I DO NOT OWN ANY DEMON SLAYER, OR SWORD ART ONLINE CHARACTERS, ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR COPYRIGHT OWNERS,THIS IS PURELY FOR FAN SERVICE AND I ONLY OWN THE OC'S I CREATE AND THERE IS NO PROFIT INVOLVED WHATSOEVER THIS IS A HOBBY AND THE ONLY THING I GAIN IS A BAD SLEEP SCHEDULE FOR FREE, THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!
Bold = Important Text/Breathing Styles and Techniques
Italic Thoughts
Underline Whisper
Permanent Author's Note: I plan on doing Tanjiro X Kanao as the pairing for Tanjiro as I think it's a beautiful pairing and I've always liked it and I love fleshing in more Demon Slayer characters as I go, I have no plans to change Kirisuna, I'm sure I just upset someone, but hey the events I want to do for this story doesn't allow me to split up Kirisuna and now that I think about it, Neither do I want to, because I see nth wrong with that cannon ship, I will also add Sinon to Tanjiro X Kanao because she is SAO's best girl. The Official pairing as of now is Tanjiro X Kanao, Sinon, And Yuna, could change in the future if I add to it.
Chapter 7: Choices.
Timeskip - 1 Week Later
"It's been a week since I found out Muichiro was one of my distant relatives, I still can't believe it…I'm so glad, to think that me and Nezuko still have some family left with us, it brings me joy, speaking of Muichiro, before we went to report to the master the Yoriichi Type Zero mob that our ancestor's soul was inhabiting dropped a super rare drop called "The Setting Sun's Katana" it was a rusty katana that looked like an older version of the Nichirin sword that our ancestor was using, I insisted on giving it to Muichiro because his sword broke, but he declined and said that I was the one who defeated my ancestor, but I honestly believe if it wasn't for Muichiro stepping in I would have lost, the only reason I accepted it is because Muichiro reminded about what my ancestor told me, that he had one last gift for me, he must have been talking about this sword, but still I feel bad, Muichiro deserved it more than I did, but even if I didn't receive it the sword was still rusted and it probably would have stayed that way if I didn't save a young girl by the name of Lisbeth, after I had saved her she told me she was a blacksmith who was earning materials in hopes to to one day open her own shop and that she insisted on thanking me for saving her by giving me a piece of equipment to use on my travels, at first I declined until I remembered the sword my ancestor left behind, so in the end I ended up asking her to restore it and melt it down into an ore with the sword I had on me to make a new one, she was fascinated by how incredible the craftsmanship of my ancestors old katana, I don't blame her, the blade that was made from it was incredible, since my Nichirin color is black it had a dark grey flame pattern over the rest of the blades pitch black, and on the side of the blade had a red Kanji for destroy, it was honestly incredible how amazing the sword was, since it was merged with my old Nichirin katana it still had the same handle but I decided to ask her to replace the guard on my new sword with the one Mr. Rengoku left behind for me, It feels like I'm honoring Mr. Rengoku's legacy by wielding it like how I wear his Haori over the one Kanao made for me…nevertheless It's part of me now, and I will treasure it just like the memories I have with him. Right now I'm on the twenty seventh floor checking out the dungeon from orders my crow gave me, it said that the dungeon on this floor could still have many traps and unknown elements, so now I'm going through it with caution trying to find anything undiscovered for the other players of SAO." Tanjiro thought while walking down the turquoise colored halls of the Floor 27 dungeon before picking up on 4 scents, one of them he recognizes and gains a surprised look. "That's odd, that's Kirito's scent, but why would he be all the way down here on floor 27, shouldn't he be on the 30th floor with the Assault Team? I haven't seen him in a while now that a I think about it, not since that day…I haven't seen any of them now that I think about, I heard that Asuna joined the Knights Of The Blood Oath and became second in command of it, they say it's the top guild everyone's talking about, I bet if the Demon Slayer core could top them easily if they wished though, but instead we focus our efforts on helping others and saving lives by slaying demons, that's as it should be, we do help out on boss raids though at least by sending a Hashira to pitch in." Tanjiro said, thinking aloud before noticing that one of the scents disappeared, widening Tanjiro's eyes. "Wait a minute, if that scent disappeared, that can only mean!" Tanjiro thought aloud with widened eyes before running in the direction of the scents in a hurry, using his breathing to go faster.
Kirito lets out a gasp seeing his new guildmates Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru die in front of him, causing him to yell while cutting down Granite Elementals and Dark Dwarf Miners trying to get to his last guildmate who's still alive. "Sachi!" Kirito yells before being blocked by more mobs.
"Kirito!" Said Sachi as she pushes a mob away with her the spear she wields, Sachi is a petite girl with shoulder length black hair and blueish looking eyes, she also has a small beauty mark under the corner of her right eye, she wears a blue tunic with a chestguard as well as a knee length short skirt and grayish boots.
Kirito slices the two mobs blocking him in half before running toward Sachi once more. "Sachi!" Kirito yells, reaching a hand out for the girl as she smacks another mob away and reaches her own out for Kirito's, widening Kirito's eyes in horror seeing a mob behind her about to strike her in the back until the door to the glowing red room bursts open before the monster behind her gets sliced in half from a katana unsheathing sound, widening Kirito's eyes seeing a red sword with a flame guard as well as a flame Haori on the wielder of said blade, giving him a brief flashback to Rengoku.
"Sun Breathing, Tenth Form, Beneficent Radiance!" Tanjiro yells before fire engulfs his newly changed red blade before spreading up to him as he gets in cross legged stance, beginning to spiral as the boy spins and creating a tornado made of flames that travels throughout the room with incredible speed, absorbing and burning all the mobs to death, causing the room's light to fade back into a turquoise color, widening Kirito and Sachi's eyes.
Seeing this opportunity, Kirito regains his barings and looks toward Sachi who's on the ground shaking "Sachi!" Kirito yells before running over to the girl and hugging her close.
"Kirito…" Sachi says while shaking, tears threatening to fall down her face.
"Shh, it's gonna be ok…" Kirito says before parting from their hug and looking at the fire tornado that disperses and reveals Tanjiro with his blade swung downward toward the ground, widening Sachi's eyes getting a flashback of seeing the same Haori and same sword guard back on floor one in the rain.
Tanjiro stands up straight and grips his sword's sheathe before swinging his blade downard, clearing it of the Sun flames and returning its color from red to black, mimicking Rengoku in Sachi's flashback as they do the same action side by side, both pulling their sheathes forward and resting the beginning of their blades on it before sheathing it slowly and making a clicking sound, adjusting their left hands grips before exhaling, letting a hot breath out before both he and Rengoku gently slide their hands down their blades grips before softly gripping the end piece.
Sachi begins to cry while watching Tanjiro do this while Kirito just stares in awe at Tanjiro's back, seeing the Haori and believing him to be Rengoku, widening his eyes while getting flashbacks to the man's sacrifice. "It can't be…..but how…." Kirito says to himself, not believing what his sight.
"I remember now….this isn't the first time you've saved me…..I'm sure of it….!" Sachi says while crying, also looking at the Haori with gratefulness. "How could I have forgotten your sword and that bright Haori….it's you isn't it, please forgive me…." Sachi says with sorrow in her voice, confusing Kirito, believing Rengoku to be dead.
"Sachi, what do you mean…..?" Kirito asks curiously with a bit of hope in his voice.
"You saved my life before this, if it weren't for you, I would have died on floor 1 a year ago…." Sachi says, slightly widening the eyes of Tanjiro who turns around with a warm smile on his face, widening Kirito's eyes as Rengoku's ghost smiles behind Tanjiro before fading.
"Ta-Tanjiro….?" Kirito asks with disbelief and wide eyes as Tanjiro looks at him with a warm smile before turning to Sachi with the same warm smile.
"I'm Sorry, but I'm not the same man you remember from the past, you speak of my master Mr. Rengoku, sadly he is no longer with us….." Tanjiro says with a solemn smile looking at Sachi who covers her mouth in disbelief at someone so strong dying in this death game. "But there is no need to worry, his soul may have passed on, but his will of fire lives deep in my heart. I have followed in his footsteps by becoming a Hashira, I am the Sun Hashira, Tanjiro Kamado, and I wear this Haori to honor him and his legacy, may his soul rest in peace…." Tanjiro says before crouching down at Sachi's feet.
"Why….why do we have to die…..it's not fair….Tetsuo, Ducker, Sasamaru, and the man that saved me…..they're all gone, why is this happening to me…" Sachi asks herself while sobbing into herself, hugging herself in fear. "Am I going to die just as easily too…..just like they did….!?" Sachi asks, looking up at Tanjiro with a terrified face while tears stream down her face.
"You're right, it's not fair…their lives are forever lost, and all for what, this stupid game? But even so….you have to keep on living, for their sakes, but I promise, I won't let their lives be lost in vain, I will slay Akihiko Kayaba, what he has done to everyone in here is unforgivable and I promise I will see it that they are avenged." Tanjiro says with a determined look on his face, widening Sachi's eyes at Tanjiro's words as she leaks more tears and hugs him.
"Thank you…..! Thank you so much…! I promise I'll make it up to you one day…" Sachi says while sobbing into him, causing him to return the hug with a warm smile on his face.
"There's no need, living your life, without being afraid, at least not afraid of this Death Game and the Demons within it, that's as it should be..." Tanjiro says, widening Kirito's eyes in surprise before smiling, remembering Rengoku saying the same thing to him back on floor 5.
Timeskip - 1 Hour Later.
"You're a beater, you had no right to be with us!" Keita, the leader of the guild Kirito joined said as Sachi widens her eyes.
"Keita, it's not his fault Kirito tried to-!" Sachi said before being interrupted by Keita.
"Not now Sachi, he lied to us about his level and doing so got our friends killed, Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, they're all dead and it's his fault!" Keita yells, making Tanjiro grip his hands in anger hearing this.
"Sachi, that may be true but it's also my fault, I knew his true level as well, I'm sorry I peeked at it while he wasn't looking and I know I should have said something, but still, you can't blame Kirito for all of this!" Sachi yells back at Keita, defending Kirito who looks down at the ground before slowly looking up at her with wide eyes hearing that she knew all along.
"Y-You knew about him!? And you didn't tell us anything!? H-how could you!? I thought we were friends, but it looks like I was wrong, you two deserve each other…." Keita says, widening Sachi's eyes as he climbs on the nearby railing, slowly leaning forward and attempting to dive off the edge, widening Kirito and Sachi's eyes before his leg gets grabbed and Keita gets thrown away off the railing and onto the ground by Tanjiro who looks at him with anger in his eyes, hands gripped tightly as Keita looks at him with his own angry face.
"What are you doing, this isn't your problem you moron!" Keita screams at Tanjiro who clenches his teeth before yelling at Keita.
"What am I doing!? What about you, you were just about to throw your life away like a coward, do your friends' sacrifices mean nothing to you!? They may have died but you can't let their deaths be the reason of yours, how do you think they would feel about it!? That there friend was about to commit suicide because of them, huh, how do you think that'll make them feel!? And what about Sachi, she's the only one you have left, are you just going to leave her here all alone like that, what's wrong with you!? You think it's Kirito's fault that they died, well think again, it was their decision to go on a higher floor knowing they weren't prepared for its dangers, so don't go blaming Kirito for their deaths!" Tanjiro yells at Keita who clenches his teeth and walks up to Tanjiro gripping his Haori and looking him straight in the eye.
"Oh yeah and what do you know about losing people! You're just a Demon Slayer, what do you know you heartless murderer!" Keita yells at Tanjiro, widening Kirito's eyes remembering Tanjiro's face at Rengoku's death as the Sun Hashira puts a hand on Keita's and give him a solemn smile, tears threatening to leave his white pupiled dark red eyes, making the boy widen his eyes with tears forming at Tanjiro's sad but warm eyes as he removes Keita's arm gently and begins to walk off. "You've been through this yourself, haven't you…?" Keita thought to himself as the tears start to stream down his face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, please forgive me! I'm so sorry!" Keita yells at Tanjiro who just turns around and waves goodbye.
"I'm leaving Sachi to you, keep her safe!" Tanjiro yells before turning again and walking off as Keita looks at his back with sadness.
"I'll do that! I promise…." Keita says before falling to his knees sobbing with Tanjiro walking off in the distance, smiling before putting a hand on Rengoku's Haori that lies on his shoulders over his own.
Tanjiro gets a brief flashback of Rengoku and smiles before remembering his death, gaining an angry expression with veins popping out of the right side of his forehead remembering Kayaba's introduction from floor one. "I'm not alone, how many people have died because of this death game, how many could people could have had better lives if it were not for you, how many people have had to watch their loved ones die because of you, I'll never forgive you, Akihiko Kayaba, I'll make you pay!" Tanjiro thought as he continued to walk
Timeskip - 6 months later.
"Yuna…." Tanjiro muttered to himself while sitting on a bench in a town on the 49th Floor, Mugien. "It's been 2 months since Yuna died….it's my fault that she ended up dying, why do the people I hold dear in my heart always end up dying in front of my eyes….I just wish it was me who died in their place….." Tanjiro said, getting flashbacks to Rengoku's death before getting another one of Yuna's.
Flashback - 2 Months Ago.
We see Tanjiro holding Yuna, a girl he met and started traveling with a month prior before entering a dungeon on the 40th floor with a rescue party for someone's party that got trapped in a field dungeon, Yuna is a girl with shoulder length milk tea brown hair with a braid branching from her forehead and falling behind her left ear into a small ponytail, Yuna also has Amber eyes that sparkle in the light, almost looking like gold, Yuna wears a royal blue one piece dress with golden frills and a buckle as well as a armored breastplate over her chest, over her armor is a white cloak with a circular green emerald over a blue ribbon holding it up, on her waist is a dagger, giving her the image of an incomplete troubadour if it weren't for her white feathered hat being on the floor. "Yuna! Yuna, just hang in there alright, stay with me, help is on the way!" Tanjiro yells with tears streaming down his face as Yuna cups his cheek with her right hand, causing him to put his left on hers.
"Tanjiro…..I-I'm not gonna make it…this past month…has been the best month of my life." Yuna says as tears stream down her smiling face.
"Please, save your strength Yuna…you have to hold on, please!" Tanjiro yells as Yuna gives him a solemn smile.
"If there was one thing I could do again in my life…..it'd be meeting you sooner, so that I could spend more time with you…." Yuna says as tears go down her face, Tanjiro going wide eyed.
"Yuna, don't talk like that, I promise you'll make it through this….!" Tanjiro says to her as the girl smiles.
"You and I both know that isn't true, but….before I die I have one more thing to say to you….." Yuna says as she begins to glow, widening Tanjiro's eyes in horror as he hears her last words. "I love you…..Tanjiro…." Tanjiro widens his eyes at both hearing this and watching on as Yuna steals a kiss from him before shattering into blue glass particles in his arms. Yuna's last words echo in Tanjiro's head as a player with short brown hair and brown eyes wearing a Knights Of The Blood Oath Uniform walks up to him, anger in his voice.
"Tch, why….why was it you! Even in her final moments, why did she choose you! You don't deserve her love, she should have given it to me! It should have been me, it should have been you damn it, you should have been the one to die, you had no right to be with her in the first place!" The boy yells at Tanjiro before catching his breath. "Don't show your face to me again." The boy yells before walking off pissed off as tears stream down his face.
Flashback End
"Why was it my life the one that was spared, why me…..Mr. Rengoku….Yuna….why am I the one who got to survive…" Tanjiro thought sadly before looking up, hearing a Kaw from his crow as said bird flies down onto his shoulders.
"Lord Tanjiro, there is an event going on that you are to investigate, there is a boss called Nicholas the Renegade, he is going to be showing up at a fur tree somewhere on floor 35, you are to search for this tree and defeat him, rumor has it that a revival item will drop, act now with haste, Kaw!" Tanjiro's crow says, widening Tanjiro's eyes.
"A revival item!?….but wait….I can only choose one…..Mr. Rengoku….or….Yuna…..I can't possibly choose…there's no way I could choose!" Tanjiro said aloud while getting flashbacks of both Rengoku and Yuna, standing up in the process before his crow gives a sad Kaw. "No, now's not the time to be thinking about this, I have a duty to fulfill!" Tanjiro said with steeled resolve before beginning to walk off, his crow flying off his shoulder and watching him go off to search in the distance.
Timeskip - 1 Hour Later
"Damn these guys are tough!" said one of the Fuurinkazan members.
"You said it man, I just hope Kirito's alright in there." The leader of the guild named Klein said while standing back to back with his guild. Klein is a decently tall man with spiky reddish hair held up by a red bandana with two yellow lines on the right side, Klein wears black armor with one shoulder pad as well as a black chestplate with four white diamond symbols on the top of it, the chestplate being held up by a yellow rope that connects to the back of the chestplate with it also being held up with by a yellow rope tied on around his waist in a knot in the front, under the right armor he wears a red Kimono as well as white pants and black boots, giving off the look of a wandering Samurai, his guildmates have similar looks resembling Klein's outfit to symbolize their allegiance to the Fuurinkazan guild, all of the guild members of said guild helping their boss fight off the 2nd top guild The Holy Dragon Alliance.
"Screw this I'm ending this right now, remember this because this is what happens when you get in our way!" The leader of the HDA party says as he charges at Klein, going to impale the man as Klein prepares to block his assailants attack before widening his eyes seeing the blade be blocked by Tanjiro, making it seem as if he appeared out of thin air. "Tch, what the hell, where the hell did you come from!?" The leader of the party said, shocked at seeing him appear out of nowhere all of a sudden.
"Are you guy's alright?" Tanjiro asks as he looks back at Klein while pointing his now red blade at the HDA party leader.
"Ye-yeah we're fine, but who…are you?" Klein asks, confused until one of his guildmates recognizes Tanjiro from floor 40.
"He-hey it's you! You're the guy who was in the rescue party on floor 40!" Klein's guildmate says with surprise as Tanjiro looks at him with surprise.
"Oh hey, didn't think I'd run into you guys here, my name is Tanjiro Kamado. It's nice to meet you." Tanjiro says with a smile, surprising Klein.
"Woah you're using your full name in here, that's a pretty bold move kid, names Klein, the dude with the afro is Dale, the guy with the bandana is Dynamm, that's Harry One, and the two over there are Issin and Kunimittz.
"Hey you there with the red sword, what is your business here and why are you in our way!?" The HDA party leader asks while pointing his sword at Tanjiro.
"My business here is to find out if the revival item is just a rumor or not, but right now that isn't important, you just tried to kill an innocent man because of an item that could turn out to be some rumor!? How the DKB has fallen, you may be known as the Holy Dragon alliance now, but the former members of Dragon Knights Brigade I know would have never laid there blades on an ally! Have you lost what's important!? Are you really willing to give up your humanity for your own personal gain!?" Tanjiro yells angrily at the man who scoffs at him.
"You're just a kid, you know nothing, now get out of my way!" The man yells before charging at Tanjiro who takes an igniting breath in.
"Sun Breathing, Third Form." Tanjiro says aloud before swinging and flaming slice left, slicing the man's blade in half before swinging right right, beheading the man and killing him instantly. "Raging Sun!" Tanjiro yells for everyone to see two identical fire slashes blazing in the sky as the man's body shatters into blue glass particles with some of the snow around them melting from the intense heat as Tanjiro exhales, making everyone else there flinch. "If you don't want to end up like that Demon I suggest the rest of you leave." Tanjiro says, making the HDA flinch before the second in command of the party orders them to retreat.
Tanjiro sighs looking at the ground with a frown before looking at Klein with a smile as said man looks at Tanjiro with disbelief. "Woah, what the hell was that!? I've never seen anything like that before! You chopped his head off with ease, while we we're struggling our asses off just to hold them off!" Klein says, surprising Tanjiro who looks at him questionably.
"You're not afraid of me, even though I just killed someone right in front of you?" Tanjiro asks as Klein smiles.
"Pfft, no way, I mean sure it was pretty brutal and hard not to flinch at seeing death so easily, but you saved our necks back there, as far as I'm concerned your a friend, besides judging from what you called him, and the uniform you're wearing your a Demon Slayer right?" Klein asks as Tanjiro smiles and nods at him.
"Yes that's right, my name is Tanjiro Kamado, the Sun Hashira of the Demon Slayer Core." Tanjiro says with a smile as Klein holds a hand out.
"Well it's nice to meet ya Tanjiro, I hope we can become great pals!" Klein says with a smile as he and Tanjiro laugh before it dies down. "So anyway, you said you were here because you were after the revival item didn't ya?" Said Klein who smiles.
"Well actually I'm not, I'm only here to confirm it's existence on orders of the Master." Tanjiro says, surprising Klein and his guild.
"Wait for real!? You're saying the Demon Slayer Core doesn't even want a ridiculously rare item like that!?" Klein asks, surprised at hearing such a claim, making Tanjiro sweat a bit.
"Well uh I wouldn't say that it's just-" Tanjiro says before being interrupted by Kirito walking through a see through portal with a weird looking object in hand, widening Kleins eyes as he gains a bright smile with Tanjiro looking confused.
"Kirito, hey!" Klein yells with a bright smile as Kirito walks up to the two.
"Hey Klein and….Tanjiro?" Kirito says confused, not expecting Tanjiro to be here when he got back.
"Hey Kirito, long time no see, how are you doing?" Tanjiro asks with a smile, causing Kirito to give one of his own.
"I'm doing good, last time I saw you was when you saved Sachi, I still can't thank you enough for that, I don't know what I'd do if she had died because of me…." Kirito says with a sad smile, causing Tanjiro to look at him with a smile.
"It's no problem really, I'm just glad she was ok at the end, speaking of her though how is she and Keita?" Tanjiro asks, causing Kirito to look at him with a frown.
"I don't know….I haven't seen them since that day….I left the Moonlit Black Cats after that and continued on as a solo player." Kirito said, causing Tanjiro to give a look of understanding before Klein looks at Kirito's hand.
"He-hey Kirito, sorry to interrupt your conversation but what's that you got there?" Klein asks, causing Tanjiro to look at it before Kirito throws it to Klein who narrowly catches it.
"It's the revival item that dropped from the event boss. I was gonna use it to try and bring back one of the Moonlit Black Cats, but after reading its description I have no use for it…." Kirito says sadly as Klein pulls up the item description.
"Let's see it says must administer to affect player…..within ten seconds!?" Klein says surprised, widening Tanjiro's eyes as Kirito nods.
"Like I said I have no use for it, so if someone dies in front of you someday, make sure you use it." Kirito says sadly before beginning to walk off. "Well I better go now, oh and Merry Christmas you two." Kirito says, gaining a smile out of Klein and Tanjiro as the boy walks off, causing Klein to turn to Tanjiro.
"Well since you saved our butts back there I think you deserve it more than anyone Tanjiro." Klein says going to hand Tanjiro the revival Item as Tanjiro pushes his hand back, confusing Klein. "Klein, what's the matter, you don't want it?" Klein says as Tanjiro nods before looking up at the man with a sad smile with tears streaming down his face, surprising Klein who looks at the boy worried.
"It's a generous offer but…I don't need it either, in fact I'm both happy and sad after hearing what it does….when I came here looking for it I had hoped to revive someone close to me, just the thought of it gave me joy, but then I realize there were two people I wanted to revive…." Tanjiro says as Klein gains a look of understanding.
"I see, so you felt conflicted because you'd have to choose who to revive, that must have put a bunch of pressure on you, I'm sorry you had to go through something like that, it must have been tough…." Klein says with a frown before Tanjiro shakes his head and smiles at Klein.
"Don't be, it's fine, I'm just glad that I didn't have to choose, with that said I'm off, I hope we meet again though Klein, take care of yourself." Tanjiro says with a bright smile, causing the man to smile back as Tanjiro waves him goodbye with his guild and said man doing the same before Tanjiro walks off.
"What a good kid, I hope he makes it to the end of this game, someone as pure as him doesn't deserve to be in this situation…." Klein says aloud with a warm smile before turning to his guild as Tanjiro continues to walk off into the distance, a smile on his face as he continues on his path.
Timeskip - 2 Months Later
"Kaw! Lord Tanjiro, I bring you orders, orders!" Tanjiro's crow says while flying down, landing on said young Hashira's shoulders who is sitting on the roof of the Butterfly Mansion with a smile as he turns to his crow on his shoulders.
"What is it, what did the master ask of me?" Tanjiro asks the crow with a smile as the crow Kaws in response, making him sweatdrop at it.
"On February 14th a guild named the Silver Flags were murdered by an orange guild, leaving their leader the only survivor, you are to track down this guild that goes by the name of Titan's Hand and eliminate them, they have last been seen on floor 35, now go, you must go at once, Kaw!" The crow says, causing Tanjiro to sigh at his crow's strange nature before smiling and getting out a teleport crystal before teleporting off to floor 35.
Timeskip - 10 Minutes later.
"Woah…..I forgot how this floor is completely, it's night time, but it's so bright out!" Tanjiro thought in aw before beginning to walk around. Tanjiro smiles and continues to walk around while asking around about Titans Hand, only to get no answers about them, making Tanjiro sigh in defeat before gaining a familiar scent. "That's Kirito's scent, but why would he be all the way down here?" Tanjiro thought aloud before heading in the direction of the Black Swordsman's scent, only to frown when gaining an awful scent from someone nearby.
"Well if it isn't Silica!" The woman with the awful scent says, this woman is named Rosalia. Rosalia is a slim woman with purple eyes, deep, glossy, flame-red hair kept in wild curls, a flock of which covers her right eye, with lips of the same color thanks to lipstick. She wears black armor that shines like enamel over a black and red dress-like long skirt, Rosalia also wields a slim cross-shaped spear. She also wears an earring on her left ear. "Wow, you made it out of the forest alive, good for you girl." Rosalia says with Tanjiro watching from afar with a frown. "That woman…..her scent, it's so foul….she has to be the leader of Titans Hand, I would act right now if it weren't for the safe zone, plus, her cursor is still green, that must mean she's using it to lure others, how despicable! But….I have no choice but to sit back for now. I'll just watch and see what happens, I should keep an eye on her though just in case she tries anything." Tanjiro thought while watching the interaction go on before following Kirito and the newly named Silica back to an Inn, noticing someone else trailing them with the same foul scent as Rosalia. "That scent, there's no doubt about it, that's a member of Titans Hand, I can't let him get away." Tanjiro thought as he changes his course from following Kirito and Silica to following the man, leading Tanjiro to a forest outside the safe zone in town from when the man was forced to flee because of Kirito noticing his eavesdropping on their plans.
"Damn, that was a close one, how did that guy know I was there? Eh, who cares, at least now he wasn't following me, I better report to Rosalia about my findings or she'll-ugh!" The guy says before falling unconscious from a chop the neck from Tanjiro who had snuck up behind him while he was rambling and knocked the man out.
Timeskip - 10 Minutes Later
"Ugh, my head, what the hell happened-" The man says while holding his head and widening his eyes feeling a pressure in front of him, making him sweat bullets as he looks up terrified. "Wh-Who are you….!?" The terrified man asks with wide eyes.
"Who I am doesn't matter, you smell horrible, you give off a scent like rotten oil!" Tanjiro yells at him, confusing him.
"I-I do, wha-what are you talking about!?" The man says, causing Tanjiro to clench his teeth.
"Don't you play dumb with me, I know where it comes from, tell me, how many people have you killed!?" Tanjiro says angered, causing the man to drop his act and start to laugh.
"Oh, so that's what this is about, give me a break, there's no proof that dying in here means you die IRL, as far as I'm concerned I'm just letting them out of this game sooner! Their loot is going to better use!" The man yells at Tanjiro who clenches his teeth harder before slashing the man's tongue with his black blade, signifying that he sees this man as no threat to him.
"Nevermind, what do you know about Titans Hand, where can I find them? Tell me!" Tanjiro says as the man's tongue heals, causing him to scowl. "Talk to me, come on talk!" Tanjiro yells whilst pointing his sword at the man who chuckles.
"Fine, you really want to know huh? Well tomorrow we're going to ambush a couple of losers on floor 47, we're gonna steal the Pneuma flower from them and then kill them like everyone else we've killed, but you won't be there to see it, die!" The man yells drawing a hidden knife from his sleeve, going to stab Tanjiro who steps out of the way of the man, widening his eyes as Tanjiro swings his blade down on his neck, slicing his head off with ease, killing the man as he shatters into blue glass particles, leaving the man with one thought. "He….beat me….without breaking a sweat, damn….it…." The man thought as the particles cleared up, leaving Tanjiro to sigh in annoyance and sheath his Nichirin Katana before heading off toward town to get rest for tomorrow.
"Demons like you don't deserve mercy." Tanjiro said coldly while walking.
Timeskip - The Next Day
"That disgusting scent is nearby, it looks like what that Demon was saying was true after all" Tanjiro thought while trailing behind Kirito and Silica, remaining undetected from hiding his presence as he waits in anticipation.
"Whoever's hiding out there, come out, now!" Kirito yells, surprising Tanjiro a bit.
"Did he detect me? No, that's impossible, I hid my presence without any trace, which means…" Tanjiro thought before steeling his face at picking up the scent and watching as Rosalia steps out from behind a tree, surprising Silica and making Kirito frown, unaware of the massacre that is about to happen.
"Huh, Rosalia?" Silica asks with confusion, wanting to know why Rosalia showed up out of the blue as the crimson haired woman smirks.
"If you saw through my hiding skill so easy, your detection skill must be really high swordsman." Rosalia says with a sly smile before turning to look at Silica with a smirk. "Oooh, it looks like you were successful getting your hands on the Pneuma Flower." Rosalia says with an eye smile. "Congratulations, now, hand it over before you get hurt." Rosalia says, shifting her smile into a devious smirk.
"Wha-what are you talking about!?" Silica asks, very confused and frightened at the threat the red haired woman spouted as Kirito gives out a confident smirk of his own.
"No one's handing anything over Rosalia, not to you, or the Orange Guild, or should I say Titan's Hand, you're their leader right?" Kirito asks, oozing with confidence as Rosalia narrows her eyes, still keeping the smirk on her face.
"Nice." Rosalia counters back against his confidence, using her own as Silica turns to Kirito.
"But Rosalia's cursor is green." Silica says, causing Kirito to frown.
"It's an easy trick, the green members find their victims, then they lure them straight to the orange players for the ambush, that was one of your pals eavesdropping on us last night, wasn't it?" Kirito asks, widening Silica's eyes as she gets a realization.
"Then…..The reason you were in the party with me and the others was too….-!?" Silica asks as Rosalia's smirk deepens, scaring Silica.
"How perceptive, I was observing their strength, and watching them earn all that beautiful money." Rosalia says before licking her lips, making Silica flinch. "You were who I was excited about and I was so sad when you left the party, but then you told me you were getting a rare item, what I want to know is if you knew about us why did you bring her, and what did you do with my guy, I haven't seen him since last night.
"I don't know what happened to your pal, he just ran off, probably got scared and ran away or somethin, but among other things I've actually been looking all over for you, Rosalia." Kirito says, getting an ominous feeling because of Rosalia's henchmen not showing up.
"What are you talking about, I know my men and they wouldn't just up and run away from me now, so you must have done something with him, and what's this about you looking for me, please, what do you want to join or something?" Rosalia asks with curiosity in her voice.
"Like I said I have no idea where your guy went, and I respectfully decline, I wouldn't be as low as to join the likes of you, as for why I'm looking for you, remember 10 days ago? You attacked a guild called the Silver Flags, the leader survived, four didn't." Kirito says, anger etching up in his voice whilst Rosalia plays with her hair.
"Oh, the losers with no money, well whatever even if you are here to avenge them It doesn't matter, and trust me I'll find out what happened to my guy." Rosalia says as Tanjiro listens in, interested to see that Kirito is here with the same reason as him.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, like I said I don't know what happened to him so your not gonna get anything out of me, but after you killed the leader's friends he went back and forth, from the warp point to the front lines, morning till night, and with tears in his eyes he begged everyone he met to avenge his dead friends, but he didn't want you killed, no, he wanted you to go to prison, do you have any idea how he felt?" Kirito says with a frown, anger etched in his voice while speaking to Rosalia as Tanjiro looks at Kirito with narrowed eyes.
"So he's here to send her and Titan's hand to prison, that could be a problem, if that's the case then he most likely has a Teleport Crystal on him, one that the poor man payed for no doubt, It's hard just sitting here, just listening to this woman talk about killing so easily makes me sick, but I have to wait until he shows that crystal so that I can destroy it and complete my mission, I should at least give Kirito the money to compensate for it though." Tanjiro thought as the conversation goes on, determined to see his mission through as Rosalia snaps, causing 7 other players to walk out from behind trees, 6 of them having orange cursors and the 7th still retaining his green cursor. Tanjiro watches on as Rosalia underestimates Kirito and orders her men to kill Kirito, Tanjiro scoffing as they charge at him and attack him all at once, doing tiny bits of damage only for them to heal instant in 10 seconds, making it seem as if nothing is happening as they stop and look at him with tired breaths.
"What the hell you idiots, kill him already!" Rosalia yells at her men, causing them to look at each other with Kirito smirking.
"400 in 10 seconds give or take, that's about the total damage the seven of you can inflict on me, I'm level 78, I got 14,500 HP, My battle healing skill auto regenerated 600 points every ten seconds, we could stand here all day and you wouldn't get anywhere." Kirito says before side glancing at the man in yellow behind him with spiky brown hair.
"That's not possible!" He says in disbelief as Kirito turns to him.
"Wanna bet!? If your numbers are high enough you're invincible, MMOs that use leveling systems are unfair that way." Kirito says before pulling out a decently sized teleport crystal getting Tanjiro's attention as he gets ready to strike. "My client spent his entire fortune on this crystal and he'll get his money's worth, it's been set to the coordinates of the prison, and I'm sending all of you bastards there!" Kirito yells before looking at Rosalia until widening his eyes, hearing a slicing sound and seeing the teleport crystal be cut in half before shattering into blue glass particles. "Wh-what the-!"
"I'm sorry Kirito, but I can't allow you to do that." Tanjiro says now standing in front of Kirito looking at him face to face with a serious look as Kirito widens his eyes.
"Ta-Tanjiro…!? Wha-what the hell are you doing here, and the crystal, why did you destroy it!?" Kirito says, terrified at the thought that just came across his mind.
"I'm here on the master's wishes, and the crystal you were just holding was in the way of my duty." Tanjiro says, widening the eyes of Kirito in horror as Rosalia scoffs.
"Tch, great who is this loser?" Rosalia says while smirking at the destruction of the teleport crystal.
"My name is Tanjiro Kamado, the Sun Hashira of the Demon Slayer Core, your friend from last night told me where you'd be and I followed you here." Tanjiro says, catching Rosalia's attention.
"Oh so you're the one who knows where my guy went, alright then, tell me where he is and I might just consider sparing your life, after taking that gorgeous red blade of your hands of course." Rosalia says with a smirk while looking at Tanjiro's red Nichirin blade, its color, structure, handle, and guard encapsulating her.
"How generous of you, but you won't be getting your hands on my sword, as for your friend, well that's easy, I sent him back to hell where he belongs." Tanjiro says coldly toward Rosalia, widening her eyes alongside her guild and Kirito while Silica gasps in horror.
"Yo-You killed him, what the hell is wrong with you!?" Rosalia says, now trembling slightly at the slight fiery breath taking aura coming off of Tanjiro who grits his teeth.
"What happened to not taking this seriously!? Now that you lost someone it's all of a sudden serious, you think there's something wrong with me for slaying a demon!? How do you think that man felt when he saw you murder his friends in cold blood!? How do you think that feels, huh!? Answer me!" Tanjiro yells as reality blips in and out for everyone, replacing Tanjiro and his voice with his Ancestor's appearance and voice with each blip, Rosalia continuing to tremble in fear.
"I've heard enough, die!" One of Rosalia's men who wears a renegade helmet with goggles says as he goes to stab Tanjiro who responds by breathing igniting breaths in and angling his sword Horizontally.
"Total Concentration, Sun Breathing, Second Form." Tanjiro says before doing a flaming 360 circular motion slash around the man's neck, decapitating him and leaving a circle of fire that quickly fades away. "Clear Blue Sky." Tanjiro says coldly as the man's body shatters into blue glass particles, signifying that he's dead, making Silica gasp and widen her eyes in fear before covering her mouth, causing Kirito to look back at her before back at Tanjiro in shock.
"Tanjiro stop! This isn't what my client would have wanted, he wanted them to go to jail and face justice for their crimes, not be killed!" Kirito says, causing Tanjiro to turn to him with a frown before looking down.
"I know that, it pains me that I have to deny his request but…..I can't just let Demons live, if they escape prison they could take even more lives than they already have, is that what you want!? For more innocent people to suffer because you lacked the resolve to do what needs to be done!?" Tanjiro yells at Kirito, making him flinch and look at the ground, his hair shadowing his eyes, remembering the deaths of Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker, but most of all the death of Rengoku.
Kirito looks up at Tanjiro with a sad face as said boy turns his attention to Silica as Kirito grips his fist in frustration. "You're the Beast Tamer trying to revive their familiar aren't you?" Tanjiro asks, causing the girl to flinch in fear before slowly nodding, getting a smile out of Tanjiro in the process that confuses her, making all the fear she once felt vanish in an instant and causing her to stop trembling. "I'm sorry that you have to witness something like this, I wish we could have met under better circumstances, you remind me of someone I know, like you he's a Beast Tamer, but he uses a snake instead of a Dragon by his side, I'm sure if you got the chance to meet him you'd like him, he's a bit demanding at first, but once you get to know him he's a great guy." Tanjiro says, widening Silica's eyes in shock at seeing the Hashira in front of her go from terrifying to kind hearted in an instant. After watching Silica's confusion Tanjiro's smile fades as he turns his attention back to Rosalia and her guildmates, who by now have retreated to her side. Tanjiro puts his bright red in front of him, aiming it at Rosalia and her guild, making them all flinch as he takes a igniting breath in, making the area around him heat up and burst into flames as his Ancestor can be seen behind Tanjiro, both Tanjiro and him taking the same stance, both of them holding their blades high above their heads, ready to dash at the opponent at a moments notice.
"Don't just stand there you idiots, kill him!" Rosalia says while sweating, ordering her men to attack Tanjiro as they look back at her and reluctantly charge at Tanjiro in sets of two. "Why, why is this happening to me!? Who is this kid!? And why do I feel such fear, is it from his sword!? No, him maybe!? Or…." Rosalia says, getting a flashback when looking at the emblazing ghost of Tanjiro's ancestor, remembering his voice and words alongside Tanjiro. "No….It's that swordsman standing behind him, but how is he standing here in those flames surrounding this kid!? Wait, no, how did he get here, he wasn't here before, is he a ghost or something!?" Rosallia thought before noticing Tanjiro's appearance shift, his Ancestor replacing where he once stood for Rosalia, who widens her eyes. "No…I get it now, he's no ghost, that's this kid's ancestor, and I see that swordsman in him!" Rosalia thought as Tanjiro's appearance reverts back from his ancestor's to his own.
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form!" Tanjiro says as the flames around him suddenly vanish. "Sun Halo Dragon!" Tanjiro says before his sword erupt into gunshot sound with flames shaped in the form of a dragon bursting from his sword before Tanjiro charges at Rosalia's guild pairs in a burst of speed, decapitating one of the men in the first set of duos before quickly spinning and decapitating the other, burning through their necks with ease and making a slicing sound while leaving behind a trail of flames in his path that give off an eruption sound, widening the eyes of Kirito, Silica, and Rosalia who watch the attack go on with Tanjiro speeding towards his next targets, causing the second duo pair to widen their eyes in fear seeing him charge at them with great speeds after killing the first duo with relative ease. The second Duo goes to block but widen their eyes further, watching on as the blazing dragon on Tanjiro's blade easily burns through both their necks with one slice before Tanjiro charges at the final duo use their advantage of being last to hold there weapons up and block, only to widen their eyes in failure as Tanjiro slice right through there weapons and their necks instantly upon contact, killing them as Tanjiro finishes the attack, leaving behind a flaming zig zagging dragon trail that forms the Dragons head at the edge of his blade. "Head Dance!" Tanjiro yells before exhaling and opening his eyes to see Rosalia going to impale his head with her spear, only for him to move his head to the right nonchalantly, letting the crossed blade of the spear graze his cheek, turning Rosalia's cursor orange as Tanjiro leaps high into the air before descending quickly towards Rosalia as the woman looks up at him in fear.
"Shit, I missed and now my cursor has turned orange, and he's already killed all those useless idiots! What do I do!? Am I really going to die here!?" Rosalia thought before softening her eyes. "Although…..if I die…..I'll finally be freed from this endless suffering…I'll find peace…" Rosalia thought sadly before dropping her spear and holding her arms up in a receiving manner, surprising Tanjiro who frowns seeing the dead look in Rosalia's eye as he breathes in an igniting breath.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form…." Tanjiro says softly before being submerging in rainbow flames that pass through Rosalia's neck with ease and go past it, allowing Tanjiro to reemerge and leave the Rainbow Flames trail behind, burning and giving Rosalia a warm sensation like no other. "Fake Rainbow….." Tanjiro says as Rosalia widens her eyes in surprise.
"This feeling…..it's like I'm sitting near a warm fireplace back home….It doesn't hurt, not at all…I just feel…..warm….I never dreamed my end would be this tranquil…and now…..I'll be released….." Rosalia thought as her head slowly falls to the ground, giving her a glance at Tanjiro who gives a sad expression watching her head slowly fall. "Those eyes….such kind eyes….he sees me as a Demon, yet he still looks at me with pity, empathy, and forgiveness…..how can anyone be so kind and forgiving…..even after all I've done…?" Rosalia thought before shedding tears as her head hits the ground, shattering into blue glass particles alongside her body before the rainbow flames fade away completely.
"You weren't just talking about me when you said that, were you Tanjiro? Rengoku's death still haunts you, even now in the deaths of others...…..yet you still carry on being kind and caring for others despite what they have done and how many people they've killed….even after losing so many loved ones….….I have never met anyone like you before…" Kirito thought while watching Tanjiro look at Rosalia's fading blue glass particles with a sad expression on his face.
"Rest in peace….." Tanjiro says softly while putting his hands together in a praying gesture before the particles fully fade away, causing him to look over to Kirito and Silica. "Are you both alright?" Tanjiro asks, getting a nod out of Kirito and Silica, causing him to smile. "Good, then I'll be leaving now." Tanjiro says with a warm smile before turning to leave, causing Silica to snap out of her surprise.
"W-wait!" Silica yells, causing Tanjiro to look back at her, giving her a curious look that makes her let out a shy noise. "Wh-who are you….?" Silica asks, causing Tanjiro to smile.
"My name's Tanjiro Kamado, it's nice to meet you, and you are?" Tanjiro asks.
"S-Silica, my name is Silica." The girl says shyly, causing Tanjiro to smile brightly.
"Then I hope we meet again, Silica, on better terms next time." Tanjiro says before waving, causing the girl to stare at Tanjiro as said boy turns to leave again, a smile on his face meeting a new friend.
To be continued…..
Hope you guys like this chapter. It was fun to make and show off the unconscious link Tanjiro has with Yoriichi, like I said in the last author's note he will be a character that sticks around with Tanjiro and will mostly be indirectly involved, I do have plans on revealing Tanjiro's lineage in the final chapter of Season 1, being the SAO arc because I'm skipping the ALO arc that's staying the same no changes, Tanjiro will be one of the trapped 300 players and if you know what I'm planning for that then ya know, but until then LEAVE A REVIEW ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER PLEASE I BEG OF YOU let me know any criticisms and happy reading! Oh yeah and I do plan on making Ordinal Scale its own arc in this story so that'll be fun to write when I get there, it's already in the works if you know you know.