I do not own Kimetsu no Yaiba or MHA.


Chapter 6

Tanjirou stood by the sidelines and watched it all. What was supposed to be a day of relaxation turned into one of misfortune, with what was yet another villain attack. It was so sudden, and no one expected something like this until it was too late, and the damage was already done.

Ryukyu, being the only hero in the vicinity, had to be the one to hold it off as many people got to safety as possible. Naturally, she told him to do the same, reluctant as he was to stand idle, but in the end, he did as he was told.

From the crowd of spectators a good distance away from the commotion, he stood, watching as the hero turned into her draconic form, and pummel the intruding villain with as much force as she could muster.

Her strength is amazing!

He had never seen anything like it before. Though he knew that she was strong, incredibly so, given their initial spars, to see it in action was a whole other matter altogether.

It isn't often you get to see someone turn into a literal dragon, something he had only heard of from myths and legends, grab over-sized villains, and chuck them to the ground full force, making decent-sized craters in the ground, and punching people into oblivion.

It was one of those sights where you nearly forgot the danger you were in, and how close you were to being hurt by collateral damage. In a way, he could understand why people were so content with all of this. They grew up in an environment in which they are taught that the heroes will always win in the end.

This also factored into what Yoriichi had said earlier. So many people wanted to become Heroes, and it was a very popular profession.

Only someone who had gone through the training, the struggle of becoming strong enough to combat evil, or someone who had seen the destruction beforehand, knew that this wasn't the case.

And so he watched as Ryukyu started to lose strength in her attacks. She grew more sluggish, and her whole body was heaving. No one else seemed to notice other than him.

It dwindled down to the end after the final throw by Ryukyu. As a result of it, particles of dirt and sand were showered in the air, obscuring the vision of everyone watching, including his own. The dust itself wasn't the strange thing for him.

It was the fact that it made no sign to dissapear.

Even after a full minute, it was still there. It showed no sign of settling down, and it was so obviously unnatural. His uneasiness was picking up, mostly due to the fact that he couldn't see anything. Though another part of it was telling him that there was something more to it.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, using his heightened sense of smell to pick up some of the scents from around him. Closing his eyes, he filtered through them. The various people behind him. The broken concrete. Ryukyu. The villain he picked up earlier. The dirt and sand in the air.

Wait.

Something was off about the villain's scent. It wasn't the same as it was before, there was definitely something mixed into it. He couldn't describe it, but it was like a mixture of the villain and….

Sand?

It wouldn't be that big of a deal if he could smell both at the same time, because he could usually tell the difference between each distinct scent, but there was no difference between the two here.

They were one.

His nose never lied to him. They were one and the same. He double checked, triple checked. There was no denying it.

He utilized his scent to identify what something was, and where they were. Naturally, if their scent reached him, he could also rush to that position, taking the path from where the scent was coming from. It was this that allowed him to finally come face to face with Muzan Kibutsuji for the first time.

Which was why he was sent questioning this now. If the scents of two things were intertwined with one another….

Were they the same?

As he was spinning the thought in his head, the dust finally dispersed around the two. The sight that he was greeted with was one that he had seen many times before, and it was one that he never wished to see again.

The villain had Ryukyu in his clutches by the neck, and the dragon hero's form was shrinking by the second. All the way down until she was back in the form of a regular human.

He could feel his fist clenching, and his body shaking. It reminded him of that time 7 months ago…

On the side of the train where Rengoku had died. He stood at the mercy of Akaza, with a determined look in his eyes. It was the eyes of someone who knew they were going to die, and couldn't do anything to stop it.

He stood on the side that night too, and watched as Akaza plunged his fist into the Hashira, and he only rushed in to help after it was too late.

He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

He wasn't going to let anyone die like that.

"Those who risk their lives to fight demons and protect humans are Demon Slayers, no matter what anyone tries to say."

Kyoujirou Rengoku's final words rang in his ears once more.

"Live with your chest high."

He forced his legs to move. He darted forward towards the scene. He couldn't stand being protected all the time.

"If you get knocked down by your own weakness and cowardice…"

He picked up a stick-sized like piece of debris coming from a light post nearby, and held it in a two-handed grip as if it were a Nichirin Blade.

"Flame up your heart, grit your teeth, and move forward!"

He ignored the cries behind him. He sucked up as much air as his young lungs would allow, and pumped the energy to his legs, increasing his speed to extraordinary levels.

"Even if you stop in your tracks and cower, you're not gonna stop the flow of time."

Total Concentration Breathing!

He kept going. He wasn't going to lose anyone else, rules be damned. He kept a steady rhythm with his breathing, falling back into his usual breathing pattern. The muscles all around his body strained to their limits.

"If you're a Hashira, it's natural to become the shield of your juniors…"

Dance of the Fire God…

"And next time, you'll all become pillars who will support the Demon Slayers."

He jumped up from his position, gripped the makeshift weapon in his hand, and spiraled in the air. He raised his two hands, and readied it in the air, in preparation to strike.

"I believe in you!"

Tanjirou diverted the energy of his breathing from his legs up to his arms midair, and sent the pole downwards in a brutal arc towards the jawline of the villain.

Beneficent Radiance!

It smashed with a ringing clang into the villain, forcing his head to the side. The villain, although managing to turn his strengthening quirk on in time, was unprepared for the force of the impact. He flinched, and as a result, he loosened his grip on Ryukyu.

All of a sudden, Tanjirou's vision blurred. Wind was blowing by his face at high speeds, and the only thing he could hear was the whistling in his ears.

His feet left the ground, and he could feel a firm pressure on the nape of his neck. He could feel a presence directly above him, and he looked up to find the familiar figure of the Dragon Hero, once again in her former glory.

'Former Glory' was probably too strong of a word, if someone took a closer look at her. Her whole body was visibly straining to keep her form, and her eyes…. were frighteningly off. They were completely bloodshot, and it seemed like there was water in her eyes from the pain she was in.

Even under this much, she still managed to get words out in an even, yet harsh voice.

"Why did you run in there?" Her voice was a whisper, but it all but screamed anger and worry.

Tanjirou did not hesitate to answer. He knew exactly why he ran in there, and what needed to be done.

"I saw him hold you by the throat… and he was about to kill you…"

She didn't let him finish. "And you thought running in there, and literally smacking him head-on was a good idea? You could have just as easily been instantly killed!" Her reply was swift and without remorse.

He knew her logic was flawed, but even then, he couldn't bring himself to respond. From her perspective, was she wrong? All she thought of him was someone to be protected. Someone who had dreams and aspirations, yet someone who wasn't yet ready to live up to them. In a way, he could understand. If someone ran up to a demon that was giving a Demon Slayer a hard time, what about the person was so special that would let him survive?

The question answered itself. Yes, she was wrong. She didn't know everything about him, and what he's been through. She didn't know what it was like to see someone die right in front of you, and hesitating when it counted most, when you could have been able to do something about it. She didn't know who he was. What he had been able to live through.

She landed on the ground a distance away, and set him down. They were now right behind the crowd of people, most of their attention being fixed on them.

"Don't do something like that again," she ordered. "Stay here, away from the conflict. No matter what's going on in there, do not interfere. It's my job, as a hero, to fight these battles. It's not the job of the people."

She glanced over to where the villain was, and he was still struggling to get up from the hit that she dealt him when she was freed. Her metal claw was lodged in his chest to buy some time, but it seemed like it ran out.

"If you're worried for me, there's no need to be. I'll make it out alive by the end of this." Her assurances did nothing to Tanjirou, as he knew the reality of the situation. If he was in her place, he would have no idea if he were to live to see tomorrow.

He was there quite a few times himself. He could relate. What he couldn't relate to was the calmness in her demeanor. Even while facing danger head-on, he still felt fear. He still felt uncertainty. How did she stay this calm? Why was she so sure of the outcome?

"How are you so sure that you will?" He couldn't help but ask. He had to know.

Ryukyu turned her head around, her red eye looking at him, with a smug grin on her face.

"Because that's what heroes do."


"Because that's what heroes do"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she dashed towards the villain once more with even greater speed than last time.

I fucked it. Shit.

It was such a cool line when she said it, but given what she was feeling inside, she probably wouldn't live up to that. If she were to be honest with herself deep down, Tanjirou's interference saved her life. As angry as she was about that, she couldn't deny that.

When she was given that instant of freedom from the villain's clutches, she had taken her metal claw and stabbed it in the abdomen of the villain, and simultaneously with her right, she threw the strongest hook she possibly could at his face before grabbing Tanjirou and whisking him out of there.

She could have sworn she broke something in her arm. Her quirk didn't help matters at all.

She had to strain to the maximum to even regain a portion of the strength that she had. It hurt so much more than she expected it to. Every part of her was so tired, yet she still pushed through.

Was this what 'Plus Ultra' was?

She came down on the villain, and dodging the arm that was thrown out, she grabbed his head, and once again smashed it down into the concrete. She wasn't even thinking rationally at this point. She was fighting with everything she could muster, and on her last fumes. Everything around her felt like it was about to disappear. She couldn't allow there to be anything else around her.

Picking up the villain, she put him in a choke-hold. With her left hand on his head, and right arm around his throat, she squeezed. Her head pounded the more pressure she placed on her neck. What gave her the power she had now? Pain? Adrenaline? She had no idea anymore.

But she'll take it.

"Just surrender already, there's no need to make this any longer than it needs to be," she hissed. "The police are on their way, and they're almost here."

She received no response. Instead, the villain started to slip within his grasp as his body started to change. His skin crumbled into small specks of dust once again as his self-proclaimed "second quirk" activated. He turned into a cloud in the air, slipping from her grasp. Her metal claw fell with a clang onto the concrete below.

The gears in her brain started to turn as she took in the situation. He had two quirks, and one of them was turning into a dust cloud. Pretty much all it did was limit vision, and maybe make it hard to breathe. Though there was one thing she had to test.

Could he use both of his quirks at the same time?

Basic common sense said of course not, he doesn't have a physical body, so how could it siphon the energy off of her hits if she couldn't get hit in the first place?

She had learned during her stay in U.A that complete physical transformation quirks took a massive toll on the body. They could only keep it for a set amount of time before they started to lose energy, or they start to have physical repercussions.

Basically her quirk.

They all shared a similar trait, and when interfered with, they shared a similar process. For example, someone with any sort of body-enhancement quirk could only take so many shots before they tire themselves out and are forced to revert back.

Technically this was a transformation quirk, so does the same apply here? The problem with that is she couldn't hit him in any way, and it's main purpose was probably to escape from those physical attacks.

Another thing was that because there was no way to deal any physical damage, he couldn't use his first quirk. That answered that question.

When he first used his dust quirk, she noticed now that the only way that he managed to grab a hold on her was by solidifying fully first. That was further proof that they couldn't use both quirks at the same time.

If that was the case…. then while he was in dust, he was getting weaker and weaker. If she could keep him at dust form….

She could win.

'Plus Ultra'...

Maybe they were on to something.

She reared her wings back, and with all the strength she could put in them, she swung them forward, creating the largest gust of wind she could. The dust around her started to disperse, into the air, granting her slight visibility. Which is all that she needed.

As I thought. It's not normal dust, it's way too heavy for it to be that. Either it's something else that's a lot heavier than regular dust, or he's doing something to make it heavier.

The energy consumption had to be tremendous either way. It started to make sense why he hadn't used it earlier.

Grabbing her claw and jumping backwards, she flew a few dozen feet in the air, eyeing the dust the whole way. When she was at a suitable height, she readied one wing, and with a slight turn of her torso, she sent a concentrated wave of wind over to the dust's direction.

Let's see how you can handle this!

The cloud of dust picked up once more and flew back. As the wind carried it a respectable distance, it started to shake and condensed into one spot. It took a humanoid form until it changed in appearance and color.

Finally!

He had a limit to his power. He wasn't all powerful like he could have been if he had total mastery and control over their powers. Luckily for her and everyone here, that was what Heroes and U.A do.

They produce heroes of the highest caliber, ones with complete control, and ones that will live up to the name of a hero to their last breath.

Actually, no. That sounded so much better in her head.

Damnit Ryuko, not now!

Focusing her attention back to the more pressing matter, she flew over and above the villain. She could see the wound still on the villain, and that made him struggle to get up. She didn't like wounding others to that extent, but in this case, there was nothing else she could have done.

It brought on the positives that one: a lot of his energy would be sapped from his immune system trying to do the best it can to stabilize the wound. Since his quirk, from his direct words, relied on energy, it should make it much less effective. Added on to his lack of energy from the dust quirk, he shouldn't have enough energy to harden his body to block the attack.

Which means she could finally use one of her Ultimate Moves that she made from U.A.

Normally she didn't like the whole "Ultimate Move" thing. They made you come up with some corny shout and a name like it was some comic book, and in her mind that was just overall cringe.

But she could agree with the concept. Every hero needed some sort of move that they could use to finish the deal in long and hard battles, and something that could get you out of a pinch. Something that let you sweep the tides in her favor.

With her quirk, it was quite difficult, given that every move she did did the same thing, no matter what happened. She could slam things, fly, and that was basically most of what her quirk enabled.

She combined those two aspects and called it an Ultimate Move, which was accepted mainly given the power that it managed to generate. She never thought she would use it, because it was so ridiculous in her mind, but now, she realized why they stressed so much on it.

For battles like these.

She bent one wing forward, and let gravity carry her down. At the same time, she rotated her torso to get into a circular motion. Over and over again she turned, gaining momentum while staying in free-fall.

Her quirk would give out soon, she could feel it. She only had enough in her for one more strike. She had to give her all in this.

Muscles strained to their limit were tensed even further. A near broken arm was quivering, and the order to brace sent extremely sharp lightning signals of pain to her brain. She ignored it. She couldn't afford to be blinded by the pain.

Draconic…

She sent her good arm forward right before it was about to hit the ground to maximize the effectiveness. She grit her teeth, prepared for the inevitable wave of pain to wash over her.

Smash!

The result was deafening.

The force spread along a massive radius and shattered the windows of the buildings around it. Everyone in a large radius was knocked off of their feet, and their ears ringing. Cars flipped twice, thrice over.

Ryukyu's form gave way as soon as she impacted the ground. The pain was surreal, she never felt anything like it before. She couldn't even register the impact that she gave to the villain on the floor. All she knew was that she couldn't go on any further, even if her life depended on it.

Please be done, please be done…

She kept repeating that mantra over and over. No way in hell was she going to take some sort of asspull new trick that the villain had under their sleeve. She was so done. That was her strongest move. If that didn't work, then who the hell had a chance?

Opening her eyes, she noticed she was laying limp on the floor. She went to push herself off of the floor, only for an extreme amount of pain to lace up her arm.

Fuck that hurts!

She flinched and slipped down again. Rolling on her back, she rested her legs up, she pushed off of the front of her back, and landed on her legs, essentially doing a kick-up off the ground.

It took effort just to walk. She trudged over to the unmoving black figure on the floor, and looked him over. There was no sign of any consciousness, but given what happened when he first appeared, she wasn't going to believe looks anymore.

From her peripheral vision, she saw something approach the villain's legs. Shifting her focus over, she saw that particles of dust were rolling their way from the resulting dust cloud over to form the remaining heels of the villain.

Her body sagged with relief. He didn't have his quirk on when she hit, because he was trying to pull his dust quirk to escape it.

She dragged her feet over to his head, and placed a foot on his neck, she shook it a couple of times, and she received no response.

She heaved out a sigh. Today was too long of a day. She had to be grateful for many things. That she lived through today, and she managed to save everyone.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed the cheering that was going on around her.

"Hey, which Hero is that?" A man asked the person next to him.

"Dunno. She isn't wearing a hero uniform, and she isn't someone that I recognize."

"You mean she's just a regular? I mean look at her quirk, it was insanely powerful!" The talking started to spread around, though Ryukyu didn't pay any attention to it. She was mainly focused on the road, where sirens were wailing.

A total of 5 cars and a truck to load the villain pulled over, and the officers inside jumped out of the car and rushed over.

She sported a tired, yet annoyed look. "It took you guys long enough. This was the strongest thing I've faced to date."

The strength in her legs gave away as she collapsed on the ground from exhaustion and promptly passed out.


The night sky in the modern era was a sight that one couldn't take their eyes off of without an extreme amount of effort. For Tanjirou, it was one that he spared no effort in avoiding. Watching the stars in the sky out of the window of Ryukyu's hospital room forced a sense of calmness over him that pushed back his impending worries.

Ryukyu had been carried off to a hospital after she passed out. The unconscious villain had been detained, and after police gathered other eyewitness reports of possible quirks, events, and otherwise, he had been carried off to one of the higher-end villain holding areas.

He wasn't prepared for how fast news spread, but he wasn't surprised either. With everything he had seen in this era, anyone could show him the most ludicrous thing and chalk it up to some form of machinery, and it would be believable.

This would take some time getting used to.

Word had got out about the unknown hero-in-disguise that had promptly responded to a villain ambush outside the Chiba mall sect, and recognized her as one of the newer heroes to appear to the Hero scene as of late, the Dragon Hero Ryukyu.

It was something that everyone in the city had been talking about, and it was all over the "news stations". Tanjirou still didn't know how to operate the television, so he couldn't check other channels. Though the one that was on in the hospital lobby had a channel on, in which the people on there had commended her for her bravery.

He was happy for her. She was incredibly brave. Even he wasn't sure of the outcome, and yet she pushed through with everything she had and then some.

He was beginning to respect these heroes more and more. Recalling Ryukyu's words to him hours before, if this is what heroes do…

Then he would be glad to become one.

His eyes locked on the sky, he continued to delve deep in his thoughts, trying to take his mind off of the hero in the hospital bed. Now that he's here, what would he do now? He had his younger body, and had all the knowledge of the Water Breathing, Dance of the Fire God, and he recalled some of the manuscripts of the Flame Breathing from Rengoku's home.

He first had to work on remastering Total Concentration Breathing. That was vital to increase his strength the most. There was just so much difference in between regular breathing and Total Concentration Constant. It set apart so much,

The next thing he had to work on was probably regular body strength. He knew how to regulate his body and training thanks to Sabito and Makomo, so he shouldn't push himself to the brink of shattering his body.

After that, it probably had to be Concurrent Breathing. The mixing of two Breath Styles, integrating one into the other, allowing the techniques of one breath style while using another. To this day, he couldn't recall how he managed to pull it off against Upper Moon 6 Gyutaro.

The uses that it could potentially have were incredible. He could mix the 9th form of Water Breathing into Dance of the Fire God to move on all kinds of places while at the same time keeping his speed from the style he was most suited with.

He heard the rustling of blankets behind him as he broke out his thoughts, and centered his attention behind him. The figure under the blankets sat up on the bed, and tried to rub her eyes open. The bandages on her arms tensed and struggled to move, until she realized that they were encased.

"That…. sucked," she murmured quietly, though loud enough for Tanjirou to pick up. She rested her head back on the hospital bed, and opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?" He kept his voice low in an attempt to not startle Ryukyu.

She looked over in confusion to her left. "Wait, who…" she trailed off as she recognized the young red-headed boy on her bedside. "Oh it's you, Tanjirou."

"Yes."

A soft silence then took over as all they could hear was the rustling of the activities in the hospital's hallways, and the crickets chirping by the open window.

He didn't know what to bring up afterwards. What did he even say? His social ability was at a pretty good level, but conversation starters weren't really his thing. On his journeys, he usually preferred the silence of just walking from one place to another. Though, with the addition of Zenitsu and Inosuke, the chatter never ended.

Though there was one thing he had to address. He just couldn't find the right way to bring it up.

"Ryukyu-san, back at the mall, when I ran inside and struck that villain…" he focused on her face, searching for any signs of emotion. She didn't show any, and just listened to him talk.

He straightened out his face, and it formed into his usual hard, and confident look. "I did that because I saw that you were in trouble, and you were about to get killed. I did it because I didn't want to see someone in trouble in front of me when I could have done something about it."

His parents. His siblings. Rengoku. Shinobu. Everyone that he had failed to save in the past because he wasn't strong enough. He wasn't there sooner to prevent it.

He continued with a steady voice. "I know that you may be angry with me because of that, but I don't regret doing it. I would do it again if it meant to save others."

He took a breath and was about to continue when Ryukyu spoke.

"About that…" Tanjirou was surprised at the smile that appeared on her face. "If you didn't do that, I honestly would have died back there. What you did saved my life. I really can't be angry about that." She let out a slight chuckle. "A bit strange, isn't it? The whole point of Heroes is to keep the people safe and maintain the peace, but this time it was the other way around."

Tanjirou shook his head. "You did that. You saved everyone at that mall. You stopped someone that was extremely powerful. If he were still out there, who knows the type of things he could have done?"

Ryukyu then sat up further in her seat, and continued despite the pain in her ribs. "That's not when I'm trying to get at," she countered sharply. "There should have been no reason for someone to do that in the first place. I was trying to tell you-"

A knock at the door cut off their conversation, and it opened up to reveal the same old doctor that tended to Tanjirou when he landed in the hospital twice.

He stepped in and slowly came to notice what he walked in on. "Oh, was I interrupting something?"

Ryukyu shook her head. "No, not really. We were just talking about some things."

The doctor nodded, and grabbed the clipboard he was carrying under his arm. "Other than some broken bones that have almost healed, you're pretty much good to go. Just make sure to take it easy on your arms for a few days. Keep both arms and chest area bandaged for a few days before taking them off, and don't put any additional pressure. That means no arm exercises or quirk usage centered there until then either."

She nodded. "Yeah, sounds good." She swung her legs off of the bed, and looked down on them. She had a bandage around her left quadricep, which she covered up by pulling down her rolled-up leg sleeved and slipped out of the medical shirt, and took her other jacket off the desk, and put it back on.

"Hero work is going to be a pain when I come back. Even a few days off, paperwork can be a real hassle," she complained, mostly talking to herself.

Wait, paperwork?

The doctor chuckled. "Alas, the responsibilities of a Hero come with much struggle. There's a reason why they are so well-respected," he replied.

"Yeah, you can say that again." She stood up, and gingerly tested the weight on her leg. Satisfied, she stood up and walked around a bit. "Wait, was that it? Are we clear to go?"

The doctor looked up from writing on his clipboard. "Yes, there's nothing else to do here. Other than the payment, of course, but I think the Hero's insurance should cover that. I would walk you up to the front, but I assume you do not need assistance?"

"Nope, I'm fine to walk at least." She reached the door, and placed her bandaged arm on the knob. She pulled and exited the room.

Tanjirou got up from his seat from the side, and made to follow the hero, but was stopped when a voice spoke out behind him.

"Kamado-san, may I have a word if you don't mind?" The voice was one devoid of it's usual kindness, and had a strange edge of seriousness to it.

Tanjirou turned to face him, one hand still on the doorknob, giving him his full attention.

"I don't mind," he replied.

"Good. Now, I'm sure you saw the encounter up close for yourself, didn't you?" He shifted his spectacles a little bit down the bridge of his nose to get a better view of the boy in question.

"Yeah. Ryukyu was extremely brave, fighting how she did." He said it many times, and he would say it again.

"Indeed. It was a feat that not many other pros could ever hope to match. That hero has so much more talent than she would ever realize," he continued in response. "However, seeing it firsthand, do you still wish to travel down this path of a hero?"

He didn't understand. The answer was obvious. Of course he was. Ryukyu had saved so many lives, including his own when he first came to this world. Though he felt something was off about the question.

"What do you mean by that?" He questioned.

"There isn't a doubt that Ryukyu has incredible power. Despite that, she came across a foe that was able to match that power and keep her on the ropes for a long while. Analysing the injuries she had when she came in here, that villain…. dear me, I couldn't even imagine what it would be like knowing something like that would be out there," his voice started to lower, and he put a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat.

"You're young, Kamado-san. You still have a long time to make up your mind on what you want to be. But you must know, no matter how powerful your quirk might be, there are dangers out there that not many could imagine." The lecture continued on.

"The life of a hero isn't always sunshine and rainbows, like other kids your age make it out to be. It's filled with dangers that can be devastating if not taken with the utmost caution."

He was well aware of this. Demon Slayers had to face the same sort of caution. Many lives were in the hands of each and every Slayer, and failure to kill even one demon could lead to many other lives lost as a result.

The stakes were obvious to him. He wasn't planning on underestimating the effort it was going to take in order to become a Hero. Today's events were further proof of that.

"Those eyes of yours have seen much more than one should have at such a young age. Yet, life isn't fair sometimes."

He stood from his seat, and approached the door. "The answer does not need to come right now. It could be in a month, in a year, maybe even multiple years. But there are many things to keep in mind while traveling down this path."

He walked past Tanjirou and reached the door, until Tanjirou spoke up.

"Doctor-san," he started off, and the doctor paused. "I understand what you are trying to say. Being a hero wouldn't be easy. There are too many dangers involved, and it's something someone like me wouldn't understand as of now."

Tanjirou looked the doctor in the eye. He was reminded of a talk that he once had with Urokodaki about the evils of the world, and why demons existed in the first place.

"I know that no matter what world we are in, no matter what anyone tries to do about it, the perfect world does not exist. Evil will always be there in one place or another. There is no utopia."

It was an indisputable fact, and Yoriichi himself had explained it. People will always trample over the happiness that others have to satisfy their own desires. This was a core concept of humanity and their trail of thought. Everyone was inherently selfish in their own way.

"It's even more clear in a place with superpowers. Those who have the ability to get what they want over others for their own benefit will use them just because they can. No matter what people try to do to stop it, they keep pushing and pushing."

Demons hunted down Humans for their own desires, and to wipe humanity off of the earth. This was what Muzan Kibutsuji wanted, after all.

"That's why I believe, in a world of superpowers, people with strong quirks like mine have a responsibility. To protect the ones that yearn for that peace. They can have the ability to do what others can't. Why have this power if you aren't going to do anything with it?"

Wasn't this why Yoriichi had sent him here in the first place? To use his power for the good of others? That was his new purpose, after all. To protect the ones that couldn't protect themselves. To maintain as much order as he could in a society, and see as many people as he could smiling, with their families united and happy.

The same principle applied to his own home world. If Demon Slayers didn't exist, there would be so many more families like his. Like Yoriichi's. Cut short and deprived of the happiness they could have had. He remembered all the years he spent living with his parents and siblings. The sheer joy he felt at seeing his family again in Enmu's dream. That happiness was something to protect at all cost.

Heroes had that ability. To protect it. To give people hope. Maybe even bring so many others the happiness they otherwise wouldn't have had.

"That's why I will become a hero. To make sure everyone can keep that happiness. To make sure that no one else ends up the same way everyone around me had." The images of everyone that had fought around him until the bitter end flashed through his mind.

When I see the smiles of everyone else, it makes me happy. I'm happy to see others happy.

Maybe this was what Yoriichi wanted. Their new purposes aligned, after all.

The doctor smiled. "Wise words indeed, young one. If more were like you, then I would be confident that the world would be kept in safe hands."

He stepped out the door, leaving Tanjirou alone near the door. There wasn't much to think of, after all. He knew the risks. He knew what he had to do. That was all he needed.

He followed the doctor out the open door, and walked down the hallway to where Ryukyu was standing.

"What took you so long?" She asked curiously.

"It was nothing, the doctor just wanted a word with me about something, that's all," he responded. The two continued to walk down the hallway in silence, until they reached the front desk area. Ryukyu talked to the lady up front about something, and Tanjirou just waited up front.

When she was done she walked over to him and they both exited the hospital.

"Finally that's done." She sighed to herself. Tanjirou could see why. The past few days have been extraordinarily hectic. "Alright, now let's go home."

She scanned the parking lot for the car. Only to not see it there.

"Wait a minute…" Her face started to deadpan, and Tanjirou then realized why. The car they came in was still at the mall. Luckily they still had the keys in the jacket pocket, but it would be useless without the car, which was quite a distance away.

"Tanjirou, did you walk all the way here on your own?" She glared at him like a teacher would while lecturing an irresponsible child.

Tanjirou put his hands up. "I didn't know what else to do! I don't know the city that well, and all I did was follow the car that took you here!"

In truth, he followed the scent of the car. It still lingered when it rushed full speed out of there.

"Oh, right." She calmed down and turned back to the road. "Well then, we have quite a bit of walking to do."

It was Tanjirou's turn to sigh. Apparently the bad luck of nighttime followed him over to this world.


It took a bit to fix his sleep schedule after the events of that day. A normal person would have taken about a week or more for them to even be in a position to be awake at the proper time, but Tanjirou had too much experience in the department of being awake at night that he was an expert at recovering.

What did Ryukyu call it? It was like being jet lagged? That was an interesting term.

They both agreed to not go out for a while, and just rest up like they were supposed to. Especially now that the resident hero was injured. They had been in way too much action that they could handle, and they could use the rest.

Which ended up being a good decision. A day after returning, apparently there was another massive villain attack in a empty part of a city. Nobody could figure out when it happened, or who was fighting there, but the damage was catastrophic, so much greater than at the mall.

Surroundings decimated. Fires everywhere. Roads turned over. It was left in a terrible condition, far worse than the one at the mall, and that was saying something.

Tanjirou spent the rest of the two days afterward focusing on his training. He was heavily tempted to relax, because ever since he came into this world, even months before he 'died' in the Dimensional Fortress, it was just nonstop chaos. The news of all the Upper Moons gathering, and Muzan managing to find Okayata-sama had sent him and his fellow Demon Slayers to fight for many hours on end.

But he knew that any breaks would be harmful in the long run. He had seen the dangers he would have to one day overcome. It went without question he had to get stronger. Much stronger than he was in his prime. That doctor back at the hospital said it himself.

It was a thorny path, and one had to be prepared to give it all and even more if they were to succeed as a hero.

The last day of the week came by, and Tanjirou found himself outside in the backyard once more, wakizashi in hand. For the past few days, he practiced with Total Concentration Breathing and his regular breath styles, and tried to master his Concurrent Breathing to enhance his Hinokami Kagura.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He concentrated hard in front of him, bringing familiar images to the forefront of his mind. All the enemies he had faced. All of the lessons he learned from Urokodaki, Sabito, and all the Hashiras. A ghostly form appeared in front of him, holding a sword. An imaginary enemy.

He took a deep breath, keeping his lungs full and his breathing smooth. He kept his muscles hardened, but his joints loose as to make his movements smoother.

Breath in.

Breathe out.

Water Breathing, First Form…

He shifted the waki to his side in a two-handed grip, and held it tightly.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Water Surface Slash!

Strike. He stepped forward and used his momentum to generate the most powerful slash he could. With his other foot, he jumped in the air, and spun vertically.

Second Form, Water Wheel!

The imaginary enemy in front of him stepped to the side immediately after. Tanjirou landed neatly on the balls of his feet, and once again shifted his footing. He let go of the grip with his left hand, and concentrated on his breathing. It was going to hurt, but he had to suck it up.

Switch breaths. Exhale. He concentrated inside his lungs, he imagined the fire inside of him, spreading to every muscle in his body, granting him more stamina, more power. It kept his body fueled.

He then took another breath. He maintained the smooth flow of the Water Breathing, while keeping the tightness of the Dance.

The pain blossomed, but he kept it though. He layered one on top of the other, enhancing his movements. The shadow in front of him turned into a familiar sickle-wielding demon.

Dance of the Fire God…

Could he pull the superior agility of the Water Breathing into his Dance?

The sickles swirled and spread outward under the influence of the Blood Demon Art. It approached from both sides. To his head. Neck. Chest.

Burning Bones, Summer Sun!

Spinning his sword in a circular motion in front of him, the sickles hit the sword and clattered to the ground, vanishing in thin air. The makeshift Gyutaro in front of him did the same, and his consciousness willed a new enemy in front of him.

The enemy thrusted a fist to the ground in front of him, which tore the ground open underneath him. Tanjirou kept his focus on the speed of the destruction, waiting to jump at the right moment.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Waltz!

Dashing forward in front of him. He let loose another flurry of strikes, as fast as his body would allow. The demon was relentless, though he expected nothing less. This specific Upper Moon prided himself on his strength, and expected nothing less from his enemy.

Blows to the chest, head, arms, every dirty tactic was thrown at him. Reminiscent of an old art style that probably existed, they were flawlessly performed.

Parhelion Rainbow!

He had to do the same. Master the Dance. This was the only way he was to survive. Now and in the future.

He stepped over the cracks, avoiding them with jumps, twists, and turns, confusing the enemy by creating as many afterimages as he could.

"I expected more from you…" the voice spoke out to him, as a white fist from the side came to strike his heart, in the exact same place it had struck Rengoku.

"Tanjirou." Before it could hit, his eyes shot open. He was once again greeted to the sun's light, and something else.

A fence. More specifically a wood fence right in front of his face.

And Parhelion Rainbow wasn't exactly the most stationary attack.

SMACK!

"Gah!" His head bounced off the wooden pillars and his body was thrown back towards the hard concrete.

It didn't hurt, his head was notoriously hard for it to, but he certainly was surprised. Was he that deep into his subconscious that he had no idea where he was going?

His clothes were damp, and sticking onto the sweat like glue. He probably overdid it again.

Best try to go back inside before Ryukyu-san finds out. She can be pretty scary.

Picking up his waki, he made his way inside the house. In the short stay here, he was surprisingly familiar with the house. Despite it's modern structure he still couldn't understand how it worked, he could not deny how convenient everything was.

It was a shame that today would be his last day here. It had completely escaped his mind until today that he was only supposed to be here for a week's worth of time until he would have to find his own place, or something else. The detective from earlier, Tsukauchi, did mention something else would happen, but didn't tell him any specifics.

Maybe Ryukyu knew? He would probably ask her later. For now? He was going to take his much needed soak while he still could.


If you had told Ryuko Tatsuma a few weeks earlier that she would be harboring thoughts like these, she would have called you crazy. She would have said it was impossible, and maybe something along the lines of "how the hell could that even happen?"

But here she was, laying in her bed, deep in thought. Her usual monotone life of a hero had been broken apart by one decision of hers. To save a boy that charged headfirst at a villain. Why someone would do that, she didn't know. However, with him being placed under care for a "probation" for accidentally breaking the law as a minor turned out to be so much more complicated than it should have been.

She now knew so much more about the boy. Tanjirou Kamado. Quirk: Breathing. Allowed him to strengthen every part of his body by simply breathing a certain way. It was a simple thing that was necessary for every human being, and a strength boost like the one he was capable of? Damn, it was an amazing quirk.

He had a family of his own while he was young, where he lived with his parents and siblings outside of regular civilization. They were so disconnected from any form of society that there wasn't a sign of any blood relatives in the database. He had no clue about the varied commodities that were used in everyday lives. Cars. Trains. Houses. Electronics.

However one day, he had left his home to do something, and his entire family had been killed. By a villain. He saw this, and saw his sister alive. He tried to find a hero nearby and save her, and he did, but the hero cruelty shut him down. Told him that if he were strong, then his family wouldn't have died. In her opinion, that was the opposite of what a hero should have said.

A little while after that, he left his home, and travelled on his own for a while. There, he had met an old man, who he lived with for the space of a year, and had taught him swordsmanship to help him survive.

Tanjirou didn't mention what happened after then, but he ended up in the city. In the middle of a villain attack years later.

He had been through so much pain, so much loss, far greater than any person should have even in their entire lifetime. But despite that fact, he was the kindest and sweetest boy you could have met. He could have been rightfully angry at the heroes for how they wronged him and his family, yet he looked up to them.

He could have rightfully held hatred and envy for every other kid like him, who had something that had been taken away from him without a second thought, yet he treated everyone with the utmost respect.

He never asked for anything he didn't need, and he always kept the desires of others above his own. He had all the characteristics of a true hero in him, and he was just such a kind, and sweet young boy. What was there to not like about him?

It would truly be a shame to see him go. She really wished she could have spent more time with someone like that.

After this was done, he would likely go to a foster home in which another family would take him in…

Her brain finally managed to catch up to her thoughts and realized where this was headed.

Foster home? Shit… this isn't good.

She had a friend back in middle school who grew up in a foster home. She went from one of the brightest girls to looking completely miserable, and she constantly ranted about how she hated her adoptive parents. They had always put her down for the worst things, and worst of all, they shut down her dream of becoming a hero without a second thought.

Despite the cruelness that she was shown, those parents never did anything illegal to warrant the loss of custody. She ended up living through that environment for years on end, until she started coming to school less and less, until a point where she never saw her again.

That's when she realized the foster system was, for a lack of a better word, shit. It wasn't a good place to send kids, the only thing it accomplished was having their dreams crushed. She had done the research one time, and so many similar cases had come up online. Abusive parents. Anger management issues. The list went on.

That was the last thing she wanted for Tanjirou. She didn't want to see such a sweet kid with such a bright future ahead of him to be broken down like her close friend, and so many people had seen, either online or in her time as a hero.

But what could she do about it?

She had no means of determining who he ended up with in the end. That was all in the hands of the police, or the child services, whatever it was called, but certainly not hers.

It wasn't like she could do anything else for him…

Hold up.

Hooooold the fuck up I have an idea… a terrible idea.

It was an absolutely terrible idea. She tried to get the idea out of her head. Banish the thought. Forget that thought even existed. But the more she tried, the more that idea made sense in her head.

What if she were the one to take in Tanjirou?

Nope, never mind. Terrible idea. She was a Hero. She was pretty sure she couldn't make the time to do her hero work and raise a kid at the same time!

It was like two parts of her mind were fighting each other.

She couldn't have the time to raise a kid? The kid didn't need raising, he was more responsible than some adults! He could be fine on his own!

Did the kid even want that option? Well, why not ask him yourself?

Oh, right.

She had no idea what Tanjirou wanted. Was he perfectly content with the foster system? Did he even know about it?

Wait. That was the whole point of this whole idea in the first place. To avoid the foster system.

But was that it? Was there some other ulterior motive? Deep down, she knew what that was. In the time he had been under her care, she had wronged him herself. Multiple times.

When the shadow villain attacked. She failed to protect him, and made him fight a villain himself. One that was specifically targeting her. He was put in danger because of her.

And during the mall as well. He put his own life at risk to save her own. She felt like she owed him something in exchange.

Welp. This thought wasn't going anywhere. They only had a day left together. Might as well ask now rather than later. If he ends up being cool with it, she probably had to do an absolute shit ton of paperwork.

Good old paperwork.

Fuck.

She went downstairs to get a quick dinner ready, and she heard the door open from the shower room, and footsteps coming down the stairs. Tanjirou, hair covered by a towel, fully clothed, appeared at the end, and saw her in the kitchen.

"Oh, you're getting dinner ready?" He asked.

"Yeah. It'll be in a bit."

"Do you mind if I help a little?" There he goes again. He helps everyone and anyone.

"There isn't much left. Thanks for the offer, though," she told him.

Damn, this was getting awkward.

"Alright. Call me if you need anything." He walked back up the stairs, probably to get that book he liked reading.

'Call him if I need anything?' I'm supposed to be the adult here dammit!"

Their dinner was quiet, as usual, and they were once more lounging on the sofa, with the TV turned on. Tanjirou was still trying to figure out how it worked, though he was getting a little better. Ryukyu scrolled through the Hero Network on her phone, looking at the recent news that's been going on.

"Ah. That's what it does." Tanjirou's voice made her look up to the T.V. It showed a screen where it displayed all the past shows that Ryukyu had recorded.

When would be a good time to bring up the topic? Things were super awkward right now! How was she just gonna say 'wanna be adopted by some random woman you've only known for a week'?

This was gonna be a lot harder than she thought.

"Ryukyu-san, do you know what's going to happen tomorrow, when we go and see Tsukauchi-san?" She was saved. Perfect.

So he didn't know what was going to happen. Cool. Now try to make this as smooth as possible.

"Well, what they usually do for someone who doesn't have any blood relatives to take them in is they put him or her in what's called a Foster Care System, or they put them in an orphanage. Foster Care means that a family will end up taking in the kid, and they live their lives with them until they're an adult. An orphanage is somewhat similar, but there's a ton of kids under the care of a few adults there. Tsukauchi would probably put you in one of those," she explained.

"Oh. So I get to live with another family?" He questioned. How was he able to say that so nonchalantly?

She shifted in her seat a little. "Well, if that's what they decide, then yes," she answered. Damn, how was she supposed to bring this up?

Tanjirou was nodding at the answer. Oh no. This was bad. He already thinks it's a good idea. No. No it's not. Crap.

"Tanjirou, I need to tell you something important." Nope, bad start. Crap, how did she backtrack? Control Z, please!

"Yeah, what is it?" His attention was focused on her now. Well. Now or never.

"If I were to be honest, the foster care system… it's not that great," she started off. Yes. Keep going, Ryuko. "Most people would expect for it to go like this: A nice group of people take you into their family. They live happily ever after with their new family. In truth, it's not like that. The people don't treat kids well there."

She took a deep breath. Her voice was starting to turn shaky. "One of my friends many years ago was adopted by one, and it didn't turn out good," she continued. "She was constantly put down by her parents, and she was raised in a terrible environment. They shut down her dream of becoming a Hero. She changed so much in the end, from a lively girl to just downright depressed."

Tanjirou was looking at her with some sympathy in his eyes. "I never saw her again after some time. To this day, I have no idea what happened to her. A part of me is telling me to look somewhere, another is telling me I don't want to find out."

She finally was able to look Tanjirou in the eye. "Which is why I don't want you to go there. I have no idea what's going to happen, and it's a massive gamble. There's a high chance it might turn out bad."

Getting closer. Just ask him the damn question! Was it really that hard?

"What do you think I should do then?" He asked. "I would be fine in whatever living environment I get. If it's as bad as you describe, then I could go back to living on my own…"

She shot it down. "No. I don't think Tsukauchi would allow that. Living on your own is dangerous, and he wouldn't let that happen to someone. Besides, I have another option I wanted to ask you about. I'm not sure how you will feel about this, but in the end it's completely up to you."

Tanjirou nodded, ready for whatever was coming.

"How would you like living here with me instead?"


Whatever Tanjirou imagined Ryukyu was going to ask, it certainly was for damn sure not what just came out of her mouth.

His face was full of surprise and shock. Adopted by Ryukyu? It was a possibility he had put absolutely no thought into. When she rambled about this Foster Care system being horrible, he took it without too much issue. Hard things in life sometimes shaped a man, and people couldn't help from acting a tad bit harsh on the outside.

Giyuu, Sanemi, Genya, Iguro, and even Inosuke hadn't been the kindest of people when they first met. But, spending more and more time with them and getting to know them, he was able to see the good shining in them.

He truly believed that everyone had a capacity to become 'good', no matter who they are and how they act.

However, this? His mind was reeling. Of course he didn't have any problems with Ryukyu as a person, but..

"Is that even allowed?" He managed to get his mouth moving after a few seconds.

Ryukyu closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Yeah, should be. Anyone can legally 'adopt' a kid with the proper paperwork. It might be looked down upon in the Hero community, but I don't mind that. I just have to tell Tsukauchi what I'm going to do, but I figured I would ask you before I do anything."

"I…" for the first time in a while, he was lost for words. "I don't know what to say…" he trailed off.

"I know this might be a lot to take in, but this is your life. You should get to choose what you want to do with it. You can say no to it, by all means. Do what you want to do, and what you feel is best. I'm just putting this offer out there," she elaborated, her voice calming his state of mind if only by a little bit.

Thinking about it more, Tanjirou really couldn't find any reason to say no. If he was going to become a hero, what better way to do that then to live directly under a hero? He certainly wasn't against it.

Besides, the week so far hasn't been bad at all. He found himself greatly enjoying the benefits of this new world, and the added company it brought with it. If this was going to continue…

Who was he to complain?

He already knew his answer.


A bead of sweat travelled down Tanjirou's head as the sun shone through the car window. The leather beneath him was steaming, but, being through much worse, it didn't bother him all too much.

Ryukyu had to look up paperwork for the rest of the night after he had given his answer. Something that she had complained about for the rest of the car ride to the police station.

She told him to wait in the car until she managed to get the whole adoption thing legally set up. They made it so that Tanjirou could get to keep his current surname, because he didn't want to forget about his actual family back in his home world. They had done so much for him, and he could never forget something like that. Family wasn't just something he could erase.

It took quite a bit of time, until the doors opened, and lo and behold, the Dragon Hero came stepping out of the station, with an empty folder, a smile on her face, and a skip in her step.

She opened the doors of her car, and quickly closed them, flipping on the AC instantly.

"How did it go?" Tanjirou asked. She had told him to be prepared for any weird things that might have happened, and it might be a while because she had no idea what to expect.

"It went better than I thought it would. Tsukauchi asked why I would do such a thing, and I told him all the reasons. Apparently I saved him from doing a mountain's worth of paperwork, so he had me to thank for that. And now, it's all done," she ranted off. It was quite obvious she was exhausted and just wanted some sleep after the previous night's ordeal.

She really loved her sleep, didn't she?

After a drive home in which Tanjirou was certain she might have broken some speed limits (he knew what those were now), he opened the door to the home that he was now to live in for the duration of some years now.

It was technically his own home now.

A home. Something that he hadn't had the luxury of having since he first became a Demon Slayer. What was the closest thing to home? Urokodaki's cabin? The Butterfly estate? He didn't know.

He stepped inside, eager to escape the searing heat of summer, but stopped when Ryukyu spoke up from behind him.

"Well, since I guess we're legally family now, I kind of want to say this." She walked up behind him, and set a hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome home, Tanjirou."


2 days earlier

A pity. Truly, it was.

The Symbol of Evil lay down, unable to move or speak, in a secluded room. Unmonitored, and unknown to the masses, he had turned on every form of regeneration quirk he could muster. It was a shame he had nothing potent enough to heal him of his damages. The current holder of One for All must have been in a similar state to his.

He was barely able to recall his most recent fight against the eight holder. He had been powerful, certainly more powerful than his predecessor. He was amazed at what his brother's quirk was capable of, all these years later.

As the saying goes, every hero needs a villain.

They landed critical blows against each other, in the same instant, in the same place. Most of his inner organs had shattered. It was truly a miracle he was alive afterward. It was the closest he has ever reached to certain death.

Alas, even if you could have all the quirks you can dream of, true invincibility was never a possibility.

His thoughts drifted to his two henchmen that he had trained, Toxic Chainsaw and Voltage Sandstorm. He had made them tools for him in this generation, to possibly avoid the inevitable fight against One For All. Toxic Chainsaw lasted a decent fight against the user, All Might, was his name. However, the most surprising to him was that Voltage Sandstorm was able to be defeated by a somewhat unknown hero!

I had such high hopes for them. As expected of One For All. You truly found someone worthy, Nana Shimura.

He let out an inaudible sigh. Things were getting interesting, though not in a way he had expected it to turn out.

I've gotten careless. Nevertheless…

He opened his one good eye out, scanning the darkness to where he knew society was residing.

Let us observe. How can society last with a damaged Symbol of Peace?

It would be interesting indeed.


I just want to put this omake I thought of in there. It's been in my mind for too long, I can't get it out. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Omake's here and throughout the story are purely crack ideas and are not canon.

Omake: Smooth Criminal Muzan

Tanjirou, controller in hand, tried once more his hand in browsing the television.

Again, how did people navigate through these things? So many little buttons, and they just know exactly what to press?

How?

The top red button turned it on and off. The very left button 5 rows down turned on a screen where you could select a specific thing on the screen.

And if you moved the "up page" panel, it made a whole new screen with new things on it!

He pushed his thumb on that button, but it slipped, and managed to land on the "select button"

"Ah. I didn't mean to do that."

What was this playing? "Smooth Criminal live performance by"...

No.

There's no way.

It couldn't be.

MUZAN?

He refused to believe it. Muzan was not in this world. It was purely coincidental.

He looked to the screen, and his eyes should have popped out of his head then and there.

He was wearing a shining silver suit. He had that same hat on as that day in Tokyo. He looked exactly like him.

"So they came into the outway..

It was Sunday, what a Black day.."

"Ryukyu-san, who is that on the screen right now?" Tanjirou shouted, his already high voice pitching even higher.

"Huh? That? That's Muzan Kibutsuji. He's one of the world's most famous singers. One of my favorites actually."

And so Tanjirou was forced to watch as Muzan turned into a pop-star on screen. His sworn enemy.

The controller broke in his hand, unable to withstand it's grasp.


Thanks for reading!