Tanjiro?" Nezuko said. "Want an afternoon snack?"
"I don't have an appetite. I'm full."
"What!?" Nezuko said. She left the room. "Oh well, too bad. Today we've got lemon pie, melons, chocolate cake, and sherbet..."
Tanjiro' eyes widened. He went downstairs. "I don't have an appetite, but!" He said. "I'll eat."
After Tanjiro finished eating he put on a jacket and headed for the door.
"Where you going?" asked Nezuko.
"I'm going to..." said Tanjiro. "I'm looking for...I'll be back."
Tanjiro left and thought to himself.
I have only been thinking of Kaguya. She kissed me. Why isn't she appearing more often? Is she trapped? Kaguya must have many secrets. I want to make her strong. I wonder who I can go to for advice. I could go to Inosuke, but he will talk forever and the enemy will be the first thing on his mind. Reiko won't ask questions, but he will wonder if Kaguya and I are involved. Zenitsu will just get jealous. I could go to Nezuko; but I don't want to involve her...
"It doesn't matter." Tanjiro said to himself. "I can find a way to save her myself. With my own strength."
Xxx
Kaguya was lying caged on the floor.
"I have to hold on," she thought. "Unless I hold on, even my Warrior's body will be ruined... And then the planet, too..."
She could hear Shinobu and Muzan talking.
"We will kill Kaguya's chosen soldiers." Shinobu said. "Not to worry, my Lord. We will slay them in front of her, and the Guardian will despair and die at last. You will finally gain immortality."
"It will be all mine." Muzan said.
Xxx
Tanjiro was lying in bed coughing.
"The aura enveloping his body is weakening. A disturbance is occurring within his body." Kuri said. "I've never seen a magical disturbance so bad on a human being."
Tanjiro coughed harder. Blood splattered onto his hand.
"But, there is nothing I can do with my power anymore." Kuri said.
Tanjiro coughed again.
"Tanjiro? Are you awake?" Kuri said tentatively.
"Kuri...please leave. I just want to rest."
Kuri looked at him and sighed. "Alright."
Tanjiro winced as Kuri closed the door behind her. "I can't let her get suspicious..." he thought. He looked at his wet hand. "...of this black blood!"
"What's wrong with my body! The Eclipse Circus! From now on, they're reaching their evil hands through this city! When I say from now on, even if I do it again, am I being a burden...!"
Xxx
As Zenitsu walked home he ran into Tanjiro.
"I was just going over to your place to talk to you about something." Tanjiro said.
"Is it about a girl?" Zenitsu guessed.
Tanjiro's eyes widened in surprise.
Zenitsu cheered. "You can make a great dinner and we'll talk."
They headed to the market to get some spices.
Inside a man named Taka was throwing a fit because the store doesn't have the spices he wants.
"Sir, you can find the spices you want at the foreigner's market." Tanjiro said.
He took him outside and offered to go with him to the other store.
"I appreciate your kindness." Taka said. "I'm doing market research."
Taka showed Tanjiro his store, an Herbal shop. "Zenitsu, Tanjiro, please come in."
"So what are you doing here all of a sudden." Zenitsu said.
"I'm part of the Eclipse Circus." Taka said. "It's my dream to have an herb shop."
"It's my dream to get married." Zenitsu said suspiciously
"When you've had a goal since your youth, you must pursue it." Taka said, and gave Tanjiro and Zenitsu two rings. "The stones are Amazon Stones, anti-evil charms from the Amazon, and they have the ability to make dreams come true."
Tanjiro and Zenitsu returned to Zenitsu's place with the food they bought, and were making a salad. Zenitsu looked at the ring on her finger.
"A charm that can make dreams come true, eh?" Tanjiro thought. "He was a wonderful person. It's twinkling. To make my dream come true, I should keep pursuing it further."
"My dream..." Zenitsu thought. "Since my parents died early, I've been living on my own for a long time. I want to get married. I also really want to become a strong man like Tanjiro. And then to become stronger than Inosuke, too. I have lots of dreams. But those dreams... Have I been pursuing them?"
Xxx
"So you're telling me you cooked, Tanjiro?" Zenitsu said.
"Yes I did." Tanjiro said.
"I see," said Zenitsu. "Then what's going on?"
"This is that Amazon Stone. The ring's stone is a charm. Hey. It's pretty, but isn't it suspicious!? Getting a stone that looks this expensive for free." Tanjiro said.
"Tanjiro, can I keep this?" Zenitsu said.
"Right, right." Tanjiro said.
After he left, Zenitsu turned to the ring. "An Amazon Stone...?" She cracked the stone with a pair of pliers. "Looks like a normal stone, but... I'll leave it for a while and see..."
Xxx
Zenitsu headed over to see Taka.
"How are you doing going after your dreams?" Taka said.
Zenitsu looked down. "I can't really talk about it to my friends... I... have lots of dreams. But... I'm hesitant... Which path should I choose? I've always kept it buried inside me. My dreams... won't they come true? The path I'm taking now is in the opposite direction, I think-No, what am I saying?"
"If you're hesitant, will you quit?" Taka asked. "Fighting for Tanjiro?"
"What!?" Lemures begin to flow out from the ring on Zenitus's finger. "What!? These-! This ring! I can't take it off!?"
"These little incarnations of nightmares, the lemures, they want you, filled up with dreams. How would you like to join the Eclipse Circus, too? Let's spread nightmares around the world together." Taka said.
Ropes of energy tied around Zenitsu. The window blinds closed on the shop.
"How pitiful," Taka said.. "No one will come to save you now. Heh heh!" The ropes tighten around Zenitsu. She collapsed.
"I'm losing my strength..." she thought. "Sorry, everyone..."
Zenitsu opened his eyes and looks up. "This place..."
"My Warrior..." Kaguya called. "Without your strength and wisdom, who will protect me? Who will protect Nezuko and Tanjiro?
"That's right," thought Zenitsu. "I am a Warrior. I have many dreams, but my biggest dream now is to protect the ones I love. That is my mission!"
"That's the spirit, Warrior."
Zenitsu felt a wreath of laurel around her head.
"The emblem of thunder and lightning!" she thought. "Leaves of oak!" She ran at the enemies. "I'm going to expel you from this city! That time will be the time when you die! Thunder Breathing!"
The attack flew by them, cutting apart the flying hawk. The Herb Shop vanished. At that moment, Tanjiro and Nezuko appeared.
"It will be you who dies, Tanjiro Kamado." Muzan said.
"That man..." Zenitsu said.
Tanjiro heard a ringing sound. "A bell!" He said. "Kaguya!?" He took out the small bell. "Kaguya! Is she calling me from somewhere!?"
Suddenly Tanjiro choked and collapsed.
Lemures leapt from the air and attacked Tanjiro' chest.
Kaguya stepped from the same portal and tried to fight them off.
"Tanjiro!? Kaguya?!" Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Inosuke said.
Using their new powers, they destroyed the lemures.
"My Warrior..." gasped Kaguya. She collapsed on the floor.
"K-Kaguya..." Tanjiro caught her, clutching his chest. "She's been protecting me all this time...there are wounds all over her body..."
They saw the blood on Tanjiro' hands.
"Tanjiro!? Black blood!?" Nezuko stared at him.