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.
Chapter 6: Will Of Fire And The Setting Sun.
Timeskip - 4 months
We see Tanjiro sitting on the roof of the butterfly mansion cross legged, looking up at the sky before noticing a crow bringing him a a news paper that says "Weekly Argo" on it, symbolizing it being written by argo, Tanjiro looks at the paper with a smile before taking it and beginning to read, now wearing the new Haori he received from Kanao over his Demon Slayer Uniform, that is now sporting Golden Buttons instead of silver ones, over his Haori he wears Rengoku's Haori Cape on top of that, wearing this cape allows Tanjiro to honor his late master Kyojuro Rengoku, the man who honorably sacrificed himself all the way down on floor 5 so that everyone in the boss raid party could live. "It's been 4 months since Mr. Rengoku's death and we've come so far, the assault team has made it to floor 27 thanks to the new guild that took over called The Knight's Of The Blood Oath, I heard they formed because the ALS took a stand back from heavy casualties lost on the floor 25's Floor Boss, I hope that Mr. Kibaou is alright…I also heard that the new Holy Dragon Alliance was formed from what was left of the DKB and the Holy Division Guild. Lind is probably thriving right now, good for him. As for me, Mr. Uzui adopted me as his Tsuguko and started to train me, his teachings were tough, just like Mr. Rengoku's, I don't even know how I'm still alive after them to be honest, but I've come so far thanks to Mr. Rengoku and Mr. Uzui and now I'm a Hashira, I still can't believe it to be honest, but I hope that somewhere in the sky Mr. Rengoku is able to see this, he'd probably say to me, "The fight isn't over yet, now that you are a Hashira you're responsibilities as a Demon Slayer are only increasing from here on out, so hold your head high and give it your all, and one day we'll clear this game!" he'd say it just like that too…." Tanjiro thought as he smiles warmly at the thought of his master before noticing Mitsuri Kanroji screaming in joy while running at him.
"Tanjiro it's you, it really is youuu!" Mitsuri yells while running toward Tanjiro who sweat drops at this with a small blush on his cheeks seeing the pink haired Hashira leap into the air and land on the roof next to him before hugging him with tears in her eyes, confusing the young Hashira. "I was so worried about you when I heard about what happened to Rengoku, I'm so sorry!" The girl cries out childishly, causing Tanjiro to smile warmly and hug her back.
"Thank you, Ms. Kanroji, it means a lot that you worried about me, but I'm fine, it still hurts sometimes knowing he's gone, but I know he'd want me to keep moving forward!" Tanjiro says while parting from the hug with a bright smile, getting Mitsuri to look at him with stars in her eyes.
"Wow he's still so kind, even when he's lost his master, what a cutie!" Mitsuri thought before smiling. "Oh I almost forgot, I got a message from my crow saying you were promoted to Hashira!" Mitsuri says excitedly while looking at Tanjiro who smiles and nods.
"Yeah, thanks to Mr. Rengoku and Mr. Tengen I've managed to come this far, I still can't believe it though…." Tanjiro says, causing Mitsuri to smile brightly before she hugs him again.
"I'm so proud of you! Back when I first saw you, you were just an adorable little boy and now look at you, you really are incredible Tanjiro!" Mitsuri says, getting a blush out of Tanjiro before they part away from the hug. "Ya know, I don't know why, but you remind me so much of Muichiro, everytime I look at you I can't help but think of Muichiro too, I don't know why, you remind me a lot of him." Mitsuri says with a smile, causing Tanjiro to look at her confused.
"What do you mean by that, are we similar in personality or something?" Tanjiro asks, causing Mitsuri to shake her head.
"No nothing like that, you two couldn't be any different from each other, you're always outgoing and positive while Muichiro is always spacing out like he's in a deep fog of mist, it's so adorable." Mitsuri says, causing Tanjiro to tilt his head in confusion.
"Really? Then what about me reminds you of him then?" Tanjiro asks while trying to think on It as Mitsuri smiles.
"Oh well that's easy, it's your hair." Mitsuri says, confusing Tanjiro even more.
"My..hair..?" Tanjiro asks innocently, trying to put two and two together while looking intelligent.
"Yeah it's definitely your hair, both you and Muichiro have similar looking hair, you both have black hair that fades into a color, you have red and Muichiro has blue!" Mitsuri says with a smile, clicking the gears together in Tanjiro's head.
"Huh, guess I never really thought of it that way….." Tanjiro says before looking up deep in thought. "Ms. Kanroji, can I ask you something? Tanjiro says, getting a smile out of Mitsuri.
"Sure, for you, I'd answer anything, Tanjiro." Mitsuri says with a bright smile, getting a small blush out of Tanjiro once more before the boy smiles.
"Oh, well in that case, why did you decide to join the Demon Slayer core?" Tanjiro asks, getting Mitsuri to blush and get all giddy.
"It's kind of embarrassing, I-shouldn't say, or should I..? Ok fine I did say anything, I joined hoping to find a man, one I could spend forever with!" Mitsuri says with a mad blush, her blush making her face as red as Tanjiro's Checkered Haori whilst Tanjiro himself looks at her with a sweat drop that slowly goes into full blown sweating bullets. "I mean any girl would prefer someone who is stronger than her right!? After all we wanna feel protected, ya know what I mean!? Or maybe it's hard for a boy to understand, I knew Hashira were strong so I thought one of them would be perfect, that's why I worked my hardest to become a Hashira myself!" Mitsuri says before looking over to Tanjiro who at this point has a wide eyed deadpan expression.
"I see, well then good luck!" Tanjiro says with a bright smile, causing her to do the same before Tanjiro's crow that he inherited from Rengoku, can be heard kawing in the sky before descending down and landing next to him as the two turn to it.
"Tanjiro Kamado, you are to join Muichiro Tokito and head west at once, there is a field on floor 27 that you two are being sent to investigate, Slayers have been going missing around that field, Teleport at once, Teleport at once!" The crow says, causing Tanjiro to widen his eyes a bit in surprise.
"The master is sending two Hashira there? But why?" Tanjiro asks, causing Mitsuri to look at him with a sad smile.
"It's just wishful thinking, but maybe Rengoku's passing has worried the master and he's sending you two there as a precaution in case that Akaza guy shows up again." Mitsuri says, causing Tanjiro to look down at the ground, clenching his fist in anger remembering what Akaza did to Rengoku before looking at the crow with a face of determination before nodding.
"Tanjiro…." Mitsuri says softly, getting the young Hashira's attention as he turns to her. "While we may not live to ever see each other again, let's give it our all, never forget that you took on a strong demon and survived, that experience is priceless, training is valuable but nothing can ever top what you learned from first hand experience, I'd say what you went through is equal to ten years of training. Whether you know it or not Tanjiro, you are far stronger than you ever were before and you will keep getting stronger from here on out. Good luck, I'll be rooting for you every step of the way!" Mitsuri says before giggling with a small blush and a bright smile, causing Tanjiro to do the same.
"Thank you Ms. Kanroji, I've still got a ways to go even if I am a Hashira now, after all Mr. Rengoku did everything, he fought off that demon so that I could live, and I wouldn't have gotten this strong if it wasn't for his and Mr. Uzui's training, I'll work even harder, to protect everyone, and to clear this death game." Tanjiro says with a smile of determination.
"Bye now!" Mitsuri says as she waves Tanjiro off, with said boy using a teleport crystal, a smile plastered on his face.
Timeskip - 30 minutes later.
"Hey Tokito, wait up!" Tanjiro says seeing Muichiro in the distance of the field, grabbing Muichiro's attention as the boy turns to Tanjiro, having gotten done slaying the nearby monsters with his Mist Breathing before Tanjiro runs up to Muichiro.
"Huh, who are you again?" Muichiro says looking Tanjiro in the eyes as said boy sweat drops with a worried smile.
"Uh what do you mean!? I'm Tanjiro, remember, we met at the mansion back on floor 1!" Tanjiro says, trying to get Muichiro to remember as the boy tilts his head and goes into a thinking pose.
"Let's see, yes I do think I remember seeing you, but I wasn't very interested." Tokito says, causing Tanjiro to flinch back in surprise.
"Oh..I see, that's understandable….I guess." Tanjiro says while hanging his head in defeat.
"Apologies, but I don't have time for your depression, you understand, as a fellow Hashira you know how much our time is worth." Muichiro says, causing Tanjiro to flinch back in surprise. "Now then, why are you here Tanjiro?" Muichiro says, causing Tanjiro to snap out of his surprise and give him a smile.
"I'm here to join you on orders from the master. The master was concerned about sending only one Hashira because of what happened to Mr. Rengoku so he's sent me to come help you, as for me I'm glad he sent me here. I want to help in any way I can and I'd be sad if anything happened to you, Tokito, so let's do our best and find what's out here!" Tanjiro says, catching Muichiro's attention as he looks at Tanjiro with the same emotionless expression as always.
"Why do you care so much about other people? Isn't there something you'd rather do for yourself?" Muichiro asks Tanjiro who smiles at Muichiro.
"Life has a way of rewarding good deeds, often times when you help others you're helping yourself, I was planning to go anyway when I heard about it so why not?" Tanjiro says with a warm smile that widens Muichiro's eyes and brightens the darkened look in their Turquoise blue color.
"Huh, hold on, repeat what you just said, say it, say it!" Muichiro says hoping to have heard Tanjiro right.
"Huh, that I was planning to go anyway?" Tanjiro says with a smile before widening his eyes sensing a presence with time slowing down thanks to the See Through World technique before he turns his head slowly to see a figure jumping at him and kicking him in the gut, knocking the air out of Tanjiro who gets sent flying back with said figure landing in front of him, this figure is a tall man around the height of 6'3 with a lean and muscular build and fair skin as well as pupiless maroon eyes, this man has long spiky black to red hair that's kept tied up on a ponytail with short bangs framing the sides of his face red, the man also sports Hanafuda earrings on his ears that are identical to Tanjiro in each and every aspect, alongside these earrings the man wears Haori over a pale orange kimono with a white sash that has a knot in the middle and black Hakuma pants as well as white tabi socks with a pair of zori sandals with red straps, on his left side is a katana with a golden grip and a black end piece as well as a circular guard with a gold outline and a black interior as well as four indentions in it, making four corners on the guard, the katana is sheathed in a black saya that's held up by being tucked into the mans white sash, the man looks at Tanjiro with an emotionless gaze as said boy slams back first into a tree, tensing before slowly getting up and widening his eyes in disbelief at not only the face.
"His face….it's so empty…." Tanjiro thought before widening them even further while looking up at the left side of the man's forehead and seeing a flame-like mark that's completely identical to his own, causing his heart to beat loudly for a second. "That mark….It looks like the one I have…..no….it's the exact same mark as the one I have, there's no doubt in my mind, but how is that possible!?" Tanjiro thought while getting a flashback of Ubuyashiki's words. "I inherited this mark from my ancestor….but how does he have it…once more I can see that his cursor is red, making him a red player, but I feel no malice coming off this man!" Tanjiro thought as he notices Muichiro behind the man, getting into a stance, ready to dash at the man at any second and swing right with his turquoise blade as he takes a breath in, causing Mist to begin to surround him.
"Mist Breathing…" Muichiro says as he charges at the man with the intent to kill, getting a side glance from the man's eyes, his head not moving an inch as he takes a breath in himself. "Fourth Form, Shifting Flow Slash" Muichiro says right as he swings at the man, aiming to cleave him in half, but the next few seconds widen Tanjiro's eyes in disbelief at the performance he's about to witness.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form." The man says as Muichiro's sword passes through him, making him explode into rainbow flames that trail off into the air, causing Muichiro to look up at the trail and see it ending with the man appearing out of it. "Fake Rainbow."
"He's quick, I couldn't take him out, from what I just witnessed though, it appears he knows Total Concentration Breathing as well, looks like this fight will be harder than I thought." Muichiro thought as the man lands, causing the Young Mist to react with haste as he jumps at the Sun Breather going to swing at him but only to faint it and spin to his right to dodge a forward piercing strike from the man who quickly readjusts his blade at great speeds with eases with it now being above his ahead, giving him the opportunity to an overhead strike that Muichiro dodges by ducking, going for his own strike that the man easily blocks, not flinching in the slightest as he takes a breath in.
"Sun Breathing, First Form." The man says emotionlessly as he brings his arms up before slicing vertically down at Muichiro with a flaming slice, who reacts quickly by jumping back. "Dance." The man says with no emotion.
As the exchange goes on Tanjiro looks at the man with wide eyes while sweating. "That's impossible…..he's using….the Hinokami Kagura! But how!? Unless…..no, that's impossible…isn't it!? Tanjiro thought before standing up and unsheathing his newer Nichirin Katana that replaced the last one he threw at Akaza.
"How….." Tanjiro asks softly, getting the attention of the man who turns to him. "How can you use the Hinokami Kagura and how do you have that mark, only my ancestor and I bare it, and you can't be him, he's been dead for centuries!" Tanjiro yells, getting no reaction from the man, making Tanjiro scowl. "Answer me!" Tanjiro yells.
"Hinokami Kagura huh, so that's the name Sun Breathing has been hiding under for over 300 hundred years." The Sun Breather says emotionlessly and stoically.
"Sun Breathing…. ..hiding, what do you mean by that!?" Tanjiro asks confused, sweating at the aura and pure pressure the man executes in battle. "This man, the aura his scent gives off….and this pressure, butI feel no malice from him…..how is this even possible!? And his blade…I thought it was black…..but it's turning red now!" Tanjiro thought with wide eyes watching the man grip his sword, turning it from black to red in the process.
"Over three hundred years ago this "Hinokami Kagura" that you speak of used to be called Sun Breathing, the first ever breathing style, that breathing style runs within your blood. I must say I'm a little disappointed that only one of you has stood up to me so far, I expected more from you, Tanjiro." The man says, widening Tanjiro's eyes even more hearing his name come out of the man's mouth.
"I have no idea what this guy is talking about, but if what this guy is saying is true, then he really is a user of the first breathing style just like Tanjiro, if that's true, then theres no possible way that I can win this fight, the only thing I can do is hold him off until he kills me…but that's impossible, he must be lying, nobody could live for over 300 years." Muichiro thought with the same uninterested gaze as usual.
"I have faith you will find yourself again Muichiro, don;t give up." Kagaya's voice says in Muichiro's head, widening his eyes as he gets a flashback
Flashback - 3 years ago.
We see Kagaya and his wife Amane sitting in front of an injured Muichiro in a hospital bed with bandaged wounds around his arms and chest, as well as a head wound wrapped up in a white cloth.
"I know you're probably confused, but for now I want you to focus on living and nothing more. As long as you're alive, things will work out so try not to worry. Just don't let your chance slip away from you, it could be something that seems insignificant, but if you seize the opportunity when it comes, the mist shrouding your mind will be cleared." Kagaya says to the injured Muichiro as reality shifts back to the present.
Flashback - End
Muichiro gets a look of surprise remembering Kagaya's words before getting a look of newfound resolve. "Is this really the right thing to do? What if this only ends up getting me and Tanjiro killed? No, I can do this, because I'm a Demon Slayer recognized by the master, The Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito!" Muichiro thought with determination in his inner voice as he dashes at the Sun Breather before going to slash him with his misty blade, getting the man's attention as he easily blocks it before engaging Muichiro in an intense battle of the blade, The Turquoise Blade of the Foggy Mist Vs The Bright Red Blade of the Fiery Sun.
"So you decided to take me head on knowing you'll die, how brave of you, be proud to know that you didn't live a worthless life." The Sun Breather says with a smile while clashing blades at high speeds with Muichiro, a hidden goal in his words as they widen Muichiro's eyes in surprise.
"After all, your lives are worthless." a voice from Muichiro's past says as the boy recalls them, trying to figure out who they belong to. "Who's that? I can't remember, someone said the same thing to me years ago, but who was it….? It was summer, it was hot, we'd left the door open, probably because of the heat, the cicada's were buzzing really loud that day." Muichiro thought while remembering glimpses of the past. The man leaps away into the air, ending their elemental blade clashes as Muichiro looks up and takes a breath before leaping after him. "Mist Breathing." Muichiro says before swinging at the Sun Breather who blocks it before blocking multiple continuous misty slashes from Muichiro who spins and uses the momentum to swing at the Sun Breather one last time, who blocks it before slightly widening his eyes impressed at Muichiro who uses the force to launch the Sun Breather far away and sending him crashing into the ground on his feet. "Sixth Form, Lunar Dispersing Mist." Muichiro says before landing on the ground and breathing in once more before dashing at the Sun Breathing clashing blades with him once more using Mist Breathing to put him on the defensive. "Mist Breathing, Fifth Form, Sea of Clouds and Haze!" Muichiro thought while clashing blades with the Sun breather, creating Mist all around them with his Misty sword before parrying the man and swinging his blade down at the man who backs up a bit, widening Muichiro's eyes as the Sun Breather breaths and steps forward, swinging his own blade at Muichiro's as it ignites into flames.
"Sun Breathing, Twelve Form." The man says as Muichiro's misty blade turquoise clashes with his red flaming sun blade, widening his eyes in surprise as the man quickly pushes it back with his swords sheer force alone before swinging his sword Horizontally and hitting Muichiro's sword the flat of it's blade, snapping it half before the man goes to strike Muichiro down with time slowing for the Mist Hashira.
"It's futile, it's over….I can only hope that help is on the way, sorry master, but I'm going to die…so as soon as you can, please send at least two Hashira to help back up Tanjiro….." Muichiro thought while closing his eyes and accepting his fate.
"What makes you think you'll die?" Tanjiro's voice says while echoed in Muichiro's mind, causing the boy to open his eyes wide to see the man with the sword stopping in place, looking like he was frozen in time as Muichiro looks up and sees a spirit of Tanjiro standing there, looking at Muichiro with a warm smile. "What makes you think you'll die? After all nobody knows what the future holds right?" The Spirit Tanjiro says, his voice being much clearer than before to Muichiro.
"Hold on, this isn't right…..…..Tanjiro never said anything like that to me. If not him….then who?" Muichiro asks himself in his thoughts as the spirit of Tanjiro stands there with a smile. "My vision is starting to get distorted….I'm dying…I'm going to get cut in half…" Muichiro thought while looking at the Spirit Tanjiro who smiles at him.
"Sorry, but it's not for you to decide when it's all over." The spirit taking the form of Tanjiro says.
"I don't understand…you never told me that….." Muichiro thought with confusion.
"It's all gonna be ok, just don't give up, I promise someone's gonna save you." The spirit taking the form of Tanjiro says, trying to reassure Muichiro with a warm smile.
"Really? Leave it to someone else…? That's the worst thing I could do….." Muichiro thought with confusion still etched into his thoughts.
"There's a limit to what we can do, at least when we're alone. We all need help, there's no shame in asking for it." The spirit taking the form of Tanjiro says with a bright smile.
"But there's no one who can save me….because everyone's weaker than I am, I'm the one who should've been stronger, I misjudged my strength and subconsciously overestimated my own skills while at the same time underestimating my opponent severely, all because I'm a Hashira." Muichiro thought, blaming himself for his own loss.
"You're not wrong about that Muichiro, you're gonna be fine." The spirit Tanjiro says as Muichiro closes his eyes once more with time resuming.
"I'm going to die because that's not the only mistake I made…." Muichiro thought to himself until hearing the Sun Breathers blade hit another, causing him to shoot his eyes open seeing Tanjiro blocking the Sun Breathers flaming blade with his own flaming blade.
"No, I won't let it happen again! I won't just sit by as one of my friends sacrifices themself for me, you hear me, Tokito!" Tanjiro yells before taking a breath in, widening Muichiro's eyes.
"What are you doing, he'll kill you! What are you doing, what are you doing!? Make a run for it, before it's too late! He's fighting him even though he saw our battle, knowing that even I couldn't beat him..…..he's going to die….! Why don't you get it, you're not strong enough! Leave me behind, and get out of here already! Stop trying to save me, you need to save yourself, there's nothing you can do for me!
"Hinokami Kagura, Clear Blue Sky!" Tanjiro yells as while gripping his sword with intense pressure, causing it to begin to turn red under the flames, surprising Tanjiro and widening both his and Muichiro's eyes as the Mist Hashira watches on on his knees, remembering seeing the Sun Breather's sword turn red as Tanjiro uses the power granted by the newly red blade to finish the attack and break the clash by continuing to swing horizontally, forcing the man to jump back to get distance for the first time because of this unexpected gain in strength.
"The swords changing color! The pressure I'm putting on its handles grip….as well as the temperature rising from the flames, causing my black sword, to turn red! It's just like….!" Tanjiro thought before reality shifts, going black as Tanjiro looks around hearing a female's voice.
"So it turns red right? Mr. Samurai, your sword only turns red during the heat of battle, isn't that right?" The woman said, this woman has long black hair and blue eyes as well as a white head wrapping on her head giving her the look of a housewife, she also wears a pink kimono, Tanjiro sees the woman smiling at him while carrying a basket of fruits.
"What is this…?" Tanjiro thought, confused about what's happening to him.
"But why is that? How mysterious! When normally it's pitch black almost like obsidian!" The woman says.
"Who is that?" Tanjiro thought, not knowing anything about what's happening and who this strange woman that appeared out of nowhere is.
"It's so beautiful though isn't it!" The woman says before smiling brightly.
"Who are you….?" Tanjiro thought confused about what's happened to reality. "Wait, sword, turning from black to red…." Tanjiro thought, remembering the Sun Breather's sword doing the exact same thing the woman's saying. "The samurai, she's talking about, could it be the swordsman with the ability to use the first breathing style, the one I'm fighting right now? Does that mean he did the same thing I just did? Then that must mean mine's just like his…." Tanjiro thought as reality shifts back to the fight with the Sun breather as Tanjiro looks at his newly colored bright red blade in aw. "And like his my own sword just turned red, it changed color, thanks to the training from Mr. Rengoku and Mr. Uzui I have this red blade, and so…..even though it's taken so long to get this far, my sword is no different than that swordsmans! You may think you've gotten stronger, but there are always stronger demons, life in here has taught me that, and, each time I've been on the brink of death, I was saved by someone, I have to repay what they've done for me!" Tanjiro thought with conviction and resolve remembering all the people that have gotten him this far, Rengoku, Tengen, Shinobu, Kanao, Giyu, Mr. Urokodaki, and Nezuko. "Everyone who's helped me come as far as I have, has but one wish, one desire!" Tanjiro thought as the spirits of Rengoku, Tengen, Urokodaki, and Nezuko lay there hands on the back of Tanjiro who stands straight and unmoved, holding his bright red blade in front of him before looking up at the Sun Breather. "To defeat the demons, to protect human lives! I have to come through for them no matter what!" Tanjiro thought as the Sun Breather looks at him.
"So you finally took up your sword, alright then, come at me with all you've got." The man says as he and Tanjuro get into the same stance that's similar to the final one Rengoku took, but with them holding their swords high above their heads, ready to swing down after dashing at the opponent.
"Hinokami Kagura!" "Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form!" Tanjiro and the Sun Breather yelled at the same time. "Sun Halo Dragon!" Tanjiro and the Sun Breather yelled at the same time again before simultaneously dashing at each other in a burst of immense speed, clashing their blades together before dashing past each other and turning, making a perfect circle of fire as they clash once again before dashing past each other once more with this time Tanjiro leaping in the air, descending toward the man and clashing blades with him, creating an immense wind shockwave from the pure pressure of their clashing blades, making Muichiro widen his eyes in shock at seeing two dragons made of fire fighting it out for dominance. "Head Dance!" The two yell at the same time right as they clash.
Muichiro widens his eyes in shock watching this beautiful clash of blades, the fight almost looking like a dance. "Life always rewards good deeds, when you help others, you're often helping yourself." The spirit of Tanjiro says to Muichiro inside of his head as the voice changes to that of an older man along with the appearance with longer and fully black hair, the man also bears the same eyes as Tanjiro. "Humans are incredible, they can summon an unbelievable strength, but only when it's for the sake of someone other than themselves. Muichiro…..
"Yes I know…..I remember now Tanjiro…..the reason I saw you, but heard my fathers words, was because you share the same red eyes….I want to help you Tanjiro….but my sword….it snapped in half….!" Muichiro thought with sadness as time once again slows. "There's nothing…..I can…." Muichiro thought weakly before hearing his fathers words.
"I know you can do it Muichiro, now, stand up!" Muichiro's father says with a smile on his face, widening the eyes of said Mist Hashira.
"Father…." Muichiro thought with widened eyes as he gets a flashback.
Flashback - 6 Years Ago
We see a young ten year old Muichiro Tokito carrying wood on his back, struggling to stand up before doing so and running over to his father who also has wood on his back, although noticeably way larger wooder as well as way more than the young Muichiro.
"That's right, my father was a lumber man….and as his son, I would help him cut down trees whenever I could….I remember, I remember that I used to love helping father work." Present Muichiro thought while remembering the past, seeing his father cut down a tree before wiping his sweat away, looking at the Young Muichiro with a smile on his face until reality shifts into a storm with Muichiro at his sick mothers side as the woman starts to cough violently.
"Hang in there mother, father just went out to get you some herbs so-" Muichiro says as the woman coughs more. "Mother!" Muichiro says concerned as the woman breathes heavily before Muichiro takes the towel off her head and checks her foreheads temperature. "She's burning up….." The young Muichiro thought concerned for his mother before putting her towel in a water bucket before wringing it out and placing it back on his mothers forehead. Muichiro then runs over to his bed and grabs his blanket before running back and putting it over his mothers. "Here take my blanket, that should help, right mother….?" Muichiro says in hope as the woman continues to breathe heavily.
"So cold…." Muichiro's mom says in pain, causing Muichiro to tear up and latch onto his mother.
"Hang on…father will be back soon alright….!?" Muichiro says worried for his mothers health, tearing up even more at hearing her suffering as his father ventures out in the sword, looking for the healing herbs Muichiro was talking about before looking up and smiling at seeing them before reaching out to grab them, almost reaching them and managing to grab them but at a cost when the ground below him breaks, widening his eyes as he falls to his death.
"That day, I lost two people who were dear to me….both my mother and my father passed away…I was ten years old….without any parents, I was ten years old and completely alone….no that's not right…..I was eleven when I found myself alone….before then, I used to have a twin brother, an older brother and his name was Yuichiro…." Present Muichiro thought with sadness as the flashback resumes.
"Kindness does no good for anyone, if you try to help anybody in need, you'll only get hurt." Yuichiro says, causing Muichiro to look up at him.
"That's not true, whatever you do to help others, has a way of coming back around and helping yourself someday, that's what father said anyway.
"You're regurgitating the words of a man who got himself killed trying to help someone else." Yuichiro says coldly with a scowl on his face.
"How could you say something so cold? He died trying to save our mother." Muichiro says with disbelief at his brother's words.
"As if a few herbs could save her at that point, don't be so stupid." Yuichiro says, annoyed at his brother's innocence.
"Don't say such awful things!" Muichiro says, hurt at his brother's cold words toward their fathers actions.
"If he hadn't gone out in the middle of a storm, maybe we would've lost only our mother that night." Yuichiro says, causing Muichiro to tear up.
"Please stop saying things like that, that's going too far!" Muichiro says, tears threatening to fall down his face.
"I'm only telling you how it is, and stop being so noisy, you might attract boars." Yuichiro says annoyed. "I guess the Mu in Muichiro stands for incompetence, this conversation is meaningless, after all you can't change the past, or maybe the Mu in Muichiro stands for Meaningless." Yuichiro says harshly, causing Muichiro to stop in place and tear up and look down at the ground with his hair shadowing his eyes.
"He was unsympathetic and spoke harshly, I feel that in a way, I acted like him after I had amnesia, life with my brother wasn't easy, if anything it was stifling…I was sure he despised me, and because of that, I couldn't help but think of him as a cold person…..I remembered the seasons changed, and it was spring" Present Muichiro thought.
"I'll be back, I'm gonna go buy some water." Muichiro says, causing Yuichiro to look annoyed while putting lumber up.
"You still haven't gotten any?" Yuichiro says coldly, making Muichiro look down in sadness as he walks off with money to the supermarket.
Timeskip - 3 hours later.
We see Muichiro walking out of the supermarket with bags in his hands filled with water while on his way home before noticing Kagaya's wife Amane standing in front of him, looking at him with an emotionless smile before bowing to the young Muichiro.
"The first time I saw her I couldn't believe it, she was so beautiful, I thought she was a white birch spirit….it turns out this person was the master's wife, who came to visit us, which meant she made the trip with me all the way up the mountain." Present Muichiro thought, remembering the first time seeing Amane Ubuyashiki. "In the end, my brother just spewed his usual insults and drove lady Amane away…." Present Muichiro thought with sadness.
"Can you believe it! She said our ancestors were swordsmen! Apparently, we're descendants of an amazing swordsman who used something called, "first" breathing!" Muichiro says excitedly as Yuichiro chops vegetables with an annoyed face.
"Why should I care? Wash the rice already." Yuichiro says annoyed at his brother.
"Hey! Let's become swordsmen! It's hard to believe demons exist and are out there hurting people, if we can do something to help we should, right!? So let's become swordsmen and help the people who are suffering, if we do it together-!" Muichiro says excitedly before being interrupted by the loud sound of the cleaver his brother is using to chop food slamming down on the cutting board hard multiple times with the last piece of radish cut falling on the floor.
"What makes you think you can save anybody!? You can't even cook rice and you're gonna be a swordsman, and save others!? Give me a break Muichiro!" Yuichiro yells before slamming his hand down on the cutting board. "You sound like mother and father spouting that kind of nonsense! Stop being so optimistic, your mind is poisoned, just like mother who told us she was fine, and then worked until she collapsed, like father who got killed trying to find some herbs, even after, I tried to stop him…even after I begged mother to rest over and over! The only kind of people who can help others, are people who are chosen to do so! Our ancestors may have been swordsmen, but we are just two hopeless orphans! People like us are useless, we're only good for one thing, and that's dying in the street like dogs, our parents met the same fate to prove it! We'll only end up getting used by that woman, why do you think she came all the way here!? We're never talking about this again got it!? Now hurry up and get dinner ready!" Yuichiro yells at Muichiro who lets out tears in sadness at his brother's harsh words.
"After that incident, we stopped speaking to each other, except the one time brother hurled water at Lady Amane, who traveled up the mountain to visit us again. Then summer came, it was blisteringly hot, so my brother and I were always irritable, it was a hot night, the cicada's were singing." Present Muichiro thought as young Muichiro turns face up from his bed, laying flat on his back and looks at the ceiling before getting up and grabbing a water bottle and drinking from it before looking at his brother who wakes up just in time for Muichiro to notice a man standing at their front door with a double barrel shotgun in his hand.
"Ah damn it, nothing but a couple of brats huh, thought there was gonna be something valuable to take in here, tch whatever." The man says before aiming the gun at Muichiro and pulling the trigger, widening Yuichiro's eyes as he runs in front of his brother.
"Muichiro!" Yuichiro yells before the shotgun's bullet hits his left arm, blasting it off completely and sending it flying against the wall with blood splattering against it as well as across Muichiro's face before Yuichiro begins to scream in pain and grip his arm.
"Brother, Brother!" Muichiro yells crouching down to help Yuichiro, worried for his safety as the man laughs at Yuichiro's pain, causing Muichiro to scream in fear, helping his brother up and bringing him into a corner.
"Shut up, shut up! You're too noisy, you can cry for help but no ones gonna help a couple of useless Lumbermen like yourselves! Since it doesn't matter whether you exist or not, after all your lives are worthless!" the man says with a maniacal grin, snapping something inside Muichiro as his vision goes red.
"At that moment, all I could see….was red. I went into a violent and uncontrollable rage, one that boiled from the pit of my stomach, it came to me naturally, and while I still can't remember exactly what happened next, I still hear that roar, I still can't believe a sound like that came from my throat, from my own mouth…..before I knew it, the demon was dead, soon after the sun began to rise, and the demon was left as nothing but a corpse, but I couldn't care less about that, all I wanted to do was get to Yuichiro and tend to his wounds before getting him to a hospital, it took me what felt like ages, just to reach the house that was in front of me….." Present Muichiro thought as his younger self crawls away from the demonic man's dead corpse and into his home, just to hear Yuichiro pleading to god.
"Please I beg of you….Please I beg of you…..Oh I please I….." Yuichiro says before Muichiro gets up off the ground and stumbles over to him.
"Brother, you're alive…..Brother….!" Muichiro says with wide eyes, worried for his brother's safety before falling because of his own wounds. Muichiro climbs up to his brother's bed to hear Yuichiro's final words.
"Please dear god, Buddha….anyone who's listening, I beg of you…save him…..please save my brother, he doesn't deserve any of this….." Yuichiro struggles to get out, widening Muichiro's eyes and making the bloodied boy tear up. "My brother isn't….like me….he's kind, he's a kind hearted kid, through and through…..he says he wants to help others, but I got….in the way…of his dream, it's my fault…..I'm to blame, so please….please don't punish him, it's my fault, and only mine…..the truth is…..I've always known…..about his name…..the Mu in Muichiro…..stands for…." Yuichiro says, struggling to get out as Muichiro cries tears of sadness and reaches out to his brother's right hand while listening to Yuichiro's words.
Flashback - End
"It stands for….Infinity…." Yuichiro's saddened voice echoes as Muichiro looks up in surprise, his mind being clear as day as a flame mark the similar to Tanjiro and the Sun Breather's in color but different in shape and location in appears on his each side of his cheeks as he looks up at the clash between Tanjiro and the Sun Breather as time resumes as he takes a breath and gets into the same dashing slice stance from the start of the fight.
"Mist Breathing, Fourth Form!" Muichiro thought as he dashes at the clash and swings what's left of his blade at the Sun Breathing, parrying him to the side and allowing Tanjiro to flip over him, widening the both Hashira's eyes watching the Sun Breather smile for the first time in their fight. "Shifting Flow Slash!" Muichiro thought before looking over to Tanjiro who's still midair
"T-Tokito!?" Tanjiro yells in surprise, causing Muichiro to smile.
"Tanjiro, now's your chance, this is your chance to beat him, do it, Tanjiro, don't let this chance go to waste, don't let him recover, this is our only chance!" Muichiro yells, causing Tanjiro to steel his face and take a breath.
"Tokito…..Thank you!" Tanjiro thought as he positions his sword as it starts to ignite with flame.
"I'm counting on you….Tanjiro." Muichiro whispers with a smile. "Take it, Tanjiro…everyone's hopes, are in you…"
"Hinokami Kagura!" Tanjiro yells as he swings horizontally, decapitating the Sun Breather, who had turned to look at Tanjiro accepting this defeat without a fight, a warm smile on his face. "Setting Sun Transformation!" Tanjiro yells before landing on the ground and letting out a breath before relaxing and letting out a sigh of relief as he loosens his grip on his sword, turning it back into a black blade. "It's over….but….why was he smiling…." Tanjiro says in sadness before widening his eyes hearing wooden parts hit the ground, causing him to turn his head and widen his eyes alongside Muichiro seeing the man gone and in his place a similar looking doll with six arms holding multiple swords and dressed in a red kimono instead of the red Haori over the yellow Kimono.
"He was….a doll…!?" Muichiro asks before looking at it and seeing an HP bar going down fast with the name.
"Yoriichi Type Zero….?" Tanjiro reads with confusion on his face. "But if this thing is a mob, then how could it use Hinokami Kagura….or even Total Concentration Breathing for that matter….?" Tanjiro asks, causing Muichiro to get an idea.
"Maybe that man's ghost possessed this thing." Muichiro says nonchalantly, causing Tanjiro to look at him innocently.
"No way, that'd be impossible!" Tanjiro says before widening his eyes alongside Muichiro seeing the man's ghost stand behind the doll.
"The Sun Breathing Technique is in your hands now, Tanjiro Kamado, you are now the Sun Hashira, know that I am proud of the man you have grown up to be, and Muichiro Tokito, the descendant of my elder twin brother, take care of yourself, for Tanjiro's sake, I can finally rest easy knowing that your futures are safe and in good hands." The Sun Breather says, widening Tanjiro and Muichiro's eyes even further as he walks over and puts a hand on Tanjiro's head before smiling warmly and slowly starts to fade away, with the Sun Breathing Technique implanting itself and the order of it's forms inside of Tanjiro's mind.
"One more thing before I go, Tanjiro, I have left one last gift for you, both in the real world, and in Aincrad, you will know once you receive it, until we meet again." The Sun Breather says, as he fades away completely, leaving Tanjiro and Muichiro standing there dumb founded before looking at each other.
"We're…" "Distant Relatives…" Tanjiro says as Muichiro finishes for him, causing Tanjiro to smile brightly before tearing up and leaking tears and smiling brightly before hugging Muichiro, surprising the boy as Tanjiro lets out a yell and cry, making Muichiro smile as he hugs Tanjiro back, letting out silent tears of his own.
"I thought I was alone…..but I'm not, now that I've learned that…..Tokito I-" Tanjiro says as Muichiro interrupts him.
"Muichiro…..call me Muichiro….and yeah I know what you mean….thank you Tanjiro, it's because of you that I've recovered something precious to me, I can't thank you enough." Muichiro says before parting from their hug with tears leaking from his eyes and a smile on his face, causing Tanjiro to do the same before noticing something.
"M-Muichiro, you have a mark on your face, it looks similar to the one I have on my forehead." Tanjiro says, having looked at it curiously before showing Muichiro himself in the mirror.
"Woah, weird, I didn't even notice before, the only thing going through my head was to help you and then all of a sudden I felt this boost of power..…." Muichiro says as the mark recedes, disappearing and returning his face back to normal, surprising Tanjiro.
"I-it vanished..?" Tanjiro asks curiously before smiling. "Well whatever happened I'm sure we'll see it again, for now let's head back and report to the master." Tanjiro says with a smile, getting a smile out of Muichiro as the two laugh together.
To be continued…..
Wow I did not expect to get this chapter out this fast considering I had to come up with it from based off of almost nothing, whoever's reading you probably have a few questions and rightfully so, I will explain the Yoriichi Type Zero's hidden 300 year old sword in the next chapter along with giving Tanjiro his final sword, and from now on he will call Hinokami Kagura it's actual name being Sun Breathing so now he is a proper Hashira, the Sun Hashira, next chapter will revolve around these two things, the black cats, and Yuna dying, I have decided the full pairing will be Tanjiro X Kanao, Sinon, and Yuna, keep in mind Tanjiro is not OP OP he is definitely way stronger than his canon counterpart but he did NOT you hear me, NOT defeat Yoriichi, Yoriichi did not try against his descendants and did not want to kill them, he let them beat him at the end because one he was using the body of the Yoriichi Type Zero, and two he was accomplishing his hidden goal, which was recovering Muichiro's memories and unlocking his Demon Slayer mark as well as testing Tanjiro to see if he is worthy of the title Sun Hashira, Yoriichi will definitely be a recurring character that will be important, this is just one of the only times he will actually be physically involved, as for the Demon Slayer marks no they won't die at 25, that's just dumb, there will just be a difference with being born with a Demon Slayer mark and awakening it, awakening it gives you a boost but it doesn't give you the limitless potential of being born with it, as for why Tanjiro has techniques such as the See Through World and Red Blades, well Red Blades was through training and through inherited memories because he is both the descendant of Sumiyoshi Kamado and Yorrichi Tsugikuni so he can inherit the feeling and power needed from Yorrichi's memories while seeing both perspectives through both him and Sumiyoshi, and the See Through World is obvious it's cause he was born with the mark, it's a natural ability that one has when born with it, I mean Yoriichi had it as a kid, anyway hope this answered all the questions that could pop up, if you have anymore, leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter as well, hope you all have a great Day/Night and I'll see ya next time!