Hey there! Here's the last of the three chapters I finished. I know I said I would post this yesterday, but I wanted to proofread it first and I had school so there's that.

Winter Break is next week for me so I'll have a lot more time on my hands to work on chapters. Now with that out of the way, let's get a move on!

*I do not own RWBY or Demon Slayer. Both shows/manga and all their characters belong to their respective owners.

"Tanjiro" = Talking

"Tanjiro" = Thinking

Tanjiro - Middle Alignment = POV

"Tanjiro" = Flashback

Crash! - Left Alignment = Sound effect


Chapter 4 - No Matter What

Yang Xiao Long

Yang was going full speed as she followed the direction where Ruby's voice came from.

"Just hang on, Ruby," She said in her head, "Your big sis is coming to save you!"

It wasn't long before she saw a red blur with rose petals dropping from it, Yang had found her baby sister.

But, Ruby was being chased by a Grimm which Yang recognized as an Ursa, a bear-like Grimm that was deadly to those without fighting experience.

Ruby was using her Semblance, Petal Burst, to dodge the beast's attacks. But she was wasting her Aura. It wouldn't be long before her reserves were empty, leaving her defenseless.

Yang silently cursed herself, maybe she should've let Ruby bring her scythe after all. At least then, it would be a more fair fight.

Every time Ruby tried to throw an attack of her own, the Ursa swipes at her, forcing the girl to dodge and go back on defense.

Ruby was getting reckless, desperate to land a hit on the damn thing. The Ursa saw it's opportunity and nearly knocked Ruby out of the air.

But Yang fired the guns in her gauntlets behind her, propelling her forward using the explosive force. She flew towards Ruby and grabbed her, allowing both of them to avoid the Grimm's attack.

Yang, still holding her sister close, spun in midair before landing on her feet, facing the Ursa. She put Ruby down and got ready to fight.

"Yang?" Ruby said, looking at her savior.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked, not taking her eyes off of the Ursa about to attack again.

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine," Ruby answered with a hint of guilt in her tone, "I'm sorry. If I didn't speed into the woods and knock myself out then I-"

"Don't worry about it," Yang interrupted, now sporting her signature smile, "Just get to cover where it's safe and call dad for help on your scroll. When I give the signal, you run away."

"What about you?" Asked the younger sister, nervous about what her sister was planning.

Yang took a bit to answer, knowing Ruby probably wouldn't let her fight this battle on her own. But she didn't want to lie to her either.

"I'm gonna protect my family." Yang said before charging into battle as the Ursa lost its patience.


Tanjiro Kamado

"Wha-what do you mean," Tanjiro asked, baffled and slightly angered by the man's insane question, "She's my younger sister! She's family, of course I'd protect her! Why did you attack us!?"

Nezuko then started struggling, trying to escape her brother's grasp. Tanjiro called her name, trying to calm her down.

After remaining silent for a bit, the pale man decided to ignore Tanjiro's question once again.

"You call that thing your family?" He said, still showing no emotion whatsoever.

Sweat formed on Tanjiro's forehead as he realized that his sister's behavior was not helping his case. He had to convince the man that Nezuko meant no harm.

But the swordsman lost his patience and leaped at the duo. Tanjiro instinctively held Nezuko tightly and attempted to shield Nezuko with his body.

But when he got down, he noticed that Nezuko was not under him. Confused, Tanjiro looked around until he saw the swordsman standing a few meters away.

The man's right hand held his sword, the other hand was binding the arms of a struggling Nezuko.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro stood up and was ready to charge the man, but the Demon Slayer stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't move!" The pale man commanded, causing Tanjiro to stand still as the wind blew snow across the forest between the two males.

"I am a Demon Slayer. My sole purpose is to dispose of any and all demons that cross my path before they can kill more people," The man explains, "And your 'sister' is a demon. Therefore, I must decapitate your sister."

"Hold on! Nezuko hasn't killed anyone!" Tanjiro tried to reason with the man. "I have a strong sense of smell. Back at my house, there was another scent I had never smelled before."

"That's probably the one who killed my family, not Nezuko! I don't know why she turned into a demon but…" Before he could continue, the swordsman interrupted once more.

"It's simple really," He said, still keeping up an emotionless expression, "Your sister turned because she was exposed to demon blood. That's how these man-eating monsters multiply."

Tanjiro put his foot down. "Nezuko would never eat humans!" He yelled.

"You can't be serious," the man mocked Tanjiro as if he was insane, "If I hadn't gotten here in time, she would've devoured you."

"You're wrong! She remembers me, I'm positive!" Tanjiro shot back.

"I won't let her hurt anyone! I'll turn her back into a human. I swear, I'll heal her!" Tanjiro announced with confidence. But it was obvious that the swordsman did not believe him.

"Don't be a fool, she can't be healed," Those words shook Tanjiro to his core, "This isn't a children's book where everything can be solved through 'The Power of Friendship.'"

The pale swordsman continued, "You can't just wave a magic wand and make your sister human again. Once someone becomes a demon, they can never become human again."

"I'll find a way, no matter what! So please…" Tanjiro begged as he threw his arms out. "So, please don't kill her!"

"I'll find the one who slaughtered my family! I'll make everything all right!" Tanjiro swore.

"Please! Please!" Tanjiro continued to beg as the man took his sword and prepared to stab Nezuko. "DON'T DO IT ! ! !"

The memories of his family flashed through Tanjiro's mind.

He recalled the births of each of his siblings, how happy he was every time there was a new member of the family.

He remembered when he was six years old, sleeping with Nezuko and Takeo. Nezuko had a nightmare and woke up Takeo who was too afraid of the dark to go to sleep. They both decided to sleep with their big bro because he made them feel safe.

He remembered when he was ten and he had to cheer up a crying Shigeru and Hanako after they found a dead bird in the backyard. That was the first time they experienced death.

He remembered when he was eleven, reading bedtime stories Hanako and Rokuta. Rokuta was only one year old so he didn't understand much, but Hanako loved hearing stories about Huntsmen and Huntresses.

She loved to tell her big bro about how she would become a Huntress too and protect her family from Grimm. Tanjiro was proud to hear that, which made Shigeru jealous and wanted to become a Huntsman himself.

He remembered when he was five and he played with Nezuko in the backyard, Tanjiro messing around and making his four-year old sister laugh. Their father would watch them from inside the house, smiling at the innocence of his children.

He remembered last year, when he was twelve. After a long and hard fought battle with his illness, Tanjiro's father, Tanjuro Kamado, had died peacefully in his sleep.

Fulfilling his duty as the eldest child, Tanjiro had to comfort his younger siblings who were heartbroken. But his mother would comfort him when they were alone, since the boy did not want to cry in front of his brothers and sisters. But after that, the Kamado children would all comfort their mother who was likely the most heartbroken of all.

Even through the worst of times, even though they had very little, Tanjiro always had his family. That had always been more than enough. He was happy.

But in one night, he lost almost everyone he ever loved. If he lost Nezuko, he would have nothing…He would be nothing.

"Please…Please don't take anyone else from me." Tanjiro whimpered.

He got on his knees and bowed, seeing that he could do nothing else but beg. "I'm begging you not to…Please…" He moped.

"Don't kill my little sister…Don't do it, I'm begging you" This stunt made the Demon Slayer known as Giyu Tomioka grit his teeth before shouting…


Yang

The Ursa did not let up, but neither did Yang. As she slid under the arm of the beast as it tried to scratch her, she got up and threw multiple jabs at one of its hind legs until she felt it break.

The Grimm howled in pain, before turning and swiping at the blonde. Yang managed to jump back and avoid the attack. She then fired her gauntlets at the Grimm as soon as she landed.

The explosive shots seemed to have done damage to it but it quickly recovered and lunged at Yang, catching her by surprise.

The Grimm swiped its arm at the girl, hitting its mark this time. Yang was knocked into one of the trees and onto the snow.

As she got up, she noticed that the Ursa was staring at the area with the same tree she knew her sister was hiding in.

"Ruby must be scared," Yang concluded, "I have to create an opening for her to escape."

Yang launched herself at the distracted monster and punched it in the face. "Eyes on me, buddy!" Yang taunted.

The Ursa flew a few feet away until it landed on its back. It growled as it got back up, it was very pissed off.

"Come on, don't look at me like that! I can't bear it! Eh!" Yang said as crickets began to chirp in the distance. "Huh, tough crowd."

The Ursa charged at Yang again, Yang responded by shooting herself towards it. But the Grimm knew better this time, it grabbed the blonde's attacking arm and threw her on the ground with maximum force.

"Yang!" She heard Ruby call out while she was recovering from the massive blow.

"Yikes! Gonna feel that one in the morning." Yang observed as she struggled to get up.

She saw that Ruby was using her Semblance to fly to her sister and get them both out of harm's way. But before the speeding Ruby can reach her…

"Ruby! Get back!" Yang warned, before the Ursa reached out and grabbed Ruby by her cape, stopping her in midair.

The Grimm then spins Ruby around and throws the younger girl at a tree, completely shattering her remaining Aura.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted as Ruby landed on the ground face first, and layed there unconscious. Defenseless against the Grimm creeping towards her.


Giyu Tomioka

"DON'T GIVE YOUR ENEMIES A CHANCE TO KILL YOU!" Giyu shouted, insulted by such a pathetic display from the boy with the forehead scar.

The boy looked up, shocked at Giyu's sudden words. "Stop your pathetic groveling! If it was the least bit effective, your family might still be alive!"

Tanjiro was left speechless, tears filling his eyes. Tomioka continued.

"Look, kid! You might not want to hear this, but you have no idea how cruel this world truly is!" The swordsman said with even more anger

"For starters, people die. Every! Damn! Day! Whether it be at the hands of man, Faunus, Grimm, demon, or just nature taking its course!" Giyu had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

"Everything you've ever heard about peace, harmony, love, and how nothing is impossible. It's all just cheery bullshit used to make sure people don't panic and attract the attention of every Grimm in Remnant!" Tanjiro could only lay on his knees and listen as the Giyu left him no chance to speak.

"You think you're the only person who thought of turning their loved ones back into a human!? I've encountered dozens of people who begged for their relatives' lives!" Giyu said.

"Do you want to know what happened to each and every one of them!?" Asked the Demon Slayer, not really caring what Tanjiro wanted at the moment.

"They either accepted the truth and moved on, committed suicide, or were devoured by the very people they defended!" Tanjiro no longer had the strength to argue, and considered letting the tears fall.

"And now YOU have the nerve to insult those same people by saying a weakling like you, who can't take the initiative to save his freaking life, can heal his sister AND avenge his family!?" Giyu yelled out, not giving the boy a chance to process his words.

"Don't make me laugh! You're just a naive little boy, desperately holding out for a miracle, a 'Happily Ever After' that will never come!"

"In this world, the weak have no rights or choices! Their only fate is to be relentlessly crushed by the strong!"

"Why did you throw yourself over your sister earlier!? Was that your attempt at protecting her!?"

"Why didn't you use your hatchet!? Why did you turn your back to me!? Those blunders are what led to your sister's capture! You're lucky I didn't skewer you along with her!"

"As for your goal, let's say that MAYBE the demons know how to cure your sister. Do you really think any of them will respect you OR your wishes!? Because I sure as hell don't!"

"It's kill or be killed! That is reality! The sooner you learn to accept that, the better!" Giyu finally finished

Tanjiro said nothing as tears fell down his face uncontrollably. Giyu's calm expression returned.

"Don't cry," Tomioka said to the boy in his head, "Don't despair, now's not the time for that."

"I know you're devastated. It's not fair, is it? People all over the world right now are enjoying the peace that they didn't earn, they are enjoying life to the fullest. You used to be one of them."

"But now, your family was massacred and your sister was turned into a demon. Your whole world is crashing down on top of you and most people couldn't care less."

"I know it's painful, I know you want to scream. I get it, I've been there."

"If only I'd gotten here half a day earlier, your family might not have been slaughtered. Sadly, I can't turn back time."

"Feel that pain, carry it with you. Let your rage and drive for vengeance fuel your will and create an undying resolve."

"But as you are now, your body and will are not strong enough to protect, let alone heal your sister or avenge your family." Giyu finished his thoughts as he prepared to end the girl's reign of terror before it began.


Yang

"Get…away from… her!" Yang groaned as she struggled to get up, her Aura dangerously low.

She had to protect Ruby at all costs, she refused to let her sister die because of her. She wouldn't be able to face her dad or her mom in the afterlife if that happened.

Yang finally got on her feet, just in time to see the Ursa Grimm stop in front of Ruby's little body. It reached its hand out to finish her off.

"No!" Yang screamed, rage filling her as her eyes flashed between lilac and red.


Tanjiro

Tanjiro realized that the Demon Slayer was getting ready to kill Nezuko, he was quickly filled with panic.

"No!" Tanjiro screamed as his strength returned to him. He watched his sister get stabbed, causing her to release a painful scream. This caused Tanjiro to snap.


"My sister is in danger! I have to save her! I have to protect my family, no matter what!"

DON'T TOUCH HER!


Yang

Yang yelled as she shot herself forward, her Semblance activated. She was prepared to defend her sister at all costs.


Tanjiro

Tanjiro yelled as he took a small stone and threw it at the Demon Slayer. He grabbed his hatchet which had been on the ground next to him and ran around the trees. He was prepared to defend his sister at all costs.


Yang

The Grimm turned around to look Yang right in her now red eyes as her long yellow hair burned like it was on fire. This was her Semblance, Burn.

This ability allowed Yang to take all kinetic force absorbed into her body during a fight and send it back at her target twice as hard.

The Ursa held out its hand to catch Yang's punch. But as palm and fist collided, the victor was already decided.

With all the force Yang absorbed when she was thrown to the ground, Yang was now twice as strong as the large monster.

The Grimm's arm couldn't take the pressure and broke under the force of the blonde's mighty punch. When her fist slid by its palm, Yang's gauntlet triggered and fired a shot into the beast's head.

The battle was over. Yang's momentum from the clash sent her flying into a tree, using up the last of her Aura to protect herself.

She laid back against said tree and saw that the Grimm already disintegrated and that her sister was safe.


Giyu

Giyu easily managed to deflect the stone the boy threw at him. But it still gave him enough time to grab his hatchet and behind a bunch of trees.

Tanjiro threw another stone at the side of the Demon Slayer's head as he passed between the trees. Giyu didn't even bother activating his Aura as he merely moved his body out of the way right as it was about to hit him.

Tanjiro then charged at Giyu with his hatchet, trying to attack him.

"A straightforward attack driven only by emotion." Tomioka observed, unimpressed.

"You fool!" Giyu said as he brought his sword down, striking the boy in his back with the hilt of the sword. The force he used was just enough to knock out the kid.

He regarded the unconscious Tanjiro, not noticing that the demon he was holding stopped struggling and stared at her brother's body.

"Wait…Where's the hatchet?" He questioned, noticing the boy's lack of a weapon. He then heard a whooshing sound from above. Giyu looked up to see the hatchet flying at him.

Caught by surprise, Giyu didn't have enough time to activate his Aura. So, he moved his head to the left, barely avoiding the hatchet as it landed on the tree Giyu was standing by.

"When he went behind that tree, he threw a stone at me. But, at the same time, he threw his hatchet into the air." Giyu deducted, still recovering from the shock.

"And when he charged me, he hid his hands behind him to hide the fact that he was unarmed." The Demon Slayer looked down at the boy.

"He knew he couldn't beat me in a straight fight, so he tried to bring me down after he was defeated." This time, he was impressed. "This kid…"

As Giyu was distracted, the demon girl that the boy called Nezuko broke out of Tomioka's grip and kicked him away. Before lunging at her brother.

"Damn it!" Giyu cursed as he could only watch as the girl reached for her brother. "She'll kill him!"

Giyu expected the demon to immediately devour her prey, but that wasn't what happened. The girl moved in front of the unconscious boy, her arm held out like she was protecting him.

This sight shocked the swordsman to his core. As far as he knew, no one had ever seen a sight quite like the one he was seeing.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro's words rang through the man's ears. "Nezuko would never eat humans!"

Nezuko lunged at Giyu, trying to get revenge for her brother. "Long ago, I heard someone say the same thing, only to be devoured by a demon. Out of all the people who defended demons, this person was the only one who didn't accept the truth." Giyu recalled.

When a demon is starving, they will not hesitate to eat the first human they see. Man, woman, child. Friend, beloved…Family. It didn't matter to them who they ate. They were no longer the same person.

Giyu had seen this happen more times than he could count. Nezuko started striking at him with her sharp nails left and right, the young man easily dodged each predictable attack.

"This girl is wounded, she is expending energy to heal her injuries. And transforming into a demon alone can drain vast amounts of strength." Giyu observed as he kept dodging.

Nezuko jumped and threw a kick to his head, but he jumped back and avoided it. She lunged forward and tried to pierce him with her nails.

Giyu dodged and struck her chest with the hilt of his sword and kicked her away.

"There's no doubt that she's starving. She must've wanted to feast on someone right away, even if it was her own brother."

"And despite that, she protected him instead." Giyu summarized as the demon girl did a front flip over his head and launched herself at him from the side of a tree.

"I wonder…" Tomioka thought as he sheathed his sword and turned to face Nezuko who was almost right on top of him, "If these two might be different."

Before Nezuko could reach him, Giyu hand chopped her neck, knocking the demon out cold.


Ruby Rose

Ruby woke up just in time to see the Grimm turn to ash. As she got up, she saw a slightly beat up Yang lying against a tree.

"Yang!" Ruby called out as she ran to her sister. Yang seemed to be awake and looked at her as she kneeled down at her side.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Ruby apologized, "I didn't know what to do without my scythe and-"

Yang held up a hand, signaling for Ruby to stop. "Don't worry about it, it was my fault for not letting you bring it." Yang said, also apologizing. "Either way, I've always got your back."

Yang gave her a genuine smile which Ruby returned, but she soon frowned and looked at the ground.

"How am I going to become a Huntress if I can't take on one stupid Grimm." She muttered, just loud enough for Yang to hear.

"Heh…I guess it was pretty childish of me to think that the world was like a fairytale." She chuckled before Yang patted Ruby on the head, still smiling at her.

"That's why we're here, sis." Yang said, "To make it better." Ruby smiled again and the two sisters hugged each other.

Soon their dad came and found them. "Girls! Are you okay!?" He said as he came running.

"Yeah dad, we're fine." Ruby assured as she looked from her dad to Yang and smiled again. "Yang protected me."

Happy that his daughters were okay, he gave them a hug. "That's great to hear. Come on, let's head home. You two deserve some rest." Tai said as he helped Yang up. He offered to carry her, but Yang declined.

The three walked home together as if nothing had happened, Taiyang told his daughters how proud he was after hearing about how they handled themselves in such a dangerous situation. Ruby held Yang's hand as they walked back to their house.

At that moment, Ruby looked at her family and made a silent vow. "I swear. I will get stronger and make sure no one precious to me gets hurt again. I will become a Huntress and help make this world a better place." She swore with a strong resolve. Little did the thirteen-year old know, however, that promise would be easier said than done.


Tanjiro

Tanjiro, who was still knocked out, was in some sort of mindscape. He was surrounded by his mother and siblings, all having a concerned look on their face.

"I'm sorry to leave you behind Tanjiro," He heard his mother say, "I hope that you will remember how proud I am of the kind person you've become."

He could feel his mom lean closer to his head. "Take care of Nezuko for me. And remember, never change who you are." She said before Tanjiro woke up, grabbing onto something.

What he grabbed was a blue blanket wrapped around an unconscious Nezuko lying next to him. She now had a bamboo muzzle in her mouth.

Tanjiro, who still had tears in his eyes, tried to process what had happened before he heard a familiar voice.

"You awake?" The voice said, catching Tanjiro's attention. He saw that the Demon Slayer was leaning against a tree in front of the two.

Tanjiro instinctively grabbed her sister and held her close. The man made no movement. "Go see an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki who lives at the foot of Mt. Sagiri." The man instructed.

"Tell him that Giyu Tomioka sent you." He said, revealing his name.

"Your sister seems to be alright since it's cloudy, but never let her be exposed to sunlight, okay?" Mr. Tomioka informed the boy as he turned away from him and prepared to leave.

"You want to avenge your family, turn your sister back into a human, save others from your fate? Then train, get strong, become a warrior who can protect humanity from both Demon and Grimm. Become (Pause for Dramatic Effect) a Demon Slayer." He said before jumping away from the area in a flash.

Once Tanjiro got over his shock, he returned home to bury his family and prepare to leave for Mt. Sagiri. Something inside him told him to trust Mr. Tomioka.

Tanjiro felt as if the swordsman understood his pain, he gained a newfound respect for the young man who spared his sister.

Burying his family without shedding a single tear was by far the hardest thing he had ever done. At some point, he couldn't help himself.

He took the gifts he bought for his family and buried them with the bodies which he had placed next to the grave of their father.

With Rokuta, he buried the toys he bought yesterday. A samurai action figure, a rocket ship, and a toy robot.

With Hanako, he buried every book he and his father ever read to her, including the ones he read yesterday.

With Takeo and Shigeru, he buried the souvenirs he got for them. Some snow globes, collection figures, a toy model of a Bullhead (An airship from Atlas), and some action comic books.

Tanjiro also buried Takeo's hatchet with him, since he already had his own.

And finally, he buried his mom with the roses he bought for her and Nezuko. He didn't feel it was appropriate to give Nezuko flowers right then.

Speaking of, Nezuko stood there silently as Tanjiro buried the corpses of their family. She continued to stare straight ahead as he put his hands together in prayer.

Tanjiro prayed that they would go to a better place and live in peace with his father in the afterlife. He also prayed that they would watch over him and Nezuko from the great beyond.

Once Tanjiro finished, he stood up and took his sister's hand into his own. "Let's go." He said silently. With Tanjiro leading the way, the last two Kamados slowly made their way down the mountain.

Tanjiro looked back at his house and the graves of four people whom he loved more than life itself, five including his father.

It hurt to leave his home for gods know how long. To say goodbye to his happy and joyful childhood. But Tanjiro remembered why he was doing this, and regained his determination.

Still holding Nezuko's hand, he started running into the forest. He made a silent vow that day.

"I swear. I will never let this happen again. I won't let anyone suffer at the hands of another like I did. If I can't, I will at least make sure they can pass on in peace. I will protect as many people as I can and avenge my family. I will turn Nezuko back into a human. I will become a Demon Slayer"

With a strong resolve. Tanjiro kept moving forward, and his journey had officially begun.


Phew! That took way longer to write than I thought. Glad it's finally over. Hope you guys enjoyed! Just want to let you know that chapter 5 is already in production.

I'd also like to thank everyone who liked and followed my story. I still can't believe I already have over ten followers and favorites as of now.

I hope you will continue to support me as I try to improve as a storyteller.

This time, you might have noticed the protectiveness shared between Yang and Tanjiro. It's only natural of course, being the eldest children of their families. The two may be drastically different, personality wise. But they are both kind hearted people who would do anything for their families.

I hope that aspect will make for some interesting conversions in the future.

I could also see Yang treating Tanjiro and Nezuko as her own little brother and sister once they got to know each other. I say this because Tanjiro can be similar to Ruby in some ways and Nezuko is...Well, it's freaking Nezuko. Need I say more?

Next chapter will be focused on Tanjiro and his training because I have no idea what to do with Ruby before she turns fifteen and heads off to Beacon. I hope you understand. But don't worry. After the two year time skip, we'll be seeing a lot more of our favorite Huntress in Training. Until next time!

Next time: Chapter 5 - Total Concentration Breathing