Chapter Text
I am standing in a sea of red flowers – spider lilies, if my foggy brain is serving me right. That's strange. I have never seen them in real life before, and I am almost certain that they don't grow from where I came, so why are there so many of these damned flowers?
"This is the afterlife," a disembodied voice said from behind me. I say "disembodied", but nothing about that voice bothers me. Instead, it has a calming effect akin to taking a bath at a hot spring.
There is nothing behind me, I realize as I turn around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the voice that just spoke to me. Nope, just more spider lilies… and a river. Suddenly, I feel the urge to cross the river for no reason I can fathom. All I know is that my body is screaming at me to go to the other side. As I slowly drag my body towards my destination, my memories hit me like a stone wall, and I stop in my tracks.
~~~Flashback~~~
I was a simple guy with a simple life. My parents owned a small bakery and I would occasionally help out with the family business. I had a younger sister that I deemed to be the cutest being alive and a good circle of friends that I hung out with (like any healthy teenage boy). It wasn't much, but we were happy.
That is, until the day we were robbed of our happiness, literally. Some nobody burglar had broken into the small bakery and stole the money from the cash register in the middle of the night. But that moron wasn't too good at keeping quiet and woke me from my slumber. Me and my half-asleep brain thought that the best thing to do at that moment was to check out the noise. If only I knew what was coming for me. I was still in a daze by the time I made my way downstairs, in my t-shirt and boxers, no less. Again, that thief must not have been too smart, because that panicked look on his face was priceless when he saw me at the stairway. Or not, because the next thing I knew, a knife was lodged into my stomach. It was a kitchen knife used to cut slices of cakes that we just so happened to leave out right on the counter beside the cash register.
How convenient.
I didn't even get a good look at the burglar before he took off, and I wouldn't have either, since I passed out like the wimp I am.
~~~
I guess I never woke up after that.
That disembodied voice said that wherever I am, it is the afterlife. I'm not stupid enough to hold on to any lingering hope that I can still be alive.
It's strange. I don't feel anything. No sadness, no frustration, no pity for the family that I left behind. Well, that's a lie. Nothing feels real at the moment, like I am dreaming out of my ass. I accepted as much of my reality as I have not, like whatever is happening to me is actually happening to someone else.
Damn, I still have so many things I wanted to do. How could I die like this? I think as my hands ball into shaking fists.
"If you wish to do so, I can give you a second chance at life," the same disembodied voice echoed throughout the field.
The spark of hope flared in me. "Really?" I spoke to the empty presence around me.
I felt the presence affirm my suspicion (like, how the hell did that happen?). "I have seen your memories. You've lived a good life, yet you had the potential to do so much more had you not… expired so early on.
"That's why, I want your soul to live on to do something great for the universe, although it will not be your own."
"What do you mean? Am I getting reincarnated into another universe or something?" I ask half-jokingly, confused at its implications.
"You will keep your memories of your past life. It will not be a reincarnation process, but more so forcing your soul into another's body and taking control of the vessel. However, let me warn you, the vessel that you will be inhabiting is anything but innocent."
Okay, that didn't help at all.
"When you're ready, cross the river." The voice said with a sense of finality.
I nodded, and begin to continue towards the river. The entire walk there, I felt like I was missing something. It wasn't until I stepped onto the other side of the river that I realized.
Wait, I didn't even consent to this, I think as my consciousness leaves me. Well, isn't this great.
~~~
When I come to, I am standing on a snowy plateau surrounded by trees and forests. In front of me are two kids, one significantly older than the other. An older girl is holding on to a small toddler. With a start, I am reminded of my own little sister, and my heart throbs.
"Do you think you can run away from me?" I hear someone say. It takes me a moment to comprehend that it was me who spoke.
Strange… Was my voice always so smooth and disgustingly sweet? And why am I speaking Japanese?
Before I can finish my thought, my arm shoots forward, extending inhumanly towards the pair with the intent of impaling them both. The good news is that the girl throws the toddler to the side and the soft bed of snow cushions his fall, but whatever shock there was knocked him unconscious. Bad news? The girl gets impaled through the stomach. Blood splatters all over the white sheet underneath her, and she coughs up another puddle of blood in the process of dropping cold onto the snow.
Stop…
And with that, my senseless brain finally picks up on the truth that I, in fact, do not have control over my own body. Is this even my body to begin with?
"You will keep your memories of your past life. It will not be a reincarnation process, but more so forcing your soul into another's body and taking control of the vessel. However, let me warn you, the vessel that you will be inhabiting is anything but innocent." I recall the disembodied voice saying.
So that's what it meant. Whoever I am seeing through, they are certainly not benevolent. Hell, the bastard just killed a girl in cold blood! Does this man even know that that there is another soul in his body?
I am once again snapped out of my rage when my body stalks towards the girl, with said girl twitching and spasming like her life is about to end.
Is this what I looked like when I was on the verge of death? I thought offhandedly.
"Oh, the maggot is still alive?" My body says (more like spits out in spite), "Perhaps you have potential to withstand my blood?"
My body kneels down on one knee, moving its head until it is directly in front of the dying girl. Her eyes are wide open, in fear or anger, I can't tell. Maybe both, considering the situation. I feel my face twist into what I imagine is the most sadistic expression I have ever made.
Stop.
"Would you like to become a demon, an immortal being close to perfection? I will allow you to join my ranks and serve me as a loyal pawn." The voice is low, almost to the point of a deep growl, or whisper, depending on how you look at it.
"G-go to hell…" the girl croaks out in broken syllables, barely audible.
Despite the situation, I (silently) cheered for bravery that this nameless girl displayed. However, my body did not take to her response kindly. I feel my leg lift up and above the girl, and stomp down with a much greater force than any human would be capable of. The snow beneath the girl is flattened and cracked, similar to when a car drives through a snowy path. Amidst the horrific sight, I hear ribs cracking.
Stop!
"Too bad. I suppose I'll reunite you with your family, then, you ungrateful brat."
Her family, too?
Along with the poor girl's ribs, I feel my restraints cracking. Fury is flowing through me in cold waves, more than I've ever felt in my life.
What type of cruel joke is this? Do I have to watch by the sidelines as my own body destroy innocents? I grit my teeth, and my fists ball up. Guilt and pity filling my stomach as I continue to watch the scenes play out… wait.
I can move! I am in control of my body again – or, maybe I finally gained control of this body.
As quickly as my relief came, it disappears; replacing it is the emotion known as panic.
"Shit," I cursed. "Shitshitshitshitshit!"
The girl in front of me has one foot in the grave, and the other one is sinking fast like quicksand. I wish I could say that my first aid lessons can help, but there is no rookie course that can prepare you for patching up a hole in the stomach.
Not knowing what to do, I start off with taking off my (fancy) coat, folding it, and placing it on top of the girl. You know how they say applying pressure to a wound stops the blood from pouring out like water? Yeah, the blood ain't slowing down anytime soon here.
I know there is another option, but from what little I know, that would be the worst possible option. But then again, what other choice is there?
Nezuko felt cold. Everything about her is freezing up. She couldn't even cry out when the strange man – no, demon – crushed her ribs.
I guess this is the end for me, she thinks as she remembers her father, her mother, Hanako, Shigeru, Takeo, Tanjiro, and Rokuta.
Rokuta…
With a jolt, she realizes that if she dies, then the demon will kill Rokuta next. And in spite of her injuries, she would not allow her baby brother to be hurt anymore than the poor toddler already is. No matter how painful it is, she has to try her best to stall the demon.
For how long? Until Tanjiro to come home? Until the authorities miraculously arrive to drive the demon away? A part of her doubts any of these options will work, but she shakes these thoughts away. Even if there is no one coming, she'll try her best. After all, she is a Kamado, and she will not back down from any obstacle.
Bracing herself for the worst, she looks up towards the demon… only to see the cold rage to stop Nezuko in her tracks. His jaw is tightened to the point that it can crack anytime and his fists are balled up tightly. And then, even more strange, his face smooths into a shocked expression before contorting into a panicked expression.
He lets out a string of incomprehensible gibberish before proceeding to take off his jacket. He covers her wound with it and applies pressure to stop the blood flow. Seeing as how his strategy wasn't working, his face becomes more panicked.
What in the world?
"I'm so sorry… I couldn't do anything to save you and your family." The man says as he desperately tries to save the dying girl in front of him.
Why is he talking as if he played no part in killing my family? She thought.
The man stops for a second. "But if you want, I can save you." He raises his head slightly, a pained look on his face. "By turning you into a demon."
Somehow, he looks insanely young. Instead of a man in his thirties with a presence that feels hundreds of years old, she sees an expression of boy that has gone through unspeakable tragedies, a boy that was no older than Tanjiro is.
She wants to spit at him, scream at him, spite him, anything but agree to the proposal. Yet, despite her resent towards that man, she feel that she can trust him. Yes, the demon that killed her family. In spite of herself, Nezuko nod her head.
The man's eyes waters, and gives a soft smile before cutting his wrist and placing it on top of her mouth. Without needing to be told, she opens it and allow drops of blood to flow down her throat. At first, nothing happened, but a sudden fire in her veins tears a vicious scream out of Nezuko.
He tricked me.
Nezuko wants to curse at him for taking advantage of her moment of weakness. Yet, the expression he wears is just as helpless as hers probably is. Silently, he turns around and walks toward the unconscious Rokuta, gently cradles him in his arms - as if he's done it a hundred times, Nezuko notes -and places him next to her. Just as he did so, he tenses up.
The man bites his lips, contemplating something, before facing the girl.
"May we… meet again."
And with that, he left, leaving Nezuko with excruciating pain and her family dead.