O

"Tanjiro!" Kie called out, grabbing her son's attention. "Your face is pitch-black. Come here."

Dutifully, he walked over. Strapped on his back is a large basket full to the brim with coal chunks leftover from their last charcoal-making batch. Cloth in hand, Kie scrubbed Tanjiro's dirtied cheeks, insisting,
"You don't have to go. It's snowing and it's dangerous in this weather." Despite her assurance, Tanjiro shook his head. Wanting to provide a better New Year's feast for the family, he had to go down town to sell as much coal as he could. Afterall, with the snowy season in full bloom there would be a higher demand for coal. She couldn't help but smile at her son's tender compassion. "...Thank you."

Just then, a loud voice called out to them. "Tanjiro, are you going to town again today? Bring me along!" Another voice followed up, "I wanna go to! Bring me, bring me!" Two children, Shigeo and Hanako, came running towards the two, screaming and tugging at Tanjiro's checkered haori. They were quickly stopped by their mother, who firmly opposed to the idea.
"No. You can't walk fast like Tanjiro."

She quickly cut their whining off by continuing, "He isn't taking the cart today, so he can't pull you when you're tired." With that, the two siblings let out a pout and ran back to Tanjiro's side, hugging him tight and throwing a tantrum. While their mother had a hard time calming down their clingy nature, Tanjiro had an easier approach. Bending down, he gave them a few pats on their heads and promised to come back with goodies. His bribery worked, and the two had ended their tantrum. Before he left, he called out to his younger brother, Takeo, and asked him to chop as much wood as he could.

Takeo agreed, although slightly disappointed that he couldn't do it with his beloved brother. "There, there." Tanjiro reassured, patting him on the head gently. "H-H-Hey! Stop that!" Blushing, Takeo pushed his hand away, which only compelled Tanjiro to pat him more. As the family let out a hearty laugh, they bid their big brother farewell and wished him a safe trip.

Before he could take another step, he was stopped by a loud cry. "Rokuta, it's okay! Look, it's big brother." A petite girl came up to Tanjiro. Dressed in a pink geometric triangle patterned kimono, her hair was tied into a neat bun with a single pink ribbon at the crown. On her back sat a small boy, Rokuta, who was thrashing about, face covered in snot and tears. Even with Tanjiro's head pats, the boy wouldn't calm down and kept a hold of Tanjiro's finger, squirming and crying out his name. "Ah... I'm sorry, brother. I tried to put Rokuta to sleep but he just refused to. I thought that if he saw you he might calm down a bit, but I guess it only aggravated him..."

Tanjiro shook his head and carried his brother up. "It's okay, Nezuko. I'll hold him until he falls asleep. I know how much they miss Father and how lonely Rokuta is."

"But it'll be dawn by the time that happens..."
As the pair stood watching the crying Rokuta, an idea popped into Nezuko's head.

"I know! How about I sell the coal instead?"

"Eh?" No, it's fine. I'll just bring Rokuta with me—"

But Nezuko didn't listen. Bearing a soft smile, she began to pull the straps off her brother's shoulders and undoing the blanket around her body. She shoved the white linen into his arms and hoisted the basket on her shoulders. Nezuko had a petite and small stature, so it came as a huge surprise to her brother when she managed to walk with the heavy coal load strapped behind her. "It's fine! I wanted to go to town anyway. Besides, I'm sure that the 3 kids would like it if you could spend a little more time up there."

Tanjiro, although hesistant, complied. Taking off his woolen scarf, he wrapped it onto his sister and smiled. With Rokuta in his arms and linen sheet folded, he bid her a safe trip before heading back to their home, his hanafuda earrings clacking as he turned. Nezuko took over her brother and began to make her descent to town, relieved that he hadn't pressured her too much.