AN: First, FANART! By the lovely Hmm_Xst; link on my AO3 page! Thank you! Putting it here because it's creepy and helps set the mood.

Second,Note: The first chapter to the Alternate Ending is now posted! Chapter 89. It is titled "Alternate Ending". It's not as smooth of a transition, but it should get the point across. It is a slightly darker ending, so up to you to read that instead of from here.

With that said, ONTO THE CHAPTER!

xXx

Everyone held their breath. No one seemed willing to break the thick silence that had descended on the miniature mountain. That one voice had stopped the raging in Tanjiro's mind for just a moment. But it was just a moment. The progenitor registered the silence around him, but his brain didn't seem to want to process it. Especially when Muzan's final whispered words began to repeat in his head again… and then again, over and over, drowning anything else out just as they had before.

"I'll survive. I always do. And I will come back for you and yours."

Tanjiro swore he heard them, even now, and it made his blood boil. He wanted to destroy everything near him to make sure he could completely dispose of that thing. He would burn everything to the ground to obliterate that—

"Nii-san?" the voice said again, this time much smaller, more cautious. Despite that, it was, once again, the only thing that seemed to break through Muzan's words. After a moment, Tanjiro turned to look down the new mound to his right. He could sense one of his demons there but it still somehow surprised him to find the familiar face now covered in feathers looking up at him, pleading. Also, a semi-transparent form stood behind him.

"Takeo?" Tanjiro asked, confused. "Nezuko?"

She must have picked up his growing panic and worry when he saw her because she held up her hands and waved them as if in rejection of an idea.

"I'm not dead!" his sister said hurriedly. "I'm…" she paused, looking troubled, "I… don't know, but I'm not dead, okay!"

He… didn't know what to say to that.

"I… are… you… alright?" he finally managed to ask, forcing the words out. He didn't really want to speak them, but… it was his siblings, and he did want to know… so why had that been so hard?

"Yes," Nezuko said immediately. "And I even helped Giyuu-san take out Waxing Four!" She beamed.

Tanjiro blinked. Right. She didn't know he already knew. Something inside him began to relax a little at her excitement.

"I'm proud of you," he said, happy at how much he meant it. She was so strong and knowing she could defend herself was nothing short of an immense relief. Then, he looked at Takeo.

The boy harrumphed. "I just finished my Final Selection, got offered an apprenticeship, found out my family was being attacked, got kidnapped and turned into one of his—" he spat the word and no one had any doubts about who he meant—"demons – losing my memories, by the way – and then into one of your demons – consequently getting my memories back – all in the last couple of hours." He let out a frustrated breath as Tanjiro winced. Yeah, that… didn't sound great. "No, I'm not fine, but… I'll deal. You'll help me figure it out, right Onii-san? Onee-san?"

"Of course!" Nezuko said quickly, but Tanjiro could only stare. The last thing he remembered of that face was his brother looking at him while stuffing flesh into his mouth, with nothing that was his brother in those slitted eyes. Seeing Takeo back again… part of him wanted to cry, but he wouldn't let himself – couldn't let himself. Not here with that man's presence all around them, even reduced as it was.

"I…" he started, then swallowed his sobs back. "I wasn't sure you… He… You… you didn't even recognize me… before. I thought you might be gone forever." While that hadn't been the case with other demons, knowing Muzan, it hadn't been off the table. He'd been fully prepared to take a demon who didn't recognize him, but had his brother's face, under his wing once he'd obliterated the threat, but it had hurt then. The idea that it may have happened still hurt.

Takeo cringed, clutching his sword to his chest tighter. "I…"

"Don't say you're sorry," Tanjiro said. His ototo shouldn't be sorry for this. The time-traveler hopped down next to his siblings and put a hand on his brother's head slowly. Takeo didn't flinch away. That tightness loosened a little more. Tanjiro felt like he could breathe again – truly breathe – if only barely.

"It's not your fault," Tanjiro said honestly. Then his eyes narrowed as he looked past his siblings, out to the forest. "It's his."

Almost as soon as his thoughts fell back on the other demon progenitor, the lightness vanished and the tightness in his chest began to grow again, but he didn't care. He grit his teeth and looked around at the landscape. He could sense the other progenitor all over, crawling away or trying to hide, but he wouldn't escape. Tanjiro would do anything to make sure of that. His mind went back to the idea of using his blood art to burn the forest to the ground. That had been why he'd cut off his arm, knowing he'd need a great deal of blood to make sure, but it had already grown back. Perhaps he'd been a little too hasty, though. There were other ways to manifest his blood art at the kind of power levels he'd need.

"Don't worry," Tanjiro growled, not noting the anticipatory smile that had begun to grow on his face. "I'll make him pay for what he did. I'll draw every ounce of our vengeance out of his very skin – make him beg for mercy before I obliterate him."

That… didn't sound like it should come from his mouth. But it felt right… or, well, it felt satisfying, just thinking about it. That was right… right?

"NO!" his younger siblings said at the same time.

Tanjiro blinked, taken aback at the honest horror and fear on their faces. Shouldn't they hate that man as much as he did? But they'd only grown more worried with each word he'd just spoken. He knew he was acting strangely but… this was Muzan – the exception to every rule.

He didn't understand. "What?"

"Nii-san," Nezuko said softly.

"This is wrong," Takeo added on, as if to finish her sentence. Tanjiro just blinked. Part of him agreed with them, but… that part was so small. Overwhelmed by his need to utterly destroy everything about Muzan. Did they just expect him to smile it all away like he used to? He wished he could, but that wasn't how it worked. It had taken him 80 lifetimes to realize that.

"It's Muzan," he said as if that explained everything, because it did.

Almost as if having read his thoughts, Nezuko shook her head and stepped forward. "Nii-san, we don't expect you to be happy all the time, but this… this isn't you."

"Nezuko," he started tiredly, but Takeo interrupted.

"She's right. This isn't you, Nii-san!" Takeo said. "This is!" He thrust his sword… no, it was Tanjiro's sword – Yoriichi's sword – at him. The time-traveler grabbed it out of reflex. When had he lost it? And… did he need it? With what he had in mind…

"He has to pay," Tanjiro insisted, because otherwise, what was it all for? Everything that he'd suffered…

"No," Nezuko insisted, pleading. "I hate that the kindest thing to do, for everyone, is to end it, but it is. This needs to be over, Nii-san."

That small part of him spoke louder, yelled that she was right and he knew it. But…

"It… it doesn't feel right," he whispered, his voice raw. "All the pain… he just…"

"Nii-san, please," Nezuko said. He could see tears running down her transparent cheeks.

Takeo placed his hands on Tanjiro's, still holding the sword. "End it for you… and for us. Please don't drag it out more."

They knew what they were asking – for him to let go of over eighty lifetimes of completely justifiable pain and hate. Everyone always said he was kind but… that type of emotion didn't just go away. It begged for release – for him to torture the object of his hatred. He wanted to give into that too. But what did that make him? As he looked into the eyes of his siblings, he knew he had to tell them his thoughts – tell them the truth. Even if it made them look at him differently, he had to make them understand.

He closed his eyes, unable to face them as he voiced his biggest shame – his biggest truth… and fear.

"I… I'm not the brother you used to know," he said, unable to make his voice work above a shaky whisper. "I've changed, Nezuko, Takeo. I've seen you die so many times and… It changes you. I… I'm not who I used to be. That's why I hate him. He turned me into a monster, not just a demon."

He used to be kind but… he wasn't anymore. Not really. He used to love so unconditionally… and he wanted to go back to that so badly – to forget all of this and just return to their mountain and live there happily for the rest of their lives. He wanted to be happy. He wanted his family to be happy. He wanted his friends to be happy.

But monsters didn't deserve to be happy.

He kept his gaze down, not wanting to see the looks of horror and disgust on their faces now that he'd revealed just how awful he'd become.

What he didn't expect were the arms he felt coming around him, fast and hard. A head of feathers entered his view.

"T-takeo?" he asked, his voice breaking against his will.

Then he felt hands on his face and he looked up to meet Nezuko's teary eyes. "Oh, Nii-san," she said so quietly he could barely hear her. "You're not the same person you used to be, but you are not a monster. Anyone in your position would be angry. That doesn't make you evil."

But… but he wanted to hurt someone. Just like Muzan always did. How was that not monstrous…?

"But," he started, "I am."

"Then why do you care?" a voice from below asked, words muffled from being said into Tanjiro's Haori. Two pairs of eyes turned down to the shortest Kamado sibling.

"What?" Tanjiro asked.

Takeo looked up at his older brother, slitted eyes wide and pained. "Why. Do. You. Care?" he said slowly, emphasizing each word. "I know you. You're doing this – all of this – because you want us to be happy. In every life, you sacrificed yourself – became a demon – just so we would all live and have that chance. You've sacrificed so much for us, for everyone here." He looked around and Tanjiro followed his gaze. He hadn't noticed how demon slayers and demons alike had come, and now all stood, watching them. "How many people here would be dead or under that man's power if it wasn't for you, Nii-san? And you can't tell me you did that just to hurt Muzan."

The newest demon took a deep breath and stepped back, running a hand through the feathers on his head, which seemed to throw him for a moment before he shook it off and went on.

"You still care. I know you do. Partially because I can feel it – which is weird, not gonna lie – but still… I think you're afraid of losing all of this." He blinked as he came to that realization and his face opened in surprise. "You… didn't think you'd get this far, did you? Because it's been so long… and too many people died… over and over, this time too."

Tanjiro blinked. Perhaps he had a closer link with Takeo than the others for his ototo to be feeling and understanding that. But even then, even though he could sense what Tanjiro felt – the disgusting knot of emotion; the utter hatred for Muzan and… for himself for even feeling that way – despite all of that, Takeo was still holding out his hand. He was still willing to give an offering to his brother – an offering of hope that he was scared to take because anything positive had always been snatched out of his hands before… dangled in front of him as he desperately tried to reach it. And Takeo was just offering it.

Was his brother right? Was Tanjiro really so afraid?

Yes, he was. Perhaps that was what Muzan had cultivated in him, without either of them really knowing the depths or effects of but…

But wasn't that why he never stopped fighting? Why he'd gone through life after life after life, searching for a way to end Muzan's threat. To stop the fear for himself, and to help them never have to experience it?

It had been for them. It was always for them – would always be for them. And… wasn't that who Kamado Tanjiro had always been?

"You're still you, Nii-san," Takeo said after a moment, turning to face his brother again, expression set in a pointed scowl before it lightened and he shrugged. "You just got a little side-tracked."

Nezuko laughed and ruffled her little-brother's hair. "Since when did you get so wise?"

The boy sniffed. "Since I became Gyuu-sensei's tsuguko."

Nezuko gasped before a wide smile stretched over her face. "When did that happen!?"

Takeo scratched his cheek with one demon claw sheepishly. "Since last night."

Tanjiro couldn't help it. Just seeing those two interact like that seemed to break something inside of him, shattering it irreparably, but that didn't feel like a bad thing. He let out a half-sob, half-laugh and then… couldn't seem to stop. He didn't know whether he was laughing or crying or both.

"Nii-san," Takeo said quietly. Tanjiro just reached out and pulled him into a hug, then did the same with Nezuko's transparent form. Or, he tried, and she just came forward to wrap her fading arms around them both. It was enough.

"We're here, Nii-san," Nezuko whispered, sounding so relieved.

"Us and Kaa-san and Shigeru and Rokuta and Hanako and all the Hashira and all your friends," Takeo said, sounding much younger than he had just minutes ago. Tanjiro hugged him all the tighter for it. "We all support you Nii-san. We all believe in you."

"He's not wrong," a new voice had them looking over to see Kocho Shinobu… as a demon. She somehow looked more terrifying and more beautiful all at once… but that could have also been her smile – the most real smile he'd ever seen on her face.

Sanemi showed up beside her, looking annoyed. "You know, you're a pain in the—"

"Shinazugawa-san," Shinobu interrupted, glancing pointedly down at Takeo.

"Che," he muttered and rolled his eyes before turning back to Tanjiro. "But you saved my life. And not just mine." He thumbed over his shoulder. Tanjiro glanced around at everyone there again. They all looked on in support. Except Obanai, who seemed to be having a bit of a crisis of his own as he held Mitsuri's hand. The pink-haired girl patted him with her other hand, but was still grinning widely at Tanjiro.

And it hit him. So many of these people would have died in his original timeline. He'd seen Mitsuri's body and had watched Obanai die. He knew Muichiro and Genya had both died, yet he could sense the latter there at least. Himejima-san, Shinobu, Sanemi… and maybe a lot of them were demons, but they could work on that. They were alive to work on that.

"I'm still gonna get you for Genya, though" Sanemi growled harshly.

Somehow, despite him knowing that was a real promise, it just made Tanjiro want to laugh more. Because Urokodaki-sensei was right. There wasn't any such thing as a perfect loop. He hated that he'd lost people getting to this point but… he couldn't become dependent on those loops. He had to learn to live on without knowing what would happen… Because everyone still alive deserved it.

So he would.

"You're still the kindest person I've ever met," Mitsuri called out. "Thank you, so much!"

And that quickly, other voices joined hers.

"You gave me another chance," Akatsugi said. "I didn't deserve it."

"Tanjiro-san rescued me," little Kimiko piped up.

"I guess you're okay," from Obanai.

That was just the start of the cascade of support from more and more people who had come to see what was going on. He saw Yamamoto-san, who he'd taken the Final Selection with, standing next to Miyabe-san and Imagawa-san. He saw hundreds of demon slayers scouring the forest down below – Zenitsu, Kanao, and Inosuke included.

And they were all working together because of him. Well, not just him, but he did have a large part in this. And that felt good. Relieving. Hopeful…

"Nii-san," Tanjiro looked back at his brother when he heard Takeo again. He'd reached out and placed a hand on Yoriichi's sword again. "End it."

Tanjiro looked between him and the sword, then up at Nezuko, who just smiled and nodded.

He returned the gesture with a warm smile of his own.

"You're only gonna get Muzan, right?" Sanemi asked bluntly. Shinobu punched his arm. He winced and rubbed the spot before frowning at the smaller woman. Then he turned back to Tanjiro. "You were gonna destroy everything to destroy him, weren't you?"

Tanjiro winced because… that had been his general thought, yes.

"Not anymore," he said. "Now, I will end him… and just him."

Sanemi studied him for several seconds before he must have found what he was looking for, as he nodded.

"Good."

Tanjiro returned the gesture and scratched his finger with his claw, piercing the skin. He forced a fair amount of blood out and took a deep breath.

"Demon Blood Art: Palm Fire Explosion."

He continued to ignite his blood and pushed his power outward, to spread at speeds trains would have difficulty keeping up with. He willed it to burn through everything and find any trace of Muzan. He pushed it into the ground, wanting to find every single cell, and burn it. He pushed it deeper and farther and…

Pain erupted in his eyes. He shrieked, but refused to drop the attack.

"Nii-san!" his siblings yelled, but he held up a hand.

He continued to make the mound around them burn, going as deep and as wide as he could. He would burn every single trace of that demon out of the world. No matter how painful.

After several minutes, the pain died down and he almost collapsed in relief, but it wasn't done. Below him, the sound of multiple, high-pitched shrieks of pain reverberated throughout the forest – what was left of Muzan burning. Tanjiro just continued to let his fire grow.

But, even this close, his fire couldn't kill the former Demon King fast enough. It would get the smaller pieces, but the larger the piece, the more it would take to burn through them. Most likely the sun would come out first. That would happen in a couple of minutes anyway with how the horizon had begun to lighten. Well, fine. Tanjiro would make his fire last as long as he needed to, even if he could feel it sapping away his strength. He had enough for this. He'd make sure he had enough.

Sensing the danger, the different parts of Muzan stopped crawling away from each other, instead turning to scramble together to try to outlast the attack. Tanjiro could sense where they would converge and took a deep breath. He would confront this, and he would finish it.

First, though…

He let the fire die down around them, then turned and smiled at his siblings. "Thank you," he whispered, hugging them again. Then he looked up at everyone else. "All of you. I won't let you down." He bowed low to them. "I promise."

"Nii-san?" Nezuko asked, confused.

"As you said, I have to go end this," he said. "You can all follow me but… I have to see this through."

His siblings nodded and looked down in worry.

"Be safe," Takeo said. Nezuko squeezed Tanjiro's hands in silent agreement with their brother before her solidity faded and she passed through him. He could barely see her now, but he could still sense her there and that was enough.

Tanjiro's smile widened when he met her eyes. He was so grateful for his family at that moment he thought he would burst.

But he needed to stop putting this off, so he turned and jumped into the air, pushing off and shooting towards where he could feel Muzan coalescing. He touched down in the forest between a couple of groups of demon slayers who seemed very confused, very concerned, and very tired. They all eyed the strange mound of flesh coming back together warily, still on fire. When he landed, they all backed up.

"Thank you all, for everything you've done," Tanjiro called out. "Without you, he may have escaped too far." Or there may have been too many pieces or… Muzan may have figured something out. But once again, Muzan was working alone. Tanjiro was not. And he had to lean into that. "Stand back," he yelled loudly, wanting to make sure they stayed safe. "Make a perimeter and make sure nothing escapes."

Then he began to walk forward.

The mass of demonic cells formed into a giant shape, with a head and body… it was familiar. A baby. With sharp teeth.

Tanjiro drew the sword, dropping the scabbard. He would return for it later. Now, he had to focus.

Yoriichi-san, Tou-san, he thought, please, lend me your strength.

In his hand, the blade began to glow red. Later he would smile at that. Now… he only had eyes for the disgusting but pitiful creature in front of him. The enormous form he remembered from his first life.

That fight had been physically harder. But this… this felt more difficult somehow. And more final.

Ten minutes ago he may have seen this as a reward. But now… he just felt sad. Sad for this creature that couldn't truly see anything. He'd lived for a thousand years, but… was that really living? Alone, watching his back at every moment, only enjoying others' pain… No. It wasn't. No matter how much power he had gained.

The time-traveler took a deep breath. He had to get this out. It felt like draining poison from his soul – poison he'd been carrying for far too long.

"I pity you, you know," he heard himself say and realized he meant it from the bottom of his soul. "You will never understand true happiness. You can only feel some sort of substitute, get your highs from lording what power you have over others, wanting to drag them down to serve you, thinking that's enough. I don't think you can know true happiness because even then, you will never be content. Not with the whole world under your control."

The baby began to crawl away desperately, even as the dawn began to shine over the mountains in the distance, washing the world in golden light. Muzan's shrieks hadn't ever really stopped, even as the flesh-slugs coalesced into one entity, but now they redoubled in volume.

Tanjiro only continued. "You only find pleasure and enjoyment from dragging everyone around you down – from making others suffer. You break them to push them below yourself and pretend that is you rising above them, but the truth is you will never gain any ground that way. You will always be stagnant at best. And that is truly a tragedy."

He paused and looked down for a moment, gathering himself. "I'll admit you almost broke me, but…" he glanced over his shoulder at the mound where so many of those he cared about had gathered, and smiled. "In the end you didn't. Because I have people who love me. People to fight for and to live for and to die for. So, no matter what happens, you will die knowing this: You. Didn't. Win. I may be a demon, but I am still Kamado Tanjiro, and you cannot take that from me." Because only Tanjiro himself could give that up.

And because of that, he would give this being the merciful ending he didn't deserve.

He took a stance.

"Breath of Sun, Thirteenth Form, Hinokami Kagura continuous." With that, he surged forward, sword slicing through the demon king as Tanjiro danced. He went through every single form and then started again, making sure that nothing escaped. He also kept his fire burning so any piece of Muzan that managed to get away would burn into ash. Anything else that managed to get far enough, the slayers would take care of.

He felt the other progenitor's presence flicker, reaching out desperately, but it wasn't enough. (It never had been.)

Then Tanjiro drew near the end of the form one final time.

"Goodbye Muzan," he whispered. Then, with the last cut, the presence finally, finally faded away. Around him, the pieces of the body still burned, but the fires began to diminish, leaving Tanjiro standing in a forest clearing in the morning light, face pointed towards the sun.

Then, while everyone watched he put his sword through his sash – still without a sheath, but it would do for now – then clapped his hands and prayed for a lost soul.

xXx

Takeo didn't really know what to do once Tanjiro took off after Muzan. At least, not for the first few moments. Then he exchanged a glance with the fading Nezuko and they both took off after him. They weren't the only ones, it seemed, as everyone else began to run too, shooting into the forest below.

"Takeo," Nezuko said while they were in the air (because of course), "I… don't think… I can stay much longer."

They landed and Takeo froze at her words, eyes meeting his nee-san's faint outline. He could still see the worry plain on her face. There was probably only so much she could do and since they didn't really know how she was here in the first place, he only really had one option.

He smiled. "I'll take care of him, Nee-san. Promise."

Just before she faded from view, he saw a relieved smile wash over her face.

"Okay. We'll meet soon," she said, her voice trailing off as she finally faded from view.

"Yeah, we will" he said, watching the area she'd been standing in for a moment longer. Once sure she was gone, he turned and hurried through the trees using his water breathing form. He wasn't nearly as fast as most of the other demon slayers there (who all had a head start) even with his demon body (Hashira, especially were scary), so when he finally caught up with everyone, they'd all gathered in a group facing away from him.

Takeo, rather annoyed but not wanting to be rude and elbow his way through them, jumped into a tree and landed on a branch overlooking the clearing. He saw Tanjiro standing in the middle over a pile of ash blowing away in the breeze and praying. Praying for a lost soul. Praying for Muzan.

A knot inside the younger Kamado's stomach loosened at the sight. That was his brother.

"Welcome back, Nii-san," he whispered. In that moment he knew everything would be okay.

After nearly a minute of utter silence as the morning light washed over the area, Takeo decided enough was enough. He leaped over the group of people, out into the clearing, and began to approach his brother.

"Nii-san?" he asked, only a little hesitant.

Tanjiro turned, gaze meeting his younger brother's. Takeo caught his breath at the sight. He'd noticed it earlier but now, with his brother standing there, it really hit home. With the sun coming up behind him and casting him in shadow, emphasizing the glowing eyes, everyone could see it: the kanji was gone.

Then his brother smiled.

"We did it," he said. "He's gone."

Takeo felt tears come to his own eyes and he nodded. "Yeah. He is. Thanks to you, Nii-san."

"Thanks to everyone," Tanjiro corrected happily, although Takeo frowned because his words seemed a little slurred. He wobbled on his feet and the younger boy realized what was about to happen. He rushed forward and caught his brother just as he collapsed.

"Nii-san?" he asked.

Tanjiro didn't answer. That would have worried Takeo if he didn't somehow know that everything was fine. His brother would be alright. Actually, the expression on his unconscious face looked far more peaceful than Takeo had seen since that winter morning when Nezuko had dragged him back to their home, dejected and broken. It was nice to see him whole again. He even smiled a little in his sleep.

Takeo smiled back.

"Rest, Nii-san," he whispered as everyone else came to gather around them. "You earned it."

xXx

Thanks to Quathis and Found for their help on this chapter! :D Beta readers of awesome!

There will be a wrap-up chapter and an epilogue as well as the alternate ending!

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)