Chapter 21

## Tsuzumi Mansion

**Tsuzumi Mansion** (鼓 (つづみ) 屋 (や) 敷 (しき) , *Tsuzumi Yashiki*?) is the twenty-first chapter of Koyoharu Gotoge's Kimetsu no Yaiba.

## Summary

Tanjiro distraughtly realizes the man that fell out of the house is now dead, upset at the amount of pain he must've felt. The older child tells him their brother was wearing a persimmon-colored kimino and the man that had just perished was not him. Tanjiro internally apologizes to the deceased man, promising to give him a burial when he returns. He calls for Zenitsu to join him on the mission to defeat the demon in the house, but after looking at Zenitsu's distressed face, angrily goes on alone. Scared by Tanjiro's furious expression, Zenitsu reluctantly tags along. Before they enter the house, Tanjiro entrusts Nezuko's box to the two children, telling them that what's in the box will protect them in case of danger.

As the two Demon Slayers enter the house, Zenitsu trembles and confides in Tanjiro to protect him. He apologizes to him, saying he has multiple broken bones and Zenitsu cries in shock, protesting that he was no longer safe without someone to protect him despite Tanjiro's attempts to comfort him. Unexpectedly, the children run inside the house, frightened by the noises coming out of Tanjiro's box and a dismayed Tanjiro tells them they couldn't just leave it outside as it was more important than his life.

Suddenly, the group hears a sound and accidentally gets separated , Zenitsu with the boy and Tanjiro with the girl. The latter pair is stunned to see the room change, with Tanjiro noticing how it shifted with a drum's beat. He apologizes to her for separating from her brother and vows to protect her, wiping her tears. Asking for her name, she answers she is Teruko. They hear footsteps and are shocked by the sudden presence of a giant demon in the hallway. Tanjiro immediately deciphers him to be the master of the house; his scent was the strongest and covered a broad range of the building.

Somewhere else, Zenitsu wails about his certain death while the boy, Shoichi, simultaneously calls out for Teruko. Zenitsu pulls Shoichi and tells him they should go outside, but Shoichi turns around and reprimands him for his cowardice. Zenitsu is hurt by his words and argues that children should not be involved in this situation. They make their way down the hall and through doors, but fail to find the entrance. Opening a particular set of doors, Zenitsu comes face-to-face with an individual wearing a boar hide mask. Zenitsu calls him a monster, and the individual runs out of the room and rushes through a hallway.

Elsewhere, Tanjiro covers Teruko's mouth, informing her not to scream and to hide behind the shelves. The demon then speaks, annoyed at the number of people barging into his home and ranting about "my prey". Tanjiro faces the demon head-on, introduces himself as a Demon Slayer and the one that will defeat him. It ignores him and mutters about found children with "marechi" as Tanjiro goes to attack. However, the demon suddenly beats a drum and the entire room rotates, Tanjiro speculating the change to be a result of the demon's Blood Demon Art. He senses a new smell and the boar-masked individual crashes through the wall.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Tanjiro Kamado
* Zenitsu Agatsuma
* Teruko
* Shoichi
* Kyogai
* Inosuke Hashibira

## Events

* Tanjiro and Zenitsu enter the mansion.
* The children, Shoichi and Teruko, follow them and the four are separated in pairs.
* Tanjiro and Teruko see the mansion's strongest demon.
* Zenitsu and Shoichi find a stranger wearing a boar mask.