Prologue

I don't plan to make the notes to long it would be cool if you read them

Nezuko let out a painful growl, the threads ripping into her skin and piercing bone. She hurt, and her demonic regeneration was failing because she had not had the daunting taste of human blood and flesh. Blood dripped and rippled throughout the threads and her body, mixing with the already demonic blood of Rui which tainted his strings. She tried to look down to Rui, only to realize her vision was failing her, as she became dizzy and nauseous looking at her own blood. She tried to stay awake, but her strength was leaving her, and she slowing slipped into the world of unconsciousness.

Tanjiro looked up at where Nezuko lay, tangled in threads and demonic blood. He growled through his own pain, caused by the monster in front of him, this man- no this Demon has caused so much pain to both the Kamado's, and his own family! He looked at Rui as he was dashing forward, cutting threw thread and blood alike, in a desperate attempt to get closer and save not just Nezuko and him, but everyone else on Mt. Natagumo. He slashed in a fluid dance of fire and water alike, bringing hope into his soul. He believed he could do this, he was so close! Tanjiro swung with his flaming blade, the Nicherin cutting through the demon's neck.

Rui felt the blade cutting through both his neck and the threads that were also meant for his neck. He cursed, even without meaning to, this brat destroyed his plan of cutting off his own head! He looked at the fierce face of the burgundy haired boy in front of him, knowing he had lost.

"Am I really going to lose to a pathetic demon slayer like this?! I'm supposed to be stronger than him! This is impossible!" As he racked his brain for any possible solution, he knew he lost. He couldn't allow this to happen, at least not without leaving a lasting impression!

He prepared his threads and soaked them in blood, one last time. He would go out with a bang.

Tanjiro couldn't do anything about it, as the threads slashed throughout his body, striking important arteries and muscles. The first one hit his hand, severing it off immediately. Another hit his chest, cutting through and puncturing a lung. The third and final thread lashed out on his head, blinding Tanjiro immediately and cutting off and ear.

For a moment, there was peace as Rui's head thudded into the ground, blood spilling out while he and the rest of his body slowly began to disintegrate. Then, the pain hit Tanjiro like a truck, and he cried out in pain, falling on to the ground and into unconsciousness.

Giyu Tomioka dashed through the forest, feet as silent as the expressions on his face. He rushed into a clearing and saw the chunks of a messy death by the hands of a demon. Along with that was the destruction of nature and plant life around him. Trees looked torn apart or even smoothly chopped down.

The destruction had made a haphazardly path through the wood, and as Giyu dashed along it's side, he came across the slowly fading head of a young demon boy. Closer inspection would reveal it to be Lower Five of the Twelve Kizuki.

Giyu's eyes widened, and he looked around, noticing a checkered green and black haori and a clump of burgundy. He rushed over and noticed two things.

First, the fact that he knew this boy. He helped him and spared his demon sister 2 years ago, but it seems they've survived and proven the impossible. That demons and humans can coexist. These two siblings had such a strong bond, and to him, with all his experience and knowledge from being a Hashira, he truly believed that these two could change the world, and be the ones to the end the eternal war between demons and humans. However, this boy had to survive first.

That led to the second thing he noticed. Tanjiro was terribly injured, with a missing hand and blood pouring out of a deep wound in his body, it seemed it had taken everything he had to defeat the Kizuki. His face was a bloody mess, but Giyu could see that the area around his eyes was cut and that there was nothing but mush in his eye sockets. If Giyu had just joined the Corps, he would have gagged, but he had seen much worse before, and he wouldn't let this faze his tough expression. Giyu knew he had to get Tanjiro and his sister to some sort of hospital, perhaps the Butterfly Mansion, if he wanted Tanjiro to have any chance of living. There was the problem of Shinobu though…

Giyu tried to gently lift Tanjiro over his shoulder while picking the demon girl up over his other shoulder, not as gentle due to most of her wounds healing in her sleep and exhaustion. With one last glance at the almost fully disintegrated head of the Kizuki, he started the trek back, jumping from tree branch to tree branch while being as gentle as possible.

He was almost down the mountain when he heard a soft creak of a branch being bent that wasn't his own. On instinct and need to protect Tanjiro and his sister, he jumped down to the soft snow and tried to block their body's from the direction the sound of the branch came from.

He saw a flash of purple and instantly knew who it was, as Shinobu appeared in front of him, Nicherin Sword in hand. Giyu drew his own.

"Tomioka, you know what you are doing, do you not? That's a demon right there, and we both know it's against the rules of the Corps to let a demon live. What are you planning~?" Shinobu questioned, her gentle smile never leaving her face as she stared down her fellow Hashira.

"Kocho…. Let me pass. This doesn't involve you unless you intend to help heal Tanjiro," Giyu glared at Shinobu, a resistant look in his deep blue eyes as he tried to protect the siblings from the other Hashira.

Shinobu blinked once at Giyu, a slight look of surprise gracing her usually calm features. Her smile tightened, a bit strained. Should she trust Giyu on this? He was usually someone who thought before they act, so seeing him so fearlessly protect a demon made her slightly doubt herself. "If I aid the boy, then you must explain why you're protecting that demon. If I find your reasoning to be without flaw, then I will not kill her. Deal?"

Giyu looked at her once, and thought about the possible consequences, then nodded once.

()()()()()()()

A crow flew into the airspace of the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, its black wings blending in with the night sky, the only indication of the that it was there being its grey eyes and talons.

It flew past all the other buildings to a simple estate, where the Head of the Demon Slayer Corps was sitting on the porch.

The bird made various noises to the man, all of which he understood, and flew off, leaving him to his own thoughts. A demon in the Corps? It had never been heard of before, but if these children were who he thought they were, then this could be disastrous for the Demon Slayers to lose them. They might be the Corp's first chance in centuries. He needed to talk with her, the Demon Healer.

Alright, this is the first thing I've managed to write more than 1000 words for in a while. Let's hope this inspiration continues. Hopefully, the next update will be within the next 3 days. It should be, but who knows!

Some things will be explained in the next chapters, such as why Shinobu was so quick to help Tanjiro.