Nezuko Overcame the Sunlight

After flashing a radiant smile, Nezuko hurried over to Chinatsu and threw herself into her arms.

Chinatsu was baffled. It's only been a few days. How did Nezuko overcome sunlight on her own? Surely she didn't just get bored and decide to give it a try?

"N-Nezuko? How... how come you're suddenly not afraid of sunlight?" Chinatsu looked down at the delighted Nezuko in her arms and asked in confusion.

Just then, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke heard the commotion outside and hurried out of the house.

"Sis? You're back!"

Seeing that his big sister had returned, Tanjiro was delighted too.

For Nezuko and Tanjiro, even a week or two apart felt like a very, very long time. They were family, after all, and had grown up together. Never mind a week or two-they could count on one hand the times they had gone even a day or two without seeing each other.

Tanjiro called out and was about to throw himself at Chinatsu too, but she whipped her palm up with a swish, forcibly blocking his approach.

Chinatsu gave Tanjiro a dead-eyed look, then glanced at Nezuko in her arms before saying, "Aren't you going to explain what's going on with Nezuko first?"

Tanjiro froze at her words. Looking a little embarrassed, he turned his head aside and scratched his cheek with a finger.

Nezuko stepped back out of Chinatsu's arms and stood beside Tanjiro. She raised one finger. Although she was nervous too, she bravely stepped forward to "protect" her brother.

"S-Sis, about that... here's what happened..."

It had all started when Chinatsu and Kyojuro's clashing blades caused an explosion.

Worried about Chinatsu, Tanjiro's body had moved before his mind could catch up. He turned and sprinted toward the Training Ground where she was.

After taking off their blindfolds, Zenitsu and Inosuke noticed the commotion coming from the Training Ground too, and hurried over with rapidly pounding footsteps.

Less than ten seconds after the two ran off, Nezuko emerged from a room. She looked around and discovered that her sister, her brother, and even Zenitsu and Inosuke were all gone. A powerful sense of unease welled up inside her.

After becoming a Demon, her physical abilities had improved dramatically, and that naturally included all five of her senses.

There's so much noise coming from the Training Ground. It sounds like a fight... Sis and my brother seem to be over there!

Nezuko approached the edge of the room and looked outside, where just one more step would bring her into the sunlight. She pressed her lips together and clenched her fists.

Has something happened? Are Sis and my brother in danger? I want to go help, but it's daytime.

Nezuko pressed her lips together and lowered her head. As a Demon, she feared sunlight. Even though she had never been exposed to so much as a sliver of it since her transformation, her body still instinctively recoiled at the very idea.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered a conversation she had once had with her sister back in Urokodaki's cabin.

"Sis, maybe you and my brother should just leave me here. Look at me. I'm so weak, and I'm afraid of sunlight. If I go with you, I'll only hold you back..."

Back then, Nezuko's slow progress in Water Breathing and swordsmanship, coupled with the fast-approaching day when she would begin going on missions with Chinatsu and Tanjiro, had left her feeling inferior.

Chinatsu, who was nearby, noticed what was troubling her. She walked over to Nezuko and gently stroked her head.

"How could you ever be a burden, Nezuko? You're so cu- ahem. Think about it, Nezuko. You're a Demon who overcame her thirst for blood. You're one of a kind. Maybe one day you'll overcome sunlight too."

Chinatsu comforted Nezuko. Although she wasn't particularly good at reassuring people, Nezuko still took her words to heart.

She tipped her head up slightly toward the sealed window in the room and murmured softly.

"If only I really could stop being afraid of sunlight..."

As that memory surfaced in Nezuko's mind, she suddenly had an absurd and dangerous idea, though she couldn't say why.

Should I try? Maybe I should?

I can regenerate too. I'll just stick my hand out and see. If it hurts, I'll pull it back right away...

Had Tanjiro been there, he never would have let Nezuko try something like that so casually. But he wasn't there at the time, which was precisely why he had been too embarrassed to answer Chinatsu's question.

Nezuko gulped nervously, then slowly reached her trembling hand outside.

The instant her hand touched the sunlight, she lowered her head, a pained expression crossing her face.

Sunlight fell on her skin. Those gentle rays became deadly beams, scorching her flesh.

Just as Nezuko was about to pull her hand back from the pain, she suddenly felt it begin to fade.

Huh? Am I imagining it?

Nezuko slowly opened her eyes and cautiously looked at her outstretched hand.

Her hand was no longer burning in the sunlight, and the burns it had initially suffered were gradually healing.

Nezuko's eyes shrank to tiny dots in astonishment. She pulled her hand back and stared, dumbfounded, at the palm that had just experienced the sun's searing rays.

It's fine? It really seems to be fine?!

"C-Could it be that I really... don't have to fear sunlight?"

Nezuko blinked blankly, looking just like a child who had gotten a brand-new toy, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

What about my other arm?

Hiss... that hurts... Wait, it doesn't hurt anymore?

The pain lasted only two or three seconds before the burning sensation vanished completely. After confirming it a second time, a brilliant star seemed to sparkle in each of Nezuko's eyes.

Then Nezuko began a series of "back-and-forth tests" that would have made the Demon King Muzan weep with envy had he seen them.

One leg!

Now the other leg!

Three! Two! One!

Here goes nothing!

Nezuko took a deep breath and stepped outside, exposing herself fully to the sunlight. The searing pain passed in an instant, and once it had completely disappeared, she threw both arms up and cheered with joy.

From Nezuko's account, Chinatsu could roughly picture what had happened. Nezuko still had one finger raised and was grinning as she praised her own cleverness, oblivious to the Hand Chop Chinatsu brought straight down onto her forehead.

"Ow! Sis, what was that for?!"

Nezuko squeezed her eyes shut in pain and meekly raised both hands to cradle her head. Chinatsu looked at her in exasperation, unsure what to say.

Although Nezuko discovering that she could overcome sunlight was a good thing in the end, she had been far too reckless this time. Even Chinatsu, who knew the original story, had listened with her heart in her throat.

The original plot could only serve as a reference, after all. Once she had entered this world, it had ceased to be the original story. At best, it could only be called fan fiction.

What if her interference had changed the course of the entire world? What if Nezuko's body had lost the ability to overcome sunlight? The mere thought frightened Chinatsu.

Ultimately, Chinatsu still didn't believe everything would go as smoothly as she hoped.

She wasn't a god. She had simply happened to travel to this world and become a unique presence within it.

There were far, far too many uncertain factors she needed to consider and handle with care, all so this story could reach a happy ending where everyone turned out all right...