The Mission, Eyes of a Stranger

Tanjiro was still on his mission to his old home. It had been a few years since he was last there, and it felt disrespectful to be away from the family home for so long. Especially since…

The mountain was cold and he's breathing was rough and ragged. As he trudged on through the snow up the hill, he had one thought on his mind. Kanao. He had been put through so much Hell. So much pain and suffering and she was able to comfort him. There were times, especially since Muzan tried to take him over, that he had seen the images of his family dead first hand. He saw the blood and the shredding as Muzan saw it when he did it.

But Kanao was there. When the visions returned in his dreams and turned them to nightmares, she would always be there with him. Her soft and comforting voice in his ear telling him that she was with him. That she was never going to leave.

As these thoughts drove him, he reached the perimeter of his family home. The old house covered in snow and the charcoal furnace cold and damp.

Tanjiro set his bag down, carefully avoiding his bum arm, and walked up to the door. The scent of death and sadness has been blown away, but the memory remains. He then moved over to the snow-covered mounds where his family was buried. The thought that he had completely avenged them was both comforting and unsettling. He was glad he had succeeded in his mission, but he was sad that it ever had to happen.

Although had he not been through this crucible, he would never have met so many great people. He would not have met Giyuu, who had become like an older brother. He wouldn't have met Urokodaki, who treated him like a son despite being his teacher. Then there was Zenitsu and Inosuke. Those two had become like brothers to him. He would have never met Shinobu or the other Hashira. Those who had willingly given their lives to help him succeed in his mission.

If this horrible crime never would have happened, he never would have met Kanao.

The current Flower Hashira and his girlfriend? lover? He didn't know what they really were. They never really talked about that. Sure, they knew that they loved each other, and had already kissed, but what were they really?

Shaking the thought, he knelt down in front of his family's graves. "I did it, Mother. I saved Nezuko, I avenged you all." The weight of what he'd done came crashing off of his shoulders. Part of him knew that his family knew his deeds, but he wanted to say it. He also knew that vengeance was not what he was taught as a child, but it felt required of him to complete his task.

"I couldn't save everyone, and I'm sorry." His knees were starting to freeze in the snow beneath him. "I tried. I-I tried to save them. But I only ended up hurting people." He stood and wiped his eyes. "I wanted to come here and say a proper goodbye and thank you. It was too hard to bring Nezuko, especially with what she's been through these past few years. She needs to… cope, I guess."

Another silent minute went by before he found something to say. "Mother, I found a girl to love." He chuckled at the thought of his siblings disgusted faces at the idea of their older brother with a girl. "She's always there for me. I had to work to bring her out of her shell, but I think she's a lot better now. Her name is Kanao Tsuyuri. She's beautiful mother. Her dark raven colored hair, her precious face, her voice is so soft and frail, and her eyes…" A pang hit his heart as a vision came to him.

In the Vision

A red liquid came over Tanjiro's eyes. It looked like a slow red waterfall that consumed his vision. Once his sight had gone red, his movements were no longer his own. His sword became heavy, and his voice was no longer his. When he tried to speak, nothing came out. No voice, no cries for help. He was silent. It was like sitting back and watching someone use your body. Actually, that's exactly what happened.

Muzan had taken over.

Tanjiro watched as Muzan took complete control of his body. The hands that belonged to him could no longer be called his own as they threw his black blade down. Everyone looked terrified that he would just turn on them like this. His scar now crossed his forehead even further and more were added around his face. His pupils were blood red. This was no longer Tanjiro Kamado.

Nezuko was crying as she sprinted to her brother. She had to get him out of this, she had to get him to come out of it. "Brother please!" She jumped onto him and grabbed his shoulders. The now demonic Tanjiro had no sense and acted purely on instinct. He bit into his sister. Teeth and claws pierced the skin causing her to cry out in pain.

Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Giyu all rushed to try and stop Tanjiro before he could hurt Nezuko even further. Giyu was aiming to kill while the other too were trying to get Nezuko out.

After a lot of fighting and yelling, a new challenger approached. Kanao. She raced into the fight with a needle in one hand and her sword in the other. She only had one shot.

Tanjiro could see what she had and what she was going to do, but he couldn't help her. Instead, the second she got close, his bone whip swiped at her stomach causing a gash from right to left.

Blood dripped from her body as she hit the ground, however, her mission was not in vain. The cure had reached him and was circulating in the blood stream. Just before everything went black, Tanjiro could see Kanao with his real eyes. She was lying in a pool of her own blood.

End Vision

By the end of it all, Tanjiro just sat on the porch. His hands were shaking, and he felt a warm feeling on his shoulder. 'Wait, there was no warmth in this snow? So, who's hand is on my…' He looked up to see his father. Of course, this wasn't actually his father, and he knew that, but it was comforting to know that he was still watching over him.

"Father. I saved Nezuko."

His father's ghostly pale form moved and knelt in front of him. "I know. You did what many of our line failed to do."

"What do you mean father?"

"I mean, that mark on your head, and the one on mine. We were born to take a certain path. We were destined to become the Sun Hashira." His father reached forward with his intangible hand and placed it on his son's forehead. "This is the mark." Then he reached for the earrings. "And these are the symbol."

"Sun Hashira." Tanjiro repeated. This wasn't at all what he was to become. Hell, he couldn't use his left arm and his right eye was blind. The now light pink pupil kind of matched Kanao's but he would never say that to her.

"Yes. When I alive, I was too weak to follow in our ancestors' path. My illness kept me from doing it. That's why my scar never formed the mark like yours. However, you've followed the path. You've become worthy of the title."

"Father, I can't see out of my eye; I can't move my left arm. How can I become the Sun Hashira if I can't fight." Tanjiro was on the verge of tears. It wasn't that he longed to fight was Inosuke did, he just wanted to be able to protect the weak from evil.

"Tanjiro." Tanjuro Kamado stood tall. "My son. You have the ability to heal your wounds and those of the ones you love."

That was a shocking claim. How in the world could he heal anything like that? "How, father?"

"Walk with me." Together, they left the homestead and strolled back down the mountain. "Son, why do you think the Sun Hashira were feared by Muzan?"

"Because they were the most powerful?" That seemed to be the obvious answer. "Oh, and demons can't be in sun."

Tanjuro laughed. "Yes, that is true. However, there is another reason. The Sun Hashira of old were able to use the energy of the sun to restore their own energy and heal their wounds."

"Like Total Concentration Breathing Constant?"

"Yes, but on a much more effective scale." As he said it, a blur crossed in front of them in the trees. "Ah, I was wondering when you would drop in." A man came out of the trees that looked a lot like the father and son duo. He also sported a pair of hanafuda earings.

The man stopped before Tanjiro and spoke. "Tanjiro Kamado. It's nice to meet you face to face. Last time we met, I showed you an important skill. Now, you have enhanced the skill much further." He stopped for a moment and looked around, then back at him. "13 forms of Sun Breathing, now that's impressive. You mastered something that most couldn't in a lifetime."

Tanjuro smiled at his son's complete confusion. "Tanjiro, this is the first Sun Hashira. Yoriichi Tsugikuni."

Tanjiro's face lit up at the sight. This was the man that helped him defeat Rui and save Nezuko on the mountain. This was the man of legend. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed his head.

Yorichii just smiled. "No need for formality Tanjiro. After all, I am dead." The laugh he placed behind it helped ease the tension. "Now, I guess your father here told you about the Sun Breathing ability to Heal?"

"Hai!"

"Well, it's not as hard as you think, but only one truly in touch with the sun can do it." Yorichii walked on to a clearing. The sun shown brightly down on his head. "Can you feel it? The sun blessing us with it's warmth and energy. Feel it warming the skin on your arm."

Tanjiro pulled off the old green haori and hung it on a tree. He then stretched his left arm as high as it could go and breathed in deep. He could feel it. The energy of the sun coming to his arm. It felt al tingly, like little bubbles were all over it. "What do I do now?"

"Just, breathe. Feel the energy and it will feel you. The sun gives life to all on this planet. It can even restore life."

Tanjuro stood off to the side and watched as the sun did what Yoriichi promised. He witnessed the wrinkles begin to fade and the one bone like length grow in size with muscle.

Tanjiro could feel his arm tingling, but he also felt another spot, his eye. It felt like he was taking a warm bath with the water rushing over him.

"Good. Now, Tanjiro." Yoriichi turned to the young slayer who stood with his eyes closed. "I want you to open your right eye and look at your left arm."

He did as instructed and opened only his right eye. The expected outcome was to see darkness and nothing but black. Instead, the white of the trees and snow came into his vision. Thinking he opened the wrong eye, he closed it and tried again. The same result came when he saw white. His eye was healed. Following the rest of his instructions, he turned to find his left arm had regained the strength and feeling it had once lost. He could grip his fingers again and ball his hand into a fist. The skin no longer was pale, but in it's tan state. "How...?"

"I told you, the sun restores energy to those that are close to it. As for the girl you love, Kanao. She can also be healed. Her sight can be restored."

"Really!?"

"Really." Yoriichi chuckled. "You have a very caring son here Tanjuro. He reminds me a lot of me." He turned back to Tanjiro. "I can teach you."

Hyello. I have no idea what I'm going to do for filler till the next arc.