Chapter 1: Cruelty
Class 1-A were studying for their first year's Final Exams, when suddenly the entire class, along with Aizawa, All Might, and Recovery Girl disappeared. They reappeared in what appeared to be a cinema. Everyone got ready for an attack by Villains, before a voice called out from nowhere: "hey, woah, calm down everyone! You're not in danger here". Aizawa glared around them, "you just kidnapped us, and you want us to calm down?" he demanded in his usual tired tone. "Trust me, if we wanted to do something to you, we would have already done it" another voice, this one male, replied. "If you want us to trust you, then show yourself and tell us who you are" All Might replied. "I guess we can" the female voice replied, before a girl with long white hair, blue eyes and four large white wings on her back appeared before them, a smile on her face. Beside her was a short blond boy, with green eyes wearing a long-sleeved white shirt over a green sleeveless vest. The shirt's collar was green with triskelion's decorating it and he wore green pants and dark grey shoes. "hello, my name is Elizabeth, and I am a Goddess" she explained. Izuku raised an eyebrow, but he seemed genuinely interested, "can you prove that?" he asked curiously, already opening his Notebook to take notes on these two new beings.
Elizabeth nodded, before turning to look at the former number 1 Hero, "May I do something All Might?" she asked, "As a Goddess, I have the ability to heal. It's a very powerful ability. I can even heal those on the verge of death. Please, will you allow me to help you?" The blond skinny man stared at her for a moment. "Hold on, why should we trust you? And how do you know that he's hurt in the first place?" Aizawa asked, "How do we know that you won't just kill him? On that note, how do we even know that you are a real Goddess? Something like this is impossible" Aizawa said, glaring at the supposed Goddess, and getting his capture weapon ready. But All Might stepped in between them, "All Might, get out of the way. You can't fight in your condition" the Underground Hero ordered. The skinny man frowned at his comrade, "it's alright Aizawa, I can tell that this woman doesn't mean any harm" he replied. "And? What if that's her Quirk, and she can mind control you? We can't trust her" the black-haired man replied. "If I wanted to harm you, I would have done it already. I promise that I will not hurt any of you. Please? I just want to help" Elizabeth looked into the former Hero's eyes, nothing but sincerity in them.
Something about her eyes, which were a golden orange colour, made him want to trust her so he nodded. The white-haired Goddess went over to the man and gently placed her hand over where his wound was, making him tense up. But her kind smile calmed him, so he stayed still and allowed the girl to do what she would. A pink light began to shine from Elizabeth's hand, and, slowly, the former Hero felt the pain that wracked him constantly for years begin to fade away. Everyone watched in awe, before the light faded, and the Goddess removed her hand, "there, how do you feel?" she asked gently. All Might's eyes widened, and he lifted his shirt. His, Izuku's and Recovery Girl's eyes widened in astonishment, and the Healing Hero went over to inspect the man herself. "That's, not possible," she muttered, as she saw with her very eyes, that All Might's wound was gone.
The injury that had very nearly cost him his life was just gone, as though it had never been there. "Amazing, even those with the strongest of Healing Quirk's have found that wound impossible to heal" Recovery Girl muttered. Everyone looked over at the woman, now slightly more believing of her claim of Godhood. The blond boy smiled brightly at the Goddess, "well done as always Elizabeth" he said cheerfully. "And who are you?" Recovery Girl asked. "I'm her husband, Meliodas. Don't get any ideas, Elizabeth is mine" he said darkly, making many of those present shiver in fear "I have a question!" Iida called, raising his hand. "Yes?" Elizabeth asked. "If you are truly a God, what do you want with us?" he asked. The white-haired girl raised a finger, "one. I'm a Goddess, that's my specific Race, and 2. We want to show you something, that's all" she explained. "Show us something? That's why you brought us here?" Aizawa asked in confusion, still unsure of the two of them. "Yep!" Elizabeth replied, "that's why we brought you here". A few people deadpanned at that, but Izuku frowned, "um, if you don't mind Kami-Sama, what exactly do you want to show us?" he asked. "Please, just call me Elizabeth. And we're going to show you another world, one very different to and much worse off than your own and the life of two siblings who exist in that world- or, well, Meliodas will. I won't actually be watching this with you, because I don't like this world very much, it's worse than ours years ago" Elizabeth explained.
"No time will pass back in your home world, and once you have finished watching I will send you all home. You will also be able to create any kind of food that you wish to eat here. Is that acceptable?" Meliodas asked. The Teachers turned to each other, "I'm fine with it, as long as time back in our world is frozen, so that nothing bad can happen" All Might replied. "What does this have to do with us though?" Recovery Girl asked. "Well, in truth, we wanted you to be prepared for some of the kinds of danger's you would face back home. After all, some of the Villains that you fight would be similar to thing you will see here" Elizabeth explained. Aizawa was about to decline the offer, but one look at his student's eager faces, had him sighing in defeat, "alright, fine. Put it on" he agreed. Everyone cheered, mostly for the time off of School. Izuku had immediately tested the limits of what he could summon by creating a blank notebook, 'so I can create more than food here? Interesting, I'll have to test the limits of this later' he thought.
"Well, I don't buy it! You say that you're a Goddess! Then prove it!" Bakugo yelled, racing towards the white-haired girl with explosions coming from his palms, "wait! Kaachan!" Izuku cried. Before the teen could attack him though, Elizabeth spread her wings and flew out of the way. The sandy-blond-haired boy leapt into the air with his explosions, before he found himself grabbed by Meliodas. The blond boy had a strange mark on his forehead and wings made out of darkness coming from his back that allowed him to fly. His eyes were a redish-black that made the teenager's Quirk stop just from terror alone. "If you hurt my wife I will crush you" he whispered, making Bakugo's skin crawl. Meliodas flew down and dropped the Explosion user on the ground. Elizabeth sighed as she flew back down, "I know that I brought you all here without any warning. But I am not your enemy. Once this is over, I will send you home unharmed. You can trust me" she said, a gentle smile on her face.
The explosion user grumbled, but conceded with a sigh, "whatever. After all, if you are lying," he looked up at Elizabeth with a deranged look on his face, "you're dead!" he growled. "Bakugo, don't provoke those two" Recovery Girl chided, walking up and whacking the teen on the head with her cane. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU OLD CRONE?!" The Explosion boy yelled. "Don't make me hit you again boy!" the School Nurse threatened. Bakugo growled, but under the glares of both his Teacher and School Nurse, he eventually just dropped into his seat. Everyone soon got comfortable, "well, play the stupid show already!" Bakugo called. Elizabeth nodded, "alright. If you would dear, I'm going to go now" she said turning to her husband, who's eyes had returned to being green again. Elizabeth kissed him on the cheek, making Ashido squeal happily, before smiling at everyone and leaving the room. After a moment, everyone went and took their seats, and Meliodas turned and smiled at the Hero's and studants The show you are about to watch is called Demon Slayer" he explained, as Izuku wrote it down. The Cinema screen then lit up.
The scene started off with a black screen, with the sound of panting heard. As the image lighted, it now showed a snow-covered ground, the camera slowly moving forwards though the snow as crunching footsteps could also be heard. Then the camera, now revealed to be someone's point of view lifted from the ground in front of them, to show a forest, a light snow storm swirling around in the air. The person gasped heavily, as a teenage boy was now shown, carrying someone on his back, someone with blood on their face. As the camera showed the boy's footsteps, flecks of blood could also be seen on the snow.
All Might flinched, "whoever they are, one of them is hurt" he muttered.
As the boy continued on, his thoughts could be heard, 'how?' he asked, the screen now showing the person he was carrying: it was a back-haired girl, with a pink ribbon on the side of her hair and blood on her forehead, trailing down her face, 'how in the world could something like this happen?' the boy thought shakily. He struggled under the girl's weight and the thick snow at his feet, "come on Nezuko, I've got you! Don't die on me!" he cried desperately, gasping for air.
"So that girl's name is Nezuko, and from what Elizabeth said, the two of them are probably siblings" Izuku muttered while writing the information down in his Notebook. "That poor girl! Who did that to her?!" Ashido demanded. "We don't know yet. In any case, with a wound that severe, I'd wager that that poor girl will have suffered brain damage, even if she survives" Recovery Girl frowned.
The Teenage boy now had tears in his eyes, "no matter what it takes, I'll save you! I won't let you die!" he hissed, forcing his way through the snow, "I promise I'll save you! Your Big Brother's got you!" he cried. The camera stayed on the two siblings as it moved up through the tree's before settling on a view of the snowy forest from above.
"I was right, they are brother and sister. But what happened to her for Nezuko to end up in that condition?" Izuku asked. "Maybe she fell off a cliff and hit her head?" Kaminari suggested. "What about the rest of their Family though? Surely their parents could help Nezuko, and it's better than wondering through the snow? Ribbit" Asui asked. "That is a good point. But what if something happened to his parents? The two of them could be orphans for all we know" Kirashima replied. "Let's just watch and find out" All Might suggested.
*Scene change*
The image then transitioned to a basket of charcoal being lifted. The boy pulled it onto his back with practiced motions, before a voice called out to him: "Tanjiro!" the teenager turned at the sound of the voice.
"So, his name is Tanjiro, huh?" Ashido asked, "I'll admit that he's pretty good looking in a rugged sort of way" she nodded. Izuku noted down the name, before turning his attention back to the screen.
"Your face is all covered in soot. Let me clean you up" a woman in a checkerd kimono said as she wiped her hands on the white over-shirt she wore. The woman kneeled and wiped Tanjiro's face with a cloth, "you know you really don't have to go, all this snow could be dangerous" she said.
"I'm guessing that's his Mom, with the way she's fussing and worrying over him" Ojiro commented. The green-haired teen nodded, writing down that Tanjiro and Nezuko had a Mother, "so they had family. What happened to them then?" he muttered with a worried frown, looking back up at the screen.
"I want us to have a good New Years Celebration, where everyone can eat as much as they want. So I'll sell all the charcoal I can" Tanjiro replied, looking down at his Mother. The woman smiled at her Son gratefully, "how thoughtful" she replied, leaning back on her knees. "Hey Bro!" a young voice called out to the older boy as Tanjiro turned to look at the speaker. Two younger children ran up to them, a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair and red eyes and a slightly younger boy with very short brown hair and also with red eyes. The boy was smiling excitedly while the girl was frowning, "are you going into town again today?" the boy asked with a grin. "I'm coming with you!" the older girl said determinedly, before another boy, slightly older than the other two children came around the corner. "No you're not. You know you can't walk as fast as Tanjiro can sweetie" their Mother replied, gently but firmly.
"Looks like Tanjiro and Nezuko actually had a large family, and yet he's taking her so far away to get medical help. Since that's the case, I can only assume that something horrible happened to the rest of them" Recovery Girl frowned worriedly. Many of the students were now becoming worried for the family being shown on the screen.
"Awe come on Mom!" the boy whined in disappointment as their Mother walked towards them, "no way, he's not going to be able to use the cart today, which means he can't give you a ride when you get tired" she explained. Both siblings looked upset, before the younger boy ran towards his older brother, wrapping his arms around him, "Tanjiro!" he whined, hoping that his brother would give in and agree with them. The girl walked towards them, "I wanna come with you! I promise I'll help out!" she begged. Tanjiro patted her on the head gratefully, "that's very generous of you Hanako, but no, you're staying home today" he replied, making Hanako smile hopefully, before she moaned, tearing up. He then gently pushed his little brother away from him, kneeling down to look the boy in the eye, "sorry Shigeru, you are too. But I'll bring back goodies, okay?" the teenager asked, cupping Shigeru's face.
"Promise?!" his younger brother asked excitedly. "Yeah" Tanjiro confirmed, making the boy grin happily.
"Awe, he seems like a good older brother, don't you think so Kirashima?" Kaminari asked his friend sitting next to him. "Yeah, so manly!" the red-haired teen proclaimed with a grin. Meanwhile, Izuku was busily writing down notes, "So Tanjiro lives with his Mother. He appears to be the oldest of his siblings, and he has a younger sister named Nezuko, an as-of-yet unnamed younger brother and another younger brother named Shigeru. He also has a second younger sister named Hanako. They all seem to be in perfect health, so what could have happened to them to-" he muttered, annoying Bakugo, "hey, shut up already! We're trying to watch this Deku!" he yelled. "Oh, sorry Kachan!" the green-haired teen replied nervously. He then took a breath and turned back to the screen, hoping to learn more about what had happened.
The older boy then turned towards his little sister, stroking her hair gently, "and Hanako, I'll read for you when I get home later" he promised, making the girl smile brightly, "kay!" she replied, no longer crying. "Good girl!" he replied in praise. Then Tanjiro stood up, "thank you for doing this Tanjiro" his Mother said. "Course! Time for me to head out" he replied, before turning to the boy who had run around the corner of the house. He was now shown to have a small axe or hatchet with him, "hey Takeo? Do me a favor while I'm gone okay? Chop as much wood as you can" the teenager asked, "yeah, I was already gonna do that anyway. But I was kinda hoping we'd do that together this time" Takeo replied, pouting. Tanjiro walked up to his younger brother and rubbed his head, "there, there now" he said comfortingly. Takeo jumped back, annoyed, "hey! Knock it off, would ya!" he cried. Shigeru laughed at his brother, "you're blushing Take'!" he teased, pointing at the older boy. "Shut up you brat!" his older brother cried. "There there now" Tanjiro teased, rubbing the boy's hair again, this time with both hands.
"I told you to cut it out!" Takeo yelled, making everyone laugh at him.
"Ya know, Takeo reminds me a bit of someone" Ashido teased, looking at Bakugo. Said explosion user turned to the pink-skinned girl, "WHAT DID YOU SAY RACOON-EYES!" he yelled. "Bakugo, that's enough, we're trying to watch this" Aizawa ordered, making the boy slump in his seat with a growl.
"COME BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN, OKAY!?" Shigeru called as he stood with the rest of his family, who were all waving Tanjiro goodbye.
"Wait, so why's he leaving?" Sato asked in confusion. "Well, my guess would be that he's doing something with the basket of charcoal he has on his back. This looks to be set far in the past, back when people didn't have Quirks or even technology. Considering it seems that Tanjiro doesn't have a Father, perhaps he has a job in order to support his family" Iida replied. "Good guess Iida" Elizabeth replied with a nod.
"Be safe and see you when you get back!" Hanako called. Tanjiro smiled at his family as he waved back at them. Then he continued walking. Soon another pair of feet appeared, most likely belonging to a girl, if the bits of pink that could be seen were any indication. Soon the person stopped, and the scene switched to show that it was a girl with brown hair and pink eyes. She was wearing a pink kimono and a grey sheet tied around herself, which kept her baby brother secured to her back as he slept, "hi Tanjiro" she greeted with a smile.
"Wait, is that his sister that we saw at the beginning? Nezuko?" Shoji asked. "Phew, she's a beauty, in a simple kind of way" Kaminari commented, grinning.
"Hey Nezuko" Tanjiro replied with a smile. "I have to put Rokuta down for a nap now. Otherwise he would throw a fit." Nezuko explained, looking back at the small boy, "ever since Dad passed he's been glued to your side." She said, as her older brother gently stroked the child's hair so-as not to wake him, "in fact, everyone seems to follow you wherever you go" Nezuko said with a smile. Tanjiro smiled warmly at his siblings, before the two of them continued on their own ways, "I'll see you when you get back!" Nezuko called cheerfully.
"Okay, so Tanjiro's family consisted of his Mother, younger sister Nezuko, younger brother Takeo, another younger sister named Hanako, then a second brother, Shigeru and finally a baby, or toddler-aged brother named Rokuta" Izuku said as he read through the names, "his father apparently already died at some point before this" he nodded as he was satisfied that he had all the names down. Uraraka frowned, "I'm really worried now. What could have happened to all of them?" she asked worriedly. Everyone turned back to the screen, hoping to find some answers to their questions.
Tanjiro walked down what was apparently a mountain, thick with snow, as a few animals watched him or scurried around, "we don't exactly have an easy life, but we're happy" he narrated as he walked. "Life can change though, as sudden as the weather. It shifts and moves on. The sun can't shine forever, and the snow has to stop at some point. But whatever happens, when happiness is destroyed, it's always followed, by the smell of blood" Tanjro said as the camera panned up to show the town at the foot of the mountain.
"I really don't like the sound of that" Sato muttered nervously. The students were starting to become worried, before their thoughts were interrupted by the show resuming.
*Scene change*
A village covered in snow was shown, the video focusing in on one woman in particular who was sweeping snow away from her front doors. She sighed, before turning around with a surprised gasp, "oh! Tanjiro! You came down the mountain on a day like today? Don't you ever stop working?" she asked, "you could catch a cold" the woman said. "It's not as bad as you'd think. You need a refill on charcoal by any chance?" Tanjiro asked with a kind smile. "Hey, Tanjiro!" a man's voice called from a building slightly farther down the street, "I'll take some more" he said gratefully. "I'm good, but thanks for fixing my sliding doors the other day" another man called. A woman further down raised her hand, "I need some charcoal too" she said. Tanjiro smiled gratefully, before suddenly the door of the house behind him slid open, and a young man with blood trailing from his nose and mouth rushed out to the teenager.
As he attempted to move towards the burgundy-haired boy, a woman held him back, "Tanjiro!" he cried, fighting his way forwards, "I'm so glad you're here!" the young man exclaimed in relief, pulling forwards until he was on his knees in front of the boy, taking out a cloth bundle and unwrapping it. "I've been accused of breaking this plate! Can you help me out here! Give it a sniff!" the young man begged, holding the broken plate up while the older woman came up behind him with her arms crossed. Tanjiro did as asked, leaning forwards and sniffing the plate a couple of times, before he straightened and looked up at the woman, "it smells like a cat to me" he told her.
"Woah! So he has a sense of smell like Hound Dog's? That's pretty cool" Hagakure said cheerfully. "Yeah, he could do so many things with a heightened sense of smell like that! If he were in our world, maybe Hound Dog would even take him on as a Sidekick-" Izuku muttered. "Midorya" Aizawa said, snapping his student out of his mutter spree. "Still, the fact that his sense of smell is so good that everyone apparently knows about it and trusts Tanjiro's judgements because of it is interesting" Recovery Girl said.
"You see?!" the young man asked, turning back to the woman, who held her hand to her mouth in thought, "so it really was a cat" she replied. "I tried to tell you I didn't do it!" the young man complained. Another man nearby stood by a stack of luggage, "hey their Tanjiro! I don't suppose you could give me a hand with this luggage, could you?" he asked. The scene then switched to later that day. Dark clouds hung in the sky. Tanjiro was seen walking up the snow-covered mountain trail, "how'd it get so late?" he asked himself. "Oh well, at least I sold out" the boy said in satisfaction, his thick, insulated shoes shown treading through the snow. "Hang on, Tanjiro!" a man's voice called out, making the teenager turn to the speaker, to see a small house sitting in a small sunken-down flat section between the cliff and the path, "you're not going back up the mountain now? It's simply too dangerous" the man said. "Oh, I'll be fine, I've got a good nose" Tanjiro replied.
"You can stay here for the night. Come on, get inside." The man said. The Teenager frowned, "no, I-" he began to protest, before being cut off, "don't argue, just get in here. Before the Demon's show up" the older man ordered, eyes wide and haunted.
"Demons?" Uraraka asked, shivering slightly. Something about the way the man said it made it seem less like insane ramblings and more like truth. Especially with the title of the show. "We'll just have to watch and find out" All Might replied.
Soon the view changed to show the inside of the man's house, Tanjiro eating some dinner that the man had prepared for him. After he finished eating, the teenager placed down his chopsticks, "thanks for dinner" he said gratefully, before picking up the cup of tea and taking a long sip. "Hey, uh, Mr Saburo, what did you mean by Demons?" he asked.
Everyone leaned forwards, eager to learn more themselves. Izuku had his pen and notebook ready.
Saburo pulled out a futon, talking as he did so, "there've always been man-eating Demons prowling around after dark." He explained, setting the futon up, "that's why, it's not safe to go outside at night" he continued, walking towards Tanjiro, "time for bed. You can set off for home at first light" he said.
"Wait, so these things eat people, is he serious?!" Bakugo demanded. "Oh, he's very serious. Trust me, the Demons in this world are far more brutal than the ones where we're" Meliodas replied. All Might turned to the young man, "wait, you have Demons where you come from as well?" he asked. the blond nodded, "yes, but the ones from my world don't eat people. No, what most of them do is even worse. They eat human's Souls" he replied darkly, shuddering. "What?! Their Souls! Seriously?! Does that mean that they're gone forever then?" Mineta asked, shaking. Meliodas frowned sadly, "yes, I'm afraid that's true. Although, we've managed to fix things with the Demon Clan, so that there isn't anymore Soul eating. Of course, it helps that my brother is the new ruler of the Demon Clan and Elizabeth is the new Ruler of the Goddess Race. Thanks to that, we've been able to keep the peace" Meliodas explained with a smile.
"Wait, what?! if your brother is the new ruler of the Demon Clan, then does that mean that you're a-a-" Sero exclaimed, many people turning to look at the newly revealed Demon with wide eyes. "That I'm a Demon? Yes, unfortunately, I am. But I'm not like the ones from this world. The idea of eating human flesh disgusts me. I have been fighting on the side of humans for thousands of years now, and the only time I ever hurt them, was to protect others. You don't have to worry, I won't hurt any of you" the short Demon said calmly. Many of the students turned and began whispering to each other, while the Teachers decided to keep their eyes on the Demon for now.
Tanjiro was then shown laying awake in the futon, "these Demons, they're not able to come inside your house, are they?" he asked Saburo. "Yes. They could come in." the man replied, facing away from the boy, smoking on a pipe. "But then, wouldn't they just, eat everyone?" Tanjiro asked. "The Demon Slayers protect us by killing as many as they can, they always have." Saburo replied, emptying his pipe into the large bowl of ashes in front of him, "now go to sleep, it's lights out" he said, standing and blowing out the lantern hung from the ceiling. Tanjiro closed his eyes, 'old man Saburo. He's been on his own since he lost his family. He must be lonely. I'll bring my brothers and sisters by. You don't have to be scared. There are no Demons, you're safe' he thought, before remembering something as Tanjiro's memory was shown. 'Although, now that I think of it, my Grandma used to say the same thing, before she passed away' Tanjiro remembered sitting in his Grandma's lap as a small boy as she held him close.
"Awe, little Tanjiro looks so cute!" Ashido squealed. Many of the girls had to agree.
*Scene change*
The sun was now starting to rise, signalling the start of a new morning. "You be careful now" Saburo said from off-screen. "Thank you" Tanjiro replied, also off-screen, before the camera switched to show the boy waving to Saburo as he continued on his way up the mountain.
"Hey Meliodas-Sama?" Izuku began, but was waved off by said Demon, "please, just call me Meliodas" he replied. "Okay Meliodas, I wanted to ask how old Tanjiro is?" the green-haired Hero-in-training asked. "At this point he's Thirteen" the blond replied. "Wow, he's even younger than us," Ojiro muttered, surprised, "and he already works so hard" he muttered. "Yeah, I'm starting to feel pretty useless" Kaminari added. "Hey guys, what do you say we all head to the Gym when we go home?" Kirashima asked with a grin. "Yeah, that's a great idea, maybe I can introduce you to my Karate Instructor" Ojiro suggested. "Hey guys, can I join you? I don't want to let all the training Gunhead gave me go to waste" Uraraka asked. "Sure, what about you Tsu?" the large tailed student asked the frog-like one. "Okay, I could even give you guys some tips on flexibility, Ribbit" she suggested. "Yeah! Why don't we all work out together?!" the invisible girl asked. "That sounds pretty fun actually. I usually train on my own, but I'd be happy to train with all of you as well. I might even pick up some new techniques" Izuku replied. As everyone was talking about working out together, All Might chuckled, "it's nice to see them all getting along, isn't Aizawa?" he asked.
"Yes, but we still have more to watch, so while I like that you're all getting along, can you discuss this after we go home?" the Eraser Head asked, exasperated. Everyone stopped talking immediately, "sorry Aizawa-Sensei!" they coursed, causing Recovery Girl to smile.
Tanjiro hurried on his way. "Whenever happiness is destroyed, it's always followed-" he narrated again, before the real Tanjiro stopped and sniffed the air. His expression turned worried, "The smell of blood" he muttered, before hurrying home.
"Before we continue, you all may want to prepare yourselves. Especially those with weak stomachs" Meliodas said ominously. Many people gulped or shifted nervously in their seats.
Tanjiro's back was shown, as the boy breathed harshly. His house was shown before it cut back to the boy's ragged breathing. Then it cut to something horrific- Nezuku, her arms wrapped around Rokuta, and both of them laying in a pool of blood.
"OH GOD! WHAT THE HELL?!" Kirashima exclaimed, while Uraraka covered her mouth with her hand. Izuku dropped his pen and notebook in shocked horror. In fact almost everyone was horrified in one way or another. "Are they, are they-?" Ashido stuttered, tears in her eyes. Elizabeth just closed her eyes in sorrow and turned away from the screen. All Might felt physically sick, even though there was nothing in his newly restored stomach. Tsu was especially effected, having many younger siblings herself. She didn't even what to imagine going through the same things herself. Everyone else had some variation of these feelings going through their heads. It was Koda, surprisingly that broke the heavy silence, "What about the rest of his family?" he asked softly, timidly. Many people didn't want to know the answer to that question, although they were also burning to know.
Tanjiro's eyes widened in horror, a pained gasp leaving his lungs as he saw them. The poor boy was utterly horrified by the scene in front of him, throwing off his basket, and rushing over to his younger siblings, kneeling down and frantically looking them over, "NEZUKO! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" he cried, desperate for reassurance that what was happening wasn't real. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" he demanded, before looking into the broken-down door of their house, terror in his face and eyes. Tanjiro stood up, gingerly walking towards the entrance to his home. "Mom?" he muttered from the door, blood shown to be everywhere. Suddenly he gasped in utter horror, the screen showing the broken look on Tanjiro's face as he let out a strangled gasp. Then he slid down to the ground, the scene now fully revealed to the horrified audience. Every member of his family was laying dead on the floor of his house, blood everywhere, lifeless eyes staring up at him.
"Oh fuck!" Kaminari cried, slipping out of his seat and vomiting all over the floor. All Might was pale and horrified, "I hate it when I'm right" he groaned. All the girls were outright sobbing at this point, "h-how?! How did that even happen to them!?" Momo yelled, horrorstruck. "What kind of sick, twisted monster-?!" Aizawa growled furiously. Izuku was trembling in his seat, tears streaming from his eyes. Even Bakugo was furious, "show me where that fucking monster is hiding so that I can blow their asses to Hell!" he roared, rapid explosions blasting out of his palms. After everyone took several minutes to calm down, Meliodas started the video again.
"Mom, Hanako," he stuttered, the screen focusing on the ones he was mentioning, "Takeo, Shigeru- Nezuko, Rokuta-" the poor boy was horrified.
*scene change*
The screen then cut back to Tanjiro running down the mountain as fast as he could, gasping for breath, with Nezuko laying limply across his back, 'Nezuko's the only one who's still warm.' He slipped down part of the trail, 'if I can get her to a Doctor, she might live!' Tanjiro thought, continuing to run as fast as his numb legs would allow. 'How could something like this happen?!' tears were gathering in the young teen's eyes, but he forced himself to keep moving despite the emotional agony he was in, 'maybe a bear, that couldn't find a place to hibernate?' he thought. The boy climbed over a fallen tree branch, continuing to move as fast as he could. 'I can't breathe- the air is icy, my lungs hurt!' he thought, struggling under the weight of everything.
'JUST KEEP MOVING!' he thought to himself desperately, despite the exhaustion and the pain. 'Move those legs of yours faster! We've still got a long way to go to get to town. Hurry! I won't let you die!' Tanjiro thought desperately, as Nezuko's thin hand twitched.
"She's alive! Oh thank goodness" Ashido sighed, but All Might frowned deeply, "something feels wrong about this" he said darkly. Many people shivered at his tone, now fearing that something else was going to go wrong. "But, Nezuko's alive! That's a good thing, no?!" Aoyama demanded worriedly. No one had any answers for him except for the Demon, and he wasn't talking. The French student gulped and turned back to the screen.
'No matter what it takes, YOUR BIG BROTHER WILL SAVE YOU!' Tanjiro thought, as Nezuku started to move. She lifted her head, letting out growling sounds. The young girl moved around wildly, her eyes pure white.
"HOLY SHIT! Is she possessed or something?!" Mineta screamed in horror. "Something like that. Keep watching" Meliodas replied gravely. Everyone now watched the screen intently.
The veins on Nezuko's face began to bulge,, growing large fangs and her hands growing claws as she tugged hard on her older brother. The strength she was using caused them both to fall from the short cliff to their right. 'Oh no' Tanjiro thought, before screaming as he fell. Thankfully the thick snow cushioned his fall. Tanjiro caught his breath as he stared up at the sky, 'the snow saved me. But, the snow is the only reason I fell' he thought.
"Uh, no offense Tanjiro, but I think your possessed sister might have been the reason for that" Kaminari muttered, even though the boy couldn't hear him.
Quickly he pushed himself into a sitting position, "Nezuko?" he called, looking around worriedly for his younger sister. Eventually he saw her standing a few meters away, looking down and hiding her face from view. She shuffled in the snow a bit, her bare legs showing as the hoari she had been wrapped in fell from around her shoulders. "Nezuko! Are you okay?" Tanjiro asked desperately, hurrying over to her, "you don't have to walk! Let me carry you to town, alright!?" he called. As he reached the girl, he raised a hand in concern, "Nezuko-" he began worriedly, before the girl looked up at him. But this time it wasn't the face of his little sister that stared back. Nezuko now had pink slitted eyes, veins bulging all over her face and as she growled at Tanjiro, sharp pointed fangs could clearly be seen. Suddenly Nezuko lunged at her brother with a snarl, trying to bite into him, but the boy's hands came up automatically, holding the girl back.
Frantically, Tanjiro pulled out the hatchet on his hip and shoved the handle into his sister's mouth, keeping her from biting him. The force of the lunge caused the older boy to fall backwards into the snow.
"What the hell is even happening right now?!" Jiro cried, horrified. No one had an answer for her.
'Sh-sh-she's, a Demon!' he thought as Nezuko's now large and sharp fangs surrounded the wood of the hatchet, her wild eyes staring right at him.
"She's a what?!" many of the students cried out in shock. "Dude, what the hell is going on right now?!" Kirashima cried, horrified and confused. "How could something like that even happen?!" Momo demanded. Most of the other students were too horrified to even speak, so the show continued.
'This is what old man Saburo tried to tell me about' Tanjiro thought as he struggled against his sister's newfound strength. An image of Nezuko as a human was shown, 'she a man-eating Demon? Impossible! Nezuko's was a human, since the day she was born!' the screen now showed a young Tanjiro, with his smiling Mother and Father, although only the lower half of his Father's face could be seen. His Mother held a baby Nezuko in her arms, beaming at the baby, who looked at him. The scene then changed back to Tanjiro struggling against the now Demon Nezuko, 'except- she doesn't have Nezuko's scent anymore!' he thought as Nezuko continued to snarl at her brother. 'But she isn't the one who killed them!' Tanjiro remembered back to what he found at his house, 'she was laying on top of Rokuta like she was protecting him. And her hands and mouth weren't covered in blood' he thought, as Nezuko's clean hand was shown as proof.
'But there was one more! There was another scent!' he thought in realisation, before gasping in shock, as Nezuko began to grow before his very eyes.
"Wait, she can increase her size?" Izuku muttered, writing it down automatically, as his eyes stayed glued to the screen.
"How are you getting bigger?!" Tanjiro asked in horrified confusion. Nezuko continued to push down on the hatchet, 'and she's getting stronger too! While I was sleeping like a baby at Saburo's- you were all being brutely murdered!' he thought, horrified and guilty, 'it must have hurt, you suffered, didn't you?' he thought, tears beginning to form in his eyes, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help" he sobbed. "I have to at least save Nezuko though! But she's, too strong for me to do anything!" he cried. "Nezuko! Hang in there Nezuko! Don't give in! You gotta hang on!" he cried as legs could be seen running through the snow before it cut back to Tanjiro, "don't let it take control! You gotta stay strong! Just hang on! PLEASE!" he screamed desperately, Nezuko still trying to get to her brother to eat him. Suddenly drops of water fell onto Tanjiro's face, revealed to be Nezuko's tears.
"Wait, does she know he's her brother?!" Uraraka asked, turning to the Demon. Meliodas nodded, "yes, she remembers him, and she's trying to fight against her newfound urge to eat him, but it's hard for her. A part of Nezuko wants to eat him, because as a Demon, she's practically starving to death right now. But she still knows that he's her older brother, and doesn't want to hurt him" he explained.
Someone with a sword is shown running through the snow, drawing it as he ran.
"Wait, he has a sword?" Ojiro asked, confused. "Yeah, why would he have a sword?" Kirashima asked. Meliodas just gestured to the screen again.
The man's back and part of his face was then shown. The camera went to Tanjiro and Nezuko, the former noticed the man leaping at them with his sword raised first. Nezuko noticed him out of the corner of her vision, but before she could attempt to do anything, Tanjiro grabbed her by the throat and pushed her out of the way. The man, now shown to have long back hair and shadowed blue eyes gasped slightly at this. His sword, which had been aimed for Nezuko sliced off Tanjiro's ponytail instead and sent snow flying everywhere from the force of the slash.
"Woah! That was such a manly strike!" Kirashima exclaimed in excitement. "Well, yeah, maybe. But he also just tried to kill Nezuko, or did you miss that part?!" Ashido cried. "Oh, right" the red-haired teenager replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Tanjiro, with his arms wrapped around his sister rolled across the snow until his back hit a tree. As they stopped, Nezuko shrunk back down to her normal size.
"So her size growth seems to take focus. I wonder if Nezuko can shrink as well as grow and if her strength diminishes if she does, I mean, her strength seemed to increase proportionally to her size growth, so it would stand to reason-" Izuku muttered as he wrote down notes. "Um, Deku?" Uraraka asked, snapping the green-haired teen out of his thoughts and mutterings, "oops, sorry! Carry on please!" he cried apologetically.
The mysterious man stood up straight again, getting out of his stance, 'what the- who's that?' Tanjiro thought, as the man stared down at them. The 13-year-old boy watched the stranger warily, eyes examining him, before landing on his sword, the blade of which was blue and at the base was carved the kanji for 'DESTROY DEMONS'. "Why are you protecting it?" the man asked monotonously. "She's my sister! I was taking her to get help!" Tanjiro exclaimed, clutching Nezuko close to him. Nezuko had now seemingly recovered from her shock and started growling and trying to get away. The man narrowed his eyes at the scene as Tanjiro tried to hold his sister back, "Nezuko!" the boy called worriedly. The unknown man stared for a moment before speaking again: "you call that 'thing' your sister?" he asked. Tanjiro stared at the man warily, watching Nezuko struggle in his arms.
"Hey! She's not a thing! It's not Nezuko's fault she's a Demon! You'd better not hurt her!" Hagakure cried, her waving shirt sleeves the only sign that she was waving her fist at the man.
The man suddenly charged at the siblings, making Tanjiro gasp. He crouched down, intending to shield Nezuko with his own body, but when he opened his eyes she was gone. Suddenly her growls were heard a distance away from him, making the young teen gasp. He looked around frantically for his sister and the man, only to gasp in fear when he saw him a few meters away, Nezuko held unrelentingly in his grip. "Nezuko!" Tanjiro cried, standing up, "don't move" the unknown man ordered as snow blew in between them, all the while Nezuko thrashed and snarled in his grasp. When the snow cleared, Tanjiro was still standing in the same spot, watching the two of them warily. "My job is to slay every Demon I find. Which means that I have to decapitate your sister here" the man with the sword explained.
Nezuko continued to struggle against the iron grip on her wrists, which were held parallel to each other so that her claws couldn't scratch the swordsman as he held her in place. "No wait! Nezuko hasn't hurt anyone! Back at my house, there was another scent, I-I'd never smelled before! That's probably the one, who killed my family!" Tanjiro exclaimed as the screen moved from the swordsman and Nezuko across the forest to where he was standing. "Nezuko didn't do it! I don't know why she's changed into something like this! But still!" the boy explained. "It's really quite simple. She's turned because her wounds were exposed to Demon blood. That's how the man-eating monster's multiply" the man replied.
"Okay, so that answers that question," Izuku said to himself, writing this new information down, "now the only question is- whose the one responsible for killing Tanjiro's family and turning Nezuko into a Demon?" he asked. "I think we'd all like to know that" All Might replied. Nods were his response.
"Nezuko would never eat a human!" Tanjiro cried, stepping closer to them. "You must be joking. If I hadn't gotten here when I did, she would've devoured you" the swordsman replied. "You're wrong! She wouldn't hurt me, she knows I'm her big brother! And I won't let her hurt anyone! I'll turn her back into a human! I WILL heal her!" the boy exclaimed seriously.
"Yeah, I mean, it certainly seemed like she recognised him when she started crying" Sero nodded. Many other people nodded along with him, agreeing that Nezuko did recognise Tanjiro as her brother.
"She can't be healed. Once you become a Demon, no one can ever turn back" the man replied. Tanjiro spread his arms, "there's a way! And I'll find it no matter what it takes!" he brought his arms back in close to his body, clenching his fist, "so please let her live! I'll hunt down the one who slaughtered my family! I promise I'll make everything right! Please! Just let her go!" Tanjiro begged desperately as the swordsman aimed his blade at Nezuko's throat. "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" he screamed. Tanjiro thought back on the rest of his family, all the people he'd already lost, 'don't. Don't take anyone else away from me' he thought. The boy got down on his hands and knees, tearfully begging for his sister's life, "I'm begging you. Please, don't kill my little sister. Please don't do it!" he pleaded desperately.
Many people in the audience were now in tears, crying along with Tanjiro. "I know he can find a way to make Nezuko human again, as long as he doesn't give up" All Might nodded. "Do you really think he can Sir?" Ashido asked. "Yes" the former Pro Hero replied. This lifted everyone's hopes a little, and they turned back to the screen.
"I'm begging you" Tanjiro sobbed. At first the swordsman seemed to be unaffected by the boy's cries. But then he gritt his teeth, growling in anger before raising his head and yelling at the 13-year-old, "DON'T GROVEL LIKE THAT AND GIVE YOUR ENEMIES THE CHANCE TO KILL YOU!" he cried. Tanjiro gasped in surprise. "All you're doing is making yourself vulnerable! If it were even a little bit effective, YOUR FAMILY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW!" The man yelled, as the boy slowly sat up on his knees. "How could a weakling like you, have any hope of finding a way to heal his sister? Or hunt down a Demon?! Don't be ridiculous! The weak, have no rights, they don't get to make choices. All they can do is be relentlessly crushed by the strong!" he yelled.
Bakugo smirked, "heh, this guy is speaking my language!" he said. Many people frowned at the explosion user, but decided not to get into an argument right now.
"Now maybe, the Demons know of a way to cure your sister, maybe!" the swordsman yelled, pulling the girl out in front of him, "but don't think for even a moment that any one of them is going to respect your wishes, just like I have no respect for you!" as he was speaking, Tanjiro stayed on his knees, staring at the man, "that's reality. And why the hell did you throw yourself over her like that? Was that your way of protecting her?" the swordsman asked. "Why didn't you swing that hatchet? And why would you ever turn your back to me?" the older man held out his sword, pointing it at Tanjiro, "those mistakes, are what led to her capture!" he cried. Nezuko continued to thrash, kicking snow and snarling, "I could have easily just skewered the both of you and been done with it!" he cried. Tanjiro gaped at him, tears falling from his eyes.
'Don't cry. Don't succumb to sorrow. This isn't the time to despair.' The man thought, as Tanjro still knelt in the snow, tears streaming from his eyes, 'I know you're devastated right now. Your family massacred, your sister a Demon. I know it hurts. I know you wanna scream. If only I'd gotten here half a day sooner, maybe then your family would still be alive. However,' he narrowed his eyes slightly, 'there's no way to turn back time. So feel it. Feel the pure rage of being unable to forgive. Let it be what gives you the strength to take action! With that fragile resolve of yours you can't protect your sister, or heal her. And you'll never get revenge for what happened to your family!' the swordsman thought as he raised his sword, glaring down at Nezuko. "No!" Tanjiro cried, making to get up as his sister growled. Then he stabbed her in the shoulder.
"NEZUKO!" practically everyone in the theater screamed in terror. "He isn't really going to kill her is he?!" Sato demanded. "Well, it's his job, he doesn't really have a choice" Aizawa sighed. "But Nezuko is a good Demon! I'm sure of it!" Hagakure exclaimed, her shirt sleeves moving to cross her shirt, meaning that she either crossed her arms, or wrapped them around herself. "Even if that's the truth, he said it himself, as a Demon Slayer, that man's whole job is to kill Demons. Even if they have the forms of little girls" the Underground Hero sighed. "It's the same in our world. If a Villain does something wrong, it's our duty as Hero's to arrest them, no matter what the reasons are. That's just how it is. In that sense Hero's and Demon Slayers aren't really that different". Izuku frowned. Everything about that concept seemed so wrong to him.
Nezuko screamed in agony. "DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" Tanjiro screamed, throwing a rock, which the Demon Slayer blocked with his sword. Tanjiro looked to his side, seeing the discarded hatchet laying in the snow. As a strong wind blew in and blocked him from view, the boy ran to grab the weapon. Holding a rock in one hand and the hatchet in the other, Tanjiro ran through the trees, going around the Demon Slayer.
"I sense a very Midoriya-type plan coming up" Aizawa sighed. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" the green-haired teen pouted.
Nezuko continued to thrash around, as Tanjiro emerged through a gap in the trees and threw another rock at the man. He dodged and it hit the tree behind him. Tanjiro screamed as he held the hatchet out of sight, running at the man. 'Let your emotions drive you to charge at me.' The black-haired man thought, "you are a fool!" he yelled, hitting the boy in the back with the butt of his sword, knocking him unconscious. Tanjiro grunted as he fell into the snow. Nezuko had stopped moving and growling, staring in shock at her brother.
"What's she so shocked about?" Tsyu asked curiously. "I have a feeling that I know where this is going" Mirio said with a smile.
She stared at Tanjiro as he lay defenceless on the ground, her eyes wide. The swordsman gasped softly, 'what happened to the hatchet?' he thought, before a sound caught his attention and made him look up, seeing the tool spinning through the air towards him. He moved his head just in time as the sharp blade impacted with the tree behind him. The man was shocked, and he looked at the hatchet out of the corner of his eye. 'Right before he ran behind that tree, he threw the rock, and at the same time, he tossed the hatchet. He was only pretending to attack me, so I wouldn't realise he was unarmed,' the screen showed the man's Point Of Veiw of Tanjiro running at him, his hands hidden from view the whole time. 'He knew he had no way of beating me, his whole plan was to bring me down after I'd knocked him out. This kid-' he thought.
"Well, that was an interesting plan," Kirashima said with a grin, "and so manly!" he cheered.
Nezuko suddenly stared thrashing again, this time managing to kick the Demon Slayer away from her. She then ran at Tanjiro. 'Damn it! She'll kill him!' the swordsman thought, watching Nezuko's hand get closer to her brother's head.
"No she won't" Mirio muttered, having a feeling.
The man's eyes widened at what he saw though, as he remembered Tanjiro's words to him: "Nezuko-" the Demon girl slid to a halt in front of her brother, taking a crouched guarding stance, her arms outstreached, "Nezuko didn't do it. She'd never eat a human!" Nezuko growled threateningly at the Demon Slayer who'd hurt her brother.
"I knew it" the former member of the Big Three said with a smile, "I just knew that Nezuko wasn't going to hurt him" he said happily.
Suddenly she lunged forwards, snarling at her enemy. The swordsman watched her calmly, 'long ago, someone else said the same thing, only to end up being devoured' he thought, stepping back calmly as Nezuko charged at him. An image of a Demon that looked like a man was shown, and he held another man, presumably dead or dying by the arm, ripping out chunks of flesh, 'a starving Demon will eat anyone, it's own brothers, sisters, parents. They're rich in nutrients. I've seen it more times than I can count' he thought.
Many people cringed at the image on the screen, "damn, that's nasty!" Mineta whined, cringing.
'This girl has been badly wounded. She's using up a lot of energy to heal herself' Nezuko slashed at the Demon Slayer with her sharpened nails, but the black-haired man dodged each attack.
"His reflexes are very impressive" Iida commented, but everyone was too wrapped up in the images on screen to reply, or even hear him.
Nezuko lunged and swiped, but her attacks were dodged each time. She got close once, but her enemy just elbowed her in the stomach, knocking her backwards. 'Surely most of her strength was drained during her transformation' he thought as he knocked Nezuko backwards, her bare feet skidding in the snow, 'so there's no question. She's starving right now.' The Demon girl snarled and continued to attack in defence of her brother. 'She must have been craving a feast right from the start, even her own brother.' His memory of Nezuko's defensive position in front of Tanjiro was shown, 'but she protected him, and turned her attention to me'.
Nezuko leapt above the man, flipping in mid-air to hit the tree behind her foe with her feet, before pushing off and attacking once again. The black-haired man sheathed his sword, 'I wonder if-' he thought, as Nezuko reached out to slash him with her claws, 'just maybe, these two are different'. As Nezuko came closer, he chopped her in the neck, knocking the young Demon out. The screen faded to black as Nezuko fell unconscious.
"So, what's going to happen now, ribbit? He sheathed his sword, does that mean he's changed his mind about killing Nezuko?" Asui asked. "We'll just have to watch to find out" All Might replied.
*Scene change*
The screen panned down to show Tanjiro laying in a black void, except for the space around him, which was dark blue. His family were all kneeling around him.
"Wait, is he seeing his dead family or something now?" Mineta asked in confusion. "It looks like it, yeah" Izuku replied, watching on in interest.
His siblings frowned sadly down at him, while his Mother leaned down closer to her oldest Son, "we have to leave you behind Tanjiro. I'm so sorry" she said softly. She leaned in even closer, "take care, of Nezuko" she said. Suddenly, back in the real world, Tanjiro's hand reached out and grabbed the haori Nezuko had been wrapped in when he'd first started trying to take her to town. Tanjiro was shown laying next to an unconscious Nezuko, who now had a bamboo muzzle in her mouth and tied around the back of her head, but was otherwise fine. Tears streamed from Tanjiro's eyes as he remembered his apparent dream or vision and realised that his little sister was really still alive.
"Hooray! Nezuko is still alive!" Ashido cheered.
"You awake?" the unknown man asked. When Tanjiro realized that he was still there, he immediately wrapped his arms around his sister and held her protectively. "Get to Mt Sagiri as soon as possible. Look for an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki. When you find him, tell him Giyu Tomioka sent you" the man, now known as Giyu ordered. He stood from his leaning position against the tree behind him, "it's cloudy, so she seems to be alright at the moment, but never let her be exposed to sunlight" Giyu explained, before he simply vanished into thin air. Tanjiro watched him disappear, still holding Nezuko in his arms.
Back at their house, Tanjiro finished burying the rest of their family, with Nezuko standing beside him. As he prayed, his sister stared sadly off into the distance. After he'd finished, Tanjiro stood up, "let's go" he sighed, taking Nezuko's hand in his and leading them away from the only home they'd ever had. Soon though, Tanjiro stopped and looked back at their family's graves, before looking back forwards again with determination and running with Nezuko into the snow. As they did the screen panned back into the sky like it did at the start of the episode. Then the title screen appeared: Episode 1: Cruelty.
After the screen turned dark, everyone just sat there, processing what they'd all just witnessed. "Man, that was a lot to take in" Kirashima sighed, leaning back into his chair. "Yes it was. So I think we should take a break for a while and just let everything sink in. If that's okay with you Meliodas?" Aizawa asked their host. Said Demon nodded, "sure, take as long as you need to" he replied. With that, chaos broke out at once.
To Be Continued