Tanjuro woke up with a headache that faded rapidly as his body healed it. "What- what happened?" he moaned, sitting up. "You fainted Mr Kamado" a voice that was slightly familiar replied. Upon looking around, he found Yuto Tokito to be sitting next to him. His expression was strange. "When you passed out, your appearance changed." He explained. Tanjuro's eyes widened and he looked down at his hands. They were tipped with claws. The Demon sighed, closing his eyes as he fell back onto the bed. "What exactly are you Tanjuro? And are you a danger to my Sons?" Yuto asked seriously.
"I don't want you to panic. I'm a Demon, like the one that attacked your family. But I don't and never will eat humans" Tanjuro replied, moving to sit up properly now. "I was turned into a Demon alongside my Wife a year ago now. Neither of us eat humans at all. I became a Demon Slayer to protect people from going through what we went through, to protect them from losing their family to Demons, like my children almost did. And to find a cure for myself and my Wife. Since becoming a Demon, I have managed to save many people from Demons. And one of them I saved by turning him into a Demon like me with some of my blood. He doesn't eat humans either and is immune to sunlight like me.
That's what I was trying to do to your Wife. I had hoped that I could save her by transforming her. But she was just too weak to handle the transformation, and her cells broke down and died. That's what happened to Miss Sora" Tanjuro looked up at the other man with the sincerest look he could, "I'm sorry that I couldn't save her". Yuto finally sighed and slumped back against the wall, "I see." He looked down at the Demon, "I'm sorry for that. Thank you for trying to save my Wife, and thank you for saving me. My boys would have been killed by that Demon. And Sora would have probably died either way from her illness.
I would have been killed falling from that cliff. So, thank you for saving me, and saving my Son's from that Demon Tanjuro" Yuto said with a bow. "Oh, no! You don't have to do that! It's my job as a Demon Slayer to save as many people as I can! So I would have done it anyway!" Tanjuro replied, slightly flustered. "It's true that it's your job to kill Demons who eat people. But it's not your job to save a man falling from a cliff, or to try and save a dying person. You have done far more than just your job, and I'm grateful for it!" Yuto replied, before grinning. Tanjuro looked down, 'maybe I saved some of you. But what about your Wife? She didn't deserve to die! I should have been able to save her, like I saved Yukito!' he thought.
Oblivious to the Kamado's spiral, Yuto stood up, "My Sons want to thank you too" he said, snapping Tanjuro out of his thoughts. "You did save my life, and theirs from that Demon. So they wanted to thank you" he explained. "Oh! Sure, I just have to shapeshift into my human form, just hold on a moment." Tanjuro replied. "Sure" the Wood Cutter replied, standing at the door. The Kamado focused his breathing, and willed his claws to shorten and dull first. He stared at them for several moments, but they stayed long and sharp. Tanjuro frowned, holding up his hands and focused on changing them.
They stayed the same. The Demon decided to trying his hair, and pulled it over his shoulder. He focused on making the red half the same burgundy as the rest of it, but all he could see when he looked at his hair was Miss Sora, coughing up mouthfuls of red and black blood. Tanjuro released his hair with a yelp, pressing his hands to his forehead, visions of the woman's death spinning in his head. He panted, bending over, sweat building on his skin. 'I have to calm down! Selfless State! Focus on it!' he thought. But no matter how hard he tried, Tanjuro couldn't calm himself down this time.
"Hey, are you okay Tanjuro?" Yuto asked in concern, crouching nearby, but not moving to touch the Demon. The Kamado tried to focus himself, ground himself in the storm of thoughts and images in his head, but he felt like he was drowning in his own guilt. Ever since he started his job as a Demon Slayer, he'd been able to save everyone who needed it, and if not, turn them into a Demon like him, who wasn't a danger to humans. But his actions had cost this family their Wife and Mother. She was dead because of him. And her death hadn't even been quick and painless. It would have been better for all of them if he'd just put the poor woman out of her misery, instead of giving her family false hope.
"Tanjuro! You have to breathe!" Yuto called, breaking through the fog of guilt and pain he'd been enveloped in. The Demon looked up at the man, who reached out and hugged him, shocking Tanjuro. "Sora's death wasn't your fault. That other Demon is the one who hurt her so badly. You did your best to save her, but she couldn't hold on. That is not your fault. I don't blame you at all, and I'm grateful to have even had the chance to save her" Yuto pulled back and smiled at him, "it's thanks to you that the rest of my family is okay. And I'm grateful for that. Thank you Tanjuro, for saving us" he said sincerely with a bow.
Tanjuro stared at the human, his bright red eyes wide and shocked. This man was- "heh, heh. I think we're going to get along really well Mr Tokito" he said, finally calming down. The black-haired man smiled, "please, call me Yuto" he replied.
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Tanjuro helped the family bury Sora in a beautiful clearing, before he made Breakfast for them all. "You didn't have to do this Tanjuro, you're our guest" Yuto said, as the Demon placed the bowls of food in front of them. Tanjuro smiled, "consider this an apology for not getting here in time" he said. Yuto frowned, but Yuichiro looked up at him, "Father, what are we going to do now? Isn't it too dangerous for us to stay here, if Demons are running around?" he asked seriously. His Father nodded, "that is true. Hm" he agreed, thinking. As Tanjuro sat down in the corner, he decided to speak up, "I have an idea," he began.
The three turned to look at him. Tanjuro smiled softly, "why not become a Demon Slayer? Then you'll get a new, safer home, and your Father will be able to protect you if another Demon shows up" he suggested. "Will he be strong like you Mr Kamado?" Muichiro asked. Tanjuro was glad that they wore Kimono that showed which twin was which. He might be able to tell by Scent, but, unlike Tanjiro, he wasn't used to that yet. "He can become stronger, but I don't know if he can become as strong as me, for different reasons," Tanjuro said, chuckling, "sorry" he apologised. "If my children will be safe if I become a Demon Slayer, then I will" Yuto replied firmly.
Tanjuro nodded, "I'm sure you can do it" he replied.
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After Breakfast was finished, the small family started packing all of their things up. There were only three of them, (formerly four) so they didn't have much to pack. Yuto pulled the cart, while Tanjuro watched for Demons during the night. He had explained to the three of them, that most of the time Demons burned to death in the sun, so they only came out at night, or when the sun was thoroughly blocked. "So we don't have to worry about them during the day!" Muichiro said in relief. "Yeah! So we should thank Mr Kamado for protecting us at night" Yuto reminded his Sons. "Thank you very much for protecting us Mr Kamado" Muichiro said with a smile. "Ah, yeah. Thanks for protecting us Mr Kamado" Yuichiro replied, much more subdued.
Tanjuro frowned at the boy. Maybe he couldn't smell emotions like his Son could, but he could tell that something was bothering the boy. It might have just been the trauma from the last day, but something told him that that wasn't it. "Are you okay Yui?" Yuto asked, walking up to his slightly older Son. "I'm fine Father. Don't worry about me" Yuichiro replied, walking further away from his family. Muichiro frowned, and turned to Tanjuro, "sorry, about him. He doesn't like new people very much" he explained, before getting up to follow his twin Brother. Yuto sighed once they were gone, and Tanjuro looked around, "we should probably start packing anything you want to keep.
And make sure you pack lots of food and water. It's at least a few days, possibly a few weeks at a human's walking speed from here to the other mountain where the man who is looking after most of my children and the other people I've saved lives" Tanjuro said. "Right. could you help me Tanjuro? I don't think my Son's will be in any mood to help me pack for a while" Yuto asked. The Demon smiled softly, "of course I will" he replied, as he stood up and followed the Tokito Patriarch further into the house.
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Two days later, everything that they would be taking with them was packed up, and put into a cart that Yuto used to take the larger amounts of firewood down the mountain. Muichiro looked at their Mother's grave tearfully, "do we really have to leave Mother here all alone?" the 10-year-old asked. "Well we can't take her with us, can we?" Yuichiro snarked. "Now, now. No fighting boys. We have a long journey ahead of us, so we need to work together, okay?" Yuto asked his Sons. "Yes Father" both boys answered together. Yuto picked up the cart, and the group headed back down the mountain.
'I hope Mr Urokodaki won't be too angry with me. After all, it's not like I run into these situations on purpose or anything! I just try my best to save and help as many people as I can. And that usually means that I end up with orphaned children with nowhere else to go. I'm glad that I've been able to save as many as I have, but still. Even a Demon Slayer can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try' Tanjuro thought, once again feeling horribly guilty about Miss Tokito. He let out a breath, 'I still save her Husband and children. I'm sure she'd be grateful to me, instead of blaming me for her death. She'd tell me to be happy that I managed to save the rest of her family' he thought to himself.
As they walked down the mountain, Tanjuro swore to kill Muzan Kibutsuji, so that no one would have to lose their families again.