Sunset Slayer

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/39438936.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category: F/M, M/M, F/F
Fandom: 鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime), 鬼滅の刃 |
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Manga)
Relationship: Kamado Tanjirou/Rengoku Senjurou, Kamado Family & Kamado
Tanjirou, Kamado Kie/Kamado Tanjuro (Past), Kamado Kie/Saburou
(Kimetsu no Yaiba), Kamado Nezuko/Tsuyuri Kanao, Akaza |
Hakuji/Rengoku Kyoujurou
Character: Kamado Tanjirou, Kamado Nezuko, Kamado Kie, Kamado Takeo,
Kamado Hanako, Kamado Shigeru, Kamado Rokuta, Saburou (Kimetsu
no Yaiba), Rengoku Senjurou, Tomioka Giyuu, Urokodaki Sakonji,
Kibutsuji Muzan, Rengoku Kyoujurou, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Agatsuma
Zenitsu, Kaigaku (Kimetsu no Yaiba), Kuwajima Jigorou, Tamayo
(Kimetsu no Yaiba), Yushiro (Kimetsu no Yaiba), Susamaru (Kimetsu
no Yaiba), Kyogai | Drum Demon (Kimetsu no Yaiba), Hashibira
Inosuke, Mother Spider Demon (Kimetsu no Yaiba), Rui (Kimetsu no
Yaiba), Kochou Shinobu, Tsuyuri Kanao, Shinazugawa Genya, Kiyoshi
(Kimetsu no Yaiba), Shoichi (Kimestu no Yaiba), Teruko (Kimetsu no
Yaiba), Akaza | Hakuji (Kimetsu no Yaiba)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demon Kamado Tanjirou,
Demon Slayer Kamado Tanjirou, Demon Slayer Kamado Nezuko, The
Kamado Family Lives (Kimetsu no Yaiba), Tsugikuni Yoriichi is
Kamado Tanjirou's Ancestor, Rengoku Kyoujurou Lives, Breath of the
Sun User Kamado Tanjirou, Breath of Water User Kamado Nezuko,
Former Hashira Kamado Tanjuro, Protective Kamado Tanjirou,
Overpowered Kamado Tanjirou, BAMF Kamado Tanjirou, BAMF
Kamado Nezuko, Demon King Kamado Tanjirou, Rui Lives (Kimetsu no
Yaiba), Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga Spoilers, Pillar Kamado Tanjirou
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-06-05 Updated: 2022-07-06 Chapters: 14/? Words:
61922

Sunset Slayer
by OllieWritesAll

Summary

When Rokuta wouldn't settle down for anyone but Tanjiro, he and Nezuko swapped places
on that fateful day. She went down to the village to sell charcoal while he stayed behind
with a growing sense of dread as the smell of blood and death lingered on their mountain.
Muzan attacked the Kamados that night. However, when the first thing he saw upon
entering their household was Tanjiro, with his red eyes and red hair and hanafuda earrings,
he quickly gave into his sadistic need for revenge against a man long dead.

Tanjiro was turned into a demon, and Muzan let the rest of his family live. He was sure that
 the boy would wake up and devour everyone, thoroughly sullying Yoriichi's legacy. Tanjiro
did no such thing. Tomioka Giyu did not pay a visit to the Kamado family until well over a
year later, and with these small but significant differences, everything changed.

Come along on a journey with a demon Tanjiro who manages to become a demon slayer
regardless. With his family at his back and his sister fighting by his side, there's nothing
Tanjiro can't do.

Notes

So... Here I am with yet another Demon Slayer AU that wouldn't leave me alone. We're in
for the long haul with this one.
 Chapter 1

“Onii-chan! You push yourself too hard!”

Tanjiro blinked, looking back at Nezuko with an amused grin. “I’m just going to sell some
charcoal. I’ll be back before the storm rolls in, promise!” His little siblings had been looking
forward to celebrating the New Year for months now, and Tanjiro wanted to provide them a feast
that lived up to the excitement. They wouldn’t be able to safely get back down to the village for
weeks after the upcoming snowstorm.

Nezuko sighed, rocking Rokuta as his cries pierced the silence of the forest around them. “He
wants you, onii-chan. You look the most like Dad and…” Rokuta was grieving the loss of their
father just as fiercely as everyone else. There were days when even their mother couldn’t soothe
him, and Tanjiro always stepped in to look after him then. It was becoming apparent that today was
one of those days.

“But the New Year… I don’t want to let everyone down.”

“You couldn’t do that if you tried,” Nezuko scoffed. “But how about this? If you take care of
Rokuta today, then I’ll go down to the village and sell charcoal! I’ve been wanting to look at fabric
for new haoris anyway.”

Tanjiro’s eyes softened, and when Rokuta desperately reached out to him, his mind was already
made up. “Thank you, Nezuko. Be careful, okay? Don’t force yourself to come back tonight if
starts getting late! You know Saburo-san will let you stay with him for the night if you need to.”

“Yeah, yeah, you worry too much, onii-chan!”

Tanjiro sat the charcoal basket down before taking Rokuta into his arms, a soft smile spreading
across his face as his baby brother’s cries quieted down into distressed whimpers. “I’m the oldest;
it’s my job to worry about everyone.”

Nezuko only gave him a sad look before ruffling his hair and saying, “Please, just worry about
yourself for once. I don’t want to watch you run yourself into the ground for us; let us help you.”

There was a heaviness in the air that Tanjiro didn’t know how to dispel, so he did what he did best;
agreed to whatever was wanted of him so long as it made others happy. “... I will. Thank you! Have
a safe journey, Nezuko!”

“I will! Get some rest for once, onii-chan! Nap with Rokuta!”

He walked back to their home, giving his mother a sheepish smile as he carried the now sleeping
Rokuta inside. “Did you decide not to go after all? The snow is getting heavier, so I wouldn’t
blame you.”

“Nezuko is heading down! She wanted to go to the village, and, well, Rokuta wasn’t having
anyone else stay by his side today, so…”

“You’re a good brother, Tanjiro.” Kie ran her hands through his hair, fixing it for him with a
content smile. “Thank you. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Tanjiro loved his family more than anything else in the whole world. He would do anything to
protect them and keep them safe, to preserve their happiness despite the hardships.
The scent of blood faintly carried across the wind. Tanjiro shrugged it off; it was probably just
another successful hunt for one of the predators in the forest.

As the sun set, the scent of blood only grew stronger. The smell of death and rot was quick to
follow, and now Tanjiro was genuinely concerned. ‘Did something out there get rabies? They must
be attacking everything they come across… I’ll have to make sure everyone keeps their axes with
them.’

The last time something like this tore through the forest was years ago, and the carnage that was
left behind was not something Tanjiro could ever forget. Animals, people, trees… Everything was
covered in blood, and teeth and claw marks were left everywhere. They’d never been able to figure
out what animal it was; the marks it left behind didn’t look like anything native to the area.

Somehow, this scent was even worse.

“Kaa-san.”

“What is it?”

“Something’s wrong.”

His mother’s gentle eyes sharpened, looking out to the setting sun as she called out, “Takeo!
Hanako! Shigeru! Come inside, dinner is almost ready!” They still had several minutes before the
rice would be finished, but Tanjiro knew that his mom would just distract his siblings from that by
having them set the table.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “I could just be imagining things, but…”

“No, thank you. Your nose never lies; if you smell trouble, then trouble is coming. We’ll keep all
the little ones close.”

“Kaa-san,” Takeo whined. “Dinner isn’t done yet! I could’ve cut more wood for us before it got
dark!”

“You’ve been cutting wood all day, Takeo. Rest for a moment.”

Tanjiro quickly nodded in agreement with his mother’s words. “Yeah! I really appreciate you
taking over for me today, but it’s okay to take a break too.”

“Do you want us to set the table, kaa-san?” Hanako asked with a tilted head. She’d always been the
most emotionally aware of all his siblings, so Tanjiro wasn’t surprised by the hint of tension in her
frame. She could tell that they were uneasy about something, and she was eager to do whatever she
could to help, even if it was just distracting her brothers.

“That would be wonderful! Thank you, Hanako.”

When it was ready, dinner went smoothly. Everyone was talking, laughing, and generally enjoying
themselves, and for a moment, Tanjiro could forget about the smell of death that was blanketing
the mountain today. ‘I hope Nezuko’s okay. Maybe she’s staying with Saburo? She didn’t take
anything to defend herself with her…’

Tanjiro’s body went rigid. “May I excuse myself?”

“Of course.” His mother’s voice was as serious as his own, and despite his sibling’s confused
outcry, he went to grab his axe from its hanging spot next to the door. Every single cell in his body
was screaming danger, and the smell of blood and destruction was growing closer, stronger until he
started gagging on its foul scent.

There was a knock at the front door. His family froze, even little Rokuta, knowing that Tanjiro
would not be acting like this if it was Nezuko knocking. Kie started herding the children away as
quietly as she could, but it was too late.

Wood splintered as the door was crushed with a single blow, and Tanjiro swung his axe with a yell,
slashing across their intruder’s chest. The wound healed in seconds. Sweat beaded on his brow as
he glanced upward, meeting supernatural red eyes that were slit like a cat’s and narrowed with
rage. Said eyes trailed to his ears with a glare.

“So he has descendants after all.”

Even the weight of this creature’s voice was unnatural and heavy. His claws looked sharp as
knives, and Tanjiro knew that everything would be over the second they grazed him.

“I’m telling ya, look closer! These teeth look like a person’s, and these claw marks have the same
distance between them as human fingers.” Saburo spread his hand over the marking to
demonstrate. “The only reason I’m out here at all is because I know they won’t come out during
the day! It was a demon I tell you, a demon!”

“And you… are his spitting image.”

Tanjiro was staying with Saburo for the night, humoring him while he fretted over the demons that
would come out once the sun finished setting.

“Man-eating demons come out at night, you know? That’s why it’s not safe for you to walk home
once it starts getting dark.”

“Can the man-eating demons not come inside houses?”

“... They can.”

“Then everyone would be eaten by demons if that was the case, right?”

“We would if it wasn’t for the demon slayers. They hunt down demons with special swords that are
imbued with the power of sunlight. It’s because of them that we can rest easy and live normal lives,
you know? That doesn’t mean we can be too cautious.”

All Tanjiro could think at the time was that Saburo must have been so unbearably lonely after
losing his wife that he’d clung to fairytales, even the bad ones, to have something to talk about. He
wanted to apologize a million times over now.

“Slayers? How does one kill a demon?”

“There are three ways. The sun, special poisons, and decapitation.”

There was a long time until morning and their family didn’t even have rat poison, but Tanjiro had
an axe in his hands and a burning desire to protect in his heart.

“It’s in how you breathe, son. If you breathe a certain way, movements like this become nothing.”
“Wow, really?!”

“Really. I know you’re worried about me, but doing the Hinokami Kagura isn’t a strain on my
health, I promise.”

“... Can you show me how to do it? The Hinokami Kagura and the special breathing for it.”

“Of course I will, Tanjiro. This is your birthright.”

The demon before him watched on in amusement as Tanjiro swung his axe again. Fire erupted
around the steel on its journey to the man’s neck, causing red eyes to widen with a flicker of fear.
‘Come on, come on–!’

The axe shattered on the demon’s neck, and it didn’t leave so much as a scratch.

“You,” the demon snarled. “His bloodline ends today!”

A finger pierced his forehead, and everything in Tanjiro burned . “I wonder… Would one of his
descendants be capable of conquering the sun? I suppose we’ll find out if you survive this.”

Ruthless red eyes peered over into the kitchen. Kie had their largest knife in her hands and his
siblings behind her, baring her teeth despite trembling with fear. Tanjiro snarled, redirecting the
demon’s attention to him.

“Oh, no need to worry.” The demon’s sadistic tone did not exactly inspire confidence. “I won’t
be killing them. You will.”

“I would never–”

“You will wake too hungry to care who they once were to you.”

Tanjiro’s vision began to black out around the edges, and the last thing he heard before slipping
into unconsciousness was, “I can think of no better way to tarnish his legacy.”

Hunger. Ravenous, all-consuming hunger. Blood red eyes flashed open, and all he could think
about was filling the void of his stomach. His mouth watered. ‘Something smells delicious.’

“Onii-chan! You’re awake! Kaa-san, he’s awake!”

Something about the voice felt familiar, but he didn’t care right now. He needed to eat, and there
was a meal right in front of him. He started pushing himself up, ready to swipe at the small form in
front of him.

“Really? I’m so glad!”

He froze. The voice sounded close to tears and so familiar that it made his heart hurt. A woman
with black hair and purple eyes quickly entered the room. A sob escaped the woman’s throat as
soon as she saw him

“Tanjiro! You were so, so brave, but please never do that again! I’m your mother; I’m supposed to
be the one protecting you!”

‘Mother…?’
A little girl threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sobbed, “You’re the
best big brother ever! That was so scary!”

‘Brother? I am… big brother?’

He was so hungry. There were so many delicious smells around him that it was overwhelming, but
Tanjiro’s claws dug into the tatami instead of human flesh. Drool pooled in his mouth as he ground
his teeth together. He could feel them cracking and regenerating with the pressure he was putting
on them.

A child was crying. Bright red eyes welled with tears as chubby hands reached out for him, and
Tanjiro pulled the toddler closer as his vision blurred. ‘Rokuta!’

Suddenly, everyone around him had names and importance to him. ‘Kaa-san, Takeo, Hanako,
Shigeru! They’re all okay!’

Tanjiro could not hurt these people. He would not. They were his family, and nothing was more
important to him than that. A heavy chain around his throat snapped, taking a dark and familiar
presence with it, and Tanjiro felt much lighter for its absence.

He opened his mouth, but no matter how hard he tried, Tanjiro couldn’t force any words out. ‘I
love you all so much. I’m so glad you’re okay. What happened to me?’

Tanjiro already knew, though. That demon had seemed certain that he would kill his family if he
ever woke up again, and that could only mean one thing. ‘I’m a demon. Yesterday morning, I
didn’t even believe they existed, and now…’

A growl reverberated throughout the room, startling everyone in it, even Tanjiro himself. He
passed Rokuta back over to his mother without a word, tearing off into the forest. Snow fell from
the dark, heavy clouds above, and now that he wasn’t being driven mad by the smell of his family
around him, Tanjiro could tell that his sense of smell had gotten even stronger.

He wasn’t sure what he was searching for until he found it. The poor deer never stood a chance.
With blood on his lips and flesh weighing heavily in his stomach, Tanjiro took several deep
breaths. The hunger wasn’t gone, he wasn’t sure it ever would be again, but he could think more
clearly now. For a moment, he considered running into the forest and never turning back. He was
dangerous, the fact that nothing but blood splatters remained of a whole deer made that abundantly
clear, but then he thought about how his mother and siblings would feel if he disappeared after an
attack like this.

Tanjiro couldn’t do that to them.

So with a heavy heart, he returned home. He was covered in so much blood that it clung to his skin
as he moved, drying and flaking and making him shudder in disgust. ‘Gross. This is so gross.’

“Tanjiro!” his mother cried out, fear and tears in her eyes. “Tanjiro, what happened?!”

And though it felt like glass was lodged in his throat, Tanjiro managed to answer. “K-Kaa-san! I’m
a monster. Demon…”

Purple eyes widened as her breath hitched. “... Tanjiro? Where did the blood come from, sweetie?”

“Deer.”

A sigh of relief. “Okay, okay we can work with this.” Kie walked forward, pulling Tanjiro in for a
hug and whispering, “It’s okay. It’s all gonna be okay, Tanjiro. You saved us. You protected all of
us. It doesn’t matter what that demon did to you, okay? You could never be a monster.”

Tanjiro sobbed, burying his face into his mother’s shoulder as he clung to her, careful not to let his
claws so much as pierce the fabric of her smock.

His entire world had been upended in a single night, but Tanjiro knew that everything would be
okay so long as he had his family to come home to.

“Kaa-san, onii-chan, I’m home!” Nezuko’s cheery voice rang out. “I sold all the charcoal, and I
brought back a bunch of food for New Year! I even found some fabrics for new clothes! Onii-chan,
what do you think of…” Nezuko’s voice trailed off as she lifted up black fabric adorned by bright
red flames. It looked incredibly similar to the ceremonial garb worn when performing the
Hinokami Kagura. Pink eyes widened with shock as she took in his appearance.

“Onii-chan?! Are you okay?!”

“Fine, promise!” Tanjiro assured her. “Pretty,” he mumbled, looking at the fabric with a fond smile
on his face. “Thank you.”

“... Kaa-san, what happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Kie sighed. “Come inside, we’ll talk there. Tanjiro needs to get cleaned up.”

The moon was high in the sky now, and Tanjiro was surprised by how at ease he felt because of it.
‘Then again, Saburo-san said demons die in the sunlight, right? If it wasn’t for the storm… I’ll
need to be careful.’

Almost everyone was asleep, but he, Nezuko, and their mother were all sitting around the table
with dire expressions.

“What are we gonna do?” Nezuko looked at Tanjiro worriedly. “I mean, I’m glad onii-chan is
okay, but is there any way to turn him back?”

“I… I don’t know.” Kie looked heartbroken as she admitted that. “He may be stuck like this
forever.”

“There’s gotta be some way,” Nezuko muttered.

“Saburo-san?”

Both his sister and mother jolted with surprise, turning to him with wide eyes.

“What was that, Tanjiro?” Hope shone in Kie’s voice.

“A-ask Saburo-san? Knows… knows demons.”

“That’s a great idea, onii-chan! We’ll just go visit Saburo-san and–”

“No leave.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Not safe,” he growled. “No leave. Protect… Must protect.” There was no safe way for them to
traverse down the mountain, not with him. Leaving Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta here
would leave them vulnerable to a demon attack, but so would taking them with them. It was only
safe for them to go during the day, and Tanjiro couldn’t travel then. “Bring back during day?”

“Oh, Tanjiro,” Kie murmured. “Of course we can. I’ll go speak with Saburo tomorrow afternoon
and invite him up to dinner with us. I’ll make sure he knows he can stay the night with us too.”

His mother and sister went to bed not long after that, and Tanjiro guarded them while repairing
their door throughout the night. A keen nose was now joined by enhanced hearing, and his vision
was improved vastly in the darkness too. Despite straining each of these senses, Tanjiro couldn’t
find a trace of the demon that turned him anywhere nearby.

Tanjiro could smell Saburo’s anxiety and fear before he even entered their house.

“Kamado-san, there’s a heavy presence here. But it’s still light out, so why…?”

“Kie is fine, Saburo-san. There are too many Kamados for formalities.” His mother pointedly
ignored Saburo’s question, leading him inside. The windows were blocked out with old, tattered
clothing and only a few candles illuminated their home. Saburo’s heart pounded at the sight.

“I really think I should go, Kie-san–”

“Please,” Nezuko begged. “Please, Saburo-san! Onii-chan needs your help!”

“... Tanjiro? Gods, no, it couldn’t be…”

Tanjiro shuffled forward from the shadows, and his red eyes glowed in the dimly lit room.
“Saburo-san. Sorry…”

“What happened?” Saburo sounded desperate. “For Tanjiro to become a demon…”

“It was the heaviest presence I’d ever felt,” Kie murmured. “A demon broke down our door, and
when I looked into his eyes, all I could think was that we were all going to die. We weren’t going
to go down easy, though. Tanjiro swung his axe at him, and the second time he did so, it almost
looked like fire started billowing around it before it shattered on the demon’s neck.”

“You remembered,” Saburo muttered, wide-eyed with shock. “Shit, I should’ve specified that you
have to use nichirin weapons to decapitate a demon. Still, smart thinking, kid. And the fire, could
that possibly have been…?” Saburo shook his head. “Never mind that, for now. What happened
after?”

“He was toying with Tanjiro. The demon must have held a grudge against one of our ancestors; he
kept going on about ending the bloodline and tarnishing a legacy. He only left us alive because he
wanted Tanjiro to be the one to kill us when he woke up again. If he woke up again.”

Saburo exhaled shakily. “You are so incredibly lucky.” He held up his hands in surrender at Kie’s
glare. “I’m sorry, but it’s the truth! I have never heard of a newly turned demon being able to resist
their hunger. Older ones? Sure, if they can be bothered to, but younglings? Never. You are so
incredibly lucky that Tanjiro did not lose himself, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear yet.”

“What can we do? I’ll do anything to help onii-chan!”

“Has he eaten anything? Anything at all?”

Kie nodded. “A deer, he said.”

“Good, that helps. Demons need human blood, though. If he goes long enough trying to subsist
only on animals, then he will snap and attack someone eventually. It’s only a matter of time.”

“You said that newly turned demons can’t resist their hunger too, but clearly Tanjiro is an
exception. Could he not be in this as well?”

“Is that a gamble you’re willing to take?”

His mother contemplated that in silence. “Kaa-san,” he whispered. “Hurts. Always… always
hungry.”

Saburo’s expression morphed into one of pity. “That’s what I was afraid of. Tanjiro’s sense of
smell was enhanced before becoming a demon. Now? Now it’s even stronger, and he’s surrounded
by people his instincts are screaming at him to eat. It’s only going to get worse the longer he
abstains.”

Tanjiro could smell the reluctant acceptance before his mother spoke a word. It was a melancholy
scent, one that he typically associated with her talking about his father. “Is there anything we can
do, Saburo-san? Any kind of cure?”

Saburo shook his head. “There’s no cure that I know of, but…” He hummed. “Nezuko? Would you
mind grabbing me one of your cups and a knife? There’s something I need to test.”

She did just that, and Saburo’s scent spiked with anxiety before he looked Tanjiro in the eye. “I
owed your father a great debt, Tanjiro. He is the only reason I am still alive, the reason I know
anything about demons and demon slayers at all, and if this may help you…” Saburo steeled
himself before dragging the knife across his arm. Blood dripped into the cup and Tanjiro’s mouth
watered. He covered his mouth in horror, whimpering in distress at the delightful smell that made
it impossible to ignore how ravenous he was.

“I’m not doing this to torture you, Tanjiro, I promise. Just hold on one moment longer.” After what
felt like hours but was only minutes, Saburo passed the cup over to Nezuko. Kie stood up to get
bandages the instant he did so. “Give that to your brother, would you?”

Nezuko walked over to him with all the trust in the world, a smile on her face despite the veins he
could feel bulging on his own. “It’s gonna be okay, onii-chan.”

Tanjiro took the cup with trembling hands, terrified that he would shatter it in his grip and waste
even a drop of this precious, precious blood. He looked at Saburo with wide, desperate eyes.

“It’s okay, Tanjiro. Drink.”

Euphoria. Tanjiro’s blood sang with power as he drank, fire flickering through his veins as he
finally got what he needed. His hunger was a dull, tiny thing that he could easily ignore now.
“Saburo-san…” he whispered.

Saburo smiled, and relief was apparent on his face. “I worried that you might lose control, but look
at you, Tanjiro. How are you feeling?”

“Better. I’m feeling so much better.” He was able to speak more clearly now too. It was a relief.
Trying to communicate with a limited vocabulary and a raw throat had been frustrating. “Saburo-
san, thank you so much. I’ll forever be in your debt.”
“No, Tanjiro. I do believe I’m still in your family’s.”

“Nonsense,” Kie scoffed as she walked back into the room, diligently disinfecting and wrapping
Saburo’s wound. “You owe us nothing after this. After this, you are family, Saburo.”

“Is that so?” he murmured with a pleased smile on his face. “I am honored, Kie-san.”

Saburo stayed for dinner that night. He stayed for dinner several nights after that. In fact, beyond
trekking down to his home to gather his things, he did not leave at all.

And for the first time Tanjiro could recall, Saburo’s scent was no longer tinged with loneliness.

Everyone was buzzing with excitement for the New Year. Kie was making everything she could
premake for their dinner now, Nezuko had put the finishing touches on everyone’s new haoris,
Takeo had chopped enough wood that they’d be able to take carts and carts of charcoal down to the
village once the snow cleared up some, Hanako was eagerly telling Rokuta about their family
traditions, Shigeru was brimming with energy as he talked with Saburo about demons and slayers
and everything in between, and Saburo indulged him with a smile that was undeniably fond.
Tanjiro, himself, had brought two boars back for their feast that he was in the process of skinning.

He was very thankful that today was overcast; Tanjiro would’ve hated to create more work for his
mother and siblings.

Kie had already promised to leave a large portion of a boar raw for him, even going on to say that
she’d give him blood again tonight. Tanjiro hadn’t come close to losing control after Saburo gave
him some of his blood, so he was surprised that she offered to give him some anyway.

‘Then again, it is a celebration.’

His family had accepted his new demonic traits with no issue at all. There was already a rotation
set up for his family to donate blood to him, going from oldest to youngest while skipping Rokuta
since he was far too young for it, and though Takeo sometimes grumbled about Tanjiro not being
able to cut wood with him anymore, it was in a playful way that clearly wasn’t meant to be taken to
heart.

Tanjiro still cut as much wood as he possibly could overnight any time Takeo complained, though.
It was clear that his brother wanted to spend more time with him than he could now, so Tanjiro
tried to make that time for him when possible.

“Onii-chan!” Tanjiro turned to Nezuko with a wide grin. She wrinkled her nose slightly at the state
of the boars he was working on before shrugging it off and asking, “Are you still planning on
doing the Hinokami Kagura this year?”

“Of course! We’ve got a lot to be thankful for, and I’m not gonna let the threat of the sunrise stop
me from expressing my gratitude!” It would’ve been far too easy for Tanjiro to have become a
mindless monster that night. He was certain that he only regained his memories and retained his
humanity because of Hinokami’s blessing.

“That’s what I thought you’d say,” Nezuko sighed. A smile slowly spread across her face. “Just
promise me that you’ll use the forest clearing for it this year, okay? That way you can get under the
shade before you get burned.”

“I will, I promise!”
Tanjiro lost himself in the motions of preparing the boars, using his claws to cut them into
cookable portions with an ease that would’ve terrified him only weeks ago. ‘It’s funny how quickly
everything can change.’

“Oh, Tanjiro! Thank you, just set those in the chill box for now.”

“Of course! Is there anything else I can help you with, kaa-san?”

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind…”

Tanjiro happily helped his mother with dinner until the sun started to set. Everyone slowly began
wandering inside, drawn in by the smell of food cooking and rumbling stomachs. Tanjiro passed
bits and pieces of food to his youngest siblings to keep them content until the food was done, and
the smell of contentment rising from his family was just as powerful a scent as dinner itself.

Saburo brought over an extra knife and the first-aid kit as the younger kids set the table, setting
them to the side as Tanjiro and Nezuko helped their mother bring all the food to the table. They all
took their seats, and Kie put her hands together in prayer. The others followed.

“Hinokami, we thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon us. We thank you for keeping
our hearth burning throughout this winter, we thank you for providing this bounty for us, and
above all of that, we thank you for not taking away our personal sun. We promise to honor and
respect you throughout this new year.”

Tanjiro’s eyes watered with tears, and a fanged smile lit up his face as he watched all of his
siblings dig in. This was the one time a year that they could guarantee no one would go to bed even
the slightest bit hungry.

His mother seemed determined to continue that tradition. Tanjiro blinked in shock when he realized
that she’d already halfway filled a cup with blood; he hadn’t noticed it at all. ‘Is it possible for me
to build a resistance to the scent of blood? Or is this just because I’m only slightly hungry right
now?’

Time would tell, he supposed. Saburo helped bandage his mother’s wound as she passed the cup
over to Tanjiro, and now that he wasn’t so starved, Tanjiro could savor it as he alternated between
the human blood and the raw, bloody boar on his plate.

“Thank you, kaa-san.”

Kie only smiled at her eldest son, no hint of disgust or fear to be found despite the sight he knew he
made. “Of course, sweetheart.”

Tanjiro basked in the presence of his family, grown one larger when it so easily could’ve shrunk to
nothing at all, and he reflected the same radiant happiness as everyone around him. He hated to
leave, truly, but the sun was getting close to the horizon, and with the clouds like this, he had no
excuse to not start the Hinokami Kagura on time.

“Can I go get ready, kaa-san?”

“Of course. We’ll join you as soon as we can, though I know the little ones won’t be able to stay
the whole time.”

“Uh-huh!” Shigeru cried out. “I can totally stay up all night this year!”

“Even I couldn’t last year, Shigeru,” Hanako giggled. “You don’t have to feel bad about it!”
“Yeah, if we wake up early enough, then we can at least watch onii-chan finish it.”

“You only say that because you fall asleep ten minutes into it every year, Takeo.”

“Onee-chan! You’re so mean to me!”

Tanjiro laughed and ducked away from the table, going to change into the ceremonial garb and
pick up the wooden sword he’d need to dance properly. He took his place in the clearing, took a
deep breath, and moved .

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Over and over again, Tanjiro
repeated the twelve steps and linked them back together, eyes closed and unaware of the fire
swirling around him as he danced around the clearing. He faintly registered shocked gasps at some
point, but Tanjiro was lost to the world around him and quickly pushed it to the back of his mind.

Tanjiro had become the Hinokami Kagura, and in turn, it felt as if Hinokami himself was flowing
through his veins. Time became meaningless. In this moment, he existed to dance and nothing
more.

“... -chan!”

“...-chan!!”

“Onii-chan, the sun!” Nezuko screamed.

When the sun was rising on a clear day, Tanjiro instinctively knew he needed to take cover. He had
felt no ice-cold dread, no sensation of death nipping at his heels, so Tanjiro kept dancing. Just once
more, he needed to do this just one more time. He needed to complete the sequence.

Tanjiro opened his eyes to the sun rising above the horizon without a cloud in sight. He stood
beneath the light of the sun whole and unharmed, and Tanjiro knew that Hinokami had blessed him
today.

“You scared me, you dummy!” Nezuko wailed. “How could you?! I thought you were gonna die!”

“I’m sorry, Nezuko.” He walked over to his sister and brought her in for a hug. “The sun’s
beautiful today, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she sniffled. “Yeah, it really is!”

 Chapter 2

Saburo watched him walk home in broad daylight with awe in his eyes and a disbelieving laugh.
“Well, I’ll be. You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“I think Hinokami was pleased with my offering.” Tanjiro couldn’t believe how much he’d missed
the sun these past few weeks. Standing underneath its rays again felt like coming home.

“I’d say so!” Saburo snorted. “Well, that solidifies it. I was gonna tell you this anyway, but now…
Come inside. I want to tell all of you about how I met your father.”

He and Nezuko exchanged a curious look before nodding. “We’ll go get the others!”

Everyone huddled inside, sitting around the crackling fire and eagerly waiting for Saburo to start
talking. He was an excellent storyteller, captivating everyone from Rokuta to Kie whenever they
gathered like this.

“Tanjiro… I suppose this story starts with the Hinokami Kagura, otherwise known as Sun
Breathing.”

“Sun Breathing?”

“Yes. Demon slayers all use a variety of breathing styles that enhance their strength and endurance;
without them, they wouldn’t have a chance when fighting demons. The Hinokami Kagura that’s
been passed down through your family for generations… Its true name is Sun Breathing, and it
was the original breathing style that all others were created from.”

“Really?!” Shigeru gasped. “That’s awesome! But I thought our family had always just been
charcoal sellers?”

Saburo chuckled. “Indeed, the Kamados always have been, but several centuries ago, the original
slayer befriended the Kamados of his generation after a great loss. The records are a bit muddled
with time, but he lived with them for decades. While nontraditional, Tanjuro told me that there are
diary records of the late Sumiyoshi and Suyako Kamado taking Yoriichi on as a third partner in
their marriage. Yoriichi, as the original demon slayer, was also the creator of Sun Breathing.”

“And so it passed down through us!”

“Yes, Tanjiro. Sun Breathing is in your blood. Other breathing styles were created because of how
difficult Sun Breathing is to master, but what I saw of the Hinokami Kagura last night… There is
no questioning that you could do it. You’re already close to perfecting it.”

“Wow!” Rokuta squealed with delight. “Cool! Onii-chan is cool!”

A pleased blush spread across Tanjiro’s face. “You really think so?”

“I know so,” Saburo didn’t hesitate to answer. “Your father used Sun Breathing as well. He was a
demon slayer himself, one of the most powerful ones there was: a Hashira. He saved my life when
the rest of my family was killed by a demon. He was powerful, unbelievably so; however, those
who use Sun Breathing have a target painted on their back from the start. Muzan Kibutsuji, the
creator of all demons and who I suspect attacked you that night, will stop at nothing to wipe out
that technique. When he married your mother, Tanjuro stepped down and retired from his position,
promising that he would come back to fight Muzan if he was still alive when the time came.”
“That’s… I almost can’t believe it. But Dad always had a different air about him, didn’t he?
Especially when performing the Hinokami Kagura.”

Kie gave Nezuko a sad smile. “I’m sorry for not telling you myself. I hadn’t wanted any of you to
worry about demons, not when there was nothing we could do against them either way, so I kept
quiet and cultivated wisteria just in case. If only it hadn’t been winter, maybe that demon wouldn’t
have…”

“It’s okay, kaa-san. You were just looking out for us,” Hanako reassured her.

Takeo nodded with an adorably stern expression on his face. “Yeah! Don’t beat yourself up for
something you can’t change. Besides, we’ve got onii-chan to protect us from demons now!”

“And that is actually what I wanted to speak with all of you about.” Everyone’s attention snapped
back to Saburo. “Your father’s sword should still be here somewhere, Tanjiro. With your nose, I’ve
no doubt that you’ll be able to find it. While demons can fight other demons on the same footing,
they cannot kill each other. However, if you learned to wield a nichirin blade…”

“I could protect them. I could really protect them.” Tanjiro didn’t even need to think about it. “I’ll
do it! Thank you so much, Saburo-san!”

He took off like a shot, following the smell of sunshine on metal until he found the source. Tanjiro
tilted his head, crouching down with a hum as he stared at the flooring where the scent was coming
from. ‘If I’m wrong… I’ll fix it, kaa-san, I promise.’

The tatami lifted with little effort, and Tanjiro uncovered a hidden compartment that was tucked
beneath. His breath hitched when he opened it. There was a bright red katana inside, and something
in him sang the second that the blade was in his hand.

‘This feels… right.’

“Ah, so you did find it.” His mother smiled at him with a proud grin. “Honestly, I wasn’t even sure
where Tanjuro had tucked it away. I’m glad, but…” Something in his mother’s eyes became
impossibly sad. “Are you sure this is what you want to do, Tanjiro? You’ll likely be hunted by
demons and slayers alike if you follow this path.”

“I’m sure. I want to keep us safe, and you know that they’ll both come after me regardless. I need
to be able to fight back. I need to be able to protect you guys.”

“I am so incredibly proud of you, Tanjiro.” He quickly laid the katana on the floor when his
mother pulled him in for a teary hug. His arms wrapped around her in return as a smile spread
across his lips.

“It’s all gonna be okay now, kaa-san. I promise.”

Come spring, the entire village was shocked by his mother and Saburo getting married. The
Kamado kids had all seen it coming from a mile away, but many of the villagers hadn’t even
realized that Saburo wasn’t living in his old home anymore. It made Tanjiro unbearably sad that
the man had been so isolated before.

Tanjiro’s training was progressing well. The transition from dancing the Hinokami Kagura with a
wooden sword to a real one was not difficult, though Tanjiro had a feeling that he’d be telling a
different story if it wasn’t for his newfound demonic strength and endurance. Breathing while
fighting came easily to him now, and with Saburo’s assistance, he even learned of something called
Total Breathing Constant and was currently working toward accomplishing it. He was getting close
to keeping it up constantly now.

It was a necessity for any Hashira, and Tanjiro wanted, no needed, to be as strong as one to protect
every member of his family from anyone who came their way.

In addition to training his sword skills, Tanjiro had been training his demonic abilities as well.
They’d discovered that he could go about a month without drinking human blood before his
control started fraying around the edges, but his family started giving him blood twice a month
since his mother refused to let any of her children starve, regardless of what they needed to eat. He
could feel himself growing stronger because of it.

Tanjiro even developed a Blood Demon Art when a lone demon foolishly thought his family
would make easy prey. Blood red flames had erupted from his clawed hands, a shade darker than
the flames produced by Sun Breathing, and the demon screamed as if he was being burned
underneath the sun. Saburo had speculated that his Blood Demon Art was the equivalent of it.

“It only makes sense. You use Sun Breathing, your nichirin blade hasn’t dulled in color once since
you picked it up, and you can walk beneath the sun. Why wouldn’t your Blood Demon Art be a
manifestation of the sun’s power too?”

He’d even learned how to use his Blood Demon Art and Sun Breathing together by nicking himself
with his sword and letting his blood burn on the blade. He used that combination to great effect on
the rare occasion that a demon wandered into the area.

Months went by. Spring turned to summer and summer turned to fall. Tanjiro could now maintain
Total Breathing Constant as easily as, well, breathing. Without anyone to spar with or train against,
his training had begun to stagnate, and though Tanjiro wished he could travel farther to hunt down
demons, the thought of leaving his family without protection filled him with unbridled panic.

This would all be for nothing if any member of his precious family got hurt just because he was
feeling restless. He would stay.

It was on the second New Year since Tanjiro became a demon that everything changed.

This year, Tanjiro was performing the Hinokami Kagura on the clearing that was further up the
mountain and closer to the sun. He wanted to pay proper respects to Hinokami now that he could,
and when his hand hovered over the wooden sword typically used for it, he hesitated.

‘I wonder…’

It was easier to channel Sun Breathing through a nichrin blade. Would it not make for an even
more devoted offering to dance with his true blade? Something within him told Tanjiro that it
would, and so he picked up his sword and danced .

His family stood just outside of the lit torches surrounding him, and this time Tanjiro remained
aware of everything around him as he moved. That was why he sensed it the instant an unknown
presence joined them.

A blue sword swung for his neck, and Tanjiro effortlessly blocked it with his own. He didn’t falter
in his performance, simply using it to drive the slayer away as he continued to dance around him.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing to onii-chan?!”

“There have been rumors of a demon around here. I see they are true.” The slayer attempted to cut
off his head again, eyes widening slightly when he realized that Tanjiro was breathing in the same
way he was. “I will free you all from his hypnosis.”

His mother and Saburo walked forward, axes in hand, with steel in their eyes. “You will step away
from our son.”

Something like pity bloomed in the slayer’s eyes then. “I will give him a painless death, I promise
you.”

Rokuta charged forward with a yell, tackling the slayer at the knees and making him stumble. Blue
eyes blinked in shock when Tanjiro’s family joined him in the fire circle, glaring at the slayer as
Tanjiro kept dancing around them, blood-red eyes locked onto the man who didn’t yet register as a
threat to his family but easily could.

He could see the instant that the demon slayer realized he’d have to get through his family to get
him. The man’s eyes hardened, and while he was clearly going for knockouts and not striking them
with his sword, Tanjiro still saw red.

“First Form: Clear Blue Sky.” Tanjiro spun across the clearing in an instant, landing between the
slayer and Nezuko with a growl. “Second Form: Raging Sun.” Red nichirin met blue, and shock
and concern filled the slayer’s scent when the blue blade creaked under the strain. “Third Form:
Burning Bones, Summer Sun.” Tanjiro’s frontal assault forced the slayer back, and something like
understanding lit his eyes.

“You’re… You were a slayer.”

“Onii-chan is a slayer,” Shigeru insisted.

“It may not be officially, but he keeps the demons away. He protects us and the village!” Hanako
glared at the slayer with all the indignation she could muster. “So stop trying to hurt him!”

Tanjiro broke off and continued performing the Hinokami Kagura once it became clear that the
slayer was not attacking again. “... What was his name? This style seems oddly familiar.”

“I can hear you, you know?” Tanjiro asked with a chuckle. “My name is Kamado Tanjiro, and I use
Sun Breathing. You?”

Shock and a brief flash of fear emanated from the slayer’s scent. “Tomioka Giyu. Water
Breathing.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Tomioka-san. If you wouldn’t mind allowing me to complete the dance? We
may speak after, but I cannot disrespect Hinokami by stopping so early into the night.”

“... Very well.”

Several hours later, none of his family had left the clearing, all eyeing Tomioka warily. “How long
does this last?” the slayer wondered quietly.

“Until sunrise.”

“... Am I watching ritual suicide?”

Nezuko laughed at that. “No, no. Onii-chan is special. You’ll see.”

And indeed, he did. Tanjiro hadn’t smelled horror like Tomioka’s since the night his family was
attacked. Tanjiro turned to face the slayer with a smile on his face as bright as the morning sun
itself, and said, “You wanted to speak with me?”

This demon was different from the others, and Giyu couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing
yet. The fact that his human family, and the whole village from what he’d gathered, was still alive
after living with him for over a year? Definitely a good thing. The fact that he was capable of
walking beneath the sun? That was bad, disastrously so.

‘If Muzan catches wind of this…’ It would be the end of everything.

“Come.” The mother gestured for him to follow. “Let’s have this conversation inside. We’ll catch
colds out in this snow if we stay too much longer.”

He followed wordlessly, and his brain was still struggling to comprehend the fact that a demon was
carrying a clingy human toddler and eagerly speaking with his human siblings. It was impossible,
yet the proof of it was staring him in the face.

Those red eyes never quite left his form. They watched him with a wariness that spoke not of
concern for himself but rather a concern for those around him, and the message was clear, even to
someone as dense as Giyu. The family was off-limits. Giyu would lose his head if he tried anything
funny with them, not that he had any intention to.

Once everyone was inside, Giyu asked the question that had been pressing at him from the moment
he saw how at ease these humans were around a demon. “How has your son not gone mad with
hunger if he truly hasn’t eaten any humans? No demon can go so long without food.”

“He eats animals, mostly,” the man answered. “But he also gets blood donations from one of us
two times a month. It’s nothing difficult to manage.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah! Onii-chan doesn’t even struggle when one of us gets hurt anymore, so you can’t kill him!”
The youngest girl has tears welling up in her eyes, and the demon shot Giyu a glare before turning
to reassure her.

“It’ll be alright, Hanako. I’m not going anywhere.” His voice was surprisingly gentle for a demon.

“You better not,” the next eldest boy grumbled. “Who else is gonna help me chop wood for
charcoal? It’s so much faster now.”

The demon laughed at that. “Takeo! Is that all I’m good for now, hm?”

“No, you’re really good at hunting now too!”

“Thanks, Shigeru,” the demon said flatly, but the crinkling of his eyes gave away his amusement.

‘They really are just… a family. Oh, I’m going to get into so much trouble for this.'

Giyu sighed. “Should the time ever come that any of you want training, visit the elder named
Urokodaki at the base of Sagiri Mountain. Tell him that Tomioka Giyu sent you. This is a
dangerous world you’re stepping foot in.”
He turned to leave, but the demon called out to him right before he could walk out the door.

“Tomioka-san!”

“Hm?”

“... Thank you.”

Receiving gratitude from a demon… It was not something Giyu wanted to get used to.

“You’re welcome.”

Nevertheless, there was something so undeniably human about this monster that Giyu could not
help sympathizing with him. ‘I believe that you’re different. Don’t prove me wrong, Kamado
Tanjiro.’

“We have to go, right?” Nezuko asked, worrying at her lip. “I mean, it’s too good an opportunity to
pass up, and beyond that, the slayers know about you now, Tanjiro. If they can’t keep an eye on
you, then they’re just gonna keep sending people here. The next slayer might not be so agreeable.”

Tanjiro ground his teeth together and sighed with frustration. “Yeah, we do. Something about
Tomioka-san… He was powerful. Powerful enough to be a Hashira, I think.”

“So information of you is going to travel quickly,” Saburo muttered. “At the very least to the
current Ubuyashiki head.”

“Urokodaki is a good man, though, from what Tanjuro told me. I don’t doubt that he would
genuinely train you.” Kie wrung her hands nervously. “Would it be best for us to send Tanjiro off?
He’d be able to accomplish more if he was a sanctioned slayer.”

“I’m not leaving you behind. We still can’t be sure that Muzan won’t come back for us, kaa-san.”

“It’s been a year, though, onii-chan. Surely it’ll be okay!”

Saburo shook his head resolutely. “I agree with Tanjiro on this one, Shigeru. A year is nothing to a
demon; he could still come back.”

Kie worried at her lip. “Well, what do you suggest? If we can’t stay here and we can’t send him
away… Do we move? We could find somewhere else. Times might be tough for a while, but–”

“Why don’t we all go see Urokodaki-san?” Nezuko questioned, cutting off their mother’s worried
rambling before it got any worse. “That way anyone who wants training can get it and onii-chan
doesn’t have to leave anyone behind either! I want to learn how to fight alongside him. No, I need
to! Onii-chan shouldn’t have to do this all alone! Kaa-san, please, can’t we all go?”

“... Well, I suppose Tomioka-san did extend the offer to all of us.”

Their house became a flurry of activity after that. They all packed only the necessities and what
they couldn’t bear to leave behind, but they were a family that never had much beyond their few
heirlooms. The younger kids didn’t even have to carry their own bags, tucking their clothing into
Tanjiro, Nezuko, or Takeo’s and still leaving plenty of room to spare.

Tanjiro donned his flaming haori with a grin, sheathed his katana, and tucked away the ancient
records of their family that he’d found. He would not risk losing them by leaving them behind; he
wanted to learn more about their family and the slayer that suddenly found himself a part of it. He
packed very little that wasn’t carried on his person, and once his family gathered in the living room
with their bags on their backs, Tanjiro could see that they were all the same.

‘Huh. It always felt like we had more, somehow. I never felt like I was wanting for anything here…
I’m gonna miss this place.’

Something told Tanjiro that they wouldn’t be coming back for a long time.

“Excuse me, miss? Could you point us in the direction of Sagiri Mountain?”

“Oh! If you’re headed for Sagiri Mountain, then you have to cross over the mountain directly
ahead first. But it’s getting dark, and with so many children with you… It’s really dangerous.”

“Thank you for your concern. We’ll be careful, but we really must be going.”

“I’m serious! People have been going missing around here!”

Tanjiro looked back at the woman and her child with a reassuring smile, lightly resting his hand on
his sword. “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”

“Oh! Well, I suppose if you have such a dependable son with you… Safe travels!”

They all bowed to her. “To you as well!” Kie called out with a wave, and they were off. The scent
of blood carried on the wind, and Tanjiro picked up the pace.

He drew his sword as they approached a cabin in the middle of the forest. The lights were still on,
and the scent of blood and the faint rot of another demon assaulted his senses.

“Kaa-san, oto-san keep everyone outside.”

“We will,” Saburo promised. “Go, son.”

“I’m coming with you.” Nezuko’s stubborn tone told him that he couldn’t convince her otherwise,
and they didn’t have time to waste arguing right now.

“Fine, but stay behind me, okay?”

“I will, onii-chan.”

Tanjiro led the way, sliding open the front door with a bang.

“What? Hey, this is my territory. I won’t forgive you if you destroy my feeding ground.” This
demon was weak, even compared to the few Tanjiro had fought before, but there were corpses
strewn about around him and blood covering the walls. The sight of it made Tanjiro bare his teeth
in a snarl.

“Hm? You seem… very strange. Is that a human behind you?” The demon moved in a blur, but
Tanjiro was faster. The demon’s head flew across the room, landing on the floor with a dull thump.
“What? That sword… A demon slayer? But you’re… you’re a demon too.”

The demon’s head disintegrated into dust, and disbelieving muttering filled the room until his final
breath. Tanjiro sighed, turning around and gently patting his sister’s head as she stared at the blood
coating the room. “Let’s bury them, yeah?”
“Y-yeah. Thank you, onii-chan.”

Nezuko’s scent was a swirling mass of admiration and shame. She hadn’t been able to move at all
when the demon’s eyes landed on her, and Tanjiro could tell that she was struggling with that.
“Don’t feel bad about it, Nezuko. You’ll be able to move like that once you start training too! It’s
not fair to hold yourself to the same standards as someone who’s been training for over a year,
especially not when you take the fact that I’m a demon into account.”

“... You’re right. You always know what to say, onii-chan.”

The two of them diligently began taking the bodies out back, and the rest of their family silently
joined them in digging graves for those who had lost their lives here. They clapped their heads
together in prayer once everyone was buried, and Tanjiro whispered, “Hinokami-sama, please let
these people never encounter a demon in their next life.”

“Well… Let’s continue on, shall we?” Tanjiro turned to his mother and nodded before freezing.
There was another presence here. It wasn’t a demon, but there was a strength to the presence that
told Tanjiro that it wasn’t an ordinary human either.

“Another slayer already? Are they after me, or were they coming after this demon? Will… will
they believe that this wasn’t me?”

“I will, though I wouldn’t have if Giyu hadn’t sent a letter in advance.”

Tanjiro blinked in shock at the sight before him. A man wearing a red tengu mask had practically
materialized out of thin air, moving so quickly that Tanjiro hadn’t registered that he was so close
until he spoke. ‘He’s fast! Is he Urokodaki-san, then?’

“Ah, you must be Urokodaki-san. My late husband mentioned you wore a mask like this.”

“Indeed. You’re the Kamados, then? I hadn’t realized just how large Tanjuro’s family was…” The
elder slayer shook his head, and something determined and fierce took over his scent. “What will
you do if Tanjiro eats a human?”

“He won’t. He’s had ample opportunities to over the past year, and he’s never even come close to
it. I have complete faith in my son.”

“But if he did?” Urokodaki pressed.

“Then I’d kill him and then myself,” Nezuko answered, shocking everyone into silence. Urokodaki
almost smelled proud. “Onii-chan would hate nothing more than killing someone like that, and I
refuse to let him go forward alone, even in death.”

“You have potential,” Urokodaki said with a chuckle. “That is exactly the kind of resolve you’ll
need if you wish to become a demon slayer. Just understand this, you must never allow your
brother to eat a human, no matter what. Should the time come where it seems like he may, you
must step between him and his victim and not hesitate, do you understand?”

“I understand. It won’t come to that, but I understand.”

“Good. Then follow me, all of you.”

If his family wasn’t so used to having to keep up with Tanjiro’s demonic speed, they would’ve
inevitably lost Urokodaki as he ran down the mountain. Not that Tanjiro couldn’t have tracked him
down again, but Shigeru and Hanako were struggling to keep up. Rokuta was being carried by
Tanjiro so the extra weight wouldn’t slow either of his parents down, and when they all finally
made it to Urokodaki’s house, everyone but Tanjiro and Rokuta was gasping for air.

“Did I… Did I pass the test?” Nezuko panted.

“The test has just begun. Follow me up the mountain. The rest of you wait here.”

Nezuko and Urokodaki vanished into the fog, and in the meantime, Tanjiro patched up his younger
siblings’ scraped knees and small cuts from the trek here. Urokodaki came back down the
mountain alone. Despite being warned by Tomioka, he smelled faintly surprised by Tanjiro’s
restraint.

“If she can make it down the mountain before sunrise, I will take her on as my student.” Urokodaki
gave Tanjiro a searching look, or at least that’s what it felt like from behind the mask, before
saying, “I suppose you wish to train alongside her? I’ll have to think of another test for you, and
I’m unsure how much help I’ll be when you already know a breathing style but…”

“I’d appreciate any assistance you could give.” Tanjiro bowed deeply, biting back a laugh at the
sheer shock that radiated from Urokodaki. “I’d do anything to keep my family safe.”

“... I’m beginning to believe that. I can’t smell any sort of deception from you.”

Tanjiro perked up at that. “Smell? You have an enhanced sense of smell too?”

“I do. But if you do as well, then… We underestimated your control. My apologies. How did you
manage to resist?”

“It was really hard. When I first woke up, I was absolutely starving; I was hungrier than I could
ever remember being, even during the harshest winters. But even though everyone smelled so…
There was a feeling of familiarity that overpowered that, and it only grew stronger as I listened to
everyone talk. Rokuta was the one that fully triggered my memories, though. He came right up to
me crying because he was scared of what happened, and I remembered everything. I tore off into
the woods to go hunt for something –which wound up being a deer; don’t smell so alarmed– and
got my hunger under control before coming back. It only grew easier to deal with over time.
Getting blood donations helps.”

“Huh… Perhaps there truly is something different about you.”

“There is. Even freshly turned, when I cut myself so that I could give Tanjiro some of my blood, he
wouldn’t drink it until I gave him permission. He was struggling, but he held strong.”

“And you can truly walk beneath the sun?”

Tanjiro tilted his head. “Yeah. Only took me a few weeks. Didn’t Tomioka-san tell you?”

“He did, but it’s still difficult to believe. How has Muzan not come for you yet?”

“I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m dead.”

“What?!” His mother’s eyes were wide with shock. “What do you mean?”

“Whenever I remembered everyone, I felt something within me break free. There was this heavy
weight that suddenly wasn’t there anymore, and that weight felt the exact same as the demon that
attacked us that night. I broke the link between us so quickly that I’m pretty sure he thinks I didn’t
survive the transformation at all. My only guess for why he hasn’t come back is because he
couldn’t be bothered with any of us if I didn’t survive. Muzan Kibutsuji doesn’t think we’re a
threat, and I plan to exploit that for as long as I can.”

“You can say his name,” Urokodaki gasped. “You broke the curse? Immediately after transforming
as well… I think I have an idea for a test for you after all.”

Suddenly, the front door burst open. Nezuko stood proudly before them, bruised and bloody, with a
feral grin on her face. Sunrise was still hours away.

“I passed your test!”

Tanjiro had a feeling that he’d be getting used to Urokodaki’s shocked scent. He was so proud of
his little sister.
 Chapter 3
Chapter Notes

This is a bit shorter than usual since it's a transition chapter to get us ready for Final
Selection, but it's still an important one and I'm happy with how it turned out! I hope
you all enjoy.

I've created a playlist for when I'm writing this fic as well, if any of you are interested
in listening to it here

Jigoro,

My dearest friend, I do hope that being a cultivator is suiting you well. I’ve heard that you’ve
recently taken on two disciples, and I eagerly await word of their progress. I’ve recently taken on
two new students of my own, though one still needs to be tested before I formally accept him.

That is why I seek your aid. My typical traps will be ineffective on him. I suppose I should not beat
around the bush; this is because he is a demon. I know what you must be thinking, but Oyakata-
sama is aware of this situation. Jigoro, Muzan attacked the Kamados. He turned Tanjuro’s eldest
into a demon and expected the boy to do the rest of the dirty work for him, but a miracle happened.
He resisted his hunger. He regained his human memories and broke Muzan’s curse. And now he is
training to be a slayer like his father; hell, he’s damn near mastered Sun Breathing from what I can
tell. His sister is training alongside him, and she’s taken to Water Breathing unbelievably quickly. I
know how farfetched this must sound, so I am asking you to come meet them yourself. Perhaps
you could bring your students along? It will do Tanjiro and Nezuko some good to have slayers
their own age that they can rely on.

I’m sure you’re wondering how you can help me test Tanjiro. It will be risky, no doubt about it,
but I want you to expose him to your blood. If a boy with a nose even better than my own can resist
a marechi, then I will feel secure in the knowledge that he will never devour a human.

I apologize for asking so much of you, but please do consider it. We will have appropriate
safeguards in place, of course.

Sincerely,

Sakonji Urokodaki

“So, Tanjiro, while your sister is still running down the mountain, we’ll be working on something
a bit different.”

“What is it?”

“Your desire to be a slayer is a noble one, but it will not last long if anyone can tell you’re a demon
just by being near you. Stronger demons are capable of masking their presence to the degree that
only Hashira can sense them; you need to learn how to do this if you intend to attend Final
Selection with Nezuko.”
“Hm, I see.” Tanjiro furrowed his eyebrows as he focused on a writhing ball of energy and power
at his core. It would be impossible for him to truly contain it, the energy would only fight harder to
be freed then, but he could smooth out its edges. Calm. Tanjiro would become the embodiment of
calm.

“... How are you already doing it? Kid, seriously, there has to be a limit to what you can do.”

“What do you mean? I thought you wanted me to do this?” Tanjiro tilted his head in confusion.

“Tanjiro, only Waxing Moons are capable of shielding their presence to this extent. I can barely
sense that you’re a demon at all, and I’m a former Hashira. And you’ve never done this before?”

“... No?”

Urokodaki sighed heavily. “On to wisteria resistance training it is. It’s never going to be
comfortable for you, but Final Selection is held on a mountain where wisteria blooms year-round.
It’ll do us no good to mask your presence if you can’t enter the mountain regardless.”

Tanjiro shuffled uneasily. Urokodaki groaned. “What is it now, kid?”

“... Is now a good time to mention that my mom grows wisteria? It dies off in the winter, but after
Muzan attacked us, she’s been preserving the flowers and making incense out of them for then.
Wisteria makes my nose itch and I get a bit scratchy if I touch it directly, but it’s never really
bothered me otherwise.”

“Seriously, kid,” Urokodaki huffed. He didn’t smell genuinely upset, but he was exasperated for
sure. “What am I supposed to teach you? I’m glad you’re not like other demons, but there’s such a
thing as being too different, you know?”

“Teach me Water Breathing!” Urokodaki smelled simultaneously surprised and pleased by that. “I
know that I mostly use Sun Breathing, but it never hurts to learn something new, right? There’s
bound to be situations where Water Breathing will be more practical or safe to use than Sun
Breathing.”

“After your test. Once you’ve passed your final test, I will teach you Water Breathing, Kamado
Tanjiro.”

“I look forward to it!”

Sakonji,

You were right to push me along this path; there’s something about cultivating the next generation
that gives an old man hope. Kaigaku is a dedicated student, though he’s been growing increasingly
frustrated with his inability to master the first form of Thunder Breathing. Zenitsu is… an
interesting boy, but also an incredibly earnest one. Despite his dramatics, he is the fastest user of
Thunder Breathing I have ever seen, even when he can only perform the first form. I have hopes
that the two of them together will continue the legacy of Thunder Breathing, but…

Tanjiro and Nezuko are siblings, right? Do they work well together? Perhaps they’ll be able to
teach Kaigaku and Zenitsu how to do so despite their differences. If a demon and human can
manage it, then they have no excuse.

Initially, I did think you were crazy for giving a demon a chance, but if anyone could overcome a
demon’s instincts, it would be Tanjuro’s boy. I’m curious about him, I’ll admit. I’ll help you test
him. Expect me in a week; I will see you soon, old friend.

Sincerely,

Jigoro Kuwajima

There were three new scents approaching Urokodaki’s house. Tanjiro jolted into alertness, facing
the east with a concerned expression. ‘They’re not just heading for the mountain. They’re on a
direct path to the house, and one of them feels like Urokodaki-san.’

“Um… Urokodaki-san?”

“They’re expected, Tanjiro. No need to smell so worried.”

Nezuko stopped swinging her practice sword for a split section before continuing. Her form was
tenser than before. “We’re hosting guests? No one onii-chan knows, considering his reaction. Do
they know…?”

“They do. Jigoro is an old friend of mine and your father’s.” Both Tanjiro and Nezuko relaxed at
that. “The two traveling with him are his students. He was hoping that you two may be able to help
them work together.”

Galvanized by this information, a feral grin spread across Nezuko’s face. “We’ll whip them into
shape, Urokodaki-sensei!” She emphasized her point with the swing of her sword, cracking the
wooden handle with the sheer force of her movement. “Um, oops?”

“This is why you haven’t been given a metal blade yet,” Urokodaki sighed before tossing her
another wooden practice sword. “Your forms are perfect, but you’ve got to learn to put less force
behind your blows. Move with the blade, not against it.”

“I will! I’m sorry Urokodaki-san!”

“It’s fine, Nezuko. You’re getting there, and there are worse problems to have.”

His sister moved like a force of nature, even while she was restraining herself, and Tanjiro was
unbearably proud of her. ‘Nezuko is so strong. Even with Urokodaki-san upping the difficulty of
traps and locations for Nezuko’s mountain tests, she never fails to get back hours before he expects
her to. It’s impressive.’

Tanjiro wasn’t sure that he could do the same in her place. He was only so strong because he’d
been turned into a demon and regularly fed by his family; as a human, he couldn’t begin to
compare to Nezuko’s progress.

“Sakonji, It’s been too long!”

Tanjiro was jolted out of his thoughts by the man who smelled like thunderstorms and static. The
kids with him smelled similarly, though to a lesser extent, but the blond’s scent was also heavily
layered with fear.

“Jigoro, it’s excellent to see you in such good spirits.”

“So these two are Tanjiro and Nezuko, huh? The boy’s the spitting image of his father.” Jigoro
studied Tanjiro intensely before drawing his sword, and Tanjiro tensed, resting his hand on his
father’s blade and preparing to draw it in an instant. “Excellent reflexes too.”

The old man drew his blade across his wrist, and Tanjiro froze when the most mouthwatering
blood he’d ever smelled started seeping from the wound. He could feel his pupils dilating and
contracting before he physically shook himself out of it and asked, “Are you alright? That seems
deep.”

“I’ll be damned, he really can control himself.”

Tanjiro’s eyes widened in realization. “Was this my test? His blood smelled different than usual.”

“It was, and you passed with flying colors, Tanjiro. Jigoro here is a marechi, a special blood type
that demons gain immense power from in comparison to ordinary humans, and it’s virtually
impossible for a demon to resist its lure. The fact that you did so with your sense of smell? There’s
not a chance in hell that you’ll lose yourself and devour a human. I’ll teach you Water Breathing.”

Urokodaki’s scent was a mix of proud, fond, and excited that had Tanjiro beaming with joy.
“Really?! Oh, that’s great! I know it’s nontraditional, but can we start with the fifth form? There’s
nothing like it in Sun Breathing!”

“You would want to learn the most merciful of the forms first, wouldn’t you?” Urokodaki
chuckled. “I don’t see why not. There’s nothing traditional about me taking you on as a student to
begin with.”

“Why is there a demon here?!” the blond suddenly wailed. “I thought you just didn’t know! But
you’re training him? He has a nichirin sword!”

“Zenitsu, were you not just shown that he won’t hurt anyone?” Jigoro sounded faintly
disapproving, and Tanjiro’s heart panged at the fear and shame that tinged Zenitsu’s scent.

“It’s fine, really! I know that I’m not exactly… normal, for a demon. I don’t expect everyone to be
comfortable with me. It just means I have to prove that I can be trusted!”

The other kid their age scoffed. “Demons are never to be trusted. I don’t know how you’ve tricked
Kuwajima-sensei and Urokodaki-san into giving you a chance but–”

“Kaigaku, enough. Tanjiro has proven himself a dozen times over; this was the final test for a
reason. If two former Hashira and one current one have decided that he is worth sparing, then
perhaps it is worth thinking on why we did so.”

Kaigaku grumbled, but the obvious respect he held for Kuwajima kept him from protesting further.

Nezuko flitted over to Tanjiro with a massive grin on her face, practically vibrating with her
excitement. “Now we can train together, onii-chan! Oh, I’m so excited; this opens up so many
possibilities!”

Tanjiro mirrored Nezuko’s smile with one of his own. “The demons won’t know what hit them.”

“Onii-chan…?” Zenitsu mumbled with a bright red blush on his face. “The demon has such a cute
sister?”

“Onii-chan, onii-chan!” The excited cries of his other siblings echoed throughout the forest as they
ran toward him, and his mother and Saburo weren’t far behind them.
“Onii-chan!” Hanako pouted at him, pushing a cup into his hands. “You didn’t wait for me to
wake up. I’m not letting you skip blood day!”

Tanjiro huffed a laugh, ruffling Hanako’s hair with his free hand. “It’s really not necessary to do
this so often, Hanako. I’ve gotten stronger, so I could probably go even longer without blood than I
used to be able to.”

“I know, but it’s important for onii-chan to get stronger right now! We won’t… we won’t see you
as often once you pass the Final Selection, so just let us help you until then, okay? Be a little more
selfish!”

“Okay.” Tanjiro’s eyes watered as he drank before bending down and pulling Hanako into a hug.
Takeo, Shigeru, and Rokuta were quick to join them. “Thank you. Everyone just… thank you.”

Awe. That was the primary emotion that Tanjiro could smell coming from Jigoro, Zenitsu, and
Kaigaku, as muddled as it was with shock and hope.

Tanjiro squared his shoulders, wiped the tears from his eyes, and stood up, turning to Urokodaki
with determination. “I won’t let you down!”

“I know you won’t.”

Tanjiro wasn’t sure when Urokodaki had become family to him, but the new layer of home-fire-
warmth to his scent did not lie.

‘I will protect my family, new and old, no matter what. I won’t let anything threaten them.’
Something in Tanjiro settled when he acknowledged that. Protecting his family had always been
what drove him, but reaffirming that and expanding his definition of family to include friends,
mentors, and anyone he cared about felt important to him as a demon.

He just wasn’t sure why.

“You’re in a unique position here, Tanjiro.”

Everything felt heavy. It was difficult to do much more than open his eyes, and when Tanjiro
managed to do so, he found himself staring at someone who looked eerily similar to himself, down
to the flame markings on his forehead that Tanjiro only gained as a demon.

“Who…?”

“I am Yoriichi. Typically I would not be able to communicate so clearly with you, but I suppose
since you’re a demon… I’m glad you finally agreed to rest your eyes for a time, even if it was only
to appease your siblings.” Yoriichi’s smile was fond and amused, and Tanjiro flushed in
embarrassment.

“It’s nice to meet you. What did you mean, though?”

“You’re more powerful than any newly turned demon should be. It typically takes decades and
devouring hundreds of humans to gain even a fraction of your current strength. Tanjiro… I do
believe you’ve become a demon king.”

That didn’t sound like anything Tanjiro wanted to be. “What’s a demon king?”
“A demon that is driven by a singular, core purpose with atypical strength, drastically reduced
hunger, and the ability to create demons. A demon like Muzan.”

“What?! I don’t want to be anything like–”

“This does not have to be a bad thing, Tanjiro. You could save allies from certain death this way,
with their permission, and demons gain the same abilities as their creators. Assuming I’m correct,
your demons would be capable of walking beneath the sun and not only surviving but thriving on
no more than human blood, though they would need to feed more often than you do.”

He hated that the first thing he felt was relief Tanjiro knew that if anything happened to a single
member of his family, save for Urokodaki, they would let him turn them. He didn’t want to resort to
it, but having the assurance that he wouldn’t lose them meant the world to him.

“Family is your purpose, and I could not be prouder of you for it. Continue to expand your family,
bring more people under your protection, and grow stronger. You’ll need to. Muzan’s purpose is to
find a way to walk in the sunlight, and once he finds out that you’re capable of it, he’ll do anything
to get his hands on the ability.”

“... I see. Thank you for the warning.”

A warm hand ruffled his hair. “Your kindness is your greatest strength, Tanjiro. Promise me that
you’ll use it. In a contest against you and Muzan… I suspect that your blood is more powerful.
Muzan did not grow in strength nearly as quickly as you have, and he never hesitated to eat
humans. Should you encounter demons who express regret, sympathy, or some form of humanity
that peeks through despite their curse, it may be worth attempting to make them your own.”

“I don’t have to kill them all? You won’t be ashamed of me for choosing this path?”

“I could never be anything but proud of what you’ve accomplished, Tanjiro. Your kindness is your
humanity, and I will not ask you to cast it aside to become a merciless killer. You know, I was
actually cast out of the demon slayers for sparing a demon myself. A kind one who regained her
sense of self despite committing atrocities and who obviously loathed Muzan as much as I did.
Compassion is our legacy. You are allowed to feel sympathy for these demons, simply don’t let it
interfere with your duty to protect humans. Not every demon can be saved, and not every demon
would ever want to be.”

With great effort, Tanjiro bowed lowly. “Thank you for your wisdom. I will keep your words in
mind going forward.”

“I look forward to seeing the change that you bring forth, Tanjiro. Burn brightly like the sun, and
do not let anyone dim your light.”

“Seventh Form: Beneficient Radiance–”

“Third Form: Flowing Dance–”

“Dual Summer Daze!”

Fire and water twined around each other in a captivating spiral. Tanjiro and Nezuko flowed
effortlessly around one another, and their combination attack decimated the training dummy they
unleashed it upon.
“That’s amazing! Nezuko-chan, Tanjiro-kun, you’re both so strong; please protect me! I’m gonna
die in the Final Selection, I just know it!”

Kaigaku scoffed before hitting Zenitsu upside the head. “Get it together; you’ll be fine. You’re not
completely hopeless.”

That was practically glowing praise from Kaigaku. After seeing how pleased both Urokodaki and
Kuwajima were with Tanjiro and Nezuko’s teamwork, Kaigaku began to reluctantly cooperate with
Zenitsu. Upon seeing how thrilled their mentor was about it, Kaigaku’s single-minded focus
became turning Zenitsu into the best demon slayer he possibly could be. The results showed it too.
Before, Zenitsu could only ever accomplish his greatest speeds when he was unconscious; his
anxiety was too powerful while he was aware to manage it. But now that he was surrounded by
people who believed in him and lifted him up instead of Kaigaku constantly tearing him down, he
was improving by leaps and bounds.

Kaigaku had passed his Final Selection earlier in the year, and Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Tanjiro were
going to take their own next year. Even when he was often away on missions, Kaigaku still made a
point of dropping in to visit all of them between missions. Tanjiro might have been fooled by his
gruff exterior if he didn’t have the sense of smell that he did, but he could smell the happy-fond
scent that always emanated from Kaigaku whenever he came by.

Jigoro, Kaigaku, and Zenitsu were family now. It made Tanjiro sad that they were heading back
home, but he knew that he’d see them again soon.

“Safe travels. You’d better write me!” Nezuko called out. “I’m gonna kick your ass the next time
we see each other!”

Zenitsu’s crush on Nezuko had been short-lived and tempered with the knowledge of her strength.
After she beat him into the ground during training a few times, Zenitsu’s scent around her shifted
from excited-nervous-affection to respect-fear-admiration. Tanjiro was just glad that he could see
Nezuko for the destructive force of nature that she was.

“I will! You two take care!”

Urokodaki came to them after sunset, watching them spar together with a fond grin. “You two
could’ve gone to Final Selection this year, you know?”

“We know. But then we couldn’t have gone with Zenitsu, and he needs the moral support!” Tanjiro
knew that Zenitsu was capable of great things; he still just needed someone to remind him of that
from time to time.

“Besides, having more time to train will only help us. We’re still working on some of these
combination attacks, and there’s still a few forms of Water Breathing that onii-chan is struggling
with.”

They would keep training. For everything they wanted to protect and all the changes they wanted
to make, Tanjiro and Nezuko would fight with all of their strength.

“... I don’t think they need our help.”

“You’re right. These two might be the ones to finally kill him, Sabito.”

“I hope so. I truly hope so.”

 Chapter 4

Urokodaki handed them both fox masks with a bittersweet smile and a fearful scent. “Promise me
that you’ll both come back alive from this.”

“We will, I promise.” Tanjiro ran his clawed hand over the mask with a smile. Urokodaki had
painted Tanjiro’s flaming mark on the mask’s forehead and included little fangs poking out of the
fox’s mouth. It made him feel accepted and seen, not just as Tanjiro but as the demon he’d
embraced becoming, and that was worth even more than the protective blessing that Urokodaki had
placed on the mask, at least to him.

“Yeah, who do you think we are? We’re going to crush this.” Nezuko had only grown more
confident as she trained, and she happily donned her fox mask that had a sun painted on its
forehead and rosy red cheeks. Her fox’s mouth was painted into a wicked smirk that suited her
entirely too well.

“Onii-chan! Onee-chan!”

Though they were setting out for Fujikasane early, before the sun had even risen, their family still
insisted upon seeing them off.

“You guys better kick those demons’ butts!” Shigeru cried out, whining when Kie lightly chided
him for his language.

“You’re coming back home before you start going on missions, right?” Rokuta was still a bit
clingy sometimes, but he’d grown more used to managing on his own, or at least without the exact
person he wanted to be with, with age.

“Of course we will,” Tanjiro answered with a smile. “We wouldn’t miss your sixth birthday for the
world!”

“I made these for you guys.” Hanako passed them both charms that were made out of wisteria
flowers. They were designed to attach to their sword guards, and Tanjiro was impressed by their
sister’s craftsmanship. “I know the mountain you’re going to is surrounded by wisteria anyway, but
I thought it might help to have a little on hand. Maybe it’s silly…”

“No, these are great, Hanako! Thank you.” Nezuko quickly clipped her own on after saying this,
and Tanjiro followed behind her. Wisteria was only mildly irritating to the touch now, and while
he knew the sheer quantity of it would affect his sense of smell while climbing Fujikasane, he’d
become able to work around it with even less issue than he had before.

“Promise me that you’ll keep an eye out for any interesting breathing styles! I’ve still gotta find
something that suits me, you know?” Takeo had attempted to learn Water Breathing since he was
old enough to study under a cultivator now, but he didn’t have the patience or fluidity for it.
Thunder Breathing had been a bust as well, and if Takeo hadn’t shown promise in Total
Concentration Breathing, Tanjiro worried that his brother would’ve given up.

“We will! You might end up having to create your own style to suit you better, but there’s
definitely a base for you to learn from out there somewhere.”

“... Thanks, onii-chan.”

“Tanjiro, Nezuko, be careful. I know you’re both so strong, and I know that you’ll both pass but
still… Your mother worries. Promise me you’ll be safe.”

Nezuko’s expression softened in a way that it only did for her most precious people. “We will, kaa-
san. Promise.”

Saburo ruffled their hair with a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. “Go show ‘em what the
Kamados are made of, you two. I’m so proud of you.”

“We will, oto-san! Take care of everyone while we’re gone!” Tanjiro meant more than just while
they were at the Final Selection, and Saburo knew that. He was the one who was most familiar
with what fighting demons meant, after all.

“I will. I promise you both, Sakonji-san and I will keep the others safe.” Saburo was being trained
in Water Breathing for that very purpose. He didn’t intend to become a slayer, to ever really go out
and fight demons, but he wanted to be able to protect them all if push came to shove.

It was time for them to leave. Their future beckoned for them like the rising sun, and Tanjiro and
Nezuko proudly walked toward the horizon.

“I can’t believe that they can keep wisteria blooming during the winter here.” Tanjiro nervously
fidgeted with his father’s sword as he and Nezuko joined the crowd of future slayers. It was hard
for him to believe that he’d have his own blade after this. Tanjiro had grown used to the comforting
presence of the crimson sword on his hip, but the last thing he wanted to do was risk breaking his
father’s sword in the field. It was for the best that he retired it.

“Would they tell us how they do it? Maybe after we pass.”

“Tanjiro! Nezuko! You’re both here, thank goodness!”

“Hello, Zenitsu,” Tanjiro laughed. “It’s good to see you too. You’ve grown even stronger; I can
tell. Your scent shifted again.”

“Hehe, really?” Zenitsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “You’re too nice, Tanjiro. I did
almost manage the second form, though! I’m still not quite there, but I’m making progress.”

“I’m glad to hear it! How’s Kaigaku doing?”

“He’s busy, but he still stops by every now and then. He’s been asking me for help with the first
form lately, too! I couldn’t believe it, but he really seems happier nowadays. I’m just glad he
closed his box of happiness before it was too late.”

“I have no idea what that means, but I’m happy for you both!”

“You’re a little too honest sometimes, Tanjiro,” Zenitsu snorted. “But thank you. It’s an enhanced
hearing thing. I can kinda hear emotions from people, but it’s difficult to explain.”

“No, I totally get it! My sense of smell is the same way!”

Nezuko laughed at them both, shaking her head fondly. “What am I going to do with you two?
Focus. We need to come up with a game plan.”

“We stick together!” Zenitsu cowered under Nezuko’s glare. “We coordinate together while
covering as much ground as possible?”
“Better. With your sense of hearing and Tanjiro’s sense of smell, it’ll be easy for both of you to
track demons and find me or each other if needed. I’ll fight any of them that I encounter and keep
an ear out for trouble, but if anything big happens, I want you guys to come find me. That’s when
we’ll work together.”

Tanjiro nodded, determination lighting his eyes as he clenched his fists. He very carefully kept his
claws from growing with the action. “It’s not enough for us to pass. It’s a given that we’ll all make
it. We need to make sure that everyone does. Every single person in this clearing is going to
survive; that’s my goal.”

“You two are both so amazing.” The genuine awe in Zenitsu’s voice never quite went away in
regards to them. “How do you do it? How are you not scared?”

“... I am scared. I’m terrified. I have so much to lose, Zenitsu, and one wrong move from me could
ruin everything. I fight so hard because I have to prove that I deserve to be here. I have to prove that
they were right to let me live.”

Zenitsu’s scent wavered with sadness. “I’m sorry. You don’t have much choice in this either, do
you?”

Tanjiro shook his head. “This is the only path left for me. That doesn’t mean that I won’t make it
my own, though. You just have to figure out how to do that too, Zenitsu.”

“Being brave isn’t fighting without feeling fear, Zenitsu. That’s being stupid. Being brave is being
afraid and fighting anyway, and you’re one of the bravest people I know.” Nezuko’s praise was
laced with subtle barbs, as always, but Zenitsu was good at letting those playful jabs roll off his
back and understanding what Nezuko really meant.

“Aw, thanks! I’ll do my best not to let you down!”

“Greetings, everyone.” The black-haired child wearing a kimono spoke, and when they did, the
entire clearing plunged into silence. Thank you all for joining our Final Selection tonight. This
mountain is filled with demons brought here by demon slayers, trapped by the wisteria that grows
up to this point and blooms year-round. They are unable to leave it.”

The child with white hair spoke next. “However, from here on out, there is no more wisteria, only
demons. If you can survive the next seven days, then you pass the Final Selection. Now let us
begin.”

Everyone ran into the forest, and the higher Tanjiro got the easier it became for him to track
everyone with his nose. Being further away from the wisteria helped. He beheaded several weak,
starving demons that were practically rabid with hunger, and he couldn’t help the pang of sadness
that he felt.

‘I know that they’ve probably done terrible things, but this feels wrong. It’s cruel. To be captured,
starved, and left to rot on the top of this mountain… If it hadn’t been Tomioka-san that found me,
would this have been my fate? Would I have been deemed too weak to be a threat and used like
this? Did any of these demons have a flicker of humanity left in them that’s been starved out? I
don’t know. I don’t like this.’

An overpowering smell of rot filled the air. “Zenitsu!” he screamed out, trusting that his friend
would hear him. “Zenitsu, get Nezuko! Head toward my voice! There’s a powerful demon here;
it’s way too powerful to be intentional!”
Tanjiro rushed toward the scent of the smell with a low growl rumbling in his throat. He got there
just in time to see a giant demon that was covered in hands reaching for the neck of one of the new
slayers. Tanjiro severed the hand from the demon’s body with a snarl, planting himself between the
massive demon and the two humans that were trembling behind him.

“Why is there such a large mutant-type here? That can’t be right! We weren’t told anything about
this!”

“Oh? Here comes another cute little fox.” Tanjiro simply glared at the demon, lifting his blade into
a defensive stance. “Tell me, little fox. What year of the Meiji era is it?”

‘Ah. He’s been here a long time. He’s survived long enough to become powerful… by killing the
test-takers. I see.’ Tanjiro chuckled slightly, and it was a bitter, dark, angry thing. It scared him.
“It’s the Taisho era now.”

“Ahhh! The era name! Even the era name changed too?! How long have I been locked up in this
place?! I’ll never forgive him, never!” the demon snarled. “Damn that Urokodaki!”

Tanjiro’s stomach sank. ‘Urokodaki-san… captures demons for the test?’

“I won’t forget that moment 47 years ago! He was still actively hunting demons then, back during
the Edo period and Keio era.”

‘Oh, okay. It was a long time ago, at least. Urokodaki-san clearly changed his mind now, at least
about me.’ Tanjiro still felt distinctly unsettled by this information, but he needed to focus on the
task at hand: ensuring that the two standing behind him survived.

“You’re lying!” one of them screamed. “Demons here aren’t supposed to have lived that long!
They should’ve only eaten two or three people, at most, and since they fight each other and get
killed during the Final Selection, there’s no way one can live that long!”

“But I still remain alive in this prison of wisteria. I’ve eaten a total of fifty children now… Twelve,
thirteen, and you’re the fourteenth.” The demon pointed directly at him. “Though you do seem to
be an odd one.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The number of Urokodaki’s apprentices that I’ve eaten, of course. I’ve decided to get back at him
by ensuring that none of his pupils leave this test alive. Though that one did manage to escape...”

“You two, run. He’s going to focus on me, so use that to get out of here.”

“B-but there’s no way you can beat that thing.”

Tanjiro was glad that his presence suppression was holding strong, but the rage baying at the
forefront of his mind meant it wouldn’t be for much longer. His thoughts were a cacophony that
culminated in one, persisting thought: kill the demon who had been tormenting Urokodaki, who
had been making one of his family members smell of sadness so often, and end this twisted cycle
of death.

“I can. Go. You’ll only distract me.”

After another moment of hesitation, the two of them took off, and Tanjiro sliced off the hands that
darted after them in a flash. “Your opponent is me.”
“Hm, you remind me of him. That apprentice of Urokodaki’s that protected all the others in his
Final Selection; he's the only reason one of Urokodaki's survived me. You know, those fox masks
are how I can tell that you’re one of Urokodaki’s. They’re carved in the same way that his tengu
mask is. He calls them masks of disaster prevention, but isn’t it funny? It’s those very masks that
got all his students killed! He may as well have struck them down himself!” The demon burst into
laughter then, and Tanjiro’s control slipped for a split second. The laughter swiftly died out at the
powerful demonic presence that flared from him.

“You’re… Your mask has fangs, and so do you, little demon fox. What could have possibly made
that slayer train a demon?”

“Onii-chan!” Nezuko bolted through the trees with grim determination in her eyes and her sword in
hand. “You called?”

Zenitsu followed behind her with a crack of thunder. He was tense and shaking, but he looked up
to the massive demon with no less resolve because of it. “You’ve got backup. Where do you need
us?”

“Another little fox. I see, I see… he took you in for the one who calls you brother. Then I’ll kill her
first!”

Several giant hands shot out for her, and while Tanjiro knew that she could defend herself, he
couldn’t help moving before she had to. “First Form: Dance, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky, Third
Form: Raging Sun!”

Four demonic arms crumbled to dust, and Nezuko was quick to leap on the opportunity to catch the
demon by surprise. “Fourth Form: Striking Tide!” The hands around the demon’s neck scattered
on the wind, and despite his power, it was taking time for his limbs to regenerate. That was time he
didn’t have with Zenitsu there.

“First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.”

The demon’s head fell to the ground in the blink of an eye. Tanjiro looked down at the demon,
smelling panic and fear as his body began to crumble to dust. He couldn’t help but look on in pity.
Even when the demon had hurt someone so dear to him, that didn’t make the emotions he was
feeling any less real.

Tanjiro clasped one of the demon’s remaining hands in his own. Tears began to well up in the
demon’s eyes, and Tanjiro bent his head in prayer. “Hinokami-sama, please ensure that this person
never becomes a demon again when he reincarnates.”

Nezuko sighed, clapping her hands together as well as an afterthought. “You’re too nice, onii-
chan.”

“He wouldn’t be Tanjiro if he wasn’t too nice for his own good. But that’s okay. He has you to be
the closed fist when it’s needed.”

“Damn right he does.”

The rest of the Final Selection felt like nothing after that. Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Zenitsu worked to
keep the other test-takers alive, taking down low-level demons left, right, and center. The smell of
human blood did not rise from the mountain once in the seven days they were there.

“Welcome back.”
“Congratulations. Being safe and sound is better than anything else.”

‘We did it. Twenty-three aspiring slayers came to this mountain, and twenty-three slayers will be
leaving it, alive.’

“I’m proud of you two. We make a good team, don’t we?”

Zenitsu nodded rapidly. “We really do! I hope we can work missions together!”

“We’ll need to get your measurements so that we may issue an official uniform for you all. Then
we’ll engrave your ranks into your hand.”

“There are ten ranks in total. Mizunoto, Mizunoe, Kanoto, Kanoe, Tsuchi-noto, Tsuchi-noe,
Hinoto, Hinoe, Kinoto, and Kinoe. Right now, you’re all Mizunotos, the lowest rank.”

“What about our swords?” a boy with a mohawk and facial scar asked.

“You’ll be choosing a chunk of tamahagane alloy today. Nichirin swords take time to forge and are
personalized to each slayer, but you can expect to receive them in ten to fifteen days. Also, from
now on, Kasugai Crows will be following you all.”

Crows landed on the shoulders of the slayers around them, with the exception of Zenitsu receiving
a sparrow.

“Eh? Isn’t this a sparrow?”

The children ignored Zenitsu's question. “Kasugai Crows are primarily used for communication.
They will be your most reliable companions.”

The boy with a mohawk only grew more agitated as the two children talked, culminating in
swatting away his crow and marching forward to grab the white-haired child’s bangs. “I don’t care
about some stupid crow! What I want is the blade! Give the nichirin blade to me now!”

Tanjiro’s arm gripped the boy’s so tightly that he could hear the bones starting to creak. “Let.
Them. Go. If you don’t, I’ll break your arm.”

“Huh? Who are you? You can try if you dare!”

Tanjiro twisted. The boy shouted, and the white-haired child blinked in surprise as they evaluated
them both. The boy stepped back, eyes wide with fear, and the black-haired child hummed. “Are
you done? If so, please go over there and choose the alloy that will be used to forge your blade.
The alloy that will be worn at your side, used to destroy demons and defend yourself and others,
will be personally chosen by you. Choose carefully.”

Tanjiro picked an alloy that smelled like sunshine and fire, Nezuko’s smelled like rivers and the
ocean, and Zenitsu’s smelled like static and the sweet smell that came before the rain. He
wondered how the other two picked ores that suited them so perfectly, and he wondered if the
other slayers picked so skillfully as well.

‘I can’t wait to see how our swords turn out. Oto-san, you and your blade can rest now.’

Two weeks later, another unfamiliar presence began to approach Urokodaki’s house. Tanjiro could
smell the nichirin on him, and he darted to Nezuko with a wide grin. “Nezuko! Nezuko, he’s here!”
Tanjiro bounced outside to wait for their guest, vibrating with excitement.

Wind chimes swayed in the wind. The tinkling of bells was a welcome, soothing sound that eased
Tanjiro’s nerves on such a momentous occasion. “My name is Haganezuka. I am the one who
forged the blades for Kamado Tanjiro and Kamado Nezuko.”

“I’m Kamado Tanjiro! My sister is just inside. Please, come in!”

Haganezuka kneeled in the dirt, pulling out two blades. “These are the nichirin blades.”

“Um, please come in and have a seat.”

“I forged these blades.”

“We have tea!”

“The nichrin blades’ raw materials are iron sand and ore from the highest mountain that is closest
to the sun. Scarlet crimson iron sand and scarlet crimson ore are metals that have absorbed the
sunlight. That is what makes them effective against demons.”

“Your bag is gonna get mud on it just laying there like that…”

“The mountain the materials are from, the sunlight mountain, is bathed in sunlight all year round.
It is never troubled by clouds or the rain.”

“Hold on a minute, please!” Tanjiro cried out. “Could you please stand up? The way you’re
crouching on the ground can’t be comfortable–”

Tanjiro was startled when Haganezuka looked up. His mask was incredibly peculiar, and it was
almost uncomfortable to look at, somehow.

“Hmm? Ah, you’re a child of burning crimson, aren’t you? How auspicious of us to meet.”

Tanjiro blinked in confusion. “No, no, I’m Tanjuro and Kie’s son!”

“I didn’t mean it like that. Your hair and eyes are all red. If a family works with fire, then they will
inevitably have a child like you. It’s a lucky thing.”

“Is that so? I don’t really understand…” Tanjiro was pretty sure that his appearance was just a
genetic thing. His father had the same exact coloration, and so did Yoriichi. 'Yoriichi didn't work
with fire until he joined our family, so I don't think that's it at all.'

“Looks like his blade might turn red, right Urokodaki?”

“It may. Do come inside. You’ve got to watch two blades being drawn, after all.”

“I suppose. The other child is his sister, right? Surely one of them will have a red blade…”

Their family sat around them, eagerly waiting for Tanjiro and Nezuko to pull their blades.
Haganezuka looked distinctly uncomfortable being around so many people. “Alright! Try to pull
your blade out of its scabbard.”

Tanjiro and Nezuko did so in unison. “The nichirin blade’s other name is the blade of color
change. The blade changes color based on each individual owner.”

“Oh.” Tanjiro had grown so used to swinging his father’s crimson blade that it felt surreal that his
own would be black. He looked over to see that Nezuko’s was a deep blue.

“Black?”

“I expected Nezuko’s to turn blue, but black… I’ve never seen a shade that dark before.”

“I thought I would finally see a bright crimson blade this time, dammit–!”

“Um… I’m sorry. If you want, then I can show you my father’s…?”

Haganezuka froze. Something about his shift in aura felt more terrifying than any demon Tanjiro
had fought so far. “You have a crimson blade here?”

“It’s what I used before you brought this one. As long as you’re careful with it, I don’t mind
showing you!”

“I’ll be careful! So careful! I’ll barely even touch it! Please let me see it!”

Tanjiro laughed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll be right back.”

Haganezuka was over the moon when he saw Tanjuro’s blade. “This is the best day of my life! Not
as good as one of my blades turning crimson, but to be able to see one in person… You’re not bad,
Kamado. If you ever need anything, then send me a crow.”

“Caw! Caw! Kamado Tanjiro! Kamado Nezuko! Hurry and go to the northwest town! Demon!
Demon! This is your first assignment!”

Tanjiro jerked into alertness. ‘An assignment?’

Nezuko’s crow continued the message much more calmly than Tanjiro’s. “There are young girls
disappearing every night in the northwest town. This is a joint mission; please hurry!”

Kie gave them both a sad smile, but her scent radiated acceptance. “Go. Those girls need you two.”

“Welcome to the life of a demon slayer,” Saburo chuckled. “Never a moment of rest.”

“Kick ass, onii-chan, onee-chan!”

“Takeo!” Hanako scolded. “At least don’t say that in front of kaa-san, honestly…”

“You’ll have to tell us lots of cool stories when you get back!” Shigeru gave them both a quick
hug. “You know I’ll love to listen to them!”

“Be safe onii-chan, onee-chan.” Rokuta smelled undeniably sad but was proud of them too. He was
growing up so fast. “I love you. Visit soon!”

“We’ll visit as soon as we can, Rokuta, I promise.”

“We’ve gotta go, onii-chan! Come on!”

Tanjiro was sad to truly be leaving most of his family behind, even if only temporarily, but he was
excited too. This was the beginning of their journey as demon slayers. Tanjiro could only hope that
he’d save as many people and demons as he possibly could along the way.
 Chapter 5
Chapter Notes

I've been going absolutely crazy with writing this AU, so you can enjoy a double
update today! This chapter is much longer too. I hope you all enjoy!

I absolutely will not be updating like this forever, as a heads up. My demon slayer
brainrot is strong, and I probably will be posting demon slayer fics fairly regularly, but
I tend to flit around between AUs that I'm working on depending on how cooperative
my brain is being.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The town was blanketed with a scent of fear and resignation. People shuffled throughout the
market uneasily, casting wary glances as they went about their days.

“This is…”

“I know, onii-chan. Even I can sense it.”

They walked past a man who looked haunted beyond the others around them, smelling so strongly
of despair that Tanjiro almost choked on it.

“Kazumi-san looks devastated. He was right next to Satoko when she was taken last night, you
know?”

Kazumi trembled at the villagers gossiping. They weren’t speaking quietly enough to avoid being
heard, and Tanjiro wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort him. Right now, he had a
job to do, though. ‘If I move quickly enough, then I might be able to find Satoko.’

“It’s so unsettling that this happens every night.”

“Yeah, I hate this…”

“Kazumi-san! We’re here to help. May we please ask you some questions about the specifics of
this situation?”

Kazumi hesitated, looking over them both before nodding and leading them into a more isolated
part of town. “We were right here when Satoko disappeared. You might not believe me, but…”

“We believe you.” Tanjiro crouched down, furrowing his eyebrows at how faint the scent of
demon was after less than a day.

“It’s our job to investigate circumstances like this,” Nezuko explained with a dip of her head.
“We’re not going to cast doubt on your words, no matter how farfetched they may sound.”

The scent of rot grew stronger. Tanjiro jolted up and turned to the west, only now realizing that
they had arrived in town as the sun was setting. The stars were twinkling in the sky and the demon
was already on the hunt.
He took off, focusing on the peculiar scent of this demon and tracking it down. “Hey! Why did he
run so suddenly?!”

Nezuko was quick to leap after him, calling back to Kazumi to say, “Onii-chan has an excellent
nose! The demon must be here!”

The two of them ran across the rooftops, and while Tanjiro was inhumanly fast, Nezuko was only a
step behind him. He leapt down into an alleyway, turning his head back and forth as he searched
for the presence he could smell strongest here. ‘There are two scents here. One is a demon and
another is a human… He’s already chosen prey for tonight, but where are they? I can’t see them
anywhere. The place where the scent is the strongest…’

Tanjiro plunged his blade into the dirt in front of him. The demonic presence flared, and the human
scent grew stronger as she was pushed out of the dirt by whatever Blood Demon Art that had been
holding her there shattering. A hand reached out from the dirt to try to drag her back down, but
Tanjiro grabbed her and jumped back before it could.

A demon with three horns rose out of the dirt. “Where did you take all of those abducted
women?!” Nezuko demanded. The demon’s eyes locked onto Nezuko as he began to grind his
teeth. Tanjiro balked when they began to spin around in his mouth like some sort of demented saw.
The demon simply sank back into the earth, and Tanjiro looked back to see that Kazumi had
followed them both.

“Here! Hold onto her for us, please. So long as you stay within our range, we’ll be able to protect
you!”

“R-right.”

‘With a Blood Demon Art like that, the demon could come from anywhere. The ground, the wall,
maybe even the air. However, even when he disappears, his scent doesn’t vanish! I can find him.
He’s right…’

Tanjiro paled slightly. “Nezuko! He’s here, and there’s three of them!” He leapt back just in time to
keep three demons from dragging him into their Blood Demon Art. ‘Clones? How cohesively can
they work together? We can take them no problem, but defending Kazumi and that girl is going to
be more difficult than I anticipated.’

“Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!” Nezuko leapt up and swung her blade down where Tanjiro was
standing a few moments prior, growling when the demons sunk back into the earth. “Come out and
face us, you cowards!”

One of them resurfaced behind Kazumi, and it became abundantly clear that the demon was trying
to take his prey back before cutting his losses and running.

“Ninth Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!” A giant flaming dragon sprung from his sword,
twining around Kazumi and lashing its tail out to decapitate the demon reaching for the humans.
Tanjiro gasped when he watched his blade turn the same shade of crimson as his father’s
afterward. ‘Oh! I just had to use Sun Breathing to make it change. How odd, do all crimson blades
start off black?’ The demon pulled back with a snarl and a hiss, arms bubbling from getting too
close to the flaming attack.

“Demon slayers… They are real,” Kazumi muttered disbelievingly.

“You bastard!” The clone with two horns started spitting vitriol when he resurfaced again. “Stop
getting in my way! That woman will go stale! She’s already sixteen; if I don’t eat her quickly, then
she’s going to lose that freshness!”

Tanjiro typically felt bad for his fellow demons, but right now, the only emotions he could muster
were horror and disgust.

“Don’t fret, my duplicate,” the demon with one horn said. He had the strongest of the three, so
Tanjiro was certain that he was the main body. “I’ve already eaten many sixteen-year-old girls
from this town. Every single one of them was delicious. I’ve already had my fill; we can go
elsewhere.”

“Well, I’m not satisfied! I want to eat more! How about the slayer girl, there? She’s right around
the right age!”

Kazumi was trembling, and rage began to overpower his scent. “You monster… That girl you
kidnapped last night… Give Satoko back now!”

The clone with three horns emerged from the ground, and Tanjiro smirked when he swiftly
decapitated it before it could sink back down. The main body’s eye twitched with irritation before
he tilted his head at Kazumi and said, “Satoko? Who are you talking about?” The demon opened
his kimono to reveal a collection of hairpins that made Tanjiro feel sick. They all reeked of blood
and death.

“If you see her hairpin here, then I’m afraid I’ve already eaten her.”

Tears streamed down Kazumi’s face and despair quickly overcame the rage. When the two-horned
clone attempted to take advantage of his moment of weakness, Nezuko swiftly decapitated it with
Second Form: Water Wheel.

The main body snarled. “This isn’t worth it! I’m leaving!”

“I don’t fucking think so!” As the demon sunk into his Blood Demon Art, Nezuko dove in after
him, leaving Tanjiro alone with Kazumi and the demon’s near-victim.

“I’m sorry,” Tanjiro whispered. His words cut through the sudden silence like a blade. “I’m sorry
that we didn’t get here sooner. That demon will never hurt another person again, but I know that’s
a poor consolation.”

“I’ve lost my fiancé! Her parents hate me now! If you think it’s any consolation at all, then–!”

“I know, Kazumi-san.” Tears welled in Tanjiro’s eyes. “But… no matter how much you’ve lost,
you don’t have a choice but to continue moving forward. No matter how severe the blow you took
is.”

Kazumi grabbed onto the collar of his uniform, and despite the violence in the action, Tanjiro
could tell that he was only sad. “What would a kid like you know about any of this?!”

Nezuko resurfaced from the Blood Demon Art at that moment, wiping blood off her blade as it
evaporated. Tanjiro only smiled sadly in response to Kazumi’s question, revealing fangs that made
the human pale in fear.

“Onii-chan had his humanity stolen from him. He isn’t a fighter, not like me; he’s too kind for that.
But he’s forced to fight and kill anyway because if he didn’t, then his life would be forfeit.”
Nezuko turned to Kazumi with a hard look in her eyes. “You’re allowed to be upset. You’re
allowed to feel grief and rage at the world for what it did to you. But do not attack others because
you’re hurting.”

“... I’m sorry. I said something very cruel. I cannot imagine becoming… For what it’s worth, I
agree with you.” Nezuko hummed in question. “Demon or no, that boy has the kindest eyes I’ve
ever seen.”

Nezuko’s expression softened then, and she passed over a section of the demon’s kimono. ‘The
hairpins!’

“Satoko would want you to have this, wouldn't she? Would you mind finding the families of those
who wore these hairpins for us? We have to keep moving.”

Their crows swooped down to land on their shoulders, cawing impatiently. They wouldn’t speak in
front of humans that didn’t know of their existence, but it was clear that they had another mission
for them.

“I will. Thank you! Thank you both! Please… take care!”

“We will, thank you!” Tanjiro called back, waving with a bittersweet smile on his face.

‘Kibutsuji Muzan… I will not forgive you for the despair you’ve bestowed upon humans and
demons alike. I will track you down, and I will kill you.’ Tanjiro swore it on his title of demon
king.

“The next location is Asakusa in the Tokyo prefecture! Caw! There are rumors of a demon in
hiding there! Go now!”

“We’re going, we’re going!” Tanjiro laughed. ‘We’ve never been to a big city before. I wonder
what it’ll be like?’

Bright. The city was bustling like it was still daytime despite the moon being high in the sky, and
Tanjiro had never seen such tall buildings before. The smell of so many people surrounding him
was overwhelming, and he and Nezuko had to peel off to a side street to regain their breath for a
moment.

“Man, it’s so busy still…” Even Nezuko sounded off-center as she walked up to a noodle cart,
ordering a bowl for herself. “How are we supposed to find anything when the city is like this? It
had to be even worse during the day.”

“I’m not sure. It’ll probably take me a minute to sort out my senses and start searching for any
demons around.” Despite saying that, Tanjiro went completely stiff only a few seconds later.

‘That scent! That’s…’ He turned to his sister with a dire expression. “Nezuko, Muzan is here.”

“What?!” she hissed. She quickly downed the last of her noodles and waved in thanks to the vendor
as they both ran in the direction of that overpowering scent. “What is he doing here?”

“Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

Tanjiro and Nezuko swerved through the crowds, and Tanjiro’s eyes locked onto the back of a tall
man wearing a white fedora before flaring his demonic presence as much as he could. He wasn’t
sure why he did it at first. Then he realized. Something within him was baying to challenge the
other demon king, to defend his title and disgrace the false king who would treat those who relied
on him so cruelly.

Wide, red eyes turned back to face him. Muzan was carrying a human girl who smelled of nothing
but trust and affection, and the woman walking next to him smelled the same. ‘He’s living as a
human. In a city where the night is as active as the day, he remains hidden by blending in with the
humans here.’

Tanjiro would not approach him directly, despite his instincts. It would be far too dangerous for all
the humans surrounding them. That being said, he knew that a demon’s enhanced hearing would be
able to make out his next words. “You will regret the day you turned me, Kibutsuji Muzan. Your
days are numbered.”

Rage. Shock. Fear. Tanjiro could see the instant that Muzan realized he had no control over
Tanjiro, and he delighted in the demon turning tail and running for all of two seconds before
realizing that Muzan had swiped at one of the people in the crowd and turned them while escaping.

Tanjiro rushed forward grabbing the man as he lunged for his wife. He was snarling and drooling,
trying to swipe at anyone and everyone around him, but Tanjiro held him firmly while Nezuko
managed the crowd.

“Step back! Everyone, step back!”

“Jou? Husband, what happened to you?”

“Ma’am, please prioritize your own safety. Your husband is… sick. He doesn’t recognize anyone
around him right now, so please let us ensure he doesn’t hurt anyone by mistake.”

This was incredibly dangerous. They were surrounded by potential casualties of this man’s hunger,
and Tanjiro knew that there was only one thing he could do to prevent this man from doing
something he would regret. ‘Please work, please work, please work…’

Tanjiro dragged his claws against his wrist and allowed his blood to drip into the man’s mouth.

“Eh? What’s going on?”

“What’s that boy doing?!”

Slowly, the man he had pinned beneath him began to regain himself. His eyes were no longer
fogged with hunger and filled with horror instead. “I… I almost–! You, thank you!”

Officers began swarming the scene as Tanjiro helped the man up. “It’s alright, it’s alright!”
Nezuko assured them. “We got it under control. Everything was just a misunderstanding, you see?”

“... I guess. Ma’am, get your husband home before he causes any more trouble. He shouldn’t be
walking around that drunk.”

“But Jou doesn’t… even drink,” she mumbled as they walked off and the crowd began to disperse.
She turned to Tanjiro and Nezuko and bowed deeply. “I apologize for the inconvenience my
husband has caused you. I’ve never seen him act like… You said that he was sick?”

He and Nezuko exchanged an uneasy glance, unsure how to even begin explaining what had just
happened.

“Yes, he is.” Tanjiro blinked at the sudden, new voice before realizing that, beneath the
overpowering presence of Muzan, there had been two subtler demon scents present as well. ‘How
weird. They don’t smell like any of Muzan’s demons at all. Could it be…?’

“My name is Tamayo, and I am a doctor. If you wouldn’t mind coming with me? All four of you. I
believe we need to discuss what just occurred.”

“What is your name, Madam?”

“My name is Asuna. Please, tell me what’s wrong with my husband.”

“Asuna, there is no easy way to say this, but… Have you ever heard the stories of man-eating
demons?”

“What? No,” she gasped. “You can’t really be saying…”

“I’m afraid so. Though it appears that this boy here managed to curb the worst of his symptoms.”
Tamayo turned to Tanjiro with a questioning hum. “What is your name?”

“I’m Kamado Tanjiro! And this is my little sister, Nezuko.”

“I never thought I’d see the day where a demon became a demon slayer.” Asuna paled and took a
better look at Tanjiro, backing up when she noticed his eyes were slitted like a cat’s. “How did you
manage to curb a newly turned demon’s hunger?”

“I’m a demon king.” Tamayo blinked in shock, and the boy demon beside her looked ready to tear
into him with questions before Tanjiro continued. “The current theory is that my blood overtook
Muzan’s when he tried to turn me. Probably because I’m one of the first slayer’s descendants…”

“Yoriichi?” Tamayo whispered. “You do look a lot like him, now that you mention it.”

“Oh!” Tanjiro gasped, suddenly hit with a realization. “You must be the demon he told me about
sparing in my dreams! It’s nice to meet you.”

“What my brother means is that our bloodline granted him special advantages that eventually
evolved into making him a powerful demon. More so than he should be, considering he’s never
devoured a human.” He could smell shock from the two peaceful demons then, and there was the
faint scent of hope wafting from Asuna now. “He was able to walk in the sun within a couple of
weeks, likely because he uses Sun Breathing and our family has always worked with and revered
Hinokami. He has only ever needed to consume small amounts of blood to sate his hunger, and
he’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t even need to hunt animals in-between anymore. Tanjiro is
special. And we speculated that he’d be able to steal Muzan’s demons from him because of that. It
seems to have worked.”

“So, when he gave my husband blood…”

“He transformed your husband into a demon that will be able to live without killing. He’ll need
blood donations, but he won’t have to consume human flesh and will maintain rational thought. He
won’t forget who you are and who he is.”

“We will be able to supply him with that blood,” Tamayo assured her with a bow. “Yushiro and I
live in much the same way, and we purchase the blood we need from consenting donors. It is little
trouble to include a third demon in that.”

“Thank you very much. I appreciate all of your help.”

“... I’m sorry,” Jou muttered. “Don’t mean… to be a burden.”

Tanjiro’s eyes narrowed. “You’re no burden. It is not your fault that Muzan Kibutsuji is such a
coward that he would turn you to make his escape.”

“Thank you, Tanjiro-sama.”

Tanjiro’s face went beet red. “That’s entirely unnecessary! Just Tanjiro is fine!”

Jou shook his head firmly. “Demon king… deserves respect.”

“Demons are hierarchical creatures, Tanjiro. It’s best not to fight it.” Tamayo chuckled at his clear
embarrassment. “Yushiro still refuses to drop the formalities after centuries.”

“I would never be so disrespectful, Tamayo-sama!”

“See?”

Nezuko snickered. “Oh, onii-chan is gonna have such a hard time with that.”

“Are you a demon queen?” Tanjiro questioned lowly. He didn’t get the sense that Tamayo was a
threat to him like Muzan was, but that could have more to do with the fact that she’s not a
malicious presence.

“Of a sort. My ability to turn others is rooted in science and took quite some time to perfect. In over
two hundred years, Yushiro is the only one I’ve managed to turn successfully. This ability is not
inherent to me, but the link between Yushiro and I functions similarly to any other creator-spawn
bond.”

“This is so fascinating,” Asuna murmured. “I wish I could’ve learned about this under better
circumstances, but it’s interesting to hear that demons have their own sort of society as well. I’m
glad that Jou won’t have to go through this all alone.”

“Of course not! I couldn’t just leave him there when I could do something. I’m just sorry that I
wasn’t able to keep Muzan from turning him in the first place…”

“Demon or no, you are a child. I could not ask that much of you. I am simply glad that I didn’t lose
my husband today.”

“Speaking of, if it is not too much to ask of you, I have a couple of requests, Tanjiro.”

He tilted his head slightly. “What is is Tamayo-san?”

“Could I have a sample of your blood to study? I wish to understand what it is about you that
allows you to take Muzan’s demons as your own.”

“Of course! Take as much as you need; it’s not like I really feel it anyway.”

Tamayo laughed softly, and Tanjiro could feel the glare Yushiro shot him from clear across the
room. “You’re a sweet child, Tanjiro. My next request is… crueler, I’m afraid. In order to develop
a poison that will take down Muzan, I need to study those with high concentrations of his blood
flowing through their veins. The blood of the Twelve Kizuki… I believe that will be the key to
taking down that man once and for all. Would you and your sister mind gathering it for me?”

This time, Nezuko was the one to answer her. “We’ll do it. Anything to help take down that
bastard, and it’s likely that onii-chan and I will wind up fighting them while we work toward
killing Muzan anyway. It won’t be a problem at all.”

“Thank you. I’ll give you syringes of my own design to collect demon blood, and Chachamaru will
come to you whenever you collect a sample. Now, if you wouldn’t mind allowing me to take a
sample from you, Tanjiro? Asuna, Jou, it may also help for me to study Jou’s blood. I presume that
you’ll be staying in Asakusa, though?” They nodded. “Then we can worry about that later. For
now, Jou needs to rest and recover from his transformation.”

Tanjiro allowed Tamayo to take blood from him with little fanfare. It was an odd sensation, but
Tanjiro didn’t feel unsettled in any way, even as she came back up from her lab with a pack of
blood instead of the vial she’d collected from him.

“I will study that sample later. For now, it is important that we sate Jou’s hunger so as to make this
easier on him.”

The sharp clarity that returned to his eyes after drinking some blood was breathtaking. “Asuna?
Oh, Asuna… I’m so sorry! I almost hurt you. I swore to never be a man like my father, and yet–”

“Hush, now, Jou. That was not your fault. Besides, you didn’t hurt me anyway; no harm done.”

“... Only because Tanjiro-sama stopped me,” Jou grumbled. “Thank you. Thank you for keeping
me from losing everything important about myself.”

“Of course. Thank you for confirming that I can help demons turn over a new leaf. It was only ever
a theory that I’d be able to do this. I didn't know for sure.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a jolt of two demonic presences nearby. Tanjiro and Yushiro
both instantly reacted, shielding Nezuko and Tamayo respectively as a temari destroyed the wall.
Jou was quick to cover Asuna as well, growling lowly as the attack bounced all around the room.

“Ahaha! I found you! I found you!”

The demon chucked another temari into the room, laughing as it left a trail of destruction behind it
and splattered Yushiro’s head across the wall. Even when he knew that Yushiro would regenerate,
it was difficult for Tanjiro to watch.

“Jou! Take Asuna somewhere safe!”

“Yes, Tanjiro-sama!” The demon was off in a flash, retreating when Tanjiro sliced the temari that
was flung in his direction in half.

“Hm? The demon with hanafuda earrings… You’re the one he wants dead, I see!”

‘So Muzan has already sent demons after me… I expected it, but not this quickly.’ He ground his
teeth together, turning back to Tamayo as he said, “Tamayo-san! Please take Yushiro and retreat to
somewhere you’ll be safe!”

Tamayo’s eyes grew unbearably sad then, and Tanjiro almost choked on her melancholy scent.
“Please, carry on with your battle as if we’re not here, Tanjiro. We will be fine; we’re demons,
after all.”

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t be hurt!” he snarled. “Nezuko and I can handle this, so go!”

“Don’t… boss Tamayo-sama around like that, demon king!” Yushiro snarled derisively as his head
regenerated. “We’re not your underlings!”
Tanjiro recoiled as if he’d been burned. “That’s not… what I meant.”

“Enough, Yushiro.” Tamayo’s voice was lined with steel. “Do not berate him for worrying about
us.”

“What’re you all talking about?” the temari demon asked with a giggle. “It seems like such fun!
We should play! Let’s play until the night ends, until your life ends!”

The demon sprouted two more sets of arms, but Tanjiro couldn’t help feeling like something about
this situation was off. It wasn’t the fact that she was the strongest demon he’d faced in battle so
far, the second demonic presence near here felt even stronger, but something about her made him
uneasy. She felt familiar in a way that made him nauseous.

“Nezuko! Go after the arrow demon in the trees!”

“Huh? I mean, sure, but how did you know he was there from in here…?”

“You can’t see them?” he mumbled curiously.

“Only demons can! Here, take this!” Yushiro threw a piece of paper with a pin, and it attached
itself to Nezuko’s forehead. “Now you should be able to track the arrows’ trajectory!”

“Got it! Thanks, Yushiro!” Nezuko took off, leaving Tanjiro, Yushiro, and Tamayo with the temari
demon as she hurled six temari around the room like miniature wrecking balls. Tanjiro flitted
around them and sliced them in half whenever he could, shielding Tamayo and Yushiro from
taking any blows.

‘I must protect them. Even if they’re demons, they are my precious allies. My family. I will not
allow them to come to harm.’

“What is your name?”

“Huh? Me? You really are a weird demon!” The temari demon giggled. “I’m Susamaru! Now
come on, keep playing with me!”

“I’m Tanjiro Kamado. And okay, let’s play!” Yushiro protested when Tanjiro sheathed his sword,
but there was something he wanted to test.

Tanjiro caught the temari that was flung in his direction. Despite the force behind Susamaru’s
throw, his limbs only jolted slightly as he caught the ball. A wide grin spread across his face. “You
wanna play catch?”

Susamaru’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Oh, finally, someone who’s fun!”

The two of them tossed the temari back and forth to one another so swiftly that even ordinary
demons would struggle to keep up with the motions. Slowly, more and more temaris were added to
the game, and then they were tossing six back and forth simultaneously.

“Fun! This is so much fun!” Susamaru cried out. “Oh, I don’t want to kill you! You’re the most fun
person I’ve played with in decades!”

Tanjiro understood why Susamaru felt so familiar now.

“Onii-chan, play with me,” Rokuta whined. “Please? You’ve been working all day.”

Tanjiro huffed a laugh, ruffling Rokuta’s hair with a fond smile. “Just wait a little bit longer,
okay? As soon as I finish up, I’ll come play with you.”

He joined Rokuta after performing the last of his Water Breathing katas, catching the handball
that his baby brother threw his way without thinking about it.

“Play catch with me! It’s so much fun, and it’s good practice for you too, isn’t it? You’ve gotta
make sure you’re not throwing it too hard. So Urokodaki-san can’t get mad at you for not
training!”

“That’s very considerate of you, Rokuta,” Tanjiro chuckled. “Of course I will. But you know the
others can play catch with you too, right?”

“They’re not as fun as you, onii-chan! You’re always happy to play as long as I want! Even
Shigeru won’t play with me for so long.”

Rokuta struggled a lot with being the youngest child, especially since he was so much younger than
Shigeru and Hanako. Tanjiro hadn’t realized until now how lonely he was.

“Of course I’ll play catch with you, Rokuta. We’ll play until the sun goes down if you want.”

Tanjiro grimaced as he caught yet another temari, mind whirring with a horrifying realization.
‘She’s a child. A young child, despite her appearance. What did Muzan do to her?’

“You don’t have to kill me, you know!”

“Of course I do! As much as I wish that I could just keep having fun with you, his orders are
absolute.”

“And if I could free you from him?”

“What are you doing, Tanjiro?” Yushiro hissed. “Stop messing around!”

“Huh? What do you mean? You say such funny things!”

“Susamaru, I’m a demon like Muzan. I could make you one of my demons. You could play and
have fun to your heart’s content!”

Susamaru froze completely. Her temaris fell harmlessly to the floor as she blinked at Tanjiro in
shock. “Really? There has to be some catch! There’s always a catch! I’m only allowed to play like
this because I do what he says!”

“My demons may not ever devour a human. Or another human, in your case. If they try to do so,
then my Blood Demon Art will instantly burn them to death. That is my curse. I did not want to
establish one, but I couldn’t afford to risk any of my people being hurt. If my demons started eating
people, then all the innocent demons would be executed too, and if one of my demons ever hurt the
very humans I’ve sworn to protect, then I would never be able to forgive myself. That is my price,
Susamaru. Is it one you’re willing to pay?”

“... Never eat another human? You really do say funny things. I don’t wanna starve, you know! It
hurts!”

“My demons can sustain themselves on human blood and animals. You would not suffer from
hunger in the same way that I do not. Susamaru… please. I don’t want to hurt you. I think my little
siblings would have a lot of fun playing with you as long as you’re careful. They’re all still human,
but they love me anyway! Kaa-san and oto-san would take care of you.”
“R-really?” Tears began to fall out of Susamaru’s eyes. “Really, you promise? I could just play?
No more hurting or hunting?”

“No more,” Tanjiro vowed. “I swear it to you. You would never be expected to fight again.”

“O-okay. Okay, please hurry! Before Yahaba realizes that I’m not fighting anymore! He's scary
when he's mad!”

Tanjiro stepped forward, clawing open his wrist and allowing Susamaru to drink from it. She
flinched slightly as the transformation shuddered over her, and Tanjiro watched her shrink before
his very eyes. She became smaller and smaller until Susamaru looked up at him from knee height
with tears in her wide eyes.

“Why did the bad man hurt me?” she sniffled. “Why did he kill kaa-san and oto-san?”

Tanjiro’s teeth clenched with rage, carefully gentling his expression when Susamaru flinched away
from him. She couldn’t be any older than four.

“I’m sorry, Susamaru. I’m not angry with you; I’m angry that Muzan hurt you.”

“Oh… Did you really mean it? About taking me back to your family?”

“I don’t make promises that I don’t intend to keep, Susamaru.” Tanjiro chuckled as he ruffled her
hair. “I think my siblings are going to be very excited to get a baby sister. And my mother and
father both have so much love to give to their children, even when they’re demons like you or me.”
He gently booped Susamaru’s nose, smiling widely at her responding giggle.

The scent of shock and awe overpowered anything else. “... How did you know?” Yushiro
mumbled with wide eyes. “How could you tell that she was so young?”

“She was acting just like my baby brother. I… I had to at least give her a chance.”

“You are truly a kind child, Tanjiro.” There was something heavier in Tamayo’s statement this
time, something more real and slightly pained. “Do not allow them to crucify you for it like they
did to Yoriichi.”

“I won’t.” Tanjiro’s voice was lined with steel and determination. “I will protect my family, all of
it, from anything that may threaten it. If that means I eventually must fight demon slayers and
demons alike, then so be it. I will not back down.”

“There are far worse drives for demon kings to have,” Tamayo chuckled. “I’m glad that it is you
that will challenge Muzan, Tanjiro.”

Nezuko returned from her battle with Yahaba at that moment, bruised and slightly battered but
victorious. A massive grin split her face, fading slightly with confusion as she took in Susamaru’s
appearance.

“Oh? Did you take another one? She’s so little…”

“Mhmn. Muzan turned her this young. I think taking a demon under my wing reverts them to a
more human state. Both she and Jou appear to remember their human lives, and with Susamaru
reverting back to her age… I don’t think Jou had the chance to shift far enough away from his
human appearance for the change to be noticeable with him.”

“Probably,” Nezuko hummed. “Do you think that they’ll be able to walk beneath the sun too?”
“You can walk under the sun?!” Susamaru gasped. “Oh man! I miss playing in the sun! I really
hope I can!”

“We’ll be able to tell come sunrise,” Tanjiro assured her with a chuckle. “You’ve been a demon
long enough to recognize that sense of dread when the sun is about to rise, right?”

“Uh-huh! It meant I had to stop playing and get inside right away.”

“Then if you still feel that, we’ll know you can’t go into the sun. If you don’t, then it’ll be safe.”

“Ugh! I hope the sun rises soon,” Susamaru huffed. “Tonight is gonna take forever . Forever, I tell
you!”

Jou peeked his head back in, sighing with relief when he saw the battle was over. He and Asuna
rejoined them as Tamayo led them to the basement and wrapped Nezuko’s injuries.

“We will soon leave this place,” Tamayo murmured. “We cannot risk staying so close to Kibutsuji.
I apologize Jou-san, Asuna-san, but we will not be able to stay here with you. Should you wish to
continue your lives as normal, then we will simply send you blood through Chachamaru, but–”

“We’ll come with you if you’ll have us.” Yushiro looked like he was about to snap at Asuna for
interrupting Tamayo, but the latter held her hand up to keep him quiet. “There is little for us here;
we’ve only ever had each other. If that man finds out that my husband isn’t under his control…
We’re not strong enough to run from him. We will go into hiding with you, and we’ll help you
however we can.”

Jou nodded resolutely, and Yushiro groaned in despair. "Interrupting my time with Tamayo-
sama… Why? Why did this have to happen?”

“Huh.” Tanjiro’s head whipped over to Susamaru before tilting slightly. She slowly crawled up the
stairs, peering above them before her scent exploded with happiness. “The sun is up! The sun is up
and I didn’t feel a thing!”

“I’ll be damned,” Jou muttered as he followed her up the stairs. “Somehow, the sun is even more
beautiful as a demon.”

‘They really are like me. This changes everything; I can save them too! Really and truly save
them!’ ’

Susamaru ran out into the wrecked room, taking her temari balls out into the courtyard before
turning back to Tanjiro with a massive grin on her face. “Come play with me, onii-chan!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” he laughed.

Tanjiro could see both his and Nezuko’s Kasugai Crows circling above Tamayo’s place and
waiting to give them another mission, but they could wait for just a few minutes. Tanjiro wasn’t
going to deny Susamaru the joy of playing beneath the sun for the first time since she’d become a
demon.

He had all the proof he needed now. Demons were humans at their core too, even ones who had
been broken and twisted by Muzan. There were good ones and bad ones, and that meant that they
couldn’t be instantly dismissed as monsters.

Tanjiro would make the demon slayers understand that things weren’t as black and white as they
believed, or he would die trying. That he vowed on his title of demon king.
Chapter End Notes

Name translation time! I mostly needed a way to refer to these two background
characters that wasn't just "that man" and "that woman", but that doesn't mean that I
just picked their names at random either.

Jou's name uses the kanji 常 (jou, meaning: common, ordinary, long-lasting, etc) and
Asuna's name uses the kanji 明日 (asu, meaning tomorrow) and 奈 (na, meaning apple
tree).
 Chapter 6
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Southeast! Southeast! Your next mission is southeast!”

“We get it, we get it,” Tanjiro groaned. “I have sensitive ears, you know? Why’d I get such a loud
crow?”

Nezuko laughed behind her hand, looking at her own Kasugai Crow, who was perched on her
shoulder, fondly. “I’m not sure, but it’s very funny, honestly. I didn’t expect them to have so much
personality!”

“Southeast! We gotta go southeast!” Susamaru echoed, giggling afterward. They didn’t have the
time to take Susamaru back to Urokodaki’s before this mission, but they hoped to do so soon.
Tanjiro had already emphasized that she wasn’t expected to fight alongside them. She’d been so
relieved by that; it made Tanjiro’s heart hurt for her and all the violence she’d been forcefully
subjected to.

“Please marry me! They keep sending me on solo missions; I’m gonna die!”

Tanjiro perked up. “That’s–!”

Nezuko stormed forward, dragging Zenitsu away from the girl he was begging on hands and knees
to marry him. “I apologize for his behavior. He’s a bit pathetic.”

“O-oh, it’s fine! I was just worried when I saw him curled up on the side of the road… Is he…
okay?”

“Tanjiro! Nezuko! Oh, thank Hinokami you’re both here!” Zenitsu sobbed. “I missed you guys!”

“He’ll be fine, I promise,” Tanjiro assured her with a bow. “We’ve just been separated for quite
some time, so he was afraid something would happen to either us or him before we could reunite.”

“Oh! Well, I’m glad you guys found each other again! Take care!” The girl waved farewell to
them, and Zenitsu pulled himself together and finally noticed the addition to their party.

“Another demon? But it’s sunny out! How is she…?” Zenitsu’s eyes widened with shock and his
scent quickly became excited. “It worked?! She’s one of yours, isn’t she, Tanjiro?! That’s great
news!”

Tanjiro nodded enthusiastically. “She is! I can turn Muzan’s demons into my own. This opens up a
whole new avenue for us; we won’t have to kill every demon we face!”

“And the more you can sway to our side, the more allies we’ll have! It’s perfect!”

Nezuko sighed. “Just don’t forget that we will have to slay some of them, okay? I know you want
to save them all, onii-chan, and I know you don’t want to fight at all, Zenitsu, but there will be
times when we have no choice.”

“I know,” Tanjiro mumbled. “I’m willing to when push comes to shove, and I can tell when
someone is a lost cause. Their scent won’t lie to me. But if there’s even the slightest chance…”
“Then you’ll take it, I know. And I love that about you, onii-chan.”

“Onii-chan is the best!” Susamaru giggled as she leapt onto his back. “He’s the kindest, bestest big
brother ever!”

“Caw! Hurry up, hurry up! Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu! The three of you will move forward to your
next location!”

“It’s a joint mission,” Nezuko’s crow cawed. “Southeast. Head southeast! Humans have been
disappearing in droves in the area. Suspected demon activity in a house within the forest!”

“Thank goodness!” Zenitsu sobbed. “Finally, maybe they’ll stop sending me on solo missions! I
thought I was gonna die for sure!”

“You’re plenty strong enough to hold your own Zenitsu.”

“I know, I know! You and your brother have beaten that into my head. But that doesn’t make being
alone any less scary. I’ve always had Kaigaku, you, or Tanjiro fighting with me! If something
happened to me and I was on my own… Would anyone even find out?”

“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Tanjiro vowed. His voice had a weight to it that promised his
statement would be the truth, even if he had to bend heaven and hell itself to make it so. “I won’t
let it. But if it did? Zenitsu, there’s not a force in this world that could stop me from finding you
again.”

“I missed your scary determination, Tanjiro.” Zenitsu clenched his fists, taking a deep breath as his
scent grew more assured. “Let’s do this!”

“Do you hear that? It sounds like a drum.”

“Vaguely. The smell of blood is more prominent to me, though.”

“Will you be alright? When did you last eat?”

“Shigeru fed onii-chan right before we left for our first mission, so he’ll be good for a while.”

A whimper caught his attention. Tanjiro turned around to see two traumatized children staring at
the house, wide-eyed with fear and trembling. He walked over to them carefully, kneeling down
and tilting his head.

“Are you two okay? What are you doing here?” Silence. They were both too shaken to answer him,
and Tanjiro’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Is this where you two live?”

“N-no. This is… It’s the monster’s house.”

Tanjiro laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. “We’re here to take
care of the monster. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Our older brother was captured by the monster. We were traveling back home at night, and he
snatched our brother away. He ignored both of us, but…”

“And the monster went into that house right over there?” The girl nodded. “The two of you
followed him all the way here? That’s impressive. You guys are so strong.”
“We just followed our brother’s blood trail… He’s hurt!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll defeat the monster and save your brother.”

“Really? Do you really mean it? But…” The little girl looked up at him with a hint of fear in her
eyes. “You’re one of them too, aren’t you? Your eyes, your teeth, the little girl with you…”

Tanjiro nodded solemnly. “I am. Susamaru is too, but we don’t eat humans. I protect them, and
Susamaru just wants to play.”

“Uh-huh!” Susamaru summoned a couple of temari for emphasis. “Onii-chan was called here
before he could take me home. He didn’t wanna make you guys wait!”

Tanjiro ruffled Susamaru’s hair with a fond grin. “Why don’t you stay out here with them and keep
guard, okay? You still don’t have to fight, but if someone comes out here and you need to run,
make sure you take them with you.”

“Okay, onii-chan!”

“I know that my brother is a bit odd, but I promise that we won’t hurt you. We’re here to help.”

“Uh, guys? It sounds like someone’s–”

A human was flung out the window, and Tanjiro immediately leapt into action to catch him before
he hit the ground. He was bloodied and gasping for air. One look at the wound slashed across his
chest told Tanjiro that he would not survive.

“I… finally got out. I’m outside! But… even though I finally escaped that place… Am I gonna
die?”

“You don’t have to.”

“W-what?”

“Onii-chan–”

“You have a choice. I can turn you into a demon and save your life, or you can die as a human. It is
your choice to make, I will not try to sway you one way or another, but your wound is too deep for
you to survive without a doctor.”

“What would… becoming a demon entail?”

“My demons are a bit different from the ones in there. We only need to drink human blood every
now and again to survive, and we get that blood willingly. We can go out into the sunlight, unlike
most demons, and you’d retain your human memories. Really, the only thing that changes is your
diet and the physical differences.”

“Do it. P-please, I don’t wanna die!”

Tanjiro let him drink blood from his wrist, and he began to heal before their very eyes. Susamaru
slashed one of her temaris in half, holding it out to Zenitsu when the slayer went to drag his blade
across his wrist. Nezuko wrapped the cut after he filled the improvised temari bowl up halfway.

This time, Tanjiro was able to see how the transformation affected his demons. The differences
were incredibly subtle. The boy’s hair grew slightly longer and gained a bluish tint that still looked
black where shadows fell over him, and his black eyes tinted blue as well. Beyond that, the only
differences were his fangs and the pointed tips of his fingernails.

“W-woah. I feel… much better.” Tanjiro passed the temari over to the newly turned demon and
allowed him to drink, and color returned to his skin as he let out a relieved sigh. “This isn’t as bad
as I thought it might be. The monsters in there seem… feral? Incapable of reasoning?”

Tanjiro chuckled warmly. “I told you that my demons were different, didn’t I? What’s your name?”

“Hayase. Thank you…”

“Tanjiro! Kamado Tanjiro.”

“Thank you, Tanjiro-sama.”

“Waaah!” Tanjiro covered his eyes in embarrassment. “You really don’t have to call me that!”

“I insist, Tanjiro-sama.”

“... Maybe demons aren’t so scary after all,” the older boy mumbled.

“Onii-chan, things are going to get difficult for us if you keep doing this, you know? Turning other
demons is one thing, but if they find out you’re turning humans too…” Nezuko sighed, sounding
begrudgingly fond and resigned to him doing so regardless.

He simply nodded. “I know. I couldn’t just let him die when I could save him, though. If he had
said no, then I would’ve accepted that but… I’ll protect us from any consequences that may come
from this, okay?”

“And if they give you guys any trouble, you know that Kaigaku, Kuwajima-sensei, and I will back
you up!”

“Thank you, Zenitsu,” Tanjiro chuckled with a smile on his face. That smile quickly disappeared
when a rumbling growl echoed from the house. He turned back to the two kids and tilted his head.
“Do you two feel comfortable staying out here with Susamaru? This isn’t your brother, he doesn’t
smell like you, but we will go in and get him. She’ll keep you safe.”

They both hesitated for a moment before the little girl nodded. “Go,” she whispered. “Please save
our brother.”

“We will,” Nezuko promised her. “Come on, boys. We’ve got a demon to slay.”

“Or save!”

“... Or save.”

Almost immediately upon entering the house, the bang of a drum echoed and separated all of them.
Tanjiro found himself standing before the most powerful demon in the house, judging by his scent.
He cautiously rested his hand on his blade.

“Why? Does everyone not know any manners, just barging into someone else’s home… It pisses
me off.”

‘He’s aware! Then that means…’

“Hello. I’m Tanjiro Kamado, demon king and a Mizunoto of the demon slayers! I would like to
speak with you.”

A clawed hand halted as it went to hit one of the drums embedded in the demon. “Demon… king?
There is only one who can claim that title, and it is not–”

The demon froze when Tanjiro allowed his demonic presence to flare up. “You were saying?”

“I… My apologies, I meant no disrespect!”

“It’s alright,” Tanjiro assured him with a smile, hiding his presence once more. He sat down in
front of the demon, much to his bewilderment, and patted the ground next to him. “Won’t you chat
with me for a moment? I wanna know your story!”

“... Truly?”

“Yep! What’s your name?”

“Kyogai.” The lumbering demon sat next to him, and Tanjiro snickered softly at the sheer surprise
radiating from his scent.

“Tell me, Kyogai, how’d you end up here? You’ve got a powerful scent, so it’s a bit odd that you’d
restrict yourself to such narrow hunting grounds.”

“... Haven’t been doing much hunting, to be honest. The other demons here do, but I slowly lost my
ability to eat humans. He said that I’d reached my limit. It’s what got me cast out of the Waning
Moons.”

“I’m sorry that you were abandoned like that, Kyogai. There is no shame in being unable to eat
humans; none of my demons can, and I don’t either.”

“B-but! How are you so powerful, then…?”

“Blood. Willingly donated blood from humans who still live. I could make you like that too,
Kyogai. You’d just have to vow to never attempt devouring another human again.”

“... Would I still be free to work on my manuscripts?”

“You write?” Tanjiro questioned with a tilt of his head. “Of course, you’d be able to keep doing
that! I’d love to read them sometime!”

“You truly mean that, don’t you?” Kyogai’s eyes watered with unshed tears. “You’d read them?”

“Of course I would! I’m very interested in how living as a demon for so long has affected your
perspective of the world, and I bet my younger siblings would be fascinated by the stories you have
to tell too!”

“How do you make me like you?”

“You just have to drink some of my blood! You shouldn’t be hungry like you were when you first
got turned, Susamaru wasn’t, but let me know if you are! My little sister can feed you if need be.
But first… Would you mind if I took a sample of your blood for something?”

“Go ahead.” Tanjiro did so, and he lightly patted Chachamaru on the head when she came to gather
the sample. “Thanks, Chachamaru. Tell Tamayo-san I said hello!”
The calico vanished from sight shortly after, and Tanjiro still marveled at how useful Yushiro’s
Blood Demon Art was. “Alright! We can do it now.”

Kyogai stepped forward and drank. Tanjiro watched, awed, as the bright red sclera bled into white.
One of his dark blue pupils was duller in color, blinded by whatever Muzan did to strike the kanji
out of Kyogai’s eye, and the points of Kyogai’s ears shrunk until they barely looked inhuman at
all. His markings remained, as did the drums that were embedded within him, but the changes in
his appearance made a huge difference.

He looked more human.

“I owe you my gratitude, Tanjiro-sama.” Kyogai smiled. “Please allow me a moment to gather my
manuscripts, then I will lend you my aid. You said that you were a slayer, yes?”

“Yep! Do you happen to know where a kid that was traveling with two younger siblings may be?”

“Ah,” Kyogai flushed with shame. “Yes, I took him. He managed to steal one of my drums, so any
time I got close, he’d switch rooms on me. You could likely track him down that way.”

“Alright! I’ll go do that while you get your manuscripts. Meet up with me whenever you can!”

Tanjiro delved deeper into the house, clenching his fists every time he came across a half-eaten
and discarded body. He steadily made his way toward the faint scent of one of Kyogai’s drums,
decapitating a wandering demon when he lunged for the door that the scent was behind.

‘That smell… A marechi? I’ve got to get him out of here now!’ Tanjiro slid open the door slowly,
holding his hands up in surrender when the boy went to bang on the drum again. “Wait! I’m here to
help. Your little siblings are really worried about you… They’re waiting outside with one of my
little sisters right now.”

“R-really?” Tears welled up in the boy's eyes. “I’m so glad! This place is terrifying…”

“I’m sorry that you ever had to go through this,” Tanjiro mumbled. “Let’s get you out of here,
okay? You won’t have to worry about the demon that took you here anymore; he’s very sorry for
scaring you.”

“... Huh?”

“We had a talk, no worries! He’s the one who helped me find you. I’m sure he’ll apologize to you
once we all get out of here. The other demons are what we need to worry about right now.”

“... You’re really weird.”

“I get that a lot!”

The two of them started heading for the exit, but before they could leave the building, Nezuko
cried out, “Onii-chan, watch out!”

“Pig assault! Pig assault!”

Tanjiro blocked dual, jagged blades with his own. “You must be the master of this house!” the
slayer with a boar mask cried out. “You feel like the strongest demon here!”

“D-demon…?” the boy whispered.

“I’m a slayer like you!” Tanjiro insisted. ‘How can he even tell? My presence is still suppressed,
and he’s no Hashira.’

“Still a demon! My sense of touch doesn’t lie to me, and you don’t feel human!”

‘Another slayer with an enhanced sense, then? That makes sense.’ Tanjiro sighed, driving the boy
back with a solid kick to the chest and getting into a defensive stance. “My name is Kamado
Tanjiro, and I’m a demon king! What is your name?”

“Hashibara Inosuke, king of the mountain! Fight me, demon king! We’ll discover who is the
strongest today!”

“First, let’s get this boy outside, hm? It’ll be no fun if you can’t go all out, right?” Tanjiro could
tell that Inosuke was the type of person who lived for the thrill of battle, and he had a feeling that
he would not appreciate it if Tanjiro was distracted by ensuring someone’s safety.

“Fine!” Inosuke huffed. “But only because it’ll be lame if you hold back, Gonpachiro!”

Zenitsu rejoined them on their way to the exit. His hands were shaking, but he seemed surprisingly
steady for someone who had the lingering scent of two different demons on him.

“Huh? Who’s the boar?”

“This is Inosuke! He wants to fight me!”

“That’s against the rules, you know!” Zenitsu turned to Inosuke with a glare. “We really can’t risk
getting in trouble with the Hashira. Tanjiro is walking on a tightrope as it is!”

“Because he’s a demon?”

Zenitsu paled. “Uh…”

“It’s fine, Zenitsu! It’ll just be a spar. Besides, I got another demon on our side too.”

“Really? Man, what is it about you that just brings them to you in droves?”

“I’m not Muzan,” Tanjiro deadpanned.

Nezuko snorted, barking out a laugh. “He’s got you there.”

“Apologies, that took me longer than I anticipated, Tanjiro-sama.” The entire group was startled at
Kyogai’s sudden appearance, and he dipped his head in response. “And I apologize to you in
particular, Kiyoshi. What I did was cruel.”

‘I never actually asked for Kiyoshi’s name, did I? Guess Kyogai heard his siblings saying it
before...’

Inosuke’s scent was muddled with confusion, irritation, and something else that Tanjiro hadn’t
smelled in a long time. “Fight me, Bachiro! Prove that you’re worthy of having minions!”

‘Oh. He’s lonely, isn’t he?’

“I will, I promise! We need to reunite Kiyoshi with his siblings first, though.” Tanjiro stepped out
of the house and beneath the setting sun, causing both Kyogai and Inosuke’s scent to be suffused
with shock. “Do you trust me, Kyogai?”

“Of course, Tanjiro-sama.”

“Then join me. My demons cannot be harmed by the sun.”

Kyogai’s eyes widened when he stepped outside, looking up to the sky as awe overtook the shock
in his scent. “It’s beautiful. Thank you. I had forgotten what the sun looked like…”

“Onii-chan!” Kiyoshi’s siblings ran forward, sobbing as they tackled him in a hug. “I’m so glad
you’re okay!”

“You scared us,” the sister sniffled.

“I’m sorry Shoichi, Teruko. Thank you for coming for me!”

Inosuke lunged for Tanjiro immediately after Kiyoshi left their side.

Tanjiro drew his sword, crying out, “Third Form: Raging Sun!” and defending himself from the
dual swords with two quick slashes. ‘This isn’t a breathing style that I’ve heard about before. Did
he create his own?’

“You move quickly! The agility in your style is something else! Did you create it yourself?”

“Hahaha! So you recognize the king of the mountain’s prowess? Beast Breathing is something that
only the great Inosuke can use!” Inosuke’s scent took on a distinctly pleased smell, and Tanjiro
leapt on the opportunity.

“Yeah, you’re really amazing, Inosuke! You should travel with us!”

A puff of air escaped the boar mask as Inosuke held his head up in pride. “Well, if you insist!”

“... Did he seriously diffuse a fight, just like that?” Zenitsu muttered lowly.

“He has a lot of practice with our little siblings. Onii-chan is good at conflict resolution.”

Tanjiro chuckled as Inosuke strutted around, pride lining his every step, before turning to face the
three siblings they’d come to help and saying, “We’ll lead you home. It’s gonna get dark soon, so
we need to make sure you get back safely.”

Nezuko’s crow landed on her shoulder, cawing softly and passing a small purple bag over to her.
“A wisteria charm. Give it to the marechi! It should keep him safe.”

“Here you go, Kiyoshi. This’ll drive off any minor demons, or at least cover up the scent of your
blood to make you not register as special to them.”

“T-thanks, miss.”

“We should bury all the victims before we go, though. Would you all mind helping me?” Tanjiro
asked.

“Huh? What’s the point in burying them? Everything that dies goes back to the earth and that’s it!”

“Well, if you’re too hurt to do it… I can smell the blood on you. It’s okay if you need to take a
breather! We’ll take care of it!”

“Hah?! I’ll show you! The great Inosuke will bury more bodies than any of you!”

“... It’s terrifying that he’s not even trying to be manipulative.”

“Trust me, Zenitsu, I know,” Nezuko sighed.

While the others went to rest at a Wisteria House after their mission, Tanjiro, Susamaru, Hayase,
and Kyogai journeyed for Sagiri mountain.

“Are you sure this is wise? Your mentor is a former Hashira, is he not?”

“It’ll be fine! I’ve sent a crow ahead of us, and I told him about the possibility of me converting
demons before passing Final Selection. He was the one to suggest I put a curse in place to
safeguard myself and any of the demons I turn, actually.”

“And there are more big brothers and sisters for me to play with there?”

“Mhmn! There’s kaa-san and oto-san, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta! Takeo is thirteen,
Hanako is twelve, Shigeru is eleven, and Rokuta is six.”

“You have a very large family,” Hayase hummed. “Sounds like it’ll be lively.”

“Yup, I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

Kyogai chuckled softly. “That explains so much about you, Tanjiro-sama. I must express my
thanks to them for raising you to be such a kind person that it carried over once you were turned.”

Tanjiro flushed, torn between feeling embarrassed at the compliment and feeling proud for his
family, and mumbled, “You think too much of me.”

“No! Onii-chan thinks too little of himself!”

He wasn’t about to start arguing with a four-year-old, so Tanjiro accepted his loss with grace and
they all continued forward. The sun was dipping below the horizon when they finally arrived.

“Onii-chan?” Hanako’s face lit up with a smile as she sat her practice sword down. “Everyone!
Onii-chan is home! And he’s brought new demon friends!”

They were bombarded by Tanjiro’s family shortly after that. Rokuta clung to Tanjiro’s haori and
waved shyly at Susamaru. She returned the gesture with a huge grin. Hanako, Shigeru, Kie, and
Saburo all pulled him into a hug, and Takeo watched on with a fond smile.

“Man, it’s been weird not having you here. Where’s Nezuko?”

“She’s resting between missions with Zenitsu and a new friend of ours, Inosuke. I didn’t want to
risk staying at a Wisteria House with them, and I needed to bring at least Susamaru back here
anyway so…”

“Welcome back, Tanjiro,” Urokodaki’s scent was overwhelmingly fond, even with the hint of
wariness that lined it due to the other demons traveling with him.

“It’s good to be back! Oh, I should introduce everyone.” Tanjiro ushered Susamaru forward first.
“This is Susamaru! She’s way too young to be traveling with us, so I hoped she could stay with you
guys…”

“I’ll be a good girl, I promise! Onii-chan has been so nice to me. Wanna protect his family!”

“Of course she can stay,” his mother reassured him. She knelt down in front of Susamaru, drawing
her into a hug and lifting her off the ground. It was a testament to his mother’s newfound strength
that she didn’t struggle to carry a demon; they were far denser than humans, regardless of size.
“But we’ll be the ones protecting you, okay? You’re just a little kid. We’ve all learned a thing or
two under Sakonji’s tutelage, so we can get by if something happens.”

Susamaru sniffled. “Okay. Onii-chan was right; you guys are the best!”

Tanjiro smiled at the scene before him, and even Urokodaki smelled more at ease now. “This is
Hayase. He was a human that was on death’s door from a demon-inflicted wound when I found
him, so I offered him a chance to keep living as a demon. He took it after I explained a bit more.
I’m… actually not sure what he plans to do?”

“I wish to keep traveling with you, Tanjiro-sama. I understand that I have much to learn in the way
of fighting, but I do not wish to simply be idle.”

“Understood! Zenitsu fed him right after he was turned, so he’ll be good for a while. Lastly, this is
Kyogai! He’s the former Waning Moon Six, and he slowly grew unable to eat humans regardless
so the transition should not be difficult for him. He’s a writer! Even as a demon, he kept working
on his stories.”

“Huh…” Saburo hummed, deep in thought. “I’m impressed, son. You’ve found more than one
demon with links to their humanity already.”

“Onii-chan’s bleeding heart seems to be helping him,” Takeo snickered. “But I mean, hey!
Whatever works, right?”

“You’ve gotta tell us about how you met them all, onii-chan!” Shigeru begged. “Come on, please?”

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled. “I will, I promise! Now, we met Susamaru first when…”

It was a little over a week later when Tanjiro received an urgent summons. “Caw! Head for Mount
Natagumo at once, caw! Demon slayers have been entering and never returning! Suspected demon
den, suspected demon den! Meet up with Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke at once!”

“Awww… Guess you’ve gotta go, huh?”

“Be safe!”

“Take care, onii-chan!”

“Wait, before you go!” Tanjiro halted in his tracks, turning back to face his mother with a tilted
head. “Let us feed you three first, okay? It’ll probably be a while before you get the chance to
come home again.”

Kyogai and Hayase blinked in shock. Tanjiro knew better than to try to argue against it, even if it
wasn’t necessary. His mother, Saburo, and Takeo gave blood to himself, Kyogai, and Hayase,
respectively, and Hanako darted off to do the same for Susamaru.

“Thank you. Stay safe, okay? I’m only ever a crow away.”

“We know, Tanjiro.” Kie ran her fingers through his hair, detangling the long locks gently before
pulling him into one final hug. “Long hair suits you, you know? I’m glad you’re growing it out
again. Did you remember the hair ties Hanako gave you?”
 “Oh! I knew I was forgetting something, hold on!” He flashed into the house faster than the human
eye could track, and when he stepped back outside, a long ponytail swayed in the wind, reflecting
the sun’s rays and making his hair appear even redder than it truly was.

He looked like Yoriichi, and he knew that his ancestor would approve of him weaponizing his
appearance like this.

“You grew up so fast,” his mother whispered. “I’m proud of you. Go show the world what you can
do, sweetheart.”

Chapter End Notes

Name translation time! Hayase's name is spelled 灘 (hayase, meaning: open sea,
rapids) and I feel like that alongside his slight coloration shift is hint enough of what
his eventual Blood Demon Art will be. I had a lot of fun brainstorming possible ideas
for him, so I hope you all enjoy!
 Chapter 7
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Natagumo Mountain’s aura was overbearing, and Tanjiro could sense the strongest demonic
presence he’d ever felt outside of Muzan’s emanating from it. He turned his nose to the air and
inhaled deeply, eyes widening at what he discovered.

‘I know they said it was a demon den, but there are five individual presences on that mountain!
Muzan’s demons don’t work together like this, but they all smell so similar… We have to assume
that they are cooperating with one another.’

“Onii-chan? How’d you manage to beat us here?” Nezuko huffed, out of breath and exasperated.

“I have demonic speed on my side and no need to rest, Nezuko; it’s not fair on yourself to expect to
get here first. Besides, I really didn’t want to risk missing you guys!”

“We were running full speed the whole way here,” Hayase explained with a chuckle. “I’m still
getting used to moving so fast… I may have dented a tree or two along the way.”

“Or five,” Kyogai snickered.

“Nobody asked you.”

Zenitsu was trembling in place as he looked up at the massive mountain. “I’m not the only one that
feels that, right? There’s something terrible up there.”

“Yeah, there is.” Despite agreeing with him, an excited grin spread across Nezuko’s face. “Let’s
go!”

“Fight! Fight!” Inosuke chanted.

“I’m traveling with a bunch of crazy people!” Zenitsu wailed. “Tanjiro, you’ll protect me, right?!
How is a demon the sanest member of our group?!”

“H-help me.” Tanjiro snapped to attention at the choked whisper for help. A tattered, bloody
demon slayer laid on the ground just outside the entrance to Mount Natagumo, and Tanjiro could
smell a faint trace of demonic presence still lingering on him.

He ran forward, leaping into the sky and severing the invisible string that had begun to drag the
slayer back into the forest. Tanjiro caught the slayer before kneeling down and beginning to treat
his injuries.

“Man, you really saved me. Thank you so–” his voice cut off abruptly when he looked past Tanjiro
and saw the two demons standing just behind him. “Demons! Look out–”

“They won’t hurt anyone. They’re traveling with me and my group.” Tanjiro nodded his head over
in Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke’s general direction. “Just trust me, okay? Is there anywhere else
that hurts, or is it just your head?”

“... Must’ve hit my head harder than I thought,” the demon slayer mumbled. “Could’ve sworn you
just said… No, I’m just seeing and hearing things, that’s it. I’m fine. Go, they need everyone they
can get up there.”

“If you’re sure.” Tanjiro didn’t like leaving him here, but he knew that they’d be more helpful on
the mountain. “Alright, let’s move.”

“I’ll be the vanguard!” Inosuke ran to the front, and Nezuko was quick to run after them. Their
scents both radiated excitement for the fight to come. Zenitsu, on the other hand…

“Come on, Zenitsu. We don’t want to be left behind, right? I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You’re the best friend, Tanjiro!” Zenitsu sobbed with tears streaking down his face. “Let’s go!”

‘I’ll keep an additional eye on him for you, Tanjiro-sama.’

‘Kyogai? Did you just…? Huh, I didn’t know we could talk like this.’

‘I suspected you would be capable of something similar to Muzan’s way of summoning and
communicating with us. I will teach you how to access it later… I apologize for being so
presumptuous, Tanjiro-sama! I did not mean to insinuate that you couldn’t figure it out on your
own and–’

‘No worries, no worries! I’d appreciate that, Kyogai. Thank you.’

The spike of fear in Kyogai’s scent quickly dissipated, though Zenitsu gave him an odd look that
told Tanjiro that the demon’s heartbeat had likely spiked as well. The four of them rushed into the
forest to rejoin Inosuke and Nezuko, catching up to them mid-conversation.

“Thanks for rushing forward with me, Inosuke. It makes me feel much more confident about the
fight to come. I appreciate having someone around that’s just as willing to bust heads as I am!”

“Heheh…” Inosuke’s scent became incredibly pleased, and somehow soft, at that. “You’re alright,
Teruko!”

“It’s Nezuko,” she sighed.

“Oh! There’s someone over there.” Nezuko startled at his sudden appearance, sighing before she
followed his line of sight to see another slayer on the ground.

Their group made their way toward him, though Kyogai and Hayase lingered out of sight just in
case. “Hello! I’m Kamado Nezuko, Mizunoto. This is my brother, Kamado Tanjiro, and our friends
Agatsuma Zenitsu and Hashibara Inosuke, all Mizunoto. We’re here to lend support.”

“M-mizunoto? Why didn’t they send a Hashira?! No matter how many Mizunoto they send, it
won’t make a difference!”

Inosuke decked the panicked slayer in the face. “Inosuke! Oh my Hinokami, I’m so sorry about
him!” Tanjiro cried out.

Nezuko bit back a snicker, and Zenitsu mumbled, “Seriously, he’s the only other normal one…”

“If you keep insisting that things are pointless, then your existence is pointless! Explain the
situation already, you coward!” Inosuke tugged at the slayer’s hair harshly as he growled out the
demand.

“After receiving orders from our crows, ten members got here! However, after we entered the
forest… the demon slayers all started killing each other!”

‘Ah, this is no good. A Blood Demon Art? It has to be.’ Tanjiro and Zenitsu’s heads whipped over
to their left in unison. A demon slayer staggered through the foliage, blood leaking out of his
mouth and sword in hand.

“Bwahaha! These people are all a bunch of idiots! Don’t they know that it’s against the rules for
them to kill each other?!”

“Their movements are too jerky to be natural, Inosuke! They’re being controlled by something!”

“Then I’ll chop them in half and stop them, Bizuko!”

“You can’t do that! There’s still a few of them that are alive, and it’d be cruel to mangle our
companions’ corpses!” Tanjiro shouted.

Inosuked headbutted him in the stomach with a growled, “Stop denying me my fun!”

When the controlled slayer swung for their senior, Tanjiro leapt forward and severed the threads
that were connected to him as well. He did so for the other slayers that had shambled into the
clearing, watching them slump to the ground with a sad sigh. “Hm… So the demon is using them
as puppets.”

“This is so scary!” Zenitsu sobbed. “Freaky, freaky, will we become puppets too?!”

Tanjiro could feel spiders skittering up his arm, and when he swiftly brushed them off, he saw the
same threads that he’d been severing the others from attached to them. “The spiders! Everyone, the
spiders are the ones making the threads. Keep an eye out for them!”

“I’ll squash them all!”

“It’ll be a waste of our time,” Nezuko muttered. “We need to find the demon controlling them and
stop the problem at its source. Is there anyone who can pinpoint their location?”

“My sense of smell is all tangled up right now,” Tanjiro growled. “The spiders all smell just as
strongly of demon, so they’re keeping me from distinguishing other scents easily.”

“Same with my hearing! I can hear them all crawling around us, and it makes it difficult to focus on
noises further out!”

“Haha! The great Inosuke can–”

A demonic presence flared from up above. Tanjiro turned his head to the sky, eyes widening when
he could pinpoint the kanji inscribed in the demon’s right eye. ‘Waning Moon Five. He must be the
leader, then.’

“Don’t disturb our clan’s peaceful life here.” The demon’s voice had a haunted, dreamy quality
about it that sent shivers up Tanjiro’s spine. “Because you will all… be killed by Mother in a few
moments.”

‘Mother? Is this a genuine family of demons? Was every single one of them turned?’

Inosuke attempted to charge the demon, but he simply left them to it. “Agh! Come back here and
fight me!”

“Inosuke! That demon isn’t the one who’s controlling the wires, so first, we need to–”
“I get it, I get it!” Inosuke dropped to his knees and thrust both of his swords into the ground,
extending his arms as he cried out, “Seventh Form: Spacial Awareness!” He lifted his head up, and
Tanjiro could feel his feral grin from his scent alone. “Found them!”

“That’s great! Uh…” Tanjiro turned to their senior sheepishly. “What’s your name?”

“M-murata.”

“Murata-san! Can you handle it here?”

“Yes! Just leave it to me! Now that I know I can cut the threads… I’ll keep an eye out for spiders!
The movements for these guys are simple, probably because they're further away. I’d bet that there
are stronger people stuck near the demon! You’ll need as many of you as you can get!”

“Understood, thank you!”

The four of them took off, and Inosuke grumbled, “How could he say that with a straight face? He
was pissing himself before we got here.”

“We’ll just have to trust that he can handle himself.” Nezuko sighed, shaking her head slightly.
“Though I have similar concerns.”

“You can’t…” a broken, teary voice trailed off into a whimper. “Don’t come near me. Hurry up
and get a higher-ranking person to come here! If you don’t, then I’m gonna wind up killing
everybody! Please! I’m begging you… Run!!”

The female slayer was jerked forward in the blink of an eye, moving far faster than the human
body was capable of without utilizing a breathing style. Thankfully, Tanjiro was faster, Nezuko and
Zenitsu were used to sparring with him at higher speeds, and Inosuke twisted out of the way before
she could reach him.

“My movements are completely different because I’m being controlled! I’m not this strong!”

Two other broken and battered slayers were pulled into the field, and just one look at them made
Tanjiro certain that they wouldn’t live to see sunrise. He hated that there wasn’t anything he could
do for them without exposing himself, but judging by the looks on their faces… ‘They want to die
at this point. It would only be worse if I offered to turn them.’

“We don’t have time for this! Onii-chan, Zenitsu! We’re close enough to the demon that you can
track them, right?” They both nodded in confirmation. “Then go! Inosuke and I will hold these
guys off.”

“Understood!”

They were both halted by one final puppet, and Tanjiro bared his teeth at the realization that they
were being faced with a headless demon. ‘How is their body still standing? There are some cracks
by their neck, but otherwise, they seem whole. There’s a way for demons to survive decapitation?’

“Waaah! Tanjiro, what are we supposed to do?! They don’t have a head! How do we beat them?!”

“Listen for their heartbeat, Zenitsu. Where is it? Are there any other odd sounds around it?”

“... Yeah. There’s this weird echo near the demon’s stomach, like their heartbeat is bouncing off of
something that’s not supposed to be there.”
“Then we’ll have to cut through them from the shoulder blade to that area. I’ll focus on tanking all
their hits; you just get a good slice in, okay?” Tanjiro leapt forward before Zenitsu could respond,
but he could smell the resolve in his friend’s scent as he drew the demon’s attention to himself.
There was a clap of thunder, and just like that, the body before them started disintegrating.

“I still can’t believe I can do that,” Zenitsu whispered shakily.

“You’re a very capable slayer, Zenitsu! Come on, let’s go! We’re almost there now!”

Fear. That was the first thing Tanjiro could smell. The demon sitting before them was terrified out
of her mind and slowly stretched out her arms in acceptance of her death. That made Tanjiro pause.
Zenitsu, seeing his shift in stance, held back and looked to him for direction.

“Hello. My name is Kamado Tanjiro; what’s yours?”

“I’m… Mother.”

“No other name?”

The demon shook her head frantically. “I can’t, I can’t! He’ll be so furious!”

“It’s alright, you don’t have to tell us anything,” Tanjiro assured her. “But you seem really scared.
If I offered to get you away from here, would you let me help you?”

“No one ever escapes. I’d die, we’ll all die if we try.”

Tanjiro slowly allowed his demon presence to spread across the area. The demon turned to him
with something like hope in her eyes. “You’re stronger than him… You’re stronger than Father,
and you’re even stronger than Rui…”

“I’m a demon king. Like Muzan, except I care so very much for the humans and demons under my
protection. I could make you one of my own. I could protect you from anyone who tries to hurt
you. But I will not force you.”

Kyogai and Hayase joined them in the clearing then. “Tanjiro-sama is very kind,” Hayase assured
her. “I would have died had he not offered to turn me.”

“He’s nothing like Muzan at all. He took me in when I had no more potential and assured me that I
was worth caring for. Tanjiro-sama will take care of you if you allow him to.”

“R-really?” the demon sniffled, allowing the threads connected to her hands to fall loosely to the
ground. “Would you really?”

“I would, I promise.” Tanjiro gently dragged his claws across his wrist before stepping forward.
“You just have to drink some of my blood if you want to be under my protection.”

“T-there’s one of the Twelve Kizuki here! Rui is dangerous, so please make sure your human
friends are careful!”

“I know, I saw him earlier. You don’t have to prove yourself to me to become one of my own,
alright? You don’t owe me anything beyond a vow to never devour humans again and a promise to
protect them unless you have to protect yourself from them.”

“... I can do that.”

For the second time, Tanjiro watched a demon that drank his blood shrink in size drastically. The
mother spider demon wasn’t as young as Susamaru, but she couldn’t be more than a few years
older than her before being turned either. Her white hair darkened to pitch black, her eyes shifted
in color until they were a soft hazel, and twin, horizontal markings stretched across both of her
cheeks.

“She’s another kid,” Zenitsu whispered with horror in his voice. “How many of the demons that
we fight are…?”

“I try not to think about it,” Tanjiro murmured. He knelt down before the young demon with a
gentle smile on his face. “Do you wanna share your name with me now? You don’t have to, but
we’ve gotta call you something.”

“Kotsuru,” she mumbled shyly. “Sorry. Rui was the only one allowed to use his name.”

“No worries! It’s very nice to meet you, Kotsuru. You have a pretty name.” Tanjiro tilted his head
at her with a hum. “Kyogai, Hayase, would you two mind keeping an eye on her? Nezuko and
Inosuke should be joining us soon, and Inosuke can be a bit rash… I want to make sure she stays
safe.

“Of course, Tanjiro-sama,” they chorused in unison.

“Thank you, onii-chan.” He blinked in shock at the small, happy voice of Kotsuru as she was
picked up by Kyogai. “Thank you for saving me!”

“Of course!” He beamed at her. “It was the right thing to do!”

Tanjiro suppressed his presence, and the three demons accompanying them disappeared into the
forest just in time for Nezuko and Inosuke to catch up to them.

“I did as much first-aid as I could for the girl, but the guys were both goners,” Nezuko sighed.
“They didn’t survive being released from that demon’s control. But you two took care of things?”

“We won’t have to worry about that demon anymore,” Tanjiro assured her with a smile.

“... Onii-chan, please tell me you didn’t turn her into one of yours too.” Tanjiro averted his eyes
nervously. “She was hurting demon slayers, Tanjiro! Some of our comrades died because of her!”

“She can’t be any older than eight and was terrified out of her mind!” he growled. “She surrendered
to us before we so much as drew our swords! Muzan is our enemy here. He’s the one twisting
these people into monsters, so please, Nezuko, please stop seeing the worst in every demon we
encounter! I’m not some magical exception! All demons have some thread of humanity left in
them. Some of them are too far gone under Muzan’s control, I know that, but I will give a second
chance to every single demon that wants one!”

“You’re going to get yourself killed!” Nezuko sobbed. “Please, can’t you be a little more selfish for
once? They’re going to find out about what you’re doing and execute you, onii-chan!”

“I’d like to see them try.” Nezuko looked like she was about to punch him, so he took several
metaphorical steps back. “I won’t let that happen, Nezuko. I have my curse in place to safeguard
myself and every demon I turn, and there’s no denying how useful it is to have demons on our
side. With the guarantee that they can’t eat any more humans? They’ll have no logical reason to
refuse, and Ubuyashiki already knows about what I’m doing. Urokodaki-sensei told him.”

“Ugh, you’re so infuriating sometimes,” Nezuko groaned. “Fine, whatever. How many other
demons are on this mountain?”
“I could sense five before we came up here, but the puppet one wasn’t one of them. There should
still be four scattered around.”

“It’ll take us forever if we stick together; we should split up.” Nezuko glared at him before saying,
“I’ll go with onii-chan to try and keep him from being stupidly self-sacrificing. Zenitsu, Inosuke,
please try to get along.”

“Gyaah!”

Tanjiro froze at the sight before him, holding his hand out to keep Nezuko from charging in
recklessly.

“What’re you looking at? This isn’t for show.”

The female demon had deep gashes cut into her face from the spiderwebs that stretched between
Rui’s fingers. “What are you doing?” Tanjiro growled. “Isn’t she your ally?”

“Ally? Don’t compare our relationship to such a shallow thing. We’re family. We’re tied together
by strong bonds. Besides, this is between me and nee-san. Keep out of family affairs, or I’ll have to
slice you up.”

“Both family and allies are tied together by strong bonds. They’re equally as valuable. There’s
nothing shallow about a lack of blood connection!” Tanjiro knew that this was Muzan’s work, that
the demon had twisted a child’s desire for family into something like this, but he couldn’t help
getting angry.

“Beyond that, people who share strong bonds have the scent of trust. But between you two? All I
can smell is fear, disgust, and hatred. No one can call that sort of thing a bond! It’s all fake!”

“What did you just say?” Rui flared his demonic presence with a snarl, and Nezuko paled, realizing
why Tanjiro had held her back.

Tanjiro flared his presence in return, and Rui blinked in shock, stepping back slightly. “I’ll say it as
many times as it takes for it to sink in for you. Your bonds are fake! You’re forcing these demons
to work with you because they’re afraid of you! That’s no way to form bonds with others. Don’t
you want a real family? Don’t you want people who will choose you over anyone else every time,
even when they’re upset with you and don’t understand your choices?”

“Of course I want that!” Rui growled. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted! I’ve lost so many family members
because they just don’t care about me! They lie, they betray me, they try to kill me! I have to keep
the ones I have left, no matter what it takes!”

The female demon disappeared from the clearing in a flash. Twigs snapped and leaves rustled with
the force of her running, and the sounds grew more distant by the second. Rui’s face twisted with
fury as he looked in the direction she’d disappeared, slowly morphing into sadness. “... They
always leave me.”

“I won’t.”

“Onii-chan…!”

Tanjiro ignored Nezuko’s hissed warning, knowing he’d catch hell for it later. “Join me, Rui. I can
be your big brother. I’ve got a big family of people who love me just as much now as they did
when I was a human. They would love you too. They’ve taken in other demons with no hesitation
whatsoever. You just have to let me turn you into one of my demons and swear off ever eating
humans again. You won’t need to; we get more than enough power from a bit of human blood.”

“... That sounds nice, but how do I know that you’re not lying to me? That you’re not just trying to
get me to let my guard down so you can kill me? Your little sister is clearly not happy about this.”

“She’s not happy that I’m putting myself at so much risk. The demon slayers are going to be angry
at me for sparing and turning demons as it is. Sparing a member of the Twelve Kizuki?”

“You knew?”

“I could see the kanji in your eye earlier.” Tanjiro chuckled. “But I can give you proof that I mean
what I say if that’s what you need. Kyogai, Hayase, Kotsuru.”

The three demons flickered into the clearing. Kyogai’s eyes widened in recognition. “Rui?”

“Kyogai? It’s been centuries since I saw you. So, he took you in, huh?”

“He did. Tanjiro-sama is an incredibly kind master, Rui. He expects nothing of us that we do not
willingly give.”

“Hm.” Kotsuru ducked her head the second that Rui looked at her. “... And you’re sure that I won’t
cause tensions in your own family?”

“If onii-chan wants to give you another chance, then I can too,” Kotsuru mumbled. “It was mostly
Father that hurt me anyway. But you gotta promise to do better, okay?”

“I will,” Rui promised before turning to face Tanjiro. “I know that I would lose to you if I fought.
He does not tolerate failures, but more than that… I would like to try to have a real family this
time.”

“Then welcome to the family, Rui.”

The spider demon’s appearance changed the least of the ones he’d brought to his side so far, and
Tanjiro quietly wondered if that was due to the concentration of Muzan’s blood that Rui used to
hold. The red surrounding his bright blue irises faded into white, but his hair remained the same
color and his eyes remained unnaturally bright. In fact, with the exception of the kanji disappearing
from his eye, everything else about the demon remained the same.

“I’m honored to be part of it, onii-sama. Thank you for…” Rui’s scent wore sadness like a second
skin.

‘Ah, so he remembers his life from before too? That’s good news. I was worried about if he’d mesh
with us, but it shouldn’t be an issue now.’

Nezuko sighed heavily. “Well, that’s one way to complete the mission, I guess. We better go check
up on Zenitsu and Inosuke. The rest of you should hide.”

The others returned to the trees, and he and Nezuko didn’t get far before a vaguely familiar scent
approached them. Tanjiro ducked around a blue blade before his face lit up. “Tomioka-san! It’s
nice to see you again!”

“... Oh, it’s you.” The Hashira sheathed his blade. “I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“Me either!”

“It’s good to see you’re doing well, Tomioka-san.”

“... You as well.”

Danger. A chill shot up Tanjiro’s spine as death approached them. He jerked his head to the side as
a sword was thrust toward him, but it wound up being unnecessary.

“Oh? Why are you getting in my way, Tomioka-san?”

Silence.

“You said we couldn’t get along with demons, but what’s all this about? If you do this, then
everyone will hate you.” Tomioka’s scent wavered with confusion as his fellow slayer pointed her
sword at him. “Tomioka-san, that’s enough. Get out of my way.”

“I’m not hated.”

“Ah, that… I’m sorry, I thought you knew. Pardon me for saying too much.”

“I don’t hate Tomioka-san! I think he’s amazing!”

“That’s not a compliment when it comes from a demon.” The woman looked at Nezuko with
furrowed eyebrows. “Why are you standing in front of him? He’s a demon. It’s dangerous, so
please get away from him.”

“I won’t let you hurt onii-chan.”

“Oh? He’s your big brother? What a pity. Okay then! I’ll kill him with a painless poison for you.”

“Run.” Tomioka looked back at them with a grim expression. “Tanjiro, Nezuko, run .”

“T-thank you!”

“Oh my, isn’t this a violation of the demon slayers’ code of conduct?”

Tanjiro took Nezuko’s hand as they ran into the forest, turning his nose to the sky to track down
their friends. ‘Zenitsu! He smells like… poison!’ Tanjiro pushed himself faster, and when they
came across Zenitsu, he was bandaged from head to toe while still reeking of poison. ‘I guess
there’s not much they can do about that on the field, but this poison is demonic in origin so that
means...'

“Tanjiro, Nezuko! Oh, thank Hinokami! I was so scared” Zenitsu sobbed. “Tanjiro, please use your
fire on me! I can feel my limbs still shrinking, you know? It’s freaky! Freaky!”

“I will don’t worry. Everything is gonna be okay, Zenitsu.” He rested his hand on top of his
friend’s head, smiling serenely as crimson flames enveloped him. In a matter of seconds, Zenitsu’s
limbs were straining against the bandages wrapped around him, and Tanjiro cut him free with his
claws.

He didn’t look any worse for wear now that the poison was out of his system, so Tanjiro and
Nezuko only chuckled at Zenitsu’s dramatics as he clung to the former. “Where did Inosuke go?”

“I’m sorry! He tore off on his own to go fight demons, and I got stopped by the demon that did this
to me before I could find him again. I can hear his heartbeat not too far from here, though! We
 should go find him; he sounds hurt.”

Before they could, a scent that smelled similar but not identical to the woman Tomioka was
currently holding off approached them in a flash, eyes locked onto Tanjiro and ignoring everyone
else. He danced around her blows, deflecting them with his sword when she got too close for
comfort.

“Hey! It’s against rules to attack a fellow demon slayer, you know?!” Zenitsu cried out. He looked
like he wanted to get between them, but like Nezuko, he understood that he’d only get in Tanjiro’s
way by doing that.

His attacker said nothing, only swinging for his head once more as he dodged the blow.

“Message! Message! Restrain the ones named Tanjiro and Nezuko and bring them to headquarters!
Nezuko as well as the demon Tanjiro! Restrain them and bring them to headquarters! Nezuko is a
slayer with long black hair and pink eyes! The demon Tanjiro has a flaming mark on his forehead!
He may have demons under his control nearby as well, and they are to be brought in the same
way!”

“... So you’re Tanjiro? And she matches the description… Okay, bind them.”

Kakushi nervously approached him. Tanjiro only gave them a reassuring smile and sat down on the
ground to make it easier for them to tie him up. ‘Push comes to shove, I can escape this if I need to.
But if it means no longer hiding… It’s worth seeing how this plays out.’

“I’m going with them, you hear me?! We trained together, and like hell am I letting you guys send
me on solo missions without them again! I’m coming with them!”

The Kakushi gave Zenitsu an odd look, but they shrugged it off and allowed him to follow behind
them as they carried Tanjiro and Nezuko off to meet their fate. They were decidedly less calm
when Kyogai, Hayase, Rui, and Kotsuru materialized out of nowhere, but they did their job, bound
them, and continued forward, one step at a time.

Chapter End Notes

Name translation time! Kotsuru's name is spelled 小 (ko, meaning: small) 蔓 (tsuru,
meaning: vine). That absolutely is a hint toward her Blood Demon Art, as she'll be
getting a different one now that Rui's blood isn't flowing through her veins and
influencing it. It'll be similar in function, yes, but with a different execution.
 Chapter 8
Chapter Notes

You guys get another double update today! I likely won't update for at least the next
few days since my vacation is coming to an end (though I could, who knows), but I
was so excited for this chapter that I couldn't stop once I started writing it. It's literally
nothing but the Hashira meeting, but oh boy is it a ride from start to finish. I hope you
guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

“Why the hell is a demon wearing our uniform?”

“The poor soul… He must have been turned on a mission.”

“But there are other slayers with him! They had to have known!”

“I can barely feel his presence myself. He likely hid it from them.”

“No, his sister definitely knew. She stood between me and him regardless.”

Nezuko’s eyebrow twitched violently. “Don’t talk about us like we’re not right here.”

“I’d be quiet before you make things worse for yourself, kid.”

“There’s no need for a trial here! The code of conduct clearly states that any slayer who is turned is
to be executed, the same as any other demon! We can deal with this ourselves! We’ll decapitate all
the demons here and move forward!”

“Then allow me to cut the brother’s head off flamboyantly. I’ll show that I can spray blood more
flamboyantly than anyone else!”

Tanjiro shuddered at the weighted gazes on him, twisting his arm slightly so he could claw free of
his restraints in an instant. ‘And they call me a monster. No one should delight in killing so much.’

“More importantly, what are we going to do about Tomioka? The fact that he’s not bound as well
makes my head hurt. Kocho clearly told us that he violated the code of conduct as well; he
protected that demon. How will we deal with him? How will we make him take responsibility?
How are we gonna make him suffer?” The snake twining around the man’s shoulders hissed in
what sounded like agreement.

Tanjiro bit back a snarl at the threat to one of his people. His face was too honest to completely
hide his reaction, though.

“Oh? The demon didn’t like that.”

“Well, it’s fine, right?” Kocho hummed. “He followed me without causing a scene. We can think
of a punishment for him later. More importantly, I want to hear this girl’s story. Tell me, how did
you come to travel with so many demons?”

“... My family was attacked by Muzan Kibutsuji.” It was like all the air was sucked out of the
clearing at once. “I was down in the village selling charcoal, but onii-chan was there. Muzan
recognized our family earrings. The Kamados are descendants of the first demon slayer, and
Muzan was furious because onii-chan looks so much like what the family records says Yoriichi-
san does. He thought turning my brother into a demon so that he’d kill the rest of the Kamados
himself would be the best way to tarnish our family legacy.”

“And you came back to a bloody massacre,” a heavily scarred man snarled. “You cannot protect–”

“And I came back to my family, completely whole and unharmed.” Nezuko’s voice left no room
for questioning. “Onii-chan didn’t hurt anyone. He was absolutely starving, but he kept control of
himself. In fact, onii-chan wouldn’t leave us alone for weeks. He was terrified of Muzan coming
back. He was terrified of losing us, so he paced around the house at night and kept guard until the
New Year, when he finally began to believe that Muzan wasn’t going to kill us all the second he
looked away. My brother has never eaten anyone, and he never will.”

“Don’t spit out such stupid, rash remarks so carelessly,” the man with the snake hissed. “For
starters, of course you’d protect your family. I can’t trust a word you’re saying, and I won’t trust
any demons.”

“Ahh… You’ve become obsessed with this demon. Let’s kill this pitiful child quickly and release
her from her suffering.”

Tanjiro’s roar shook the entire courtyard. Killing intent radiated from him like a thick, choking
miasma of hatred, though he barely managed to keep his demonic presence in check. “Keep. Your.
Hands. Off. My. Sister.”

“Onii-chan, enough!” Nezuko ducked her head with tears in her eyes. “Please listen! We became
swordsmen to take down Muzan! My brother gets blood donations from our family and friends,
and he’s never been anything but polite about it! He’s been a demon for three years now, and
we’ve never had any problems. Tanjiro can control himself!”

“Sure doesn’t look like it to me.”

“Demons are obsessive by nature,” Zenitsu murmured lowly. The Hashira blinked, only now
registering his presence there. “Tanjiro’s obsession is protecting his people. He has the kindest
sound that I’ve ever heard, not just among demons but among humans as well, but if you threaten
the people he cares about, then he will defend them to his dying breath. That’s a character strength,
not a flaw.”

“Your story is going around in circles. He hasn’t eaten people and never will. He fights to protect
others. We need more than lip service, give us a more flamboyant explanation.”

“Umm, I have a question. Shouldn’t we wait for Oyakata-sama? I don’t think we should decide
this on our own like this…”

“My brother and I fight together! We fight demons and protect people as a team, so please! He was
already a demon before he became a slayer, you know?!”

“Heheh, this is getting interesting.” The scarred man waved his sword around, pointing it directly
at Nezuko’s throat. “You said he’ll protect you? I’d like to see it.”

Several things happened at once. Tanjiro shredded his restraints into confetti with his claws,
Kyogai did the same and hit the drum embedded in his left shoulder, the scarred man stumbled and
tilted to the left, and Tanjiro caught the side of the Hashira’s blade in his mouth. The nichrin
shattered under the force of his bite.

The inside of Tanjiro’s mouth was bloodied and cut up from the shards of metal, but he couldn’t
care less about that. “I said stay away from my sister!”

“You little…!” The only thing left of the Hashira’s sword was a jagged point at the hilt that was
smaller than a dagger. “Do you realize how long it takes to get a sword forged, you little shit?!”

“I have one, do I not?”

“Shinazugawa-san, don’t be so reckless. If he hadn’t protected her, then you would’ve killed a
human.”

“She’d deserve it for protecting demons, Kocho!”

“You’re angry at me. Leave my sister out of it!”

“Oh? I see you’re bleeding, demon. I’ll just have to show everyone your true colors.” He dragged
the remaining fragment of his sword across his arm, and Tanjiro glanced back at his demons with
concern the second the smell of marechi blood filled the clearing.

Kyogai looked vaguely ill, Hayase looked briefly interested before he shook it off, Kotsuru was
too terrified of the Hashira’s temper to even look him in the eye, and while Rui drooled slightly, he
immediately wiped at his mouth and bowed in apology.

“I’m sorry, onii-sama. That was unsightly of me.”

Tanjiro turned back to the Hashira with a cocked eyebrow. “Are you done now? Can someone
patch him up? The smell of his blood makes me feel sick.”

“Do they think we’re stupid?” Zenitsu asked Nezuko, whispering just loud enough for everyone to
hear. The mischievous note in his scent told Tanjiro that he was doing it entirely on purpose.
“Kuwajima-sensei is a marechi too. Your brother has as an even stronger nose than Urokodaki-
sensei; of course we’d test his ability to resist marechis first.”

Despite herself, Nezuko started snickering. Shinzaguawa’s scent flared with rage, and Tanjiro
knew that a fight would have broken out if it wasn’t for the soft voice that interrupted them.

“Please settle down, my children. My apologies for being late.” The man smelled of sickness and
pain, but above all that, kindness.

‘So this is Ubuyashiki-san, huh?’

“Oyakata-sama!”

“Good morning everyone. We have some really nice weather today. Is the sky blue?”

“Yes, Oyakata-sama!”

“Our members have gathered for the bi-annual Hashira meeting without changing members again.
I’m so pleased to see all my children return to me unharmed.”

Tanjiro bit back a snarl when Shinazugawa pushed his sister into the dirt, glancing over to see that
all of the Hashira were kneeling. He and Zenitsu joined them, and Tanjiro gestured for his demons
to do the same.
“We find it most honorable to be in your presence, Oyakata-sama. We eagerly pray for much
happiness upon you.”

“Thank you, Sanemi.”

“Let me humbly say there is a soldier present by the name of Kamado Nezuko who has brought
several demons with her. I would like to explain this scenario, so will you allow me?”

‘He was acting like a rabid animal earlier, and now he’s suddenly so polite? It’s unsettling.’

“I see. I’m sorry that they have surprised you all. I have given my approval to Tanjiro and Nezuko,
so I want everyone here to accept them.”

The smell of shock filled the courtyard.

“Ahh… Even though Oyakata-sama wishes us to do so, I am reluctant to give my consent.”

“I also flamboyantly oppose this! I can never accept a demon hunter who works alongside
demons.”

Tanjiro began to grow nervous then. ‘Even if he’s given us his approval, Ubuyashiki-san doesn’t
strike me as the type to force the Hashira to do something they don’t want to do.’

“I will abide by all your accordances, Oyakata-sama.” He nearly cried at the words of support from
the pink-haired Hashira.

“Either way’s fine by me. I’ll just forget right away…”

“I don’t trust them. We all hate demons and for good reason. This girl is spitting upon everything it
means to be a demon slayer, and the boy with her is just as guilty.”

“I respect you from the bottom of my heart, but I can’t understand what you’re thinking, Oyakata-
sama! I completely oppose this!”

“We are the demon hunters who annihilate all demons. I wish to punish Kamado, the blond brat,
and Tomioka for harboring these monsters.”

Ubuyashiki hummed before turning to the child standing to his right. “Could you read the letter for
me?”

“Of course.” The child pulled out a long piece of parchment before clearing her throat. “We
received this letter from the former Water Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji. I will read an extract from
it. ‘Please forgive Tanjiro for his demon status and allow him to become a slayer. He has the
kindest heart I’ve ever seen, almost too kind for the life of a slayer, and he retains all human
reasoning. He has never lost control around a human in over three years of being a demon. I have
watched him patch up the bumps and scrapes of his human siblings countless times, and even
Jigoro couldn’t tempt him into taking blood without permission. You may find this difficult to
believe, but it is the undeniable truth. He will not try to devour humans; I am certain of this. If, by
any chance, he ever did, then Kamado Nezuko as well as Urokodaki Sakonji, Tomioka Giyu,
Kuwajima Jigoro, Kaigaku, and Agatsuma Zenitsu would commit seppuku to atone.’ There is
another section that I believe to be important; give me just one moment.”

The girl flipped back in the letter, either completely oblivious or uncaring of the shock that the
Hashira were experiencing. Tanjiro looked between his sister and Zenitsu with wide, awed eyes.
“Ah, here it is. ‘We believe that Tanjiro was inadvertently turned into a demon king by Kibutsuji
that night. He gained an immunity to sunlight within weeks of becoming a demon, can hide his
presence to an even stronger degree than the Waxing Moons, and wisteria does virtually nothing to
him. His ancestor, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, came to him in a dream one night and told him that he’d be
capable of converting Muzan’s demons into his own. Considering his Blood Demon Art, I’m led to
believe that he can purify Muzan’s cells out of them and leave them in a state that is almost an in-
between of human and demon. They still remain demons in many ways, but… There’s something
different about him, Oyakata-sama. I beg of you to consider sparing his life, if nothing else, for
Tanjuro’s sake. Tanjiro is the only one of his children who can use Sun Breathing, and I do not
wish for his legacy to die like this.’ Kamado Tanjuro was our former Sun Hashira, of course. All of
you are too young to have served alongside him, but that is the truth.”

“My father mentioned him! How tragic that his son would be turned into a demon like this!
Nevertheless, that doesn’t change that he is a threat! Especially if he has power comparable to
Muzan’s.”

“Yeah! All I’m hearing is more reasons to kill him!”

Ubuyashiki sighed, and his scent filled with disappointment. “It pains me that it’s coming to this,
my children. If that letter is not enough, then I am thankful that I gathered character witnesses for
this trial as well.”

Tanjiro perked up. ‘Wait a second. I didn’t realize earlier due to all the hostile scents in this place,
but is that–?’

“Onii-chan!” Susamaru barelled into him, and the rest of his younger siblings were quick to follow.
Her face lit up when she saw Kotsuru and Rui. “Oh! We’re getting more siblings? Fun! Fun!”

“Is that another fucking demon?”

Susamaru gaped at Shinazugawa in shock and horror. “Kaa-san says that’s a bad word!”

Takeo burst into laughter as he made his way over to Nezuko, untying her with a firm glare at the
Hashira surrounding them. “Couldn’t keep onii-chan out of trouble, huh?”

“That’s like asking me to keep a bird from flying, Takeo.”

“We missed you, onee-san!” Hanako pulled Nezuko into a hug, and Shigeru was quick to join
them.

Rokuta tugged at Tanjiro’s haori until he lifted him up onto his shoulders with a grin. “Aww, it’s
only been a few days since I saw you last.”

“Still missed you, onii-chan.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” Nezuko grumbled playfully, rolling her eyes at Rokuta’s antics.

“Nezuko, Tanjiro.”

“Kaa-san!”

Kie walked up to them both with a fond smile on her face, ruffling Tanjiro’s hair. “My baby’s big
heart has gotten him into trouble again, huh? This is nostalgic. Reminds me of when you helped a
racoon out of a bear trap when you were younger only to get bitten and need a rabies shot.”
“Kaa-san!” he cried out, flushing bright red.

“So this is the Ubuyashiki estate… Tanjuro told me about it a time or two, vaguely, but it is
gorgeous beyond what I could have imagined.”

“I thank you for your kind words, Saburo-san.”

“Of course. Thank you for calling upon us.”

“Man, you three have really stepped in it now, huh?”

“Aniki?” Zenitsu mumbled lowly.

“Kuwajima-sensei and Urokodaki-sensei were too busy to come themselves, but I’m between
missions right now. I’m not gonna leave my cute little brother to face the gallows on his own.”

“So you’ve brought in even more family and this is meant to sway us somehow? I apologize
Oyakata-sama, but I cannot trust the skewed views of people who are invested in protecting this
demon.”

Despite the snake Hashira’s words, the crying man’s scent shifted completely upon seeing
Tanjiro’s family. There was shock, wonder, and an undertone of sadness that overcame him as he
murmured, “It has swayed me. For this poor soul to have such strong bonds with his family despite
losing his humanity…”

“I’m pleased to hear that, Gyomei.” Ubuyashiki smiled. “But I understand your reluctance as well,
Obanai. I did not only call upon family members. If you five wouldn’t mind coming out…”

A massive smile tugged at Tanjiro’s face as five familiar faces stepped out of Ubuyashiki’s house
and into the moonlight. “Kazumi-san! Kiyoshi, Shoichi, Teruko!” He turned to face the girl he’d
saved from the swamp demon with a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry; I don’t think we ever caught your
name.”

“My name is Tokie. I can’t thank you enough for saving me from that monster. Kazumi-san told
me about what happened that night.”

“Who the hell are these people?”

“Bad word!” Susamaru shouted with a pout tugging at her lips.

“Careful Shinazugawa, the demon toddler is going to smack you if you keep cursing,” Kocho said
with a chuckle.

“Tanjiro and Nezuko have not been given the opportunity to go on many missions, but these are
the people that they’ve saved so far. If you worry that they’re incapable of defending humans from
demons, then their testimonies should go a long way.”

“... Very well,” Obanai conceded. “Say your pieces.”

Kazumi was the first to step forward. “When Tanjiro and Nezuko arrived in my town, it was the
day after my fiancé was taken by a demon. I was right next to her when he grabbed her, and there
was nothing I could do. At first, I resented them for not coming sooner, for not being just one day
earlier, but I know that they came as soon as they could. And knowing what I do now? Honestly,
it’s hard to believe that was their first mission.”
“I was kidnapped by that demon the night that they came. I was unconscious for most of the night,
so I can’t say much about their characters, personally, but I know that I would be dead if they
hadn’t come.”

“They were amazing. I knew as soon as I saw them move that demon slayers were real. They
fought in unison, flowing around one another like it was nothing. That demon cloned itself into
three different bodies, yet the two of them swiftly took care of the clones before Nezuko leapt into
the demon’s bog and took out the main body. Tanjiro stayed behind with us to ensure that we were
okay. He apologized for not getting there sooner. He let me vent my rage and pain on him with a
sad smile, and then he smiled and I knew he was a demon just like the monster that attacked us.
But despite that… he was the kindest person I’d ever met. I looked into his eyes and knew that he
would die before letting that other demon lay a hand on me or Tokie. I trust Tanjiro.”

Tokie nodded in agreement. “As do I. If you kill him, then you also kill countless humans that he
could save. Demons are faster and stronger than humans, correct? So keeping him on your side
only extends your reach. He can be a great help to you.”

“What about the demons traveling with him?! We’ve heard nothing about those!” the Hashira
whose hair looked like fire itself asked with a heavily skeptical scent.

“Ah, it was just Tanjiro and Nezuko when they helped us.” Kazumi rubbed at the back of his head
with a nervous chuckle. “I couldn’t help you there.”

“We can!” Teruko cheered. “Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Susamaru were all there when onii-
chan was taken into that demon house. Susamaru stood outside with me and Shoichi to protect us.
Hayase was flung out of the house and… He would’ve died if Tanjiro hadn’t turned him.”

“You turned a human into a demon?!” Shinazugawa snarled with a flare of murderous intent.

“Tanjiro-sama gave me a choice.” Hayase’s tone left no room for argument. “He would not have
forced me, but a demon’s attack ensured that I would’ve bled out long before I could receive
medical attention. It would have been a slow and agonizing death. Tanjiro-sama offered, explained
what becoming one of his demons would entail, and I accepted. Zenitsu gave me blood to ensure
I’d keep my senses, and we carried on with the mission. Simple as that.”

“Anyway,” Kiyoshi continued where his sister left off, giving the loud Hashira an unimpressed
look. “I’m apparently a marechi. That’s why I was taken in the first place. The other demons in the
house attacked Kyogai when he brought me back and knocked one of the drums out of his body. I
used it to switch the room I was in any time they got close to me, so I survived on my own until
Tanjiro killed a demon right before I was going to hit the drum again. Then he escorted me out
while talking about how everything would be fine now and about how the demon who took me
was very sorry and had helped him find me.”

Kiyoshi gestured to Kyogai with a wry grin. “The first thing this guy did was apologize to Tanjiro
and then apologize to me. He wasn’t particularly scary compared to all the other demons in the
place.”

Shoichi nodded enthusiastically. “Mhmn! He even let me ride his shoulders while they were
escorting us home! Kyogai-san is cool; he just had a big bully giving him orders before.”

“Now this is more like it!” The tall, silver-haired Hashira with red eyes cried out. “Talk about a
flamboyant explanation! You two–” he pointed to Rui and Kotsuru, “– what are your stories?”

“... We were on Mount Natagumo,” Kotsuru whispered, guilt laced in her voice.
“You’re fucking kidding me. With the sheer number of casualties on that mountain, you’re telling
me that you spared two of them?!”

“To be fair, the others were responsible for most of that.” Rui averted his eyes at the Hashira’s
glare. “Nee-san easily killed dozens of people with her cocoons, Father went on a rampage any time
humans set foot on the mountain, and Nii-chan turned dozens of people into puppets as well. I
mostly kept out of things, though admittedly it was because I couldn’t be bothered against such
weak opponents back then, and Kotsuru was threatened into action by Father and… myself. She
was afraid of what would happen to her if she didn’t listen.”

“It was mostly Father though!” Kotsuru insisted. “Rui was mean sometimes, but he never hit me
like Father did!”

Obanai leveled Rui with a heavy look. “It was suspected that there was a Twelve Kizuki on that
mountain. Our slayers never reported fighting one. If you couldn’t be bothered with attacking our
slayers yourself…”

Rui nodded in acknowledgment. “I am the former Waning Moon Five. I understand that I have
committed horrific crimes in my search for a family, and if you wish to have me pay for them with
my life, then I will not fight you.”

“Rui..." Tanjiro warned lowly.

“Onii-sama, you do not deserve to get dragged down with me. You are the first person to have
shown me kindness in centuries, and I will not repay you for that by forcing your family to mourn
you. I… after what I did to my family, I could never forgive myself for tearing another one apart.”

“What happened to your family?”

“Kanroji!” Obanai hissed.

“I want to know, Iguro-san! He just seems so sad…”

“I was a very sickly child. Running and playing with other children was out of the question; it was
often difficult for me to even walk. My parents had lost hope for me, and then Muzan visited us.
He was posing as a doctor for the village, and he’d been cemented into the community for long
enough that everyone trusted him. He offered to treat me, and my parents accepted immediately,
desperate for anything that could save my life. Of course, he turned me into a demon."

“That’s…” Kocho’s voice trailed off. “That’s horrific. To dangle hope before all of you like that
was cruel.”

“It’s typical of Muzan,” Rui snorted. “That’s what he does. Anyways! Eventually, the hunger got
the best of me and I attacked someone. When my mother and father found out, they were rightfully
horrified. I couldn’t remember this until recently but… When my father stood over my bed with a
dagger that night, he was crying and apologizing to me the whole time. Promising that he and
Mother would kill themselves and follow me into hell after they killed me. But I didn’t register that
then. I was just angry and afraid, and I lashed out at them; I killed them both. I spiralled with guilt
afterward, and Muzan whispered false promises and honeyed words into my ears the whole time.
‘They wouldn’t have done that to you if they were truly your family, Rui,’ he said. ‘You need to
grow strong enough to create your own family, Rui,’ he said. I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.
Everything I did after that was to gain his approval so I could gather a group of demons together to
play some twisted version of house.”
“L-look,” Zenitsu stammered. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t there to talk to Rui, but Kotsuru surrendered
to us before we even drew our swords. She didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want to hurt people.
And Tanjiro has a way of finding those who feel that way, even if they’ve been coerced into doing
a lot of terrible things. I trust his judgment. If he sees something worth saving in these demons,
then I’ll defend them just as strongly as he does.”

Kaigaku nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the brat is as kind as they come, but he isn't completely
stupid. He's got a good nose for people, and if someone was going to be a threat to his family, then
he wouldn't take them in."

“Plus, onii-chan being a demon king does come with some perks. He has a curse similar to
Muzan’s, after all.”

“Oh?” Kocho seemed intrigued by that. “What do you mean?”

“None of my demons can devour humans. The second that they try to, my Blood Demon Art –
which affects demons and demonic items and substances exclusively– will burn them alive until
there’s nothing left of them but ashes. They can defend themselves, but that is all.”

“You’re fucking kidding me…” Shinazugawa sounded more disbelieving than angry now.

“Tanjiro doesn’t lie!” Zenitsu assured him. “That’s why I’m perfectly fine even though that spider
demon poisoned me. His Blood Demon Art burned it out of me and reversed the effects until my
limbs were back to normal!”

“Tanjiro has never been able to lie,” Kie confirmed with a chuckle. “He makes the ugliest face
whenever he tries; it’s incredibly obvious.”

“Good ol’ honest Tanjiro. That boy would spend all day in the village helping others, even after he
sold all of the coal for his family. Granted, that’s a large portion of why everyone bought extras
from him, but he didn’t do it because of that.”

Tanjiro tilted his head at Saburo in confusion. “They did?”

“Yes, onii-chan,” Nezuko huffed with exasperation. “There’s a reason we sent you down the most,
you know? And it wasn’t just because you’re the oldest.”

“You speak as if you’re not part of the family! Did I misunderstand something?”

“Ah, you must be a Rengoku. Tanjuro spoke of your... father, I believe, often.”

“Indeed!”

“You didn’t misunderstand anything. I wasn’t part of the family back then, but I am now. I married
Kie shortly after Tanjiro was turned into a demon. In fact, I’m the one who they went to after he
was turned since I knew the most about them in the area. Tanjiro was always the sweetest boy, so
when I saw that he’d managed to maintain some measure of his humanity, I wanted to help them
however I could. I knew that he couldn’t sustain himself off of animals for long, though. I cut
myself so that I could give him some of my blood. He was in agony. He was whimpering, tearing
up, and absolutely starved, but he controlled himself. He not only waited for us to give him a cup
full of blood but also waited until I gave him my verbal permission to drink it. And that was when
he was freshly turned. At this point? He could probably go months if not years without anything at
all and still be fine.”

“Huh… That’s most odd!”

“Besides, none of you have seen Muzan, correct?”

“No. Why are you–” Kocho froze with the realization. “He attacked the Kamados. If he turned
Tanjiro, then that means that…”

“Onii-chan has seen him not once but twice now,” Nezuko confirmed. “We also ran into him at
Asakusa; that’s how we wound up bringing Susamaru home with us. Muzan… he looked like he’d
seen a ghost when he looked at onii-chan.”

The Hashira burst into questions and exclamations, talking over each other in a cacophony that
Tanjiro couldn’t begin to decipher. They all quieted when Ubuyashiki held a finger over his lips.
“Kibutsuji has finally shown his tail to us. For the first time since the foundation of the demon
slayers, something that was truly unexpected to him has happened. Tanjiro is the key to that. Do
you understand what I mean now?”

“I do not understand, Oyakata-sama. We can let humans live, but demons have to die. I cannot
consent to this!” Shinazugawa stood up, and Tanjiro tensed at the determination and anger in his
scent. “Oyakata-sama, forgive my rudeness.”

The Hashira leapt straight for Rui with his broken sword, and though Tanjiro knew he could
defend himself from the attack, he was worried that Rui wouldn’t. Tanjiro was between the two of
them in an instant. A crimson blade connected with the shattered remains of Shinazugawa’s green
sword, splitting the remaining blade and the handle itself in half.

Tanjiro finally allowed his demonic presence to flare out, blanketing the courtyard with a sinister
promise of retribution should things go a single step further. “I am being merciful, Shinazugawa-
san. If I wanted to, I could have killed every single one of you by now. I do not want to do that. I
never want to hurt anyone. But if you do not stop attempting to cause harm to my family, then you
are going to force me into drastic measures."

“Onii-sama…” Rui’s voice was little more than a choked-off whisper.

“I believe that this is proof enough that Tanjiro will not attack humans, yes? Even with you
continually pushing his buttons and threatening harm to those dearest to him, his instinct is to
defend and protect, not attack.”

“Yes, Oyakata-sama!” Kanroji agreed without hesitation.

“I flamboyantly refuse! I understand your intentions, Oyakata-sama, but I cannot approve of this!”

“... I’ll admit to being impressed,” Kocho conceded with a nod.

Tomioka nodded and gave them a small smile that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Rengoku shook his head firmly. “I cannot agree to this in good conscience! Demons are our
enemy, and that is a fact! To invite so many of them to join us is blasphemy!”

“Interesting,” the spacey, youngest Hashira hummed. “He’s… strange. I’m curious. Want to see...
how it goes.”

“No way in hell I’ll ever approve of a demon!”

“Seeing how he interacts with his family… I could not harm them by purging this poor soul, not
when he retains his rationality. I understand Oyakata-sama.”
Iguro was the final Hashira to give his verdict, but one look at him told Tanjiro all he needed to
know. “No, absolutely not. Demons only know how to lie and deceive others. He’s conning you
all, and I’m not going to be taken in by it!” Tanjiro wanted to be angry at Obanai, but he couldn’t
be. He’d never smelled such a terrified scent in his life, not even from Kotsuru. He had a feeling
that Iguro wasn’t seeing Tanjiro when he looked at him, and he wondered how the Hashira learned
about demons.

He had a feeling that it wasn’t a very nice story.

“Well, I suppose that settles it. We have five Hashira voting for his continued service to the demon
slayers and four voting against it. Kamado Tanjiro, you will be allowed to continue fighting
alongside your sister. Do keep me informed as you convert any of Kibutsuji’s demons to your own
and avoid turning humans whenever possible, but with your failsafe in place, I will allow you to
continue forward as you have been.”

“Thank you, Ubuyashiki-san.”

“Ubuyashiki-san?! The absolute disrespect you little brat–!”

Ubuyashiki held up his hand. “It is alright, Sanemi. I do not demand subservience, and I imagine
that such a thing would be difficult for a demon king to accommodate.”

“Demon kings do not bow to anyone,” Rui confirmed. “I was surprised that onii-sama kneeled,
honestly.”

“As I expected. We should begin the Hashira meeting in earnest, then. Shinobu, if you wouldn’t
mind?”

“Of course! Send them all over to my estate. I’ll join you once the meeting is over; do avoid
causing trouble, will you?”

Nezuko chuckled nervously as the Kakushi gathered around them. “We’ll try.”

“Oh, and Tanjiro-kun?” He turned back to face Ubuyashiki with a tilted head. “Give my regards to
Tamayo-san.”
 Chapter 9
Chapter Notes

So I'm a lying liar who finished chapter nine on my last day of vacation, so here it is! I
hope you all enjoy the mini training arc and the calm before the storm >:)

“I’m so glad you’re all here.” Nezuko’s smile lit up the room, and Tanjiro could practically see the
tension melt off her shoulders now that they were away from the Hashira.

“Of course! I couldn’t pass up the chance to see my babies again.” Kie pressed kisses to both of
their foreheads. “Though that was… scary. It was very close. I’m so proud of you for following
your heart, Tanjiro, but please be careful, okay?”

“I’ll try, kaa-san. But I can’t ignore someone who needs help!”

“I know dear. I see you’ve made some new friends! Would you mind introducing me to them?”

“Oh, right! This is Rui and Kotsuru. Would you mind taking Kotsuru back home with you? She’s
still young enough that having her fight with us feels… wrong. Do you mind that, Kotsuru?”

The young demon shook her head immediately. “That’s okay! I can keep Susamaru company.”

“Yay! Now I’ll have someone to play all-out with! The others are fun too, but I’m really excited!”

“We don’t mind at all,” Saburo assured him. “And what about you, Rui? What did you want to
do?”

“... I want to fight. I want to make up for what I’ve done, and as nice as it sounds, I can’t do that by
just hiding away with the rest of onii-sama’s family.”

“Then welcome to the team. We’re all crazy, so you’ll fit right in!” Nezuko said entirely too
cheerfully.

Kaigaku snorted. “You’re dam– I mean darn right about that. It’s bad when a demon is your sole
voice of reason.”

“I know, right? Tanjiro is the only one who–”

“I was talking about Hayase. He seems like the reasonable sort. Tanjiro most certainly is not a
voice of reason after that little display with the Hashira, Zenitsu.”

Tanjiro opened his mouth to protest before closing it. “You know what? That’s fair.”

“Onii-chan was so cool!” Shigeru cried out. “Those Hashira were totally scared; you could tell!”

“I didn’t want to scare them, Shigeru,” Tanjiro sighed. “But if enough of them started charging you
guys like that… I may be a demon, but I can only protect so many people at once.”

“We would have stepped in to help, Tanjiro-sama.”

“I know, Kyogai; I saw. Thank you for defending Nezuko like that. Was that your Blood Demon
Art?”

“Oh, right. I forgot that I hadn’t shown it to you. Yes. I primarily used the drums in my body to
spin a room around, but I can focus it on specific targets as well. The drum on my chest is a slash
attack, though, so be sure not to touch that one.” The last statement was directed at a curiously
prodding Kotsuru who quickly nodded.

“That’s so cool! And there’re so many uses for it too. Man, you always collect the most interesting
people, onii-chan.”

“Takeo, don’t say it like that. I’m helping people, not hoarding them!”

“Ah, here you all are.” A severe-looking girl with bright blue eyes stared them down. “Shinobu-
san sent a crow warning me that you’d be coming. Follow me.”

They all trailed after her inside, not missing the wary glances she cast back at the demons in their
group. “He shouldn’t have many visitors right now, but the boar boy has been asking about you
nonstop so!” The girl turned and pointed at Tanjiro with an accusing glare. “The other slayers get
to visit, but not you. I’m not letting a demon anywhere near my patients!”

“But onii-chan’s–!”

“It’s fine; it’s fine! Just go say hi to Inosuke for me, will you? I’m sure seeing you and Zenitsu will
make him feel better.” The girl was afraid, and he couldn’t be angry at her for that. He’d just have
to prove that he was trustworthy over time.

He watched Nezuko and Zenitsu get led off with a bittersweet smile, sighing softly once they were
out of earshot.

“I’m sorry, onii-chan,” Hanako murmured as she pulled him into a hug. “I know you wanted to
make sure Inosuke-san was okay too.”

“It’ll be okay.” Hanako gave him a skeptical look. “I mean, yeah, it sucks, but I don’t want to make
people any more uncomfortable than I have to right now. This isn’t something I can afford to argue
over.”

Kaigaku snickered. “Ah, so you do have some common sense.”

“Man, they really do treat you like shit for this, huh?” Kazumi grumbled. “I didn’t want to believe
it. You’re just so… you.” Susamaru puffed her cheeks out at Kazumi in indignant rage. “Ah shi– I
mean, shoot! I’m sorry!”

Kie burst into laughter. “No, I’m sorry! She’s absolutely heard worse, but she heard me fussing at
Takeo for teaching Shigeru swears and became enthralled with the idea that there are words you’re
not supposed to say.”

“Sounds like a typical toddler,” Tokie giggled. “She’s very cute.”

“Thank you!” Susamaru beamed, and Tokie’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest at the sight of
fangs.

“The two of us should probably go get some rest,” Kazumi admitted sheepishly. “We’re gonna
head back toward home tomorrow, and the earlier we leave the better.”
“Oh, of course! Don’t let me keep you! I hope you two rest well, and have safe travels!”

“We will, thanks. Keep your head held high, okay, Tanjiro? You’re staring right at people who
wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for you. Don’t let them take that away from you.”

Tears blurred his vision. “I won’t! T-thank you!”

Kie turned to Kiyoshi, Shoichi, and Teruko with a concerned look. “And what about you three?
You made the trip all this way on your own?”

“Mhmn! Onii-chan protects us.”

“And we make sure not to travel at night, for obvious reasons.” Kiyoshi chuckled nervously. “But
our parents died a few years back. I’m the head of the house now, and I won’t let them separate us
so! We’ll manage; we always do.”

Saburo took one look at his wife’s expression and said, “I’ll go write a letter to Sakonji-san. He’ll
need to know that we’re expecting four more children instead of one.”

“H-huh?” Teruko stammered.

“You certainly don’t have to, but there is room in our home and hearts for you three if you’d like to
come with us.”

Kiyoshi looked between Tanjiro and Kie frantically, searching for a joke that wasn’t there. “You
mean it? Seriously?”

“Of course I do. What’s a few more children at this point?” Kie giggled. “The more the merrier.
We’ll have to expand Sakonji-san’s cabin again, but I know he’s secretly pleased by all the kids
around.”

“We’ll help!” Shoichi promised. “We’re real good at buildin’ stuff.”

Kiyoshi sniffled and nodded. “Yeah! We’ll help out as much as you need. Thank you so much!”

One by one, Tanjiro’s family peeled off to discuss the logistics of their trip back until it was just
Tanjiro, Kaigaku, Kyogai, Hayase, and Rui left. That didn’t last long. Two sets of footprints
quickly approached them; one was light and airy, something that Tanjiro could immediately link to
Kocho, while the other was heavy and thudding, leading him to believe that it was one of the larger
male Hashira.

Kaigaku looked panicked.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Listen, not all of us are as sunshiney and good as you, alright?” Kaigaku snapped before visibly
collecting himself and looking to the floor. “Sorry, that was… I’ve been avoiding this ever since I
became a demon slayer. I knew what coming to your trial would mean, but I wasn’t going to
abandon the demon that really, truly turned my life around. Kuwajima-sensei laid the groundwork
for it, but if it wasn’t for you and your ‘working together makes you stronger, not weaker’
schtick… I don’t know if I ever would’ve grown out of my might-is-right mentality. Doesn’t mean
I’m looking forward to this; I used to be a piece of shit.”

“Kaigaku, is that truly you? It sounded like it may be, but…”

“... Yeah, it is. Himejima-san, I am so sorry. I know that I can never make up for it but–”

“No, you cannot. Because of you, seven children died that night.” Tanjiro sucked in a sharp breath,
eyes going wide. “... But I am proud of you for overcoming your cowardice. Perhaps one day you
may save enough lives to atone for the ones you took away.”

“... I can only hope.”

‘Is that why he used to be so hard on Zenitsu for being a coward? He was afraid of someone else
repeating his mistakes.’

A delicate hand landed on his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts. “Let’s leave those two
alone, hm? I need to have a talk with you and your demons anyway.”

“Thank you for standing up for me, Kocho-san.”

“Oh, think nothing of it.” Kocho waved her hand dismissively. Her scent was far lighter when she
didn’t want to kill him, though he still detected faint traces of poison in it. “There’s no denying that
you are… different from other demons. And while I don’t like you turning others, I can see the
utility of it. Now!” She clapped her hands together with a saccharine smile. “You’ve encountered
Muzan; will you tell me everything you’ve learned about him?”

“Of course! He’s got bright red eyes –the exact same shade as mine, actually; I believe that may be
a demon king trait– and shoulder-length black hair. He’s been in a suit both times I’ve seen him, so
he’s likely inclined to wear fancier, more modern clothing. He also has a human family. I’m not
sure if they know he’s a demon or not, but there was a woman and child with him in Asakusa. The
child smelled like she was blood-related to him, though she was unmistakably human as well.”

Kocho’s eyes widened with shock. “T-that is…”

“He can take the form of a woman as well,” Rui interjected. “His eyes still give him away, but
you’ll want to keep a lookout for a woman with those same characteristics. He tends to wear formal
Japanese clothes as a woman, though. Kimonos and the like.”

Kocho nodded with a grim smile. “I still don’t like you, but that’s incredibly useful information to
have. Thank you. Do you know if he can take any other forms?”

“Not that I’m aware of, but I wasn’t ranked highly enough to know much about him either. I think
that all of his transformations maintain the same general features, though.”

Kocho looked over the four demons with a considering hum. “This may just work out after all.
You’re being surprisingly forthright.”

“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being cooperative,” Hayase answered with a
smile. “Besides, we’re all united in our desire to see that monster go down.”

“You’d be surprised by how many demons resent Muzan,” Kyogai muttered. “Most of them just
aren’t any good at hiding it and get killed before they can do anything about it.”

“Huh… Maybe the world my sister dreamed of is possible after all.”

Tanjiro tilted his head. “What do you mean by that?”

“She always dreamed of a world where humans and demons could coexist peacefully. I gave you a
chance because I owed it to her memory, but…” Kocho’s smile was a small but genuine thing.
“Maybe she was right all along.”

Tanjiro’s eyes shone with gratitude. “I won’t let you down, Kocho-san! I’ll make sure your sister’s
dream becomes a reality!”

“Shinobu is fine, Tanjiro-kun. We’re going to be friends, after all.”

The other girls in the Butterfly Estate took longer to warm up to him, but Shinobu’s clear approval
smoothed tensions over. It didn’t take long before Tanjiro was allowed to visit Inosuke, and with
the addition of his encouragement, their friend was finally starting to regain his confidence again.

“I just don’t get it,” Inosuke grumbled. “What makes you three so different from me? None of you
were hurt at all!”

Zenitsu gave him a disbelieving look. “I almost got turned into a spider. I’m only not in a bed right
next to you because of Tanjiro’s Blood Demon Art.”

“You know, now that you mention it, I did notice something. Are you two using Total
Concentration Breathing: Constant?” They both blinked in confusion at Nezuko’s question. “You
know, breathing like you do while you use your forms except it’s all the time?”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah, it helps with your reaction speed and overall strength a lot!” Nezuko’s feral grin sent a
spike of fear down the two boys’ spines. “Well, if you’re not already doing it, then we’ve got a lot
of training to do! You’ll be able to keep the technique up through nightmares by the time I’m
through with you.”

Tanjiro had a feeling that many of their nightmares were going to be centered around Nezuko for
the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, Tanjiro was leading his own training group for the demons that would be fighting
alongside him from now on.

“Right! So we need to learn to coordinate with each other. Hayase, we’ll work on trying to figure
out if you have a Blood Demon Art or not, but we need to get you used to your demonic speed and
strength either way. Kyogai, Rui, do you two have any ideas for using your abilities in a group
fight?”

“I could use my drums on allies as well –not including the attack one, obviously– to quickly move
them out of danger. If we practice fighting while under its effects, then we could even intentionally
throw off enemies with sudden, jerking movements that they can’t anticipate.”

“Um… Well, beyond decapitating you guys before a slayer can if anything happens, I could
practice manipulating dull threads? I never tried to move people with my threads like Kotsuru
could, but I should be able to, in theory. I’m not going to try to control people, but I could use that
ability to bring any lost limbs back to demon allies or pull humans out of the line of fire when
needed.”

“Those are wonderful ideas!” Tanjiro cheered. “We’ll definitely need to practice on ourselves first
so we don’t put too much force behind it for humans, but all of that could be incredibly helpful.”
Tanjiro’s nose twitched as Shinobu and another Hashira approached them. There was always
someone else with her at the Butterfly Estate since they knew that wisteria didn’t do much to
Tanjiro, and while logically, he understood the safety measure, it still irritated him.

‘At least I’m not the only one. Shinobu-san seems just as annoyed with it.’

“Hello, Tanjiro-kun! I see you’re keeping busy.” There was a note of apology in her scent that told
him the other Hashira had insisted on keeping a close eye on him today. When he locked eyes with
red-gold eyes, Tanjiro wasn’t surprised by that.

“Yes, Shinobu-san! We’re–”

“Do not refer to Kocho-san so casually, demon!”

“He has my permission, Rengoku-san.”

“I see! My apologies!”

Tanjiro cleared his throat. “Anyway, we’re testing stuff out with our Blood Demon Arts today. Did
you want to watch?”

“I would love to!”

Kyogai and Rui moved a few paces away to test their abilities on one another, focusing on
reducing the power and side effects of moving someone else unnaturally. Hayase and Tanjiro
stayed closer to the Hashira.

“Hm, how do I explain what using a Blood Demon Art feels like…? It’s like there’s this well of
power in you, and when you tap into it, you just go woosh! Fwoom!”

Several sets of disbelieving eyes rested on him. “I understood absolutely none of that, Tanjiro-
sama.”

“Hm… Maybe if I–” Tanjiro focused inward on the links binding himself to his demons.
Everyone’s connection had a slightly different feel to it that let him distinguish who was who. He
tugged on Hayase’s connection and shared the memories and sensations of Tanjiro using his Blood
Demon Art for the first time with him.

“Oh! I see now.” Hayase dug one of his claws into his skin with a hum, furrowing his eyebrows as
he focused. Tanjiro watched with wide eyes as the blood dripping from him slowly morphed into
water.

“Woah! I wonder if it’s actually water… Like, does it just look like it, or could someone safely
drink it?” Tanjiro chuckled nervously at Rengoku’s heavy glare. “It’s just idle curiosity! If there
was some sort of drought or something…” Tanjiro sighed. “Whatever. Now that you know how to
activate it, we can work on figuring out what all it does.”

“Is there anything I can help you with, Tanjiro-sama? I feel bad having you just help me this entire
time.”

Tanjiro blinked rapidly. “Well, there is one thing I’ve been wondering about… I really don’t want
to test it on one of you guys until I have to, though.”

“What is it, Tanjiro-sama?”

“Well, so far, the theory behind my Blood Demon Art is that it functions like the sun. That’s why
my flames can burn and kill demons, purify demonic attacks and poisons, and so on. So what
would it do if it was used on one of my demons? If a demon is immune to the sun, then can it
safely be used to purge foreign demonic poisons from your system? Or would it still burn you guys
because it functions differently? I know that it doesn’t affect me, but that could just be because it’s
my Blood Demon Art. I have no way of knowing for sure unless I test it, but I don’t want to hurt
you either!”

“That’s… a good question, actually,” Shinobu agreed with a hum. “I’d be curious to find out
myself.”

A short, pale arm suddenly landed in Tanjiro’s hands, and he whipped his head over to Rui with a
disbelieving stare. “What? I’m used to manipulating and severing my limbs with my threads. Just
test your Blood Demon Art on my arm. If it burns up, then I can regrow it, and if it doesn’t, then
I’ll just reattach it after.”

“... We’re going to need to have a very serious talk about your self-harming tendencies, Rui.”

“Later, onii-sama.”

Tanjiro stared at the severed arm for several long moments, disturbed, before giving in and
allowing his flames to overtake it. Rui’s arm did not burn.

“Well would you look at that,” Hayase hummed. “I guess it works like the sun after all.”

Rui’s arm flew back to him in a flash, reattaching and healing in a matter of moments. A smirk
tugged at his lips. “See? Now we know.”

“That doesn’t make it okay to mutilate yourself!”

“Whatever you say, onii-sama.”

Tanjiro gave Rui a playful glare before refocusing on Hayase. “Let’s figure out what you can do,
yeah?”

They spent the next few hours discovering that Hayase could not only create water from his blood
–it was genuinely water as far as Tanjiro’s nose could tell– but also manipulate it freely. Upon
Shinobu’s suggestion, they also experimented in her pond and found out that he could control
foreign bodies of water if he poured enough of his Blood Demon Art into it. Rengoku only
appeared more disturbed by how eagerly Shinobu went along with their experiments.

“Do they truly not bother you?”

“No. Quite frankly, they’ve caused me less trouble than the humans in their group.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nezuko is terrorizing Zenitsu and Inosuke while training, and while she’s right that they need to
learn Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, I do wish there would be less destruction of my
property involved. Zenitsu destroys things running away from her, and Inosuke destroys things
trying to fight her.”

Tanjiro chuckled nervously at that. “Yeah, that… sounds like them. I’m sorry. I’ll help with any
repairs.”
Shinobu waved her hand dismissively. “You’re fine, Tanjiro-kun. The Kakushi get defensive over
slayers doing their job anyway.”

“If you’re sure…”

Rengoku watched the two of them with a troubled expression on his face, but surprisingly, he said
nothing more after that. His scent was muddled and conflicted, so Tanjiro left him be for now.

People needed to come to terms with things on their own sometimes.

“Oh, it’s you!”

The scarred boy from Final Selection had hit a growth spurt since Tanjiro saw him last; he almost
didn’t recognize him as the one who’d caused a scene over getting his sword.

There was a brief spike of wariness in the boy’s scent. “... It’s you. Gonna try breaking my arm
again?”

“Not unless you hurt anybody!” Tanjiro answered with a disturbingly cheerful smile. “I’m glad to
see you’ve been doing well!”

The boy’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re… Ah, so you’re the one they’ve been talking about!”

Tanjiro tilted his head. “Hm? What do you… Oh!” He pointed a clawed finger at his fangs.
“You’re talking about this? Yeah, I’m the demon slayer. I’m Kamado Tanjiro; it’s nice to meet you
properly!”

“... Shinazugawa Genya. I’ve got to go.”

‘Shinazugawa? Like the Hashira?’ Genya was gone before he could ask, so Tanjiro shrugged it off
and filed that bit of information away for later. ‘I should go find Nezuko. We need to say goodbye to
everyone before we head out.’

He followed her scent out into the courtyard, freezing in place when he realized that he was
intruding on something.

“If it lands on heads, you’ll have to live by what your heart desires, Kanao.” Nezuko caught the
coin as it plummeted from the sky, and when she pulled her hand back, he could see the kanji for
heads glinting in the sunlight. “It’s heads! That means you need to listen to your heart from now
on, okay? People are driven by their hearts; you’ll only grow stronger by listening to it. Now, I
have to go get ready for a mission–”

“Wait!” Kanao cried out as Nezuko started walking away. “How did you know it would land on
heads?”

“It was just by chance.” Nezuko gave Kanao a brilliant smile. “But if it landed on tails, then I
would’ve just kept flipping it until it didn’t!”

Kanao cradled the coin to her chest with wide eyes. Nezuko joined him with a wide smile, and her
scent was the happiest that he could ever recall it being. “Let’s go get the others and head out!
We’ve got orders to meet Rengoku-san for a mission.”
 Chapter 10
Chapter Notes

We got our first piece of fanart! I hope everyone enjoys this lovely piece of Tanjiro
during the Hashira meeting by hiddenshiet as much as I do!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Inosuke trembled as they stood before the massive being in front of them. “What is that creature?!”

Tanjiro had to agree. He’d never seen something like this before, and its scent made him shudder
with disgust. One of Muzan’s demons was definitely nearby. ‘Could this entire thing be…?’

Hayase and Rui cast him wary glances that confirmed his suspicion. ‘What an odd Blood Demon
Art… I hope that Kyogai will be okay.’ The demon was far too obvious to travel in public with the
rest of them, so he’d gone ahead to lie in wait for them. Now Tanjiro would be worried sick about
him getting ambushed until he could see him again.
‘The demonic presence of this thing… It’s powerful. Very powerful. We’ll need to be careful.’

“It’s the master of the land. There’s no mistaking its intimidating length and aura. It may be
sleeping now, but don’t let your guard down!”

Zenitsu gave Inosuke a judgemental look. “It’s a steam engine. Do you seriously not know about
them?”

“Shh! Calm down! I’ll go on the attack first!”

“But what if it’s a guardian spirit, Inosuke? It wouldn’t be a good idea to suddenly attack it then.”
Inosuke paused to take in Nezuko’s words before nodding vigorously.

“Good point, minion! We must scope out the beast first! I’ll lead the way!”

Zenitsu snagged Inosuke before he could go charging forward, rolling his eyes with a long-
suffering sigh. “Seriously, it’s just a train! Why am I surrounded by country bumpkins? You five
stay here and don’t cause any trouble, alright? I’ll go buy us tickets since clearly none of you can
be trusted with that.”

They got more than a few odd stares as they boarded the train, but Tanjiro supposed that was to be
expected considering their general… everything. Nezuko read their missive with a contemplative
hum.

“So it’s called the Mugen Train… Rengoku-san has already boarded, so we just have to track him
down.”

“That shouldn’t be hard,” Zenitsu snorted. “He stands out as much as we do.”

“Are you sure that it’s wise for us to be present? He’s exhibited severe discomfort around us
before.” Rui was understandably hesitant to make things any tenser than they already were with the
Hashira.

“I have a feeling that we’ll need all the help we can get!” Tanjiro looked around the train, trying
and failing to pinpoint the location of the overwhelming scent of rot. “You sense it too, don’t
you?”

“... Yeah. I recognize this presence. This is Enmu, Waning Moon One, and he feels even stronger
than before.”

“Bwahaha! We’ll fight in the belly of the beast!”

“Another Waning Moon? That doesn’t bode well.” Zenitsu spiraled into worried muttering. “Even
Rui had an incredibly powerful demonic presence. How come I can’t sense this demon? Is he
hiding it? Does the train cover up his sound? Will we really be able to protect everyone on this
train if a fight breaks out?”

“We’ve got this, Zenitsu! One Waning Moon doesn’t stand a chance against so many slayers and
demons.”

“You’re right.” Zenitsu took a deep, steadying breath. “Thanks, Nezuko.”

“Would you mind telling us about Enmu? What do you know about him?”

“Of course, onii-sama. First, do not anticipate getting him on your side. Enmu is sadistic and cruel,
and he delights in mentally torturing his victims long before he eats them. His Blood Demon Art
traps you in a dream, and they always start off wonderful before he slowly twists them into a
nightmare. Says he likes to watch their faces twist with pain before devouring them, even if they’re
not conscious for it.”

“He sounds like a real piece of work,” Nezuko snarled. “But all of that will end today.”

Tanjiro couldn’t bring himself to disagree with her. If Rui, who knew Enmu far better than anyone
else here, told him that it was hopeless, then Tanjiro could only accept that and continue moving
forward. “Then we fight. We will slay him and save anyone else from falling victim to his sadistic
streak.”

“Yes!!” Inosuke cheered. “Finally, a good fight!”

Their conversation was cut off by a sudden shout. “Tasty!”

‘Oh. There’s Rengoku-san. I wonder what has him so excited?’

They all followed the echoing exclamations of delight until they found themselves on the same
train car as the Flame Hashira. “He’s such a glutton,” Zenitsu muttered. “I’ve never seen someone
eat so many bento at once.”

Rengoku’s hand instinctively rested on his blade as the six of them approached him, and it took
several moments of tense silence before he forced his hand away from the sword.

“So they sent you! I must say, I did not anticipate that!”

“We won’t let you down, Rengoku-san.” Nezuko’s determination burned as brightly as any fire.

“It is not you that I’m worried about!” He cast a pointed gaze at the demons in their group with an
unnerving smile still plastered on his face.

“We includes all of us, Rengoku-san.” Nezuko’s voice was lined with steel, and her expression
made it clear that she would not tolerate someone slandering her brother like this, not even if the
person doing so was a Hashira. “In fact, we have information for you. Are you aware of which
demon lurks on this train?”

“So you can also sense that they’re here! Within a short period of time, more than forty people
have vanished from this train! Several slayers have been sent here, but none of them ever came
back. That’s why they sent a Hashira to investigate it!”

‘And they sent us along with him as a test. I’m not sure what they’re looking for just yet,
however…’

“Enmu is being unusually brazen, then. That does not bode well. This power increase… Could he
have received more of Muzan’s blood?”

Rengoku’s expectant gaze fell upon Rui immediately. “You know the demon by name?!”

“It would be stranger if I didn’t. Enmu is Waning Moon One.”

“Ah, yes! You were a member of the Twelve Kizuki, weren’t you? Tell me what you know,
demon!”

Tanjiro’s eyebrow twitched at that. He did not appreciate someone ordering around his
subordinates like that, and it took all of his self-control to not snarl at the overstep. Thankfully, Rui
wasn’t bothered by it; Tanjiro wasn’t sure that he would’ve been able to hold back if Rui’s scent
had tinged with hurt.

Rui repeated what he’d already told them, heavily emphasizing that Enmu was stronger than he
used to be and may be capable of more now because of it.

“I see! Well, we have it well in hand!”

The train lurched forward, and they all moved to sit down. Inosuke stuck his head out the window
with an excited exclamation of, “Woah! Wow, it’s so fast!”

“That’s dangerous, you moron!”

Inosuke ignored Zenitsu’s protests entirely. “I’m gonna jump out and run! We’re gonna have a race
to see which one of us is faster!”

“There have to be limits to your idiocy!” Zenitsu screeched, dragging Inosuke back inside and
slamming the window closed. “Stay focused! You wanna fight the demon, don’t you? You can’t
do that outside of the train!”

A man that reeked of pain and despair shambled into the room, taking everyone’s tickets and
punching holes in them. ‘This scent… There’s something off here. There’s the faintest trace of a
demonic presence.’

Rengoku must have sensed the same thing he did. He got to his feet, ushering the man behind him
as he said, “Conductor! It’s dangerous, so please stay back! This is an emergency, so I would rather
you not ask why I have a sword on me!”

A massive demon materialized out of nowhere. He was covered in spikes and had two faces, and
the passengers screamed with fright. Rengoku’s smile took on a jagged edge.

“Hello, big guy! Were you hiding with a Blood Demon Art? It was difficult to find your presence.!
However, if you are bearing your fangs at innocent people, then the red flame sword of Rengoku
will burn you down to the bone!”

Rengoku moved across the train car in a flash, decapitating the demon with a swirl of flames.
Tanjiro’s eyes lit up with awe. “So fast! You’re really cool, Rengoku-san!”

Surprisingly, the Hashira seemed more amused by his reaction than anything else. “That was
nothing! It was a rather weak demon, after all!"

“Please train us!” Zenitsu cried out. “I want to be half as cool and confident as that!”

“Me too! Me too!”

Rengoku laughed outright at Zenitsu and Inosuke’s enthusiasm. “Very well! I will take care of you
both!”

Nezuko watched everything with a narrowed gaze, and Tanjiro knew that she was thinking the
same thing he was. There was something more to what just happened. ‘This is too obvious, and
that demon was obviously not Enmu. Why would he let another demon hunt here unless…?’

His eyes widened. Tanjiro brought the punched ticket up to his nose, paling when he smelled the
faint scent of a second demon clinging to it like a perfume. “Everyone! We’re–”
The world went black.

When Tanjiro blinked open his eyes, he immediately knew that something was wrong. The scent of
a demon clung heavily to the snowy mountain he called home, and it reminded him of the near-
disaster that night was.

“Hello again, Tanjiro.”

He turned to face the familiar voice, smiling when he realized who it was. “Hello, Yoriichi-san! I
must be sleeping, huh? I can’t believe that he got me…”

“It happens to the best of us. Come, there is something I must show you while you’re here.”
Yoriichi gestured for him to follow, and Tanjiro did not hesitate to do so. “You will only continue
facing stronger opponents from here on out, Tanjiro. We need to ensure that you’re ready. Your
Sun Breathing has come a long way, however…”

Yoriichi turned to face him, drawing his sword with a feral grin. “You’ve neglected some of your
demonic abilities, and it’s time we rectify that. You’ll need every advantage that you can get
against Muzan.”

Tanjiro tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“One of the most important abilities for a demon is their regeneration. You’ve yet to encounter an
opponent who could harm you severely enough to trigger it, and that is concerning to me. A split
second could be the difference between life and death for your comrades. You cannot afford for
your regeneration to take too long, not when making enemies like this.”

“... You’re right.”

“Come on then! Let us spar; Kyogai will wake you up before anything serious happens out there.
Until then, we need to take advantage of the fact that your physical body won’t be affected by
this!”

The two of them danced in unison, and while Tanjiro was meant to be focusing on his demonic
abilities, he couldn’t keep himself from studying and emulating the slight differences Yoriichi
displayed in his Sun Breathing forms. There were no wasted movements, and each attack
seamlessly flowed into the next one.

Tanjiro quickly grew used to the feeling of severed limbs. They grew back faster each time. He
could feel the slight burn of their regrowth, and when he focused, Tanjiro could push the
regeneration to finish in a matter of seconds.

It still wasn’t fast enough.

Someone as quick as Yoriichi could have him helpless for those precious few seconds, and that
would put all of his allies in danger. ‘I cannot fight Muzan like this.’

“Not a bad base to start with! I’ll get you regenerating in the blink of an eye in no time.”

Tanjiro bowed lowly, matching Yoriichi’s feral smile with one of his own. “I’m in your hands,
Yoriichi-san!”

-
“Jii-san! We came to visit!”

Zenitsu ran through the peach orchard that he called home with a wide smile on his face. Kaigaku
was right beside him, and the entirety of the Kamado family wasn’t far behind.

“Welcome home Zenitsu, Kaigaku.” Jigoro’s smile was unbearably fond, and for a brief moment,
Zenitsu could forget all the pain and hard work that it took for him to get here. “Though I would’ve
appreciated knowing you were going to bring so many guests!”

“You know they’re as good as family now, Jigoro-sensei.” Kaigaku snickered at Jigoro’s raised
eyebrow. “They’ll help us get dinner together. Tanjiro would probably riot if we didn’t let him
help anyway.”

Jigoro barked a laugh at that. “That boy sure loves to cook for someone who can’t even eat it.”

“You know how he is. He likes taking care of other people.” A small smile tugged at Zenitsu’s
lips. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for introducing us to him. Thank you. So much has changed
since then…”

“Right? It’s like the stubborn little shit won’t give up until he makes things better for everyone.”

It was at that moment that the Kamados joined them in the clearing. They were each carrying
several fallen peaches that were fine aside from some bruises. Zenitsu’s eyes widened with awe as
they took turns passing them to Kotsuru, and he watched her effortlessly restore them to pristine
condition with a tiny, fanged grin.

“I am going to make the best cobbler you’ve ever tasted,” Tanjiro declared. “Thank you for having
us so last second. I promise that we’ll make it up to you, Kuwajima-san!”

“None of that, boy.” Jigoro waved him off with a playful scoff. “You’re family. The Kamados are
always welcome here, regardless of if they’re humans or demons.”

They all meshed seamlessly together. Even the youngest members of the family wanted to help
with the day’s chores, and conversations flowed as easily as the soothing breeze.

When he was surrounded by family like this, Zenitsu could forget that he was ever an unwanted,
unloved orphan.

“Come on minions! We’re the cave exploring brigade!”

Six pairs of feet trailed behind him, marching in unison. “Boss!”

“What is it, Bezuko?”

The weasel girl shot him a wild grin that Inosuke returned. “The master of the cave is close! We’ll
get to fight him soon!”

Tanjiro quickly nodded in agreement. “I can smell him nearby. I wonder if he’ll be friendly?” The
raccoon boy tilted his head in curiosity, and though Inosuke was annoyed whenever they didn’t get
to fight, Tanjiro’s kind, scavenging nature suited him.

‘Besides! It got me more minions, in the end.’

“I can hear him snoring, chuu.” Zenitsu chattered nervously. The squirrel boy was always so full of
anxiety, but his fighting speed more than made up for it.

“Do you want me to restrain him for you, boss?” The spider demon’s eyes bored into him as he
tilted his head, blinking in an eerie unison as all four pairs of them studied Inosuke.

“The great Inosuke does not need the easy kill, but he appreciates the offer!”

“You are an excellent leader, Inosuke. We thank you for your guidance.” Hayase’s feathers were
fluffed up slightly with tension, but he could feel the trust radiating from the swan demon. “You
will have our aid, should you want it.”

“Exactly.” Their gentle giant of a bull brought up the rear. Kyogai had insisted needed to protect
them from potential ambushes, and Inosuke was a good leader who listened to his minion’s wishes.
“The master of the cave doesn’t stand a chance against us.”

The eerie whistle of the creature called a train echoed throughout the cave. Inosuke tensed before it
charged through the wall in front of them, and its glowing eye rested heavily on them all. His blood
sang with excitement.

“Let’s go, minions!”

Hayase stood before the ocean with determination in his gaze. He needed to get stronger, needed to
prove to Tanjiro that he was worth saving, and he knew exactly how he could do it. ‘Rivers are one
thing, but to control the sea itself? That could turn the tide of entire battles in the right
circumstances, and mastering this would make manipulating lakes feel far simpler.’

He had work to do.

“I’ll make you proud, Tanjiro-sama! We’ll protect our family from anyone who comes our way!”

His blood turned to water, and that water snaked into the ocean with ease. He could feel the ocean
fighting his control, but he would not give in.

Blazing blue eyes were reflected on the water, glowing so brightly that he knew they would
illuminate the night.

And the waves themselves bent to Hayase’s control.

‘Hm? What did I come here for again? Oh, right. I’m reporting to my father that I became a
Hashira!’

“So what if you became a Hashira? It’s pointless. None of this matters… We won’t ever become
great people anyway. Neither you nor me.”

Kyojuro had expected this reaction, but that didn’t make it sting any less. He bowed low, leaving
his father to his thoughts.

“Ah, Aniue!” Senjuro’s bright, hopeful gaze rested on him. “Was Father happy about it? Maybe
he’ll acknowledge me too when I become a Hashira.”

Kyojuro hated to shatter his brother’s hopes, but he refused to lie to him about this. He would not
give him false hope. He knelt down with a sad smile on his face. “I’ll be honest. Our father wasn’t
happy. He said that it was pointless. However! My passion won’t die because of that! The flames
in my heart will never be extinguished! I will not be disheartened!”

If he said it often enough, then maybe he’d begin to believe in it. “And you’re different from me,
Senjuro! You have an older brother who believes in you. No matter what path you take, I know
that you’ll be a wonderful person! One with a burning passion in your heart. Do your best! Do your
best to live and thrive, even when it’s lonely!”

“Aniue…” Senjuro’s tears streamed down his face freely. Kyojuro brought his little brother into a
hug as he sobbed. His tears slowly subsided, and Kyojuro’s heart throbbed at the tiny, sad smile
Senjuro gave him.

“You don’t have to keep pretending, you know?” His little brother’s whispered words sent ice
down his spine.

“What do you mean?”

“You always take on so much, Aniue… You can share that burden with me sometimes, you know?
I can take it! I don’t want to watch you crumble under the pressure all alone!”

Senjuro had always been scarily perceptive, but this was on another level. ‘Or perhaps I’m simply
not as good at hiding the cracks as I thought I was.’

“Thank you, Senjuro.” Kyojuro ruffled his brother’s hair with a fond smile. “But I have to do this
on my own. Just let your big brother protect you, okay?”

Someone had to, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be their father.

The snow was heavier than usual this year. White blanketed everything around her, and Nezuko
laughed as Takeo and Shigeru started wrestling with each other in it. “You two are gonna catch
colds!” she called out, smiling despite herself.

“It’ll be fine, onee-chan! We’ll go in before too long.”

“Yeah! Don’t be such a spoilsport, Nezuko!”

She rolled her eyes at her siblings’ antics, heading toward their home and shaking the snow out of
her kimono before going inside. ‘Kimono? Why am I wearing a… What was I thinking about?’

Dismissing the weird lapse of memory as a result of the cold, Nezuko shook it off and called out,
“Kaa-san? Where are you?”

“In the kitchen, dear! Would you like to help Tanjiro and I with dinner?”

“Sure!"

Nezuko stepped into a familiar scene. Tanjiro and her mother were talking and laughing as they
worked together seamlessly, and Hanako was diligently doing the dishes while listening to them
with a smile on her face.

Tanjiro’s warm, red eyes lit up with his smile the second he saw her. “Nezuko! We’re making
gyoza tonight!”

Something about Tanjiro’s eyes felt off. They were the same as they always had been, but for a
split second, Nezuko thought they were supposed to be brighter than that. “My favorite? What’s
the occasion?”

“The occasion?” her mother gasped. “Nezuko, are you feeling alright? You couldn’t have possibly
forgotten about your wedding tomorrow!”

‘Oh, that’s right.’ No matter how hard Nezuko tried, she could only remember that she was meant
to get married. Who she was marrying slipped her mind, but she was sure that they were a good
person if Tanjiro and her mother were so excited about it.

“Sorry, kaa-san. It must be the pre-wedding jitters.”

“I understand, dear. I felt the same way when I married your father.”

“Did you feel that way with Saburo too?”

Her mother’s eyes furrowed with confusion. “Saburo? Are you talking about the man who lives at
the base of the mountain? I don’t understand what you’re asking, Nezuko.”

‘What? But mom loves–’ Nezuko’s eyes widened in realization. ‘This is a dream. Tanjiro doesn’t
look like that anymore because he’s a demon. Kaa-san didn’t marry Saburo because Tanjiro never
got turned. This is… this is what my life would’ve been if Muzan never attacked us.’

For a brief moment, Nezuko wanted to stay. She wanted to see what it would’ve been like to be a
normal girl, to not discover her spine of steel and determination to rend demons’ heads from their
bodies. She hated herself for the thought immediately afterward.

‘Focus! This has to be the work of Enmu, and that means everyone is in danger. How do I get out
of this?’

“I think that I need to go clear my head.” Nezuko gave Kie an uneasy smile. “Sorry for not being
any help, kaa-san.”

“Oh, it’s fine dear! Let us know if you’re not feeling well, though. I’m sure they’d understand if
we needed to postpone the wedding.”

Nezuko walked off as quickly as she could without seeming suspicious. ‘I’m not sure how much of
this he sees, after all. I need to get out of here.’

“You know what you need to do, Nezuko,” her father’s voice whispered on the wind. Tears beaded
up in her eyes at the comforting voice she hadn’t heard in so long, and when she felt the heavy
weight of her sword in hand, she understood exactly what he meant.

“Thank you, Dad. I hope you don’t feel like we’ve replaced you…”

“I could not think of a better man than Saburo to step up in my place, Nezuko. I had hoped to invite
him to join our family myself, but then I grew more ill and… It did not feel fair to force him to
watch me die too.”

“Oh,” she whispered. ‘That’s why Dad told him so much. He loved him too. I wonder if Mom
knew? She had to, right? Maybe that’s why they fell in love with each other so quickly…’

“And Nezuko?”

“Hm?”
“I’m so proud of you.”

Tears streamed down her face as she said, “Thanks, Dad.” Her blade met her neck, and Nezuko
painted the snow red with blood.

Rui was warm. He was warm and safe, and moving was easier than he could ever remember it
being.

“Rui?”

Bright blue eyes blinked open. For reasons unknown to him, tears welled up in his eyes the second
he saw his mother and father. “Kaa-san? Oto-san?”

“Oh, Rui! We’re so glad that you’re feeling better!” His mother had tears beading in her eyes as
well as she pulled him into a hug.

“That doctor was a real miracle worker, huh?”

Something about that screamed false to Rui, but he kept quiet for now. His parents were far too
happy for him to dampen their spirits over nothing more than a gut feeling.

“C-can I go outside?”

His mother and father exchanged a fond look. “Of course you can, dear,” his mother assured him.
“We’ll all go on a picnic! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

A smile slowly stretched across his face. “Yeah!”

Rui basked beneath the sun’s familiar warmth, pausing with confusion as he realized something.
‘How do I know what the sun feels like? I’ve never been out in it before…’

“Rui? Aren’t you going to eat something?” His father’s worried eyes studied him closely. “Are you
not feeling well after all? We can go back inside if this is too much!”

“No, no! Everything is fine!” He just had the distinct feeling that eating the food in front of him
was a bad idea. Rui couldn’t explain why he felt that way, though, so he ignored it and picked up
an apple with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Rui! We’d do anything for you.”

A flash of bitterness hit him then. Before he could stop himself, he growled, “Then why did you try
to kill me?”

“Huh? Rui, what are you talking about?” His mother rested her hand on his forehead with a
concerned frown. “You don’t feel like you have a fever, but… Maybe we should bring that doctor
back around just in case–”

“Don’t!” Rui’s claws extended in agitation, and he realized why everything felt so off, then. ‘So
this is what it feels like to be in Enmu’s Blood Demon Art… Well, it can’t hurt to indulge in it a bit
longer.’

“Don’t you understand?” he whispered. “You damned me to this life, and then you tried to kill me
for it. Why? I just wanna understand why!”
His mother looked indescribably sad then. It reminded him of the night she watched his father try
to kill him. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you a stronger body, Rui. But you’re better now, right?
We can be happy together now!”

“We would never hurt you, son. I’d kill myself if I ever so much as raised a hand to you.”

And those words made him remember something he’d left buried deep, even after being turned by
Tanjiro.

‘They… they never wanted to hurt me. They wanted to keep me from hurting anyone else. They
promised that they’d join me in hell.’ Rui’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s not fair! It’s not fair! I don’t
want to leave!”

“Leave? Rui, you don’t have to go anywhere. We’re both here for you,” his father promised. Rui
shook his head, standing and turning his back on them. His claws dug into his hands so deeply that
blood dripped onto the grass beneath them. The blood evaporated in an instant, and he wished that
his tears would do the same.

“But I do. This is all a lie. I can’t stay here; I’ve got a family waiting on me out there too. Onii-
sama is counting on me. He believes in me. I won’t let him down!”

The world around him shattered like it was made of glass.

“Ah, someone broke free on their own.” Yoriichi halted his assault, smiling proudly at Tanjiro.
“You’ve done well. It’s time for you to go now.”

Everything fragmented around him and scattered on the wind. Tanjiro’s eyes flew open with a
gasp, and both Kyogai and Rui’s relief was readily apparent.

“Tanjiro-sama! I apologize for not freeing you myself; I got this wave of dread when I went to cut
the rope, like I was about to make an irreversible mistake…”

Tanjiro looked down to see that his rope had been burned by his Blood Demon Art, and
considering that it had the same scent of demon to it that the train tickets did, he knew that would
be the way to get rid of them. He was shocked to see that Rui’s rope was burned as well.

‘How? Yoriichi-san said that he woke up before me…’ He shook his head and refocused himself;
they had bigger concerns right now.

Rengoku had his hand wrapped around a girl’s throat, and considering the piece of rope that
attached them, Tanjiro had a feeling it was for good reason. His eyes slowly trailed over to the
crying boy who had been attached to his own rope, smelling that he had no ill intentions. Rui had
already tied his attacker up with dull threads and preemptively did so with all the others that were
still connected to their group, so Tanjiro could focus solely on freeing everyone.

Rengoku’s eyes shot open as his rope burned away, and the girl’s did as well. She swung for him
with a desperate scream, but he chopped the back of her neck and she was out cold in seconds.

Nezuko’s eyes opened before he could even light the rope on fire, but he was quick to do so
regardless when he heard her heaving breaths and saw the tears in her eyes. “I’m alive, I’m alive,”
she muttered. Tanjiro’s concern only grew after hearing that, but he forced himself to move on to
the next person regardless.
Hayase awoke with little fanfare, simply giving him a serene smile. Zenitsu was next, and while he
was also crying, he had a smile on his face that made Tanjiro worry far less. Finally, he burned the
rope off of Inosuke’s wrist, fully anticipating the way he sprung to life and started yelling
immediately.

“The master of the land has revealed himself now!”

Nezuko’s grin spurred him on further. “Yeah, he has. It’s time for a fight.”

“Why couldn’t you just let us have happy dreams?!” The girl who was attached to Rengoku
sobbed. “We only wanted happy dreams!”

‘So they did this willingly… But only because Enmu preyed on their hearts. Rui was right. He is
horrifically cruel.’

He faced the crying boy who smelled of sickness with a concerned hum. “Are you okay?”

“... I am. Thank you. Please be careful.”

Tanjiro gave him a bright smile, revealing fangs and causing the other humans who’d attacked
them to go pale with fear. “Don’t worry! I’m stronger than I look!”

The boy in front of him was the only one who didn’t seem afraid. Perhaps because he’d already
accepted that his death was inevitable. ‘But it doesn’t have to be…’

“You’re sick, aren’t you?”

“I am. Tuberculosis. It would be best for your human companions to not get too close to me.”

Rengoku gave him a searching look, eyes widening when he realized what Tanjiro was about to do.
“Kamado–”

“If I offered to take that pain away from you, would you accept it? It’s so cruel that Enmu would
only give you dreams when turning you would so easily…” Tanjiro shook his head. “Regardless, if
you become one of my demons, then you won’t have to hurt anymore. We’re different from him; I
promise. None of us would hurt you or use you like that. The only rule you’d have to adhere to is a
vow to not eat humans; anything beyond that is up to you.”

“You don’t have to convince me,” the boy chuckled. “I saw your spiritual core, you know? And it
was the brightest thing I’d ever seen. It was so warm… Your soul is like the sun. If you truly
intend to offer me a place alongside you despite everything, then I will take it.”

“What’s your name?”

“Harumu.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Harumu! I’m Tanjiro Kamado. Welcome to the family!”

“Kamado!"

Nezuko laughed at Rengoku’s exasperation, shaking her head with a sigh. “You get used to it,
Rengoku-san. If onii-chan has a chance to save someone, then he’s going to take it. You can’t
change his mind.”

“My turn! It’s my turn!” Inosuke nearly tore a chunk of his arm when he went to cut it, only
avoiding such a fate because Nezuko knocked one of his swords out of his hands and used her own.
 “Please don’t use your swords to cut yourself, Inosuke. They’re too jagged to do so safely!”

“... What? What are you doing?” Rengoku blinked in shock.

“It’s my turn to feed a newly turned demon! The great Inosuke has been waiting for this,
bwahaha!”

By the time that the Flame Hashira refocused on Tanjiro, it was too late to stop him. Harumu,
oddly enough, regained some healthy color to his skin instead of growing paler, but beyond that
and the addition of fangs and claws, he looked exactly the same as he did before.

His eyes flicked to Inosuke with a heavy sense of desperation, but Tanjiro did not have to intervene
to keep him from lunging at him.

“The great Inosuke grants you permission to drink, Horomo! Bask in my benevolence.” Inosuke
practically sparkled, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Tanjiro found himself smothering
a laugh.

Harumu stepped forward to drink, and Rengoku’s hand rested on his sword the entire time. It was
entirely unnecessary. Harumu pulled back the second Tanjiro instructed him to, knowing by now
that Inosuke would not stop him even if he was about to pass out; he was just that stubborn.
Rengoku slowly relaxed when he saw the way that the new demon immediately looked to Tanjiro
for guidance.

That didn’t keep him from looking at them all with bewilderment for how nonchalant they were
being about this.

“Well?” Tanjiro prompted. “We’ve got a demon to slay, don’t we?”

“That we do! I’ll go take care of Waning Moon One; I’m trusting you all to protect the
passengers!”

“I’m coming with you.” There were enough of them here to protect the train cars without him, and
Tanjiro needed to collect Enmu’s blood. ‘I still can’t believe I forgot to get Rui’s before I turned
him… Then again, I was pressed for time there.’

He expected Rengoku to argue or refuse him. Tanjiro was surprised when the Hashira simply fixed
his eyes forward and said, “I will allow it, Kamado. Follow me!”

They both exited their train car in the flash of an eye, jumping on top of the train with ease. Despite
their previous tension, Rengoku only smelled faintly of trust beneath all of the determination now.

An eager smile stretched across Tanjiro’s face. ‘Enmu won’t know what hit him.’

Chapter End Notes

Name translation time! Harumu's name is spelled 明 (meaning: light) 夢 (meaning:

dream).
 Chapter 11

There was a demon standing on top of the train. He turned to face them with a serene smile on his
face that sent chills down Tanjiro’s spine. He tapped into that discomfort and allowed his anger to
surge forth.

“How dare you trample on others’ dreams? How dare you use and manipulate those humans? I
won’t forgive you!” Tanjiro unsheathed his sword in an instant, but Rengoku was even faster.

The Hashira hurtled toward Enmu, but the demon only lifted his hand without a care in the world.
The mouth on the back of it smirked before whispering, “Go to sleep.”

Tanjiro swiftly fell into slumber with an agitated growl. Yoriichi only smiled at him and said, “You
know what you need to do.” Flames burst from Tanjiro’s body and he jolted awake, swinging his
now flaming red sword for Enmu’s head.

The demon jumped back with a curious hum. Demonic flames licked around Tanjiro’s body
protectively, burning away Enmu’s Blood Demon Art every time he tried to force Tanjiro back into
his dreams.

“I see, I see… You’re going to be a hassle, aren’t you?” A sinister smirk spread across the demon’s
face, and Tanjiro’s eyes narrowed as he swung for the demon’s head once more. “Let’s see how
you fare against your ally, then.”

Red eyes widened as Tanjiro was forced to shift into a defensive position, meeting Rengoku’s
blade with his own. The Hashira was still sound asleep, and even when Tanjiro’s Blood Demon
Art spread to cover Rengoku as well, he remained that way.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? You don’t have a physical connection to break
this time.”

‘Maybe it won’t be easy, but…’ Tanjiro met Rengoku blow for blow, allowing his flames to travel
down his sword and to the Hashira once more. For the briefest moment, Rengoku’s eyebrows
twisted with confusion. ‘He can still feel it!’

“Rengoku-san, wake up! It’s just a dream!” Tanjiro’s flames burned even brighter, illuminating the
night with his determination.

“Do you not know how to do anything else? This is a little sad for a demon who caught his
attention.”

“Oh, I can do plenty,” Tanjiro answered with a smirk, watching Rengoku’s eyes slowly blink open.
“I just won’t need any of it for you.”

Tanjiro was in front of Enmu in an instant, feral grin on his face as he snarled, “Sun Breathing,
Thirteenth Form: Hell’s Inferno.” The demon’s head flew from his body, but the utter calm and
lack of disintegration kept Tanjiro on high alert.

“That man told me to kill you, demon with the hanafuda earrings, along with any Hashira I
encounter. Now I understand how he felt.” Flesh surged upward to the demon’s head, connecting
Enmu to the train itself. “Somehow I feel like your very existence makes me twitch in anger.”

‘So I was right after all. This entire train is…’

“Oh? You don’t seem very surprised. Why is that, I wonder?”

“This entire train reeked of your demonic presence from the beginning. If you believe you were
being subtle, you may need to relearn the meaning of the word.”

“You’re awfully cocky, aren’t you?” Enmu shook his head with an amused smile. “All two
hundred passengers on this train are now food for me to grow stronger. They’re my hostages, and
you’re wasting time speaking to this false head? Will you really be able to protect every single one
of them?”

“You underestimate Kamado’s friends, and that will be your downfall, demon!”

Enmu only cackled as he sunk into the train, and Tanjiro huffed with frustration. “Come on,
Enmu’s scent is strongest near the front of the train. Let’s end this.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself!” The two of them ran for the front of the train, and Rengoku
cast him an evaluating glance before saying, “And Kamado? Thank you! I did not hurt you, did I?”

“I’m fine, Rengoku-san!” The fact that the Hashira asked at all made a giddy warmth suffuse his
chest. ‘I guess he’s warming up to me after all! Maybe I should go on a mission with the other
Hashira who have doubts…’

They swiftly made their way to the coal car and ignored the protests of the conductor as Tanjiro’s
blade cut into the floor of the train, exposing a massive column of neck bones within. A surge of
hands instantly shot out to protect it, and he and Rengoku were forced to cut them down before
turning back to the regenerated area. ‘Man, that regeneration speed is no joke. And he’s still a
Waning Moon? Yoriichi-san was right.’

“We’ll have to coordinate, Kamado!”

“I know! I’ll follow your lead!”

A tiny, instinctive part of him snarled at the thought of allowing another to lead the charge in this,
but now wasn’t the time for that. Killing Enmu took priority, and Rengoku was not one of his. He
would not follow Tanjiro’s lead so easily, not when he ranked above him as a slayer.

Walls of flesh rose around them that were covered in blazing blue eyes. Tanjiro could feel the
Blood Demon Art start swelling up within them and shouted, “Close your eyes, Rengoku-san!” as
flames burst to life on his body once more.

Rengoku did so, and he stayed awake this time. “I see! He relies on turning your senses against
you! Thank you, Kamado!” If Rengoku was affected by not having his vision in this fight, he did
not show it. They worked around each other with ease, flames and sun burning brightly as they
seared Enmu down to the bone.

“Don’t get in the way of my dreams!” Tanjiro could smell the shock coming from Rengoku as the
conductor charged at him, and he quickly landed between them, catching the ice pick with his
shoulder. The conductor’s eyes widened in horror when Tanjiro pulled it out and healed
immediately, tucking it into his pocket.

“I’m sorry that he was so cruel to you,” Tanjiro whispered. “No one should ever be driven to such
desperation. Rest. This will all be over soon.”

Rengoku slashed into the train once more, and Tanjiro did not hesitate to take the opening. ‘Sun
Breathing, Tenth Form: Fire Wheel.’ There was a moment of silence when Enmu’s neck was cut in
two.

Then horrific screaming and tremors erupted, derailing the train. Tanjiro’s heart lurched as he went
flying. He knew that he’d be fine, but Rengoku and the conductor were only human. There were
two hundred humans on this train.

Suddenly, his arc into the air halted. In fact, when he looked around, every single person who was
previously on the train was suspended in the air outside of it.

Everyone except for Rui.

Rui staggered to his feet in the rubble of the train, bleeding from both his eyes and fingers with the
strain of maintaining so many threads at once. He trembled as he lowered everyone to the ground,
and the second that the last human was set down safely, Rui collapsed.

“Rui!” Tanjiro rushed over to him immediately, and the young demon only smiled when he saw
him.

“D-did I do good, onii-sama? Was I good?”

“You were the best, Rui. I’m so proud of you. Rest. We’ll get you some blood soon and–”

“No need to wait!” Rengoku joined them in a flash with a brilliant smile and an unexpectedly fond
warmth to his scent. “Young Rui…You saved the lives of countless humans today, at great strain
to yourself. I thank you! I apologize for ever doubting your intentions!”

“It’s okay!” Rui insisted. “You had every reason not to trust me. I don’t take offense to it.”

“Nevertheless, I wish to make up for it! You need blood, yes?”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly–”

“I insist!”

Tanjiro laughed at the flustered discomfort on Rui’s face. “I was only doing what was right! I don’t
deserve to be rewarded for that after spending so long…”

“But you do not deserve to needlessly suffer either. This is not a reward; it is simply taking care of
an ally!”

Rui grumbled, but he finally gave in and accepted a small amount of Rengoku’s blood. It was less
than any of them usually took, but the Hashira didn’t know that and Rui wasn’t afraid of exploiting
that fact. Tanjiro found his tiny rebellion amusing and knew that Rui would be fine, so he left it be.

Tanjiro suddenly whipped his head to the east, eyes widening at the presence he felt. “Rengoku-
san, Rui. There’s another demon here. He feels stronger than Enmu.”

“Oh? You can sense me despite suppressing my presence? You might be more interesting than I
expected!”

A pink-haired demon flew at him, and Tanjiro ducked his fist with a snarl. The kanji for Waxing
Moon Three was engraved in the demon’s eyes, and all Tanjiro could think about was the innocent
lives behind him.

Rui, clearly having the same concerns Tanjiro did, pushed himself once more to hide all the non-
combatants on the other side of the train and bring their group to the forefront with his strings. He
hissed with pain at the action, sluggishly bleeding once again, and that drew the newcomer’s
attention.

“Rui? He was certain you were dead…” Eyes like shattered glass narrowed at the younger demon.
“You’re a traitor, then. How’d you break his control? You’d be dead otherwise.” Waxing Moon
Three tilted his head with a sinister grin. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. The outcome is the same
regardless.”

This time, when the demon flew forward, Rengoku shielded his target. Rui’s eyes widened as the
red blade split Waxing Moon Three’s arm in two right in front of him.

“I cannot understand why you’d target an injured person.”

“Traitors must die. Besides, I thought he’d get in the way of you and me. Look at all the pests he’s
brought swarming about.”

Kyogai quickly carried Rui to the back of the battlefield, hovering over him protectively and
keeping a sharp eye on Waxing Moon Three. Hayase stayed with Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and
Harumu, dragging claws against his arms and surrounding them all with writhing water whips as
sharp as any blade.

Tanjiro and Rengoku stood side by side, swords drawn, and the demon sighed. “How are we
supposed to talk with so many nuisances in the way?”

“You and I have something to talk about? It’s our first time meeting and I already hate you.”

“Is that so? I really hate weak humans and demons too. When I look at weaklings, I just feel
disgusted.”

“It looks like you and I have different moral values regarding things.”

“I see. Then I have a wonderful proposal. How about you become a demon too? You clearly have
no problem working with them.”

“No chance.”

Waxing Moon Three pouted. “I know your strength just by looking at you. You’re a Hashira,
right? Your battle spirit is quite polished. It’s getting close to supreme territory!”

“I am the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro.” Tanjiro mentally applauded Rengoku’s tolerance of
Waxing Moon Three’s chatty nature for the sake of gaining information.

“And I’m Akaza. Kyojuro, I’ll tell you why you aren’t entering supreme territory. Because you’re
human. Because you’ll grow old and die. Become a demon, Kyojuro! If you do, then you can keep
training for a hundred years. Even two hundred years. You can become stronger.”

‘Why is he so fixated on turning Rengoku-san into a demon?’

“Growing old and dying is the beauty of a fleeting creature like human beings. Because they grow
old, because they die, they are tremendous, lovable, and precious. Strength is not a word used in
regards to the body. Rui is not weak. He saved those precious lives despite the pain it caused him,
and that is one of the greatest forms of strength I know. Don’t insult him.”

“Oh? You’d defend a demon so easily? Can’t you see, Kyojuro, you’d be brilliant as one of us.”
“I’ll say it over and over again. No matter what kind of motivation I may have, I will not become a
demon.”

“I see.” Akaza got into a battle stance as a giant, glowing snowflake illuminated the ground
beneath him. Something about his scent was almost sad despite the wild smile that stretched across
his face. “If you won’t become a demon, then I’ll kill you!”

Rengoku and Akaza met in a deadly dance. Sword and fists exchanged blows at terrifyingly
enhanced speeds that Tanjiro had to focus to keep track of, and he contemplated the dilemma
before him.

‘Why is Akaza focusing on Rengoku-san first? I’m an equal threat to him.’ Tanjiro’s eyes widened
as he realized something. ‘Ah, I see. He knows that he can’t kill me outright, but Muzan’s demons
don’t know that I’m immune to the sunlight. He probably thinks that if he draws out a battle with
Rengoku-san before killing him, then we’ll all burn to ash before we can get away. And at their
current level, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke aren’t a threat to Akaza at all. He’d regard them as
weak and dismiss them.’

Tanjiro focused on Akaza’s distant yelling as he fought Rengoku. “Of all the Hashira I killed up to
now, none of them were Flames and none of them ever agreed to my invitation! Why is that? As
someone trained in the same martial arts, I find them hard to understand. And they say that only
those who were chosen can become demons! Someone with wonderful talents will inevitably have
an unsightly decline. This is unbearable! Just die, Kyojuro, while you’re young and strong!”

There was that sad scent again, stronger this time. ‘He doesn’t want to do this, not really.’

“The same goes for your wonderful sword style! They’ll be lost, Kyojuro! Isn’t that sad?!”

‘He’s offered to turn Hashira before. They always refused him and his scent is sadder when
speaking of that. Enmu said that he was ordered to kill me and any Hashira, and Waxing Moons
undoubtedly have the same orders. Could it be that…?’

“It’s just natural! It’s part of being human! That is why we fight to protect others and pass down
what we’ve learned through the generations! It does not have to be me to carry on this torch!”

“But it should be! Become a demon, Kyojuro! You can perfect your skills and still pass them on to
others if you wish!”

‘He can only spare a Hashira if they become a demon, can’t he? Akaza’s offer to turn them was
always seen as an insult when in reality, it was his only chance to show mercy. And even as he’s
fighting, he is begging Rengoku-san to take it.’

“I will not!”

Akaza charged Rengoku again, but the beat of Kyogai’s drum tugged him back just enough to
throw him off balance. A flaming tiger leapt after the demon who upped the strength behind his
own blows in response. Rengoku was tiring. He still kept up well, but hits were landing now, and
the scent of blood filled the air.

“Don’t die on me, Kyojuro.”

Tanjiro heard the desperate plea for what it was.

He landed between them with a sad smile, blocking Akaza’s flurry of blows the best he could and
taking hits where he could not. It did not matter to him. “Enough. You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do!” Akaza snarled.

“No, you don’t!” Tanjiro allowed the entirety of his demonic presence to flare to life, and while
Akaza wasn’t cowed by it like weaker demons would be, his eyes widened with shock. “You
wanted to know how Rui broke free?”

“Kamado, don’t be foolish. Some demons are too far gone–”

“I know that, Rengoku-san. Enmu was one of those demons. Akaza is not. I can smell the sadness
clinging to him like a second skin.”

“... What are you talking about?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can only spare Hashira if they agree to become demons, can’t
you?” Akaza’s silence was deafening. “I thought so. And you’ve offered to turn every Hashira
you’ve killed, but they never understood the offer for what it was. Mercy, in the only way you’re
allowed to give it.”

Rengoku’s eyes widened in surprised understanding.

“Shut up!”

“You say the weak disgust you, yet your attack on Rui was halfhearted at best. You ignore the
weak and vulnerable and claim to want a better fight, but you don’t want to hurt them, do you?
Somewhere, deep down, you’re a protector.”

“Shut up! If he hears you then I’ll be–!”

“I have a counteroffer for you, Akaza. Become one of my demons. Be free of Kibutsuji Muzan.
You only have to agree to not hunt humans anymore. Blood is enough for me and mine to thrive. I
mean, you have to see how much more powerful Rui has become. Could he ever control so many
threads at once before, much less with such precision?”

“... No, he couldn’t.”

“You could fight alongside Rengoku-san instead of against him. And that’s what you really want,
isn’t it?”

Akaza visibly hesitated.

“Should you wield your fists for humans instead of against them… It would take time for me to
trust you, but I would advocate for you, Akaza,” Rengoku vowed. He looked back to Rui and to
Tanjiro with a chuckle. “I’ve recently discovered that Kamado is an excellent judge of character,
after all! He does not carry the same biases as I!”

Akaza looked between the two of them with terror and longing warring in his eyes. He clenched
his fists, and for a second, Tanjiro thought that they’d have to kill him after all. Then, Akaza
muttered, “Do it quickly. Before he finds out and kills me where I stand.”

Very little about Akaza changed when he drank Tanjiro’s blood. His hair and tattoos remained the
same, but the shift in his eyes was prominent. Shattered glass gave way to ordinary whites and ice
blue irises, and bright pink eyelashes softened to a much paler shade. Akaza’s skin remained pale,
but it simply looked like he was a sickly human instead of the inhuman gray tone it had before.

Physically, little changed about Akaza. But emotionally? Guilt and grief smothered his scent as
tears welled up in his eyes. “What was I doing? How could I have…? I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Tanjiro stepped forward with a compassionate smile, resting his hand on Akaza’s shoulder as he
said, “You did your best, Akaza. It’s okay. You’re free now. You chose to do better the first chance
you were given to.”

“But I still failed her! My wife is dead because I wasn’t strong enough to protect her!”

‘Oh. That was why he was so fixated on strength and weakness, huh? He was terrified of not being
strong enough again.’

“I’m sorry. That must be awful. But… I don’t know her, but I don’t think your wife would want
you to hate yourself for that.”

“... No, you’re right. Koyuki would want me to find happiness again, however I’m able.” Akaza
kneeled before him, and Tanjiro waved his hands as his face went bright red. “Tanjiro-sama, thank
you. Thank you for making me… me again.”

“Of course,” he whispered. “It was the least I could do.”

When the Kakushi came to check up on them and get Rengoku to the Butterfly Estate, they weren’t
in the least bit surprised that two new demons trailed behind Tanjiro. Terrified, sure, but surprised?

They’d have to be fools to not expect something like this by now.

Muzan was not surprised when his connection to Enmu cut off. Despite giving him so much of his
blood, the demon was still a Waning Moon, and that demon kid with the hanafuda earrings and an
overwhelmingly powerful demonic presence had gotten his hands on a nichirin blade, somehow.

But when Akaza’s connection was snuffed out? That was when Muzan started to panic.

He reached for Akaza’s cells only to be stonewalled like he was with Rui, and he snarled with
frustration. ‘What is that brat doing to them that I cannot even see their final moments?’ On a
whim, Muzan decided to try searching through Enmu’s cells as well. To his surprise, they were not
cut off from him.

Muzan watched as the demon brat and a Hashira worked side by side to take Enmu down,
synergized in a way that said the Hashira knew exactly what the boy was. ‘How curious… Did they
truly accept a demon among their ranks?’

The Mugen Train derailed, and Muzan watched through a dissolving Enmu’s eyes as Rui saved
every single human on that train. He listened as Rui called the brat onii-sama, and white-hot rage
consumed him.

‘He’s stealing my demons. Rui follows him willingly and fights against me and mine. I cannot see
his memories because he is no longer mine.’

Akaza was not dead. He was a traitor, and that was far worse.

‘That brat has to be killed and quickly. I should send–’ Muzan halted his thoughts in their tracks,
freezing with fear for the second time because of that infernal child. ‘I can’t send anyone after him.
How many of those cowardly, self-serving wretches would abandon me if it suited them? I would
only make him stronger. Dammit, I should’ve given Enmu more blood!’
Muzan raged, and he summoned his Waxing Moons to announce Akaza’s death. He could do little
else at this point.
 Chapter 12

“I’m glad you passed these off to me. You completely forgot about getting blood samples again,
didn’t you?” Rui deadpanned, holding up two syringes filled with blood as they walked back to the
Butterfly Estate.

“In my defense, I was a bit preoccupied.” Tanjiro pointed at Akaza for emphasis. “But thank you!
These should be very helpful for Tamayo-san.”

As if saying the demon’s name summoned her, Chachamaru faded into sight, purring as she rubbed
against Rui’s leg. Rui bent down and put the syringes in her bag with a smile, whispering, “The
sample with some of my webbing attached to it is Akaza’s, the other one is Enmu’s. That’s Waxing
Moon Three and Waning Moon One, respectively. Safe travels.”

The Kakushi eyed the interaction warily, unable to hear what Rui said with how quietly he was
talking, before deciding that they were better off not asking questions.

Chachamaru disappeared with a meow. Akaza watched the cat go with a curious hum before asking
Rui, “What was that about?”

“A friend of onii-sama’s is developing some sort of poison for Muzan. Your blood should be
especially useful for her to study.”

Akaza’s nose crinkled slightly. “Ugh, poisons… Though I guess we need everything we can use
against someone like Muzan.”

“Yeah, a fair fight won’t exactly get us far,” Kyogai snorted. “I know Tanjiro-sama would give
him trouble, but if we don’t weaken him somehow, then we’d lose our human comrades. And
that’s not something we can afford to risk.”

“As far as I’m concerned, a single loss is defeat. If Muzan steals even one of my people, then I will
not have won, even if I kill him. I will continue training, continue recruiting and training new
demons, and we will do everything we can to take him down, no matter how underhanded.”
Tanjiro looked Akaza in the eye with a smile. “Of course, if you have any personal objections, like
personally refusing to use poisons, then we will honor that. But if someone else has to wield a
laced dagger to keep everyone safe, then they will.”

“I was right. You are interesting!” Akaza chuckled. “It sounds like your principles and mine align.
Perhaps there is an honorable way to use underhanded methods like poison after all…”

“We’re almost at the Butterfly Estate. Rengoku-sama was sent ahead for healing, so you’ll be
expected to give the report in his stead.” The more stern of the pair of Kakushi looked directly at
Nezuko as he said this. “Try to keep it concise. Oyakata-sama’s time is valuable.”

“But don’t leave anything out that might be important! Rengoku-sama will speak with Oyakata-
sama to fill in any gaps once Kocho-sama has deemed him healthy enough to do so, though, so try
not to worry about it too much!”

“You worry too little…”

Tanjiro snickered as the pair of Kakushi bickered with one another, looking on fondly as Nezuko,
Zenitsu, and Inosuke did the same to his left.
“Everyone’s so spirited! It’s interesting to see battle spirits move like that outside of combat.”

“Battle spirits?” Tanjiro asked with a tilted head. “I remember you mentioning them earlier, but
what do you mean by that?”

“I have this sixth sense that lets me get a read on someone’s power level and emotions, basically. I
can see an aura around them, even when I’m not actively using my Blood Demon Art, and the size
of it and the way it moves tells me a lot about that person and how they’re feeling.”

“Oh? Another one of us with an enhanced sense?” Zenitsu focused in on their conversation with a
sparkle in his eyes.

“Man, I’m starting to feel left out,” Nezuko sighed. “First there’s onii-chan and his sense of smell,
then there’s Zenitsu and his hearing, Inosuke and his sense of touch, and now Akaza has a special
form of enhanced sight?”

“You can join us in the relatively ordinary but still terrifying group, onee-chan.”

Nezuko laughed at that. “Thanks, Rui. We’ll prove that we can keep up, won’t we?” His sister’s
scent radiated determination and excitement, and Tanjiro knew that she’d be training even harder
once they got back to the Butterfly Estate.

Tanjiro perked up when he caught the familiar scent of wisteria and medicine, picking up the pace
as they finally arrived at their destination.

“We’ll leave you to it! Kocho-sama is expecting you, and she’ll escort you to Oyakata-sama since
Rengoku-sama cannot!”

‘The Kakushi are just as overly formal as demons, apparently.’ Tanjiro snickered at the thought,
waving farewell to them and basking in the scent of his home away from home. That lasted for all
of about three seconds.

“I see you’ve brought more demons back with you, Tanjiro.” Shinobu sounded hopelessly fond,
chuckling at his embarrassed expression. “It’s like wherever you go, a mountain of paperwork
follows. Watching the others’ reactions will be fun! Rengoku-san said you brought Waxing Moon
Three back with you this time?”

Shinobu’s scent was an odd combination of malicious and pleased when Akaza waved at her. “Oh,
this will be fun. Now, I understand that you’re on our side now and Rengoku-san has insisted that
you have his approval, but if you ever hurt him like that again, then I’ll end your life myself. Most
of the damage was fairly minimal, all things considered, but he’ll never see out of his left eye
again.”

Tanjiro almost gagged on the overwhelming scent of guilt that sharply spiked from Akaza. The air
was weighed down with it, creating an almost tangible fog of despair and regret.

“I won’t; I promise. I’ll spend the rest of eternity making up for it. I…”

Shinobu held up her hand, halting Akaza with a smile. “You do not have to defend yourself to me.
Again, Rengoku-san was adamant that I give you a chance, and I trust Tanjiro’s judgment of
character. They see something in you; I just need to stick around long enough to see it myself.”

Akaza nodded, voice still laced with grief and guilt as he murmured, “I won’t let you down.”

“I don’t suspect you will. Now then! Come along with me. I’ll lead you all to Oyakata-sama’s
estate.”

They all followed Shinobu’s lead, and Tanjiro’s demons parted from him just enough to allow
Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke to alongside him. ‘They’re still on edge, huh?’ Even Akaza and
Harumu instinctively fell into a protective formation, shielding Tanjiro and the human members of
their group with a circle of demons standing guard around them.

Shinobu watched their group with clear fascination. The scientist in her leapt to the forefront
whenever she had the opportunity to study demon behaviors like this, and Tanjiro appreciated her
all the more for it. ‘Maybe other people would be more unnerved by being watched like a
particularly fascinating experiment, but it only gives me hope. Shinobu-san has been observing and
fighting demons for years at this point. For her to watch our group so closely… She entrusted me
with her sister’s dream for a reason. She believes in us, wholeheartedly.’

“Say, Akaza-san. Would you mind allowing me to take samples of your blood after this? Tanjiro
has made donations to me before, and there’s something distinctly different about his blood
compared to most other demons. Rui and Kyogai’s blood had slight differences from Hayase’s as
well. I believe that the amount of Kibutsuji’s cells that were previously within a demon has an
impact on their physiology to an extent, even once Tanjiro turns them into one of his own, and with
you being Waxing Moon Three…”

Akaza blinked as Shinobu devolved further into theoretical mumbling, drawing her out of it with
his answer. “I don’t see why not. So long as you’re not experimenting on me directly, go nuts.”

“Yes, I’m so glad to finally test this theory! I’ll be sure to keep you all updated.”

Shinobu practically skipped the rest of the way to the Ubuyashiki estate with such an earnestly
happy scent that it was almost difficult for Tanjiro to recognize it as her. Nezuko stuck to Tanjiro’s
left with anxious determination radiating from her, and Zenitsu was on his right muttering
justifications for their actions under his breath. If it weren’t for Tanjiro’s enhanced hearing, he
knew that he wouldn’t hear his friend’s words at all. Inosuke led the charge with a deceptive mask
of eagerness, but his scent gave away that he was the most nervous of them all.

‘I forgot that he hasn’t met Ubuyashiki-san yet. He has no reason to believe this will go well
beyond the fact that I’m still alive, and knowing him, he may think that came down to some sort of
dominance battle.’

Tanjiro radiated reassurance as he said, “Ubuyashiki-san is a good leader, Inosuke. We’ll be fine!
He already gave me permission to carry on as I was before; I’m just expected to keep him up to
date on any new members of our squad.”

“I wasn’t worried!” Inosuke barked, grumbling beneath his breath. “I’m strong enough to protect
my minions!”

Tanjiro could feel Akaza bristling over the remark and quickly sent waves of reassurance his way.
‘I don’t mind. Inosuke has an odd way of speaking, but this is his way of showing that he cares
and is concerned.’

The tension leached out of Akaza’s shoulders with a sigh. ‘I apologize, Tanjiro-sama. I’ll keep a
better hold on my instincts.’

‘No harm done! Feel free to get as protective and snarly as you want with those who aren’t
mine. I’m not going to force you to be someone you’re not; I just don’t feel a need for
formalities from my friends, understand?’
‘I hear you loud and clear.’

Their journey was not a particularly long one, Tanjiro suspected that the Butterfly Estate was the
closest one to the Ubuyashiki Estate so Ubuyashiki could receive urgent medical attention if it was
needed, nor was it eventful.

The sickeningly sweet smell of illness and decay carried on the wind.

“We’re here.”

They were led through familiar gates, and despite the confusing, winding path they took and the
wisteria surrounding this place, Tanjiro suspected that he’d be able to find the estate on his own if
he needed to. The smell of wisteria, sickness, serenity, and a slow, encroaching death was too
distinct to mistake for anything but Ubuyashiki’s scent.

“Oyakata-sama, I’ve brought them to you.”

“Thank you, Shinobu. Has all been going well?”

“Very much so, Oyakata-sama. I believe that I’ll be making a breakthrough regarding Tanjiro’s
demons soon!”

“That is most excellent news.” Ubuyashiki smiled and turned to the child standing by his side
before asking, “Did Tanjiro bring back the demon I foresaw, Hinaki?”

“There are two new demons traveling with him, Father.”

Excitement and hope bloomed to life on Ubuyashiki’s face. “Then he managed to convert Waxing
Moon Three as well? The human was certain, but I truly did not believe that… You overcome the
odds yet again, Tanjiro.”

“What do you mean by that, Ubuyashiki-san?”

“My family has always possessed the gift of foresight. We have an instinctual knowledge of many
things that are important to the future of the demon slayer corps, but my gift is stronger than most
past members of my family. I could once see the potential futures that lay before us and the chain
of decisions that lead us to them, but as my illness attacked my vision, things have become less
clear. However, I can still see a bit further than the immediate future in my dreams. Waxing Moon
Three joining us is a great boon, and it means that Kyojuro did not have to become a demon to
survive either.”

The fact that was a possibility shook Tanjiro to his core. “He would have…?”

“It was a distinct and more likely possibility. He would not have been happy about it, but Kyojuro
would have been turned willingly. I watched him quickly become fond of you and Rui, and your
acts of heroism have convinced him that demons do not have to be inherently evil beings.”
Ubuyashiki smiled at Tanjiro, ignoring the shock that permeated the clearing as he said, “You do
have my permission to do so, for the record. If any demon slayer, including the Hashira, is about to
die and allows you to do so, then you may turn them. We are in this war together. I trust you, my
child.”

Ubyashiki was one of his people too, Tanjiro decided. “Thank you, Ubuyashiki-san.”

“You may call me Kagaya if you wish. We’re equals in this, after all.”
Nezuko blanched at that. “That seems incredibly rude! Onii-chan would never–”

“Thank you, Kagaya-san.”

Nezuko’s glare could cleave a boulder in half. “Becoming a demon has certainly helped with your
self-confidence, though I’m not sure if that’s for better or worse yet, honestly,” she grumbled.

“Hah? He got permission! It’s ruder to ignore a king’s request!”

“A king?” Kagaya’s voice was hopelessly fond. “What do you mean by that, my child?”

“That’s how it works! There are natural leaders; I saw that with boars, wolves, and any animals
that didn’t live alone. They’re the kings or queens! I’m the king of the mountain, Gonpachiro is the
king of the demons, and you’re king of the demon slayers!”

“And Nezuko is the queen of training.” Zenitsu’s whisper wasn’t quite low enough to keep her
from swatting at him playfully, and he ducked with a shriek.

“I’m honored to know that you regard me that way, my child.” Inosuke’s scent took on a pleased
note as he shuffled slightly. “Now, would you mind telling me about the Mugen Train? I saw
snippets, but even those were a blend of futures. I cannot be entirely sure of the events that
occurred in reality.”

Nezuko immediately straightened up, taking on a more serious air. “Of course! The Mugen Train
was used as the hunting grounds for Waning Moon One. His Blood Demon Art trapped you within
a dream, and he manipulated desperate people into doing his bidding for him. I’m not entirely sure
what he was trying to do there, actually, we all woke up fairly quickly…”

“Ah, I can explain that,” Harumu interjected. “Enmu sent us to target your spiritual cores. The path
to them can be found at the edge of his dreams, and they’re such delicate things that… If one
attacks a spiritual core, the owner of it often falls comatose. I was sent after Tanjiro-sama’s. But
when I got there… Your soul is an endless sky, Tanjiro-sama. It was the brightest and warmest
thing I ever felt. There were these little sprites, previous incarnations of your soul if I had to guess,
that led me directly to your core just because they knew I was looking for it. I couldn’t… I
couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t.”

“And what led to you working with Waning Moon One, my child? That was never particularly
clear to me.”

“I had tuberculosis. I was dying, slowly and painfully, and no one would risk coming close enough
to me to put me out of my misery either. I didn’t have things of the past to dream about like
everyone else. Simply dreams where I was not in pain.”

Mutual understanding flowed between the two of them, and Kagaya’s scent became unbearably sad
as he murmured, “I cannot blame you for that.”

“So, onii-chan being onii-chan, offered to save him. All the other humans that were helping
Waning Moon One had to be knocked out, and our fight began in earnest. I couldn’t tell you what
happened with Enmu directly, but all of us except for Rengoku-san and onii-chan defended the
passengers on the train cars. The entire train itself was the demon’s body, and he kept trying to
devour the people on it for a power boost. Thankfully, we had it pretty well in hand. There were no
injuries or casualties.”

“I expected more from a member of the Twelve Kizuki, honestly. How was he Waning Moon
One?” Hayase murmured.
“His Blood Demon Art was useful, and he was masochistic enough to do whatever it was
demanded of him, no matter how it would affect him. Muzan has a hard time coming by fanatic
loyalty, clearly.”

Rui snickered at Akaza’s statement, nodding along. “Yeah, that.”

Kagaya hummed contemplatively. “Do you believe that other members of the Twelve Kizuki
would desert him?”

Rui nodded with a small smile. ”Mukago and Kamanue probably would. They’re both far more
afraid of Muzan than loyal to him, and we spent a lot of time together as the lower half of the
Waning Moons.”

“Unfortunately, he killed the Waning Moons after your supposed death. Enmu was the only one he
didn’t,” Akaza interjected, looking incredibly apologetic to dash Rui's hopes.

Rui’s scent was tinged with sadness as he breathed out a sigh. “Well, there goes that then. What of
the Waxing Moons? I don’t know them well enough to say either way.”

“Most of them are hard nos. Gyokko and Doma are sadistically cruel and delight in it; that’s
Waxing Moon Five and Two, respectively. Hantengu, Waxing Moon Four, is a liar and a coward
who would do anything to save his own skin, but he’d also betray you in a heartbeat. Gyutaro and
Daki are our best bet, probably. They’re a pair of siblings who share the rank of Waxing Moon
Six, though everyone but Daki knows the true title is Gyutaro’s. The fact that they still have any
sort of attachment to one another is promising, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.” Tanjiro’s mental plotting could practically be heard out loud if the way Nezuko
sighed was any indication.

“We’ll focus on them later, onii-chan. What about Waxing Moon One, Akaza?”

“I’m honestly not sure about Kokushibo. I don’t think it’s likely, but I also don’t know him as well
as the others. He tends to keep to himself.”

“So we’ve got one probably and one maybe… I will keep an eye out for them in the future. I thank
you for sharing this information with us, both of you.” It was fascinating to watch how both Rui
and Akaza basked under Kagaya’s thanks; the man had a way of talking that put you at ease, and
Tanjiro had half a mind to ask him for tips.

“Now, Tanjiro, what happened when fighting Enmu himself?”

“He had an extra mouth on each of his hands that could command you to sleep and plunge you
back into the dreams he more subtly trapped all of us in before. I was able to use my own Blood
Demon Art to burn myself free of it, but I wasn’t able to free Rengoku-san so easily without a
physical link to sever. Enmu manipulated him to attack me, you’d have to ask Rengoku-san about
how exactly that worked, and I held him off until I could get him to wake up. Enmu’s guard was
down, so I easily decapitated him. However, it was only a false body; that was when he revealed
that his whole body was the train, something that I wasn’t surprised by considering how strongly
the entire train reeked of his scent, and began to attack the passengers.”

Tanjiro flexed his claws with a grumble. “Rengoku-san and I headed for the coal car, where his
scent was strongest, and found his neck by attacking the floor of the train. The conductor tried to
stab Rengoku-san with an ice pick, but I took the hit for him so that was a nonissue. Rengoku-san
created an opening for me immediately after I took the weapon away from the conductor! I took it.
We severed the massive neck bone that was embedded into the train, and it derailed as Enmu
died.”

He gave Rui a sickeningly grateful look. “Thank you for ensuring that everyone survived. That was
a rough crash; there would’ve been serious, debilitating injuries at the very least.”

“So you were the one who killed Waning Moon One, then?” Tanjiro was confused by the hint of
mischievousness in Kagaya’s scent.

“Yep! Rengoku-san was very proud of Tanjiro; he wouldn’t stop talking about it while Aoi and I
evaluated him.”

“What a pleasant surprise. This was intended as a promotion mission for you four, and you’ve
passed with flying colors. Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, you three have jumped from Mizunotos to
Tsuchinoes, rank five, for your defense of civilians against Waning Moon One. It was an incredible
feat for such young and new slayers. Tanjiro…” The mischief in Kagaya’s scent grew even
stronger. “You have slain a Waning Moon. Even with the presence of a Hashira, you were the one
who dealt the final blow and who ensured that our Flame Hashira did not fall victim to this
demon’s tricks.”

Shinobu’s eyes widened. “Oyakata-sama, are you…?”

“Tanjiro, you now qualify for the title of Hashira. Would you like to take on the mantle of the Sun
Hashira? You are allowed to decline, you will be promoted to Kinoe regardless, but the position is
yours if you want it.”

Blood-red eyes blew wide with shock. “You would… Truly?”

“I would. There is no hard rule dictating the number of slayers allowed to hold the title of Hashira
at once, and there is no denying that you’re deserving of the position. We will soon be at war. It
will be too late to prepare for it by the time it comes, so we must do everything we can now.”

“Then I accept! Thank you, Kagaya-san!”

This was the best position Tanjiro could possibly be put in. It was a declaration of trust from
Kagaya, and it would serve as a hard barrier from Shinazugawa, Uzui, and Iguro’s discontent with
his continued existence.

Kagaya was making Tanjiro nigh-on untouchable. The scent of amusement mixed with happiness
made it perfectly clear that he knew what he was doing. “Then I welcome you, Sun Hashira. We
will hold a meeting soon to announce your promotion, once the other Hashira wrap up their current
missions. For now, return to the Butterfly Estate and rest; you’ve all done well.”

“Oh, and Shinobu? Mitsuri will be coming by with Senjuro in the next few days. He’s incredibly
worried about his brother, but I believe seeing him alive and well will put him at ease.”

“Thank you, Oyakata-sama. We will prepare for their arrival.”

Tanjiro walked away from the Ubuyashiki Estate in a daze.

“I can’t believe you got promoted like that! Congratulations, onii-chan!”

“He really meant it when he said you were equals huh? And we jumped so many ranks at once…”

“Bwahaha, our greatness has been recognized!”

“Congratulations, Tanjiro. It’ll be a pleasure working with you.”

A fanged smile lit up Tanjiro’s face. “You too, Shinobu-san!”

 Chapter 13

“Rengoku-san!”

A wide smile brightened Rengoku’s face. His brightness wasn’t hampered by the eyepatch
covering his left eye at all, and Tanjiro couldn’t smell any falseness in his joy. “Hello everyone!
Did the visit with Oyakata-sama go well?”

Inosuke immediately puffed out his chest. “We all got promoted!”

“Kaigaku’s gonna be so mad when he finds out I’ve already caught up to him,” Zenitsu snickered.

“Onii-chan even became a Hashira!”

Rengoku’s booming laughter filled the room. “What excellent news! No wonder everyone is in
such high spirits! I take it there will be a promotional meeting soon?”

Shinobu nodded. “Likely within a week or so. Before you can ask, you’ll be safe to attend. I want
you to stay here until you readjust to living and fighting with limited depth perception, but so long
as we watch out for infection, you’re perfectly healthy. Just a bit battered.”

“Thank you, Kocho-san!”

“Oh, honestly, Shinobu is fine. We’ve become closer lately, no? Besides, any friend of Tanjiro’s is
a friend of mine.”

“He truly has a way of bringing people together, doesn’t he? You may call me Kyojuro as well! In
fact, all of you can! Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, did you still want to train with me? It may take some
time before I’m back to where I was, but I would love to teach you all once I’m able!”

“That sounds brilliant, Kyojuro-san,” Tanjiro answered with a smile as his friends nodded with
equally excited scents.

“And you, Nezuko?”

“Water Breathing and Flame Breathing are too different from one another for me to learn much
from the style, sadly,” she sighed. “But I appreciate the offer! Take care of these knuckleheads,
would you?”

“You could always join Kanao and I in training, Nezuko. Our forms are derived from Water
Breathing, after all.”

“Really? I’d love that!”

Kyogai, Hayase, Rui, and Harumu had gone to help the girls with chores around the estate, but
Akaza had trailed behind their group, finally working up the nerve to join them in the infirmary.

“Hello, Akaza!”

Akaza bowed deeply, nearly bent in half in the blink of an eye, and kept his eyes trained on the
ground. “I am so, so sorry, Kyojuro. Because of me, you lost an eye and will have to go through
rehabilitation training and–”

“No harm done!” Akaza froze, blinking in shock as he slowly stood upright and looked Kyojuro in
the eye. “Everyone was saved, we gained new allies, we gained a new Hashira… Our mission
could not have been more of a success! This will not hinder me long, I assure you!”

“He’s been almost disturbingly cheerful about all of this,” Shinobu chuckled. “But he’s right. It’s a
life-changing injury, yes, but not one that demands retirement. Things could have been far worse.”

“Precisely! I’ve been thinking about getting an eyepatch that matches my haori…”

Tanjiro was smiling so widely that it hurt, fighting back laughter at Akaza’s dumbfounded scent.
“Never change, Kyojuro-san.”

He could get used to this feeling of belonging.

Tanjiro and Kyojuro were practicing their katas out in the courtyard when Kanroji and an unknown
but somehow familiar scent approached the Butterfly Estate.

“Aniue!”

Kyojuro stumbled out of his form and looked up with a massive grin. “Senjuro! Thank you for
visiting me!”

‘Man, the family resemblance is strong. Even their scents are similar. Kyojuro’s is just wilder
while Senjuro’s is more like a campfire than an inferno.’

“Of course, I visited you. How could I not after what happened? Are you alright?”

“I’m quite fine, as you can see! With a bit of time to adjust, I’ll be back on the field in no time!”

“I’m glad!”

Tanjiro’s heart stopped. Senjuro was beaming like the sun itself, smelling of nothing but happiness
and relief with the undertone of fire that made him a Rengoku, and it took Tanjiro’s breath away.

Something clicked into place.

“And you must be Kamado; Kanroji-san was telling me about you. Thank you for saving my
brother!”

“Of course, it was the least I could do.” Tanjiro could barely manage to whisper the words,
growing redder in the face by the minute.

“It really wasn’t.”

Thankfully, Tanjiro was saved from his embarrassed floundering by Kanroji asking Kyojuro a
question. “Do you know why Oyakata-sama asked us to gather here?”

“We have a new Hashira!”

Kanroji gasped with excitement, turning to Tanjiro with sparkling eyes. “Wait, wait! You killed
Waning Moon One on your mission with Kyojuro, didn’t you?! Then that means–?!”

“We have a Sun Hashira again!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Congratulations, Kamado-san!” Kanroji tilted her head with a hum, smile
still not fading, as she asked, “Is someone retiring? I don’t think we’ve ever had more than nine
Hashira before.”

“Not that I’m aware of! Come to think of it, though, I do believe it is tradition…”

“Kagaya-san said there wasn’t a hard rule against it, and since we’re gearing up for war against
Muzan, we need as many advantages as we can get. I’m just a tenth Hashira.”

“Well, I look forward to working with you, Kamado-san!”

“And I you, Kanroji-san.”

“You became a Hashira after your first big mission? That’s impressive.”

Tanjiro flushed further at Senjuro’s praise. “I’d argue that Mount Natagumo was my first big
mission since a member of the Twelve Kizuki was involved there too, but I guess that was a
coincidence rather than an intended mission…”

“It’s impressive either way!” Senjuro huffed playfully. “I could never even get my nichirin blade to
change colors. Seeing people my age become a Hashira is inspiring.” Senjuro clenched his fist, and
his scent radiated the same steady determination that Kyojuro had while defending the wreckage of
the Mugen Train.

“I’m going to help however I can! Even if I can’t fight, there are other things I can do to prepare
for the battle against Muzan.” Senjuro faced Kyojuro with a smile. “Aniue, I’m glad your recovery
is going well so far. I believe in you! Forgive my rudeness, but I need to go ask Kocho-san
something.”

Senjuro bowed before swiftly leaving them, and Tanjiro watched on, thunderstruck.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so driven before, not even when Tokito-san became a Hashira,”
Kanroji murmured. “I wonder what he’s up to?”

“What he believes is right!”

Most people didn’t know this about Senjuro, but despite never cutting it as a swordsman, he had an
enhanced sense too. With the exception of his brother, even those who did know about his sense of
taste didn’t realize the extent of it.

Senjuro’s taste buds didn’t only benefit his cooking skill. He could taste the emotions of people
around him through the air. Negative emotions tasted like the burn of alcohol, and the exact type
varied depending on the severity. Senjuro very carefully avoided thinking about why that was, just
as he avoided thinking about whether the taste of his father’s emotions was drowned out by the
sheer volume of alcohol he consumed or…

Positive emotions varied from person to person. His brother reminded him of a hot pot with slightly
shifting ingredients day by day, always warm, nurturing, and safe even when hints of sourness or
bitterness popped up.

Kamado had one of the most complex blends of flavors Senjuro had ever experienced.
Unshakeable kindness added a sweet note to the predominant, savory taste of protectiveness. There
was a tiny thread of sourness, a fear of not being good enough, that was entirely too familiar to
Senjuro, and he couldn’t help wondering how the demon who’d done so much for the demon
slayers in a short period of time could ever feel that way. Determination blazed within him, adding
a spiciness that burned those who got in his way, who threatened those he protected, to the mix.

The closest thing Senjuro could think to compare him to was ramen. Kamado was made up of a
blend of uniquely powerful emotions that all came together to form a greater whole, and despite the
sheer variety of flavors, his emotions were still an overwhelmingly positive thing to experience.

And maybe he was imagining things, but he could’ve sworn the air around Kamado grew the
slightest bit sweeter while they spoke. He was comforting, far more so than he’d ever imagined a
demon could be, and inspiring, and Senjuro had finally worked up the nerve to do something he’d
been meaning to for years.

“Kocho-san?”

Two girls flew around the room, blue and pink swords clashing as they danced around one another.
One of the girls he recognized as Tsuyuri, Kocho’s tsuguko, and Senjuro was shocked to realize
that there was a subtle flavor to the air around her now. Fragile, hopeful sweetness was radiating
from her, and the slayer she was sparring with had the same hints of sweetness threaded throughout
her overwhelming spicy blend of emotions.

“Oh, hello Senjuro! It’s good to see you again. I’m surprised you’re not still with your brother.”

She couldn’t have asked a silent question any louder. “Aniue is obviously doing well. I came to
thank you and… To also ask you a favor.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Can I… Will you teach me about medicine? I know that I’m a lousy fighter, but this is a way I
can help! If I can handle Father when he’s… I can do this; I know I can.”

Kocho chuckled, and for a moment he feared she would refuse him, but her genuine smile
dissuaded him of that notion. “It’s getting so busy around here. I may not always be free, I have to
prioritize training Kanao and Nezuko, but I will still teach you. I’m sure Aoi will be happy to step
in when I cannot, and Rui has learned incredibly quickly as well. If this is what you want to do,
then I will support you in every way I can.”

Relieved tears welled up in his eyes. “Thank you, Kocho-san!”

“None of that. All my students call me Shinobu.”

Tomioka was the next Hashira to join them at the Butterfly Estate. He stumbled across Tanjiro and
Nezuko practicing their joint attacks, watching from a distance as they turned to one another,
nodded, and got into the proper stances again.

“Tenth Form: Constant Flux–”

“Ninth Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance–”

“Twin Dragons!”

Dragons made of fire and water twined around one another, roaring in sync as they flew toward the
same target. Smoke billowed from Tanjiro’s dragon as Nezuko’s boiled, and finally, finally, the
dragons did not dissipate before they reached their destination.
“Yes! We did it!”

“It’s a bit weak right now, but there’s something there, onii-chan! And all the smoke could serve as
a good cover for a follow-up attack too…”

“You’re creating your own moves already?” Tomioka’s eyes widened slightly in shock. “And
combinations of breathing styles, no less.”

“Um, yeah? Onii-chan and I have been doing this since we first started training. Did Urokodaki-
sensei not tell you?”

“No.” Tomioka sulked. “Why would he not…? He knows I’ve been looking for…”

Nezuko burst into laughter. “Well, now you know, Tomioka-san!”

“Nezuko.”

His sister straightened up at the seriousness in Tomioka’s tone. “Yes?”

“Will you be my tsuguko?”

“R-really?!”

“You will make an excellent Water Hashira, of that I have no doubt. I would… like to help you get
there if you’ll allow me.”

Nezuko’s scent exploded with happiness. “Yes! Yes! Oh, thank you so much, Tomioka-san!” A
flicker of hesitation. “Oh, but… I already promised to train with Kanao and Shinobu-san. That
won’t interfere, will it?”

“... I don’t see why we couldn’t train here instead of at the Water Estate. You’ve already become
one with water under Urokodaki-sensei’s training, so…”

That excitement surged forth again. “I won’t let you down, Tomioka-san!”

“I know you won’t. I’ll go speak with Kocho-san about your training schedule. Do you want to
come?”

Nezuko nodded eagerly, and Tanjiro sighed as he was left in the courtyard by himself. Any faint
disappointment he may have felt for not being able to practice moves with his sister was quickly
overcome by his excitement for her.

‘Everything is going so well! It’s hard to believe that we only became official slayers a few months
ago. Everything is changing so quickly.’

“Oh, it’s you.”

Tanjiro perked up at the familiar, airy voice. “Hello, Tokito-san! How’re you?”

“... Fine, I think. Are you busy?”

“Nope! Do you need anything?”

Tokito was silent for several long moments. His scent was riddled with confusion. “Have we…
met before?”
Tanjiro blinked, furrowing his eyebrows as he thought about it. “I don’t think so. Your scent isn’t
familiar to me. Why?”

“I don’t remember anything before being a slayer.” Tanjiro’s breath caught in his throat. “And
your eyes feel familiar. I thought that maybe we’d met before you became a demon, but…” Tokito
sighed. “Oh well. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Tanjiro couldn’t imagine not knowing who he was. The thought of forgetting his family, his goals,
his everything… It was terrifying. It was part of why he felt such pity for Muzan’s demons, even
the ones he had to kill. He’d had no idea that Tokito was in the same boat as them.

“You can’t force memories, but…I’m happy to hang around and see if I can help you remember
anything if you want!”

“... I’d like that.”

Muichiro didn’t wind up remembering anything, but the two of them slumped over into the grass
together and watched the clouds rolls by until sunset.

They grew closer through peaceful, idle chatter, and Tanjiro knew long before they parted ways
that he’d already claimed another Hashira as one of his.

The rest of the Hashira joined them over the next few days. With the arrival of Iguro, Kagaya was
guided to the Butterfly Estate by Kakushi, and the meeting was underway.

“Hello, my children. It is a most wonderful day.”

“Hello, Oyakata-sama!”

Tanjiro simply smiled and dipped his head, not wanting to agitate anyone by using Kagaya’s name
so early on.

“Pardon my rudeness, Oyakata-sama, but why is the demon brat here? I thought this was a Hashira
matter.”

“That is precisely why Tanjiro is here, Sanemi.”

Iguro blanched with fear. “No, you cannot mean…”

“Tanjiro killed Waning Moon One, the last surviving Waning Moon, on the Mugen Train. With
that, he qualifies for the position of Hashira.”

Tomioka’s scent lit up with hope. “Are you asking one of us to step down?” That question would
sound accusatory if Tanjiro didn’t have the sense of smell he did, but somehow, Kagaya knew
exactly what Tomioka meant.

“No, Giyu. Our Sun Hashira will simply be our tenth. I must ask you to maintain your position a
while longer. We are steadily approaching the final battle. Several factors can alter this slightly,
but… I believe we have less than a year before Kibutsuji moves on us.”

“Even still, I must protest this, Oyakata-sama! It’s hardly an accurate test if the demon was
accompanied by a Hashira for this mission! It would be most unflashy to give him an undeserved
promotion like this.”
“I was the one who insisted it was offered, Tengen!” Kyojuro smiled, oblivious to the shock he’d
plunged Uzui, Iguro, and Shinazugawa into. “I’m sad to admit that I was very little help on the
Mugen Train itself, and if it weren’t for Tanjiro… I doubt that we would’ve been able to escape
Waning Moon One’s dreams at all. His promotion is absolutely deserved!”

“He’s a demon!” Shinazugawa spluttered. “It’s bad enough that he’s fighting among us, but this?!
Giving him a position of power and influence over our people? Have you gone mad?!”

“Those who risk their lives to fight demons and protect humans are demon slayers, no matter what
anyone else says! Tanjiro is one of us. Not only that, but every single demon that fights alongside
him is too! You did not see them on that train. You did not watch the former Waning Moon Five
save everyone’s life as the train derailed, straining himself so badly that he was bleeding and
collapsed the second everyone was safely on the ground!”

Kyojuro’s scent flared with determination. “You did not watch these demons put themselves
between Waxing Moon Three and the passengers! You did not watch them shield young Inosuke,
Nezuko, and Zenitsu from a demon far beyond what any of us were prepared for!” The scent of
shock permeated the courtyard. “... You did not watch Waxing Moon Three beg for me to become
a demon so that he could spare my life. You did not watch the tears bead in his eyes when he
believed he’d have to kill me, nor did you watch the hope and fear warring in them when he was
offered a place at Tanjiro’s side.”

“We were wrong,” Kyojuro whispered, though in this silence he may as well have screamed it. “I
was wrong! Muzan’s demons are tragic creatures. And Tanjiro? Tanjiro is our ally! His demons
maintain everything that made them human! Even Waxing Moon Three cried upon regaining his
memories… Some demons are too far gone, but not all of them are. I will not disavow those who
genuinely wish to turn over a new leaf and begin to make up for any lives they have taken! Those
lives can never be regained, but eventually, in time, perhaps they will save more than they hurt.
And is it not more valuable to give them that chance rather than killing them after they become
unable to devour a human ever again?”

“Now that’s a flamboyant defense!” Uzui’s scent was a loud blend of excited and intrigued. “How
did only one mission with them change your views so drastically? Talk about passing a trial by fire
with zeal!”

“Hold on, go back a step. Did you say that Waxing Moon Three has become one of Kamado’s
demons? And you don’t have any concerns with this?”

Kyojuro waved his hand dismissively. “When I left him, Akaza was braiding Sumi, Kiyo, and
Naho’s hair. Those girls adore him, and they have more reason than most to distrust demons,
Iguro-san.”

“He’s been quite the help in the infirmary as well. It’s clear that he’s familiar with taking care of
the sick and feeble.”

“You’ve both lost the plot,” Shinazugawa growled as he looked between Kyojuro and Shinobu.
“There’s no way in hell anyone else will be okay with–”

“Tanjiro is… nice. I like him.” It was rare to hear Muichiro voice his opinion during these
meetings without prompting, much less to interrupt someone else.

“Yeah! Kamado-san has been nothing but helpful. You guys can’t keep trying to punish him before
he’s even done anything wrong!”
Iguro’s shoulders hunched higher and higher the longer that everyone spoke.

“I’ve seen no indication that Kamado is anything but what he presents himself as. His family has
grown and so has the trust we hold in him; I am grateful that he is able to spare some of these poor
souls from a miserable fate.”

“I made a choice that day at the Kamados’ home, and I have not regretted it once.”

“It’s a trick!” An awkward silence fell at Iguro’s desperate outburst; even Shinazugawa looked
taken aback, if only because of how unlike Iguro it was to yell. “Can’t you all see it?! Demons like
Kamado don’t hunt so directly! They weave traps and watch their prey struggle to escape from
them to no avail! They convince an entire family to commit atrocities in their name!”

“Oh,” Tanjiro breathed. “I am so sorry, Iguro-san. I didn’t mean to bring up unpleasant memories.”

“Oyakata-sama, may I present my recent findings to you all?” Shinobu asked. “I believe this may
be a reassurance to even those of us who remain reluctant.”

“Of course. What have you discovered, my child?”

“Tanjiro’s demons are the complete antithesis of Muzan’s in every way; it goes beyond the
resistance to wisteria and the ability to walk in the sun. Every demon that he’s turned has grown at
a much faster rate than the blood they receive can explain. Rui had no previous indication of
having a fire aspect of his Blood Demon Art, correct?”

“No, he didn’t. I thought I saw him break himself out of his dream though, and the only way I
could do that was…” Tanjiro’s eyes widened.

“Precisely, he tapped into your Blood Demon Art. He lit his threads on fire without even thinking
about it while sparring with Hayase the other day, so he definitely has some access to the ability,
somehow. I have another theory that I still need to test, but I’ll need your family to send me
samples of their blood for that one.” Shinobu shook her head slightly, recollecting herself.
“Anyways, my point is that Tanjiro and his demons are different from Kibutsuji's, even on a
biological level. They’re not deceiving us, Iguro-san. Tanjiro cares so much about his demons that
he’s instinctively sharing his power with them, and that speaks volumes of his character.”

“Fine. Fine,” Iguro snarled. “I want to see those samples, but I’m willing to give you one, tiny
chance. Don’t fuck it up, Kamado.”

“I won’t let you down, Iguro-san.”

Slowly, each Hashira turned to face Shinazugawa. He looked away from Tanjiro with a scoff. “I
will never accept you or anything you do, demon.”

Despair and jealousy clung to Shinazugawa like a toxic perfume. Tanjiro turned away from it. He
couldn’t allow himself to dwell on those who refused to be helped, regardless of if they were
human or demon.
 Chapter 14

Iguro’s scent radiated disbelief as they returned to the Butterfly Estate.

Nezuko and Kanao sparred like they’d known each other their entire lives. Their movements were
two halves of the same dance, and Tanjiro would have to be willfully ignorant to not notice how
they reacted to each other. Their scents tangled and lingered, leaving impressions of warmth and
contentment behind.

Inosuke was sparring with Hayase, cacking while ducking and weaving through dulled water
whips. Watching a clash between someone as carefully graceful as Hayase and as feral as Inosuke
was always interesting; the contrast highlighted their different battle styles while also allowing
them to adjust to the type of enemy they’d struggle with the most in the field.

Zenitsu, Rui, and Harumu were excitedly talking about the applications of Rui’s fire threads. “I
could become an actual demon slayer, even if it wasn’t official. I could use my threads like a
nichirin blade!”

“You’re right,” Harumu murmured. “That would be incredibly useful in another situation like the
Mugen Train.”

“You should talk to Kanroji-san. She uses a whip, and your threads function pretty similarly at a
distance, don’t they? She’d probably be willing to help you train!”

“That’s a great idea!” Rui gasped. “Thank you, Zenitsu. I’ll go write her a letter now!”

Zenitsu laughed as the demon raced into the estate, getting scolded by both Aoi and Akaza for
running into the house so quickly. The two of them were discussing patient treatments as they
mixed medications and measured out dosages with Senjuro on the front porch, watching everything
going on in the courtyard with equally fond grins.

Flowers were being woven into Kyogai’s long hair by Kiyo, Naho, and Sumi, and the demon
shielded his attack drum from any accidental hits while they clambered all over him.

“Left please!” Kyogai obligingly hit his left drum, and Naho giggled as she tilted and got a better
angle to weave one last camelia into his hair. “There we go! You look really pretty!”

The other two girls nodded enthusiastically. Kyogai smiled at them all, gently ruffling their hair as
he murmured, “Thank you, girls. This was very nice of you.”

Shinobu laughed at Iguro’s dumbstruck expression. “I told you that they’ve made a home for
themselves here, didn’t I?”

Kyojuro’s booming laughter echoed Shinobu’s, and Akaza’s head jerked up at the sound. His face
slowly tinged red. “Kyojuro! Welcome back!”

Senjuro’s scent flared with excitement, but he carefully maintained focus on what he was doing. He
had taken to his new role at the Butterfly Estate like a duck to water, and Tanjiro respected the hell
out of him for putting so much effort into it regardless of his natural skill.

Aoi snorted at Akaza’s starstruck voice, drawing Tanjiro’s eyes away from Senjuro and giving him
a look that screamed ‘Can you believe this guy?’ with a thoroughly amused scent. “Don’t be so
rude to Shinobu-sama!” Aoi teased, delighting in the way Akaza flushed further when he realized
that the others were back as well.

“Ah, I’m sorry Kocho-san, Tanjiro-sama!”

“How many times do I have to tell you that Shinobu is fine?”

Akaza’s expression became borderline mulish, and Tanjiro had a feeling that they’d be having that
argument for a while. ‘He’s the least formal of my demons, at least among the older ones, but he
still gets hung up on stuff like this, huh? I wonder if it’s because she’s his mentor in medicine, even
if unofficially…’

Tanjiro was drawn out of his thoughts by a sudden movement from Senjuro. The warm, homey
scent of a fireplace and cooking flared with excitement as he passed his dosages off to Aoi and ran
forward to tackle Kyojuro into a hug.

“Aniue! Did everything go well?”

“Yes! We had very few objections, and even those are likely to change with time!”

“I’m glad.” A pleased flush spread across Senjuro’s face. “Everyone here is really nice. I’d hate
for anything to happen to them.” There was a thread of steel hidden in Senjuro’s words, and Tanjiro
nearly vibrated with excitement at the protectiveness there.

His instincts were screaming at him. ‘He sees your people as his too. He’s protective and caring
and never gives up.’ Even if Tanjiro had never become a demon, he suspected that he would’ve
fallen for Senjuro. But as a demon?

His very being was telling him that he’d found his other half.

It was odd. Tanjiro felt no inclination to fight these particular instincts, but he never sensed
anything similar from Akaza despite his clear feelings for Kyojuro. ‘Maybe it’s a demon king
thing? I guess it doesn’t really matter. Not like there’s anyone I can ask about this either way.’

“Did you want to see those samples now? It will not be difficult to explain them to you, and I need
to pen a letter to the Kamados regardless!”

Iguro looked five seconds away from collapsing in shock. “... That sounds like a good idea.”

“Tanjiro? Could you come here a moment?”

“What is it Shinobu-san?” Tanjiro peered over her shoulder as she unfolded a letter, holding up
several vials of blood in response.

“The samples I asked your family for came in. I still need to draw a baseline sample from you, then
I want you to drink one of these yourself and distribute the rest to your demons. Keep a mental note
of who gets what sample, please. It’s important for what I’m testing. And bring everyone back with
you, while you’re at it. I’ll need samples after as well.”

The names of his family members were written on the sides of each of the six vials, including one
from Nezuko. “I will!” Tanjiro agreed with a nod. Shinobu gave him a smile before drawing a
sample from his arm and sending him off with a wave.

Since he was already inside, he started searching for Akaza first. The demon was seldom found far
from the infirmary, and Tanjiro’s nose told him that today would be no different. The fact that
Akaza was currently speaking with Senjuro was just a bonus.

“How do you know so much about medicine anyway?”

“That’s a long story,” Akaza chuckled. “One we don’t really have time to get into now. The short
version is that both my father and wife were ill and needed someone to take care of them, and I was
that person. Some things you never forget.”

“I see… Well, thank you for helping. Aoi and I appreciate it.”

“Of course. Demons are the ones causing most of these injuries, and I was no different from them
before. This is the least I can do.”

“... I think you were.”

“Hm?”

“Aniue wouldn’t be so quick to defend you if you were the same as other demons, and Tanjiro had
to see something in you before he turned you or he wouldn’t have done it. I don’t think you give
yourself enough credit, Akaza-san.”

Before Akaza could attempt to refute that, Tanjiro poked his head into the room with a wide smile.
“He’s right, you know? Most demons wouldn’t have tried so hard to spare an enemy, much less
one as strong as Kyojuro-san. And you did that with all of the Hashira you fought over the years.
You weren’t a typical demon at all.”

Akaza grumbled under his breath, but the hierarchy of demons made him hesitant to refuse
Tanjiro’s words. Senjuro beamed at him. “Hello, Tanjiro! Did you need anything?”

“Shinobu-san sent me with some blood samples! She’s wanting each of my demons to drink one of
these and go back to let her do more testing. Well, me too, obviously, but–” Tanjiro’s voice broke
into a stammer, flustered by the increasingly warm smile on Senjuro’s face.

“Sure.” Akaza saved him from embarrassing himself further. “But I don’t want a sample from a
woman. I haven’t eaten one in centuries of living, and even if the blood is donated… It just feels
wrong. I’ll try to work on getting over that.”

“No, you’re fine!” Tanjiro insisted. “That won’t be difficult to accommodate at all!”

“... And you thought you were like other demons, really?” Senjuro muttered, earning a glare from
Akaza.

Tanjiro cleared his throat before passing Saburo’s vial over to Akaza. “Drink this. We’ll probably
be sent on more intense missions soon, and everyone needs to be in peak condition for it
considering my luck.”

“You can say that again,” Akaza snorted before downing the blood. “You’ve run into members of
the Twelve Kizuki twice already. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again.”

“Don’t say that!” Tanjiro hissed playfully. “You’ll speak it into existence!”

Akaza only laughed at his reaction. “I’ll go give that sample to Kocho-san now. Wonder what
she’s looking into? I wasn't really listening when she asked for my blood before…”
Tanjiro was curious about what she was testing too, but he knew that Shinobu wouldn’t keep quiet
on it for long. She was always eager to share the results of her experiments with them.

“If you’re looking for the others, Harumu should be in the dojo with Nezuko and Kanao. I’m not
sure about the rest though, sorry.”

He gave Senjuro a bright smile. “Thank you!” Tanjiro tapped the side of his nose with a chuckle.
“I’ll track the rest down myself, no worries.”

“You have an enhanced sense too?” The question was shocked out of Senjuro; he clearly hadn’t
intended to ask it, judging by the sheepish expression on his face.

“I do! I had a great sense of smell long before I became a demon. What do you have?”

“Enhanced taste.”

Tanjiro’s eyes widened. “Oooo, that sounds interesting! We’ll have to talk about how our senses
work some time.”

“That sounds fun,” Senjuro agreed with a nod. “I’ll look forward to it!”

“It’s a date then!” Both Tanjiro and Senjuro went bright red at his words. “I mean–! I… I’m gonna
go!”

Tanjiro did not run away. He just very urgently needed to distribute these samples.

When he entered the dojo, Tanjiro was surprised to see Harumu wielding a practice sword. He
moved with a grace that suggested familiarity with the weapon itself, though not with the forms he
was being coached in, and a curious hum escaped Tanjiro.

“Tanjiro-sama!” Harumu startled at his presence. “Did you need me for something?”

“Shinobu-san asked me to give everyone one of these vials.” Tanjiro swirled the samples around
with a grin. “But it’s nothing urgent! I can leave one with you; she just wants you to give her
another blood sample after you drink it.”

“It’s fine, onii-chan! Harumu was due a break anyway.” Kanao nodded in agreement, and it was
only then that Tanjiro realized how exhausted Harumu looked.

“Are you alright? We should really get you more blood if you’re straining yourself so much…”

“I’ll be fine, Tanjiro-sama. This is nowhere near as bad as what I’m used to.” Harumu sighed. “I do
seem to tire more easily than the others, though. I’m much weaker too. That’s part of why I wanted
to try taking up the sword again in the first place.”

Tanjiro’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “I could give you more of my blood! I was worried about
overdoing it and killing you when you were still sick, so I gave you less than the others to start
with.”

“I would be honored, Tanjiro-sama, but we’ll set that aside for now. I’d hate to interfere with
Shinobu-san’s studies.” Harumu took Hanako’s sample with a smile and a grateful nod, regaining
some color in his face after downing it. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to visit her after my next set; I’m
feeling a second wind and don’t want to waste it.”
“Sounds like a plan! Enjoy your training; you too, Nezuko, Kanao-san!”

“You know I will!” Nezuko shouted after him with a wild smirk. “It’ll be even better once Giyu-
san gets back from his mission!”

“... Take care,” Kanao murmured, barely loud enough for him to hear. It shocked Tanjiro; he’d
heard her speak with Nezuko and Shinobu from time to time, but even then it was rare.

“I will, thank you!” he called back with a wide grin. ‘Another friend! I’m so glad that Kanao-san is
starting to open up to more people.’

Tanjiro followed the stronger-than-usual smell of lightning out into the courtyard and lit up with
excitement at who he saw.

Kaigaku was currently sparring against Hayase with Zenitsu at his side, and all three of them were
being thrown off their footing intermittently by Kyogai. ‘Huh. What an interesting battle
simulation. Hayase is learning how to deal with the chaos of facing multiple opponents at once,
especially ones who know how to work together, while Zenitsu and Kaigaku can safely practice
fighting against a demon with unexpected interferences.’

“Kaigaku! It’s been a while.” Electric blue eyes flickered in his direction before returning to the
spar in front of him, but the pleased grin tugging at Kaigaku’s lips was obvious.

“So it has! I hear you’ve been keeping busy. Congratulations on the promotion.” Nichirin
screeched as it dragged against a sharpened blade of water, and Hayase chuckled at the clear strain
the slayer was under. That quickly turned into a pout once Zenitsu jumped back into things.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Zenitsu grumbled.

“I’ll congratulate you when we become the Thunder Hashira together and not a day before.”

“Oh, come on! That’s–”

The bickering boys all stumbled with the beat of Kyogai’s drums. “Focus! This is meant to be
realistic, and an enemy will not give you time to argue amongst yourselves.”

Tanjiro walked over to Kyogai as they did just that, refocusing and clashing with one another once
more. “They’re certainly spirited. Did something happen?”

“Kaigaku is determined to show Zenitsu that he still has more skill, despite the fact that they’re of
the same rank now. Zenitsu is determined to show Kaigaku that he can keep up with him. And
Hayase is just enjoying messing with them both in the process, really. Not that I'm any better,”
Kyogai chuckled.

Tanjiro snorted. “Sounds about right. Here.” He passed Kie and Shigeru’s samples over to Kyogai.
“One of those is for you and the other for Hayase, obviously. Shinobu-san is going to want another
blood sample after you drink them too.”

Kyogai nodded and took Kie’s sample for himself. “I’ll pass that along to Hayase. Thank you,
Tanjiro-sama.”

“Of course, have fun!”

Tanjiro waved farewell before turning his nose to the sky and tracking down a much farther scent.
He was deep into the forest surrounding the Butterfly Estate before he stumbled across Rui and
Kanroji practicing their forms, carving indents into the trees around them as they danced around
one another.

“Oh, I wish I could make you my tsuguko! You’re so flexible, and you’d take to Love Breathing so
well, I can just tell!”

“Thank you,” Rui whispered, sounding shyer than he had around Tanjiro in a long time. “But it’s
really nothing all that special. I’m a demon and a small one, at that. Flexibility was needed.
Wielding my threads like a whip is easy because I always preferred fighting long-distance when I
had to fight at all.”

Kanroji gave Rui a sad look. “You know, there’s a point where humility becomes a lack of self-
confidence, right? You’re doing amazing, Rui! You know what?!” The Love Hashira stood taller,
stubbornness radiating from her. “Nichirin blade or not, I’m going to teach you how to use my
forms! There’s no rule against it, and who knows, you may make some of your own too! Rui, will
you become my tsuguko?”

Dumbstruck silence was her answer. A shaky nod caused her to squeal, tackling the young demon
in a hug. “Oh, you won’t regret it, I promise! This is going to be so much fun!”

“Congratulations, Rui!” Tanjiro snickered as Rui flushed a bright red, detangling himself from
Kanroji and ducking his head.

“Apologies, onii-sama. I–”

“No need to worry! I don’t mind at all! I’m really glad you two get along so well, actually.”
Tanjiro bowed to Kanroji, clearly surprising her. “Please take care of him. He means a lot to me, to
all of us.”

“I won’t disappoint you!” she declared, and Tanjiro couldn’t doubt her for a second with a scent
that determined.

“It’s unusual for you to go far from the Butterfly Estate without a mission, onii-sama.” Rui’s silent
‘Why are you here?’ could not have been any more obvious.

“Got a blood delivery for you. You can take either one, just make sure to go see Shinobu-san
afterward.”

“Oh, this must be that thing she mentioned wanting to test… Sure.” Rui delicately took Takeo’s
sample with one of his threads, holding it up to his mouth with a small smile. “I’ll have to write our
family a letter when I get back. It wouldn’t feel right to not thank them.”

“They’ll love that!” Tanjiro planned to send them a letter himself, albeit he was more focused on
asking after everyone and ensuring that there hadn’t been any odd movements from demons near
them. “I’ll leave you two to it. Be careful!”

“Tell Shinobu-san hello for me, Tanjiro-san! I’ll probably head back to my estate after today.”

“Are you going to go with her?” he asked Rui.

“Not this time. I’ll train with Kanroji-san in the times between missions, and we both know they’re
planning to send us on a big one soon. I don’t want to miss time on the field.”

A wave of relief hit Tanjiro then. He would’ve accepted Rui’s decision either way, but knowing
that one of his main fighters wasn’t going anywhere was reassuring. “Then I’ll see you back at the
estate.”

Tanjiro headed back, taking Nezuko’s sample and giving his own to Shinobu. He eagerly awaited
whatever results she got from this test.

“I was right!” A manic grin spread across Shinobu’s face as she burst into the room, contrasting
the dark bags beneath her eyes. “I knew there was something going on with you guys’ growth
rate!”

“Are you alright, Shinobu-san?”

She waved Tanjiro’s concern off immediately. “I’ll crash after this; it’s fine. But! Your siblings’
blood is special, Tanjiro, at the very least for your demons! It’s the equivalent of a marechi. I’m
guessing that came from your father’s side of the family since neither Kie-san nor Saburo-san’s
blood is as potent. Kyogai and Akaza grew at a more reasonable rate between samples, but
everyone else’s power levels jumped drastically.”

“Really?” Harumu hummed as he tilted his head. “Come to think of it, training has been slightly
easier since…”

“Even then, Akaza and Kyogai grew beyond what one would expect from such a small amount of
blood. I’ve got a theory for that now. Your family has worshipped Hinokami for generations, yes?”

“He’s always been our patron deity, even back before demon slayers were a thing.”

“Considering your powers and everything else about how you and your demons function, I have
reason to believe that you all gain power from the sun itself. You’re not just capable of standing in
the sunlight; you grow stronger from doing so.”

“That makes entirely too much sense,” Akaza muttered. “I’ve noticed that I felt more energized
after going out during the day, but I thought that was excitement from being in the sun again that
would fade with time. If it truly isn’t…”

“Will you help me test this?”

“After you sleep,” Tanjiro insisted, and while she grumbled about it, Shinobu did concede after
Nezuko and Kanao shot her pleading looks. The high-five they exchanged behind their backs
terrified Tanjiro. ‘My sister is corrupting Kanao-san,’ Tanjiro lamented, silently saying farewell to
any chance of peaceful days that remained.

Once Shinobu woke up again, a full 24 hours later, she had the demons stay out in the sun all day
and took samples to compare their previous ones to. The evidence was conclusive; they did grow
ever-so-slightly stronger simply by being in the sun. It rejuvenated them, made using their Blood
Demon Arts easier, and while none of them were willing to test it needlessly, they suspected that
their regeneration would be much faster out in the sun as well.

‘Thank you for this blessing, Hinokami. I swear to you that I will continue honoring you in
everything that I do.’

The next several days passed in a flurry of training and preparations both for the humans and
demons. Everything was amiable, and while it was chaotic, the Butterfly Estate truly felt like one
big family. That atmosphere was only interrupted when another Hashira’s scent entered the mix.
An enraged snarl echoed Aoi’s scream.

“Get your hands off her!”

“Hm? I don’t recognize you. Must be Waxing Moon Three, then. What makes you think I take
orders from a demon?”

“What makes you think I respect them from men who kidnap children?!”

Tanjiro arrived just in time to see Nezuko give Uzui a truly cutting glare, preventing him and
Akaza from coming to blows. “Hashira or otherwise, you need Shinobu-san’s permission to take
one of her girls on a mission. Your orders mean nothing without that.”

“That only applies to tsugukos,” Uzui scoffed, turning to take both Aoi and Naho with him.

Kanao stopped him in his tracks, digging her feet into the dirt and refusing to budge. “Naho… isn’t
even a slayer.”

Rui used that moment of distraction to grab both Aoi and Naho, cutting Uzui just enough to force
him to release them. Naho devolved into tears and hid behind him, and while Aoi remained more
composed, it was clear that she was shaken too. Akaza stood between her and the Hashira, daring
him to take another step closer.

“Come on!” Uzui groaned. “Could you be any less flashy? I need a female member of the corps for
my mission!”

Nezuko cocked an eyebrow at him. “I am right here and always itching for a fight. Why was your
first thought to resort to abduction? Of a noncombatant member, no less? How many of our
members do you think could have died because you stole Shinobu-san’s primary medic from
them?”

“Honestly, does he have rocks where his brain should be?” Kaigaku sneered, having been drawn in
by the chaos.

“I’m a Hashira, you brats! I have superiority over you!”

“Not over me.” Tanjiro stepped into the courtyard with disapproval radiating from him. “If you
need aid, then ask for it. You’ll be able to have an optimized team that way; just grabbing the first
person you see is setting you both up for failure. So tell me, what’s the mission that has you acting
more rudely than half the demons I’ve ever met?”

Nezuko almost choked on her laughter. “Damn, onii-chan, tell it how it is.”

Tanjiro wanted to stay furious with Uzui, and to a certain degree he still was, but he had a feeling
that the Hashira wasn’t thinking clearly. He reeked of desperation.

“My wives were investigating the entertainment district in Yoshiwara for likely demon activity.
They’ve missed their last two check-ins. They’re former kunoichi and more than capable of
handling themselves in a fight, so hearing nothing from them is a cause for concern! We cannot
keep wasting time like this!”

“Why didn’t you say so from the beginning?” Nezuko sighed. “Onii-chan, call the others. Looks
like we’re going on that big mission earlier than planned.”
Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!