Chapter 7: Chapter 7: The Past Self.
...
After Muzan left,
Not long.
Inside the house at the foot of the mountain.
It was pitch black.
Tanjiro was lying on the bed, he slowly opened his eyes:
"Puhah...ha...ha..."
His contracted pupils trembled violently.
The cold sweat on his forehead had already wet his hair on both sides.
Tanjiro was like a drowning fish, he opened his mouth, breathing heavily.
Even the rhythm of his breathing was slightly trembling.
His eyes were full of horror.
.....What was that just now?
.....What is it?
Just now.
When Tanjiro was slowly falling asleep, he suddenly smelled a strong hatred and anger.
Then, an overwhelming oppression came in from outside the door, suddenly choking Tanjiro's breathing rhythm.
Accompanied by a strong smell of blood, it blocked his nostrils!
Until that smell completely went away, Tanjiro was able to breathe again.
Creak...
Tanjiro slowly sat up, looked at the door in shock, panting for breath, and his sweat had soaked his bedding.
..... A bear? Or something else?
.....No, that strong emotion...
Tanjiro was unable to distinguish for a while, what was that just now.
He looked to his side.
Grandpa Saburo was already asleep, snoring lightly.
It seems that the disturbance just now did not wake up Grandpa Saburo.
.....Saburo, is the one who invited Tanjiro to stay at his house.
Step.
Tanjiro got up lightly and quietly, put on his clothes, bowed slightly with his hands together towards Grandpa Saburo.
Then, he walked to the window.
He didn't push the window open, but bent down by the window, closed his eyes, and sniffed carefully.
A faint smell, from the direction of the mountain, was carried over by the cold wind.
That thing went up the mountain!
My mother and they are still on the mountain!
Tanjiro's heart tightened suddenly!
His breathing rhythm became hurried, and he quickly looked back at Grandpa Saburo who was sleeping.
Then, Tanjiro quickly picked up the heavy winter coat from the ground, and wrapped it around his body in a hurry.
Just when he walked to the door, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and was about to push the door.
Creak...
The door just showed a thin crack.
At this time.
"Tanjiro." An old and hoarse voice came from behind Tanjiro who was about to push the door.
Then, there was a rustling sound of dressing, and the sound of getting up.
"Don't go."
Tanjiro turned his head, Grandpa Saburo was already standing behind him, quietly looking at him.
Saburo looked at Tanjiro.
He had already woken up just now.
He was just pretending to sleep.
He and Tanjiro looked at each other, his turbid eyes were a bit unclear in the dark, and he could only see a rough idea.
When he called Tanjiro at the beginning of the night, Saburo was thinking.
..... If his grandson hadn't died in the hands of the demon, he should be so old now.
"Don't go." Saburo shook his head slightly, his expression serious, he just repeated this sentence.
Tanjiro and Saburo looked at each other, he opened his mouth slightly, panting, choked for a moment, and then hurriedly said:
"Grandpa Saburo!"
"That one! He went up the mountain!"
Saburo closed his eyes and slowly shook his head:
"I know."
"That thing, is the demon I told you about."
He opened his eyes, his aged eyelids trembling slightly:
"A demon that comes out to eat people at night."
"Don't go."
Listening to Saburo's words, Tanjiro's pupils trembled. He looked back at the direction of the mountain, then turned to look at Saburo.
Then.
He shook his head at Saburo.
"...I'm sorry, Grandpa Saburo!"
"My family, they're still on the mountain!"
Tanjiro's hand was trembling slightly, the strong smell of blood was too much for him.
But he still said with a trembling voice:
"I have to go!"
He turned around and staggered to the door.
He tried to push the door open, but his arm was somewhat weak and numb for a moment, and his trembling legs almost made him fall to the ground.
Tanjiro leaned on the door, panting and trying to stand up.
The residual smell of blood in his nostrils kept stimulating Tanjiro's nerves.
— How many people... have been killed...!
Are you scared?
Scared.
Tanjiro is very scared right now.
But.
He can't back down!
His father once said to him.
"Tanjiro."
"After I'm gone, take good care of everyone."
"Don't be timid."
"You are the eldest son."
Yes, I am Kamado Tanjiro.
Tanjiro clenched his fist, his eyes firm.
The eldest son in the family!
Mother, Nezuko, Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako, Rokuta...
The smiles of his family members emerged in his mind.
Get moving!
With this thought, Tanjiro steadied the fear in his heart. He recalled the scene of his father beheading a giant bear with a shining axe when he was young.
His trembling hand gradually steadied.
Step!
Then he pushed the door open with a bang!
Rushed out of the wind and the snow.
He sniffed the residual smell of blood in the air, while running hard in the snow, panting heavily.
White mist was constantly exhaled into the air.
"Mom!!" He shouted towards the dark forest in the distance, hoping to attract the attention of the "demon".
Behind him.
Inside the house.
Looking at the re-closed door.
"...Tanjiro."
Saburo's serious expression did not change.
But as if all his strength had been suddenly drained.
He slowly bent down, then knelt on the ground.
His hands propped on the ground, his aged and blurred eyes seemed to be moistened by tears.
He didn't have the courage to stop Tanjiro at the end.
He saw something he never had in Tanjiro.
A decade ago.
When he encountered a demon, he hesitated for a moment out of fear and timidity, and failed to save his grandson who could have been saved in time.
He watched his grandson die in front of him.
If it wasn't for the dawn, he would have died in the hands of the demon.
In the end, only he, an old man, survived from the originally happy family of four.
Since then, Saburo has lived alone at the foot of the mountain, regretting himself.
Saburo!
He shouted in his heart.
If... back then, he could also run towards his family without hesitation...
If that were the case...!
Bang!
He pounded the ground hard, gritted his teeth, trying not to cry out loud, squeezing a few syllables from the bottom of his throat:
"Well done..."
...
In a daze, it seemed that three illusory figures appeared around Saburo.
They squatted down and hugged him.
They were a man, a woman, and a child.
...
Soon.
Creak...
The door was opened again.
Saburo, holding an axe, appeared outside the door. He turned around, closed the door, and tightened his clothes.
His expression was serious, his breathing steady.
He looked up towards the mountain.
"...Child, grandpa is here."
What he wanted to save at this moment.
It was not just the Kamado family on the mountain.
...
...
On the mountainside.
"...Mom?"
Kibutsuji Muzan, who was strolling, seemed to hear someone's shout.
He turned his head in confusion, clicked his tongue, and frowned slightly.
Then he turned around and continued to walk towards the mountain.
That house, he could already see it.
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