Two anomalies

Guest reviews answer section.

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Guest: I do aim to catch my readers off guard, like two chapters ago when everyone thought Murata would be the one supervising Tanjiro and then Ozaki appeared.

I still like to think that showing Sabito alive at the end of chapter one was my best surprise though, haha.

Thank you for the praise, it is always nice to hear some and don't get ahead of yourself, there is still a lot of history left, the number of chapters hasn't even reached the double digits yet.

I'll do my best to exceed expectations… can't promise success but I will give it my all!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba, if I did there would be more Tanjiro and Kanao moments.

Also Giyu and Shinobu moments.

And Obanai and Mitsuri moments.

And… I better stop now or we'll be here all day, on with the chapter!

Enjoy!


"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Shinazugawa Genya continued to repeat those words as he runs through the forest.

"They're still chasing us." Murata said, keeping pace right behind him.

"For now just keep running, we'll use the trees to lose them." Ozaki added. 'Tch, things really took a turn for the worse.'


About ten minutes earlier.

"WATCH OUT!"

Tanjiro's warning came just a moment before a knife began to cut through the air, aiming at the girl that was guiding Genya and Murata.

The former quickly dove towards her, pushing her out of the way, the knife hitting his hand instead of her.

"Intruders! Get them!" A voice yelled from the direction the knife was thrown before every person around began to move towards them.

"Are you alright?" Tanjiro asked, having moved towards their position. "We need to go." With that, he grabbed the girl and they began to retreat.

"What the fuck is going on?! Why are those people attacking us?!" Genya yelled as he pulled out the knife and threw it in the ground.

"They are being controlled by the demon!" Ozaki answered before drawing her sword and deflecting a few more knives thrown in their direction. "We were attacked in town by some people that were controlled."

"That must be its Blood Demon Art." Murata chimed in.

"Then what are we supposed to do if they are going to get in the way between us and the demon?!" The black haired Mizunoto yelled.

"We can think of something after we lose them, just run for now." Tanjiro answered.


After nightfall, the Demon Slayers finally managed to lose their pursuers; even if controlled, they were still humans, they could barely keep up with them in the forest during the day, the moment nightfall came, there was no way for the controlled humans to keep track of them.

"We lost them." Tanjiro assured the others after sniffing the air to make sure no one was around.

"Damn it!" Genya yelled, punching a nearby tree. "How are we supposed to get to the demon if he has humans acting as shields?"

"That's what we have to figure out now." Ozaki answered him before turning towards the red haired teen. "I take it she is not being controlled?" She looked at the girl still on his arms.

"She is fine." He answered before gently setting her down. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, thank you." She turned towards Genya. "And thank you for protecting me, is your hand okay?"

"Just a scratch." He answered with a shrug as he took a cloth from his pocket and tied it tightly around the wound.

"Can you tell us your name? You didn't introduce yourself earlier." Murata asked calmly.

"I-It's Kei." She said.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Murata; these are Ozaki-san, Tanjiro-kun and Genya-kun." He said, gesturing to each of his companions when he said their names. "You said you would tell us what you knew when we reached that place but after what happened… could you tell us now?"

"…y-yes." Kei nodded. "It started around… two months ago, I think? Some people from town began to disappear during the night then a week later they appeared again during the night along with… with…" The little girl hugged herself as she began to tremble.

"With the demon?" Genya asked.

She nodded as she took deep breaths to calm down.

"The d-demon said that our town was now his, some of the adults protested of course but…" She looked down as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything else about that." Tanjiro told her softly, having kneeled to be at eye level and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you know where the demon is now?"

"Y-yes, when… when my parents were taken I followed them in secret, there weren't as many people patrolling before and I used to play in the forest with my friends so I managed to sneak around until I saw the d-demon's hideout."

"Why couldn't you have told us that before?"

"…some of the people in town are being controlled, I don't know who is and I didn't want to risk them hearing us and..." She trailed off, averting her gaze. "Other people came to town once saying they're here because of the d-demon but…" She began to sob and used her hands to try and wipe away the tears. "…i-it was a lie, th-they were also being controlled a-and when my brother tried to tell them they took h-him and everyone else around, saying they had to make an e-example of them… I haven't seen them since."

The four Demon Slayers grimaced for a moment before focusing again.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the demon?"

"I-It's male and wears what looks like priest robes and has a bald head."

"Thank you, you have helped us a lot." The Kamado said with a small smile.

"We should get her back to town, then we-"

"Guys." Murata interrupted Ozaki. "Isn't that in the direction of the town?" He asked, pointing towards the sky where smoke was rising.

"Son of a bitch!" Genya yelled, arriving at the same conclusion as everyone else.

The town was being attacked.


It took them less than ten minutes to make their way back to town, having sprinted as fast as possible through the forest with Tanjiro once again carrying Kei.

It was a horrible sight.

Buildings were being burned left and right, and the controlled people were attacking the others or trapping them inside the buildings so that they would burn to death.

"That bastard!" Genya howled, jumping into the fray to stop this massacre.

Ozaki and Murata quickly did the same.

"Stay here, we'll be back!" Tanjiro said, letting Kei down near a tree outside of town so she could hide.

"Y-yes." She answered shakily; the Kamado didn't even need to use his nose to tell that she was terrified.

"Here." So, in an attempt to reassure her at least a bit, he took his fox mask from the side of his head and placed her on her head. "It's a warding mask my master gave me, it has a protection spell casted on it, I'll come back to get it after everything's over so take care of it for me, alright?"

"…thank you."

He gave her a nod before quickly rushing towards the battle.

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Genya tackled a man about to bring down a knife on another one to the ground, forcing the weapon out of his hands before jumping back to avoid a woman with another knife trying to hit him.

'Shit!'

Ozaki quickly rushed forward and disarmed the woman before throwing her to the ground with enough force to knock her out.

Or at least, to knock out a normal person, after groaning the woman got up and tried to attack them again.

Murata moved towards one of the houses on fire and quickly but down the barricade in place to keep people trapped inside and opened the door.

"Quick, get out!" He yelled as people began to exit the place coughing.

"Murata-san!" Tanjiro called out, dodging a hit from a man with a club and knocking him to the ground. "We won't be able to keep up at this rate, we can't kill the people being controlled and they don't get knocked out!"

"I know, but what else are we supposed to do?!" He answered even as he moved to another building.

"We find that demon and kill it!" Genya yelled, roughly throwing a man to the ground.

"It doesn't look like we have much choice; Tanjiro!" Ozaki called out. "You're the only one that can track that demon so you'll be the guide, we will-" She was interrupted when ten people moved to stand between her and her junior. "Shit, they're not going to let me pass."

"I'll take Genya and kill the demon!" The Kamado yelled, dodging another attack and taking the weapon from his attacker away. "Murata-san has already moved on to the next building, we're the closest to the exit!"

"Alright! Make sure to bring it down, we'll handle things here!"

"Yes!" He nodded, throwing off another controlled human that was trying to attack Genya from behind. "Come on, we're going to hunt that demon down!"

"You just tell me where he is so I can cut off its head!" The other Mizunoto answered as the two left the town with Tanjiro leading the way.

"…alright." Ozaki took a deep breath and unsheathed her blade, then turned it backwards to use the dull side to hit. "I apologize in advance if I break any bones."

Without any words, the ten controlled humans rushed against her.


"Here." Tanjiro said after sniffing the air to catch the demon's scent and turning to the left. "We're almost there." They were making good time, partly thanks to the fact they already walked a good part of the way before.

"Once we get there, you just make sure to stay out of the way so I can cut off its head." Genya said with a scowl.

"No, we will fight it together." He answered without missing a beat.

"Huh? I just told you I'll handle it!"

"If we fight together then we'll be able to defeat it faster." The Kamado argued.

"Why you-"

"Shh, stop." The Water Breathing practitioner whispered, stopping on his tracks and crouching between some foliage.

Genya quickly did the same.

"There are some people there." Four men were standing guard with makeshift spears outside of what looked like a haphazardly made temple in a clearing of the forest.

It had an uneven curved roof, with the right side protruding further than the left, the columns holding it were spread around unevenly and the walls were an amalgamation of poorly cut wood and vines that looked like could be broken if one were to apply enough force.

"I can smell the demon inside." Tanjiro said. "I'll draw the guards' attention so you can get inside and kill it."

"I… alright?" Genya said in a questioning tone. "I thought you wanted to kill it."

"I wanted us to fight together so we could finish the fight faster but with the guards there, it's better if one of us distracts them while the other goes inside." He explained, before turning his head towards him. "You said you wanted to cut off that demon's head, I'll make sure they don't bother you so go ahead and defeat it."

"…" The black haired teen blinked twice before nodding. 'So he actually meant it when he said for us to fight together? He doesn't care who gets the last hit?'

"I'll go get their attention, get ready to move." With that, the red haired teen rushed out of the foliage and towards the guards.

The controlled humans immediately noticed his presence and prepared their weapons to receive him.

'They're not rushing at me, are they trying to stay near the temple?' He wondered as he began to analyze the situation.

He ducked under one of the guards' thrust and changed the grip on his sword to hit with the flat side before making contact with the person's stomach and spin around to throw him away.

A second guard tried to bring his weapon down on him but he took a page from Sabito's book and dodged to the side to then hit him with an upwards slash on his chin, then kicked him away while he was still in mid-air, knowing that they couldn't be knocked out of the fight.

The third and fourth guards tried to hit him at the same time but Tanjiro blocked both their spears with his sword and pushed back against them forcing them away until they were near the first one he sent flying.

The second guard got up and quickly ran towards his companions as the Kamado continued to dodge, block and parry every attack aimed his way.

'Tch, the guy is good.' Genya admitted with some bitterness. 'If only I could…' He shook his head to stop that train of thought. 'No time for that, move!'

Making sure that the guards were all busy with Tanjiro, he quickly ran towards the temple, his sword drawn, and kicked down the door.

"Oh, how may I help you?" A man wearing priest robes with a bald head asked, his eyes seeming to be close as Genya couldn't look at their color and was about half a head taller than the black haired Demon Slayer.

"So you're the demon." He thought out loud. "I'm gonna chop your head off!" The Demon Slayer yelled.

Genya lunged against the priest who moved his hands in a prayer before extending the right one forward.

'Wh-' A second later, Genya felt like a wall had just being thrown against him and was sent flying out of the temple, bouncing off the ground a few times before his impulse died down and he skidded to a halt.

"Genya!" Tanjiro called out in worry as he kept dodging the guards' attacks.

"Now, now, there is no need for such violence." The demon said as he walks out of the structure. "We could have just talked things out."

'This scent… he has eaten a lot of people.' The Kamado realized. 'But it's strange, there is something-'

"I see that the devout followers are keeping you at bay as they should, good." The demon said with a nod, moving his hands in prayer. "Now, make sure he stays in that area."

The red haired teen immediately realized that something was wrong and kicked or pushed the guards away from him just as the priest brought his hands forward.

Tanjiro barely had time to brace himself, crossing his arms as he felt something akin to a wall slamming against him forcing him back while leaving marks on the soil below him.

'I was barely able to keep my footing.' Tanjiro thought, stabilizing his posture. 'That was his Blood Art without a doubt, I'm not sure if that praying posture is necessary for it so I shouldn't rush recklessly.'

The priest was already preparing to attack again by the time the Kamado finished that analysis.

'Move!' He quickly jumped to the side to avoid the attack, and almost did, but he got hit on the left leg just before he was out of the apparent range of the wall sending him tumbling back.

The Kamado quickly regained his footing, just in time to parry one of the guards' spears and then kick him away as he braced himself once again and received the attack from the priest demon, leaving another set of marks on the ground.

'It's not a weak attack but it doesn't seem like a particularly strong one, either.' The red haired teen kicked the ground with his left leg a few times. 'Nothing's broken, there's enough force to drive me back but not enough to actually break anything as long as I see it coming.' He quickly glanced at his fallen companion. 'Good, Genya's getting up; he must have gotten hit by surprise with this Demon's Blood Art, if we rush him together-'

"That won't do." This time, the demon moved his hand down and the same wall from before hit Genya from above, leaving the imprint of a hand on the ground around him.

"Genya!" Tanjiro called out in worry.

"You should pay more attention to yourself." The priest said his hands already in prayer before he moved the left one to his right side.

The Kamado quickly put up his guard, covering his right side as the 'wall' hit him; he didn't try to fight the force and instead received it, jumping in the same direction to soften the impact and rolling on the ground twice before getting back up.

The guards quickly moved to rush him and finish the job or at least keep him in place.

'I need to close the distance.' Bending his knees slightly, he dashed between the controlled humans and moved straight for the demon.

He already had his hands in prayer and began to move his left hand forward making the Demon Slayer stop his dash and brace himself as the 'wall' hit him.

'There! That part and that part aren't moving, that's his range.' The red haired teen thought as he looked to his left and right while the attack was pushing him back, noticing that the grass wasn't moving past a certain point.

The moment the attack ceased, Tanjiro dashed forwards again, not giving the controlled humans time to try anything.

The priest demon scowled before once again bringing his hands into a prayer position and then moved the right one forward.

Tanjiro was already moving to the side before he even fully extended his arm and managed to dodge the attack and continue forward.

"Tch." The demon clicked his tongue as he began a new attack, this time moving his left hand to his right side.

'From my right!' The Kamado increased his speed to avoid the hit, now that he knew the range of the attack he could calculate how far he needed to move to avoid it.

A cold sweat began to form on the demon's face as he tried again, this time from above but once again, Tanjiro managed to slip past the attack.

"You brat." The demon moved his hands back into a praying stance and then moved both hands forward.

'Two attacks are coming but that imprint from when he attacked Genya tells me that they're hand shaped, they follow the movement of his hands, then…' Instead of bracing himself to take the hit, the Demon Slayer continued forward moving right in front of the two thumbs and then jumping, passing the over the attack.

"Wha-?!"

'I'm in range, Total Concentration! Water Breathing!' He prepared to unleash a technique and sever the demon's head-

He suddenly jumped backwards, barely avoiding a figure that shot from the foliage nearby, aiming at his neck.

"You're taking too long, are these pests giving you that much trouble?" A new voice, coming from the makeshift temple, asked.

"My apologies, Miko-sama." The priest answered with a bow.

"Well, whatever, I'll have this guy give you a hand." 'Miko' answered.

Miko is a female demon with long black hair tied in a tall ponytail, using a black hair ribbon, which makes her hair reach around her lower back and is wearing, as the name implies, miko robes although the colors were changed.

Instead of a red hakama, hers was a dark blue and the kimono top that would usually be white was completely black. Her pupils are a sickly yellow with the sclera being completely red and she is about the same height as Genya.

The 'guy' that she mentioned is a demon… with nothing noteworthy about him.

He has a bald head like the priest and is wearing a simple brown shirt and pants; other than that, he has the same characteristics as other demons Tanjiro has encountered, pale skin and a single horn protruding from the left side of his head with razor sharp fangs and claws.

'Various demons teaming up.' The Kamado thought, never having dropped his guard. 'This shouldn't happen, that demon from the last mission was just one that divided itself, that's why their scents were all the same but this three… their scents have some similarities but are completely different demons... and I can still smell one more hiding.'

Before he could think on this further, the 'normal' demon lunged at him.

Tanjiro quickly side-stepped to the side and tried to bring his sword down on his neck but the priest demon used his Blood Demon Art to cover his ally, sending the human flying backwards.

Right towards the controlled humans that were acting as bodyguards.

Spinning in mid-air to avoid the first thrust of a spear, he landed on his left leg and immediately put some distance between them and himself.

"Hmm, bring that one alive, he should be a good follower after I deal with him." Miko ordered.

"As you wish." The priest said, preparing for another attack. "I wouldn't move if I were you."

"Lest you want your friend here to lose his head." Yet another new voice said.

The Kamado turned towards said voice and saw a fourth demon holding Genya by the neck with his left arm while the right one was poised to pierce his head.

Like the other demon that jumped out of nowhere, this one was completely unremarkable, wearing the same clothes and having a bald head the only real difference being that the horn protruded from the right side of his head.

'Damn it! I smelled another demon but I didn't have time to pinpoint its location.' He thought, gritting his teeth. 'Not that I would have been able to do something with the other three and the humans they're controlling attacking me.'

"Now, come here and become one of my followers." Miko ordered the Demon Slayer.

"I refuse." He answered without missing a beat.

"…you refuse? I believe you are misunderstanding something, that wasn't a request."

"I know that, your scent is coming from all those men and from those three demons." The red haired swordsman said back. "Your Blood Demon Art lets you control others, doesn't it?"

"Hoh, that's correct; as I thought you will make a fine follower." She said with a predatory grin.

She then rolled up her right sleeve before closing her hand into a fist to the point blood began to come out.

Or that's what should have come out.

Instead of the red liquid dripping into the ground, what began to fall was a dark green substance that floated just outside of her palm before taking the shape of a small bug that she took between her fingers.

"These little guys here allow me to control anyone, it doesn't matter if they are human or demon once I manage to put one of these in you, you will become my devout follower ready to do my biding."

"Why are you doing this? If you wanted to eat then why terrorize the town and kidnap people?" Tanjiro asked, hoping to win some time to think of a way of saving Genya and defeat all these demons.

"Please, do you think I don't know about your little organization?" Miko said back mockingly. "If I go to a town and start to kill people you Demon Slayers will come and hunt me down; I simply thought of a better approach, instead of killing indiscriminately I will take control of an entire town so they will never speak of my existence, then I will be free to pick any food I want as they cower in fear." She licked her lips at the last sentence. "Fear is an excellent seasoning, you know?"

Tanjiro's grip on his sword tightened.

He could tell, even without his sense of smell that all but confirmed it, everything Miko had just said was true, she was genuinely enjoying controlling the people from the town through fear.

"But you somehow heard about it anyway… oh, well, I'll have to be more thorough on the next town." She shrugged. "Maybe put up a blockade?" It was like she had lost interest in the conversation as she began to mutter ideas for what she should do next time.

'…just a bit more.' For his part, the Kamado had been slowly moving towards his trapped companion as everyone else's attention seemed to have been grabbed by the words of Miko, as if they were waiting to be addressed.

They were still paying some attention to him but his small steps were just slow enough that he didn't draw attention as doing something suspicious.

Or so he thought.

"By the way, I thought I told you not to move." The priest suddenly spoke before looking at the demon that had Genya by the throat. "Kill him."

Tanjiro quickly turned in his direction and tried to stop him but he wouldn't make it in time, there was still too much distance between them and the demon's hand was already moving, ready to pierce through his skull.

A moment later, blood was splattered.

"Ghaaa!" The demon's blood, as his fingers seemed to have been ripped off his hand.

"Let go of me, you asshole!" Genya yelled, using his free hand to hold the arm around his throat in place to then cut it off; he then took advantage of the shock to deliver the final blow and cut off the demon's head. He looked at the arm held in his hand for a moment before clicking his tongue and…

Chomp

…take a bite out of it, swallowing the flesh before throwing it away.

'This still makes me want to puke.' He thought as he felt the bruises on his body heal. 'I hope it always does.' He added with a frown.

"What the…?" That was the overall reaction from those who watched the scene, the only ones that didn't seem affected by it were the humans that Miko was controlling but even they were rooted in place, probably because their puppeteer wasn't in a state where she could order them to do anything.

"Alright." Genya turned towards them, revealing that the sclera of his eyes had turned red, his teeth had sharpened to look like fangs and his nails extended slightly so they look like claws; his pupils still remained the same but other than that, he looked exactly like a demon. "Get ready to lose your heads." He growled before dashing, faster than before, towards them.

The priest recovered first, quickly putting his hands together in prayer before extending the right one forward to attack.

Genya didn't stop, he took the attack and pushed back against it, just barely moving backwards before the force died out and he continued forward.

Miko got a hold of herself and pointed at him, sending the controlled humans to intercept him.

The four prepared their spears as they counter-charged him, ready to impale him.

Genya managed to dodge one spear and deflected a second one with his sword but couldn't react in time to avoid the third and fourth ones approaching, aimed at his left leg and right shoulder respectively. 'It's alright, I'll shrug them off after they hit me.' He gritted his teeth, ready for the pain to come.

Shing

But it never did, before the spears could get to him, Tanjiro jumped in the middle, spinning forward in mid-air as water surrounded his sword and cut the two weapons before kicking one of the humans away.

"Go, I'll make sure they don't bother you!" The red haired teen yelled.

Getting out of his reverie, the Mizunoto did just that and continued his dash.

"Tch, stop him!" Miko ordered the priest who had his hands already in position and he extended both of them forward.

This time, Genya did stop to brace himself, sheathing his sword and crouching in all fours to receive the attack.

It barely managed to move him.

As soon as the attack died down, he was up again and dashing forward, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I said." Miko seethed before flicking her wrist. "Stop him!"

A flash of pain went through the priest's face before he once again brought his hands together and moved one forward.

Genya forced his way forward, mostly ignoring the strain he was putting on his body.

'If it's just one I don't need to brace myself to take the hit.' He thought but just as the first attack died down, a second one came. 'Wha-?!' Then a third, then a fourth.

It continued going, forcing him backwards a bit with every hit as the priest quickly moved his hands in prayer before moving one hand forward and repeated the motion before the first attack died down. The veins on his forehead and arms were bulging and his expression made him look as if he was in pain but he continued his barrage regardless.

'Damn it!' The black haired teen cursed as he felt his feet slip and the next attack sent him flying backwards.

"Genya!" Tanjiro called out as he caught him in mid-air. "Are you alright?"

"Shut up, let go of me!" He answered, squirming to get out of his grip.

Just then, the third demon moved behind Tanjiro, taking advantage of their struggle to catch them off guard and ready to impale both of them with his arm.

The two teens widened their eyes, their bodies trying to move out of the way even knowing there wasn't enough time and-

Thomp

The sound of a door being kicked was heard and from the box on the Kamado's back, Nezuko's leg emerged, kicking the demon in its face and sending him crashing against a tree.

"What the…?" It was Genya's turn to be speechless as he saw the demon girl climb out of the box while glaring in the direction of the demon she just kicked.

"What is it with you two?!" Miko yelled, part in shock, part in disbelief. "First one of you eats a demon and almost looks like one and now the other has a demon watching his back, what the hell is going on?!"

"Nezuko." Tanjiro called out, completely ignoring his enemy's outburst.

The younger Kamado turned to him, seemed to give him a once over before smiling under her muzzle.

"What in the…?" Genya repeated as he blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the situation.

Nezuko then turned to him and tilted her head in confusion as if she wasn't sure what she was looking at.

The demon that was blown away by Nezuko jumped back against them and the Kamado's eyes changed into slits and the veins on her forehead bulged as she turned around and kicked him again.

'That's right, she is not so weak that I have to protect her.' Tanjiro thought as Nezuko dodged another attack and punched the demon in the gut to send him flying again.

He remembered the words from his master before he left for his first mission.


Flashback.

Back in Urokodaki's home two days after Sabito's test, the two were sitting in seiza having just finished their meal.

"Tanjiro." Urokodaki said, earning his attention. "This may only be cold comfort, but while Nezuko was asleep, I used hypnotic suggestion on her."

"Suggestion?" He repeated with a frown.

"'All humans are your family', 'protect humans', 'the demons are the enemy!', 'never forgive any demon who brings harm onto humans!' and other such things." The masked man said. "I can't be certain of how well it worked but, if it did, then it should help curve her impulses as a demon."

"I… see." The red haired teen answered with a complicated expression.

"I know that what I did might anger you." Urokodaki continued. "I am prepared to accept that anger, no matter how I word it what I did was mess with your sister's mind."

"No." Tanjiro shook his head. "I can't say I'm happy about it but I know you didn't do it out of any malicious intent, I would never be angry at someone for helping."

The older man smiled under his mask and brought a hand on top of his pupil's head.

"You are a really kind child." He said as he patted his head earning a chuckle from the teen. "There is one more thing." He continued as he moved his hand back. "Tanjiro, I know that your first impulse when dealing with Nezuko will probably be to want to protect her, and I'm not telling you not to, but there is something you have to remember." The Kamado stared at his master in silence waiting for him to continue. "Your sister, right now, is a demon." The Kamado scowled at this but didn't say anything. "This means that she is not so weak that you have to make sure nothing touches her, I would argue that she is more resilient than you, actually."

The red haired teen frowned but didn't argue.

"I am not saying to have her fight but if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need extra help don't forget that she is there."

He could only nod in response at his words.


Back to the present.

'With her taking care of that demon and me grabbing the humans' attention…' He trailed off as he turned to his companion. "Nezuko."

The younger Kamado turned to look at him.

"I need you to keep that demon busy while we take care of the others." He gave her a smile. "You can do that, right?"

Her pink eyes widened for a moment before narrowing in determination and she nodded. Then turned back to face her opponent.

"Genya." The aforementioned looked at him, still somewhat shocked. "I will explain later but for now, we need to take those demons down."

"I-"

Before they could continue, Tanjiro pushed Genya away as the priest sent an attack in their direction.

'Why the hell did he have a demon in that box and why is she fighting that other demon?!' The black haired teen wondered as he dodged another 'hand' thrown at him. 'What the hell is going on?!'

"Genya!" His thoughts were cut off by Tanjiro. "I'll make sure the humans stay out of your way, you cut off those demons' heads; I know you can do it!"

'That's…' He trailed off, gritting his teeth in anger before rushing towards the controlled humans.

"Genya?"

"You have a better chance of closing the distance, now move!" He yelled, having seen how he managed to dodge the priest's attacks while he was on the ground.

"Alright!" Not wanting to argue, Tanjiro began to dash towards the other two demons.

"Tch, kill him!" Miko ordered, flicking her wrist again.

The priest demon groaned but brought his hands together in prayer before beginning a barrage similar as to how he did against Genya.

'Right.' The Kamado thought, quickly dodging in that direction. 'Left.' He side-stepped the second attack. 'Jump.' Then moved between the thumbs of the two hands the priest sent his way.

The demon began to mix other attacks, attacking from the sides, from above and sending barrages with his two hands instead of one.

Each and every one was dodged in some way by Tanjiro, whether it was by side-stepping, jumping above them or suddenly increasing his speed for a second.

It's not that he could see the attack coming, some of them maybe, if he stared at the grass and how it moved he could have a good guess of where the attack was coming from but that's not what he did.

He simply smelled the attack or, more accurately, he smelled the way scents got distorted or suddenly moved in certain areas as if something was pushing them around, that alone was enough for him to get a good idea as to where the attack was coming from.

'Keep moving, close the distance.' He told himself as he dodged another attack. 'Just a bit more.'

He jumped over another hand but the demon took advantage of it and moved his other hand upwards, hitting him from below and sending him to the air.

"Good, crush him." Miko ordered.

The priest moved his hands to a prayer position, the separated them and moved them back together.

Tanjiro's eyes widened as he noticed two hands coming in his direction, both from his sides.

'I can't dodge it.' He realized, but didn't panic.

Moving his sword behind him and to the right along with his upper body, as well as moving his lower body to the opposite direction he took a deep breath.

'Total Concentration. Water Breathing. Sixth Form.' Just as the 'hands' were about to crush him he twisted his body. 'Twisting Whirlpool!' And unleashed a vortex that hit the two incoming attacks at the same time.

It didn't cut through them but it did stop the attacks from getting closer long enough for gravity to do its job and drag Tanjiro back down and away from them.

'This brat!' Miko cursed in her mind as she saw the Demon Slayer fall from the sky, straight towards the two of them.

'Almost in range.' The Kamado thought as he held his sword one-handed and poised it for the first from of the Water Breathing style.

The priest moved his hands to a prayer position.

'There! The opening thread.' The thread connecting to the demon's neck grew taut as he continued falling towards him. 'First Form!'

The demon began to move his right hand forward.

'Water Surface Slash!' But was a moment too late and Tanjiro's sword sliced through his neck, severing it from the rest of the body.

"Ah…" The priest let out a sigh as a bug similar to the one Miko had showed earlier was also split in two thanks to Tanjiro's attack. "Thank you." He whispered as he closed his eyes and let his body disappear.

'This scent… he is relieved.' The Kamado thought, a sad look flashing in his eyes for a moment, but he would have to pray for him later.

Moving swiftly, he ducked under Miko's right hand that held the bug, as if she was trying to tag him with it, and then did an upwards slash cutting the bug in half and her arm from her hand to her forearm in one swing.

The female demon let out a pained yell that grew in volume when Tanjiro cut her legs, making her fall on her knees, then moved his sword to her neck just enough to nick her but not decapitating her yet.

"What…?" She thought out loud, her eyes staying on the sword that could end her life at any moment.

"Tell me everything you know about Kibutsuji Muzan." The Kamado ordered.

"Eh?" And for the first time, her expression truly changed to fear.

So far her expressions had ranged from anger, to glee, to disinterest but even when Tanjiro closed the distance she did her best to remain somewhat stoic, even with the nichirinto ready to sever her neck the only fear coming from her was detected due to Tanjiro's nose.

But now, she looked truly terrified, her eyes were wide open to the point it looked like they could come out of their sockets, a cold sweat was running down her face and her entire body was trembling.

"Tell me!" The red haired teen ordered even as she seemed one step away from a panic attack. "Start talking!"

"I-I can't tell you." Miko stuttered with a gulp. "I-I can't tell you." She repeated. "I can't tell you." Again. "I can't tell you." And again. "I can't tell you." And again. "I can't tell you." And again.

'This scent of fear, it's the worst I have ever encountered.' The Kamado thought. 'She's trembling right down to her bones.'

"I can't tell you!" She said again as her arm healed and tried to strike against Tanjiro.

Before she could get anywhere close, Tanjiro slashed with his sword, finally killing her.

Her head rolled on the ground two times before stopping and turning to ashes.

The swordsman watched her disappear with a pained expression as he tightened the grip on his weapon.

"Again, I couldn't get any information." He let out a sigh before turning back to the others.

The four humans lay on the ground unconscious and he caught the last of the other demon as Nezuko kicked him towards Genya and the latter decapitated it.

'It's over.' He thought as he gave one last sniff, confirming that there were no more demon scents.

With heavy steps, he walked towards his two companions, Genya looking at him with narrowed eyes while Nezuko smiled in his direction and skipped towards him.

The older Kamado gave her a weak smile as he met her halfway and hugged her.

"I'm sorry Nezuko, please wait a bit longer." He said, forcing down the lump on his throat. "I promise I will turn you back into a human! Please wait a bit longer."

For her part, Nezuko tightened the hug, trying to give him some comfort.

"Are you alright? Any injuries?" Tanjiro asked after they separated and looking her over, there was some dried blood in one of her arms, probably courtesy of that demon, but the wound seemed to have already closed. "I'm glad." He said, taking out a handkerchief and cleaning the blood.

"Hey." Genya's voice brought him out of his thoughts as he approached the two, his appearance still resembling a demon's and his sword remaining unsheathed. "I think we need to talk."

Taking a deep breath, the red haired teen nodded and the three sat on the ground. With Nezuko lying down next to her brother with her head pointing at Genya.

"Are you alright?" The Kamado began.

"Huh?"

"You look like a demon, should we move inside that temple in case the sun begins to rise?" He clarified.

"I'm not a demon, idiot." Genya answered with a glare. "I'll go back to normal soon."

"Then… what happened to you?"

The taller swordsman bit back a comment.

'I wanted to be the one questioning him about that demon in the box.' He thought. 'But… he is actually worried?' While he didn't have a borderline supernatural sense of smell like Tanjiro, Genya considered himself fairly good at telling when someone is lying to him or trying to distract him.

From his fellow Mizunoto, he could only see genuine worry in his eyes.

So, letting out a sigh, he began to talk.

"I don't know exactly how it works; long story short, I fought a demon during the Final Selection, managed to kill it but it gave me a serious wound, a mortal one, so in desperation I grabbed a piece of his body that hadn't disappeared yet and ate it thinking 'if demons can regenerate maybe I can do the same by eating one', I was lucky and my wound healed letting me pass the Final Selection." He said in one breath, wanting to get it over with.

"And it doesn't affect you? Beyond the physical change and regeneration, I mean."

"It only lasts a short while, I haven't tried standing under the sun, I don't feel like pushing my luck, and I don't get any urges to eat humans so I'd say I'm fine all things considered."

"Even so, I don't think you should eat demons, what if you eat too many and end up turning into one?"

"Shut up, that's none of your business!" Genya snarled, his demonic appearance adding to his already normally intimidating look. "If it lets me fight then I will eat as many demons as I need to."

"It is my business, we're comrades, it's only natural I would worry about you." Tanjiro countered calmly, not looking intimidated at all. "And I get why you did it during the Final Selection but if you have to eat demons to fight-"

"Not another word!" The black haired teen snarled again. "You don't know shit so whatever you have to say, save it!"

"…why do you want to fight so bad that you will go to these extremes?" Tanjiro asked, his expression a mix of worry and curiosity.

'This guy…' At that expression, he could only sigh in defeat.

"Alright, do you know about the Pillars?"

"I know of them but I've only met the Water Pillar, Sabito." The Kamado nodded.

"You met- doesn't matter." Genya shook his head. "The Wind Pillar's name is Shinazugawa Sanemi, he is my older brother."

There were a few seconds of silence and then a wide smile appeared in the red haired teen's face.

"Ah, so you want to help your brother fight demons?"

"Yeah…" He trailed off with an uneasy expression.

"That's a great goal… I'm not sure he would be happy about the extremes you're taking to do it, though." Tanjiro finished with a frown.

"He may not even care."

"Hm, what do you mean?"

'Crap, I said that out loud.' Letting out another sigh, he looked away before speaking. "After passing the Final Selection I asked where he lived and went to visit, to tell him that I'd joined the corps and…" Genya trailed off gritting his teeth. "He said 'I don't have a brother, leave the corps' before literally throwing me out of his home."

The black haired teen continued to avert his gaze, waiting for the other Mizunoto to ask him why, he knows that question is coming, he just doesn't want to answer it until asked.

"HUH?!" Instead, the Kamado let out an incredulous yell, making him look back at him. "What the hell?! It would be one thing if he is telling you not to eat demons but to say something like that! Where is he?!" He got up and grabbed him from his arm before literally beginning to drag him.

"Hey, what-?"

"No older brother worth the title would say something like that to his siblings; guide me to his house right now! I'm going to head-butt him until he apologizes!" Tanjiro said, his cheeks slightly puffed as he seemed to let out small puffs of breath in anger.

"Wha- Wait! You don't get it!"

"I will spin to add more strength to my head-butt and the moment I see him-"

"Wait! He is right to hate me!"

That sentence made him stop and turn around with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Letting out another sigh, Genya freed his arm from his grip and gestured for him to sit down, which he did.

"Look… I don't want your pity, I'm just telling you this so you leave my brother alone." He began, taking a deep breath and looking down with a haunted expression. "I come from a family of nine, our father was an abusive asshole who would beat my mother, my siblings and me while my mother was a hardworking woman who always protected us from him; the asshole was hated by pretty much everyone in our town so someone attacked and killed him one day, I don't know who and I can't say I much care for it either." He shrugged before continuing. "Anyway, Sanemi and I bowed to help our mother and provide for our siblings and protect them, things were rough but we had a roof over our heads and food on the table so it was good all things considered." The black haired teen gritted his teeth, fighting down tears. "Until one night… our mother was late to come back so Sanemi went out to look for her while I stayed behind with our siblings, I was trying to get them to sleep but they kept saying they were worried for our mom, then… there was a knock on the door." Genya began to grit his teeth harder to the point it wouldn't be a surprise if he were to damage them before forcing himself to tell the rest of the story. "My siblings thought it might be our mother so they ran there despite me telling them not to, then the door was sliced open… cutting my siblings along with it."

Tanjiro knew from the beginning that this story wasn't going to end well but hearing that…

"I-I thought it was a wolf or something and it was about to attack me… but Nemi tackled it out of a window and to the streets." He let out a sob but shook his head to force the tears away.

It did not work.

"I-I knew that my siblings were dead but- but I couldn't process it so I laid them down on the floor as gently as possible before running to find a doctor and…" Another sob as he forced himself to continue. "I saw Nemi over our mother's corpse with a bloodied knife on his hand and… I called him a murderer, even as the sun began to rise and my mother dissolved on my arms I… I said things I can never take back." Pausing for a moment to take a deep breath and wipe the remaining tears, he sighed before continuing. "We went our separate ways after that and I eventually found out about demons and that he had joined the Demon Slayer corps. I-I want to apologize, to say sorry for everything I said back then but he won't even look at me…" Genya finally looked up and had to do a double take at what he saw.

The red haired swordsman was crying, he wasn't making any sounds or sobs but tears fell freely from his eyes.

"H-Hey, I told you I don't want your pity, I'm the one that screwed up!" He quickly yelled.

"No." Tanjiro shook his head, using his left arm to wipe his tears while his right one moved Nezuko a bit closer. "I-I'm sorry, it's not that I'm pitying you it's just… I can relate." He finally said, making the other Demon Slayer widen his eyes. "Sorry, I don't mean to make this about me."

"…it's fine." Genya said quietly.

He may be referred to as 'abrasive', and that's when someone is trying to be polite, but he knows where to draw a line.

The three sat there for a few minutes, with Nezuko hugging her brother as he finished crying.

"Sorry about that."

"I said it's fine." The black haired teen repeated. "So, why are you traveling with a demon?"

"…she's my little sister, her name is Nezuko." Tanjiro began. "We used to be charcoal sellers, I lived with my four other siblings and our parents on a mountain; two years ago, I went down the mountain to sell charcoal because I wanted my siblings to have a feast for New Year. It was late by the time I finished so a neighbor let me stay on his home for the night." Genya recognized that look and the way he paused, he had a good guess about where this story was headed and he had to choke down a curse because of it. "The next morning, I began to make my way up, I was near my house when… when I smelled blood so I hurried back." The Kamado closed his eyes with a scowl. "When I got there, Nezuko was lying outside the door to our house with our youngest brother under her, as if she was trying to protect her, and there was blood splattered around them… I rushed towards them in a panic… then looked inside the house and…"

"Save me the details." Genya said, taking a deep breath to force the image of his murdered family out of his mind. 'He is probably like me in that regard, that image will haunt us for the rest of our lives.' He saved that thought to himself but was fairly certain that the red haired teen thinks the same way.

"Anyway, Nezuko was still warm so I placed her on my back and ran down the mountain as fast as possible, thinking that she might survive if I get her to a doctor."

"…did you get her to one?" Genya asked cautiously, afraid of what might happen next. 'If he got her to a populated area, then…'

"No." Tanjiro shook his head. "I fell down a slope and Nezuko tried to attack me, I managed to bring her back from the brink and convinced the Demon Slayer that appeared there to let her live as she hasn't killed anyone and that I will find a way to turn her back into a human."

"I… I've never heard of a demon turning back into a human." The Shinazugawa said.

"I'll find a way." The response was carried over in a tone that conveyed pure determination. The type a person has when one will do what they set out to do, regardless of the odds or what others say.

"After that, the Demon Slayer told me to go see the person that became my master and I spent two years training before going to the Final Selection." He finished.

There was silence for almost a minute, with only the wind blowing and the rustle of leaves as the only sounds.

"…Genya." Until the Kamado broke it. "Please, don't tell anyone about Nezuko." He pleaded.

The black haired swordsman thought about it for a second before sighing and shaking his head.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." He muttered with a chuckle before looking at him. "I won't; in exchange, don't tell anyone about me eating demons."

Tanjiro gave a weak smile and nodded.


Another one done!

I want to thank the people from the Discord server I joined for agreeing to my request of 'telling me to get to writing', I needed that extra push to finish this today!

As always, I hope you enjoyed and don't be shy about leaving reviews!

Until next time.