(Real world)
And Tanjiro screamed as he shot up in his seat. He panted, and held his neck, "that worked. I'm still alive!" he gasped. Rokuta was crying and crawled onto his lap. "Rokuta. Are you guys okay? Nezuko? Are you hurt?" Tanjiro asked his little Sister. Nezuko covered her forehead with both hands. Takeo growled up at the ceiling of the train. Tanjiro stood up with Rokuta in his arms, "the Demon is up there? Wait, this scent-" he pulled his ticket out of his Uniform pocket and sniffed it. "This is it! so we were put to sleep when these were punched" Tanjiro realised.
He looked around, seeing Kyojuro holding a girl by the throat. "What?" he asked, confused. Tanjiro looked down at his wrist, seeing a bunt rope tied around it. "This rope-" Tanjiro muttered, sniffing it, "it smells the same as the ticket! Did the Demon make this too?" he asked himself. Examining it, Tanjiro saw that it had been singed off. "Nezuko burned it off with her Blood Demon Art" he said, remembering the pink flames that had engulfed him in his dream. "Can you burn the other rope?" Tanjiro asked his little Sister. Nezuko nodded, and he and his other two Siblings watched as she went over to Kyojuro.
Slicing her palm with her claws, Nezuko rubbed her blood on the rope around Kyojuro's wrist. It burst into flames, burning away ass it did. The Flame Hashira dropped the girl, as he slumped back into his seat. "Mr Kyojuro! Wake up!" Tanjiro called, reaching for the man. Before he could touch him though, the girl who had been being held by the other Hashira lunged at him with something that looked like an ice pick. Tanjiro dodged, while Takeo growled at her. She coughed, but looked angry, "you're interfeing! Now that *cough* you two are here, he won't give us any happy dreams! *gasp*" the girl yelled.
Tanjiro stared at her. She looked exhausted, pale and with dark bags under her eyes. Her hand trembled around the pick. She then turned to look at the young man who had been sitting in the seat behind him, "hey! Get off your ass and help me! I don't care if you have Tuberculosis! If you don't help me I'll tell him, and then he won't give you any dreams!" the girl yelled. Tanjiro stared at the other boy in sadness, 'was he attached to my dream? He's really sick. And the Demon was forcing him to do this by promising him happy dreams? How cruel!' he thought.
The girl yelled and charged him. Tanjiro dodged the amateur attack, and hit her on the back of the neck. The girl was knocked unconscious, falling to the ground. Tanjiro turned to look at Rokuta and Nezuko as the Demon toddler clung to him, and Nezuko walked up to stand next to him. Takeo growled at the pale boy, but Tanjiro pat him on the head, distracting him. "Are you alright" he asked the young man. The other remembered what he had experienced Tanjiro's dream, after reaching his subconscious mind. Little light creatures made from the teens Soul had guided him through a beautiful world with a blue sky with a few clouds.
The floor had been clear water, and the creatures had led him to Tanjiro's Spiritual Core. It had looked like the sun, shining down on the clear water. He had collapsed in tears, unable to harm the boy who had shown him so much kindness, despite the fact that he was essentially trying to kill him. He opened his eyes with a small smile, "I am now. Please be careful" he replied. Tanjiro gave him a soft, kind smile, "you too" he said. The Kamado turned to his Siblings, "okay Nezuko, you stay here and try to wake Mr Kyojuro up. Takeo, back her up in case the Demon tries anything. Rokuta, you can come with me" Tanjiro said.
He put his baby Brother on his back, "alright, be careful you two!" Tanjiro said, running down the train.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Tanjiro slid open the car door. He covered his nose, "that's definitely a 12 Kizuki! I have to kill it quickly, and hopefully get a blood sample" he said to himself. Tanjiro climbed onto the roof, being careful because of Rokuta's added weight. That's when he saw the Demon. It was a young man in a suit. He turned to look at the Brother's. "So, you're awake now? Good morning!" the other Demon, whose eyes said Lower 1, said cheerfully. "Why are you awake? Wasn't your dream of your family never having become Demons, and living happily and peacefully everything you wanted?" the Demon asked.
Tanjiro clenched his fist around his Sword handle. "if I so wished it, it could have been a nightmare where your family was being slaughtered in front of you. Would you have liked that one better?" Rokuta started growling. "Of course not, much too distressing. Oh, here's an idea! A dream where you dear Father comes back to life" the Lower 1 said with a smile. Tanjiro drew his Sword, "trespassing on one's Soul is something I won't allow! I will kill you no matter what!" he cried furiously.
The Demon smiled, "my Lord wants you and your family of traitors dead. Once I have killed you all, he'll give me more blood, so I can challenge an Upper Rank! And you, dear children, aren't going to get in my way". Tanjiro sucked in a deep Total Concentration breath, 'Hinokami Kagura: Setting Sun Transformation!' he thought, running forwards and slashing at the Demon. He dodged the attack by jumping up in the air. 'He's flexible' Tanjiro thought. However, Rokuta leapt towards him, propelling himself from Tanjiro's shoulder and used his Blood Demon Art. The Lower 1's eyes widened, as the ball of energy hit him and sent him flying into the distance.
Then the ball exploded. "ROKUTA!" Tanjiro screamed, running towards his baby Brother as he fell through the air, away from the train. Suddenly there was a flash of flames, and Kyojuro landed on top of the train with the little Demon in his arms. "Oh my God! Rokuta! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Don't do that again, you almost fell off the train!" Tanjiro cried frantically, taking the three-year-old from the Flame Hashira. "Thank you so much!" Tanjiro thanked the man profusely, clutching his baby Brother close in his arms.
"It's no problem! You and your family were recognised by the Master, so I couldn't let little Rokuta be lost!" Kyojuro replied. Suddenly the whole train rocked. "What was that?!" Tanjiro demanded, eyes wide. Flesh grew and spread over the train. "That smells like Demon flesh!" he cried in shock. "The Demon must have merged with the train! So little Rokuta's attack, though powerful, didn't actually kill him!" Kyojuro replied. "The passengers will be in danger! We have to get back down there!" Tanjiro said worriedly.
"Right! I will handle the rear five cars, while your Sister and other Brother take care of the rest. I need you to find the Demons head and kill him!" Kyojuro ordered. "Right! let's go Rokuta!" Tanjiro said, swinging down to a window and crashing through it. He saw more Demon flesh engulfing the inside of the train. Tanjiro sliced through some flesh tendrils as they reached for the passengers. Rokuta blocked an attack, then formed his Reflection Ball. It was noticeably smaller than the other's he had used before.
Shooting it at the tendrils caused them to crumble to ash. "Amazing Rokuta! Thank you for your help!" Tanjiro called, slicing through two more tendril with his Sword. He took a deep breath, 'Hinokami Kagura: Raging Sun!' two arcs of Sunlit slashes cut through the flesh. Rokuta jumped and ran through the train cart, slashing and biting the flesh tendrils with his claws and fangs. The Toddler Demon's small size allowed him to move through the cramped space easily and swiftly.
Tanjiro and Rokuta kept the tendrils away from the sleeping passengers as they ran through the train. "We have to find the Demons head! Otherwise this will never end!" Tanjiro groaned. Rokuta nodded in understanding. "I think it's somewhere in the front of the train. Let's go!" Tanjiro said.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Nezuko and Takeo were working together to protect the humans. Takeo's Blood Demon Art was very helpful with that. He was able to catch any tendrils that targeted a sleeping human due to his speed. Nezuko rushed through, splashing her blood on all the tendrils, burning them away. The Siblings moved onto the next car, knowing that this one would be fine for a while.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Tanjiro and Rokuta ran through the train cars, reaching the front quickly. "This is it, I'm sure" Tanjiro said. He and his baby Brother entered the Locomotive. "What are you doing!? Leave this area!" the Engineer demanded. "I'm sorry, but we have important work to do! It's going to get dangerous here soon, pleas move away!" Tanjiro ordered, holding up his Sword. He looked down at the floor of the compartment, 'it's here. Right underneath.' Tanjiro raised his Sword. 'Hinokami Kagura: Dance!' as he cut through the floor, he saw it. "This is- his neck bone!" Tanjiro said.
'He really did fuse with the train itself. I have to cut through this!' he thought. Before he could try, a pillar of flesh burst up through the ground, making Tanjiro leap backwards to dodge it. Rokuta snarled at it. "Why would it make a pillar-" Tanjiro began to ask himself, before multiple eyes opened on the pillar, all with the Kanji for 'Dream' on them. They flashed, and Tanjiro felt himself fall asleep again-he woke up instantly, having cut his neck in the dream once again. "Rokuta!" Tanjiro called, as the flesh moved towards his sleeping baby Brother, ready to absorb him. Tanjiro jumped in front of him protectively, and sliced the tendril in half.
He picked up the Demon toddler, "Rokuta! Rokuta, wake up!" Tanjiro cried. Rokuta stayed fast asleep. "Damn!" Tanjiro growled, dodging all of the attacks the flesh tried. 'How do I wake Rokuta up?' he wondered, being forced to dodge more attacks while clutching his baby Brother. Another flash plunged Tanjiro into a dream.
(Tanjiro's nightmare)
He was about to cut his neck to wake himself up, only to find himself standing in front of his old house. The smell of blood was strong and coming from inside. Tanjiro knew this was a dream, but he couldn't stop himself from sliding the door open. He gasped in utter horror. His family were all lying on the floor of their house, practically torn to pieces. He stared and stared, but they weren't getting up. why weren't they getting up?! They weren't dead! They weren't! Tanjiro breathed shakily, but clenched his fist around his Sword handle. He cut through his neck quickly-
(Real world)
Tanjiro gasped, eyes snapping open. "Okay! I can still wake myself up!" he said to himself. He was forced to grab Rokuta from where he'd fallen onto the ground when he had fallen asleep, as the flesh tried to absorb him. "HANDS OFF MY BABY BROTHER!" He snarled furiously. Tanjiro quickly tied Rokuta to his back so that he could keep fighting. 'I have to kill this Demon quickly! Come on Tanjiro! You can do this!' he thought. More tendrils launched at them, and Tanjiro quickly sliced through them.
"How am I supposed to do this? The wound from before is already closed up!" he wondered in frustration.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
(Rokuta's dream)
Mama was holding him and singing. His older Siblings were playing together in the yard. He felt safe and happy. "Rokuta" a familiar voice said. The three-year-old opened his eyes to see- "Papa!" Rokuta squealed excitedly, reaching for him. Mama handed him to Papa, and he snuggled into his soft clothes happily. Papa cradled him, "Rokuta, you have to wake up" Papa said gently. The boy looked up at his Father, "Papa?" he asked in confusion. "Tanjiro needs you. You have to wake up Rokuta" he said. Rokuta closed his eyes, 'Tanjiro'.
(Real world)
Rokuta gasped as he woke up, his bright red eyes welling up with tears, "Papa" he said softly. He looked down at the neck, and made his decision. "Rokuta! You're awake!" Tanjiro said in relief. He looked back at where the neck bone was covered by the Demon's flesh, "I'm sorry. I can't get to the bone and cut it with just one attack. And he heals so fast!" Tanjiro said in annoyance. Rokuta put his hands together in front of him, and Tanjiro gasped as he saw his baby Brother forming his Blood Demon Art again. "Oh!" he gasped, before jumping in the air as Rokuta shot off his attack.
As the neck was vaporised, the train started to crash. Tanjiro barely managed to land back on it and grab onto a bar, before the whole thing tipped over. Tanjiro held onto the bar for dear life to keep from getting thrown away. Finally, the train skidded to a stop on it's side. Tanjiro jumped down from the train and ran back to the carriages. "Guys! Is everyone okay?!" he cried. Nezuko and Takeo crawled out of the shattered windows, pieces of glass being pushed out of their skin as their injures healed. "Nezuko! Takeo!" Tanjiro cried in relief, hugging both of them close.
Kyojuro walked over to them, "so, you killed the Demon then! Good job you two!" he said to Tanjiro and Rokuta. Then he turned to Nezuko and Takeo, "and you as well. Thank you both for helping me protect the human passengers! All three of you are Demon Slayers in my eyes!" the Flame Hashira proclaimed. "Oh!" Tanjiro gaped, running over to the Demon's disintegrating flesh. He gathered a blood sample before it could fully fade away. "Meow" Chachamaru meowed as the cat suddenly appeared among the wreck of the train. "Here you go. Thank you" Tanjiro said gratefully, putting the syringe into the cat's bag.
Then it turned and vanished. "Well! I've seen and cat that appear and disappear. Is it a Demon?!" Kyojuro asked in interest. "Not really. It's a bit hard to explain" Tanjiro replied. Takeo brought over their box after pulling it out of the wreck. "Thank you Takeo. You all did amazing" Tanjiro said, patting him on the head. The Demon boy huffed, but didn't move away. "So! There are many who are injured, but none fatally. I am going to summon the Kakushi to retrieve the passengers and treat them as soon as possible. Are you hurt Kamado?" Kyojuro asked.
"No, I'm fine, thank you for asking" Tanjiro replied. "Right then, let's get going" the Flame Hashira said. As Nezuko, Takeo and Rokuta climbed back into their box, Tanjiro looked over the toppled train with a frown, "are you sure it's fine to leave everything like this?" he asked. "Well, we don't have enough medical experience to do much besides First-Aid. It's better to leave that for the professionals to handle. Are you ready to go?" Kyojuro asked. "I am" Tanjiro nodded. "Right. Let's go. The closest Wisteria House is this way" The Flame Hahira said, leading him away. Tanjiro couldn't help but look back at the crashed train in worry.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Tanjiro couldn't help the feeling of unease that gripped him all the way to the Wisteria House. His Siblings were on edge as well. Something was about to happen. Suddenly a powerful presence washed over them. Nezuko, Takeo and Rokuta burst out of the box, veins bulged in fury, as a new Demon stepped into the open. He was pale grey, with bright pink hair, navy blue lines all over his body and yellow eyes. And in his eyes, was the Kanji for Upper Rank 3. Both Tanjiro and Kyojuro moved for their blades. "So, these are the Kamado's that I was told about" the Demon said. His eyes trailed to Kyojuro, "you, what's your name?" he asked in interest. "When meeting someone, you're supposed to introduce yourself first" Tanjiro said firmly.
"I am Akaza. You're pretty strong too, but not as much as you could be. It's too bad, you're nowhere near peak level" the Upper 3 replied. "Do not insult him. This boy is also a Hashira!" Kyojuro announced. "Oh? I see. Well then, maybe he will become someone interesting one day" Akaza replied. "I am the Flame Hashira. Kyojuro Rengoku" Kyojuro introduced himself seriously. "Kyojuro, Hashira boy. Let me tell you why, despite being Hashira, your strength is not enough. Because you're mearly humans. If you became Demons, you could better yourselves for another hundred, or even two hundred years. Kamado, you could even live together with your family. I'm sure I could convince Lord Muzan to let you all live if you agree to serve him. Instead you will grow old and die one day" Akaza said.
Tanjiro glared at the Demon, "that monster attacked my family and tried to kill them! Now they're not even human anymore! I will become stronger to protect my family, and turn them back into humans again. And I will do it as a human. That's the reason I have become strong. I'm going live and die together with them as humans!" he proclaimed. "Well said Tanjiro. Weather we die or not, as long as we protect others, then it does not matter!" Kyojuro agreed. Takeo, Nezuko and Rokuta climbed out of the box again and stepped forwards then, growling angrily.
"Guys be careful!" Tanjiro called. This was the strongest Demon they'd fought since Muzan himself, but back then his family were all together. They didn't have Hanako's support this time, or Shigeru's bone attacks. "So, these are some of the Demons Lord Muzan told me about. I can tell they're powerful, but not enough to defeat me" Akaza said. Then Nezuko started growing, and Tanjiro could sense her power increasing. She took on the same adult form she used to fight Muzan. Takeo grew his flowers on the backs of his arms and legs.
And Rokuta growled furiously at the other Demon. They could sense just of how much of Muzan's blood was in this new enemy. It infuriated the Demon children. Tanjiro prepared himself. His first battle with an Upper Rank Demon was about to begin.