Another

Chapter Nine: Waiting for An Eternity

Tanjiro POV

"Tanjiro..."

That voice...I don't recognize it. Where am I?

"Wake up.."

What's going on? Who was that?

"Please, I have something to show you. You and your younger sister."

My younger sister?

"Nezuko?"

"Yes."

The darkness was replaced by a clear blue sky. There wasn't a sun in the sky, but it was so bright. So warm. I sat up.

"Where is she?"

"She isn't here right now. She's still remembering."

The words floated from behind me. The person speaking to me sounded so sad. I kept looking up, relishing the feeling of warmth blooming across my skin. If they had wanted to hurt me, they wouldn't have bothered trying to wake me up.

"What do you mean by 'remembering?'"

"You are both demons now, yes?"

I shuddered, remembering the cold. "Yes, we are."

"Do you remember how you were turned into demons?"

"Yes."

For a moment, the person behind me stopped talking. He was waiting. I sighed, and let my shoulders slump.

"Kibutsuji Muzan. He killed my family and turned Nezuko and I into demons."

I closed my eyes. After a few seconds, it spoke again. This time, it was right behind me.

"You look a lot like Sumiyoshi."

The clear sky greeted me again. "I don't know who that is."

The voice behind me paused. "He was one of your ancestors."

Ancestors?

I craned my neck back.

A man stood behind me. He had long reddish-brown hair in a high ponytail and a flame-like scar on his forehead. Like mine. His eyes were downcast, looking at the grass. Hanafuda earrings, exactly like my own, swayed in the gentle breeze.

"Are you.." I turned to completely face him. I brushed my hands against the earrings I wore. I hope I wasn't offending him by asking this. "Are you my ancestor too?"

The man looked up at me, his eyes wide. For a moment, everything was still. Even the wind stopped blowing. We just stared at each other.

The man smiled. It was nice, he didn't look so sad. It reminded me of oto-san.

"No, I'm not. I was just a friend to one of them."

I nodded. The man appeared to be honest. He hadn't done anything to make me distrust him, not yet at least.

"So," I drew my knees up to my chest,"why am I here?"

The man sighed, and sat down. He studied a small red bug crawling on a flower between us. "You're in a coma."

I nodded. "I had a feeling I was dreaming." The man nodded. "Is Nezuko here too?"

He mirrored me, his head resting on his knees. "Not yet. She doesn't remember that day."