Three days later Tanjiro felt the side effects of the drug. On the first day of those ensuing symptoms, he was bedridden with a high fever that wasn't going down any sooner. His family was worried. Everyone treated him as much as they could. But the symptoms only worsen. The next day, his whole body ached. The pain was as if an elephant was stomping over his body. At certain nights he would slightly moan, trying his best not to wake up anyone. It was only in the fifth day, that the symptoms waned. The fever was no more. But strangely Tanjiro has lost his sense of taste. He was hungry but the food didn't taste the same. The miso soup taste blend. The rice was pasty and sticked all around his mouth. He ate a little and swallowed all the rest with a glass of water. His mother was worried that he was still ill.
During afternoon hours, Tanjiro's mother called Nezuko.
"Nezuko, go to the village and bring some medicine for Tanjiro. Here, takes this money. I'm afraid that Tanjiro could have contracted the disease from the village. Please God save him. Nezuko go at once and bring the medicine for your brother. Come back soon." She said, wiping the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Ok mother I will be going right now." she replied.
Nezuko knew about the strange medicine his brother drank. She suspected that all these ailments might have been due to that drug. But she refrained herself from telling her mother to protect the promise she made. At the front door she was wearing her sandals when Shigeru called from behind.
"Onii chan where are you going?" he asked timidly.
"I'm going to the village to buy some medicine. So, please look after the house." She said while patting Shigeru's head.
"Please come back soon." He said and waved his hand.
Nezuko bought the medicine and headed toward her home. It already been dusk when she finally reached. She opened the door and called to Tanjiro –
"Onii chan wake up. I have brought medicines."
On the doorstep, near her feet lied a severed hand. When she shifted her gazed upwards, a dreadful scene came into view. The floor and walls were bathed with blood. In the door way there was a heap of corpses of her mother and siblings. All of their hands and limbs severed. Her mother's head lied at the base of the heap. And above the heap sat Tanjiro, his back towards Nezuko; while chewing the hand of his brother, Shigeru. Nezuko call had attracted his noticed and he turned his head towards her. He witnessed the shocked expression that Nezuko had on her face. He dropped the hand. And with a visage filled with sorrow and guilt, asked her.
"Forgive me Nezuko. I could no longer hold it back. Please don't look at me like that. Come to your brother."
He stretched his arms and started heading towards her. Nezuko terrified took her steps backward.
"Monster!" she shouted and ran down the mountain. She didn't dare to look back.
At the edge of the village, she stopped and went into a house. The owner of the house noticed her. She asked her why she was so scared but she couldn't make herself speak even a word. It took an hour for Nezuko to calm down. After which she told the owner what had happened. The owner found it hard to believe, but she knew Nezuko wasn't lying. She took two men from the village along with Nezuko and journeyed toward the crime scene. She thought
"There is certainly something strange happening in the village."