Opening: Inferno by 9mm Parabellum Bullet

The Slayer and Sagetsu were inside of the forest outside the village, they were currently testing out their new toys that the Slayer had been developing. Sagetsu was rocking back and forth like an excited child as he had been anticipating this more than anything else in his life. The Slayer turned towards Sagetsu and revealed a Nichirin Hand Grenade in his palm before instructing the young man, "Watch carefully." He slowly put his thumb through the pinhole before pulling it out. The Slayer chucked the grenade a fair distance so Sagetsu wouldn't get hurt and they both watched as the grenade went off and blasted Nichirin shards everywhere in the explosion. Sagetsu dropped his jaw and even took off his mask so he could witness the explosion with his own two eyes. The man's eyes were the size of baseballs as he observed the damage done to the nearby trees. The man's eyes soon sparkled from excitement as he screamed:

"THAT'S SO COOL! LEMME TRY LEMME TRY! GIMMEGIMMEGIMME!" Sagetsu cupped his palms as if he was some peasant expecting holy water or spare change. The Slayer carefully dropped another grenade into the man's hands and warned him to be careful. The man practiced his throws before he finally pulled the pin and watched the grenade explode. The man jumped with excitement upon seeing the carnage done by the grenade. Sagetsu raised his fist towards the Doom Slayer who first bumped back as they continued with the experimentation of their new toys.

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Tanjiro was getting the hang of the battle doll. He had spent several excruciating days battlings against his mechanical opponent but he was improving. Tanjiro refused to let up as he was fueled by his anger towards the demons and his aspirations to be as strong as those around him. The doll knocked Tanjiro to the ground and the boy would waste no time in getting back on his feet. Tanjiro charged towards the doll and it felt like time had slowed down for him as he began to anticipate the doll's movements. His previous problem was that he was acting on impulse instead of reacting to his opponent's movements. He paid attention to the shoulders of the machine as he quickly learned that following the blade can be misleading and a poor judgement of attack speed and range. He could predict the robot's next attack; it would begin with a low swing followed by a high swing in another arm and a central slash with the third arm. It was designed to attack in advance, keeping in mind what the opponents probable dodge pattern would be and attacking in response.

Tanjiro had to think ahead of the robot who was already thinking ahead, it was like a game of chess but you can only play as if you're in the future. It was a difficult concept to grasp, especially when people tend to focus on the present when it comes to fighting. However, Tanjiro was able to find a way as he weaved around each attack while maintaining his composure. The boy allowed his instincts to take over and allowed his body to move without constraint as he hopped over an attack and rapidly spun around with his wooden blade extended. He smashed the blade with so much force and concentration behind his swing he was able to smash the head of the mechanical doll open and landed on the floor with his back turned to the machine. It was too late for him to realize what he had done as he whipped around and shouted, "HOLY SHIT! I didn't mean to break it! No no no, Kotetsu's going to be PISSED with me!" As the boy scrambled to put the head back together, he noticed a blade sticking out from the shell of the machine. He pulled it out to discover the ragged sheath which obscured the Nichirin Blade. He could only imagine how old this sword was considering the dust and how torn apart the sheath was. He wasn't sure what he was expecting as he pulled the sword out only to see a rustic blade that was in no condition to do its job.

Tanjiro really shouldn't have gotten his hopes up as high as he did but he couldn't help it. Tanjiro put the blade on the ground, taking a look at the broken battle doll as he couldn't help but feel guilty about what he had just done. He figured he should go and tell Kotetsu, the boy needed to know. As Tanjiro walked away, he stopped upon hearing an unfamiliar voice behind him comment, "The swordsmith who created this did an excellent job, too bad nobody was there to take care of it after all of these years." Tanjiro looked back to see the mysterious man who looked like the battle doll kneeling in front of the broken machine, observing its craftsmanship.

Tanjiro's eyes widened, he didn't know what was going on anymore with this man. He hadn't seen the individual in several days and now he shows up once more after the machine is broken. It baffled him even more that the man looked identical to the doll and had the same pair of earrings that he did. Tanjiro pointed towards the man as he called out, "What's going on here?! Why does that doll look like you and where did you even come from?!"

The man chuckled, pushing himself up to his feet as he commented, "Why indeed. You may call me Yoriichi Tsugikuni. I'm going to guess that this little doll, here, was designed after me. I don't know why anyone would want to make anything that looks like me but who am I to judge?"

Tanjiro began to realize who he was talking to as he cried out, "Wait a minute, so you're the legendary swordsman that Kotetsu was talking about?"

Yorichii seemed amused by the comment as he explained, "Me? Legendary? If that's how you perceive a failure such as myself, then I don't know what to tell you." Tanjiro became even more confused as he was trying to piece together the mystery of what was going on, pointing out:

"Wait, this doll was created centuries ago, how are you here?!"

Yorichii chuckled again, "A bit slow on the uptake, aren't you? That's okay. You don't need to be wasting your time with me, anyways." Tanjiro was able to pick up a tinge of disappointment in the man's voice. Not towards Tanjiro but towards himself. The boy asked in response:

"Why are you being negative towards yourself? It doesn't make sense if you're a legendary swordsman like Kotetsu says you are."

"I have plenty of reasons to be, I let everything go wrong." Tanjiro pried for more information, wanting to better understand the individual he was talking with. "What's there to say? I let Muzan live and everything escalated from that point onwards."

Tanjiro had to do a double take upon hearing that and asked for Yorichii to repeat himself. The man did as asked, further elaborating, "I simply had no conviction, no real reason to kill him. Sure, he was dangerous, but I felt no urge to end his life then and there. I never had any purpose in my life to begin with. Everything I thought I was meant to be was just a lie, all my hopes were quickly dashed as everything in my life slipped out of my hands. I thought I could lay low and settle with a family, but I got lazy. If I had hustled, maybe they'd still be alive and things would be different. I thought maybe my purpose was to kill demons, but that became boring very quickly. When I met Muzan, I thought my purpose was to end his life considering he was the one responsible for creating the demons who took out my family. However, the moment I had the chance to end Muzan once and for all, it became apparent to me how easy this was. There was no way that everything in my life had been leading up to this. I nearly killed him when he tried to get away but I chose to let him go because I figured he would learn the error of his ways. Maybe he'd be much more cautious and stay away from what he was doing because he would know there will always be someone who can put him in his place, but I was wrong. He later went on to recruit my brother as his second in command and everybody pointed to me once they found out and they're completely right. Had I killed Muzan when I did, maybe my brother would not have gone down the dark path that he did. So explain to me how you can call me a legendary swordsman when I failed to do so much?"

Tanjiro took several steps back, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He refused to believe any of it, he shook his head out of frustration as he felt his face get warm from how angry he got as he began exclaiming, "So, let me get this straight, you let Muzan live because you got LAZY?! You let the progenitor of all demons live because you didn't think your life had any meaning behind it?! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Do you know how much pain and suffering I have to go through because of your failures?! You've allowed everyone to suffer at Muzan's hands because of what you've done! Muzan took my family from me, he turned my sister into a demon and now she can't even live a normal life yet you have the audacity to look me in the eye and tell me You. Let. Him. LIVE?!"

Yorichii closed his eyes and looked away as he explained to Tanjiro, "I'm not justifying my actions to any degree. What I did was stupid, I admit that. Had I stopped feeling sorry about myself and got the job done, everyone's lives would be better, myself included. I'm not asking for forgiveness from anybody because I sure as hell will never forgive what I allowed to happen. But, that's why you're here. I've been keeping my eye on you for quite some time. You're using my technique, it's been a while since I've seen anybody use it as masterfully as you have. I developed the sun breathing technique and the fundamental branches of it so I could pass down my teachings to other demon slayers. If you want to be able to bring Muzan to his knees like I did, you'll need to be at my level. I know that sounds arrogant, but it's the truth. I know I failed to kill Muzan and I'm sorry for everything that's happened as a result of my actions but that's why I need to make things right by teaching you what I know. However, that's if you're willing."

Tanjiro processed the man's words and although he was angry, there really was no point in being upset right now. Being angry won't change what happened to them both, Tanjiro shifted his attention back to Yorichii as he asked, "You're certain that I'll be able to take down Muzan with your Sun Breathing Technique?" The man made a simple nod towards Tanjiro to which Tanjiro decided to exhale and his expression became sharper, "I hate demons with a burning passion, and I hate Muzan even more. If you say your Sun Breathing Technique has what it takes to defeat Muzan, then so be it. I'm willing to accept your teachings but don't think this means that I forgive you."

Yorichii expected as much as he responded, "Ofcourse, I understand how you feel."

Tanjiro picked up the rusted blade before looking towards the man once more and asking, "Show me what I need to do."

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Murata's movements were restricted to the night, he couldn't make any contact with the sun without feeling excruciating pain. He tried sticking his hand out briefly just to see how it would feel and he instantly regretted the intense pain that followed afterwards. He was lost and confused, he was too scared to face anyone in the Demon Slayer Corps so he spent most of his time in the forests and ran away if he saw anyone coming close. He couldn't take any chances, he knew his demonic instincts would kick in if he saw human flesh. Unfortunately, depriving himself of human flesh for so long had left him tired all the time which made him take frequent naps. That was the weird thing about being a demon that he discovered. You can never get weaker so demons can't really starve to death because they're always regenerating whatever fat or muscle their body naturally eats up. However, the drawback of this is that it makes the demon very tired in the process as they're essentially regenerating themselves all the time and it's a draining process. At that point, Murata had learned to sleep during the day and move during the night, it was a routine he was quickly able to get used to but it still upset him nonetheless.

He didn't know what to do, his loyalties were still with the humans despite being a demon. However, he didn't know how anyone would react to seeing his condition. Right now, the only solution he could think of is to return to his home, to his family who would accept him no matter what. The young man waited until dusk to start heading home. He could see his village up ahead and felt mixed emotions. He was relieved to see his family but he was also anxious to see their reaction. As he slowly entered the town, he noticed nobody outside which was his que to enter the town as he normally would. However, it didn't feel the same. He would never enter his village this late at night and things were different. He was a demon now so he felt ashamed of himself, it was like someone who wasn't proud of their body was constantly on the lookout to see if anybody was judging them for their physique. It was the same thing for Murata.

He walked up to his door and knocked, announcing his presence quietly, "Mom? Dad? It's me, Murata, I need help." It didn't take long for the room to light up with a candle and he could see the silhouette of someone approaching the door. The young man was practically sweating now, he didn't know what to expect. It was his mother who opened the door and once she saw who was on the other side, she screamed:

"It's a demon!" before slamming the door shut as soon as possible. Murata's heart shattered as he cried out to his mother for help. He heard some shuffling happening inside and he looked around to see the lights of the nearby houses lighting up. People were emerging from their windows with axes and other weapons ready to butcher Murata alive because he was a demon. Murata's eyes widened, he wasn't threatened for his own safety, he was concerned for theirs. The scent of so much human flesh gathering nearby made him drool and his stomach growled like a madman. He was having a tough time resisting his temptations as he leaned against the wall of his house, eyes shut as he tried to fight his instincts. No, he wouldn't do it! He refused to stoop that low, he has to hold onto his humanity, no matter what!

But what's the point? His family rejected him without giving him a chance and if his family, the people that should be the most likely to accept him, have rejected him, there is absolutely no way in hell that anyone from the Demon Slayer Corps would be as forgiving. Murata tried to get away but his knees buckled, causing him to fall to the floor. The townsfolk were getting closer, he could smell them, he could hear them. They were approaching and his hunger intensified by the second. He was subconsciously drooling at that point and didn't realize it until he looked at the ground to notice a wet spot. What the hell has he become? What's happening to him? His entire life was falling apart.

It was now or never, he could worry about his emotions later as he pushed himself to his feet and bolted out of his hometown as fast as he could. He ran until he lost the will to run and he found himself inside of a forest where he collapsed to the floor and balled his eyes out. He couldn't believe everything that was happening to him. He wished he was dreaming but he was not, he compared the affectionate look his mother used to give him to the one of pure horror plastered on her face when she saw him just now. It hurt him even more, he couldn't take this much pain.

"You need some help?" A voice cried next to him, Murata's eyes shot open as he lifted his head up to see a group of four demons in front of him, their leader (presumably) crouched in front of him with a concerned look. Murata jumped out of shock and scrambled away until he was backed against a tree.

The one in the front called out, "Whoa, whoa, easy there, we're all demons, here. We're not going to kill you."

Murata drew his Nichirin Blade and pointed it at the group as he cried out, "Stay away from me!" The demons didn't move an inch as they looked towards each other out of confusion. The one in the front did all the talking:

"Oh, I get it, you're one of those demon slayers, aren't you? Look, man, we get it. Being a demon is tough, we know what you're going through. Just relax and let us talk." He proceeded to introduce himself as Sato, his three comrades were Renju, Mako, and Koji. "What's your name, friend?" Murata reluctantly introduced himself to the four demons, he slightly lowered his guard in response but still kept his blade raised.

Sato continued, "It's good to meet you, Murata. I know you're lost and afraid. We kind of saw what happened back there with you running out of that village. We're impressed that you managed to resist your instincts like you did, it's not easy. It's very easy for most people to just give in and eat the nearest person. You did the right thing, but you can't survive like that. We're not justifying the fact that we have to kill people, but we have to for our survival."

Renju chimed in from the back, "That's why we generally go after criminals. That way, we can still do some good while taking care of ourselves, y'know?"

Koji commented on the situation, "Hell yeah we do! We recently took out some jackass that was trying to kidnap a girl, we got his ass GOOD!" Koji has short, spiky black hair and has a rather large physique compared to his comrades.

Murata felt comfortable enough to lower his blade now as he asked, "Did the girl ever thank you?"

Renju got upset when he remembered the incident as he explained, "No, the moment she was freed, she completely forgot about the fact that she was being kidnapped and screamed bloody hell once she saw us and ran away." Murata couldn't help but relate that to his own experience he just had. So it wasn't just him, these guys also had it rough. Perhaps he's misjudged these creatures.

Sato slowly got closer to make eye contact with Murata as he said to the young man, "It's all a part of the gig. We know what to expect. Nobody's ever going to accept demons like us, so that's why it's important for us to stick together. We're not mad at people, really, we understand how they see us and I don't blame them for getting scared. After seeing so many killer demons out there, it's hard to accept people like us. It's a difficult life but it's one we've come to terms with." That's when Sato reached his hand out to Murata and suggested, "Come with us. You don't have to suffer being a demon alone. We're all going through the same thing. If you're with us, we can help make things a bit more bearable. It's not going to be easy, but it's much better than being by yourself. What do you say?"

Murata dropped his blade as he stared at the floor, he was contemplating everything he had just heard and had to really get his priorities straight. It was really comforting to have people understand and reach out to him like this. He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but it's the path that he'll follow because it seems like the best one for him. He looked up and took Sato's hand, the leader of the group pulling the demon slayer up onto his feet as they welcomed him into their merry band of misfits.