Chapter Text
Warnings: A LOT of angst and a bit of violence.
Word Count: 3010
The sun had finally risen over the horizon and it seems that the battle had finally come to an end. The giant infant-like form of Muzan had finally disappeared, leaving the surrounding slayers devastated and wounded. "Lord Kamado! Lord Kamado!" One of the Kakushis yelled as they knelt down beside the form that was Tanjiro Kamado.
The young boy looked like he was on an unconscious state. His head was facing the ground as he sat on his knees. Tanjiro's remaining arm was limp as he sat there, back facing the sun. Giyuu Tomioka, who had also been severely injured along with many other slayers, took his place in front of the young boy.
"He's not breathing and he has no pulse!" The Kakushi yelled out in pain. Giyuu's eyes widened in horror when the news rang in his ears. The others around them weakly looked up at them with the same look of horror. Giyuu fell to his knees and took the remaining hand of the boy. "I've failed to protect you again...Forgive me." He lowered his head in shame. "I always receive protection from others.."
The dam had finally broke as everyone started to mourn Tanjiro's death. So many lives were lost during the final battle..so many..and his death was the straw that broke the camel's back. Inosuke and Zenitsu trudge their way towards the young slayer, tears filling their eyes.
Something rumbled within Tanjiro's body. He slowly started to lift his head up, but nobody noticed due to their grief. "In my place..you must destroy..the demon slayers!" Muzan's voice rang in Tanjiro's head as his wound healed and he opened his eyes. They were scarlet..just like Muzan's.
The young boy immediately swiped Giyuu away from him. The Water Hashira fell back, perplexed as to what was happening. Tanjiro jumped away from the group and roared ferociously. His arm had completely regenerated and he was snarling at them like a hungry beast!
"T..Tanjiro?" Giyuu spoke weakly as he looked upon the boy in absolute terror. Tanjiro raised his regenerated arm to his mouth, wiping off his saliva. "No way..Tanjiro?" Zenitsu winced as he was held up by a Kakushi. Inosuke stared at the boy in disbelief. Tanjiro looked straight at Zenitsu, eyes shining with hunger.
Off in the distance, Nezuko Kamado came running closer and closer to them. Her humanity was flickering within her. Due to Tamayo's medicine, her body was having a hard time deciding whether or not she was a demon or a human. Nonetheless, she was going to do what she had been doing for the past few years..Defend her brother.
"Oni-chan!" Nezuko called out to her brother as she steadily approached the scene. Tanjiro looked at her and snarled, causing the girl to yelp. "Get back!" Giyuu yelled as he picked up his sword, grunting as pain surged through his body.
Strangely, Tanjiro only stared at the young girl. He looked like he was dazed, like he had no thoughts behind his eyes. Then, the young boy cried out. His roar cut through the skies like a knife through butter. Tears flowed down his face as he struggled to speak. "Grr.ge..get..GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Everyone stopped and stared at him in disbelief. What was going on? Was he fighting back against Muzan's control? Tanjiro snarled as he looked for a way out. The young boy bolted directly for Nezuko. "No!" Inosuke yelled as he rushed to protect her. Nezuko covered herself with her arms, preparing for the attack.
But the demon did a strange thing. He jumped over both of them, using them as stepping stones, and ran off into the forest. Zenitsu struggled out of the Kakushi's grasp and landed on his knees. With tears filling his eyes, the blonde watched helplessly as Tanjiro ran. "TANJIRO!!" Zenitsu screamed in agony as the last glimpse of the young slayer disappeared.
The mess that the battle had left was extremely scarring. Many had died and needed to be buried. Kiriya and his sister, Kanata, came to assess the damage. "Where's young Kamado?" Kiriya asked tiredly as he walked over to where Muzan had been killed.
"He's gone.." Giyuu had fallen back on his knees, wiping tears from his eyes. "Gone? Do you mean..he's dead?" Kanata put her hand over her mouth, sickened. "No..He ran..He's.." Giyuu tried to mutter the awful terrible words. "He's a demon.."
Kiriya's eyes darkened as he felt shame overcome him, like a weight inside of his stomach. He shook his head to shake off any haunting thoughts, but it was to no avail. "Forgive me, Tomioka. The losses that have taken place in this battlefield..have destroyed us all.."
"We can't just sit here and wait for him to come back!" Zenitsu gritted his teeth, turning to face their leader. "We have to go search for him!" Everyone looked at him in awe. Even after all that fighting, he was still willing to get back up. "But we can't find him like this!" Nezuko cried out, knowing that they would all get killed.
"Miss Kamado is right." Kiriya inhaled, relief resting in his heart. "We will take you to the Butterfly Estate to heal and recover. In the time being, I will send out tracking teams to search for your friend." The young leader nodded to the crowd that had perched above them. They cawed before taking off to the woods where Tanjiro was last seen.
Everything looked like a haze to the young boy as he ran. His breathing was irregular and his heartbeat pounded within his chest. However, this was strange. Demons weren't supposed to breathe or have heartbeats. Tanjiro collapsed on the floor before roaring in anguish.
"Why are you fighting me, boy?" A familiar, demonic voice echoed through Tanjiro's mind. "Grrr..GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" The boy screeched, digging his sharp claws into the bark of a nearby tree. "You are mine, boy! You will fulfill my dream!"
Tanjiro then saw himself in the black and empty battlefield. There was nothing here, no movement, no light, no sound, nothing. "Is this my mind?" Tanjiro asked himself as he looked up. The boy's eyes widened when he saw Muzan in his final form. The demon king was panting, tired from the war. "You..will be..MINE!"
His ferocious whips went straight in for the kill. Tanjiro thought he was helpless. There was no one here who could help him. However, he noticed how the whips were much slower than they were and took a fight stance. With great precision and strength, Tanjiro deflected the sharp whips.
Muzan's eyes widened in shock before quickly reverted back to a furious expression. "So this is how you want to be..fine!" Muzan flung his whips more and more at the young boy, but it didn't seem to do any good. Tanjiro quickly deflected the whips and only edged closer to Muzan. "I'm not giving up my body to you!"
Days passed without a hint of Tanjiro's whereabouts. Everyone at the Butterfly Estate started to grow weary as more and more time passed. Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi tried their best to raise everyone's spirits. Even Aoi tried making a special feast to relieve their tension, but nothing worked.
Inosuke usually passed the time by wandering around the mansion or training, but he didn't speak a word. For the boar, this was incredibly worrisome. Normally, he couldn't stay quiet, but the disappearance of his friend..seemed to break him.
Zenitsu ended up taking Tanjiro's disappearance the worst though. He usually had the door to his temporary room locked. He hardly ever came out to interact with the world around him, so much so that he began to starve himself, saying "It just doesn't feel the same without him here."
Nezuko tried her best to help everyone's spirits alongside the girls, but her efforts failed. Her body was still teeter tottering between being a demon or a human, which exhausted the poor girl. She mourned for her brother every night that he wasn't there to hold her hand. Nezuko often wondered if this pain would ever end.
After three days of Tanjiro's absence, a crow flew by the Butterfly Estate. Since everyone was waiting impatiently for any news, they noticed the bird immediately. "Caw! Caw!" The bird screeched. "The master has news! The master has news!" Aoi opened the front door of the mansion and let the bird rest on her shoulder.
"What's the news?" Aoi asked tiredly. She felt drained like all the others, but she did get a small sense of hope. "There haven't been any unexplained human deaths in the past three days! Caw!" Aoi's eyes widened. "There..there hasn't?"
Unbeknownst to her, Nezuko was listening intently from the right hallway. All she wanted was just a little bit of good news about her brother. She craned her neck closer, intrigued by the bird's words.
"That is correct! Young Kamado's whereabouts are still unknown, but the tracking teams are working hard to find him!" The crow cawed as it preened its wing. "I see..thank you." Aoi's voice sounded both relieved and anxious. She was glad that no more had died, but she was still deeply worried about Tanjiro.
"Rumor has it that he's fighting back for control of his body! Caw!" Aoi looked at the crow with a dull expression. "Do you think he'll succeed?" She asked. "Beats me!" The crow shook his wings and flew off into the sky. "Well, that was helpful."
Nezuko couldn't believe what she just heard. The fact that her brother hasn't eaten in days both worries her, yet relieved her. She was glad to know that her brother was fighting for his body, but she was also terrified for him. She shook her head and immediately ran off to see Zenitsu.
Everything in the mansion felt cold and dead as Nezuko ran past it all. She stuck out like a warm color on a painting of the ocean. She halted once she reached Zenitsu's door and knocked lightly. "Who is it?" A tired and empty voice called to her. "It's me, Zenitsu." Light footsteps could be heard from the other side before the door lock clicked open.
Zenitsu looked at Nezuko with a deadpan stare as he opened the door. The poor child had severe bags under his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep, and he looked like he lost a few pounds. "Nezuko, is something wrong?" The young girl shook her head. "Not with me."
"What do you mean by that?" He tilted his head slightly, perplexed. Nezuko sighed then forcefully entered the dark room. "Hey! I-" Zenitsu protested against this, but quickly realized that there was no use. The room was almost completely dark. It was a wonder how he could even see in here.
Papers littered the hardwood floor, making the floor appear nonexistent. However, the letters by Zenitsu's mangled up futon caught her attention. The young girl went over to the ratted futon and picked up a rather nicely written letter. It was from her brother..
Tanjiro had sent this letter to Zenitsu when he was training at the Swordsmith Village. This one in particular was about Tanjiro's curiosity about Genya. Tear marks stained the paper, forever etched like time. Nezuko turned sympathetically back to see the blonde, who was fiddling with his haori sleeves nervously. "Zen.."
"I-I'm sorry, Nezuko." Zenitsu's golden eyes couldn't contain the sorrow he felt any longer. The blonde fell to his knees and sobbed into his hands. Nezuko immediately rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around him like a mother. "It's okay, Zenitsu. I miss him too." She tried to speak soothingly, choking back tears of her own.
"They're going to kill him, Nezuko! I know it!" Zenitsu sobbed into her chest. "Once they find him, they're going to kill him!" Nezuko's expression only softened even more. "Zenitsu, what makes you think that they'll kill him?" The blonde looked up at her, golden eyes flowing like waterfalls. "You saw what happened to him! He's a demon! He's probably killed over fifty people by now!"
Nezuko shook her head. "No, Zenitsu. He hasn't killed anyone." The young girl wiped away some of his tears. "What do you mean?" Zenitsu asked in a confused tone. "Well, a crow came by earlier today and told Aoi that there haven't been any unexpected human deaths as of recent."
"Really?" Zenitsu sniffled. "Do you think that.." He cut himself off before he finished the sentence. Zenitsu didn't really believe that Tanjiro could conquer Muzan's control completely on his own. "He might be able to, Zenitsu. We don't know for sure, but I have a good feeling about this." Nezuko disagreed.
Zenitsu looked around at the messy, dark room. He breathed deeply and looked back at Nezuko. "Don't worry." Nezuko smiled reassuringly. "We'll bring him home." Zenitsu returned the smile. "Alright." Nezuko took his hand gently and helped him out of his cage.
The endless fighting was beginning to wear on both Muzan and Tanjiro. They grew more exhausted with every whip and slash they threw at each other. As the time passed, Muzan only grew more agitated. "How dare you resist me?! I can make you immortal!" Muzan roared ferociously as he flung three spiked whips at the slayer.
"That's at the cost of human life! I'd rather die than kill anyone else!" Tanjiro yelled as the whips wrapped around his sword. Muzan tightened them, hoping to break his sword. However, this action failed and the whips only turned to dust. "What?!" The demon king roared, enraged.
This gave Tanjiro the opportunity to attack. He quickly ran towards the demon king, sword aiming at his neck. Solar flames burned from the sword as it sliced Muzan from the crook of his neck and down to his belly. "Crap!" Tanjiro gritted his teeth as he jumped back. "Grrragh!" Muzan growled in pain as he gripped his chest.
"You will pay for this.." Muzan snarled as he tried to run at Tanjiro. The young slayer prepared for an attack...when Muzan's feet turned to dust underneath him. The demon king fell with a grunt at Tanjiro's feet. He sat himself up on his elbows and looked back to see his body turning to dust.
"What did you do to me?!" Muzan roared angrily, trying to swipe at Tanjiro's ankles. The young slayer quickly backed away when a sudden chill filled the air around them. Metal scraping the floor could be heard in the distance. Tanjiro looked around the empty, black environment for the source of the sound.
Muzan's eyes widened in pure terror. "No! NO! I'm still fighting! I'm not done yet!" The demon king wasn't yelling at Tanjiro, but to whatever was in the distance. "What's happening?" Tanjiro asked himself. This was all too confusing for him.
"He's come for me.."
Four hooks, that seemed to be on chains, emerged from the darkness and pierced the demon king right in the chest. Muzan screeched as he tried to claw away to safety, but it was no use. Tanjiro fell back, watching the gruesome scene. He looked up to try to see what this thing was.
All he could see was a bright, blinding red light. The chains started to retreat back into the darkness, dragging Muzan with them. The demon king screamed as he was being dragged away and he left claw marks from when he was trying to escape.
Muzan's screaming was cut off as soon as he wasn't visible. Tanjiro gasped in horror, having no clue what he just witnessed. Ash flew by the young slayer as he stood up and looked directly in the red light. The light then started to envelop the environment. Tanjiro tried to cover his eyes from the blinding light, but it quickly overcame him.
The young slayer's eyes flickered open as he woke up. The sun was shining brightly upon him and he put his hand up to block it. "Wha-what happened?" Tanjiro said softly to himself as he tried to regain his balance.
He stood up and immediately hit his head on a thick tree branch. "Ow.." Tanjiro rubbed his head. He looked around his surroundings. The young slayer quickly found himself next to an abandoned shed and a small pond on the outskirts of a nearby town.
"I..I need to get back." Tanjiro panted weakly as he turned to run back. However, the tired boy only tripped over his feet and nearly fell into the pond. "That was a close on-" Tanjiro stated at his reflection. Instead of seeing a scar where his right eye was poisoned, he saw two scarlet demon eyes staring back at him.
Tanjiro yelped and fell backwards. He crawled away from the reflection as if it were a vicious beast. This can't be happening! This must be a dream! The young slayer raised his hand and felt around his upper jaw. Low and behold, he felt two small fangs where his human canines should've been.
The young slayer's head felt like it was spinning. He couldn't believe what was happening! Was he really a demon? If so, why isn't he attacking everything around him? He tried to stand up once again, almost tripping on the same branch he hit..and must've broken.
Tanjiro leaned against the shed for support. He looked at the rusted door..which he was taller than? There's no way he should be taller than a door! Granted, it wasn't one of the common sliding doors, but it was still a door! His breathing only grew heavier with each passing second.
Wait, breathing? Demons weren't supposed to breathe! Tanjiro put his index finger on the bottom of his wrist. There he felt..a pulse! What was going on? What happened when Muzan was defeated? He had no clue. Tanjiro raised his hands in front of his face, seeing sharp demon claws on every callused finger.
"What am I?"