Author's note: Chapter's 2, 3, 4 have been remastered and chapter 5 has been modified in accordance to the changes made in the previous chapters.
Opening: Paper Moon by Tommy Heavenly6 (ROMIX Cover)
Tanjiro tumbled forward inside one of the open rooms of the Butterfly Mansion but managed to transform his tumble into a roll so he could get back up on his feet. Kanao put some distance between her and Tanjiro as she slightly bent her knees in anticipation, waiting for the boy to charge towards her once more. Tanjiro lunged forward, nearly tripping with every step as he rushed forward as fast as he could. Kanao weaved around the boy's attempts to catch her as she ducked and slid past Tanjiro every time.
The boy was determined to catch Kanao. If he was able to keep up with her, that meant he was in an optimal moving condition. He sprung on to his feet as he charged toward Kanao, attempting to think ahead and predict Kanao's movements. He chased behind her, reaching his hand out as he felt he was very close to victory. The girl was leaning towards the right which made him anticipate her dodging in that direction. However, as he jumped forward to make the catch, Kanao bounced to the left, out of Tanjiro's view. Before he could process it, he had lost his balance mid-air and was about to hit the floor until Kanao caught him. Tanjiro was bridled in Kanao's arms like a damsel in distress, a complete role reversal if he had to say so. The girl moved one of her arms so Tanjiro could sit on the floor but kept her other arm up to help the boy sit up at an angle.
Tanjiro complained, "I'm so close! I can feel it! Just a bit more practice and I'll be catching up with you in no time!" Kanao donned a cheerful expression as she commented:
"I believe in you, Tanjiro. You've made incredible progress so far which reminds me: What do you plan to do once you're able to move freely again?" Tanjiro zoned out as he began deeply thinking on the subject, sitting up straight as he delved deeper into his consciousness for ideas. He began talking to himself:
"Well, Mister Flint's taken care of most of the demons so demonic activity has been scarce as of recent… Maybe the Upper Moons? No, too difficult to find and I'm not in any condition to be fighting one. Hmm, that kind of blows Tamayo's idea out of the water…"
Kanao tilted her head out of confusion as she asked, "Tamayo? Who's that?"
A revelation hit Tanjiro as he realized, "Wait a minute, none of you actually know Tamayo, do you? I never mentioned her so I guess it's my fault. Well, you see, I went to Tokyo a little while back and I ended up encountering this demon doctor named Tamayo. She was really nice. Her, Yushiro (her assistant), Nezuko, and Murata are the only good demons I've met so far. She goes out of her way to help other people and she's been looking for a cure to turn demons back into humans for some time now. She asked me to collect the blood of Muzan's demons, especially of the twelve moons that serve under Muan and give them to her for further studying. Unfortunately, I've only ever been able to collect the blood of an ex-lower moon. Collecting the blood of anyone else isn't exactly possible because Mister Flint's already killed them all."
Kanao blinked several times in silence until she responded, "Why don't you try asking for an alternative? I'm sure there might be more than one way to cure a demon."
Tanjiro's expression lit up like a lightbulb as he exclaimed, "You're so right!" He pulled Kanao into a hug after this, excited at the idea of searching for an alternative solution to curing Nezuko. However, Kanao was a bit more skeptical:
"How exactly are you going to contact her and even if you do, where are you supposed to meet up? She's a demon, isn't she? That means she can only move around during the night."
"Well, that's easy. I think her cat's still following me. Let me check." Tanjiro waved around in random directions like a lunatic, calling out that he would like to speak with Tamayo. Soon, a tri-colored calico cat seemingly materialized in front of him, purring as it slowly walked up to Tanjiro before sitting down. The cat wore a necklace with a paper talisman attached to it.
Kanao asked, "Where did it come from?"
Tanjiro shook his head as he stated, "Apparently it's invisible? If memory serves, I'm pretty sure that talisman around its neck allows it to stay hidden. It's kind of been assigned to me because I was supposed to collect the blood of Muzan's demons."
"That seems really convenient."
Tanjiro turned towards the cat as he explained, "Hey, Chachamaru, could you go back to Tamayo and tell her I would like to meet her here? If you were here the entire time, then you know why I need to talk to her." The cat purred once more as it walked away and seemingly vanished in front of Tanjiro and Kanao.
Kanao asked Tanjiro, "You want to meet her here? I'm not sure if Master Ubayashiki would be okay with that."
Tanjiro stood up, dusting off his outfit as he explained to the girl, "I'm pretty sure he'll be fine with it as long as I explain the situation to him. We should go see him."
"Aren't you still upset with most of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Somewhat. However, this is Mister Ubayashiki we're talking about. It's hard to get mad at him and he seems like a man who can genuinely accept criticism unlike some members of the corps."
"I agree. Let's go see him, together."
It didn't take too long until they had both arrived at the Demon Slayer Headquarters, hand-in-hand and arranged an audience with the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps. However, what surprised them was that they were led to his room by his children who accompanied him at all times. The man was nowhere in sight until they stepped through the doors to see his wife next to him on her knees as she tended to the leader who appeared as if he was barely holding onto life. He lay in bed, his breathing heavy and drawn back and he had a wet cloth over his eyes to keep them obscured. One of Ubayishiki's children announced to their father, "Father, Tanjiro Kamado and Kanao Tsuyuri have come to see you."
The man said between breaths, "Please- come in- my children… I have heard- what happened to the two- of you. I am sorry- for your loss..." Tanjiro and Kanao looked at each other out of concern as their grips on each other's hands tightened. They stepped inside and sat on their knees next to the man as Tanjiro asked:
"Mister Ubayashiki, what happened to you?"
"This- is my curse- the curse of my bloodline…" Tanjiro winced in pain hearing the man struggle to talk between breaths. It was an active effort for the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps to even finish a sentence. The young man continued with his explanation, "Muzan- is the cause of this curse… but do not worry about me- how can I help you…?"
Tanjiro proceeded to explain the situation to Kagaya in full detail and requested permission to meet with Tamayo at the Butterfly Mansion. There was a brief pause until Kagaya told Tanjiro, "I'll permit it. You understand demons better than- most people, Tanjiro. If you think her efforts- will benefit us, then- I will permit it."
Tanjiro respectfully bowed towards the leader as he thanked the man for his generosity. As he sat back up and asked Kagaya, "Is there any way I can help you with your condition?"
"I'm- afraid not… This has plagued my bloodline- for generations… I appreciate your concern- Tanjiro. Enjoy your youth. Both of you. Leave the fighting to- the adults…"
Tanjiro shook his head as he declined the offer, "Sorry, sir, but I'm not out of this just yet." Tanjiro raised his prosthetic left arm as he explained, "This isn't going to stop me. I promised I was going to cure Nezuko and stop Muzan and that's exactly what I intend to do."
Kagaya smiled before admitting, "That's- why I hold a lot of respect- for you, Tanjiro. I expect great- things out of you." The man turned his head to face Tanjiro and Kanao's general direction as he requested, "You two- must take care of one another. Watch out for each other. That is- what partners do. Isn't that right, dear?" Kagaya's wife flipped the wet cloth around and verbally agreed with her husband.
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Doom Hunter Base (Ambience) by Mick Gordon
The Dark Lord entered through a portal of his own creation into the research facility where his underlings had requested his presence. As he stepped through the portal, all of his loyal followers kneeled before standing back up. The Dark Lord did not wish to waste his time as he asked, "Why have you summoned me?"
The chief scientist adjusted his uniform before calmly explaining, "My lord, Project: Cultist Marauder, has been completed." before indicating towards the glass screen behind him. The Dark Lord subtly raised his eyebrows as he stepped towards the screen to look on the other side. The Marauder was strung up by several, metallic ropes which eased him towards the ground.
The Marauder was no longer a living being. He was now a machine covered from the top down in Immora's finest metal, shaped to look very similar to the Marauder's Night Sentinel armor. Although most of his body was synthetic, only a fraction of his upper torso (along with his right arm) and head remained. His joints were replaced with various tubes and circuits that flowed through his body. Thrusters were built into his forearms and legs as well as various other parts of his body. Most of his armor was made up of the distinct crimson red of Immoran metal accompanied with steel-gray trimmings covering the edges of his armor.
The ropes hanging up the Marauder's metallic body released the Night Sentinel and when his heavy body landed on the ground, it shook all of the nearby equipment. None of the circuitry was activated for the Cultist Marauder as he stood as still as a statue, fists balled up tightly as if he was death-gripping the Slayer. The Dark Lord raised his voice for the Marauder to hear, "Xernex, are you with us?"
"Yes, my lord." The Marauder's mask continued to distort his voice. The lights of the Cultist Marauder's body soon lit up and a red glow appeared from within one of his eyes while the other had a metallic patch over it. The demon moved his arms around, adjusting to his new body and unclenching his fist. Two, metallic arms extended towards the Marauder, each holding a different weapon: hix argent axe and the Slayer's Super Shotgun. Xernex ripped the weapons away from the machine before stating to the Dark Lord, "I'm ready."
"Then you know what you must do. However, you must perform a separate task before you fulfill your duty. Aid Muzan in his efforts for immortality, I have use for his mutation."
"Understood." A spherical power core within the Marauder's abdomen began rotating widely as electricity soared through it. In mere seconds, a portal was created in front of the Marauder. Xernex stepped towards the portal but stopped once the Dark Lord had called out to him:
"You must destroy the Slayer before he has a chance to tap into that power. Use any means necessary." The demon heeded his master's warning before stepping through the gateway he had created, fury flowing through his circuity. It was time for him to exact his revenge.
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It was in the middle of the night at the Butterfly Mansion when Tanjiro decided to meet up with Tamayo. Tanjiro, Kanao, and Nezuko stood in front of the gates to the mansion, looking around to see if they could spot them. Tanjiro's keen sense of smell was able to pick up on their scent before everyone else as he turned towards the direction they were coming from. There, they could see Tamayo, a beautiful woman with long, dark hair which is braided back into a large bun. She has lavender eyes and wears red lipstick along with a dark, furisode kimono.
Accompanying her is her assistant, Yushiro, who is a young boy who also has lavender eyes. He has short, styled hair and wears a button-up shirt underneath his white kimono. Nezuko ran towards the two demons and embraced them, she had grown fond of them the last time they had met. Kanao began to sweat a little from nervousness from being so close to so many demons at once but Tanjiro grabbed her hand and nodded in assurement. He stepped forward with Kanao behind him as he greeted the two demons. Yushiro seemed repulsed by Tanjiro's prosthetics as he commented, "What happened to you?"
Tanjiro explained, "It's a long story. Let's just say my recklessness got the better of me but I'm doing fine now thanks to the Hellwalker."
Tamayo made a "hmm" sound as she took notice of Tanjiro's changed demeanor and body. His prosthetics fascinated her as well as the fact that he was holding Kanao's hands. She got straight to the point as she asked Tanjiro, "I was told that you were looking for an alternative to finding a cure for the demons?"
"Yes, ma'am. I know you told me the best way would be to collect Muzan's blood but that's not an option right now. Is there anything else I might be able to do?"
Tamayo caressed her chin before reaching into a satchel that was strapped around her and pulling out a large book filled with bookmarks jutting out. She flipped through the pages quickly as she explained, "Well, there is another way. However, it would be so impossibly hard to accomplish which is why I never recommended it to you." Once Tamayo found the right page, she flipped the book around to show everyone. The page showed a picture of a strangely shaped lily along with a plethora of information regarding it and it's nature. "The Blue Spider Lily, an ingredient used to turn Muzan into a demon, it's-"
Tanjiro jumped before abruptly pointing his finger towards the picture and explaining, "Wait a minute! I've seen that before, I know where it is!" Nezuko nodded in agreement which made everyone look towards them in disbelief. Tamayo was baffled by Tanjiro knowing the whereabouts of the Blue Spider Lily when Muzan had been struggling to find it for centuries. This was a mystery she was about to discover the truth to. Where was the Blue Spider Lily when Muzan had scoured all of Japan in search of?
