Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 16

The commotion woke Tanjiro up as he looked around and his eyes widened with joy upon seeing the Slayer already awake. The boy cried out to the Doom Slayer, "You're awake! What a relief. I freaked out when you lost consciousness out of nowhere. We had to carry you back along with Mister Rengoku." The warrior didn't say anything to Tanjiro, moving to get up from the bed and fighting the soreness. It was extremely annoying, it honestly reminded him of when he woke up from the sarcophagus when his muscle atrophy slowed him down. "Did you really manage to kill all of the demons by yourself?"

The Hellwalker looked back at Tanjiro, his fierce gaze clashing with Tanjiro's softer gaze. Tanjiro got the message and continued, "I see. That Akaza guy was really strong, he almost killed Mister Rengoku if you didn't save him. But I do wonder what happened in his life to make him that way. He sounds like he's had it rough."

The Slayer commented, "What?" Both Rengoku and Tanjiro were surprised to hear the warrior's voice as they got used to his silence. Tanjiro shook off the surprise and elaborated:

"I mean, Akaza was talking about the weak and he seemed to have a disdain for them. I'm just wondering-"

He was cut off by the Slayer who's voice became significantly colder in tone, "Are you showing sympathy for a demon?" Tanjiro's fear kicked in, making him choke on his own words as he barely answered:

"Y-y-yeah…?" The warrior got up from the bed so quickly it shocked both Tanjiro and Rengoku. The boy could smell the scent of rage growing stronger than the smell of blood on the Hellwalker's armor. It reached a boiling point as the Slayer whipped around angrily, raising his voice slightly louder than usual:

"You don't show sympathy for a demon!" Tanjiro quivered from the Slayer's tone, he was feeling the same way he did back at Mount Natagumo when the Slayer found out Nezuko was a demon. "So many people have lost their lives thanks to these demons and you show them sympathy for it? Are you justifying their mindless slaughter? All they do is kill, they don't care about your feelings. Akaza almost killed him." As he pointed to Rengoku to indicate who he was referring to, "And you want to show sympathy? When you almost died back at that mountain, did you show sympathy to the person who was going to kill you?!" Tanjiro leaned back because he was frightened by the Slayer's outburst, almost at the verge of tears. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind about your sister. I won't acknowledge anyone who shows remorse for a demon."

Tanjiro sniffled, unable to maintain eye contact with the warrior as he got up and walked away, rubbing his arm against his teary eyes to dry them. The Slayer stayed true to his word and didn't budge as the boy walked past him. An awkward silence developed, compelling Rengoku to break it as he responded, "Although I agree with your sentiment about the demons, I do think you can take it a bit easy on the boy. He's just a kid." The Slayer retorted:

"Do you think a kid should be killing demons?" Rengoku stayed silent in response, the obvious answer was no but the children who join the Demon Slayer Corps don't have much of a choice. He came up with a response, answering, "It's not like the majority of us want to be in this line of work. Some of us were doing fine until the demons showed up to ruin our lives. I don't think you can blame us for wanting revenge. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

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Tanjiro was sitting on the back porch, hunched over as he was whelmed by his emotions and the tears spilled from his eyes. It was an odd sensation to be crying when the sun was out, but here he was. He sniffled every couple seconds, trying to breathe through his nose which got congested. He saw a handkerchief extended to him which caught Tanjiro off-guard. He didn't hear anyone come up which made him frantically look around to see Kanao behind him, her expression was that of wide-eyed curiosity. Tanjiro got embarrassed upon seeing her, he didn't think he was presentable in his current state as he looked away and abruptly snatched the handkerchief from her, blowing out his nose after saying, "Oh! Kanao! Thank you!"

The girl positioned herself next to Tanjiro as she leaned in and asked, "Why were you crying?" in a distant, almost embarrassed tone. Tanjiro could tell she was still getting used to speaking out of line. Tanjiro answered her though, "It was the Hellwalker, he was upset because I showed sympathy for demons. It hurts to have someone you respect yell at you like that and the worst part is: he's right. Every day, it gets harder for me to forgive the demons, always telling myself that they're suffering just like I do. But how can I justify that through all of their bloodshed? I was face to face with the Upper Moon that nearly killed Mister Rengoku, and what did I do when I saw him? I shook with fear. I was so weak I couldn't even hold my sword straight, I trembled like a coward before a demon. I want so badly to be as strong and brave as the Hellwalker, but I just can't. I'm too weak!"

Kanao gave the boy a blank stare, listening to him vent as she tried to figure out what she should do. She remembers Shinobu would put her hand on her shoulder when it comes to stressful situations like this. So she drew from experience and awkwardly placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder as she spoke up, "I think you're strong, Tanjiro." The boy looked at Kanao who gave him a reassuring smile. He blushed when seeing this and muttered, "Thank you…"

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The Slayer extended what was left of his Nichirin Arm Blade, there was barely anything worth using at that point. He was assessing his equipment which was mostly undamaged, he just needed to get a replacement blade. Rengoku watched and noticed that the Slayer's blade was broken and told him, "If your blade is broken, Hellwalker, you're free to use mine." The warrior looked to Rengoku, noticing his blade leaning against the bed. He walked over and grabbed the blade, unsheathing it to notice it had a similar shade of red like his previous blade, but not as dark. Rengoku gave a simple nod to the warrior, nothing else needed to be said between the two of them. With his business done and the Slayer able to move (despite his soreness), he made his way out of the mansion, leaving everyone behind without a single goodbye.

Rengoku felt completely relaxed, sinking into his pillow as he shut his eyes to take a nap. However, He heard two people approaching the door, one of them apparently scolding the other. As the door opened, one of his fellow Hashira was kicked into the room by Shinobu. The Hashira was Tengen Uzui, who is a tall and muscular man with uneven white hair that is tied up neatly. He wears a sleeveless, dark turquoise variant of the demon slayer outfit and gold rings wrapped around his biceps. He wears red makeup around his left eye and has two large Nichirin Blades sheathed behind him. He turns around, giving a sassy response to Shinobu, "Damn, Shinobu, you're feisty for a short woman."

Shinobu felt a strain form on her forehead from the remark and said, "Don't mock me, Uzui. Rengoku's right here if you want to talk to him." She left the two men to their own business. The Hashira bowed while raising both his middle fingers as he thanked the woman. He chuckled to himself and walked next to Rengoku and commented:

"Damn, Rengoku, you've seen better days."

Rengoku tried his best to chuckle, playing along as he said, "Indeed I have. What brings you here?"

The Sound Hashira got straight to the point as he placed his hands on his hips and explained, "Well, I need some girls for a mission of mine, specifically, demon slayers because they can get the job done. I tried taking some of Kocho's girls but she threatened to kill me if I tried. She said that I should ask you, considering you're here."

Rengoku got a good chuckle out of the Sound Hashira's story. What a flamboyant man, indeed. He answered, "Well, I have a few students, they aren't girls, but they'll get the job done. If you need to borrow them, go right on ahead. I'm going to be out of commission for a little bit, anyway."

"Better be careful, Rengoku, I might not give your students back if they're good enough." This only made the Flame Hashira chuckle even more despite the pain. Uzui smiled, it was refreshing to see his comrade in high spirits despite nearly dying. Their morale surely would've dropped if one of their own had died at the hands of an Upper Moon. Uzui turned around and left with one last comment, "Stay safe, man." before closing the door to the room.