Hi, everyone. Hope you are all well. This came about when I saw the Demon Slayer movie. I have seen it three times and I have loved it each and every time. The ending completely destroyed me, but the writer I am, I could not help but wonder how the ending could have gone in a different way. Thus, this was born.

Hope you like it. Happens as Tanjiro is still mourning at the end.

It took half an hour before Tanjiro was sure all of his tears had been shed from their ducts. Aside from seeing his family's mangled bodies, this was the most horrific thing the eldest and only surviving Kamado son had ever seen. It hardly mattered that he and his motley crew of Demon Slayers succeeded in their mission of stopping the Mugen Train and destroying the demon controlling it––Enmu, one of the Twelve Kizuki. They had lost a comrade and, to Tanjiro, someone he could have learned much from.

When Tanjiro finally looked up, he came face-to-face with the eternally shut orbs of Kyojuro Rengoku. His left one had been taken out during the battle with Akaza, an Upper Three demon. It nearly made Tanjiro cry again if there were more tears to be shed. The flame Hashira's final words to him rang in his ears.

'I'm sorry, Mr. Rengoku,' he thought. 'I can only hope you're at peace wherever you are. It's because of you that everyone made it out alive. If only I had been stronger. Maybe I could have helped save you in return. Forgive me.'

"Tanjiro?"

He looked behind him and saw Zenitsu standing there. The blonde's eyes were also clouded by tears, but wiped them away with the sleeve of his haori. Nezuko's box rested on his back. Tanjiro couldn't respond if he wanted to, but it wasn't necessary as Zenitsu showed him what was in his hand.

"Here's your sword," he said softly.

Tanjiro gave a small smile and wiped the snot from his nose. He must have looked like a mess right now after all the crying he had done.

"Thank you," the young demon slayer replied, accepting the handle. He wordlessly sheathed his sword before looking around. One other member of their party was nowhere to be found. "Where's Inosuke?"

Loud sobs blanketed the area, followed by the sound of something hitting tree trunks.

Zenitsu pointed towards the trees. "Right there."

Sure enough, Inosuke was doing his usual thing of running head on into trees. The sound of his head––covered by the boar head thankfully––hitting the trunk made Tanjiro cringe. Before, he seemed to be doing it to show off his strength. Now, it was presumably being done as a means to cope with Rengoku's death. Tanjiro felt sorry for the other demon slayer.

"Inosuke, come on. That's enough," he said. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Shut up! I don't care!" Inosuke shouted back as he recovered from the hit he took. Tears still streamed from the eyes of the boar mask. "It's not hurting me as much as I'm sure Bug Eyes suffered in his last moments. Just let me deal with this on my own!"

Tanjiro sighed and turned away from the display. Inosuke was going to be Inosuke, even while grieving. A lump formed in his throat as he turned back to stare at the flame Hashira's corpse. They couldn't just leave him here like this. After everything he had done, he deserved a proper burial. Tanjiro couldn't save him during the battle, but he could probably repay Rengoku by doing this.

"Guys, help me bury him. Please."

Zenitsu nodded wordlessly and stepped beside Tanjiro, who then repeated the same call to the emotionally distraught Inosuke. The boar-headed boy stopped his tree ramming long enough to say, "I still don't get the point of putting him in the ground, but I call dibs on digging the hole, underlings!" Tanjiro didn't know what he was talking about, but he appreciated his enthusiasm.

True to his word, Inosuke dug the hole with his twin blades. He dug it so fast that Tanjiro and Zenitsu had to dodge the clumps of dirt that flew. Within ten seconds, there was a hole big enough for Rengoku's body to go into.

"That's perfect, Inosuke," Tanjiro praised. "Thank you."

Inosuke chuckled and snorted air out of the head's nostrils. "Yeah. Well, that just proves why I should be your unquestioned leader."

The other two chuckled nervously before turning their attention to Rengoku. Tanjiro took off Rengoku's cape before laying him on the ground. He then hooked his arms under the flame Hashira's armpits while Zenitsu grabbed his legs. On a solemn count of three, they picked him up and slowly carried the body to the hole.

Tanjiro and Zenitsu carefully lowered Rengoku's body down into the grave before resting the flame Hashira's cape over his body. Without shovels, they used whatever spare parts they could find from the train wreckage to assist in covering the hole back up.

It took them ten minutes to completely cover the grave. Zenitsu rested the hilt and broken blade of Rengoku's sword at the dirt mound's head to mark it. The tears came rushing back to Tanjiro as it now settled in that Rengoku was truly gone. He could only hope that the deceased Hashira could see the gratitude and kindness shown by their act, wherever he was now.

"Is there anything you all want to say?" Tanjiro asked his two comrades while struggling to contain his emotions. His bottom lip trembled as a new case of the sniffles attacked his nose.

Inosuke dropped down onto the grave and sobbed. "Thank you so much, Bug Eyes! You were so cool! We would not have succeeded if not for you."

Zenitsu was much more reserved, but like Tanjiro, he also struggled to contain his emotions. He seemed so overcome with sadness that he couldn't say a thing, only praying quietly.

Tanjiro came last. He dropped to his knees and prayed. Once he finished, he laid his hands at his sides. The thoughts that went through him a few moments ago finally expelled out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to help you, Mr. Rengoku," he said solemnly. "But if you believe that I have what it takes to be like you, then I will do my best to live up to your expectations. I just wish you could be there to see it. You will not have died for nothing. I promise you." Tears fell down his cheeks as he folded his hands again and finished with, "Be at peace now. This is our way of telling you 'thank you'."

With one final bow, Tanjiro rose to his feet. Once he wiped his tears away, he felt something new overtake him. Where sadness once dwelled, determination took its place. With a huge breath in and out of his nose, he looked to his two companions with hardened eyes.

"Let's hunt some demons," he said.

Inosuke let out a laugh and pumped one blade into the air. "Yeah! Ha ha!" he cried and took off into the forest. "Let's go! Follow me, underlings!"

"What are you talking about?" Zenitsu shouted as he ran after the boar-headed boy. "Wait up!"

Tanjiro gave the grave one last look before nodding to it. He then drew his sword and with a loud cry, took off after his fellow demon slayers.

This time, it was war.

Now on to season 2! Hope you guys liked it. Have a great day. Be sure to let me know what you think.