Day 5 | camping / beach party (festival)
Character(s): Kamado Tanjirou, Nezuko Kamado
Tag(s): post-Mugen Train Arc, pining, grief
Sometimes Tanjirou dreams of phoenix eyes, of amber tourmaline in the night. He dreams of darkened blonde draped on top of a shadow. He dreams of sharp teeth, scaly skin, a bare chest, and long nails. He dreams of feeling cool hugs from the body of water and those wet locks cascading down his face, wispy fraying curls dancing with the tide. He dreams of drowning but not drowning, staying in the inertia.
Then, he wakes up with nothing but warmth.
Tanjirou likes that Nezuko gets to go out during nighttime. The beach is the best place for her without fearing anyone walking in. It’s not like Tanjirou hides her from other humans, he knows she’s harmless. But during solo missions, it’s getting increasingly exhausting to see the first reaction people have when they look at her. Cautious, alert, distrust.
This demon that he has been eyeing for a while has preoccupy the Shonan Sea. After his mission in the Mugen Train, Oyakata-sama has ordered him to go solo somewhere further than Tokyo. It took him half a day to reach Chigasaki, but the view pays off. White sandy beach, scorching heatwave that blurs his vision, and the starry night sky that trails as far as Tanjirou can see. Nezuko is especially loving the view from the night.
He sets up a tent in a secluded part of the beach after he hears that there will be a local annual festival in a few days. As summer starts, there have been many gatherings in the form of festivals and rituals to celebrate it. Along that, demonic activity rises because some of them happen during the night either that, Tanjirou wonders if they have set up ways to let people into places where the sun doesn’t touch, making it easy to trap them and feast on them. The more he learns about demons, the more anxious he sometimes becomes. The more he learns, the more he doesn't know anything about their nature. But that just means he needs to keep going, to keep learning, and to keep working hard.
But Tanjirou isn’t surprised. From what Tanjirou had gathered, there’s been disappearances of fishermen around the area. At the same time, as Tanjirou scoops the whole area, he can’t find enough shade. He suspects the woods to be the place where this demon lives but there have also been sightings of a fish-like creature. Though Tanjirou notices that demons of all shapes and sizes can reside everywhere regardless of their body structure, these sightings are all seen around the coastal area. It’s not the first time he finds a demon living in the water. The swamp demon, for example.
That is why Tanjirou decides to camp on the beach.
The first evening, there’s no sight of this fish demon. He strolls by the shore as Nezuko skips in front of him, kicking sand around, enjoying the feel of sand under her cold dense skin. She crouches down and rummages through the sand for deserted seashells. This side of the beach is pretty far from civilians and it’s divided by a cliff. It feels like time stretches out, a breeze lulls his haori and the edge of Nezuko’s kimono. He can only hear the crunchy sound of waves hitting the edge of the sand bed and the beating of his own heart. Sometimes the wind howls and the salty smell dances under his nose, but overall… peaceful.
He doesn’t know how long they walk across the beach, back and forth, back and forth. Tanjirou even visits the fishermen huts but he doesn’t smell any trace of foreign body. The fishermen have stopped fishing at night but some still wants to go, believing that the disappearance is caused by a technical issue.
So, Tanjirou decides to call it a day, sleeping in his tent with Nezuko on his side.
Then, he starts to have these weird dreams.
After Rengoku’s death, Tanjirou couldn’t sleep. There’s only one time he didn’t have a fitful night, which was oddly the next day after he visited the Rengoku household. He decided to sleep early because the day before, Haganezuka-san had kept him almost a whole night. Shinobu has been telling him to stop training and to focus on rest—as Kiyo-chan said, she’s been on edge—and points out how exhausted he has been that day. Tanjirou took a sleeping pill and slept hugging Rengoku’s tsuba. There, he actually dreamed of sparring. Sparring Rengoku who was soundless and expressionless. He only smiled when Tanjirou won, barely nicking his sword out of his grasp. Then, he put the tsuba on his hand and disappears. Tanjirou thought he would wake up restless, but he felt more at peace for once. Rengoku’s smile, even though he barely caught it as he was panting on the ground. Rengoku had reached out and Tanjirou can feel the warmth of his palm. It felt so real that when he wakes up, he thought he did touch him.
In this dream, he’s standing by the beach. Nezuko isn’t around and as he enters the tent he had built, it was empty. When he walks out, from the corner of the periphery, he can see a figure. That figure is perched on top of one of the rocks under the cliff. That figure is dark as there is no moonlight to shine its silhouette, but the reflection from the water that was lit by the scatters of stars above them give it a little bit of form. Even in the dark, Tanjirou can make of blonde unruly. Even in the dark, he can see a pair of glowing gold-red rings.
His heart starts to hammer in his rib cage. He’s seeing things, he reminds himself. Or if not, this is one cruel illusion.
He catches something in the corner of his eyes. A swish motion of fins and a tail. They’re also gold, shimmering and glistening wet. That… perso—no, it’s a demon or a dream! Pull yourself together!—blinks, then throws itself back, it’s curly tail blooming in front of Tanjirou’s eyes before it descends into the water.
After that, he can hear the air around him crackle. The sound, coming from the sea before he’s engulfed in darkness.
Then, Tanjirou wakes up with a headache. He’s sweating and panting, but that’s because he can’t breathe. The sun is streaming down his face from where the tent was slightly open. It’s like a sauna here. He can only smell the salt and bitter sweat. He rubs around, finding no Nezuko, but then he hears a scratching from her box and sighs a relief. The beach at night is very cool and humid but during the morning, when he steps out, he yelps as it almost burns him. He wears his tabi, reconsiders wrapping his kyahan before he does anyway, and slips on his zori. He wears his haori but then decides to take it off, slinging Nezuko on his shoulders like usual but wraps the haori around his arm so it doesn’t dangle around.
Someone reports that another fisherman has gone missing, so Tanjirou rents a boat. He sweeps the remnant of the fisherman for a whole day yet he can’t find anything. The festival is in two days! From what Tanjirou learns about the Dawn Festival is that the festival starts before the sun rises. Everyone that lives in town and around the coastal area will gather and enters the water to a certain point to deliver the floating shrines until the sun is up. This demon is quite odd. There’s only very little time to consume that many people and from the previous reports and what happened last night, it seems the demon hasn’t come to the fishermen’s huts. It only consumes those that sail into the water at night.
During the second evening, Tanjirou decides to sleep on a boat.
Because of the increasing disappearance and the anticipation for the festival, there are fewer people that are willing to go into the sea at night. Demon or not, they will not risk anything before the big day. So, Tanjirou rents a small boat and sails during the middle of the night. His eyes start to droop as the ocean rocks him in a slow steady motion. “Nezuko, sorry for making you guard for a while. I’m just going to sleep for a few… minutes,” he falls asleep to the sound of Nezuko splashing water under them before he’s awake at the feeling of water drenching his front. His eyes widen as gold rings stare back at him. That familiar face is smiling wide at him, his large wet body on top of Tanjirou. Tanjirou can hear frantic splashing from behind him as Nezuko struggles to swim towards him. “Nezuko!”
She’s already a good distance away from them. “Kamado Boy…” the demon calls, voice deep and rich. The voice is his voice. Tanjirou feels like he can’t breathe. Rengoku—no, the demon!—’s split brows dip as he smiles softly at him. “That’s right… I’m alive…”
“No… turn back—” Tanjirou gasps as he crawls back in frantic. He screws his eyes shut as he shakes his head. “Turn back to your real form, you disgusting thing!”
“That is very rude, Kamado Boy! Is that how you talk to a Hashira?!” the voice booms, scolding, as he sits on his large tail. He folds his arm and squares his shoulders—just like what he always did—and Tanjirou feels like he’s about to vomit.
“Please just—fuck, just turn back…” he pales, turning his back—which he knows is dangerous—as he searches for Nezuko. “NEZUKOOO…!!” where is she?!
Tanjirou hears a loud thud from under him before the boat sways harder.
From his side, the demon huffs, “I know I told you that I accept you and your sister but will you look at me for a second?”
“Shut up, don’t act like you know me at all,” Tanjirou stands up, unsheathing his sword. He tips back as the ocean sways violently.
“I do know you… the one that got away!” the demon grins, voice booming. The hair is wet, but as he moves around, he can see the cockscombs hair dancing in the wind. It’s uncanny, the wide eyes blinks owlishly as he points out, “my boy… my tsuguko… my love…”
Tanjirou decides that talking will only make it worse. Nezuko’s head ascends from the water, her claws latching onto the side of the boat. A pair of webbed fingers shoot out of the water, pulling her back in. “Shi—Nezuko!”
Without thinking, Tanjirou dives in, ignoring the one on the boat. He can see another demon, this one doesn’t shape-shift as its bugged eyes and dark scaly face glares at Tanjirou. Nezuko’s blood is everywhere, turning into dark haze surrounding his vision. =Tanjirou hauls her up, swims as fast as he can towards the boat and throws her in.
The demon on top only swings his tail back and forth, back and forth in a lazy motion. “Kamado Boy… will you come with me? There’s no one that will hurt you anymore… we can finally be together…”
Tanjirou jumps, pushing the demon off of the boat. The other one darts from behind him, its long claws slashes through Tanjirou’s clothes. But in the water, it’s easier to maneuver a water breathing form. He’s been practicing this over and over. Just like practice, Tanjirou slashes the demon’s head off. He turns to do the same to the Rengoku Impostor, but the demon swims fast, his tails disappearing between tall kelp trees.
Tanjirou swims back up, and checks on Nezuko who passes out from overexcretion before paddling in the demon's direction. He dives into the water, thrusting his sword into the demon’s chest. The demon trashes under him, long blonde hair with red tips covering his shaking head. The demon tries to climb the sandbed, crawling on the coarse rocky surface. Tanjirou realizes why this demon doesn’t walk on land. It has such a unique shape-shifting ability yet only half of its body. He corners him to a small crevice by the side of the cliff. “…what did you do to my brother?” he shakily whispers. He can’t believe he gets to see Rengoku making such a cowardly face. But here he is.
“You seem scared…” he mumbles, brandishing his sword. “What’s wrong, Rengoku-san?” he feels hollow. When Enmu lulls him to his dreamscape, Tanjirou feels dread whenever he hears his siblings talk. From the cold weather to their chatting voice, to the soft familiar feeling of the tatami under him, it mimics his house too well. He searches for every oddity but every time he finds none, the reality is being reminded over and over. In a way, the normalcy is the oddity. The only thing that doesn’t lie is time and time doesn’t bring back his family. He crouches down and calmly asks, “turn back to your original form. I can draw this longer than necessary or I can do this quick and easy, which one is it?”
“Original… form?” the demon glances down, at his gleaming sword, and mumbles, shivering in fear, “this is my original form—”
“Shut up and do it now!” Tanjirou punches the rock beside the demon, startling him.
The demon looks up, those golden eyes searching his face as fair skin pales under the dim-lit room. The demon’s lids droop, looking up at him from under those long lashes. “I can’t… Kamado Boy, how could you ask me that—”
“STOP CALLING ME THAT...!” Tanjirou raises his sword and the demon only tips his head back, defiantly showing his neck. Tanjirou’s hand starts to shake. He steps back, calming his breathing. “Please, I don’t want to do this… Rengoku-san…”
“Why… why are you crying?” Tanjirou widens his eyes and when he touches his cheeks, he’s baffled by the feeling of warm liquid. It’s not sea water nor his sweat. The tears keep rolling down his cheeks as he breathes a mouthful of air. the demon straightens his back, he folds his tails back as if to sit in seiza, his face serious. “Is it because you realized that your failure killed me? Is it because you realized that you can never stop grieving me?”
Tanjirou clutches his eye, his chest heaving as he shakes his head. No… I will never let time consume me… in this desperate moment, he plays Rengoku-san’s words in his head. Clench your teeth, look ahead, set your heart abla—
“This is me, Kamado… this is my form…” the voice grows closer, the demon’s strong and clawless fingers reach into his haori sleeve. The demon lifts his body up by the tail, looping his smooth arms around Tanjirou, pressing his chest to his side, his voice drips like sweet venom. “I am whatever you need, whatever you want. Yet, you can’t have it… that is my true blood demon art. Isn’t it fitting? Such a cruel power is a manifestation of one’s own fear and regret…” he pulls Tanjirou’s chin gently to face his wide large eyes and smile that stretches from ear to ear.
Tanjirou’s hand held his waist, not pushing nor pulling.
“Do you regret killing me?”
“Liar,” Rengoku whispers, lips inches away from his.
Tanjirou lets go, creeping back to the wall of the cave. Rengoku in his memory has a voice so gentle he can only feel tranquil even in his last moment.
Don’t feel bad that I died…
“No, I do…” he pants, his body feels heavy as his vision starts to shake, he looks down, trying to steady his footing. “I do regret that I couldn’t help you. Every day I wished to go back to that night. Maybe I know I can never be good enough… but the real Rengoku-san won’t ever say such a thing…” he says, more to himself. “Such a flawed and weak blood demon art… you can only do so much; you will never mimic the real thing.”
The demon stops smiling as Tanjirou looks up with emotionless eyes.
Before the demon can move, Tanjirou launches, “Hinokami Kagura… Dance.”
Tanjirou dangles one leg by the side of the cliff. He watches as people gather on the beach. Lanterns glow, creating a path to each of the mikoshi. About eight mikoshi are hauled by the shoulders. “Dokkoi…! Dokkoi…! Dokkoi…!” the slaps of their synchronized getas followed the beat of their chants, almost defeating the sounds of waves crashing. When he looks forward, dawn breaks, and streaks of orange embrace the lonely grey. He gulps a gourd full of fresh water, sighing as he wipes his lips. He stands up, caressing the side of the box. He can hear Nezuko humming inside,
Tanjirou smiles, warm and gentle. “Nezuko, let’s go.”
