My SI Stash #45 - Sunrise by BANIX (DemonSlayer)

-Dunno if the author a psychic but this got everything I wanted from a SI!DemonSlayer fic, W/

Synopsis: Tanjiro, protagonist of a fictional story or not, I don't care. My siblings, side characters of a fictional story or not, I don't care. I just want to protect my family as their big brother. So, I continue to dance. (Reincarnated OC as Kamado's oldest sibling, slow updates)

Rated: T

Words: 48K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13663683/1/Sunrise (BANIX)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics/originals mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

Many people often wondered what reincarnation is like. As someone who had walked this path, I can safely tell you it is not as magical as what you believed in. You simply suddenly found yourself in another world living a new life. I don't fully remember what my previous life was like, but it's not like I really care about it.

After all, I am not somebody capable of feeling great fluctuations of emotions. Happiness, sorrow, hatred, love, whatever. I can feel it, just not to an extent that most people can feel. I know I'm not normal and I don't want to be labelled as one, so I simply hide this fact of me very well, pretending to just be like anybody else.

This new life of mine is not what I would exactly call a good life. I live in feudal Japan, or at least I think it is feudal Japan or something along those lines because I'm no expert of Japan's history. My family belongs to a line of charcoal burners. For generations, our family's occupation is to manufacture charcoal and sell them. Not the best way to make a living, but it is an honest life. We don't earn much, but it is enough to keep us filled and warm.

Even then, I think I'm blessed with this second life of mine. I have a pair of loving parents. Even for someone who is emotionally impaired, slowly, but surely, I think my ice cold heart that followed me into this world is starting to be able to feel what normal people can.

Emotions.

I can feel it. I am slowly able to put a genuine smile on my face as time passes. I no longer need to hide that ugly side of me as much because it is slowly disappearing. I am starting to slowly accept the two adults who brought me into this world as my true parents.

Kamado Haruto. That's my name. I'm currently the oldest and only child in the family. For some reason our family name rings a very familiar bell but try as I might, I could not remember why that is the case. Trying to remember why I felt this way is like experiencing an itch that I tried very hard to scratch but could not reach. As with all itches, the itch soon went away, out of sight and out of mind.

It was when my mother was pregnant with my younger sibling that I remembered what the name Kamado truly means.

"If we are having a boy we are naming him Tanjiro! Be a good older brother, okay?"

Tanjiro. Kamado Tanjiro.

Demon Slayer.

I screamed. The acute pain that throbbed in my head at that moment was too much for me to bear as like a floodgate within my mind had opened, memories that I thought I had forgotten began to resurface in my mind with me having no control over it.

I blacked out.

My parents were worried about what had happened to me. They wanted to get a doctor to take a look at me but I quickly dissuaded them, saying that I'm alright. They were sceptical, but acquiesced in the end when they saw that I'm really alright.

In truth, I'm not alright.

It's right then that I really hated whatever higher being that placed me here and played such a cruel joke on me. Just when I am starting to truly feel emotions again, just when I truly accepted this as my new family and ready to start anew, I have to be saddled with the burden of foreknowledge. I still don't fully remember about the entire series but I could remember a few key points and events about the entire fandom. In a few years, father would die. In a few more years, Muzan will arrive.

Everyone except for Tanjiro and the still unborn Nezuko will die.

I never felt more helpless. I don't want them to die, but what can I do? It's Muzan we are talking about. No mortal alive can kill him alone.

What should I do? What can I do?

My answer soon came. There is still something that I can do.

As the oldest son to the family, I am required to learn the Dance of the Fire God, something passed on from father to son in every generation alongside the hanafuda earrings. I had seen father using this to dance from sunset to sunrise every year, I had no idea why that didn't click within my mind until I found out just where I had been reincarnated to.

As of now, I'm the only one who knows the true identity of the Dance of the Fire God, The Breath of the Sun. In this world, I am four years older than Tanjiro. I don't know why and how I came into the Kamado family and how I ended up as the oldest son, but the mere thought of me being the oldest and what the future entails made me feel a strong sense of emotions I had never felt before.

I really want to protect them. Tanjiro, Nezuko, and my unborn siblings. I have no idea why I felt this way just by staring at my mother's pregnant belly but I just did.

For the first time, I really felt an emotion so strong within my chest, swelling until it threatens to consume me whole and make me forget who I really am. For the first time, I felt whole.

And so, I made my decision.

I will protect this family no matter what it takes. I may fail. Muzan may still come and kill everyone I had come to love no matter how hard I tried but I will try.

And so, at the age of four when baby Tanjiro arrived into this world, I begged father to teach me the Dance of the Fire God, saying that it looks really pretty and I want to learn how to do the dance with him someday.

For the first time, I never said a complete lie. It's true, that a part of me wanted to dance with him in the ritual ceremony every new year. Looking at the sleeping Tanjiro in my arms further affirm this feeling in my heart.

I want to protect him.

Tanjiro, protagonist of a fictional story or not, I don't care. My future siblings, side characters of a fictional story or not, I don't care. As of then, I finally have a purpose in life that I want to strive for.

I want my family to live, no matter what it takes on my end. They may be fictional characters in another life but right now, they are my family. Muzan absolutely cannot be allowed to touch them.

It is with these thoughts that I start to learn the Dance of the Fire God from father at the age of four. He looked proud of me when I said that I want to learn the dance from him and a part of me doesn't want to disappoint him.

And so, I learnt how to dance.

I began to dance the Dance of the Fire God.

I can see why nobody ever mastered the Breath of the Sun. It's not easy. Just going through the motions makes you breathless. I have no idea how father could easily dance from sunset to sunrise every year without feeling anything else other than a slight case of exhaustion.

It is then I began to realise why people always said that the devil's in the details. Physical requirements when it comes to the user's body aside, the Dance of the Fire God could only truly be completed when you pay attention to the details. The angle at which you place your foot, every single breath you take in and release, how long and how short the breaths are, how high or low you raise your arms, how much strength you place in your arms. There are so many variables required to be done right in the Dance of the Fire God to be able to truly call yourself a master of it. Just one single detail off and the dance cannot be possibly completed seamlessly.

But I have to do this. This is the only thing I have now that can possibly help me to protect my family from the danger that I'm sure will come someday. As of now, I don't have another option. The one fortunate thing that happened is that I ended up having a genuine love for the Dance of the Fire God. In my spare time all I ever do is to practice the Dance of the Fire God, to the point that my parents teased me for having an obsession with it. It's true, I had an obsession and motive for learning how to dance the Dance of the Fire God but thankfully, that obsession turned into genuine passion.

And so, I continue to dance. Nezuko arrived, I continued to dance. Over the years, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, Rokuta, they were born into the family one after the other and seeing their smiling faces made me reaffirm my beliefs.

For them, I have to continue to dance.

For them, I will continue to dance.

Father suffered from an illness not long after mother was pregnant with Rokuta. I'm old enough to help out by then and so without a word, things like chopping firewood, going to town to sell charcoal and buying things for the family, I did as much as I could without needing my parents to do so.

I knew this was coming. I know there's no way to stop this from happening, but seeing it happen with my own two eyes still left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

One day, father will die. I don't know when and I don't know how soon, but he will die. After that, after an undetermined period of time, Muzan will come and my entire family will die and I have no idea how to stop it.

The new year came again. This time, I asked my father's permission to dance the Dance of the Fire God with him because I have no idea if I will ever have the chance to do so again. My father simply patted my head fondly with a kind smile on his face.

That sunset, the two of us danced the entire twelve forms of the Dance of the Fire God from sunset to sunrise with my mother and siblings watching. That night, we never stopped dancing until the sun rose again.

That night, I finally mastered the Dance of the Fire God.

It was shortly after Rokuta was born that the next big turning point in my life arrived. It was another usual day. I chopped firewood, went down to town to sell them and bought some essentials for my family. It took a little long for that particular day because I decided to help a granny with carrying the heavy looking basket she was struggling to lift. The me of before wouldn't have bothered but living with the Kamados, my family, must have changed me. Their kindness really is infectious. I can see where Tanjiro got his kindness from. Our father is just like him, just a lot quieter. My mother also said that I am a lot like my father, always quiet, calm, and displaying little emotions, but a loving man nonetheless.

I think mother thinks too highly of me but I don't want to put a damper on her words, so I accepted her words with a soft smile on my face. A smile that is not entirely fake.

Helping the granny didn't take too long, but it still took long enough. Long enough for the sun to set. The granny offered me to stay with her for the night and her neighbours all gave the same offer, genuinely worried about the dangers that lurk within the forests after the sun had set. They believe in the existence of demons, a being that half of the town's population believes in and where the other half deny its existence and brushed it off as a figment of a fictitious tale. I refused the offer, knowing that I could climb the mountain in no time at all. Mastering the Dance of the Fire God had done wonders for my fitness. I can run faster, jump higher, easily do feats that I otherwise thought to be impossible. My years of hard work had not been wasted.

Even then, I hold no illusion that I could defeat Muzan. The best I can do is to hold on long enough for my family to escape. If I could I will make them move from the house on that mountain so that Muzan will never find them but that is impossible. Right there is our ancestral home and land where the Kamado family had been living for generations. There's no way anyone in my family would ever move out of there. People in this era all have a very firm belief in guarding what their ancestors had left them and my family is no different.

So, the only option I have is to use the Dance of the Fire God to protect my family if it comes down to it. All I have to do is to hold Muzan long enough for my family to escape.

I wasn't sure if it was bad luck or good luck, but the turning point ended up being my first encounter with a real demon that night.

I was only halfway into my journey home, easily traversing through the woods as I ran and hopped through it with practiced ease when I met the demon. Words cannot fully describe just how grotesque it is. Many times, I had imagined what a real demon would have looked like. I had thought that I would maybe retch at their appearance or feel a strong sense of disgust.

Surprisingly, I felt nothing.

The demon was salivating uncontrollably as it slowly moved towards me when our paths met by accident. For some reason I don't know why, I was totally calm. My hand slowly reached for the axe I always carried with me for protection whenever I traveled away from home and held it in front of me. All my years of practice, it is for protecting my family from demons and right now, this demon may potentially find its way to our home.

I cannot let that happen. I'm sure that in canon, no demon ever ventured to our home until Muzan came but I'm not going to bet the lives of my family on a what-if.

"Come, demon. I will slay you."

The demon leapt and it was then I saw everything with perfect clarity. Each of its movements, its every breath, every single detail could not escape my eyes. The demon appears to be moving so slowly, so so slowly that it's laughable. Even baby Rokuta can crawl faster than the demon.

Curiosity sated, I moved.

Dance

The only thing I used was the very first move of the Dance of the Fire God. With a single clean swipe, I cut off the demon's head. I turned around, only to see the demon frantically reattaching its head back to its body.

Ah, that's right, only a Nichirin Blade could possibly kill a demon. Normal weapons won't do.

I took on another stance. I will continue dancing until sunrise if it means keeping my family safe. Or at least, that was the thought in my mind. Somebody else had joined the fray.

That was the first time I met a Demon Slayer. He's the then Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinjuro.

In all his life as a Demon Slayer Rengoku Shinjuro had never seen anybody like that little boy.

He couldn't be any much older than Kyojuro, for all he knows Kyojuro may be the older one. Yet, the little boy did not have a single shred of fear when he was standing face to face against the demon. The boy's face is of perfect tranquility and calmness even in the face of death. All he did was to slowly take a stance as he held the axe in front of him.

Shinjuro had spotted the boy and the demon he was tracking down for days from where he is, but he was too far and despite how fast he was running there he doubted that he could reach the boy before the demon got its hands on him. That didn't stop him from trying to reach the boy as fast as possible. He is the Flame Hashira, it is his duty to slay demons and save people.

He had thought all hope was lost when the demon made its leap. And then even before Shinjuro could blink, the boy beheaded the demon.

Shinjuro barely managed to even catch a glimpse of the boy's movements.

Even when faced with the impossibility of the demon surviving something as fatal as a beheading, the boy didn't seem surprised. If he did, he hid it very well. The boy simply took on another stance and Shinjuro had seen enough. He's now close enough to slay the demon.

First Form: Unknowing Fire

The boy's axe is not made from the Scarlet Crimson Ore unlike his Nichirin Blade. There's no way the boy could kill the demon no matter how talented he is with that kind of equipment but his Nichirin Blade is different. With a single slash, the demon was no more.

Shinjuro turned to the boy. He's extremely curious about what the boy just did but the boy's wellbeing comes first.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for saving my life." The boy gave a polite bow before straightening himself. The unconcealed awe and curiosity is clear in the boy's eyes as he visually scanned him from head to toe. Under ordinary circumstances, Shinjuro would have accepted the thanks and moved on, but this is clearly not ordinary.

So, he lowered himself to the boy's level and asked.

"Boy? What was it that you just used? How did you fight that demon the way you did?"

Shinjuro watched the boy very closely for any details that could give him a hint or an answer for his question. The boy's facial expression and body language betrayed nothing. The only thing that he did was to blink twice.

"Ah, so that really was a demon."

"Yes, it is." Shinjuro answered slowly. Being so close to the boy, he could hear it, the boy's breathing. He is definitely employing a Breath Style, one he had never encountered before.

This boy is a genius. He can see it, how the boy handled himself. He's a natural with a blade, he is someone who can easily become a Hashira. The Demon Slayer Corps can use a boy like him. The boy is a genius that you can only meet once in a century or maybe even once a millennium.

And so, he pressed on with his questions.

"I am a Demon Slayer, my job is to slay demons. What you did just now, how did you do it?"

"I danced."

"Dance?"

"Dance." The boy nodded with small nods before returning to staring at him as if in deep thought. After a brief period of silence, he finally opened his mouth again.

"How can I become a Demon Slayer like you?"

"Is that your decision?"

"Yes." I answered respectfully as I sat in front of my parents in a seiza. "I want to be a Demon Slayer."

I had thought long and hard about it after my encounter with Shinjuro. If I cannot make my family move out of our home, then I will make my own move. I will protect them by actively slaying demons and hopefully this will cause a huge enough butterfly effect such that Muzan will never come close to them. It's a desperate and stupid move, but the best I have right now to truly alter the path which fate dictates that we walk on.

The Demon Slayer Corps is a secret organisation not recognised by the government. Under normal circumstances there's no way a mere boy living in the mountains could possibly come into contact with any Demon Slayer or learn of their base of operations but I had met Rengoku Shinjuro. He's obviously interested in taking me into the Corps and maybe making me his disciple. It is something that I can take advantage of.

So, I asked if I could be a Demon Slayer like him. He said yes. I told him to wait in town because I have to inform my family of this decision and I want to do it myself, alone. He graciously agreed, but told me that if by the time noon had come tomorrow and I'm not there, he would leave because he had places to be and demons to slay.

It is for the best. I don't remember everything about canon but I know that this guy recognises the hanafuda earrings father wore and he hates users of the Breath of the Sun with a burning passion. So, it's best if he doesn't meet my father and my family.

"I had talked it out with the Demon Slayer. In return for me joining their ranks, I will receive monthly remunerations. It can help relieve the financial burden our family is facing. Your health is deteriorating, father. Medicine does not come cheap. But with the money Rengoku-san promised me if I join the Corps, we can easily afford it. You and mother and my siblings can all live better lives. I promise that I will return to visit as often as I can."

"But Haruto! You are only thirteen!" My mother stressed, obviously uncomfortable about the idea of me, her child, facing bloodthirsty supernatural creatures on my own. "I'm not allowi-"

"I had made my mind, mother. I will leave tomorrow with or without you and father's blessings." I said resolutely. It pains me to do this too, but this is the best option I have so far. I may know how to use the Breath of the Sun through learning the Dance of the Fire God but that does not mean I know how to use a blade. The Demon Slayer Corps can teach me what my father cannot. Also, such a chance will not come twice. With this, my chances of being able to protect my family will increase drastically. The monthly salary Shinjuro promised me is a very helpful bonus.

My family really has a use for this money. Of course Demon Slayers are remunerated for their services. It would make sense. How else are the Slayers able to fully concentrate on slaying demons if they cannot even afford a basic meal to feed themselves? They need to have some sort of income from somewhere. The money is probably from the Ubuyashiki family if I have to make an educated guess but that is not my main concern.

My main concern is to quickly grow as strong as realistically possible to protect my family. I will clean the surrounding area of demons and find a way for Muzan to never come close to the mountain where we live. Tanjiro and Nezuko suffered too much in canon. Now that I'm here, I won't let them suffer the same fate if I could help it.

I am their big brother, protecting them is my duty. Protecting the family is my duty. It is this family that made me capable of feeling true emotions again, who made me human.

I really want to protect them.

"Haru-!" My mother exclaimed in frustration but stopped herself, turning to my father instead. "Tanjuro! Say something!"

My father simply looked at me with a quiet and calm gaze.

"Have you really made up your mind? Is this really what you want to do?"

"Yes, it is." I replied without a moment of hesitation.

"Why choose this path?"

"If a demon could appear so close to home right now, who's to say another won't appear?" I answered, not bothering to conceal my true feelings. "As the oldest, I have to protect the family. So, I will become a Demon Slayer. I will slay all the demons in this area so that we won't live in constant fear of them any longer. I will be a Demon Slayer so that my siblings won't need to be one, so that no one else in the family needs to be one, so that nobody else needs to be one."

"Just leave it to that Rengoku-san you were talking about!" My mother is near hysterical at this point. "A child shouldn't have any busi-"

"Kie."

My father gently cut my mother off before turning to face me with a gentle smile.

"Haruto, if this is truly what you feel, then go. Do not worry about us, we will be fine. Walk the path that you decide on."

"Tanjuro!"

"He will not be a child forever, Kie." My father said patiently. "Everyone has their own path to walk. If Haruto is sure that this is his path, then we should not stop him."

My father ruffled my hair fondly like how he always does, that same kind smile still on his face.

"Regardless of what you choose to do, we're proud to call you our son, Haruto. If you really want to be a Demon Slayer, go and be the best one there ever will be. If you are tired, then come home. We will be waiting for you."

I had never cried ever since I became Kamado Haruto, but that was the first time I did.

It was the first time I really viewed myself as Kamado Haruto, a true resident of this world, and not just another passing soul for the past thirteen years of my life.

"Onii-chan is leaving?"

"Yes. Onii-chan is leaving so that I can earn money to support the family." I patiently explained to Tanjiro. "You are the eldest now, Tanjiro. You have to take care of the family in my stead. Father is not as healthy as before, it's your job now as the man of the house. I will try to come back to visit as often as I can."

Tanjiro and Nezuko sobbed into my chest as I held them close. It's a little late when I finally reached home, and after I explained my decision to my parents only Tanjiro and Nezuko were still awake. The rest of my siblings are already asleep.

"I-I d-don't want onii-chan to leave!"

"I'm sorry, Nezuko." I apologised as I tried my best to console my sister. "But I have to do this. This is the only way I know how to protect the family."

"T-Then we w-will go with-"

"No, you two will not. None of you will." I said in a stern voice. "The job onii-chan is undertaking is very dangerous. I will not allow you two to do it."

"B-But onii-chan! You-!"

"Onii-chan is strong, so don't worry." I patted Tanjiro on the head. "You are kind, Tanjiro, you are too kind. It's your kindness that saved your onii-chan so stay that way, okay?"

"H-Huh?"

I gave Tanjiro a smile. He really has no idea just how his mere presence made me want to be a better person. That's why I won't let him suffer, I won't make him do things alone. If possible, he will never need to wield a blade. To hell with canon, my family comes first.

I'm really glad to be able to be their big brother.

"Onii-chan will protect all of you, I promise, so Tanjiro, can you promise me something in return?"

"Y-Yes."

"Promise me that you will protect this family when I'm not around. Promise me that you will learn the Dance of the Fire God and master it as soon as you can. You can see our father's condition for yourself. He's not in the condition to continue dancing it for much longer, it's time we take over. Now that I'm not around I won't be able to succeed the hanafuda earrings, so make sure you succeed them in my stead."

"I-I promise! I promise!"

I ruffled Tanjiro's head fondly like how our father likes to do it for us.

"Thank you, Tanjiro."

"Have you said your goodbyes?"

"It was a tearful sendoff, but I'm ready to leave." I replied without giving much away in the tone of my voice. My younger siblings cried a lot, not wanting me to leave. Rokuta is still too young to understand anything but the moment Hanako cried he just followed. It took me a while to placate them and promise that I will come back as much as possible.

Shinjuro merely looked at me thoughtfully before shaking his head.

"Then let's go."

And so, I left my home and family.

To protect my family, I became a Demon Slayer.