For the first story in this crossover, a surprising amount of people saw it and liked it. Thanks!
The day started out like any other, even though everyone knew it wasn't.
It was five days before New Year's, at which point Tanjiro would dance the Hinokami Kagura for the first time, but before that, he was determined to help his family eat well at that point. As such, he was going to be going down the mountain to sell charcoal and wood in town.
"Tanjiro," his mom called out, getting his attention. "You've got soot on your face." Tanjiro laughed as she wiped it off, still the caring mom she always was. She was always extremely reluctant to let Tanjiro, or any of the kids go off on their own after the incident almost eight years ago.
"Tanjiro-nee-san!" Shigeru called out, running up with Hanako. "Can we go to town too?"
"Yeah!" the other said, jumping up in place, waiting for their older brother to cave in and say yes.
"Sorry, but no," their mother cut in, shutting down their hopes. "Tanjiro can't use the cart, so he can't carry you back when you get tired. Plus, you can't walk fast like Tanjiro can. So, you'll be staying home today."
"Awwwww," the two of them cried, looking to Tanjiro for support. But, Tanjiro knew better than to cross his mother.
"She's right, you know. I'll come right back. Shigeru, I'll grab you some goodies from town. Hanako, I'll read with you when I get back," he said, promising each of them something they enjoyed greatly. The three reluctantly nodded, going back towards the house.
"And Takeo," he said, getting the young boy's attention. "I can see you there." True to his words, Takeo stepped out from behind the house, from where he was hiding the whole time. "Can you chop some firewood in the meantime?"
"Sure, but I was hoping you'd help," he said, grumbling slightly. Tanjiro laughed and patted his head, causing the younger boy to yelp and retreat in surprise.
"Hey, stop that!" he said, his cries falling on deaf ears as Tanjiro continued to give him heatpats. After calming down and saying his goodbyes, Tanjiro departed from the house.
A little bit into his journey, about three minutes, he saw his other two siblings. Rokuta was with Nezuko, showing her a bunch of the space around the house for the first time. She'd only been to the village once, likely because she was so young. Only 10 years old, making routine trips down a mountain wouldn't exactly be the best idea in her situation. She also didn't know where Tanjiro and the others were, only that they were taken to somewhere else.
"Hey Nezuko," Tanjiro waved, catching their attention. Rokuta was holding her right hand, wrapped in too many jackets and his feet dragging through the snow. Nezuko waved back, walking over with Rokuta.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked, looking at the bag of charcoal.
"You know me, I'll be back before you know it," Tanjiro stated, starting to walk again. "See you tonight!"
"See you then," Nezuko responded, her and Rokuta waving goodbye.
The walk down the mountain took about an hour and forty five minutes, giving Tanjiro plenty of time to practice his water manipulation. It was a hobby of his, using the gifts that Percy gave him to a simple extent, helping around the house and with transport. The benefits that came from being doused in it were also helpful when going down the mountain, which was what he had done about five minutes ago. The effects were wearing off, but Tanjiro didn't notice given his current focus.
The transformation from water to ice was hard for Percy, but it seemed to be easier for Tanjiro considering the place he grew up. So, he spent his time making intricate shapes and details, another thing he often sold at town. It was crafted never to break, and he often took commissions for ice statues of different objects or people. Currently, he was focusing on swords, trying to create a blade with the same style and weight as Riptide, which was Percy's blade. It was failing, mostly because ice had a very different density compared to celestial bronze. So, he settled for the same weight but a different, longer blade shape, something that would be slightly detrimental to his skill but still work against anything less than a minor god. Giving it a few practice swings, getting used to the grip, Tanjiro evaporated the blade once the village came within shouting distance.
Tanjiro walked around, selling wood and ice sculptures, helping the people around the village, and making a handy profit. He helped the blacksmith cool down some axes, identified a cat as a culprit of broken plates, entertained the kids, and many other things before realizing that not only had he sold all his charcoal, but it was also nearing dark.
Cursing, Tanjiro started to run up the mountain, with the single goal of getting back before dark. However, before he could do that, he was stopped by Saburo, the old man who lived at the base of the mountain.
"Tanjiro, come here! It's dangerous to go up the mountain at this time," the old man called out, getting his attention.
"Sorry, Saburo, but I have to go!" Tanjiro shouted, and began to leave.
"Don't go! Stay here for the night, it'll be fine. Just don't wander off at night, the demons are going to get you," he said, making Tanjiro reconsider, if only so that the old man didn't worry.
"Alright, but only if you let me pay rent," Tanjiro said, insistent upon doing something for him.
"Doesn't matter, just come in, come in," he said, ushering Tanjiro inside. After a brief dinner, and right before bed, Tanjiro asked about the topic on his mind.
"Saburo, what are demons?" he asked, determined to get a grasp on the tales that Saburo was spouting. He didn't believe him, but he knew that it could be a possibility, especially now that he knew that gods are real.
"Man eating monsters, they'll come and get you in the dark," Saburo said, elaborating some more after it. Tanjiro let the man speak, but was planning to bring his siblings to Saburo's, letting them play with him and assure him that no demons were near. But, he would keep the warnings in mind, allow them to simmer in the back pocket, just so that he was aware of the possible threat. After asking some more questions, it was time to sleep, so Tanjiro did that.
In the morning, Tanjiro woke and traveled back home, leaving some of the money he'd earned last night in the house as payment for having him.
The journey up was slow, but Tanjiro was determined to make it fast, so he could get there before anyone else woke up. He had just reached the point where the slope leveled off when he smelled something strange in the air. It was bitter and metallic, and despite being inhuman, smelled of pain and death.
Blood was in the air, and Tanjiro Kamado rushed to find out where it was coming from.
The house looked normal at first glance, but Tanjiro knew something was wrong because there was no noise, no visible cues that anyone was there. Tanjiro rushed to the entrance, and the sight he saw would scar him forever.
Blood painted the walls, drawn in abstract patterns, turning the wallpaper into a Jackson Pollock painting. It was home to some unfriendly sights to say the least, intricate patterns being drawn into it, looking like the kanji for something, but Tanjiro couldn't discern what. The first person he saw was his mother, Kie.
Or rather, he saw her parts. Kie had been bifurcated, her body split in exactly half down the middle. She was laying face down on the floor, her parts creating a simple V with the feet as the intersection. Her hair prevented Tanjiro from seeing her brain, but the gray mass poked out slightly through the curtain of black, a reminder that there was no hiding. The blood and organs pooled into the middle, forming a pile of sorts, showing Tanjiro each and every gory detail of the death of his mother, searing it into memory. Her ribs held them like a basket, elevating each and every one of them for Tanjiro to see. Her intestines, both small and large, formed a ring around them, dripping out of the cradle and partially on the floor, providing a small guide to the main attraction of this feast. Next, the middle organs, which Tanjiro could see were the stomach, pancreas, and liver, were all open and cut, allowing the juices inside to spill out, creating a nice flowing fountain that reminded Tanjiro of a river. The lungs were on top, both wrinkled and shriveled, the red color becoming apparent as the blood vessels were exposed to oxygen, making thin streams of red, painted like an artwork visible on the outer edge. The heart was on top of the rest, cut out perfectly and preserved, almost as if the perpetrator made such a mount to signify his power. It had stopped beating, but that didn't mean blood wasn't coming out of it. Preserved by the shape, blood was filling the aorta, making it look simply like a tap overflowing with water, ready to spill at the slightest movement.
Tanjiro couldn't take it anymore, and ran to another room, not wanting to look at the damaged corpse of his mother anymore. However, this room was the wrong one to enter, as it held more of Tanjiro's now deceased family.
Takeo was in this room, his right arm holding a hatchet. However, that seemed to be the only part of him fully intact, as the rest of him looked like it went through a blender. His head had the skin peeled off, showing the muscle behind it and the skull behind that. His eyes were gouged out, becoming red paste in the eye sockets. This skull was in front of the rest of the body, which wasn't that far behind it. Takeo's chest was cut into pieces, just empty flesh piled up where an intact body should be. The bits of flesh contrasted with his pale skin, peeking out from different spots in the pile, making it look like a model science volcano, blood flowing where lava should be. His left arm was twisted in so many circles that it looked like a spring, the bone clearly either taken out or broken into shards. It was left where it should be, all the parts in their correct place but destroyed beyond recognition. Takeo's legs stuck out of the floor, the bone keeping them anchored, looking like flags. They had not a drop of anything on them, clean and pristine except for where the cut was made.
Unable to take it anymore, Tanjiro rushed out of the house, past his mother, and retched into the snow, glad he hadn't eaten anything this morning. He had just seen the corpses- no the remains of his mother and brother. Their bodies had been desecrated and destroyed in ways that showed that the attacker was in no way human, much less humane. Closing his eyes and reopening them, Tanjiro got started on digging seven graves, one for each of his family. Once they were made, Tanjiro blindfolded himself and relied on his smell to get his mother and brother into their graves, unwilling to look at them any longer. He covered their bodies with snow and a layer of ice, ensuring that nothing would be able to damage them any more than their attacker already had. Tanjiro took off the blindfold and walked back inside, ready to see more, thankful that Percy's experience with the combination of killing others, helping people through PTSD, seeing other people die, and overall gore could calm him down, readying him for what he was going to see. Luckily, the rest of them weren't as bad, though it was still terrible without counting Kie and Takeo.
Two of his sisters, Shigeru and Hanako, were all in the same room and killed the same way. Pillars of wood, torn from the wall separating their bedroom and his, impaled each of them in too many spots, pinning them to the floor as they were impaled more. Tanjiro first focused on Shigeru, who was stuck to the wall, fourteen wood pieces keeping her there. From the top down, one was stuck through her open mouth, holding it there in an endless silent scream. Blood flowed out of it like it was drool, coating the rest of her in a ruby red. One went through each shoulder, holding it in place while another went through each elbow, holding the arms out like a robot. Seven went in a circle in her chest, cutting through and into the wall. Four went into her legs, two on each side, twisting them at awkward angles, clearly showing that something was broken. Tanjiro broke each out, sealing the cuts with ice right after, preventing more from flooding out. As he took the last out, he caught the limp body of his sister and carried it away, going back to the graveyard. He laid his sister to rest, tucking her in with a cold blanket of ice, before putting dirt, ice and snow above it once more.
Hanako was last, seventeen pillars going straight into her, not keeping her on the floor but covering her back in a way that made it look like she was a hedgehog. Tanjiro had to take each and every one of them out, leaving him to see the broken back that looked like someone took a machine gun and shot it. Too many holes existed for Tanjiro, who turned away before bringing Hanako once more to the grave. The discarded wood was burned, used to sterilize and clean the bloodied carpets and red painted walls. Finally, it was just Rokuta and Nezuko.
As he entered the room, he saw the body of Nezuko over Rokuta, both with their eyes closed, looking peaceful. Tanjiro walked over and turned Nezuko over to reveal the gaping hole in her chest, wider than Tanjiro's entire head. It went straight through her, leaving a cavern inside for her blood to crystallize, Tanjiro quickly closing off the cuts with ice and filling the hole with the same. He carried Rokuta out, laying him in the second last grave and repeating the filling procedure, until finally only Nezuko was left. As he went to grab her, he heard the faintest sound of breathing. Quickly checking for a pulse, Tanjiro couldn't help but let out a cry of happiness as Nezuko's heart beat. He had a family member that was alive! Picking her up, he carried her outside as he put her in the snow for him to say his prayers for his family, their deaths not truly being realized until now.
It was then that Tanjiro began to cry, cry for the family he had lost, cry for the way they had died. He began to cry for Kie, the mother who was always there, for Rokuta and Takeo, the hard working little boys that he respected so much. He cried for Shigeru, and Hanako, the trio of girls who would never be able to see the sun they laughed in and enjoyed so much. But most of all he cried for Nezuko, the girl who would be left with him alone, without a female role model or a positive male one. After all, he couldn't even protect his family from this fate. They had been slaughtered like this while he was sleeping peacefully with Saburo!
Tanjiro felt something encompass him, hold him tight much like his father did, and cried into it, the cold and hard feeling somehow welcoming unlike the ice it was. Percy felt all of Tanjiro's pain from within his mind, and the anguish of the grieving child overwhelmed him, making him start to shed tears as well.
A few minute later, Tanjiro was ready to help his sister. Having sealed her injuries and preventing them from bleeding out or worsening, Tanjiro let out a long suffering sigh as he finished checking for internal damage. Taking deep breaths, Tanjiro managed to calm himself, though the guilt inside still remained. Standing up, he picked up Nezuko, and began to run towards the village. Not walk, not jog, but run. Nezuko was, and always will be, his first priority, it is his duty to ensure her safety.
About halfway down the mountain, Nezuko stirred, causing Tanjiro to realize that she was awake. He turned to her, seeing her open her eyes, but what he did not expect was the sharp teeth that signified a major change in her biology. Veins seemed to be popping out of her forehead, becoming significantly angrier with every look, something that confused and saddened Tanjiro, who thought that she must be angry at him.
"Don't worry, Nezuko, I'll get you to the doctor and everything will be okay- WHOA!" he shouted, as he was now falling off of a cliff, and landed on the snow. With an 'oof', he opened his eyes and saw that the snow cushioned his fall. He sat up, turning around frantically to look for his younger sister. Before he could, his demigod instincts flared up, causing him to turn around, hatched in hand, before Nezuko chomped down on the wood of the hatchet, forcing him once more to the ground.
His sister had pinned him to the ground, growing in size, her mouth biting into the hatchet that was between him and her. Gritting his teeth, he threw her off of him, and to the side. Before she could get back up, he trapped her with ice, preventing her from getting up once more.
"Nezuko, stop!" he yelled, causing her to look at him. She was still struggling, though not as much now. "Nezuko, I'm sorry," he said, but was cut off when a shadow appeared behind him. Before said shadow could reach him, he let Nezuko free of the ice and pulled her out of the way of the swing.
The newcomer was dressed in a green and yellow haori, with a black kimono underneath. He had teal blue eyes and jet black hair, styled in four waves that went in different directions. He held a sword, steel by the looks of it, but it was part gray and part blue, almost the same hue as his eyes. He stared back at them, unmoving, but finally he spoke.
"You know what it is that you are protecting?" he asked, clearly referring to Nezuko.
"She's my little sister," Tanjiro replied, looking around for any escape routes. His right hand gripped the hatchet, his left held Nezuko behind him. She was struggling slightly, though not anymore.
"Not anymore, she isn't," the man said. "She's a man eating demon."
"How? Nezuko has always been a human," Tanjiro asked. He took another look at Nezuko and saw the similarities Saburo mentioned, but he still wanted to believe it wasn't true.
"Her wounds were exposed to demon blood, it's that simple," the mysterious man said, before rushing forwards. Tanjiro saw this happen, but this man was moving too fast for any normal person to react to. Unfortunately for him, Tanjiro was not a normal person. Tanjro moved Nezuko to the other side of him, and swung his hatchet in the same motion at such an angle where it would deflect the sword. This outcome occurred, and the man went rushing past him, Tanjiro still in front of Nezuko.
The man narrowed his eyes at Tanjiro, clearly stupefied at how a kid from the mountains was able to deflect the blade of a pillar.
"Boy," he said, causing Tanjiro to look him in the eyes. "What is your name?"
"It's a bit rude to ask for someone else's name without giving yours first," Tanjiro responded, Percy's signature sass coming in full force.
"My name is Giyuu Tomioka, now what is yours?" he asked.
"Tanjiro Kamado," Tanjiro responded, readying something behind his back.
"Well, Tanjiro, I am a demon slayer and your sister is a demon," Tomioka said. "It is my job to kill her, along with any other demons that have harmed humans."
Tanjiro grit his teeth, and knew that he would have to fight now. He was close to full strength, being surrounded by snow and able to utilize his powers to their near full extent, but he didn't want to kill or seriously maim this man, no matter how much he spoke stupid or attacked Nezuko. Wait, did he say 'harmed humans'?
"Well then you don't have to harm Nezuko," Tanjiro said, smiling and relaxed. "She has never harmed a human!" Tomioka narrowed his eyes, but conceded that that was what demon slayer code was and that he didn't need to attack. However, there was still a loose end.
"And what will you do when your sister does attack a human?" he asked, curious as to the answer.
"She won't," Tanjiro responded, before continuing. "I will make sure of it." Giyuu frowned, as that wasn't a satisfactory answer. "But if she does, I will kill her and then myself. This I swear on the name of Amaterasu."
Despite the fact that it was night, the sun appeared slightly and burned extremely brightly in response, blinding both Tanjiro and Tomioka. Nezuko didn't care, she was just behind her elder brother, quietly vibing to the sounds of the other's conversation. When the glare died down, Tomioka saw that the snow all around Tanjiro was burned in a circle, leaving scorch marks in negative degree weather. However, Tanjiro didn't have a single mark on him, showing that the bond was signed, and he was being truthful. Tomioka's eyes widened, stepping back in shock before nodding.
"Very well. Her life and actions are on your head," Tomioka said, before turning around to walk away.
"Wait!" Tanjiro cried out, getting Giyuu's attention. "Is there a way to turn a demon back into a human?" he asked.
"Not that I know of," Tomioka responded, causing Tanjiro to sag his shoulders in disappointment.
"Very well. How do I become a demon slayer?" he asked, catching Tomioka's attention.
"But your sister-" Tomioka started, trailing off, causing Tanjiro to look at him, sadness in his eyes.
"I realize that my sister is the exception, and not the rule here. Based on your reaction, you have never met a demon so," he said, looking at Nezuko. "Docile." Tomioka nodded, causing Tanjiro to smile.
"Plus, I can't just let my family's killer go free. I will find, and I will kill them." Tanjiro stated, causing Tomioka to balk at his resolve.
"Alright. Go to Mt. Sagiri, there you will find your solution. I will let him know you are coming," Tomioka stated, Tanjiro nodding.
"One last thing," Tanjiro said, causing Tomioka to groan. "For attacking Nezuko, I have to headbutt you."
"Very well, make it quick. Also remember that demons cannot walk in the sun," Tomioka said, allowing Tanjiro to come close. Tanjiro reared his head back, and hit Giyuu in the forehead with all his might, causing the slayer to stagger, before collapsing due to a severe concussion. Tanjiro laughed, and turned to Nezuko.
"Come on, let's get you somewhere," he said, walking away to find shelter due to the rising sun.
Days later, when Shinobu was checking on Giyuu in the butterfly mansion and asked where he got a concussion, he refused to respond that he was knocked out by a headbutt from a fourteen year old.
"May I buy a basket?" Tanjiro asked a villager, who pointed to one of the piles a few meters away.
"You can use that one for free. It's broken, so we have no use for it," the villager responded, causing Tanjiro to frown.
"No, I insist that you accept payment for this item!" Tanjiro exclaimed, causing the villager to frown.
"No, take it for free!" he yelled in response, causing Tanjiro to sigh, grab the basket, put coins in the villager's hand, and run away as fast as he could before the villager could get mad at him. Another villager had given him directions to Mt. Sagiri, so he ran to the cave he left Nezuko in, hoping to hide her from the sun. On the way there, he cut some bamboo with his hatchet, and would use it to repair the basket.
"Nezuko?" he called out once he reached the cave. There was nothing in it, except for a hole that went down about a meter. Peeking out of the hole was Nezuko.
"My kid sister has turned into a mole," he said to nobody in particular. Sitting down, he began to work on repairing the basket, cutting his hands and messing up several times. "Goddamit," he cursed, before trying again. However, he was stopped by a small hand on his, Nezuko's eyes boring into his. He stopped, and she grabbed the basket and bamboo, and began weaving it into workable shape. In a matter of minutes, the basket that couldn't carry pineapples would be able to hold water without it spilling.
"Huh, great job Nezuko." She smiled in happiness, then crawled over towards Tanjiro and fell asleep on his lap. "What?" he asked, but she was already fast asleep. "Okay then," he said, before noticing his own fatigue. He had gone through two nights without sleeping, remaining fully active during that 60 hour period. So, he decided to get some rest then and there, sleeping against the walls of the cave, Nezuko with her head in his lap.
Tanjiro woke up at dark. The sun had gone down, the last rays leaving the evening sky. Nezuko stirred and woke up at around that time as well, sitting up and walking outside. Tanjiro picked up the hatchet and the basket, and started following her.
After about thirty minutes of walking, Tanjiro suddenly stopped, faced with a familiar scent.
Blood was in the air, and Tanjiro rushed towards the temple that had it. He burst through the door, hatchet at the ready, in position to attack anyone that he needed to. Someone in the left corner turned to look at him, exposing the demonic gray skin and long fangs that characterized demons. Before he could speak or react, Tanjiro had rushed forward, and swung his hatchet to decapitate the demon. Such events occured, before Tanjiro rushed to check on the rest of the people in the temple.
"All dead," he said, walking out of the temple, Nezuko in tow. Before he could get started on making graves for the dead, he was kicked in the back by a headless body, the demon head being reattached.
"What? I cut off your head," he said, hatchet once more at the ready.
"A neat trick, with that hatchet. But, it doesn't last! You can't kill me with that flimsy thing," the demon said, shocking Tanjiro that it was able to speak. But, he supposed that Nezuko was the only demon, and she didn't attack him or anyone else, so not to trust her as the basis for all demons.
"Well, if that doesn't work, let's try something else," Tanjiro said, about to swing before Nezuko kicked the head of the demon off, decapitating it again.
"Wha-" Tanjiro said, before the body stood up, causing him to try his plan once more. He rushed forward, fingers outstretched, and touched the body of the demon, ice spawning from the point of contact. Said ice went all around the demon, crystallizing and breaking apart the very molecules that held the body of the demon together. With the body successfully frozen, Tanjiro clenched his hand, causing all the ice to shatter and melting it. This had the side effect of preventing the demon from reattaching his head to the body, as there was nothing left of the body but water. Turning to the head, Tanjiro saw the shocked expression of the demon, and walked over slowly.
"What did you do?!" the demon screeched, looking up at Tanjiro, arms ready to regenerate. Tanjiro laid his hands on the demon's head, the ice spreading once more to encompass the skull.
"The sea is always with me," Tanjiro said, before crushing the demon with his hands once more. Tanjiro stood up and walked back inside, ready to dig graves for the people that died.
As Tanjiro walked back inside to get the bodies out, Nezuko staying outside so as to not let the temptation of human meat get to her, a man in a red Tengu mask watched from the side, contemplating the wonder he just witnessed.
Tanjiro emerged from the temple with the first body, Nezuko walking over, seemingly salivating, but Tanjiro laid the man in the grave the same way he did with his family, then shook his head no at Nezuko. This made her stop, and Tanjiro gave her a head pat, seemingly showing that she did good. Nezuko nuzzled into it, and Tanjiro went back to get the other bodies.
"A man that can kill demons without the help of a Nichirin blade, and who has a demon with him but who does not attack," he muttered, still looking at the demon in question. "Giyuu said that he swore on Amaterasu that he would kill her and then himself. What he failed to mention was the powers this boy had." Unknown to anyone else, much less the man in the mask, a smile appeared on his face, as he readied himself for what was to come.
"Tanjiro Kamado, I accept you as my student," spoke Urokodaki Sakonji.
Fun fact: excluding the Author's notes at the beginning and end, this is exactly 5K words. The same applies to chapter 1 of my new story, Puppeteer. It's a My Hero Academia story, and I hope you check it out.
Edited 3/21: got rid of the extra character, and polished some of the interactions. Not much was changed this time around, largely because I was happy with how this chapter came out.