Winter Storm

Like the previous winters before, Tanjiro had travelled to the village that lay below the Kamado household to sell charcoal, but unlike before it felt like I had the need to vomit but couldn't. I had tried to stay calm, but under my own better judgement, I decided to stay with the Kamados tonight.

"Is there something wrong Shiro-kun?"

Turning to Kie who asked, I give a troubled face before shaking my head. "I have no idea. I'm just worried."

Caressing the blade that lay on my lap, the winds outside began to increase speed and the potential of a snowstorm became apparent. As the time slowly began to pass and the clock that the Kamado family had ticked, Kie spoke up again.

"You should go sleep Shiro-kun, it's unhealthy to stay up to long. The feeling you have might be because we're going to receive another huge storm again."

"Mabey you're right." I say while breathing out, trying to quell my anxiety. Resting my back against the wall, I continue, "But I think I'll wait here."

Everyone else had gone to bed, including Shinobu and Kanao who both had just returned from one of their missions. Kie, being responsible, stayed up with me, with only the dim illumination of a candle revealing our own outlines.

As my eyes lay close, my ears suddenly twitched as I heard shoes crunching against the snow outside. Standing up suddenly, I startle Kie, who immediately looks up at me in surprise. Attaching my katana to my waste, I rest my hand on it, hearing as the steps get closer to the home.

Still confused by my hyperreactivity, her head suddenly whips to the door when the sound of knocking can be heard. Looking back to me worriedly, I point my head to the door, asking for her to answer it.

Walking to the door with a slight tremble in her step, she opens it to reveal a tall and muscular man in his late twenties with an unnaturally pale skin and curly black hair, and sharp, almond-shaped eyes. His pupils are vertical, like those of a cat, and colored plum red. Removing his white fedora, he looks at Kie with a small smile on his face.

"Apologies for interrupting your household so late into the night, but I got caught up in this storm and was hoping that I could be provided with shelter."

Kie's whole body starts to shake as she can clearly tell that the man is not someone to be trusted. "I apologize, but our household wouldn't have anywhere for you to sleep."

The man's face remains unchanged for a moment before suddenly changing to that of a menacing and cold-blooded disposition.

"You say you don't have space, then what if I am to kill you, would there be enough space then." Taking a step backwards, the man continues. "If that isn't enough, then what if I were to make you scream, dragging the children out. If I kill them, there would be enough room, right?"

Reaching forward, the man's nails turn sharp. Before the man can reach Kie though, I step out from beside the door, unsheathe my blade, and slice directly through the man's extended hand.

Unlike what I thought would occur, the man's hand didn't separate from his arm, but looked entirely uninjured, almost like I had never cut through it in the first place.

"So, the Demon Slayer finally reveals himself, I was wondering how long it would take."

Looking me directly in the eyes with the same cold demeanor he had Kie, I stood in front of the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji.

Activating my Demon Slayer mark, my blade began to glow with a bright light blue. In return, Muzan's face changed to show a small bit of respect.

Kicking Muzan with my entire strength, Muzan is flung away from the house, landing firmly on his feet, barely even skidding when his feet reconnect with the ground.

"It's been a while since I've fought a Demon Slayer who was able to use a Demon Slayer Mark, but never before have I seen a blade covered in blue rather than red."

Rather than treating me like an actual threat, Muzan acted like I was nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter. Having not fought an actual battle against a Demon for years, I knew that going from 0 to 100 was a horrible choice, but I still took a deep breath and then used 'Wind Breathing First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter'.

Dashing forward I slashed down upon Muzan horizontally, a torrent of wind being created from the slice. Muzan in return nonchalantly created a flesh tube that blocked the attack. However, upon seeing as Muzan's flesh tube begins to disintegrate, I use 'Wind Breathing Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind' sending four strikes of volatile wind simultaneously towards Muzan.

In that same instant, Muzan creates two more flesh tubes that extend and then burst forward towards the oncoming wind. However, I had used the Second Form as a cover and I use 'Wind Breathing Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm' causing seven wind slashes to appear below Muzan, cutting through his skin and body, however, not completely.

Regenerating slower than his average, Muzan's body returns to its peak state. Cracking his neck, Muzan's eyes glow a violent red before four flesh tubes come from his body, approaching me at a near impossible speed.

Using 'Wind Breathing Third Form: Clean Strom Wind Tree' I defend from each of the flesh tubes, slicing them. Looking back up to Muzan, my heart gets caught in my throat as I find him mere inches away from my face.

Punching me in the stomach, Muzan sends me hurtling backwards, crashing into the Kamado household, almost sending me straight through it. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, I hear Kie cry out in worry, but my eyes lay on the figure of Muzan who held a condescending look on his face.

Removing myself from the wall, I slowly limp forward before then using 'Wind Breathing Tenth Form: Violent Goni'. Pointing my sword out towards Muzan, the wind around him suddenly picks up in speed forming a barrier of wind that surrounds him. Being able to see clearly in the torrent of wind that starts to slowly condense down upon Muzan, he boredly walks forward and then straight through the barrier of wind that I created.

As Muzan continues to walk, I can see blood flow from his body for a few moments before then getting reabsorbed. Wanting to continue with my attacks, I go to put myself in another stance, but I watch as a flesh tube blurs from Muzan, completely surpassing my own senses and consuming my sword, along with my arm.

Slowly turning my head to the right, I see the flesh tube start to chew; it then spits my sword out which begun to lose its blue aura. Then looking down, I see as blood begins to freely flow, drenching my entire uniform in my own blood.

"Disappointing"

Feeling a wretched pain, I look at my chest to find Muzan having stabbed me through my heart. Having my vision covered with a fluttering silver, Muzan removes his hand, turning his back to me, walking back to where Kie stood with her hand over her mouth and wide-eyed Kanao and Shinobu standing next to her.

Shinobu's face contorts to that of rage as she charges toward Muzan, tears streaming from her face. Holding my hand out, I start my transformation to become a demon.

As the process continues, my aura exudes from my body, causing everyone, including Muzan, to stop in their tracks and stare at me. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, I stand myself up.

Sticking out the stub of my right arm, it then regrows within mere moments. Regrowing my heart thereafter, I walk to my sword and pick it up. Staring at Muzan, I notice a hint of confusion in his eyes. However, having been easily defeated by him in my human form, I treat Muzan with the utmost seriousness.

Flashing forward, I appear in front of Muzan in mere moments before muttering a single line that caused a look of fear to enter Muzan's eyes for a moment.

"Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form"

Making a high-powered vertical slash for the very first move, I watch as Muzan tries to defend himself with a multitude of flesh tubes, but each are cleanly cleaved through, along with his very first heart.

Spinning my body vertically, I slice through Muzan's flesh tubes that he created to strike me from behind and remove his first brain. I then watch as Muzan's arms turn into pure weapons and extend blindingly towards me, but I unleashed two horizontal strikes that break through his arms and destroy his second heart.

Muzan's entire body then releases tubes from his thighs, spine, and arms that try and crush me, but I was moving so fast that Muzan's tubes only stuck my afterimages and the onslaught only stopped when I cut through Muzan's second brain.

Leaping up and over Muzan, I release a flaming attack in a circular motion, removing Muzan's third heart. Whipping around, Muzan looks at me with his plum red eyes and immediately after, a huge mouth comes from his stomach trying to consume me.

Executing a circular attack, Muzan's flesh tube is destroyed, along with another heart. Flinging my sword forward, it finds itself implanting itself into Muzan's third brain.

Charging forward, I grip the place where my katana was stuck in Muzan, rip it out, and create a haze-colored slash that Muzan tries to evade, but moments after trying to dodge, Muzan coughs out a mouthful of blood and his fifth heart is destroyed.

Jumping up high into the air, I deliver a powerful upended sword slash, ridding Muzan of his sixth heart. Still in the air, I spiral in the air, delivering a slash that surrounds Muzan and culling his fourth brain.

Landing feet first, the aura around my sword is then coated in golden flames that takes the form of a dragon. Muzan, seeming to have regained his senses, his entire torso and upper body morphs into a gigantic beastly mouth which immediately releases a strong energy-like shockwave.

Meeting the shockwave head on with the sun dragon, I start to slowly skid backward before planting my back foot firmly, pushing back against the shockwave, breaking through. Having my dragon grow in both strength and size and Muzan still recovering from his technique, I cleanly cut Muzan in half, causing his final heart to burn.

Having the momentum of my blade carry me, I do a summersault before planting my feet and executing the technique that'd kill Muzan. Executing a vertical slash that cuts cleanly through Muzan, I then use a horizontal slash on his neck.

As the blade begins to burn through his skin, charring it and no longer healing, I look at Muzan's face and see him exhibiting a small smile. About halfway through Muzan's neck, he suddenly bursts apart, his flesh flying in every direction.

Staring blankly at the clumps of meat on the ground, they then suddenly begin to converge onto one another at the clump of meat that lay the furthest away from me. Building its structure, a child Muzan emerges from the deformation of flesh.

Looking to the east, Muzan grimaces slightly before stalking backwards into the forest.

"The next time we fight, I'll consume you."

Walking to chase after him in such a weakened form, I find myself unable to move. Looking down, I find myself entangled in several black spiked-barbed wire, made from the flesh of Muzan that had landed on me when he burst himself apart.

Clearing my body, by the time I look up to try and chase Muzan, he had completely disappeared, and his scent also cut off. Almost as if a huge burden had been lifted from my body, I fell lifelessly to the ground, staring blankly into the forest where Muzan had gone.

"Shiro?" Turning my head, I turn to Shinobu who had barely uttered my name. Cringing when she saw my eyes, she hesitantly began to step forward. "You're still with us, right?"

Nodding my head in response, someone blurs past Shinobu and immediately engulfs my head into a hug. Tilting my eyes upwards, I saw a weeping Kanao looking me straight back in the eyes.

"Stay with me."

Unwrapping her hands from her head, I give her a smile, and at the exact moment that I smile, the sun peeks over the mountain, illuminating me, coating me in its rays. Looking like she'd lost all hope in life, Kanao falls to her knees then droops her head to the snow littered ground.

However, understanding that Kanao thought I'd die from the sun, I can only deadpan and then whack her on the head with the palm of my hand, before then embracing her in a hug.

"I'm not going to die that easily."

Transforming myself back into a human, Kanao looks up to me and then buries her head into my chest. Hearing the crunching of snow, I look up and find Shinobu slowly walking closer with her hands covering her mouth.

"How?" Shinobu manages to get out through her sobs.

"No one ever said that I was Muzan's demon. So, the rules I follow are much different than his."

Giving the short version of the story, Shinobu falls to her knees next to me and joins in on the hug. Hearing the pitter-patter of feet on the snow, I then find myself surrounded by the Kamado family who were shaking profusely. Lightly smiling, I felt warm inside.