Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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"Tanjiro, you come too."
Tanjuro turned his head and called over Tanjiro, who arrived downstairs and was stunned by the order.
"The Hinokami Kagura."
"It's been a while since you've practiced, right?"
Tanjiro nodded with confidence. "Yes!"
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-Location: Tamayo Mansion-
The dim yellow fire flickered in the dark room. No mosquitoes in sight, for it is the lab of the demon doctor.
"Unbelievable..."
Tamayo was sitting at her table with a microscope in front of her. She muttered her disbelief as she observed the blood drops taken from Tanjuro.
The result was... fascinating, to say the least.
At first, she found that Tanjuro's blood cells were more active compared to ordinary people.
But then, she decided to test how it reacts when it is exposed to demon blood.
She uses her own blood in the experiment and mixes it with Tanjuro's.
That's when she saw a peculiar sight that left her pupils trembling lightly.
Her blood cells were devoured by Tanjuro's blood cells, and they use them as nutrients to keep themselves alive.
She had never heard or read of such a phenomenon before.
Tamayo raised her head from the microscope and took a deep breath.
This method of absorbing vitality from its surroundings for one's own uses reminded her of the man she abhorred in the entire world.
Muzan!
She gets up to record her findings when suddenly...!
Bam.
She collapsed on the table as a wave of dizziness hit her, and her legs couldn't support her body.
For some reason, Tamayo was inflicted with the most infuriating and exhausting headache and fatigue.
"Yushiro..."
She called out to her assistant as her body gradually lost its strength.
Her eyelids were so heavy as if someone strapped a yacht to her upper eyelid, and waves of sleepiness attacked her like a tsunami trying to drown her.
Sreek...
Her hand supporting her body on the table lost its power, and she slipped off and fell to the ground.
"Tamayo-sama!"
Yushiro rushed over and quickly caught her before she hit the ground.
He was anxious since this is the first time Tamayo has ever ended up in such a condition after experimenting.
"Tamayo-sama! Can you hear me?!"
"Tamayo-sama!"
Tamayo's consciousness began to blur as she tried her hardest to stay awake. The last thing she saw before her vision was consumed by darkness was Yushiro's worried expression for her.
Her body went limp in his arms as Morpheus claimed her into his domain.
...
...
...
Tamayo felt her body was floating and sinking at the same time.
In this boundless, thick darkness that drowns everything. She felt countless cold hands grabbing her and dragging her down.
And down
...and down.
... and down.
For what she felt was a very, very long time.
Until,
She saw a blinding light flash, forcing her to close her eyes.
The first thing she saw when she opened them again... was the wisteria forest.
She lay flat on the ground, looking up at the clear sky.
"Where... is this?" Tamayo blinked hard with difficulty, trying to adjust to the light. She rubbed the back of her head and supported herself up from the ground.
She looked around and could see the blooming wisteria flowers all around her, vaguely.
She tried to stand up but couldn't and was shocked to find that her feet and hands were bound by chains.
They grew out of the ground like tree roots, tying her down.
'What... is this?'
Just as Tamayo tried to regain her bearings, a voice sounded from behind her.
"Mom?"
A childish voice rang out, freezing Tamayo on the spot.
Her chest seems too small for the feeling in her heart right now. She didn't dare to breathe, didn't dare to blink.
That voice...
No matter how deep she lost herself in her darkness, no matter how much despair she felt when she realized her mistakes.
That voice... will always stay with her. She will NEVER forget that voice.
Her eyes moistened as she turned around to face the childish voice.
Tamayo saw a small child holding a ball. She has a cute button nose that Tamayo sees every time she uses a mirror and sharp eyes that she inherited from her father.
Her pupils and iris are the same shade as her mother's, and her black hair that reaches her chin flows in the wind.
Tamayo couldn't hold back her tears anymore. The grief that she tried to bury all these years burst out at the sight of the child.
"Mitsuka... is that you, my dear daughter Mitsuka?"
She reached out her hands unconsciously. Her chains prevented her from coming over and hugging her child forever.
"Mom!" Mitsuka dropped her ball and ran toward Tamayo with a big smile.
Pounce!
She jumped into her arms and hugged her mother with all her strength.
Tamayo felt as if she had been released from her torment. The feeling of her daughter in her arms was all that she wished to do before her illness took over, before she agreed with The demon's deal.
She tightens her hug, as if she is afraid if she lets her go, her daughter will disappear again.
Tears flowing freely from her eyes. Snot and mucus destroyed any semblance of the graceful lady mask that she put on to endure the lonely and harsh reality of the world.
"I'm sorry... (sob)... I'm so sorry..."
Tamayo apologizes with her whole being and soul. Asking for forgiveness that she knew she didn't deserve.
The hole in her heart kept aching as her body shook with guilt.
"I'm sorry..."
"Mom, don't cry..." Mitsuka said softly and patted her mother's back.
"Mitsuka misses you very much too..."
Before Mitsuka could continue, they were hugged by a tall, broad-shouldered man from behind as he nestled his head beside Tamayo.
"You shouldn't be here, honey..." He spoke softly in Tamayo's ear.
He rubbed her head comfortingly, injecting every fiber of her being with warmth and safety.
Tamayo's eyes seem to produce infinite tears as she recognizes that both of her precious people were here for her.
For the first time since she gave birth to her daughter, Tamayo felt complete again. If this was a dream, then she prayed she did not wake up from it.
But...
"You have to back."
"Tamayo."
Tamayo was stunned by the sentence. She looked up to see her husband's face.
Then, as if the world heard the man order, the chains start tightening their hold and forcefully tugging her away, breaking the tearful family reunion.
"NO!"
Tamayo resists with all her might. She did not want to go back!
She did not want to be separated again and forced to endure life!
She refuses to feel that suffocating emptiness again!
"Mom!"
Mitsuka called out, smiling at her mother, who pleaded with her eyes to keep her here.
"Don't come looking for me and Dad so soon!"
"You still have a part to play!"
Tamayo continued to go further and further away from them, and her consciousness began to blur. She could barely hear the last words spoken by her daughter.
She tried to keep her eyes focused on their faces, trying to commit them to her memories.
Only whispers remained that kept ringing in her mind.
"...live on."