Disclaimer: I freaking WISH Kimetsu no Yaiba was my brain child but it isn't! Neither is Sekirei. Demon Slayer belongs to Koyoharu Gotouge sensei, and Sekirei is by Sakurako Gokurakuin sensei, Cover art by tenobe.

CHAPTER 1

Pillar Meets Pillar

Time had forgotten him. Once again, that numbed, empty, and vacant feeling echoed in his heart. Tanjiro Kamado, sitting near the back of a bus with a bouquet of flowers in his lap, woodenly stared at a street he no longer recognized in a metropolis he'd once known as Tokyo. Once upon a time, he had been amazed, eyes nearly popping out of his skull at the sight of buildings five stories high on the very same street his bus had stopped at. And now? Those buildings towered at twenty, thirty, some even sixty stories high as if the people wanted to pierce through the heavens.

Moreover, while the street had been crowded in the past, now it was even more congested with people wrapped in winter coats just barely missing each other's shoulders.

And the sight couldn't make him feel more alone. Even as he sat in a crowded bus, the exclusion from experiencing the next life weighed on his soul. As if he was a boulder in the river called time, the people around him would leave him behind. They would grow and age like so many others before him. Eventually the river would dry up and they'll all be gone too, just like all his loved ones, and he'll have to stay.

This curse, for Tanjiro could not describe it in any other way, had happened a hundred years ago already. At the very cusp in the final battle with Muzan Kibetusuji, the original Demon King, performed one final act in an attempt to escape death; to seize control of his body.

Tanjiro Kamado, I entrust all of my will and feelings to you.

Take all my blood and power, and make my dream come true.

You will conquer the sun... and become the strongest demon- The God of Demons!

In that place between life and death, Tanjiro could vaguely recall Muzan attempting to coax him to give up and surrender his body.

"What's the point of going home? That house is nothing but buried corpses.

"Stop doing pointless things. Nezuko is dead, you killed her.

"You reek of blood, your friends' blood. You've killed them all."

Unfortunately for him, Tanjiro was as stubborn as they came.

"They all hate you. Nobody wants you to go back.

"Nobody will forgive you even if you do.

"Do not look forward, do not believe in people, do not seek out hope."

…

If you don't become a demon, you're going to die in a few years!

Just think about it yourself! Take the infinite lifespan ahead of you!

You've even conquered the damn sun!

…

Are you the only one that gets to survive?

Even though so many people died?

Are you trying to be the only one to live on without losing anything?

…

H-Hold on, Tanjiro! Wait a minute, please!

Just inherit my will and feelings here!

Tanjiro! Tanjiro, don't go!

…

"You… you're really going to leave me behind..?

"... Fine… Fine! You win! I'll go to hell!

"But you're not going to heaven either, TANJJJIIIIIRRRRROOOOOUUUUU!

"I'LL GIVE IT ALL TO YOU, ALL MY POWER! MY FINAL GIFT!

" YOU'LL BECOME A GOD! A PERFECT, IMMORTAL SUPREME BEING!

"AND YOU'LL NEVER REUNITE WITH YOUR LOVED ONES IN THE AFTERLIFE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Muzan, you petty fucking bastard." Tanjiro murmured under his breath. He wasn't one for cursing in his youth, but he had picked up on it during the second world war.

"Meow," the tri-colored cat draped over his shoulder meowed and tapped his cheek repeatedly with her paw as if scolding him.

"Right, right. My bad, Maru-chan." Tanjiro laughed as he was brought out of his somber mood and petted Chachamaru. "After forty years, you'd think I'd have gotten used to the pain this time of the year brought, huh?"

The calico purred and rubbed her head against Tanjiro's cheek in reassurance.

"Yes, yes. I'm not alone." Tanjiro chuckled, "You're here. And there's Nato-kun, Kari-chan, and Mi-chan are still here in Japan too. Not to mention all my other descendants scattered around the globe."

"Meow," Chachamaru affirmed with a nod.

The demonified cat had been a constant companion to Tanjiro for a long time now and he had long given her the same immunity to the sun he had. Incidentally, that also boosted Chachamaru's intelligence to the same level of a human's and formed a link between the two that allowed them to communicate. Ever since then, she had made it her business to comfort people or steer them away from depressing thoughts.

With the melancholic thoughts shaken off, Tanjiro went back to watching the scenery just as the bus began to move while Chachamaru got comfortable on his lap.

Modern cities truly amazed him. He'd seen humble little hamlets turned into bustling cities with skyscrapers reaching for the stars with just a few years between visits.

Eventually, the urban concrete jungle gave way to the less crowded suburban landscape that afforded a more scenic view of the distant mountain range in the horizon and the clear blue sky above.

Or it would have, if not for the gray clouds hanging overhead seemed to be getting darker by the minute.

"Rain, huh?" Tanjiro noted, having picked up the scent of rain even whilst inside the bus. His senses had only sharpened through the years after having an understanding of his nasal anatomy. Then he chuckled at the dark sky with a hint of deprecation. "I suppose it makes for a more fitting setting."

He reached inside his coat and, out of view of everyone else, the left side of his chest rippled like water. Flesh and cloth both heaved and rolled before ejecting a folded umbrella from within. It was a peculiar ability of demons, reminiscent of the 6th upper moon who could literally place people within her obi sash. Tanjiro found most of his demonic abilities distasteful, but the hands free and seemingly large storage space was just too convenient not to use, much to his chagrin.

"Tama Cemetery, the bus is stopping at Tama Cemetery. Disembarking passengers, please double check your belongings." The P.A. system announced as the bus began to slow.

Tanjiro picked up Chachamaru from his lap and carried her in the arm that held the bouquet while he carried the umbrella in the other hand.

"Nyaaa," the cat complained from being woken up from her nap, head nestled in his arm and chest.

"Sorry Maru-chan, but we're here." Tanjiro apologized as he got off the bus and opened his umbrella, just in time for the rain to pour down.

He made his way inside the cemetery that was vacant of visitors. Unsurprising, being in the middle of the winter season and doubly so with the rain.

He passed by row after row of vertical gravestones, the scene and weather pulling him back down into a somber mood. As Tanjiro passed by an intersection however, he lurched to a stop as his nose was invaded by an overpowering odor.

"Meow," Chachamaru sat up, bracing herself on his arm and began to sniff the air, evidently picking up the smell as well.

It wasn't human, that much he could tell, but not precisely what it was. He considered the thought that it was another demon, that somehow one of them survived Muzan's demise and went unnoticed for a hundred years. The trace tang of iron, of hands stained with blood from killing a thousand lives certainly augmented this conclusion.

Had that been all, Tanjiro would've readied for a fight but he had quickly deemed those details as secondary. While the odor of blood was ominous, it was also faint. And while he couldn't tell what sort of being this was, he also sensed no malice coming from it.

No, what really overwhelmed his olfactory and caught his attention was the loneliness. The grief, the shame… pain, regret, misery. It was a heartbreaking concoction of emotions that engulfed all the other scents. And if Tanjiro had to guess the cause judging from their location, he'd pick the one he knew all too well; the death of a loved one.

After taking a slow, measured breath, he came to a decision. He headed towards the scent, not for a fight but with the intent to help. It wasn't a distant walk and he followed the trace back to a nearby grave where a woman was paying her respects. She had long, lavender hair that was kept neat and partially tied by a white ribbon at the back. Her face was prim, elegant, and beautiful. She wore clothes that draped her alluringly and was reminiscent of a shrine maiden with a purple hakama and white haori, tied together by a purple sash that emphasized her bust and all the proper curves.

Had her clothes been in their normal state, she'd cut a figure that bordered on divine. Instead, she was soaked to the bone, her clothes sticking to her skin as she left herself out and under the rain. Her wide, purple eyes were dim, her expression vacant and listless, and her hands on her lap, shoulders slouched and head bowed as the depression weighed her down to an endless abyss.

Tanjiro's heart went to her. He had lost much, likely more than anyone alive. His mother and his younger siblings, his closests friends, Nezuko, Kanao, even his own children and grandchildren, he had buried and placed them all to rest. But even in the darkest times, he had never been alone.

"Hey Maru-chan, think you can help her out?" Tanjiro asked the cat in his arm.

"Meow, meow?" Chachamaru asked back and tapped him over the heart.

"I'll be fine and this isn't goodbye," he reassured with a smile. "Besides, I'll likely have my hands full with Yuka-chan even with Nato-kun helping me out. I swear, her energy is endless."

"Nyaaa."

"Thanks Maru-chan. I'll be seeing you soon."

And so he stepped forward, hoping to change her life for the better.

The day was cold, colder than any, where even the heat of one's body seemed to leak out from within. There was no sun to help, no light to give for a few weeks already, with the sky above suffocating the people below with a blanket of clouds.

Asama Miya would've thought it appropriate for her somber mood had she been in a state of mind for such things. As it was, she walked through the cemetery almost subconsciously, all the while carrying a bouquet of flowers in hand and a bag of offerings.

All was silent for her, the wind brushing against branches and leaves failed to reach her ears. Even if the cemetery had been in the middle of the city, the noise would've been muffled to her, as if a wall of glass was placed between her and everything else. Then with each step she took, her neutral mask crumbled, revealing her true emotions within. Pain. Anger. Sadness. Resentment. Loneliness. A deluge of negative emotions poured from her heart, accumulating into a single tear that slid down Miya's cheek as she reached her husband's grave.

"Happy New Year, Takehito." Miya greeted the tombstone in barely a whisper, feeling that raising her voice would make her into an inconsolable mess. "The weather really made a mess of things didn't it? I'll clean it up in a moment."

Miya started the routine: sweep the tombstone of frost and leaves, then borrow a pail of water and ladle nearby and wash the lingering dirt away, before finally placing the bouquet of flowers and her husband's favorite snacks on the offering tray. Then she knelt down and prayed. Had anyone been watching her, they would think she was simply praying in silence. Truth was however, that Miya's mind was restless and chaotic.

For the most part, she had gotten used to the pain, of it becoming dull over time and settled for telling Akihiko's grave of everything that happened between her last visit and the present in sequence. On some days however, the pain would become too much for her to handle and haunt her. And today was one of those days.

"That step is creaking again," Miya began, latching onto the first topic that she could think of clearly. "You know the one, the third step from the landing? I never figured out how you ever fixed that. It wakes me up at night whenever the tenants come back in the early morning.

"Some of the tatami mats in rooms 202 and 203 have gotten musty. Honestly, I wonder what the previous tenants did in there? I'm quite close to making it a rule that all meals would be in the kitchen or the living room.

"Speaking of the living room, the shoji by the veranda needs to be replaced. Apparently, someone forgot to close the back door and it rained at night. I don't know if I have the time for that.

"Maybe I'll ask Seo to help in exchange for a few meals? Then again, that lazy bum might do a lackluster job, so maybe hiring a repairman might be a better idea?

She continued to speak about the inn's many troubles spontaneously coming since her last visit. The inn wasn't quite falling apart, but it was starting to be unkempt. These were also on top of all the regular maintenance she has to do; cleaning, dusting, and mopping the inn from top to bottom, cooking for the few tenants she has, and then there's the laundry and the paradoxical mountain of clothes her two female tenants seem to build up everyday.

"The garden is doing well," Miya continued, voice beginning to waver. "Not that… that there's much to do in winter. Just prune a branch here and there. Though I say that, the veranda is also where I spend most of my time. It's… it's the one place I can still feel connected to you." She took a breath to try and keep herself together. Even then, her eyes were watering and she had to blink repeatedly. "I just… I just sit there and feel that maybe… maybe if I keep the garden just like back then, you'll come back. You'll open the door and announce 'I'm home' and you'd rest your head on my lap before telling me about your day. We'd… we'd have dinner but… but we'd go back after and just watch the stars."

Miya babbled on, shoulder's shaking as she began to sob and mumble about how she missed her husband's smile. Of how happy he had made her feel before he passed. Of how much she wished she could see him again. Of how much she wished he didn't die.

Then the rain came.

Just a sprinkle at first, causing Miya to look up. "Oh," she mumbled as the drizzle escalated to a deluge. "I forgot to bring an umbrella."

The last resistance that held her emotions crumbled and her tears blended with the rain. And with every topic exhausted and her emotional hold released, she came to grips with the events of today that weighed her hands to her lap and made her bow her head in shame.

"When I woke up today," She murmured hoarsely. "I tried to roll over to find you, and when you weren't there, I realized I wasn't even surprised anymore. I was always surprised before, but now I'm not. I honestly don't know which is worse. When I was surprised, I always remember the pain. But without it, I felt numbed.

"Then… Then Harada came on to me. He- he knows I'm a widow and I… I just finished cleaning the dishes and- and he suddenly cornered me against the sink… he leaned down on me… talking about how lonely I must feel and- and that it wasn't right for- for someone like me to be left alone."

She paused and clenched her fist, mustering every ounce of will she had left to confess.

"I- I wanted to give in!" She finally admitted, eyes shut and futilely tried to wipe away the tears. Even if it had been just for a split second, guilt weighed on her conscience for even considering a tryst. "It's been so long since you've been gone! It's been so long- and I'm so lonely- and I just wanted to be held! I'm sorry, Takehito! I'm so sorry!"

Miya cried. For how long, she couldn't say. She simply kept on crying and mumbling her apologies until the tears dried from her eyes.

"I slapped him for being so daring," she sniffled. "Almost sent him through the wall but I think I managed to hold back enough." Once she had gotten control over herself and her hands went back to her lap. Her head remained bowed however. "I… can't recall what I did next. Likely told him off about his illicit behavior. I just left the inn in a hurry and came here. I will properly kick him out once I return."

"Sometimes… I wonder if it's better not to remember. That I should just forget about you, about humans…"

Miya fell silent then, losing herself to her thoughts all the while the rain continued to fall. She imagined simply just dropping everything, of going back to MBI and becoming its enforcer once more. To no longer feel the pain of losing her husband and simply swing her sword at her enemies. Then she imagined leaving Shinto Teito altogether. To walk in one direction and just never stop until her legs gave out from under her. Then she imagined seeing Takehito again once she looked up. That it had all just been a mistake somehow and everything was as it should be.

"Meow."

Miya blinked as she came back to reality and, much to her surprise, found a pretty tri-colored cat rubbing against her legs. As if it sensed her newfound awareness, the cat met her eyes and meowed once more. Tentatively, she extended one hand to pet the feline, hoping she wouldn't scare it away. In her experience, animals were far too sensitive to her and often reacted with fear. To her delight, not only did the cat not run away, it met her halfway and affectionately rubbed its head on her palm.

"Hello, neko-chan." She whispered, not fully trusting her voice not to crack. "What are you doing out here? You'll be all wet from the…" her voice trailed off as she finally noticed she was no longer being splashed by the rain. She looked up and found herself under the cover of an umbrella. She followed the canopy, down to the shaft, to the hand that held the handle, then from the wrist to a man's shoulder, and finally, she came face to face with the wielder.

The eyes were the first thing she noticed. Dark red with slitted white pupils. An ominous color with a sinister shape, had it not been the warmth and comfort clearly radiating from them Miya would've thought the person meant her harm. He was a head taller than her, with combed back black to red hair and a scar on his left forehead that had a flame-like pattern. He seemed young, just around mid to late twenties with a muscular build hidden beneath the dark coat and suit he wore.

"Please excuse us for intruding, miss." He told her, voice gentle and consoling, and seemingly unbothered being out in the rain. "I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be going through a lot right now. And it might be presumptuous of me, but I think your loved one wouldn't want you to get sick, especially whilst visiting them."

Miya remained silent for a moment, considering the red head. She didn't think he had bad intentions but her previous experience with her soon-to-be-ex-tenant had made her wary. Then she saw the bouquet of flowers he had tucked between his arm and torso, the same kind that she laid down for Takehito and could guess his reason for being at a cemetery. "Thank you sir, but I could say the same for you." She replied and tried to push the umbrella back to its owner. As she touched its shaft however, the man's other hand slowly came to wrap around her own and she froze at the touch.

Hardened, thick, and rough; it was the hands of someone who toiled and worked hard for their life but there was no sense of bitterness or spite at the touch. Rather, just like his eyes, all Miya felt was the warmth and compassion that exuded from him like the gentle sun.

"If my wife saw me ignoring someone in need of comfort, I think she'd have a heart attack." He joked, though his eyes told a different story.

Upon seeing his melancholy, understanding came to her then. He wasn't simply here to pay respects for a relative, he came with the same reason as her, to grieve and mourn the loss of someone that meant the world to them. And with that clarity, Miya's weary heart burned with a question. "Does… does the pain ever go away?"

"Well, they do say time heals all wounds." He answered but Miya knew it wasn't his answer. Not from pain she could see in his eyes.

"You don't believe that," She pointed out.

"No… I don't," he confirmed and guided her hand to clasp around the umbrella. "What I believe… is that no matter how devastating the blows might be, no matter how much pain we're made to go through, the living have no choice but to keep moving forward."

Miya wanted to argue that, to complain that the pain was too unbearable. She could see the pain in him too. The anguish. The frustration. The terrible nothing that clawed within and sought to smother all that was good. The crushing gloom of being powerless to save those that you love.

Then he smiled. Despite it all, he smiled anyway.

Miya was stunned at the sight. For briefest moments, she was given the impression of being under an infinitely vast blue sky, the ground beneath her replaced by a tranquil sea reflecting the boundless azure above like a mirror.

A glimpse of endless peace and hope.

Then the moment was over and she was back before the man who still radiated sympathy and understanding that let her know she was not alone.

It may just have been for a single moment but the experience left her too much in daze. So much so, that she could only watch as the man stood back up under the rain and gave her a parting bow. "I'll be on my way now. Please take care of Chachamaru for me."

"Chacha… maru?" Miya echoed, her mind still rebooting. It wasn't until she felt something rubbing against her waist and looked down did she remember the affectionate feline on her lap. Alarmed, she gently picked the cat up in one arm, stood up, and followed after the man who was already a few steps away. "W-wait!" She called, causing the man to turn back. "The umbrella is one thing but the cat… isn't leaving Chachamaru too much?"

"She wants to stay with you though," he replied.

"Eh?"

"Chachamaru was there for me when I lost my wife and reminded me that I wasn't alone." The man smiled a smile that was both sad and nostalgic as he looked at the feline in her arm. "And just like with me, she wants to help you too. In fact, I think she'll do a better job than I ever could."

The man began to turn away again, but something in Miya didn't want him to just leave as is, so her mouth blurted out the first thing in her mind. "Your name," she half demanded, half begged. Subsequently realizing how much of a boor she sounded, she tried again with a cough. "I'm Asama Miya. May I have your name, sir?"

"It's Kamado Tanjiro," the red head replied. He silently mouthed her name as if tasting it before he gave her another genuine smile that sent her heart beating. "Your name suits you well, Miya-chan."

She blushed at his words, having caught the implied compliment and use of her name. "I-It was wonderful to have met you too." She stuttered demurely, suddenly finding it hard to meet his eyes.

"I'll be leaving now. Please take care of each other." Tanjiro bowed one last time. Strangely, Miya felt as if his words wasn't meant just for her but brushed the feeling off.

"Please take care of yourself as well… Tanjiro-kun." She replied, calling his name under her breath. From the ear to ear smile he gave her however, she knew he had caught it.

With that, he turned and walked away, completely unbothered by the rain.

Miya stood in place, watching the broad back of Tanjiro until he disappeared from view. Then a minute passed and she remained in the same spot, seemingly in a daze once again. Eventually, an exasperated meow needily called for her attention and the forgotten feline in her arm climbed up her shoulder.

"Oh my! My apologies, Chachamaru-chan." Miya giggled as the cat purred and nestled herself around her neck. "Your master sent my heart beating and I'm having a hard time calming down." Then she placed her now free hand over her heart, feeling it pound erratically. She took a few deep breaths, willing it to calm down but found that she could not.

Miya blinked once, twice, then realization set in and her eyes widened. The reason why her heart was currently beating like a drum and just why she had suddenly felt so reserved under Tanjiro's gaze was because she was reacting. After twenty long years on this planet, she finally felt what all Sekirei were supposed to when destiny called.

Sekirei Zero-One had just met her Ashikabi.

A/N: Welcome one and all to Sun Pillar!

Writing emotions was a lot harder than I thought and this took me quite a while until I was satisfied! I spent days rewriting and rewriting on how to start the story until I settled on this one. Hopefully, I conveyed the emotional impacts of isolation and loss well enough.

Oh, and yes, this will be a harem, but not something crazy like 10 girls. At most, Tanjiro will get like six or seven. Maybe even less, because I don't want to just write and forget love interest. Who are they? You'll find out soon enough LMAO

To be honest, I didn't want to post this until I finished chapter 2 as well, but what I had initially thought was a short start of chapter 2 is looking like an entire chapter in of itself at 4.7K word mark. I could bump that up to 5K then post it in a few days.

After that, hopefully I can get Chapter 3 out by next week. Honestly, authors that can churn out 4K chapters a week impress me, let alone across multiple stories! I used to write like that in highschool and have no idea how I did. I can barely get through a few paragraphs in these days because I keep getting hung up on correct vocabulary, speech tags, pacing, repeated use of words, etc.!

Anyway, I'll keep it at that, otherwise I'll start sounding like a raving lunatic. And if you can, let me know your thoughts on my writing style! I want to know if it works or if I have to rewrite it. Do let me know in the comments or hit me up with a PM!

See ya guys soon in chapter 2!