Was that why Sanemi resisted Tanjiro's words with such fury, that impossible truth that "Nezuko doesn't devour humans"?
Why did he have to wound Nezuko, drive the weapon into his own flesh, bleed in front of everyone just to prove that "demons ALWAYS devour humans"?
Because he couldn't allow himself to believe that there existed a single demon capable of holding back.
And much less could he bear the idea that in this world there could be a demon… that didn't eat people.
Because…
When his mother transformed, the first ones she tried to devour were him and his little brother.
Because…
To protect his own life and that of his brother, he himself, with his own hands, had had to kill her.
Her. The only light that lit up that home shattered by beatings and violence.
That was why his brother hated him. That was why he hated himself to the depths of his soul.
If… if demons truly could refrain from devouring humans…
If Nezuko was capable of holding back out of affection, out of love…
Then, why had his mother wanted to devour them?
Could it be that… deep down, his mother had never loved them enough?
Or did it mean that… he had killed with his own hands a mother who could still have been saved?
NO! He didn't dare even brush against that thought!
That's why he denied it with desperation, with rage, with every fiber of his being.
Marcus's gaze changed. The distaste was still there, but now it was intertwined with a hint of compassion.
Before the astonished eyes of the Pillars, Sanemi's body lifted off the ground and was left suspended in front of Marcus.
"L-Let me go, you son of a—!"
Gripped by panic, he flailed his bandaged arms and legs, but his body, pushed to the brink of exhaustion, didn't have the slightest chance of breaking free from the grip of the invisible Arrows.
Marcus pulled him even closer and looked him straight in the eye.
"I can prove it to you."
With those words, he brought a finger to his lips and blew. A pink current wrapped around the fingertip and traced a clean cut on Sanemi's arm. The bandage tore. The blood spurted out instantly.
Shinobu sighed, defeated.
"Marcus-kun, I'm begging you. Stop making Shinazugawa bleed."
"Relax. He's not going to die from this."
He turned his full attention back to Sanemi.
"You've got very rare blood, and from the look on your face, you know perfectly well how irresistible it is to a demon. If even Nezuko doesn't so much as look at you with it right in front of her… would you be willing to believe that a demon can refrain from devouring humans?"
"IMPOSSIBLE!!"
Sanemi looked at him with a sickly hatred, the veins in his eyes about to burst.
"No demon… NOT ONE… CAN STOP EATING HUMANS!"
"If it weren't for Nezuko, I wouldn't trust the experiment to give them their humanity back either. But…"
That said, Marcus brought Nezuko in front of him.
When he saw her, a twisted, arrogant smile crept onto Sanemi's face.
"You asked for this!" He fixed his eyes on the girl. "Demon! Come here! Eat! I know you're hungry, GODDAMN IT! EAT!!"
His voice was cracking from so much roaring.
"Show them all what you are! A demon is a demon! A beast that devours humans! And never, NEVER, will you be a human again!"
However…
"Mmm?"
Nezuko simply tilted her head.
The veins on Sanemi's forehead bulged until they looked about ready to burst.
"What do you mean 'mmh'?! It's time to eat, I'm telling you to bite me, goddammit!"
Smack
A dry whack landed on Sanemi's head.
"Don't yell at her," said Marcus, with a calm that only enraged him further.
"Tsk!"
Sanemi spat on the ground and, without saying a word, channeled his Breath of Wind. He didn't give a damn whether he died trying — he forced the small wound until the blood gushed out in spurts, soaking the bandage and dripping down his fingers.
The metallic smell flooded the air in an instant.
"This should be enough, right? Come on, demon. Bite me. BITE ME."
His face was losing its color by the second and his expression was falling apart, swinging between rage and something close to madness.
But Nezuko just looked at him, confused.
Her big eyes were blinking without the slightest trace of hunger, without the faintest spark of desire. If anything, what showed in them was something closer to… disgust.
The smile froze on Sanemi's lips.
"How… how is this possible…"
He whipped his head toward Marcus, refusing to accept what he was seeing. "Y-You're tricking me, aren't you? Has this demon's sense of smell gone bad or what?!"
And then, just as he was speaking, Nezuko moved.
A triumphant flash crossed Sanemi's eyes.
You can't hold back, can you? Finally you're gonna—
…Huh.
He stood petrified as he watched Nezuko slip her hand inside her haori and pull out a small cookie.
And with some reluctance, like someone sharing a treasure, she brought it close to the lips of the stupefied Sanemi.
"Nom!"
Nezuko puffed out her cheeks and mimicked an adorable chewing gesture, while gently nudging the cookie a little closer to his mouth.
The message was unmistakable: eat, it's good.
Sanemi stared at the little bear-shaped cookie in front of his mouth.
A cookie?!
Do demons… eat cookies?
…Is a cookie tastier than my blood?
He parted his lips slightly, but the light in his eyes was slowly fading.
Could it be… that I really was wrong?
My brother… he's right… I-I'm… a murderer…
D-Did I… kill… mom?
Sanemi's heart broke…
That mother who loved him so much, who used her own body to shield him from his father's atrocities…
Suddenly, his lips moved.
Sweet…
So sweet…
It tastes… like sakuramochi…
When he came back to himself, Nezuko's adorable face was right in front of him, and between his lips… that little bear-shaped cookie.
On instinct, he took a bite of that sweetness, and Nezuko's smile turned even more radiant.
"Hmm~!"
Stretching out her little hand, Nezuko stroked Sanemi's hair, like a reward for being a good boy. It was exactly the same thing Tamayo did with her every time they drew her blood for the experiments.
If you bleed, you eat a little cookie and you'll feel better.
If they pet you on the head, it doesn't hurt anymore.
What she couldn't have imagined was the impact that simple gesture had on the heart of that ill-tempered man, who his whole life had dragged around a devouring guilt and a thirst for affection that had never been quenched.
Sanemi's vision began to blur.
Before his eyes, Nezuko's figure slowly melted into the deepest shadow of his memory.
That guilt-ridden comfort his mother offered him after every beating from his father.
'Sanemi, don't be afraid… mom's here… mom will always be here…'
With his eyes full of tears, Sanemi stared at the figure in front of him…
"Mo… mmy…"
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