I do not own Kimetsu no Yaiba or MHA.


Chapter 2

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Tanjirou was nervous while he was waiting outside of the police station, even though his exterior didn't show it. If others were to be put in his situation, it was very understandable. Most other people would be freaking out, wouldn't be able to handle the pressure, or even both.

But that was the thing. No one else had been in his position.

The idea of dimensional travel being possible was still baffling to everyone, which was why it was important for Tanjirou to keep it a secret. He didn't know why these thoughts were still racing through his head, even after repeating them multiple times, but it did a lot to help ease his growing tension. His current predicament really didn't help with that.

He had no idea what Tsukauchi had in mind when he had been told to wait outside so that he could think about what would happen to him. To him, it could be anything. You don't know all the possibilities with a place where you've never been to.

He was never one to disobey orders, though. He didn't question what he was told to do, no matter how outlandish it may seem. It was just in his nature. Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, had made Tanjirou and his two other close friends Zenitsu and Inosuke sneak into various places by disguising them as girls. Zenitsu and Inosuke had heavily protested the plan, and even Tanjirou had a doubt in his mind that it would work. But even with that, things turned out well in the end, aside from Uzui needing to retire.

There were risks when having a job that required you to constantly fight to the death. You won't always make it unscathed.

As unpleasant as they may seem, all of his memories, all of his experiences while fighting demons, each one stronger than the last, was sure to help him when he became a hero.

There was one slight hurdle to get through though. What would stop him from becoming a hero here? He certainly has the experience. He has the ability. He just needs to train harder. What could the detective put him through that would be detrimental to his goal?

The boy who was known for his saint-level patience found it thinning. His whole new life in this world depended on a decision that was completely out of his hands! He couldn't do anything at all!

Calm down, Tanjirou. Nothing will change by getting agitated.

He took a deep breath, and relaxed his body and mind, expelling most of the tension inside his body. All he could do was wait.


"You want me to be in charge of the boy's probation?"

Ryukyu was, once again, standing next to Tsukauchi's desk, and trying to decide what to do with the boy along with the detective. By law, the boy had to go through probation for a certain time, as much as Tsukauchi didn't want to subject him to that.

His actions would still be considered as vigilantism in the public eye.

Next, it was deciding what hero would be watching over him. That was a rather easy decision, given that there was only one hero that he knew, and seemed to get along with. The problem then was to get said hero to agree to it. A quirk like hers could be used in all kinds of situations, and it would be a waste for that power to be used to take care of a kid for a week.

Tsukauchi took in the look on her face, and decided to elaborate. "Look, I know that your quirk is relatively powerful, and that you have much more experience than those among the rookie heroes, but the kid knows you the best. He's been disconnected from society his whole life. Most rookie heroes at this point would take a look at the kid and think of him as some sort of hard-headed bully who thinks too much of himself, and we both know he doesn't deserve that. Hell, I wouldn't even put him on probation if it wasn't for the law requiring it."

The dragon hero knew what the detective was saying was very accurate, but inside, she disagreed a little. She didn't have anything against Tanjirou, he seemed like a well-behaved and respectful kid, but she felt like she could go out and do more. With her power, she felt like she had a responsibility to go out and do as much as she could as a hero. Make a true change, like All Might had been doing for his years as a hero. People with great powers had a responsibility to help the civilians as much as they could.

"I get that, but…." The protest died in her throat. She didn't really have a sound argument to say to the detective.

"With the quirk that he has, and his desire to help others, he's going to become a great hero in the future," he continued on, "He's brave enough to charge headfirst into danger that he has no idea about, and he cares about the innocent people there. Maybe spending some time with the real deal will speed him along that path."

Ryukyu processed these words in her head. That was true. If he did want to become a hero, then being with a hero would be beneficial. But if that was what he worried about, there were much better heroes than her that could fill that criteria!

"Besides, if you're worried about your hero duties, don't worry about that. You've been working extremely hard since you graduated U.A. Use this to take a break from the action for a while. Looking after the kid'll still be important." The detective finished his case, and leaned back in his chair with a grin.

The hero still looked like she wanted to argue against it, but she couldn't. If it was really that important of a duty, then she'd try it out. It could have been a lot worse, and she was thankful that the kid would be easy to look after. Hopefully. She didn't want to tempt fate like that. A bit too late for that now, though. Oh well.

With a sigh, she replied, "Fine. I'll do it, only because you asked me to, and the kid. He'll be in safe hands with me."

Tsukauchi let out a laugh. "I'd sure hope so. Wouldn't do him any good if he was going to get hurt again that quick after the attack."

Ryukyu nervously echoed the laugh, and turned around to head towards the entrance. "Have a good day, detective."

"You too, and good luck."


The door opened once again, and Tanjirou glanced at the door to see if one of the officers were coming to him with the news about his fate for the weeks ahead of him. He saw Ryukyu, the hero that drove him here earlier in the day, stepped out of the door, and looked around. He reasonably assumed that she was looking for him, so he got off of the bench that he was sitting on and made his way over to her.

She heard the footsteps and turned her head to face him. "There you are. So, the detective decided what was going to happen to you for the next week."

Tanjirou awaited her words, and steeled himself for the decision. He nodded, ready to hear his fate.

"Because of your actions yesterday, you are to be put under a 7 day probation under the watchful eye of a certain Pro Hero. That's what I was supposed to tell you, but the detective and I both know that you didn't know the laws and meant well. He didn't want to put you here, but the law dictates that he must."

Tanjirou thought over the words. It wasn't too bad, not at all. He would be staying with a hero for a week. Much worse things have happened to him, so staying over at someone else's place was a welcome change. He could probably go back to the woods, and train there until he was as strong as he was when he first became a Demon Slayer.

"That's fine. I'm okay with that. It's certainly better than staying out in the woods."

They were both silent for a moment when Tanjirou remembered what he was initially going to ask. "Which hero am I going to be staying with?"

Ryukyu looked spaced out for a moment, but when she noticed Tanjirou staring up at her.

"Oh, sorry about that. Well, since I'm the only hero that you actually know, I was assigned to watch over you as probation duty for the week. That means you'll be crashing over at my place for the week."

Crashing over….?

What exactly was he crashing?

With a confused expression on his face, he asked the adult, "What does 'crashing over' mean?"

Ryukyu looked puzzled by the question, but then realized. He hasn't lived in society. Of course he wouldn't know these types of words. She'd have to stop doing that. But, he was only 9. He didn't know that many big words!

This was getting a lot harder than she thought it was going to be….

"'Crashing over' is what people usually mean by staying over at someone else's place. You can call it sleepover if you want too."

Understanding dawned on his face. He was staying with Ryukyu at her home. He didn't have any arguments against it. She seemed like a good person, and she wasn't overly aggressive like some other grizzled people and a certain boar-headed boy.

"Oh. So if I'm staying with you for the week, what do we do? If I'm not supposed to be fighting any villains, then does the detective have something that he wants me to do?"

Ryukyu walked over to her car, and opened the door. "Those are questions for when we get home. You look dead on your feet, and I know that I can use a rest. Get in, it's not far from here. It'll take 10 minutes at the most."

As soon as she had said those words, he realized how tired he had felt. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep at the hospital, if that could really count as sleep. He wasn't sure being knocked unconscious counted as that.

He couldn't even remember the last decent sleep he had gotten. It had to have been before Muzan attacked the Master. Nevertheless, he really needed a rest. His sleep schedule wasn't going to wait because of his need to become a hero.

He got back in the car, and once again found the belt, and dragged it across his chest to where the red buckle was, and locked it in place once again. Ryukyu put a set of metal keys into a slot, turned it to the right, the rumble of the engine started once again, and the wheels were rotating at high speeds.

The glass on the side of the car rolled down until the wind was blowing harsly through the open window up to Tanjirou's face. Admittedly, it was harsh on his eyes, as he was forced to shut them a little, but it felt strangely pleasant on the rest of his face. The day was warmer than he was used to, so he hadn't even noticed the stuffiness of the car and the sun constantly blaring on his face. It was most likely due to his exhaustion dulling his senses.

The car stopped in front of a standard-looking abode, larger than his own, much larger,, but it was peaceful. From the outside, it looked completely ordinary compared to the houses around it.

No one would suspect that a hero would live here, unless someone came and followed her around everywhere. Though at the moment, she wasn't in her hero clothes, so it wouldn't really matter.

Ryukyu got out of the car, and looked to Tanjirou in the back. "It may not look like much from the outside, but it's really comfortable inside. You can rest up there."

The teen-now-turned-to-kid stepped out of the car, and into the house, taking off his shoes beforehand to not be too disrespectful.

"Pardon me." Tanjirou said as he stepped into the house and looked around. The sights that he was greeted with were…. strange, for a lack of a better word, to look at. The interior of the house was different, like the rest of this world, to something that a person would traditionally find back home in the Taisho period.

The walls were painted with bright colors that worked well with its surroundings, being decorated with a pale yellow color. He could see from the entrance that some of the rooms had open doors, and he could see different colors and pieces of furniture in them.

Bringing his attention to his immediate surroundings, he noticed that at the entrance, there was a wide, open area leading up to an equally large living area, consisting of multiple sofas, a circular table with wood sides and base with a glass top, a couple of glass holders, and a large, black screen hanging on the wall above the sofa.

The screen was the thing that bugged him. It didn't look at all out of place, yet he couldn't seem to find the point in it. He would need to ask her about it later, because that must have been something native to this world.

Ryukyu walked in front of him and to the left, where there was a gap in the wall that led to a set of stairs.

"Well, since we're both tired and haven't gotten any decent sleep in the past 24 hours, I think we can both agree to just rest for now. There is a guest room that's usually never used. I do apologize if it's a bit messy, I just never have any visitors coming before." She explained, with a hint of tiredness and resignation in her voice.

"It's okay. I would be grateful for a spare futon to sleep in, Ryukyu-san," he replied. "Thank you for letting me sleep in one of your rooms". It wouldn't do for him to be offered a room and not be thankful about it. That was something that his father and Urokodaki had told him was of vital importance.

"Ah… it's nothing. I've lived alone for a while now, and I'm probably not gonna have any other uses for those rooms. This place is a bit too big for just one person to live in after all."

She continued up the stairs, with Tanjirou following shortly after. The stairs were long and winded, and the top of the stairs led to another hallway, with multiple doors on the sides, two on both the left and right.

"The first room on the left has a spare bed that hasn't been used. There might be some dust on it for the past weeks that no one has entered, so make sure you shake it off the blankets before you sleep." Ryukyu pointed out the room, then walked down the hallway to another room.

"Meanwhile, I," she continued, "am going to need to crash on my bed, and pass out."

She leaned on the door, which opened without a creak, and threw the door shut as soon as she entered the room. Tanjirou stares at the door for a while because of such an unusual action. Deciding that things would go back to normal in the morning, he entered the room.

Once again, the sight was more than he had expected. When he lived with his parents before he became a demon slayer, he would often share his futons with his younger siblings, and sleep in a room that had nothing except a desk. For him, it was his style. Simple, quiet, and comfortable. Living the kind of life that he did, it made you long for even the simple things in life. A warm meal every day, a comfortable futon, and a roof over his head. He had been travelling around, so the days where he could have them were few and far in between.

It didn't help that in his first break as a demon slayer, Inosuke kept throwing pillows at Zenitsu's face, and both Zenitsu and Inosuke kept running around in circles and chasing one another along with Nezuko. He still remembered that day. He had never seen Zenitsu so furious.

Walking into the room, it didn't bother him that the room was somewhat smaller than he was used to. A white mattress was propped up from a wooden base, with pillows and blankets draped on them. A large wooden desk sat across the far corner of the room, with a mirror and drawer across it. The walls around it were painted in a dark blue color, and the ceiling was painted as a starry sky, with a drawing of a full silver room, with a clear bulb in the middle.

Tanjirou walked across the room to the open blinds, grabbed the small thread, and pulled down, closing it. The light that was entering the room had been blocked, and he was once again shrouded in darkness.

This is very convenient. You can just flip it open again if you want light. It definitely is a lot easier than using lighting candles.

He then walked back to the bed, and pulled the covers open. Heeding Ryukyu's warning about the dust, he dragged it off of the bed and flapped it once.

Not a great idea.

The leftover dust sprayed all over the air, covering the room in a blanket of white cloud that forced Tanjirou's eyes shut the moment he swung the blanket up.

Why did that even happen?

His enhanced sense of smell definitely did not help, as it was picking up scents of various things that he had never even smelled before. Nevertheless, a bed was a bed, and Tanjirou was glad to finally sleep in one.

Placing the blankets back on the empty mattress, he lifted his feet on the ground and laid down on the bed. Whatever he was expecting it to feel like, it was certainly not this.

He found his weight suddenly shifting downwards, and the mattress going along with it, though not without a distinct spring sound coming from the floorboard underneath. He felt his body freeze up in fear, and it felt like he would sink right through to the floor, until he realized he wasn't moving anymore, and felt the chill evaporate.

After getting over the initial worry, he took his time to relax under the blankets, and to feel the coolness underneath him. It felt soft, softer than he had ever felt anything before, rivaling his own checkered haori. He leaned back into the pillow and closed his eyes, instantly feeling drowsy. He had no time to marvel any further until he fell fast asleep.


From villain attacks early in the morning to now housing one of the strangest kids she'd ever met, the rookie dragon hero certainly wasn't feeling the day. Coming off of a sleep-deprived night, she spent the time sleeping on a certain question; how the heck was she supposed to look after a little kid for a whole week?

First of all, what was she even supposed to do? The detective told her to "take a break" for this week, yet how was she supposed to? Normally, her version of a break was to get out of the house, turn into her dragon form, fly out to a remote beach, and relax at a small wood house that she had built herself. She was fairly sure that it was illegal, but nobody knew it was there. It was a win in her book.

She could hardly leave the kid at home and go and relax there, as tempting as it sounded. That would just be immoral of her and messed up in so many ways.

What did Tsukauchi mean by "relax" anyway? She almost wished she could go out and back to doing hero work again!

But she knew that the kid didn't ask for this either. He never wanted to be caught, knocked around by a villain, sent to the hospital and the police station right after. He would probably be happy with life back the way he was used to. She knew that she would, being put in his situation.

It was so clear now why this was so heavily regarded as a difficult hero duty, and why "the bane of all caretakers" was such a widely discussed issue.

She, in all honesty, didn't have a clue what to do. Her regular day was just going out, patrolling, resolving minor cases and the occasional villain attack, and going back home and chilling. Without heroics, she literally had no plan for the day.

What was the best way to go at it? Take the kid out to the city and have fun there? For any other kid, that would be a good idea, but for Tanjirou, he had never been out there.

Maybe she could take him out on a tour to the city?

That option was on the table, but that depended on what Tsukauchi had planned for him after that. Was he just going to let him return to his regular life in the woods? Was he going to send him to an orphanage? So many questions, yet no answers.

Wait…

She was being dumb.

Why not ask the kid what he wants to do?

As long as it wasn't against the law, they technically could do whatever they wanted. It would save her the potential hassle of boring the kid to death, and he'd be happy.

Why didn't she think of this sooner?

Maybe it was because she was sleep deprived as all hell? That wasn't even a maybe. She hasn't gotten sleep in the past day and half.

Listen to your own advice, Ryuko! Leave the issues to the morning!

She stopped thinking, closed her eyes, and instantly lost consciousness.


The small bedroom was filled with a dull light that was seeping through closed blinds, along with a bed that hosted a young boy covered in sheets, slowly opening his eyes. The small light was a welcome change from the first few times that he has regained consciousness, where the sun was shining directly on his face.

He tossed the unfamiliar sheets aside, and climbed out of the bed. Recalling the events of yesterday, and feeling more energized than he had in a long while, Tanjirou moved towards the blinds and pulled the yarn up. He could see the sun closing in on the horizon, covering part of the sky in a light shade of orange.

Based off of the sky, he had estimated that he slept for 6 to 7 hours, a very healthy sleep in his mind. Traveling around, he was used to getting by on only 3 or 4 hours of sleep, with the training that Urokodaki ran him through. But, he speculated that based off of his age change, everything he had learned from him was near useless now.

He opened the door out of his room, and took a glimpse into the master bedroom. The sheets were half removed, and there was no one laying in the bed. Making another assumption that the hero was currently awake, he made his way down the spiraling wooden staircase to a light sound coming from the living room, and a very familiar smell coming from the kitchen.

Peeking his head into the room, he noticed that the sound was originating from a wide, black box that was slightly glowing from the front, which was connected to the very same wide, metal screen that was hanging on the wall when he first came in.

Seeing that Ryukyu was busy in the kitchen, and likely did not notice him come down the stairs, Tanjirou spoke a short "Good evening", and the hero turned around and found the young boy standing in front of the kitchen.

"Ah, good evening. I warmed up some instant ramen in case you're hungry. If you aren't, then that's fine too, you can eat it whenever you feel like it."

Right on cue, his stomach rumbled lowly, and he lifted his head and, with a slightly embarrassed face and a sheepish smile, he replied, "I think I will take you up on that offer."

She let out a low laugh. "It's okay, I get it. You probably haven't eaten in a while." Noticing that the kitchen counter was a little too tall for him, she gently lifted the bowl and handed it down. Tanjirou took it gingerly in his stubby hands, and went to the table to eat.

Tanjirou quickly ate the food that was given to him, and while it certainly wasn't the quality of some food stalls that he had passed during his travels, it wasn't dirt poor either. Food should never be complained about, because a Demon Slayer rarely got the time to eat food in peace. He was all too used to eating food that was a bit raw and rushed.

After a few minutes of silence, with Ryukyu watching the screen, his curiosity got the better of him. What was that screen? It looked like it was showing some sort of play, but how was she viewing it? It was all so mind-boggling to him!

"Ryukyu-san? I have a question, if you don't mind?"

She turned from the screen, and lifting a small remote at the same time, she pressed something, and all of a sudden, the sound coming from the other black box abruptly cut off.

"Hm? It's okay, what's up?"

Tanjirou was silent once again, and stared at the box, and then the remote. After a few seconds, he regained his voice, and asked the question.

"What is that big screen that is showing plays?"

With a confused expression on her face, she stared at him. "What do you mean?", she answered, with a quizzical voice.

Elaborating, he continued, "How do you make those things appear on that screen, and how is a sound coming from that box? Is there something inside of it? Is there something trapped in that? Is a quirk doing that…?" His finger pointed at the screen and box.

Following the finger to look at the TV once again, she understood what he was asking. "You mean the TV? Did your family not have one of those? They are fairly common…"

"No!" He realized that he had shouted that last bit, and he quickly regained his composure. "I'm sorry. Our house was just a simple Japanese-styled house that had torches. We didn't have those balls of light on the ceiling, and it was fairly empty."

How did he survive without any sort of technology? How cut off was he that he doesn't even know what a lightbulb is?

"How do I explain this…." She trailed off, thinking of ways to describe technology. "Normally, kids learn this in school, but you've probably never been there. I don't fully understand it myself, biology was more my thing than physics, but from what I know is that there are different forms of energy, and there was some rule that energy had to be conserved, so they changed it to a form of electrical energy, but people just call it electricity.

"Then, I don't know how this works exactly, but my guess is that they used this electricity to send signals by using certain metals called conductors. They made computers, which I'll show you later, I have one of my own. Using this and by using the radio waves in the air, which I don't know how they do it, but it sends a signal to this TV, and out comes the different shows that you want to watch."

She pressed a button, and all of a sudden, a black screen appeared on the now named "TV", and it showed a massive list of channels, which kept scrolling up, seemingly endless.

"If you change the waves a bit, the channel will change. You can select what you want to watch by clicking this, then it'll change automatically. That's a little of the science behind it, but others who specialize in it can tell you more. I personally couldn't care about it, as long as the shows are here, I'm fine."

Tanjirou, who's eyes were now mostly glazed over because of the information, was internally screaming.

Where did you send me, Yoriichi-san? And why does everything just get so much more complicated?

Now that he knew that whatever was happening with the TV wasn't some form of magic or other-worldly nonsense...

Well, technically it is…

Tanjirou finished his remaining ramen, and he set the bowl down. Now well-rested and filled up, it was finally time to…

Hold on, what was he supposed to do? Ryukyu hadn't given him a schedule or something to do after he got up! She just told him that "these types of problems are left to the morning"!

Bringing the conversation back to a realm where he could comfortably talk about, he brought up another question.

"Ryukyu-san? Earlier today you said that making our schedule would be something we had to do after we are rested?"

She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. "Tsukauchi never gave me a specific list of things that we need to do, so really it's all up to you. I'm just supposed to be watching over you as a responsible adult."

"Oka… Wait, I need to decide? I don't even know my way around here!" Tanjirou exclaimed his protest after he had the burden of the schedule passed on to him.

"There's your idea, then. Why not take a look around the city? The weather's perfect right now. During the summer, nighttime is always the best time to go out."

He thought about it for a bit. If he wanted to be a hero eventually, and if he was going to be living in this world for the rest of his life, it probably was a good idea to know your way around.

"It would be a good idea for me to get to know the city. If I'm going to become a hero, then I need to know what's going on around me."

At that statement, the dragon hero's eyebrow shot up. That was the first time she had heard of a goal from him. He wants to be a hero? He certainly had the quirk for it. That was probably what led him to attack that villain last night. No wonder. Why didn't she expect it?

"If that's the plan, then I will get dressed in something that isn't my hero clothes."

She then turned around and eyed Tanjirou's clothes. He was still wearing the tattered clothes that he had from before, and from the hospital. All in all, it wasn't that great of a sight.

"And also Tanjirou, you might want to change your clothes. It's not gonna do, looking like that." She passed off her assessment of the remains of his Demon Slayer Uniform to the young boy, until another thought crossed her mind.

Did she even get any other clothes?

All she had that fit him were some clothes that the hospital had provided, given that he had nothing else to wear, which was a plain white shirt and black shorts, probably from some program which helped kids in need. This brought another priority on the top of her list.

Clothes shopping.

Truth be told, she was never one to be interested in fashion, and that statement would be heavily frowned upon by many other female pro heroes, but it was the truth, what was the point of getting all these fancy outfits when all it does is draw attention to you, and makes you feel super uncomfortable?

Nevertheless, she had another thing to do.


Fitted not in his Demon Slayer uniform, but a standard white shirt and black shorts, Tanjirou was walking around the city next to a somewhat-disguised hero in public. Ryukyu, sporting a regular shirt over a white jacket, hood pulled up, and black pants, minus her usual dragon appendages over her right eye, was walking past civilians, not a single one of them recognizing her as a hero. The sight of an adult woman with a young boy did not draw any attention whatsoever, as they just dismissed it as a regular mother and child travelling the city.

Which was a good thing for both of them. It wasn't in their interests to make everyone stare at them and notice them.

She took the young boy down the busy street, a different one compared the one where the villain attack was last night, to a store that was labeled with a bright flashing light.

"Because of all the destroyed buildings, construction workers that are paid by the government are repairing them. With their quirks made for the job, it should take a few weeks to get it the way back it was, but for now, we need to avoid it," She had explained to him when he asked about it.

They had entered the small store, where, like everywhere else, there were people of varying sizes and appearances hustling around, grabbing clothes off of racks, placing clothes against them and trying on sizes, and a massive line of people, holding items, ready to purchase them.

The interior of the store was colorful, with bright lights and signs that blinded Tanjirou when he first walked in the store.

I thought Tokyo was bad! And she said this was a "small" store!

A voice broke him out of his trail of thought. "Since you only have one pair of clothes, it wouldn't do for you to wear that day in and day out, so we need to get you other things to wear. I don't really care what you get, so long as you like it. Now come on." He swiveled his head and realized that Ryukyu was talking to him until he was yanked out of the way.

She grabbed his arm, and steered him over to a certain section of the store, towards the back left, where there were smaller, more colorful outfits that were standing out vibrantly compared to the rest of the store, where other kids his size were being forced by their parents to try on their clothes, some completely uninterested, and lazing around sleeping on various places.

"First, we need to look for a proper size, then choose something based on that…." She trailed off as she picked a random shirt and placed it in front of Tanjirou, bending down and comparing it to his chest size, ignoring his puzzled look.

"This size looks good. You can choose whatever you want, just make sure it's medium size," She instructed him lightly.

It was so fast, that he had no idea what happened. Now all of a sudden, he had to choose his own clothes, which he had never done. Back when he was living in the mountains, his mother usually knit clothes and different haori for each of the siblings, and they used to all go out and buy different kimonos that matched them for special events. The kimono that he wore had lasted him all the way up until 2 years prior, until he became a Demon Slayer.

Which was the reason why he was hesitant now. He really didn't care what he got.

"How do I know which one to choose?" He spoke up after his few minutes of silence.

Hearing Tanjirou say the exact words that used to pass through her head when she went shopping made her chucke. "The bane of shopping, is it? Well, do you really care about what you wear?"

"I'm fine with anything as long as it's comfortable," the boy replied, still looking at the rack of garments.

"Just like me. Well then, let's find something that isn't too obnoxious, shall we?"

She spent the next 5 minutes picking various different clothes, ranging from some casual shirts and pants, to even a jacket and a somewhat formal shirt and jeans. Tanjirou, who has never seen something like this before, and who's idea of formality is a simple yukata, was once again left confused.

His confusion was met with a short response from the hero that quite frankly did nothing to clear it.

"There will come a day where you will need this. And when that day comes, you'll thank me. Trust me on this. That was me once upon a time."

Each world would have it's different customs. Sometimes it won't always be the same as you're used to.

After picking out a steady pile of new clothes for Tanjirou to wear, they stood in the line, waiting for quite a while, which Tanjirou, once again living up to his saint-like patience level, waited in without complaint, while Ryukyu took out her "phone" as she called it earlier, and started to scan the hero news outlets. Tanjirou, with nothing else to do, looked around, and most people were doing the same thing, staring at a phone.

Now knowing that technology was a thing, and that the people here could do so many more things that the people of his time couldn't even dream of doing, it was hard for him to be surprised anymore. After all, he had been hit with the biggest impossibility.

Even after a full day's worth in a new world, he still couldn't believe what he was in.

After a half hour, they were finally out of the store, a decently sized bag in hand, and a wallet that weighed considerably less than it did before, the two continued to walk around the city, with Ryukyu showing Tanjirou the local places in the city, which included parks, some local schools, and even a beach, which in his opinion would have been quite beautiful if there hasn't been a steady pile of trash starting to build up along the shoreline.

The parks were a standard place, with a weird structure sitting in an open field, and many kids running around, jumping, hanging, and yelling, all in one over it, finding many creative things to do.

One could mistake that for training very easily. Hell, it was probably a decent method of training. It could prove useful to him, in replacement to those death traps that he constantly had to avoid.

At every new place that they went to, Ryukyu would give a basic explanation of what they were, which Tanjirou greatly appreciated.

"Parks are basically a social gathering place. People often meet here to go around in the city, or just relax after a long day. It's a nice quiet place during the day, and it also serves as a good place for kids like you to play. That's what that is over there, it's called a playground with all kinds of obstacles and other things, though personally I never found the excitement in them." Her take on it he could definitely see, and it was ideal for someone like him.

School, which (finally) was a concept that Tanjirou was somewhat familiar with, though he didn't go to school himself, only the extremely wealthy did, was available to the public, and to each and every kid. The addition sat pretty well with him, his mother pounding the importance of an education into all five of her children at a very young age. The one they were in front of had a sign that labeled it "Masegaki Primary School".

"Public schools like this one, though they generally aren't that great in quality, allow every kid to learn there, free of cost. It's where kids spend most of their early lives. The school is divided into grade levels, and as you get older, you go to a higher grade, and the things they teach get harder."

She then started going on about the general school system, which, to her surprise, Tanjirou was listening to with rapt attention. She never was that great of a speaker, and often made people fall asleep.

"Primary school, which is this one, starts from 1st grade and goes through 6th grade. 1st grade starts at 7 years old, so you would be in 3rd grade. This is the age where everything is really easy, and your grades don't matter at all, unless you want to go to a private school, which costs a lot of money, and an application, where they accept only the students who have specific grades."

She paused for a bit, walking down and around a block where there was another large structure, which labeled "Musutafa Private Middle School".

"This is the one where I went to before I went to high school. Here is where it starts getting harder, and you have to study really hard here, because whatever you get here, might affect what you want to be. Hero schools aren't very accepting, especially if you want to get into a good one. Even though it's a lot harder than a public one, it prepares you well."

She laughed a little, and as a little side comment to Tanjirou, she added, "In reality, the public middle schools aren't good at all. I've heard stories from people who went there. They regretted it."

Tanjirou wasn't all that sure it was something to be laughing about. If it was as bad as they described it, then the people in charge, or what was called the government, should really be helping these kids.

Turning off of the main sidewalk and onto a mountain trail, she continued to show Tanjirou around. "This last place here has been famous for many reasons around the world. It's just over that hill there," She explained to him while pointing over a small hill in the distance.

"What's over there? I don't see anything except a grassy hill," he questioned, now positively intrigued.

"You'll see. There aren't that many people that don't know about it, yet it's something that not many have ever seen in person."

They both caught a taxi ride, and while riding, Tanjirou saw the beginnings of a giant blue construct, in the shape of an H, overlooking the greater part of the roadway, and taking up most of the view. In front of many gates, a large U sign in front of an A was plastered above it.

They both got out of the car and approached the construct. "Welcome to U.A high school, the best hero school in the country. It produces the best heroes, and it's where I graduated from a year back. For the people that make it into U.A, it's an amazing opportunity to achieve their dreams and become the best they can be."

The U.A graduate narrated in a proud voice to an astonished young boy. He gazed over the large institution, with fields reaching down as far as he could see, ranging from various different things with no doubt special purposes.

His surroundings, which were all no doubt owned by the school, seemed to be a city all of its own. It's walls encompass various different buildings and architecture, some demolished while others stood perfectly clear, with no civilian activity whatsoever.

"Isn't this….. a bit much?" Tanjirou asked the hero. "Nobody's even here. What would a school even use this for? It all seems like such a waste."

Ryukyu looked over the training grounds, reminiscing in the memories of all the hours she and her classmates spent, honing their quirks and practicing simulations in city-like areas.

"Hero schools aren't all about education, even though that's heavily stressed," she explained. "To make the students into the best heroes they can, they need to know how to act in certain situations, be it flat ground, city areas, and how to catch various villains in them. They also learn to improve their quirks beyond their limits.'Plus Ultra' they say. To me, it's just pain. And more pain."

Hearing the explanation, it made sense to Tanjirou. But another question replaced the one that had just been answered; what was with all of the destroyed buildings?

Reiterating the question, Ryukyu's reaction was definitely an interesting one, similar to Zenitsu when he was asked about his past. His eyes would often dart around, and he would scratch the back of his head.

"Ahhhh…. about that… let's not worry too much about that. The heroes there are still training after all," She stammered slightly.

That certainly was the case for her. During her first year, when she couldn't control her quirk all that well, she lost count of the number of buildings she would destroy. The property damage amounted to something that could sustain a small village for their whole lives.

She didn't want to think about the poor economic disruptions she had caused.

Though not being convinced, Tanjirou could tell this was something that she didn't want to talk about. Even without her answer, he could tell what the problem was.

She had a lot to do with that, did she?

Dismissing the thought, the two continued down the road, with the hero pointing out different parts of the school and its purposes, with Tanjirou eagerly soaking it all in. The more he saw, the more it made him want to be in it to experience it.

Granted, the way Ryukyu described the training, it sounded like child's play compared to the miniature hell he had done to himself on Mt. Sagiri, but if this training would help save the people of this world, then he was all for it.

This was the best school, according to many people. He couldn't ask for anything more.

Taking a phone from her jacket and checking the time, she put a hand on Tanjirou's shoulder once again, making him turn his head and look at her, the light of the phone screen shining part of her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's getting a little late, and even though we just slept, we should be heading back." She answered in a hushed voice.

"Why? There's no one nearby."

She sighed. How nice it would be to be young again, without any worries. Not that it applied to Tanjirou, seeing that his maturity level was higher than most adults these days.

"Villains usually operate at nighttime, and because I'm not supposed to be on hero duty during your probation, I can't really be out here."

Tanjirou mentally berated himself. That should have been obvious to him! He was used to fighting all of his battles at night! Of course, the villains would fight at night, why would they do otherwise?

Seeing the boy understand her point, she turned back and walked at a brisk pace, pulling her hood back up, towards the entrance, and down the mountain again, with Tanjirou in her shadow.

They once again scrolled through the crowd on the busy road at nighttime, heading through the closest way back to Ryukyu's house. Through the sound of the people, and the engines of the cars, neither of them noticed that someone camouflaged in a shadow widened their eyes when they passed him.

The man's eyes flew up, and then immediately, his face scrunched up in what can be described as a mixture of excitement, and overflowing animosity. He emitted an aura of pure rage, and he made a mad dash to a nearby shadow, and disappeared into it.

Like most things in a society with quirks, nothing ever went how you would expect it to go.


Back under the air conditioning of the cozy loft, Tanjirou and Ryukyu were both relaxing on the cushions of the sofa, which Tanjirou never had the luxury of feeling before.

The feeling was simply nothing less than extraordinary. Just like the bed in the guest room, he could practically feel his back sinking in, though he knew he wouldn't fall through. His mind went blank as all his senses took in the sweet state of blissfulness.

The rookie hero, being a little tired from all the time they had spent outside, still thought that showing Tanjirou the city was worth it. He seemed to enjoy it a lot more than someone should have, but Ryukyu couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in herself.

Even though I have no idea what I'm doing or how to act around kids, I guess this isn't so bad.

As she had previously mentioned to Tsukauchi, she certainly wasn't the best there was when it came to these kinds of things, because she knew what her personality was like, and it wouldn't be fit to act like that in front of a kid. She was an extremely laid-back and dare she say it, a really lazy person.

Babysitters, parents, and literally any other form of job that required looking after someone required diligence and patience. She knew that. Everyone else knew that. And she was the exact opposite of that.

That was one of the main reasons why she initially didn't want to get picked out for the probation. She would have a terrible influence on a kid that seemed to be great in every possible way. Quirk, behavior, and every other thing, Tanjirou was someone that didn't seem to give anyone a hard time at all, unlike most kids.

When he expressed his desire to be a hero, she started to worry more. Why her? She knew that she couldn't set him up on the path of being a hero well. That was one of the main purposes of the probation, though she knew she would fail at that task.

From an outside perspective, it may seem simple. Just change. Be a good role model. Be someone that he could look up to.

But was that really possible?

All she did was fly around and slam her palm on the ground, and she took care of every situation. Something which required no effort whatsoever, yet yields results. But getting there was a completely different story. She had faced so many things in her past. Bullying, to training, to accepting who she was and what she could do, and finally, the hard work.

This wasn't an issue of underestimating her capabilities. It was an issue of influence. Tanjioru would look to her for the definition of a hero, because she was the only one that he knew. And all he would see is someone flaunting around their power and lazing around and getting all the credit for it.

Even if she knew she did more than that, it was all that it looked like. And what it looked like was all it takes to lead young children down the wrong path. As a hero and as a person.

That was what prompted her to make a plan of action. What would she do? How would she handle this? The typical answer would just be "be yourself", which was plain bullshit in her opinion. For someone that came from outside on a blank slate, that would be disastrous.

So she decided to go with the path of "keep the kid safe" and "go with the flow" for the first day. She answered his questions. She gave him advice when she could. She showed him around the city. That was all well and good, but what would she do after?

Go with the flow again? Did she really have an option? If the kid seems to be enjoying himself, then that was all good with her for now. All of the morbid thoughts that would cross her mind weren't good for her health.

So she cleared her mind, and pulled back out the responsible adult Ryukyu.

"For now, I think it would be a good idea to go back to sleep. It wouldn't do for our sleep schedule to be disrupted so early on, it just makes bad habits." She tried to model her tone of voice to somewhat calm yet authoritarian, but failed miserably. She really wasn't made out for these kinds of things.

Though to her surprise, Tanjirou seemed to be nodding his head! "Okay. Do I go back to the room earlier?"

Earlier? Oh right, the guest room.

"Sure, you can use that. I don't have any other uses for it, so make yourself at home there."

The boy smiled and replied, "Yes!"

She smiled to herself as he ran up the stairs. He really was too good to be a regular kid.


Climbing back up the stairs, Tanjirou was deep into thought, and reflecting across what he learned from the earlier tour around the city.

The city was a hotspot for the majority of daily human lives, and they contained everything that was needed, like restaurants, stores, banks, which were buildings that held money, schools, which was free for everyone, and even some for specific things, like massages and public baths. All and all, it seemed like a really good place to live.

A little more complex than he liked, but this was the result of quirks over the years. He really couldn't complain.

The people had seemed to be non-agressive, and, despite their large numbers, he felt comfortable with everything around there. The atmosphere in the air from what he could smell was incredible. Even at the age that he was currently in, his sense of smelling how people are feeling had only gotten better.

Calm, to happiness, to excitement. Not a shred of worry in their hearts, even though they knew there were villains still out there.

Given an overview of the world by Yoriichi, he figured that people would be scared and on-edge. In the villages that he had visited as a Demon Slayer, even the slightest bit of conflict brought everyone on edge. No one would dare step outside. Everyone was on guard. He knew this was basic human nature. When you felt threatened, you felt the need to protect yourself.

Though what he felt coming from the people on the streets defied that very idea. What kept them from worrying? What kept them all safe? Did Yoriichi mention this when he described heroes and villains?

Thinking back to that mystical, he remembered his long speech. Different worlds. Quirks. Heroes. The Symbol of Peace. Protect.

He is known as the Symbol of Peace, All Might. He is thought to be invincible, and unbeatable. That he will always be there to protect them.

He didn't know where those words had come from, suddenly springing into his mind like that, but it made sense when he thought about it. The people felt safe because of All Might's power.

Was it just him? Was it just him that was set on edge, knowing the threats that the world faced?

No. Of course he wasn't the only one. If he was, then the world would have fallen to ruin already.

The heroes knew. They knew because they were out there every day, fighting against the evil of the world. They knew the pressure that was on them, to preserve the society that they live in. That's why there were schools for heroes, for people who have the heart and the drive to protect others.

On the subject of heroes, his mind wandered to his temporary caretaker. She certainly was not a bad person, in his point of view. Before the day had started, he had made the assumption, but after today only reaffirmed his view. She really did try to help at every turn that he had. He knew she cared, but she wasn't confident enough.

Like a certain blonde haired boy he had found on the side of the road.

Because he wasn't confident in his abilities, he let himself be held back. He let himself believe he was weak, and therefore became so. Only when he didn't let his thoughts cloud his judgement, he became strong. Stronger than Inosuke, who had prided himself on strength. Stronger than even him. He had seen Shoichi talk about how he moved so fast, that he sliced a demon's head off in a blink of an eye.

He had seen on the Train, that he was fighting with all of his might, even under the impact of the sleeping spell. He knew that Zenitsu was strong, and just yesterday to him, he had heard the carrier crow shout into the wind.

"Zenitsu Agatsuma has killed Upper Moon 6!"

He killed an upper moon on his own. A feat that not even the Hashiras have been able to accomplish. If he had let his mind flow freely as he did that day, he could be someone great.

He had the feeling that Ryukyu was somewhat similar. She had that scent of doubt on her, that she felt like she wasn't able to do something. He would have to ask her about that some other time. Maybe he could help her fix that doubt.

Taking a deep breath, he entered his room, fully prepared to sleep, until his senses were screaming at his body to run away. Why? Was something there?

His body followed through, tensing up, and being put on guard. His hand reached for a sword that wasn't there, clutching on air. He took another deep breath, tasting the air.

Behind!

At the last second, Tanjirou ducked out of the way, hearing the whistle of the wind as it flew just by his head, and all he could glimpse was a long, wicked knife, with the intent to kill.


Thanks for reading!