Outside the wooden house.
The clear sunlight slowly penetrated through the clouds, falling from the sky in bundles, looking out from the wooden house, through the dense forest, the town at the foot of the mountain was just bathed in sunlight.
The accumulated snow slowly melted.
In the woods.
"Father? What's wrong with Father?" Shigeru was bending over to pick up the scattered firewood on the ground. When he heard the words, he turned his head in surprise, his tone seemed a bit incredulous:
"Sister Nezuko, is it true? Father woke up?!"
The firewood that Shigeru had just picked up was scattered on the ground again.
Nezuko stood in front of Shigeru, she was holding Rokuta, and nodded excitedly several times:
"That's right, Shigeru, you go and call Takeo back, we don't need to cut trees today."
Nezuko's face was full of joy, she was holding Rokuta, because she had been running all the way, her breathing was a bit rushed, and her speech speed unconsciously became faster:
"Hanako and mother are already at home, hurry up."
After speaking, Nezuko held the drowsy Rokuta and turned to leave.
After Shigeru confirmed that the news was true, he let go of his hands, turned his head and shouted into the woods behind him:
"Brother Takeo!!"
"Father woke up!! Come back quickly!"
...
...
Inside the wooden house.
Soon, Nezuko, Shigeru, and Takeo all rushed back.
The Kamado family is all gathered in the room at the moment, except for Tanjiro who went down the mountain to sell charcoal.
Nezuko, Takeo, Hanako, their heads huddled together, looking towards the middle of the room, where their father used to be.
"Cough cough cough..."
At this moment, Kamado Tanjuro is coughing slightly, he is breathing deeply, with Kie's help, he sits up stiffly.
"Father!"
Seeing Tanjuro sit up, Takeo can't help but shout excitedly:
"Father, is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?"
For a moment, all the children crowded around.
"That's great." Hanako hugged Nezuko next to her, seeing her father safe and sound, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Kamado Tanjuro is slightly panting, looking up at the children who came to his side, the weakness of this body really exceeded his imagination:
"Takeo, Shigeru." He said.
"You've grown up."
Takeo nodded vigorously, he was afraid that if he paused for a moment, tears and snot seemed to burst out: "Yes!"
"You're so old, and you're still crying." Shigeru, with red eyes, said to his brother.
"Aren't you too!" Takeo immediately retorted.
Kamado Tanjuro smiled slightly, his gaze slowly swept over each of his children, and then slowly stretched out his arms.
Plop.
He hugged everyone who came over, including Kie.
Takeo and Shigeru, who were trying hard not to cry, were slightly stunned, and then hugged everyone together.
A family hug.
"...It's so good to be able to come back at this time."
Kamado Tanjuro murmured softly, he hugged his family, the reunion he had longed for for more than thirty years was realized at this moment.
At least when he woke up, his family was still safe.
He closed his eyes slightly, and his rough and calloused hands touched his children's heads.
He felt everything here.
Deep red hair fell down, because of a year of sleep, and no maintenance, the length of the hair has reached the waist.
Kamado Tanjuro adjusted his breathing rhythm and enjoyed the short beauty of family reunion.
.....Even above everyone's heads.
.....That blood-red "danger" character, from the moment Tanjuro woke up to now, has never stopped flashing.
Tanjuro quietly raised his headhe warning..... in his heart was like a needle prickling his back.
After not seeing Tanjiro's figure, he probably guessed what the upcoming danger was.
...
After a long time.
"Thank you."
Kamado Tanjuro is slowly standing up with the help of Kie and Takeo.
The waist-length hair, under Kamado Tanjuro's intention, was tied into a high ponytail hanging behind his head.
"Father, you just fell asleep suddenly for a whole year, which made us so worried!"
Shigeru was dancing with his hands and feet on the side, describing what had happened in this year:
"And also, that bear, it's really big!"
Tanjuro rubbed Shigeru's buzz cut.
.....So that's it.
.....My body here didn't die, it just fell asleep?
Thinking about it, Tanjuro's heart rose with a hint of doubt - then now, will the ninja body on my lone wolf side suddenly fall asleep?
Tanjuro was exercising his body while listening to his children's childish words with a smile.
The body that has been lying for a year, although there are family members to take care of, exercise the body, but muscle atrophy and stiffness are inevitable.
"Kie." After Kamado Tanjuro stood up, he was exercising his legs, although the range could not be too large.
"What's wrong?" Kie looked up when she heard the words, and looked at her husband worriedly: "Is there anywhere that can't be used?"
Seeing Tanjuro shook his head, Kie's expression gradually became puzzled, and then she loosened her frowning eyebrows as if she realized something, and said softly:
"Tanjiro? That child is fine, he just insisted on going down the mountain to sell charcoal today."
"Don't worry, that child... has always been strong."
Kie, held her husband arm, accompanied him as he slowly sat on the extended corridor outside the house.
— Yes, Tanjiro has always been strong.
Tanjuro didn't answer, but gently placed his hand on Kie's, holding it lightly.
Kie was also used to Tanjuro's quiet nature, after all, he had always been like this.
Hearing his wife's words, Tanjuro affirmed his inner thoughts.
— Probably, the warning he felt in Sekiro's world was also because of this.
The "danger" character above his head was also flashing more and more frequently as time passed.
He looked up at the sky under the eaves.
The winter sky was a bit foggy, but there was much less at this moment at noon.
— The opening plot of the manga "Demon Slayer".
— It was a certain day in winter a year after Kamado Tanjuro died, when the eldest son Tanjiro went down the mountain to sell charcoal alone.
When he came back, the whole family was slaughtered by the "Demon King", and only his sister Nezuko survived in the world as a man-eating demon.
Now, it seems that because of his special nature, he did not die as he did in the original work.
Instead, he slept for a year.
Today, a year later, it happens to be winter again, and Tanjiro is going down the mountain to sell charcoal.
He himself, due to a strong warning and some unknown reason, woke up from Sekiro's world and returned here.
The warning is the warning of the Ninja "Wolf".
When faced with a life-and-death crisis, the Ninja will instinctively give a warning from the bottom of his heart.
It is a strong survival instinct.
In the game, it is manifested as a red "danger" character appearing above the head.
It is the same now.
Based on various conditions, Tanjuro came up with his own answer.
The content of that warning is most likely — the "Demon King" is coming.
This can also explain why this warning is unprecedentedly strong.
In the original manga, Tanjiro went out in the morning on the first day.
On the first night, he was reminded by the old man at the foot of the mountain that there were evil spirits at night, and he was persuaded to stay overnight.
The tragedy of the Kamado family happened on this night.
Knowing all of this, Kamado Tanjuro naturally would not allow everything to happen as it did before.
If it goes according to the time in the original manga.
That "Demon King" — Kibutsuji Muzan.
Will come to the Kamado house tonight.
Kamado Tanjuro lowered his eyes and thought carefully.
He himself is going to make full preparations before that.