^^^^Disclaimer / PLEASE READ PLEASE^^^^

As I'm sure some of you are aware, the manga for Demon Slayer has been completed and easily accessible for everyone to see and read. Regardless of that, there are still those that do not want anything spoiled for themselves and want to wait for the anime to conclude.

So, being the good human being that I am, if you don't want the end of Demon Slayer to be spoiled to you, read the manga first. This story will take place somewhere near middle/end of the anime, and from there on, it's straight up material from the manga (as well as my own narrative which I hope will be awesome!)

You've all been warned :)

Anyways, I won't take up too much of your time, but I'll clear up a few things before you can move on to the story. Tanjirō will be older, at 18 years old, rather then his canon age. Now this won't come as a surprise to you :) Also, read this carefully.

Those of you who have already read what used to be chapter one, don't worry! I haven't scrapped it, I just wasn't happy with it being the start of this story. :) It will return, but not before we establish more of what happens with our boy Tanjirō before he meets with the Hashira!

I felt I missed much needed character development, so please bear with me on that! I apologize so much for that, and I hope you can understand! And thank you to the author who helped me get some of my ideas in order as well! :) SkywardStrike, thank you very kindly. But this is why I chose to delete the chapter I had already posted. It's not because I hated it, it's because I felt like the story can start earlier then this, and that I should spend time exploring our MC and his sister before the Hashira meeting. Again, Im sorry for deleting the chapter I had already posted, I wanted to start this story off on a better note! Please forgive me! :X

Now onto the story! Please leave a fav, follow, and a review telling me what you think!


^ Chapter 1 - The Choice ^

It had been such a chance encounter, that he was still thinking about what had just so suddenly occurred. Tanjirō had seen the demon responsible for the slaughter of his family, and the transformation of his little sister into a demon, face to face. Muzan Kibutsuji, the creator of the demon race, the vile creatures that stalked the lands of japan in search of meals among the people.

The look in the man's eyes when Tanjirō saw them, they were filled with nothing but malice and evil even while the man had held his supposed wife and child close to them in the middle of that crowd. He had reeked so heavily of death and of blood, more so then any other demon Tanjirō had encountered before, that he swore he could smell it, even though he was sure that Muzan was long gone.

"Still...that didn't stop him...from sending demons to attack us…" Tanjirō thought as he collapsed to his knees, sighing somewhat. The battle with the two demons Muzan had no doubt sent to kill him had been defeated, with the help of Yushiro, as well as Tamayo.

The Temari demon, the one who had destroyed most of Tamayo's clinic and home with the children's toys she used as her weapons, had been brutally ripped to shreds by a trio of disfigured, fleshy arms that had sprouted from within her very body. Two from her abdomen, and one out of her mouth.

With brutal efficiency, they tore apart their host, until all that was left was a huge pool of blood, a few body parts, including one of her eyes and her torn off right hand and wrist, and her quickly staining orange kimono that she had worn.

Tamayo then left the still shaken Yushiro's side to approach the bloody remains, crouching down with an empathetic expression as she gazed over the carnage. This demon was young, younger then her, that she had figured out. And now, just like countless others before her, her life had been snuffed out.

"Did...she just die…?" asked Tanjirō. wheezing slightly. His body was hurting and racked with pain, but he focused his breathing to settle himself down.

"She will die momentarily." Tamayo replied, her expression hardening. "That's the curse. Her physical body will be destroyed by Kibutsuji's cells still in her body."

Tamayo closed her eyes and slowly stood back up, glancing at the kneeling Tanjirō, who was using his sword to keep himself sitting upright so that he could breathe easier.

"In general, battles between demons are futile. It's pointless...because they can't inflict fatal wounds on each other. Only sunlight and the swords of the Demon Slayers can do so. However," Tamayo sighed and slowly shook her head, finding even herself unable to believe the truth still, after all this time, even though there was irrefutable evidence in front of her that it was all true. A demon could never really truly be safe, they had to not only watch their backs, but their tongues as well. One wrong move could spell the end to their entire existence, all because of one mere name. "Kibutsuji alone appears to be able to destroy demon cells."

Tanjirō lowered his head, his mind swimming with this stunning revelation about his family's murderer, before Yushiro quickly jogged up to him with a handkerchief in hand and with a gasp from Tanjirō, placed it firmly against his mouth before he could take a breath.

"Don't go inhaling Tamayo-sama's spell!" he hissed. "It's harmful to humans. You got that?"

Tanjirō muffled his response along with two quick nods, before Tamayo called out to him again and made both him and Yushiro turn toward her voice.

"She is not one of the Twelve Kizuki." said Tamayo, causing Tanjirō's eyes to widen in disbelief. She pointed to the only remaining eyeball left from the Temari demon, frowning slightly. "The Twelve Kizuki have numbers engraved on their eyeballs, but this demon doesn't have one. Most likely, the other demon wasn't a Twelve Kizuki either. They're too weak."

"What? Too weak? At that level?" Tanjirō questioned.

"If Tamayo-sama says so, there's no mistake. Still, who knew there were such stupid demons?" stated Yushiro in a snarky tone. "She physically injured Tamayo-sama. She got exactly what she deserved."

Tamayo withdrew her hand away from pointing at the eyeball and rested her arms in front of her waist while continuing to observe the Temari demon's remains, before she squatted down on the tips of her toes once more and procured a syringe from one of her kimono sleeves. She inserted the needle into the wrist of the Temari girl's severed arm, extracting a sample of her blood.

"I hope this blood will be instrumental in developing the healing serum."

Tamayo then placed the syringe into a wooden box and closed it shut, before holding it within her sleeves and standing up another time and looking back towards her clinic building.

"I'm going to take care of Nezuko now...not only did I medicate her, she also inhaled my spell inadvertently." Tamayo glanced at Tanjirō and gave him a small smile. "I apologize for that."

With that, Tamayo then turned and began walking back towards the blown open entrance into her clinic, Yushiro gasping before he hurried along behind her, glancing back over his shoulder at Tanjirō to tell him he was on his own. His footsteps eventually faded when he went around the corner of the building that Tamayo had vanished behind, entering it where the Temari demon had blasted her way through, leaving the young slayer all by himself.

Though he wasn't entirely alone. He still had the yet to be killed remains of the Temari demon, which by now he was actually glad he had the covering over his mouth and nose, since it mitigated the stench that was beginning to permeate the air from her blood. Tanjirō blinked a few times, before he coughed into the handkerchief.

"Nngh...it's getting...a little bit difficult to breathe properly...I hope that eye demon didn't do too much damage."

He took another few breaths, gathering his strength to eventually pick himself off the dirt and return to his sister inside the home, before he paused when he thought he heard a voice. It was barely audible, and he didn't know where it had come from at first, until he heard it again.

"Ma...ri…"

Tanjirō looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, before his eyes widened as they settled on the blood soaked robes of the Temari demon, her one remaining detached eye staring at him.

"Mari...ma...ri…" the demon's soft voice spoke. Tanjirō glanced to his left, seeing one of the demons surviving Temari balls.

Tanjirō used his sword and his one good leg to slowly pick himself up, wheezing through the handkerchief as he slowly hobbled over to the children's toy. Leaning on his sword like a crutch, he bent down and picked up the toy, before shuffling over to the edge of the pool of blood and set the ball down, the toy jingling lightly.

He looked down at the mutilated remains of the demon, after setting down his sword beside him, feeling guilt and regret start to fill up his heart. This woman had been sent to kill him, and all because of one slip up, she was brutally killed without even the chance to explain herself to her master face to face. It disgusted him.

"Here...I got your Mari…" said Tanjirō in a low tone. "It's right here…"

"Play...with me...play with...me…"

Tanjirō felt his heart tighten up and sink slightly as he shifted into a sitting stand on his knees, resting the haunches of his legs on the backs of his feet. The demon's voice that had been so giddy, so full of spirit and life just moments before, was quiet, silent, and sad. She sounded like a child left alone from the other students at a school, not wanted or loved by anyone.

That all she ever wanted was someone to be her friend, to play with her when no one else would. Thinking of that alone was enough for Tanjirō to realize, and to think even more on, was how the demons he had been trained to kill hadn't fully become blood thirsty monsters. Some did, that much was true, yet...they had once been human too. Just like him.

"You're just like a little kid...even though you must've murdered scores of people." Tanjirō thought as he slowly lowered the handkerchief from his mouth and nose. Looking down at the Temari ball for a brief moment, he reached forward and gently tapped the ball back and forth, causing the bell inside to jingle softly each time he moved it. He did this for a few times, as a way to somehow soothe the demon as she died, while waiting for the first rays of the morning sun to appear over one of the brick walls in the clearing.

Soon, he could feel the warmth, and he stopped tapping the ball from side to side as he looked to the rising sun for a second or two in order to watch it peak over the wall and fill the clearing with its soft, warm rays. The demon's remains and her blood started to fizzle and smoke, turning to ash that faded away into nothingness, like she had never existed at all.

"You were deceived into thinking you were part of the Twelve Kizuki...deceived...compelled to fight...and now...you were killed by the Kibutsuji curse. No salvation whatsoever…"

Tanjirō looked at the Temari ball once more, before he carefully picked it up and held it gently in his hands, finding himself gently rubbing it as if it were some prized possession. He gasped a little when it shrank down slightly to fit into the palm of his hand, and when he shook it lightly, he heard the gentle ringing of the bells still inside.

"Even after you die, not even your bones will remain…" Tanjirō thought more to himself, holding the ball close to his stomach before coughing again. "Is this the price you pay for killing others?"

Tanjirō's lip quivered slightly before he looked to the shining sun and grit his teeth, his mind settling on the sole reason behind this demon's, no, this woman's suffering. He could see him clearly right in front of him, in that white fedora and expensive looking clothes. Those plum-colored eyes, and that pale skin. Tanjirō's grip tightened slightly around the ball as his anger boiled up from within.

"This is how that man treats even those who revere him! He...he's the true demon!"

Tanjirō then closed his eyes briefly to gather himself, coughing a little harder this time as he loosened his grip on the Temari ball, the bells jingling slightly again. The adrenaline that had enabled him to survive the onslaught of the demon with the eyes in his hands was beginning to wear off, and he knew he had to get inside in order to check on Nezuko soon, so he set the ball down and reached over for his sword in order to stand up. As soon as the adrenaline finished wearing off, his eyes widened and an exasperated gasp emerged from his lips as an intense pain coming from his chest started to ravage his body. He could no longer control his breathing as effectively as he could before, and as he tried to inhale some air, he entered a fearsome coughing fit that made him double over in agony while gripping his stomach.

"D...Dammit…! I can't...breathe…! It's getting harder to breathe…!" he thought as he tried to get up, only to cough even harder until blood exited his mouth and splattered onto the ground.

He gasped and wheezed, recoiling from the blood ejection, before managing to grab his sword and slowly push himself up onto his feet, favoring his good leg over his broken one.

"T...Tamayo...san…!" he wheezed, willing himself to walk even though he felt as if he could give out at any moment. "Tamayo...san…! Nezuko…!"

Tanjirō grit his teeth and coughed through them, more blood spilling out through his lips as he hobbled from where the Temari demon had once been around the side of the building, towards the hole that had been blasted through the wall. Every ragged breath he took felt like his lungs were on fire and drenched in fluid at the same time, and to make it worse his vision was beginning to grow blurrier and blurrier by the second.

That demon that used those invisible arrows had done more damage to his body then he had thought, and with all of the techniques he had used to counter the demon, he had only further damaged his body. He finally reached the hole and took one step inside, gripping the splintered wood while holding onto his sword with the other, before he let go of both and collapsed to the floor. More blood seeped between his lips and onto the ground, his face turned towards the stairs leading to the basement.

The heavy thump of his body striking the floor was heard from downstairs, and before the sunlight could penetrate into the main room of the home, Yushiro emerged from the stairs leading down to the basement and gasped at the sight of Tanjirō.

"Tamayo-sama!"

Within a few minutes, Tanjirō had been carried down into the basement and to one of the empty holding chambers, a worried Nezuko standing outside the doorway looking in through the bars with a gravely worried expression on her face for her brother's well-being. Tanjirō couldn't stop coughing up blood, and his body was writhing in pain from all of the internal injuries he had suffered from the assault of the two demons.

"He must have been holding back all of his pain, and only just now started to let it out...he was in far worse condition then I thought…" Tamayo murmured under her breath as she tended to the young slayer, cleaning the blood from his lips whenever more would come bubbling out with his wretched coughing.

"Tamayo-sama, I looked everywhere that I could upstairs!" exclaimed Yushiro after coming back down into the basement. "She destroyed practically everything...it's all gone! Your medicine, your supplies, all of it!"

Nezuko looked from the frantic Yushiro to the worried Tamayo, who looked back to her brother from her aide and wiped more blood away. Tanjirō was clutching his chest still, wheezing and groaning through his labored breaths and frequent coughing spasms. She wanted to help, to try and do anything to help her brother, but she knew nothing about medical care.

Tamayo tossed away the bloody rag she was using to clean Tanjirō's lips and she felt her heart sink when Tanjirō's own heart, its beating loud in her ears, started to slow down as the anguish grew too much for his body to handle. From the various broken bones, to the internal injuries, both from said bones and from the trauma of experiencing such drastic forces on the body when he was getting thrown around like a ragdoll, she had only encountered a handful of humans who had ever been in as bad of a state as him.

Tanjirō's pain was her pain. Despite being a demon, she cared quite a deal about humans, and had seen them at their worst when they had entered her clinic to be treated by her. She knew exactly what he felt like, and it was hurting her as well to see him like this.

"I...I have...to…" rasped Tanjirō, attempting to move, before he grit his teeth and cried out loudly through them when his body screamed back at him. "Nghyaaangkk!"

"Tanjirō-san, don't move!" pleaded Tamayo when Tanjirō started to cough out gratuitous amounts of blood, even more then before. Blood and fluids were rapidly entering his lungs. His breaths were getting raspier and weaker. If nothing was done soon, then he wasn't going to be able to walk out of here alive.

With none of her treatments and tools available because of the assault on her clinic, there was only one other option that she could think of. She just hoped that Tanjirō would be able to accept it.

"Yushiro-san…"

"Yes, Tamayo-sama?"

"Fetch me it…"

"Tamayo-sama?"

Tamayo lifted her gaze from Tanjirō and looked right into her pupil's eyes, the expression on her face bringing back one of his own memories that instantly told him exactly what she meant by "it".

Yushiro glanced at Tanjirō for a moment before slowly nodding his head and disappearing for a moment, returning to the home's storage room that had been almost completely annihilated by the demon, and retrieved one of only a few surviving vials of a bright cyan blue serum. He gripped it tightly in his hand before returning to his lady's side, giving her the serum.

Tamayo then looked back down at the dying Tanjirō and held the serum up in front of his face, close enough that he could still see it despite his hazy vision.

"Tanjirō-san…Tanjirō-san...can you hear me? Please, don't talk, I'm sure it hurts to even take a breath right now, but I must know...you want to help cure your sister...with all of your heart, correct…?"

Tanjirō wheezed and coughed once more before slowly nodding his head, gritting his teeth and pulling himself together as much as he could to speak with a raspy, strained voice, even when he didn't have to.

"With...everything...I have…"

"You would even go so far...as to kill the person responsible for her transformation...right?"

"...Yes…"

"Even if...you were to lose your humanity…?"

The room turned silent, save for Tanjirō's raspy breaths. His eyes widened and she looked up at Tamayo past the serum vial she was holding in his view, Nezuko in the background clasping her hands in front of her chest and looking down at him with a terrified expression on her face.

She didn't want to lose the only family she had left, the one person who had defended her and protected her. The one person left that still loved her, regardless of what she had become.

And even when he wasn't here, somehow, Tanjirō could feel the hopes of his master, Urokodaki, hanging in the balance. He had lost so many of his students to the Final Selection, and here he was, the student that was finally able to survive...on the verge of death.

With his body beginning to grow weaker, along with his breaths, he tried to speak one last time, but only managed a light whisper.

"Tanjirō-san?"

Tamayo bent over and turned her head, presenting her ear for Tanjirō to whisper into. Her eyes closed when he heard his soft voice tell her his answer, and she leaned back, her eyes opening again as she slowly nodded her head.

"Just sit still, Tanjirō-san…" she procured a syringe and opened the serum vial. "I hope...that this is as painless as possible…just promise me one thing...you have to kill Muzan...you have to kill him, after everything that he's done.

Tanjirō, just barely able to make out her words, slowly nodded his head as he coughed one final time.

"Then...allow me...to give you your second chance...Tanjirō-san."

She then uncorked the vial and was handed a clean, unscathed syringe by Yushiro with which she used to remove the cyan blue serum from the vial. She flicked the tip twice, before she rolled up Tanjirō's right sleeve and lowered the needle down, pressing it against his skin over one of his veins before inserting it.

Once the needle had been secured in his vein, she started pushing the syringe plunger down, administering the serum directly into Tanjirō's bloodstream so that it could start to take effect as soon as possible. When the syringe's entire contents had entered Tanjirō's bloodstream, Tamayo removed the needle and wiped the slight trace of blood away from the minuscule puncture wound before sitting back.

"Now...we wait..."


Tanjirō had no idea how much time had passed when he began to stir, a groan escaping his lips. His eyelids fluttered open and he saw the ceiling above him, the gentle glow of the ceiling lamps that illuminated the basement shining on his face.

"What...happened…" he grunted, lifting up a hand and grasping his forehead. "Did I...fall asleep…?"

"Mmph…"

Tanjirō looked down to his side and noticed Nezuko was asleep right next to him on the futon he was resting him, her expression peaceful even when her mouth was obscured by the bamboo mouthpiece. He smiled softly and lowered his hand from his forehead, gently stroking his sister's hair. That was enough to make her open her eyes, slowly at first since she too was feeling tired after the fight, but as soon as she noticed it was her brother who was awake she leapt up and immediately hugged him.

"Whoa! Nezuko!" he exclaimed, surprised by how affectionate she was. He had seen her be caring before, like when she had cupped the cheeks of the man and woman they had helped in the village being terrorized by those three swamp demons. But not like this, not since they had embraced after he had returned from the Final Selection.

"What's got you acting like this...were you worried for your big brother?" he asked with a soft smile while stroking his sister's hair.

"Tanjirō-san…"

Tanjirō lifted his gaze up to see Tamayo standing outside of one of the basement rooms, smiling with a hand over her chest while Yushiro looked at least tolerant beside her.
"Tamayo-san, good morning." Tanjirō replied while smiling, Tamayo's eyes widening only slightly. "You look relieved about something though, what's the matter? We won against those demons, right?"

"Well, yes, but...Tanjirō-san...do you remember what happened after that?"

"What do you mean? I think I just fell asleep…"

Tamayo glanced at Yushiro, the younger demon's expression softening somewhat with a tinge of familiarity in his eyes, before they entered the room and stood close to Tanjirō and Nezuko, who was still hugging him. Tamayo lowered herself down into a seiza position, resting her hands on her thighs, before looking straight into Tanjirō's eyes.

"Tanjirō-san...you really don't remember what happened?" she asked again, serious this time. "You don't remember what happened after those two demons were killed? Nothing at all?"

Tanjirō was confused as to why she was so serious all of a sudden, he wasn't sure if he had done something or Nezuko had done something. At her silent urging, he tried to remember what had happened after the demon had been slain by the curse Muzan had put on her and all other demons.

He frowned. He couldn't quite remember. It felt as if a hazy fog was hiding those memories from him, and the harder he tried to recollect them, the denser the fog became and the more furrowed his eyebrows become. Tamayo kept her eyes on Tanjirō as he struggled to try and recall what had occurred, before she knew it was time to stop him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Tanjirō blinked and he was brought out of his own head to stare at Tamayo, who had a softer expression now then when she had asked him about his memories.

"Tanjirō-san...what I'm about to tell you...will shock you." she murmured, Yushiro twitching slightly from the hand of his lady, the one he cared most for, making contact with Tanjirō.

"What is it, Tamayo-san…?" asked Tanjirō. "Just tell me."

Tamayo sighed as she removed her hand from his shoulder and rested it in her lap with her other hand again, not knowing what to say at first to give it to him softly. Deciding it would be better to tell him directly, she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"Tanjirō-san, this morning...you…"

"Wait, this morning? Have I slept until night?"

"You almost died."

Tanjirō froze when she said those words, and his eyes widened when he detected the sincerity behind those words. "I...what?"

"Your injuries were far worse then any of us suspected...that demon with the arrows...he caused you to sustain quite a lot of internal injuries, and the techniques you used to counter him just to keep yourself alive further hurt you...and I had nothing that was unscathed that could treat or help to heal you."

"Then...how am I-"

"I asked you this morning, Tanjirō-san, I gave you a choice...one that you yourself agreed to. One that Nezuko-san here heard for herself too." Tamayo had taken hold of one of Tanjirō's hands and looked down at his sister Nezuko, who had finally stopped hugging Tanjirō long enough for him to see that while she had been hugging him, there had been actual tears that had fallen out from her eyes, and they were still present in the corner of her eyes too.

Tanjirō was stunned to see his sister had been crying. All of these things he was being told, he had no recollection of whatsoever, not of getting so grievously injured that he had almost died, and certainly nothing about this choice that Tamayo had offered him.

"What...was it, Tamayo-san?" Tanjirō asked. "How...how am i still here? Why is Nezuko crying? What happened to me?"

Tamayo bit her lip slightly, fearing the young man's response to what she said next, before she sucked in a breath to get it over with. "You asked me, to allow you to use the same serum I used on Yushiro...to turn you into a demon."

Utter silence. Tanjirō was left with his mouth hanging wide open, his body completely frozen in place with not even a single breath escaping from his mouth. It was at this moment that everything fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, what he was just now discovering about himself. For some reason, his vision was clearer then he remembered it, his senses felt sharper then they were ever before, including his already highly tuned sense of smell. And then his other senses, outside of his physical ones, his spatial awareness, all of it seemed to be even finer then it once was.

Then he looked down at his hands and slowly squeezed them, immediately feeling a difference then what he would have felt the day before. He felt alive in an entirely different sense. But to be totally sure that Tamayo was telling the truth, he lifted a hand and opened his mouth wide open, reaching up for his teeth.

"My teeth…they…" His index and middle fingers brushed across his canine teeth, which had grown in size to become fangs, exactly like those of a demon. He quickly tried to see if there was a mirror or something reflective that he could use to try and confirm one last suspicion of his.

"Here. I figured you might want to do that...take it." Yushiro said as he held out a small mirror he had taken with him.

Tanjirō stopped looking and glanced up at Yushiro, before settling his gaze on the mirror and taking it. He turned its reflective face towards him and held it up in front of his face, gasping when staring right back at him was the face of Tanjirō Kamado looking right back at him, but instead of his normal eyes looking back at him, his dark red eyes had turned a shade brighter, and his white pupils had elongated and stretched out into slits, like those of a feline.

That was enough to convince him that he really wasn't dreaming, and that Tamayo was telling the truth. The choice he had made this morning, the one he couldn't remember, had led to his life being saved in exchange for his humanity. He didn't even know what to think at first.

"I...I'm not human anymore…" He touched his face, unable to look away from the mirror. "I've become a demon...I...I am-"

"Tanjirō-san...I wish there had been some other way...I know that this wasn't what you wanted to happen...I could tell just by the way you spoke...you were so desperately wanting to cure your sister…"

Tamayo looked away, bringing up a hand to cover her face as the terrible feelings of regret started to eat away at her. She tried to stop herself from feeling this way, she had followed what Tanjirō had told her to do, and still she felt responsible for the young man becoming the last thing he had ever wanted to become.

"I did it to save you...I didn't want you continue to suffer...you said that you wanted to cure your sister, whatever the cost, so-"

"Tamayo-san."

She was stopped mid sentence by Tanjirō lowering the mirror and looking at her directly, still shocked by the news, but smiling nonetheless. This wasn't part of his plan, none of it had been. He didn't know originally that Muzan, the most powerful demon and the creator of all the demons in Japan, had been the one to transform his sister. He hadn't known that he would have found him so soon, and that Muzan would have sent those two demons after him to kill him. And he hadn't known that what had just happened to him was going to happen, because it was the only thing that could have enabled him to survive.

Despite all of that, he looked at the older demon with nothing but kindness in his gaze, even when shown through his demon eyes that so many a human had learned to fear. Yushiro decided to let the slight transgression pass, the way that Tanjirō was looking at her, since it's not like he could do anything to him now anyways.

"While...this isn't what I had thought would happen, not at all...I...I'm eternally grateful to you!"

"T-Tanjirō-san?"

"You were able to give me another chance to help succeed in my goal! You've let me continue to stay by Nezuko's side!"

Tanjirō bowed his head while exclaiming his thanks to the demon, Tamayo's eyes widening at how selfless and humble he was in the moment. At that moment, Nezuko stood up on her knees somewhat and she shuffled over to Tamayo before embracing her firmly, letting out a light muffled sigh through her mouthpiece. She was stunned, and touched by the smaller girl's affection towards her, who by all accounts and purposes should be a complete stranger to both her and Tanjirō. Yet, somehow, she had managed to work her way into their lives as someone they could both rely on and trust.

"Nezuko sees both of you as members of our family now...and I can honestly say...I do as well." Tanjirō said, raising his head up with a smile.

"Family? But...I thought the spell that Nezuko was under causes her to see humans as her family." replied Tamayo. "And Yushiro-san and I are demons…"

"Even so, after turning me into a demon like her with your serum, Nezuko's seemed to have perceived you two as humans. That's why she tried to protect you as well, if those memories of mine are the same."

Tamayo gasped at being called a human, not because she took it as an offense, but that it was the first time when someone who knew she was a demon stated she was exactly what she used to be. Tanjirō kept smiling at her as he lowered his gaze slightly to Nezuko, feeling warmth in his heart for her.

"At first, I didn't like the idea of Nezuko being under a spell, but since it looks like she has a will of her own, I'm glad that-" Tanjirō had started to say to Tamayo before lifting his head up and pausing when he saw the older demon began to tear up and cry.

"A-Ah! I'm so sorry! Nezuko, Nezuko! S-Step away from her! It's rude!"

His cry fell on deaf ears, and rather then try to remove the girl from her arms, Tamayo instead wrapped her arms around Nezuko and she buried her face gently into her shoulder to hide her own tears as she shuddered lightly.

"Thank you, Nezuko-san...thank you, Tanjirō-san...thank you!"

Yushiro was at a loss for words, seeing Nezuko hugging the one he cared most about wanted to make him pry them apart, but at the same time. Seeing Tamayo having such emotions while hugging the smaller girl, it brought him back instantly to when he had been in a similar position as Tanjirō, albeit from a different cause. Suffering from a horrendous disease that would have killed him had he remained human, he accepted Tamayo's offer to make him into a demon. His clenched hands loosened as he remembered how caring she had been, even while telling him that he would be free of his suffering from that illness, only to go through more grief and pain as a demon.

"Yushiro-san and I will leave this region, Tanjirō-san."

Yushiro snapped to, finding Nezuko had already left Tamayo's arms and had returned to her brother's side, sitting down next to him on the futon he had woken up on.

"We've gotten too close to Kibutsuji. We must conceal our whereabouts soon, or the risk will be too great. Not to mention, even if I think I've concealed my identity, when I interact with humans as a doctor, people sometimes see through me as a demon. The young and the elderly are particularly perceptive."

"So it would put you at greater risk to remain here, especially after what happened…" murmured Tanjirō, feeling responsible.

"Tanjirō-san?"

"Yes?"

"Would...would you like us to take Nezuko-san in?" Yushiro gasped behind her at the thought and started to shake his head profusely, Tamayo paying no heed to him. "I can't give you an absolute guarantee that she'll be safe, and considering you're a demon now too...it could be bad for both of you to remain together."

Tanjirō opened his mouth, then closed it again as he looked down at his hands, entering his thoughts. It was true. Demons who travel together could make them targets, especially for any more of Muzan's thugs that were being ordered by the demon lord to hunt him down as they spoke. It would most certainly be better for Nezuko to be in their care, since Tamayo would be the one that was going to be working on crafting the serum capable of turning back into a human.

His left hand was then grabbed by Nezuko, and she held it firmly within her own. Tanjirō's eyes widened and he turned to look at his sister, who gave him a silent stare that while not having much to go off visually, that alone was enough to bring a smile to Tanjirō's face. She had made her choice, and now, he was making his.

"Tamayo-san, thank you so much for your concern about us both. But…" Tanjirō began while tightening his own hand around Nezuko's. "Nezuko and I are staying together. We're not going to live apart from each other. I made that mistake of leaving her once before...and I won't do it again. Never again."

"In that case, I wish you long-lasting good fortune in battle." Tamayo replied with a soft smile.

"Alright then. We'll be leaving after we erase all traces of ourselves." Yushiro added. "Though, before you go, you have to know what you've gotten yourselves into."
Almost begrudgingly, Yushiro stepped forward while addressing Tanjirō specifically, staring into his eyes with an utterly serious expression.

"You're a demon now. Which means sunlight can, and will kill you. You have to travel at night from now on, and stay in the shade during the day. That serum Tamayo-sama gave you made you into one of her demons, which means you aren't afflicted with the same curse your sister, and all other demons possess."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad…" Tanjirō murmured while scratching his chin. Yushiro then narrowed his eyes, clearly not done talking, as he poked his finger directly into Tanjirō's gut and held it there.

"You're still a demon...unlike Tamayo-san and I, you haven't had your body modified by her to make it possible to survive off mere blood every once in a little while."

Tanjirō paled slightly at those words, realizing what that meant, especially with where Yushiro was prodding his finger into his body. He was a demon. Demons hunted and preyed on humans for their flesh, their entire existence devoted to that one sole cause.

Flashbacks of Nezuko attacking him when she had first become a demon, gnashing her fangs like some wild beast as she tried to bite into him, flooded back into his mind. And on top of that, he had not slept for two years like Nezuko had, which allowed for his master to put that spell over her as she slept to always protect and care for humans, as if they were her family. He had none of that, having only just become a demon today. If he wasn't able to control himself, and suppress his urges...his life as a demon slayer would be over.

"How am I even supposed to remain a demon slayer...when I've become the very thing we've sworn to exterminate?!" he thought frantically. The full realization of the situation came crashing down on top of him like a pile of boulders the size of the one he had cut clean through.

Tanjirō would have continued to freak out if it weren't for Nezuko squeezing his hand around his some, bringing his attention to her with wide eyes, wanting some sort of answer for his plight. Nezuko turned toward him, and with her other hand gently cupped one of his cheeks before putting his head down enough so that their foreheads could touch.

In that moment, in those brief seconds of time in which Nezuko's forehead was touching Tanjirō's, all of his worries and doubts and fears seemed to magically fade away from his mind. Nezuko was telling him that there was no need to worry, that she believed in him. That she, like he would do if in her position, would never think of leaving his side.

"Nezuko…"

"Mmph...mmph…"

She had tried to say something, but her words came out muffled and garbled, but that was enough to make Tanjirō hug his sister tightly for a few moments.

Tamayo watched the siblings hug one another with a soft smile on her face, while Yushiro had crossed his arms and developed his usual annoyed expression. Once they were done hugging, they turned to look back at the two demons, and Tanjirō gave Yushiro an affirmative nod to tell him that he fully understood the stakes.

"Mm...then get going. You heard me!" said Yushiro, while turning his head. "You two get going now!"

"Right. Okay, Tamayo-san, Yushiro-san, we wish you well!" Tanjirō, holding onto Nezuko's hand as they stood up off the futon. "Let's go, Nezuko."

Nezuko nod her head before she then immediately took off, prancing up the stairs out of the basement.

"Ahh, Nezuko! Don't just take off running like that!"

Tanjirō followed behind his sister, arriving at the stairs as well, before Yushiro called out to him from behind. He paused and looked back at the demon, who along with Tamayo had left the room he had been in and were standing at the end of the hallway facing him. Yushiro was still looking to the side before he turned around fully so as to not let Tanjirō see his face.

"Your kid-sister...is a beauty."

Tanjirō had to take a second to recall why he'd say that, before he remembered and he smiled proudly as he waved goodbye to the two of them.

"Remember, Tanjirō-san!" said Tamayo as she pointed up to the ceiling, referencing the sun when it was day. "Please, be careful!"

"I will! Thank you Tamayo-san! Yushiro-san! We won't forget you!"


"South-southwest! South-southwest! South-southwest!" squawked Tanjirō's avian companion, the Kasugai crow he was assigned upon first joining the corps. "Your next location is south-southwest!"

It was night outside, with the moon glowing high up in the starry night sky. Tanjirō had been so used to travelling during the day that he had forgotten how nice it was to be outside at night, with the cool night breeze and the general calmness that he felt. Of course, night was also when demons came out because of the absence of the sun.

"Which counts for me too, since I'm one too, just like Nezuko…"

He made sure her box was sitting well with the straps over his shoulders, his sister currently inside of the box sleeping to help regain more of the energy she had expended during the fight with the two demons from earlier.

"I heard you, I heard, so give me a break!" said Tanjirō while waving his hand at the crow, trying to get him to calm down. "Just calm down!"

"Squaaaw! South-southwest!"

"Gyahh!"


- An Unknown Location -

The room was entirely dark, save for a single flickering candle resting on top of some sort of desk. From what the candle was able to illuminate, there were bookshelves that reached to the ceiling of the rather large room that lined the walls, with the only furniture in said room being the desk the candle sat upon, as well as the chair behind it,

That chair was darker then even the room itself, for a figure was sitting in it with their arms in their lap, the candle light seemingly unable to illuminate the figure to show what they were wearing, or just what kind of gender they even were.

Standing a few feet across the desk was a man, obviously terrified and shaking so much that he could probably turn to dust by how much he was quivering. He had just delivered his news to the unknown figure, and now he was waiting for said figure's response. But nothing came, only slow, heavy breathing.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the figure moved. The chair they were sitting in squeaked slightly as they leaned forward to rest their elbows on top of the desk, the wood creaking from the added weight, while the dim candle seemed to illuminate the figure enough that what the messenger saw made him even more terrified.

There seemed to be nothing but a black mass shaped like a human being sitting in that chair, if the candle's glow reflecting off the pitch black jawline of the figure was enough of an indication. It was like this person, whoever they were, was either covered in body paint from head to toe, they had extremely dark skin, or they weren't even a person at all.

"...You disappoint me…" the pitch black figure said, their voice low in tone, sounding as if it came straight from his gut. Whatever it was, its voice was clearly that of a male's, a male who commanded nothing but utter respect and sheer terror from those who listened.

"But I-"

The man could only get so far with his sentence before there was a loud, wet and blood curling snap as something from the shadows completely encased his head and crushed it instantly. Blood squirted out from the mass of dark black flesh that had surrounded the man's head like a fountain, before it relinquished the headless body and let it drop to the ground. The body was then dragged into the shadows of the room by another unseen entity, something that made a disgustingly wet, sloppy sound as if it were slime moving across the floor.

"...Still running around in complete circles...chasing your tail like the mutt you are…"

The figure then turned his head to the right towards one of the barely illuminated bookshelves, with books that seemed to shimmer slightly with a black glint to them. After a few moments, it seemed as if a small window seemed to open up in the shadows, allowing for a soft, gentle blue light to challenge the darkness.

Inside the window, which had revealed a place on the bookcase where the light was coming from, which was covered with a thick layer of what looked like dark black, flesh-like slime, was a small little flower pot. And inside of the small flower pot was the source of the glow.

A glowing, dark blue spider lily.