"Family? What's that?!" the masked teen asked in confusion. "Huh? You don't know what a family is?" Tanjiro asked, momentarily distracted from his anger. "So you're that Ranjiro guy this weakling was talking about, huh? You're pretty strong! Let's fight Ranjiro!" the other Demon Slayer cried. "It's Tanjiro, and no. I'm not going to fight you. Demon Slayers aren't allowed to fight each other" Tanjiro replied. "Huh?! What do you mean?! We need to find out who's better, so one of us can become the leader, that's how it works Ranjiro!" "Not in the Demon Slayer Corps," the Kamado replied calmly, as he walked over to Zenitsu, "are you alright?" he asked kindly.
The blonde burst into tears, "Tanjiro! It was so scary! I was just waiting out here, minding my own business, when that guy ran out of the house and started attacking! H-he went for your cart, so I tried to stop him, but then he started beating me up! And it really hurt!"Zenitsu wailed. Tanjiro's eyes widened, before he smiled softly, "you protected the boxes for me? Thank you Zenitsu" he said gratefully. "Hey! We're fighting Monjiro!" the other teen yelled, angry at being ignored. "No we're not" Tanjiro replied calmly, taking Hanako and Shigeru's box from the cart, as Kyoshi, Shoichi and Teruko embraced each other, crying in relief.
Tanjiro placed the box down in front of his younger Siblings, who began to shrink and climb inside, and Tanjiro looked up at the other three Siblings and smiled, glad that he was able to reunite them. After Hanako and Shigeru were safely back in their box, Tanjiro closed the door and placed it back in the cart. The he went to check on Zenitsu, "I mean it. Thank you so much for protecting them all for me" Tanjiro replied. Zenitsu lit up, "uh, y-you're welcome Tanjiro!" he replied. Tanjiro turned to the children, "I'm sorry to have to ask you this, since we've only just gotten out of the house, but could you help us bury the bodies inside?" he asked gently, placing his hands on their shoulders.
The three Siblings nodded, "we can" Kyoshi agreed. "Don't ignore me damn it!" the angry teen yelled. "Tanjiro didn't give the other any attention as they worked to bring all the remaining corpses outside and bury them in front of the building. Eventually the boar-headed teen decided that he might get attention if he did what the others were, and dragged the bodies out of the house. Finally they'd finished. Tanjiro turned and smiled at the other Demon Slayer, "thank you for helping us with that. What's your name?" he asked kindly.
"Huh? It's Inosuke Hashibira! And I buried more bodies than you, so that makes me the winner Ranjiro!" the other teen, now named Inosuke exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips and cackling. Tanjiro nodded, "you sure did Inosuke! Thank you for your help" he said gratefully. "Caw! Descend the mountain! Descend the mountain!" Tanjiro's Crow cried. "That Crow is talking" Shoichi said blankly. "This is all a bit too much" Kiyoshi added. Soon the group was heading back down and away from the house.
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"Hey Monjiro! Fight me!" Inosuke demanded. "We have to find somewhere to rest for the night Inosuke" Tanjiro replied. The three children had since left to go home, after Tanjiro's Crow had given them a pouch of Wisteria to protect them on their journey. Zenitsu groaned in annoyance at the constant yelling of the other teen. Tanjiro wanted to check on the rest of his family, but the sun was still out, if going down. So he decided to wait for now.
Tanjiro's crow led them to a house with a Wisteria Crest on the wall above the door. "Caw! It's time to rest! It's time to rest! Here we are!" he declared. The door slid open to reveal an old woman. "Hello?" she asked. "That old lady didn't even make a sound!" Zenitsu whimpered. Inosuke walked up to her, "who are you?!" he demanded. "Stop it!" Tanjiro scolded. "Can I assume that you are all Demon Slayers?" the old woman asked them. "Yes Ma'am" Tanjiro replied politely. "Please come with me" she said. Tanjiro picked up his Mother and Rokuta's box and put it on his back.
Despite looking slightly wary, Zenitsu joined him and ended up grabbing Takeo and Shigru's box. Tanjiro also grabbed Nezuko and Hanako's. "Are you ready now?" the woman asked them. "We are, thank you" Tanjiro said with a grateful smile.
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They were led inside and given new clothes to wear, while theirs were washed. "Your meal is ready Gentlemen" the old woman said. "She's too fast! She must be a mon-" Zenitsu began to freak out, but Tanjiro smacked him on the head, "stop that!" he exclaimed. As they were eating, Inosuke shoved his Tempura in his mouth with his hands. Zenitsu had been pretty shocked about the other teen's appearance, but had since calmed down.
'It's been a while since I shared a meal with more than one person,' Tanjiro thought with a soft smile, before glancing over at his family's boxes, 'I can't wait to sit down with my family and eat Mom's cooking again. I'll turn them all back soon'.
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After eating, the Wisteria House's Doctor checked the three of them over. "Well, two of you have broken ribs, but yours are only cracked Kamado" he explained. Soon the three Demon Slayers were in their Futons. There was a moment of silence before Zenitsu sat up, "Tanjiro, I have to ask this. Why are you travelling with all those Demons?" he asked quietly. Tanjiro was silent for a moment longer before he spoke up softly: "they're my family" he replied. Zenitsu turned to look at him. "Two years ago, my family was attacked by the Demon King. He turned them into Demons, but they fought him. And they also protected me. They've never tried to eat anyone. I'm going to protect all of them, and find a cure to make my family human again. No matter what it takes.
The fact that you knew there were Demons in the boxes and you still protected them- I'm grateful Zenitsu. Thank you so much" Tanjiro said gratefully. He looked over at the blonde teen upon hearing him sniffling. He found Zenitsu to be crying, "that's so, beautiful. My family abandoned me as soon as they could. I don't even remember them. But you all love each other so much, enough that your family fought off their Demonic instincts- it really is so beautiful Tanjiro!" Zenitsu sobbed. Suddenly one of the boxes opened.
The Blonde tried to stay calm, but his fear took over, and he hid behind Tanjiro, "are you sure they don't hurt humans?" he whimpered. "I'm sure" Tanjiro assured, looking over to the box as his Mother and Rokuta crawled out of it. "Hi Mom. Hy Rokuta. I'm glad that you're both okay" Tanjiro said softly. The Demon toddler squealed and ran over to him. "Hi Rokuta. You were a very good boy today" Tanjiro said, cuddling his baby Brother close. Zenitsu watched as Kie walked over to her Son's as well. She hugged both of them, humming happily.
Then she pulled back and looked him over for injuries. "I'm okay Mom, Hanako and Shigeru protected me" he assured her. After that, she went to check the two younger Demons, letting the rest of her children out as she did so. Zenitsu was visibly uncomfortable being surrounded by so many Demons, but he started to relax as he saw that most of them were children as well. However, he froze when Nezuko crawled out and grew back to her normal size. He seemed dumbfounded. "I'll introduce you Zenitsu. This is my Mother Kie, my little Sister's Nezuko and Hanako, and my little Brother's, Takeo, Shigeru and Rokuta. Yes, they're all Demons, and no, none of them harm humans" Tanjiro explained.
The younger Demon children moved to curl up around their Oldest Brother, while Kie took Tanjiro's hair out of it's ponytail and ran her clawed fingers through it gently. "Thank you Mom" he said quietly so as not to wake hi Brother's and Sister. Tanjiro then noticed Zenitsu giving Nezuko a loving look. He frowned, "Zenitsu, leave Nezuko alone please" he asked. "But, she's so pretty and cute! And gentle and kind, unlike every other Demon I've seen. You're family's sounds, are so beautiful and gentle. Just like yours Tanjiro. I've never heard anything like it from humans, much less from Demons.
I think, I want to know more about you all. Will you let me go with you Tanjiro?" Zenitsu asked softly. Tanjiro looked over the other teen, sniffing. Zenitsu's scent was pure. "Alright, only if you tell no one about my family. I've worked so hard to help create a cure for them, I can't lose anyone now" Tanjiro replied. The blonde nodded rapidly, "of course I won't Tanjiro! And I'll try to help you if I can!" he replied. Tanjiro smiled at him, "I knew it. You're a kind person. Brave too" he said. Suddenly the other Demon Slayer's face fell, "I'm not strong or brave. Give me a break" Zenitsu replied blankly.
The burgundy-haired teen shook his head, "I have a good sense of smell, so I knew from the start. Besides, you tried so hard to protect my family before, despite how beat up you got. If that's not brave, I don't know what is" Tanjiro replied. Zenitsu looked down, before closing his eyes, "let's get some sleep now, okay?" the Kamado asked softly, before getting comfortable in his Futon.
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The next few weeks passed quickly for Tanjiro and his family, and slow for the other two Demon Slayers. After Tanjiro's cracked ribs healed, he left with his family on more missions. Then one day, Tanjiro got a particular mission. "Head to Mount Natagumo! Caw! Hurry!" his Crow demanded. "Okay, I'm going, don't worry" Tanjiro replied. Once he arrived, he found Zenitsu and Inosuke waiting for him. The blonde was struggling to hold Inosuke back from rushing up the mountain. "Just wait! We can't go up there all by ourselves! We'll die!" Zenitsu cried. "You might, but I'm the King of the mountain Monjiro! There's nothin' in there that scares me!" Inosuke yelled back.
"Oh! Hold on Inosuke, I'm here now!" Tanjiro called, hurrying up with his cart. Suddenly he froze, staring up at the mountain. "Those scents" Tanjiro muttered. "Huh? What is it?" Zenitsu asked. Tanjiro frowned, 'I can smell at least three distinct Demon scents. And they're all at least similar to Muzan's,' he thought, clenching his fists in determination, 'that means that members of the 12 Kizuki are here' he thought.