Tanjiro didn't know how long it took him to reach Urokodaki's, but night had fallen by the time he got there. It had taken too long, too long, TOO LONG!

He only paused once, just outside the area Urokodaki-sensei claimed as he sensed a demon, but it was so faint; the barest residue of a demon passing through, at best. Perhaps just the demon attacking? He clenched his teeth and pushed himself forward as fast as he could. In less than a minute, he'd landed in the clearing outside his family's and Sensei's house when the smell of blood practically assaulted him.

He had to stomp down on the urge to feed (couldn't it ever go away?!) and glanced towards the source. His blood ran cold.

"Urokodaki-sensei!" he shrieked, rushing forward and stopping by the man kneeling down. Was he dead? He didn't smell dead yet, but… but it was close. He put a hand on the old man's neck to feel for a pulse, and found one, weak though it was.

The ever familiar mask had slid to one side and down, so Tanjiro could see his Sensei's eyes open a little, heavy lidded and barely able to focus as he turned his head, allowing it to flop as if the effort of controlling the entire motion was just too much. After several seconds of struggle, he managed to find Tanjiro and smiled.

"Tanjiro, my boy," he slurred. Tanjiro felt his gut clench. Urokodaki was dying… and he knew it. "I wanted to… see you… again. So proud…"

The time-traveler's gut clenched. He… hadn't expected Urokodaki-sensei to say something like that. He… he…

"Sensei I… I could save you…" he said, hating how his voice pleaded.

A slight frown pulled at the older man's face. "How?"

Tanjiro winced. "I could… turn you into a demon," he muttered, blushing and looking away in embarrassment and shame. For several seconds, neither one of them spoke until finally Urokodaki shook his head in that flopping way.

"I'm old. Tired. Want to rest. Just sad… won't be able… to teach… brothers."

It felt as if someone had reached into the time-traveler's chest and squeezed his still-beating heart.

"But Urokodaki-sensei, we're working on a cure now! We'll likely have one in a couple of weeks or months! You could live!"

But the old man shook his head again. "Too… dangerous. Would want to eat… kids."

Well, he wasn't wrong. But…

"I could stop you!"

Urokodaki-sensei, with great effort, lifted his hand and flopped it on Tanjiro's shoulder. "Tanjiro. Let me go."

"But I wanted to get through a loop without losing anyone!" the time-traveler said, wiping the tears from his eyes angrily. He didn't ever remember having lost Urokodaki-sensei before… not like this.

"Not possible."

Tanjiro shook his head, not wanting to believe it. They were so close—

"People die," Sensei said, allowing his arm to fall back down. "You focus… on saving… sisters. Rengoku… targeted… them."

Tanjiro frowned. Was that Urokodaki-sensei not remembering things correctly?

"Rengoku-san is at Oyakata-sama's house," he said slowly, thinking of the Pillar.

Sensei shook his head again, and his eyes closed. "Shin… father… demon… six."

That… didn't make a whole lot of sense either. Before he could think farther on it, though, Urokodaki-sensei spoke again.

"Tell… Nezuko… Kie… Family… was… honor. Good… students. So… proud."

Tanjiro bit his lip, not caring that he punctured the skin. He… he hated this. But he wouldn't begrudge his Sensei his dying wish.

"Of course, I'll tell them," he said earnestly, grabbing his Sensei's cold hand. He resisted the urge to heat it up with his blood art. His Sensei had made his wishes known, and he had to respect that.

"And Tanjiro…" the old man's eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving a lot and…

Tanjiro gulped.

"Yes, Sensei?"

The man just whispered one more word. "Win."

The demon gulped, blinked more tears out of his eyes and nodded vigorously. "I will, Sensei. I promise."

The old man didn't respond, a slight smile on his face.

It… felt wrong to leave him there, but Sensei had said that his siblings were in trouble, so… he didn't have much of a choice.

He hated that too.

"I'll be back soon, Sensei," he promised, then took a deep breath sniffing the air.

Nezuko… off to his left… and Giyuu was with her! He almost melted in relief, even if they were fighting Waxing Four…

(Ugh, he really disliked fighting Hantengu.)

He… would have to leave that to them for now.

The other demon… was ahead of him… up the mountain and… he…. smelled familiar…

Tanjiro's eyes shot open. Rengoku, Shin, father…

Muzan turned him! He…

The demon felt his fists clench and he was growling, but he needed to stay calm. He took another breath. Senjuro and Hanako were in that direction too, as was Kaa-san (she was moving, though...), Shigeru and Rokuta, although their scents were fainter.

He could just tear through the forest… and he needed to get there yesterday. So he nodded, made an approximate estimation, and breathed.

In a swirl of plasma – in the shape of a combination of fire and lightning – he vanished.

xXx

Sakonji had the vaguest sense of crossing a bridge, but the next thing he remembered was waking up among the lilies. The red spider lilies. Butterflies flitted from flower to flower, dancing in the sunlight and he could hear cicadas despite it not being the right time of year, or quite hot enough. No, he felt… comfortable. His joints didn't ache…

He blinked, trying to remember what had just happened.

Wait, he'd seen Giyuu, and Tanjiro and…

Shinjuro.

His heart ached and he wanted to go help, but he knew he couldn't. Why…?

"Sensei?" a voice behind him said. Sakonji froze. He knew that voice.

Slowly, he turned and saw children – so many children – coming forward, each with a fox-mask on their face or sitting on the side of their head.

He knew them.

Each and every one of them.

He opened his mouth, but words failed him.

"My dear ones…" he managed to choke out eventually. As if on cue, the children rushed forward.

"No!" he said, taking a step back, fear welling inside him. The boys and girls all paused, frowning. "I… I don't deserve any recognition," he said. "I… I got you all killed." He didn't feel the tears that came to his eyes in the normal sense, but he knew they'd begun to leak down his face. "I am so, so sorry."

"Don't be stupid, Sensei," one familiar boy came forward, arms crossed in front of him in obvious annoyance. His fox mask mirrored the scar near the corner of his mouth.

"Sabito…" he whispered.

"We died young, but we were living on borrowed time anyway," the boy continued.

"Yes," a girl with dark hair also came forward, a soft smile on her lips.

"Makomo..."

"Most of us would have died even earlier without you, Sensei. You gave us a reason to keep going." Her smile widened to a point where she closed her eyes. "You became our home. And none of us regret that."

A chorus of agreements came from the other students.

Then one of them, Sakonji didn't see which one, shouted, "So just let us hug you already!"

He cried harder as the children came forward, but he didn't back away this time.

"You are all my home too," he said back, welcoming their embrace.

"Welcome home, Sensei," Sabito muttered.

Sakonji hugged him tighter.

Now they just had to wait for Giyuu and the Kamados. He hoped they'd wait a long time.

xXx

To Sienahi's knowledge, he'd only existed for a little over a week. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he knew he'd existed before that as a human, but he didn't really remember it. They told him that was normal. That if it would be useful to Muzan-sama, then he would get his memories back.

He'd accepted that and moved on because he didn't have a reason to doubt them… then.

Then Kokushibo-sama had been asked to take him and see if he remembered his sword fighting techniques. That had confused Sienahi until he'd had the sword they'd given him in his hand. It felt so natural. He'd been taught to breathe differently, and then the higher-ranked demon had explained (very tersely and impatiently, Sienahi could tell) how to use the air he took in to strengthen his body.

Between that and the human bodies they'd practically thrown at him the entire week, he'd grown quickly and had been able to take over the rank of Waxing Six in record time.

Part of him had been thrilled at the accomplishment, but part of him had been wary. Something about Waxing One he didn't like… at all, and he would prefer to avoid the man, not have to sit in on multiple conversations with him. Once Kokushibo-sama had explained what he'd needed to, he'd left and Sienahi couldn't have been more relieved.

And then he'd been sent on his first mission: Retrieve one of the Kamado siblings.

He hadn't expected to run into people who claimed to know him. He hadn't expected to be told he used to have students… that he used to have a son. That he still had a son.

(And he must have, the boy looked far too similar to not be related to him.)

He also hadn't expected what he'd found when he'd arrived at Mount Sagiri. He'd been told that the demon slayers would do everything they could to kill him and stop him from achieving his goal. He was told they would be ruthless to demons – that they would kill demons just for trying to survive.

So when the former Water Pillar had held his hand out and asked him to come back, it had shocked Seinahi to his very core. They'd been fighting and he would fulfill his duty and then… that man had said they used to be friends and… and he'd proved it.

The Waxing Moon had stabbed him – fatally if he didn't get treated soon enough – and knocked him out when Muzan-sama had… made his presence and displeasure at Seinahi's traitorous thoughts known.

If he'd said yes to the offer, the Demon King would have killed him right then, he was sure… So he'd done what he had to.

But then he'd seen the body of the old man – the human who claimed to know him – lying defenseless on the ground and he'd been tempted to eat but… but it had felt so wrong. He couldn't bring himself to do it. So he'd left the old man behind, aiming to find the children instead. He could sense them nearby, but couldn't pinpoint them. Up the mountain, perhaps?

He hurried into the trees, grateful to leave the smell of the older-man's blood behind him, and—

A log suspended by a rope swung down into him, knocking him off to the side.

What?

It didn't hurt him, but it did surprise him. He hadn't been expecting or even looking out for that, as he'd been too focused on the children's presences and searching for other demon slayers. Cautious and a little confused, he stepped back and scrutinized the forest around him. It took him a moment to really see them, but see them he did: traps. Nothing that could do any real damage to him – or any demon – but he hadn't detected them because he was used to being attacked by people who broadcasted their intent. Traps didn't do that.

He blinked and then he smiled. What clever children. They would make marvelous demons.

Seinahi would have to go a little slower than he'd like if he wanted to avoid being attacked by the traps, and that would probably be preferable seeing as if he just tore down the forest, it would be easier to hurt his targets and they would hear him coming and may be able to hide or prepare for him somehow.

Very well, traversing the trapped area it was. He could give these children the chase they wanted for a little while.

With a nod of his head, he began running again, at a marginally slower pace so he could avoid setting off traps and avoid the traps themselves altogether when he did. Or destroy them. That worked too. But it felt a little like cheating, so he tried not to as much.

The game of cat and mouse had begun.

It would end very soon, but he would enjoy it while he could.

xXx

Tanjiro had been the one to point out Inosuke's sensing ability to Nezuko, just making the off-hand comment about how amazing the boar-headed boy was for his awareness of people he shouldn't be able to see – to a point where he'd even made it one of his breathing forms. And when he wasn't using the form, he still had a passive sense that went beyond most other demon slayers, up to and including some Hashira. The seemingly off-handed comment had actually explained why Inosuke could fight while wearing that boar mask all the time. She knew he could somehow see through those strange, googly eyes – or maybe the mouth or something, but he obviously didn't rely on his sight often.

That was the first time her Nii-san had pointed it out to her, while on the trip home to see their family. It wasn't the last time.

By the fourth time, she'd realized he wanted her to learn something from it, so she'd asked him outright. He'd explained what their father had told him regarding the Hinokami Kagura – about how one's mind began to disappear the more they danced, eventually becoming invisible. How one had to utilize all five senses of their body into one sharp focus to accomplish a state of mind where she could access the 'transparent world' as he called it.

Then he'd explained how their father had killed the bear they'd lived off of for the rest of that winter before he'd died. The story had surprised her, both because her brother remembered that far back (it must seem like a hundred years to him) and that her father had been able to do that just days before his death. Her older brother had seemed so sad when he spoke of it, likely remembering their father, and it had made her feel nostalgic, missing him.

Eventually, she'd asked him how to reach a point where she could see the 'transparent world' – if he'd had any tips or suggestions. He'd explained how reaching that state wasn't possible if one did not push themselves to their absolute limits, or if one didn't have a demon-slayer's mark, or if one didn't focus completely on the movements of their fight. He even went on to explain the state one could reach where they had no presence at all, but that was an even harder technique. Then he'd told her to train hard and she'd get there eventually.

Unfortunately, to her knowledge, she hadn't manifested a mark yet, even though she felt as if she was indeed pushing herself to the limits. However, reaching that state would be the easiest way to kill Waxing Four. It frustrated her that she needed it now but couldn't attain it – had never even come close before. So she looked for other methods.

As gruesome as it sounded, she was willing to look inside the chest of each form she fought to find the actual Hantengu, and had thought that was what she would be required to do to survive the fight and save her family. Unfortunately, fighting him had been more difficult than she'd thought, and she'd already known it wouldn't be an easy fight.

She'd been so thankful when Giyuu-san had come as she'd been on the back foot and wasn't sure she would have survived otherwise. Fighting next to the Water Pillar made the fight more bearable, but his arrival was like putting on a hat to shade her from the sun – it didn't stop the sun from shining or lighting up the world around her, it just made long, hot days less dangerous; it didn't remove the danger of overheating altogether.

And she still wasn't sure they could win. Even with Giyuu-san there, she knew that if she let up, it would be the end for her and likely the Water Pillar as well. So she fought her hardest, until the demon's forms joined together again to form a much younger-looking demon, and then the fight had pushed both of them to their limits even more so than before. So much so that when Nezuko saw blue creeping across Giyuu's cheeks, it cost her. She suddenly found herself wrapped in wood as it grew and squeezed. Fortunately, the older slayer cut her loose fairly quickly.

"Giyuu-san," she gasped as they leaped away, trying to put distance between them and the demon, "you have your mark!" She pointed to her cheek.

He blinked and went to touch his cheek, but a sense of warning had them both jumping away from the crash of the demon landing where they'd just been.

"That explains some things," she heard him say as they rushed around behind Waxing Four to attack in unison, both using the first forms of their styles to do so. It didn't work and they had to duck away from the demon's attack (more wood growing that they had to cut through… and it wasn't easy). Then Giyuu-san fell on his stomach and Nezuko saw that a branch of the wood had caught his ankle. It was her turn to cut him loose.

She used her Second Form: Curling Tendril to do so. He quickly rolled out of the way of more attacks and jumped to his feet. She noticed he was favoring the leg that had been caught and winced before she had to turn her attention back to the fight.

"Since you have the mark," she yelled at him, "you need to go and find the little him! That's his true form!"

"How do you know that?" the demon in front of them asked almost monotonously. Almost. It wasn't difficult to sense his anger even if she couldn't hear it in his voice.

Neither one of the demon slayers answered.

"Why can you not go?" Giyuu asked, frowning as they ducked away from another attack.

"I don't have the mark!"

He looked so confused. "Then what is that moving on the side of your face and neck?"

She paused to stare at him, forcing him to dive at her and push her out of the way of yet another attack. She was grateful for that as her mind didn't seem to want to process his words.

"I… have a mark?"

"I assumed you knew," he said, then his eyes, looking past her, widened. "Eleventh form: Lull!"

Nezuko gasped and closed her eyes, grasping at Giyuu-san's haori instinctively. He managed to stop the attack, thank the kami.

"I… didn't know," she said, "although you're right, that does explain some things." Like that boost of speed and strength she'd gotten. Then she saw more all-too-fast-growing trees pop from the ground and grow at high speed, sharp points headed for them.

Thankfully, she managed to use Giyuu as a springboard and used her Apical Kelp Column – Descending to at least make the trees less deadly. Her attack gave the Water Pillar time (and a good warning) to jump to the side.

"Go after him," he said.

"But…" she started, however he cut her off.

"Go! I can handle this. I just need to focus."

She bit her lip and looked at the forest behind her. "Okay. But stay alive!"

Giyuu-san just hummed in response, just loud enough for her to hear him, then she turned and ran into the forest.

"You will not—" the demon started, but apparently Giyuu stepped in-between her and the Waxing Moon.

"To get to her, you'll have to go through me first," he said.

"Very well."

Nezuko tried not to listen to whatever was behind her after that, doing her best to focus on looking for the little rendition of Waxing Four that was his true form. And she'd have to reach the transparent world too…

But she could do this.

A particularly loud clash from behind her had her wincing.

She had to.

xXx

They were running on borrowed time. Both Senjuro and Hanako knew it. They both knew how to get up the mountain without setting off any traps – something his father (no, don't think about it, don't think about it!) hadn't ever bothered to do as he'd been so busy training everyone else in his own style while here. Either that, or he'd been sparring with Kamado Tanjiro and Urokodaki-sensei and—

DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!

He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes and barely saw the next trap in time to dodge around it. Hanako was sobbing quietly behind him and followed every move he made without question.

He suddenly felt a wave of resentment. Here he was leading her through their death-trap of a mountain and she couldn't even seem to focus enough to help him! It wasn't her father that had been… that had…

The thought wasn't fair, and he knew it. Firstly, she was nine. He was almost fourteen. Secondly, she'd seen his father (why couldn't he stop thinking about him?!) fighting Waxing One for her, and to find out that this was the result? Of course she'd find it difficult – traumatizing even.

And yet, he couldn't seem to banish the boiling feeling in his gut. Normally, he didn't have a problem with his anger. Onii-san had taught him too well, and if he could get past his father's (WHY?!) old habits then his unfair anger towards a girl so much younger than him should be easy to banish. So why wasn't it?!

He wished Kyojuro was here. Kyojuro who was a Pillar and could potentially fight off a Waxing Moon. Kyojuro who had always been a better fighter than Senjuro. Kyojuro who could help him see why and understand his emotions…

He remembered back to one of the last times he'd been so upset at Father (he resigned himself to the pain at this point) and Kyojuro had spoken to him about why their father acted the way he did. He spoke of how the former Flame Pillar wasn't mad at his sons, not really… he was mad at himself, and at the situation in general, and the loss of his beloved wife. He just didn't know how to channel that anger and so he took it out on them.

It wasn't fair then… had never been okay, but at least he'd understood better, and he'd tried not to be angry in hopes that his father would eventually…

His thought process faded off for a second and he slowed to a stop. Behind him, Hanako did the same.

Was… was he doing the same thing his father did?

Was he really angry at himself?

He thought about that and realized that yes, that was part of it – and it hurt to realize, but it also felt… better somehow. The rage and anger wasn't gone, but it felt… smaller? More manageable.

"Senjuro?" Hanako whispered.

He shook his head and continued up the mountain. She followed wordlessly, something he was grateful for.

(How long would the traps hold up a Waxing Moon? Did they have seconds? Minutes? Or perhaps it was best to not think about that either.)

Instead of focusing on their hopeless situation, he thought back to his previous train of thought. He was mad at himself, but that wasn't all. He wasn't mad at Hanako, really. He was angry at Muzan, of course, and that had changed too. Before he'd hated the vague threat out 'there', away from him. He knew Kyojuro could be killed by any demon he ran across, but his brother was a Hashira and could take care of himself. Now, though… now it had gotten personal and he felt a deep hatred for the progenitor of demons.

But that wasn't all of it either.

What else was going on? Why was he so angry and why couldn't he really manage it?

It took him all too long to realize it.

He was angry at his father.

No, he was beyond angry and beyond livid and…

At that moment, that single moment, he hated Rengoku Shinjuro. He'd been directing his anger away from his father for so long that he hadn't realized…

But now…

His father, who had been so kind and encouraging to them at their young ages, and then his father who had been the angry, distant drunk Senjuro had to tip-toe around, and then the man who had gotten better and closer to what he'd been like before but… sadder, and then he'd just abandoned Senjuro with the Water Cultivator (that wasn't fair either, he realized, but that's what it had felt like) and then he'd done everything he could for a girl who wasn't even his child, up to and including sacrificing himself for said child and… and now he was back as this monster?!

(That also wasn't fair – his father hadn't and would never choose to become a demon, even in his anger he knew that, but… that didn't really change anything, did it?)

The air was getting thin and they were nearing the edge of the trapped area. He… didn't know what to do. Should they hide? Or keep running? And why hadn't Waxing Six caught—

"There you are!"

The demon that used to be his father jumped down in front of them as they both stumbled back. He grinned like he was Kyojuro. That just made Senjuro angrier. He grit his teeth.

"Senjuro… you're hurting me," Hanako whispered, whimpering a little.

He immediately released her hand. "Sorry," he whispered, feeling a deep shame begin to combat his anger, but it didn't do much, especially when the demon who used to be his father was just standing there, grinning at them.

"Clever, leading me in here," he said. "But did you think it would really stop me?"

"No," Senjuro said, honestly.

His fath— the Waxing Moon tipped his head to one side. "Then what was your plan?"

He didn't really have one. They could only hope that Urokodaki-sensei…

Wait, if the demon was here then Urokodaki-sensei…

No…

He hoped Hanako hadn't put that together yet.

"To get away from you," he finally spat, angrier than he'd ever been in his life.

"Really?" the demon had the audacity to look amused. Amused. "Well I—"

"Shut up!" Senjuro screamed. He felt Hanako jump behind him and knew she was probably staring at him and his unusual behavior. "I hate you!"

That seemed to take the demon by surprise. "You hate me? Why? Am I not your father?"

"You are not my father! Even if you used to be that only makes everything worse! My father would never give into that man!"

At least the older man's (demon… demon's) smile had vanished as he stared at the two children.

"S-senjuro-kun," Hanako whispered fearfully.

"Why did everything have to change?" Senjuro yelled, ignoring the girl behind him. "I have memories of you being so good and we were so happy, but then Kaa-san died and she took every piece of happiness with her except Kyojuro! Nii-san was the person who loved me and helped me and trained me when you were too drunk to! And even when you weren't, you were so mean!"

"I… have two sons?" the demon asked, sounding surprised. That did not make the situation better.

"And then Nii-san left! He became a Hashira and it still wasn't good enough for you! Nothing ever was! And I was left there with you and you didn't care! I was so happy when you started to get better again and then… and then you died! Except you didn't! And… and now this?!

"Just leave us alone!" he was pleading now and couldn't see well through the tears in his eyes. "Go away and leave us with whatever happy memories we had of my father before!"

He stood there breathing hard – not just because of the thin air, but… he felt empty and wrung out, like everything he'd ever felt had just sort of exploded out of him, leaving nothing but a shell behind. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad either.

He also felt so guilty for being so terribly rude and awful to Hanako and his father, even if it wasn't really his father anymore. He was the calm one – the quiet one and here he'd just yelled all of that out… even if he hadn't said anything untrue.

"I… am sorry I used to be such a terrible person," the demon said slowly.

And that…

Senjuro just sort of slumped down onto his knees, letting out a keening cry he couldn't seem to keep in.

"I just want my Tou-san back," he sobbed.

"Perhaps… perhaps this development was more positive than I realized," the demon said thoughtfully.

Senjuro paused and looked up. "What?" he asked, rasped really, because he couldn't have meant…

"This way we can start over," he said with a smile. "We can leave all the pain behind." Then he held out his hand. "What do you say?"

The younger Rengoku couldn't seem to wrap his head around what his father was saying… and he hated that part of him was tempted. Forgetting all of this – all the pain and hurt and nastiness between them – and just starting over… that sounded lovely.

But he knew it wouldn't be like that.

The demon was offering to turn him into a demon – into someone who had to kill to live. He was asking him to turn his back on everything his family and his father had ever stood for, and… and he couldn't do that.

Before he could say anything, though, Hanako burst in.

"Don't you dare say that!" she screamed. "Don't you ever say that again! Rengoku-sensei was one of the kindest men I have ever met! He was so patient and kind, even if he was strict and didn't know how to act around me because I'm a girl!

"But do you know what his favorite thing to talk about was, Senjuro?" She suddenly turned to him, causing him to jump a bit.

"I… what?" he asked.

"He would talk about how much he regretted the last few years of his life, and about how much he loved you and how proud he was of you and Kyojuro-san! He would talk about how much he wished you had a better father, and that your mother was still around, but mostly he would talk about how you could never disappoint him!"

She knelt down in front of Senjuro, putting her hands on his shoulders as he stared at her in awe.

"He… what?" he heard himself say.

"He loved you so much. And he was so sorry. He let you stay here because he thought that's what you wanted! And he was so angry at himself for driving you away."

But… but he hadn't… not really… not like that…

"He always said that what he'd done wasn't okay – would never be okay. He didn't know how to handle everything that happened right in a row, and he said that made him a lousy father, but he wanted to be better! He was trying and you know it!"

She wasn't wrong… he had been trying.

"He said he hoped that one day he'd be the father you deserve again!" She smiled at him, but then she turned to the demon and her smile disappeared. "And leaving that behind – pretending it didn't happen – is like spitting on his memory! So don't you ever say anything like that again, do you understand?!"

Then she did the craziest thing Senjuro had ever seen. She drew her sword and took a stance between him and the Waxing Moon. Neither of them stood a chance and she had to know that, but…

"I… see why Muzan-sama wants you so badly, I think," the demon said thoughtfully. "And I…" he looked over at Senjuro and seemed to deflate again. "I am sorry… for everything. Even if I can't remember. However, I must obey my lord. I will take you both to him."

With that, he drew his own sword and Senjuro gulped, scrambling to his feet and drawing his sword too.

"I will give you one final chance to come peacefully."

"Never!" Hanako yelled.

"R-right!" Senjuro said, taking a stand by her side.

The demon sighed. "Then I—"

But then his eyes went wide and he dodged to one side and back, away from Senjuro and Hanako. Where he once stood, Kamado Tanjiro had practically cleared a swath of trees, causing several traps to spring and then break in the wake of his sword swing.

Then he landed calmly and stood between them.

At first, Senjuro could only feel relief… but then he saw the newcomer's face and realized this may not be as positive of an outcome as he'd initially thought.

He thought he'd been angry, and it had been such a foreign feeling and so potent… and it felt like nothing compared to what was radiating off of the Sun Pillar as he stood there, facing the former Flame Pillar.

"Stay away from my family," he said, his voice calm but tight, as if he were holding back a tsunami.

If this was him holding back…

"N-nii-san?" Hanako whispered, just as surprised.

"Hanako, Senjuro… run."

And without waiting for their response, Tanjiro launched himself at the former Flame Pillar.

xXx

The initial attack on the Ubuyashiki Estate hadn't gone nearly as well as Muzan had hoped, but it was still within acceptable margins. However, he got a flash of a vision from his newest Waxing Moon that let him know something certainly had gone right.

Kamado Tanjiro had taken the bait.

Good.

Now all he needed to do was burn this poison out, finish off the demon slayers here and claim his prize.

This would end tonight…

And Kamado Tanjiro would regret ever having been born.

xXx

AN: So, the wikia said that Giyuu's 11th form was 'Dead Calm' and while I like that just fine, I started with Lull and I like that better, so Lull it is. Fight me. ;)

Hope you enjoyed this extra-long chapter! If you did, please don't forget to leave a kudos and or fav. This story has almost 4000 kudos and I'm floored. Thank you all SO much. I also found all my DS stories on the fanfic rec list on TV Tropes and that just makes me feel warm fuzzies inside, so... you guys are amazing.

Thank you to my LOVELY Betas: Quathis, TimeLordTim, Found and Kaylessa!

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)