Chapter 9: Kamado Nezuko Knocks Him Out!
"Nanaha-kun, be careful. The demon in front of you may already be at the level of a Lower Rank!" Kanae warned nervously.
"Yeah... but I don't think there's any need to worry just yet."
"Huh? What do you mean? Nanaha-kun, don't underestimate Lower Rank demons. They're much stronger than ordinary demons!" Kanae was afraid that his rapid growth in strength during this period had made him overconfident, so she hurriedly warned him.
"It's not that I'm looking down on her..." Nanaha raised a finger and pointed upward. "It's still daytime. I don't think that demon would dare come out yet."
"Ah!" Kanae immediately realized it, and her face flushed red.
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, she had actually forgotten something so important...
No, it had to be because it was too dark...
Dark?
That's right, it was getting dark...
Nanaha noticed it too. Since just now, clouds had been gathering overhead without pause, and very soon...
the sunlight would be completely covered by dark clouds!
Nanaha immediately looked toward Nezuko at the doorway.
One of Nezuko's feet had already stepped outside.
She was waiting.
Waiting for the sun to disappear!
The sun was being swallowed up by the clouds very quickly, and Nanaha had no intention of leaving anyway.
If he left, Nezuko would run around, and if the clouds suddenly scattered, she might not be able to dodge in time and could very well be burned by the sun.
And besides...
he could not use his blood blade either!
"Although I don't know why this demon is in Mr. Urokodaki's house, Nanaha-kun, you must protect yourself!" Kanae did not know Nezuko's identity or story.
"Yeah!"
Nanaha nodded, his tone turning much more serious.
He gripped the ordinary blade in his hand.
The moment the dark clouds completely covered the sun,
Nezuko moved!
Power gathered in her legs, and in the blink of an eye, she charged straight at Nanaha!
"So fast!"
Nanaha was utterly shocked. Nezuko's speed was completely different from the two demons he had encountered before.
She was incredibly fast, and at the instant she rushed over, Nezuko's body grew a size larger.
Even Kanae was deeply surprised.
She was basically no different from a Lower Rank demon Kanae had encountered before!
A beautiful pale leg with elegant patterns swept toward Nanaha.
Nanaha quickly bent down to dodge. Behind him happened to be a thick tree.
Nezuko's kick landed squarely on that tree.
Boom!
A heavy muffled crash exploded, wood chips flying everywhere. The thick trunk was actually snapped clean through by that single kick, letting out a groan under the strain before crashing down to one side!
Nanaha raised his head and stared at the fierce little... big girl in front of him, completely stunned.
"Mmph!"
Nezuko was incomparably violent right now. Drool dripped uncontrollably from the edge of the bamboo gag, and those crimson eyes locked tightly onto Nanaha.
What churned inside them was the most primitive desire to prey, like a beast staring at fresh flesh and blood.
"She's not actually trying to eat me, is she?" Nanaha could not help saying.
Even Kanae agreed.
"It certainly looks that way. She's this agitated, so it seems your blood is not unpleasant to every demon."
"Mmph—!"
Nezuko charged at Nanaha again, and he raised his blade to block.
With a loud clang, the huge force transmitted through the blade made his arms go numb, and his feet carved two long tracks into the snow.
Nanaha's stubborn resistance only irritated Nezuko even more.
She was very hungry now!
And the scent coming from Nanaha was so alluring that she had completely lost her reason.
"Kanae, is there any way to make her faint? The sun might come out again soon."
"Huh? You want to keep her alive?"
Nanaha found a suitable excuse.
"She's inside Mr. Urokodaki's house. What if Mr. Urokodaki left her here on purpose?"
Naturally, Nanaha could not tell Kanae what he already knew, so he made up an excuse.
"That makes sense. You can attack a little above the back of her neck. If the force is strong enough, she should lose consciousness for a short while." Kanae told him, while also warning him of the danger. "But that demon isn't easy to approach. Be careful."
Nanaha nodded.
"Yeah, I know."
Although Nezuko's attacks were ferocious, they were disorderly.
This time, Nanaha moved forward to meet her head-on—
"Flower Breathing, Third Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!"
This technique was one of Flower Breathing's more defense-oriented forms, and Nanaha swiftly neutralized all of Nezuko's attacks.
Countless flashes of blade light scattered through the air like petals in wild motion.
It also had the effect of confusing Nezuko's vision.
Nanaha's body slipped forward like a fish through water, and the distance between him and Nezuko rapidly narrowed. In an instant, he reversed his grip on the blade, turning the thick spine of the sword toward the target, calculating the angle and strength, preparing to strike precisely at the back of her neck—
"Don't bully my little sister—!!!"
Just as Nanaha was about to bring the blade down, a loud voice suddenly rang out. Nanaha instinctively glanced to the side and saw blazing red—
A boy charged straight at him, and in the instant Nanaha froze, the boy slammed into his chest.
Before Nanaha could react, the boy grabbed his shoulders.
And before Nanaha could say anything, the boy shouted with that huge voice of his,
"I'm sorry—"
Bang—
Nanaha felt as though his forehead had been hit by a speeding car. In an instant, dizziness overwhelmed him.
His eyes rolled white—
His life flashed before his eyes—
It was as though he had returned to his original world, forcing a smile on the internet like some clown...
—
"Ah!"
Nanaha jolted awake. Noisy voices rang in his ears.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Nezuko, Nezuko, please calm down! He's human, he's a companion, not food!"
"Mmph..."
Nezuko struggled in the boy's arms for quite a while, but she seemed to grow tired and slowly fell asleep.
"I'm..."
Nanaha slowly sat up. The moment his hand touched his forehead, the violent dizziness and splitting pain there made him suck in a cold breath.
"Hiss—"
"Ah, you're awake!"
When the boy saw Nanaha wake up, he first carefully laid the sleeping Nezuko flat on the tatami beside him, then immediately turned back to Nanaha so quickly that he stirred the air.
Then, with a thump, he dropped into a perfect dogeza, pressing his forehead tightly against the tatami in front of Nanaha.
"Um, I'm truly very sorry for hitting you with my head. Please wait until I have money, I'll definitely compensate you!"
Nanaha's head was still spinning.
The boy frantically apologizing in front of him was none other than the protagonist of this story, Kamado Tanjiro.
Ah, now he remembered.
Back when he had been struggling with Nezuko, it was Tanjiro who had rushed over and knocked him out with a headbutt.
After all, Tanjiro had once been jokingly called the Head Hashira by so many people!
That hit really had been fierce. Nanaha had now experienced it for himself...
"It's not really a problem..." Nanaha sat up while enduring the dizziness and looked around. It was a simple but tidy Japanese-style room, and he himself was lying on laid-out bedding. "By the way, this is..."
"Huh? You don't remember?" Tanjiro suddenly raised his head, his face even more worried, his eyes almost turning red. "As expected, was that headbutt too hard? Did it make you lose your recent memories? I'm really sorry, I'll definitely take responsibility!"
What kind of nonsense was this kid going on about?
"Hm? You're awake?"
Just as Nanaha was still confused, an old man wearing a light blue kimono and a tengu mask walked in.
"Butterfly Nanaha, if you want me to accept you as my disciple, then come outside with me after you've rested."
"Butterfly... Nanaha?"