15. Tsuzumi Mansion

As the trio approached walked out of the forest, a mansion revealed itself.

"Tanjiro, there's something inside," Hana muttered.

Tanjiro nodded, agreeing. "I can smell blood, but this particular scent...."

"Huh?" Zenitsu piped up. "You smell something...?"

"Something I've never smelled before," Hana said, confused.

"Well, I don't know about that, but can you hear this sound? Also are you and I really gonna work together after all?" Zenitsu asked, cupping a hand to his ear.

"Sound?" Tanjiro frowned.

Hana scanned the area carefully, her gaze landing on two small figures huddled together. They were children, clutching each other for dear life. As soon as the girl made eye contact, the siblings gasped and trembled even harder.

Hana tapped Tanjiro's shoulder, signaling that something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked.

She pointed toward the children. Tanjiro's eyes followed her gesture, landing on the trembling pair. The sight only made them cower tighter into each other.

"Children..? Why are they here?" Zenitsu mumbled, trembling in fear. "I wonder what's wrong..."

He stepped forward carefully. "Hey, guys...what are you doing here?" Hana said, slowly approaching the pair.

The children's eyes widened further in fear, slowly backing away.

Hana and Tanjiro looked at each other, confused.

'They're terrified...' Hana thought. Then, slowly, she knelt down to meet them at eye level. "It's okay. Wanna see something cool?"

The siblings didn't answer, only staring at her with wide eyes.

"Ta-da!" she whispered softly, holding out Zenitsu's sparrow Chuntaro on her palm. "It's a tame sparrow. See? Isn't he cute?" She smiled brightly.

"Chu! Chu! Chu!"

The siblings relaxed slightly, their arms still clutched around one another, but the fear in their eyes eased just a little.

"Did something happen? Is this your house?" Tanjiro asked gently.

The boy shook his head quickly. "No, no, it's not... T-this is a monster's house! Our big brother was taken away...When we were walking down the road at night, a monster appeared. It didn't even look at us it just took our brother!"

"And they went inside that house, right?" Hana asked.

The boy nodded.

"You did a good job following him here," Tanjiro said warmly. His kind tone comforted them.

"W-we followed the traces of his blood," the boy continued, his voice trembling. "He got hurt.." Tears spilled as he cried.

Hearing that, Tanjiro clenched his fists but quickly forced himself to focus on the children first. "Don't worry. We're going to defeat that monster and rescue your brother!"

"Really? You will?" the younger girl asked hopefully.

"Yeah, for sure!" Hana reassured with a smile.

Zenitsu's voice suddenly broke in. "Hey... Tanjiro. What are these creepy noises? They never stop...is it a tsuzumi?"

Tanjiro frowned. "What noises? I don't hear anything."

"Neither do I," Hana added cautiously.

But then faintly, a drumming sound began growing louder and louder.

Their eyes widened. The children shook violently as the sound reverberated faster and faster then stopped abruptly.

Everything blurred in the next instant.

A bloodied, battered body flew out of a window, crashing toward the ground.

The children screamed and sobbed louder. The younger girl buried her face in her brother's shoulder while he tried in vain to stay composed.

Tanjiro rushed to comfort them. "It's okay! Look at me don't focus on anything else. You'll be fine!"

Meanwhile, Hana ran towards the man and stared down at him shaking her head in disbelief.

The man rasped through bloody coughs, "Even though...I made it outside..am I still...going to...die?"

He gave one last cry of agony before his eyes fluttered shut forever.

Tanjiro's pupils shook. "I apologize... I should have come sooner. We couldn't save him. If only we'd gotten here a little sooner...we might've managed to save him."

Hana clenched her fists. 'He's gone....we can't do anything about it..'

"Hana-chan," Zenitsu whispered. "Was he... their brother?"

Before she could answer, the ground rumbled. The drumbeat returned, louder this time.

The boy shook his head quickly. "No! Our big brother wore a persimmon-colored kimono. That wasn't him."

Hana pressed her palms together in silent apology. 'I'll bury you when I return. Forgive me... forgive me...'

"Alright," Hana said firmly. "Tanjiro, Zenitsu let's go!"

Tanjiro nodded with determination. Zenitsu, however, cried out, his face blurring with fear as he shook his head furiously.

"But no one can help them now but us," Tanjiro tried reasoning.

"BUT TANJIRO, HANA-CHAN IF I GO IN THERE, I'LL DIE!" Zenitsu wailed.

Hana gave him a cold look. "Oh Really? Fine then. Let's go, Tanjiro."

Panicked, Zenitsu leapt onto Hana's leg, clinging to her haori. "Hey, come on! Why are you making that ogre face at me?! Okay, I'll go!" he cried.

"Stop clinging to me like a fool!" Hana asked sharply. "I have no intention of forcing you to-"

"I said I'll go!" he shouted louder, still sobbing.

Hana walked toward the siblings and hugged them close. "It's alright. We'll protect you. We'll bring your brother back!"

"Really?" the girl sniffled.

"Yes, really," Tanjiro promised with a smile. He slipped the straps of his box off his shoulders, setting it beside them. "In case of an emergency, I'm leaving this box with you. No matter what, you'll be safe."

----

The three entered the mansion: Tanjiro and Hana walking side by side, Zenitsu clinging to her from behind, flinching at every creak.

"Hey, Hana-chan," Zenitsu whimpered, hugging her again. "You'll protect me, right?"

Hana completed ignored the wailing boy.

Tanjiro finally spoke. "Zenitsu, Hana still has broken bones and a leg injury. They're not healed yet, so-"

"B-but... you'll still save me, right?!" Zenitsu interrupted.

"I'm pretty sure he has a fractured leg too." Hana added bluntly.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BROKEN BONES?! WHO'S GOING TO PROTECT ME NOW?!" Zenitsu shrieked, collapsing into another tantrum.

"If you've got fractures, you can't possibly protect me! I-I-I'm gonna die! What am I gonna do?! Gonna die, gonna die, gonna die! I'm a dead man! Nooo! Ninety-nine point nine percent dead! I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead!" He wailed, thrashing on the floor like a child.

"Zenitsu, calm down! You'll be alright!" Tanjiro tried to calm him down, while Hana facepalmed in annoyance.

"DON'T SUGARCOAT IT !"

Before Tanjiro could reply, footsteps approached.

The siblings ran toward them. "Onii-chan! We heard scratching from inside the box!" the boy cried.

"You shouldn't be here!" Hana exclaimed. "That box is more precious than my life!"

The ground rumbled. The drumbeat struck again.

Zenitsu panicked and accidentally shoved Hana and Tanjiro into another room along with the younger sibling.

Hana disappeared into another room.

"Hana-chan! Tanjiro!!" Zenitsu panicked.

----

'Did the room move...? No-it's us,' Tanjiro thought grimly.

The girl began to cry. He hesitated, then awkwardly tried, "Don't cry... I'll protect you."

Finally, he softened. "I can't promise everything, but I'll do my best. The others will protect your brother too."

The girl hiccuped, slowly calming.

"What's your name?" Tanjiro asked gently. "I'm Tanjiro Kamado of the Demon Slayer Corps. Nice to meet you."

"T-Teruko..."

"A beautiful name," Tanjiro said simply. "We'll save your brother. That, I promise."

Before more could be said, an ominous aura filled the room. Tanjiro's hand went to his sword. Heavy footsteps echoed outside.

----

Meanwhile, Zenitsu had ended up with Shoichi.

"WHY ME?! HANA-CHAN'S GONE AND NOW I'M STUCK WITH YOU?!" Zenitsu wailed. "I'M GONNA DIE!!"

Shoichi frowned. "All you do is scream about dying. Aren't you ashamed? Clinging to a younger kid like me... is your sword just decoration?"

Zenitsu collapsed dramatically. "Those words cut deep!" He sprang back up. "But fine! Let's get out of here and find a grownup! We can't do this ourselves!"

He dragged Shoichi toward the exit, only to find the mansion had shifted again. Every door led to another dead end. He cried, running around and flinging doors open only to find empty rooms.

Finally, he yanked one open and found himself face-to-face with a man wearing a boar's head.

"IT'S A MONSTER!!" Zenitsu screamed.

The man stumbled out of the room and ran away.

Zenitsu curled up in a ball, trembling, while Shoichi just stared at him.

"W-what the heck? What's with that look in your eyes? Stop looking at me like that!" Zenitsu cried.