Chapter Text
Tanjiro walked through the temple, his steps still unfamiliar in Muzan’s taller body, but he forced himself to focus on his mission.He had to find Tamayo. Once he did, he could prevent Muzan from reclaiming his original body and save Nakime’s life.Only then could he return home to his family.
The temple’s atmosphere was unsettling, with its imposing walls and dimly lit corridors.His parents had warned him about places like this--how religious fanatics preyed on the vulnerable, brainwashing them into blind devotion.It wasn’t hard to imagine Douma using Muzan’s and Nakime’s powers to play god, controlling those who worshipped him.
As Tanjiro neared the room where Douma waited, he attempted to peer into Douma’s mind, but all he saw was a door as if Douma was expecting someone.Was it him? No, Tanjiro had only just decided to meet Douma.It must have been one of Douma’s followers.
He quickened his pace, urgency pressing down on him.He didn’t know how much time he had--only that there was an hourglass counting down Nakime’s life.He couldn’t afford to waste a single moment.
But with each step closer to the door, the lightheadedness grew stronger, weakening him.It was a stark reminder of the frailty he’d felt before, the same helplessness that had kept him from attending his father’s funeral.Steeling himself, he took a deep breath, just as his father used to, and approached the door.He glanced through Douma’s eyes and saw the same door from the other side.
He knocked, debating how much to reveal.Should he tell Douma he was Tanjiro?But what if it was a loyalty test, like with Nakime?No, he needed to find Tamayo first--her survival was paramount.Nakime’s life was on the line.
“Come in, Master. It’s open,” Douma called from inside.Tanjiro was momentarily surprised that Douma knew he was coming, but he quickly realized that someone must have informed him.
Pushing the door open, Tanjiro stepped inside and saw Douma--the man with multicolored eyes and a red-and-black shirt.Tanjiro briefly glimpsed through Douma’s eyes, catching sight of himself, or rather, Muzan’s body.He wanted to understand more, to uncover the reason behind his lightheadedness, but he pushed those thoughts aside.The mission was clear--find Tamayo.
Douma was lounging on a large, cushioned ball that looked comfortable, almost inviting.Tanjiro couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to have one back home.But he quickly shook off the distraction, remembering the importance of his task.
“What can I do for you, Master?” Douma asked with that same unnerving smile.It was too perfect, too forced--like it was hiding something dark and sinister beneath.
Tanjiro ignored the uneasy feeling that smile gave him.He had to focus. “Do you know a person called Tamayo?” he asked, cutting straight to the point.Tamayo was his best lead--the key to finding out who had put him in this body and how to prevent Muzan from ever returning.
“Tamayo. I haven't heard that name in centuries,” Douma said with a casual tone, as if the passing of centuries was no more than a fleeting thought.Centuries. Tanjiro’s mind raced.Centuries? That meant more than a hundred years--more than two hundred years.Until now, Tanjiro had assumed the body he was in was no older than his father.But this was something else entirely.Was Muzan... immortal?
Douma’s ever-present smile didn’t falter, but Tanjiro noticed a flicker of something in his eyes--recognition, curiosity, or maybe something darker.“Tamayo? Ah, yes,” Douma continued, his tone tinged with an eerie familiarity.“She was once a loyal servant, but she betrayed you, Master, many years ago.”
Tamayo had been hiding from Muzan for over a hundred years.How could an 11-year-old boy possibly find her when someone with the power of a god had failed for millennia?The weight of his mission pressed down on him, making him feel small and insignificant.What chance did he have? He couldn’t help anyone.He couldn’t save anyone. How could he, a worthless child, succeed where a god had failed?
But despite the doubts gnawing at him, Tanjiro pressed forward.“Is there anything we know about her?” he asked, knowing he couldn’t afford to give up.Even if it felt like he was hitting a brick wall, he had to keep moving.He couldn’t wait a hundred years to find Tamayo--his family would be long gone by then.He needed them. Even though they probably didn’t need him.
“I did hear that she was a doctor, but that’s all,” Douma offered, as if it were a minor detail.But something clicked in Tanjiro’s mind.A doctor. That was a lead.
Tanjiro remembered how overprotective he’d been when his mother was pregnant with Hanako.He hadn’t trusted the doctor, a stranger, because he feared for his mother’s safety.But a doctor was bound by oath to save lives, no matter who they were.
“A doctor is under oath to always save lives,” Tanjiro said, the idea forming in his mind.It seemed too obvious--if Muzan had been searching for her for over a hundred years, surely he would have tried this.But maybe not. Maybe Muzan, with all his power, had overlooked something so simple.
“There have to be people who are grateful for her saving their lives,” Tanjiro continued.“Maybe we could ask one of your followers to set up an appointment with her.”
Douma’s smile widened with delight.“That’s a wonderful idea.”
Tanjiro’s heart sank. There was something off about Douma’s response.It was almost as if he had never heard Muzan suggest this before.How could something so obvious seem like a revelation?
“So, no one in the last hundred years thought to use the fact that Tamayo was a doctor to find her?” Tanjiro asked, disbelief creeping into his voice.It didn’t make sense. Muzan should have been smarter than this.He should have thought of this long ago.
“Nope,” Douma replied casually, “Master hated talking to humans.”
Tanjiro was even more confused now.He knew Muzan was a cruel and dangerous being, but hating every single human being?It was as if Muzan despised them for merely existing, for living their lives and minding their own business.The more Tanjiro learned about Muzan, the more he realized just how different they were.And how much harder his mission would be.
“What about his wife and daughter?” Tanjiro asked, his voice tinged with desperation.From his brief interaction with them, Muzan’s family seemed loving and kind.Could someone so cherished really be so evil?
Tanjiro's heart pounded as he tried to process Douma's words.The more he heard, the more he realized just how monstrous Muzan truly was.The idea that Muzan had killed his wives and children when he got bored with them was horrifying, something beyond what Tanjiro could comprehend.
“Oh, he had plenty of those,” Douma replied casually as if he were discussing the weather.“He kills them the second he gets bored of them.”
Tanjiro felt his stomach twist in revulsion.It was unimaginable. One moment, they were a perfect, happy family, and the next, Muzan would slaughter them out of sheer boredom.It was a cruelty so profound that Tanjiro couldn’t reconcile it with the man who had shared breakfast with a loving wife and daughter just that morning.
“I don’t believe you. I can’t believe you,” Tanjiro stammered, his voice trembling.“His family loves him deeply.How could he just kill them like that?”
Tanjiro’s thoughts spiraled as he tried to make sense of the situation.That family--Uta and their daughter--they weren’t his family, but they were innocent, good people.The thought of Muzan hurting them was unbearable.Why would anyone harm such kind souls?It wasn’t just wrong--it was evil on a level Tanjiro had never encountered before.
Suddenly, a dark thought flickered through Tanjiro’s mind.People like Muzan shouldn’t be allowed to live.Was it his responsibility, as the god of demons, to eliminate such evil from the world?Nakime had told him he was a god, and with that power came the responsibility to protect the innocent, to destroy the wicked.But could he really take a life?
“Oh yes, to hide from the Demon Slayer Corps, he picks a family, blends in, and kills them when they get boring,” Douma continued, as if recounting a mundane fact.
Tanjiro’s resolve hardened. Muzan was pure evil, a true monster.The family he had met that morning was doomed the moment Muzan returned to his body.If Muzan was allowed to regain control, there was no telling the horrors he would unleash--not just on his own family, but on the world.Tanjiro couldn’t let that happen.He had to stay in this body longer than he had planned, at least until he could eradicate every evil soul like Muzan.
“Douma,” Tanjiro said, his voice firm with newfound determination, “I need you to ask your followers to find a doctor named Tamayo.Have them set up an appointment so I’ll know where she is.”
“Yes, new master,” Douma replied without hesitation.Tanjiro realized with a start that he hadn’t even tried to pretend he was Muzan.Yet Douma seemed perfectly fine with that.
Tanjiro stood there, grappling with the weight of his new mission.He needed to find Tamayo, yes, but now he also knew he had a greater responsibility--to make sure that monsters like Muzan never had the chance to hurt innocent people again.
Tanjiro's unease grew as he tried to gauge Douma's reaction.Something about the man was profoundly unsettling, an unnatural aura that made Tanjiro's skin crawl.Despite knowing he was dealing with an evil being, there was something in Douma that went beyond that--a darkness so deep that it felt alien, inhuman.
“So, it doesn’t bother you that I’m not actually Muzan, but just some other guy in his body?” Tanjiro asked, the question heavy with suspicion.
“Nope, you’re so cute,” Douma replied with a disturbing cheerfulness.His response was unnerving, confirming that there was something fundamentally wrong with him.But Tanjiro needed allies, and Douma knew the world of demons far better than he did.Even if Douma was twisted, he could still be useful.
“And you believe that I’m not Muzan without any proof?” Tanjiro pressed further, his voice steady.There was no point in hiding his true identity from the demons.He could kill any of them with just a thought if they became a problem.The very idea of ending lives like it was a casual decision made Tanjiro realize just how much this body was affecting him.The evil in Muzan's blood was starting to seep into his thoughts, and he had to fight against it.He couldn’t let this power corrupt him.No matter what, he would never kill an innocent person, even if it cost him his life.As long as he held onto that, he knew he was still better than Muzan.
“You said ‘please.’ Our old master would never say that,” Douma remarked, his tone almost amused.Every detail Tanjiro learned about Muzan only deepened his disgust.There was no point in pretending to be Muzan--he could never act like someone so utterly devoid of humanity.
“Fine,” Tanjiro said with a resigned sigh.“My name is Tanjiro Kamado. I’m eleven years old.” He extended his hand, understanding that he might be stuck in Muzan’s body for a long time, maybe even years.Muzan couldn’t be allowed to return, and even if Tanjiro managed to escape and go back to his original body, he couldn’t leave Muzan’s vacant.Someone worse could come along and take it.
“You’re so cute, Tanjiro,” Douma cooed, stepping forward and wrapping Tanjiro in a hug.Even in Muzan’s body, Tanjiro felt small compared to Douma.But he couldn’t let fear get the better of him.He had the power to end all of them with a thought, and that knowledge gave him the courage to face whatever came next.
As Douma hugged him, Tanjiro focused on the curse that had bound Nakime, the one that would have killed her for speaking Muzan’s name.He repeated the process, searching for the dark energy that tied Douma to a similar fate.It was easier this time, having already done it once, and he quickly destroyed the curse.Pulling back from Douma’s embrace, Tanjiro extended the same action to all demons remotely, removing their curses with a mere thought.
“Douma, I have another favor to ask.I need you to inform every top demon--what do you call them again?”
“Upper Moons,” Douma supplied helpfully.
“Right, tell every Upper Moon about the new change in leadership.Kill anyone who has a problem with that,” Tanjiro ordered his voice firm.
“Okay,” Douma agreed with unnerving cheer.The weight of what Tanjiro had just commanded settled on him.He had ordered a potential massacre, and the ease with which he had done it startled him.He realized he was changing, that this power was already influencing him in ways he hadn’t anticipated.
Taking a deep breath, Tanjiro reached out to Nakime with his mind.“Nakime, can you please bring me back home now and transfer Douma and all the Upper Moons to you tonight?Show them the letter I gave you,” Tanjiro asked, his tone more gentle now.He was getting used to these powers, and though they scared him, he couldn’t deny that part of him was starting to appreciate them.
Tanjiro had returned to his office, feeling the weight of the impending meeting with the Upper Moons pressing down on him.He had until nightfall to prepare and make his first impression, and he knew it had to be flawless.Should he present himself with casual confidence, or should he exude the aura of a high-class leader?This decision gnawed at him as he ran his hand through his hair, suddenly noticing the earring hanging from his ear.It had become so familiar that he’d almost forgotten it was there--a part of him now.
“What is human life to you?” A voice echoed from deep within his mind, a voice filled with a malevolent power that sent chills through his spine.Muzan's body reacted instinctively, trembling and breaking into a cold sweat.His breath quickened, and he fought the urge to collapse under the weight of the fear that gripped him.This wasn’t his fear, but the terror buried in Muzan’s very cells--fear of the one who had once confronted him and left him scarred with nightmares.
If Muzan was the embodiment of pure evil, then the being he feared must be the embodiment of pure good.Tanjiro could sense it. The fear was overwhelming, yet it sparked a determination in him.If Muzan was a god of evil, then Tanjiro would strive to become a god of good, a force strong enough to destroy the darkness that Muzan represented.
As he sat back in the office chair, Tanjiro forced himself to meditate, focusing on the source of Muzan’s terror.Every atom in this cursed body resisted, but Tanjiro pressed on, digging deeper into the memories until a name surfaced:“Yoriichi.” The name reverberated through him like a revelation, the same way Nakime’s name had come to him earlier.This Yoriichi was no ordinary man; he was someone who had once made Muzan tremble and flee.
Each time Tanjiro thought of Yoriichi, Muzan’s body felt like it was tearing itself apart, wanting to flee.But Tanjiro held his ground, replaying the memory of their encounter over and over until he understood what had happened.Yoriichi, a samurai with unmatched power, had defeated Muzan so thoroughly that all Muzan could do was run away and hide, like a coward.
“What a coward,” Tanjiro muttered, disgusted.Muzan wasn’t a god--he was nothing but a spoiled brat who cowered in fear the moment he was truly challenged.He forced others to bow to him, to call him master, yet when things got tough, he was the first to run.
Tanjiro was just a sick, useless 11-year-old boy, but even he could see how pathetic Muzan was.How could someone who called himself a god be so terrified of one man?Tanjiro resolved to be better, to become like Yoriichi, the samurai who wore the same sun earrings.He needed to learn everything there was to know about Yoriichi, to embody the strength and goodness that had once terrified Muzan.
There was another source of knowledge: Kokushibo, Yoriichi’s older brother.Tanjiro had access to all of Kokushibo’s memory.If Kokushibo had known Yoriichi from the beginning, Tanjiro could have used those memories to learn everything about him--the man who Muzan feared more than anything in the world.
"Daddy." The soft voice of his daughter, Kimi, stirred Tanjiro from his deep contemplation.He had been lost in the memories of Kokushibo, replaying the moment when the brothers reunited after ten long years apart.Yoriichi had been born special, a prodigy without equal, and Tanjiro could only wish to be half as incredible as he was.But here he was, in the body of the Demon Lord, Muzan--surely that counted for something, however strange it felt.
"Hey, my little nugget." Tanjiro picked Kimi up and hugged her close, feeling a fierce protectiveness surge through him.Anyone who could even think of harming something so small and innocent didn’t deserve to live.As the lord of all demons, he vowed that none of them would be allowed to survive if they ever threatened her.
“Quick question, do you know where Tamayo is?” Tanjiro asked, his tone casual as he cradled her in his arms.
“Yes, I know where Doctor Tamayo is,” Kimi replied, her voice bright and confident.Tanjiro blinked, stunned. The first person he’d asked about Tamayo, and she knew exactly where to find her.It seemed almost too easy. Surely the name Tamayo must have come up before, during all the time Muzan spent with his family.
“Thank you for coming home early, Daddy.” Kimi’s words pulled him back to reality.Tanjiro glanced outside--it was late at night.He’d spent hours, maybe even the entire day, digesting and replaying every single memory of Kokushibo’s encounters with Yoriichi, especially that memory of how Yoriichi had defeated Muzan.
“So, I’m never home?” Tanjiro asked, his heart heavy.If Muzan had been searching for Tamayo, how could he not have asked where she was?Had he even tried to find her?What had he been doing all this time?
“No, you’re always busy,” Kimi said, hugging him tightly.Tanjiro felt a pang of guilt as he rose to his feet.He needed to find Uta, Muzan’s wife--no, his wife now, for as long as he was in this body.It was strange to think of her that way, but Tanjiro knew he could be a better husband than the creature whose body he now inhabited.Muzan could have killed his family on a whim if he got bored, but Tanjiro would never let that happen.
“Does Mom also know who Tamayo is?” Tanjiro asked, trying to piece together how Muzan had never found her.Tamayo was a doctor, so it should have been as simple as asking around for someone she had treated.But it seemed Muzan had never put in the effort.
“Yes, Mommy takes me to her,” Kimi said, her innocence masking the gravity of her words.Tamayo was Muzan’s enemy--if she wasn’t involved in this soul-switch, she might try to kill him on sight.Walking up to her home would be suicide.She could stab him in the heart, inject poison, or blow up her surroundings.Tanjiro had to find a way to prove he wasn’t Muzan before he could meet her.
But how? Everything was becoming more complicated.He was only eleven years old--how was he supposed to solve all these problems?He should be at home with his family, but then again, that family didn’t deserve someone as useless as him.If he couldn’t protect this family, how could he protect his own?
Tanjiro briefly considered sending Muzan’s family to Tamayo, but that would mean revealing the truth--that their father was an immortal evil demon, and that a little boy was now trapped inside him.Should he tell them everything?That Muzan never loved or cared about them, that he had killed countless families before this one?
No, that would only hurt them.Tanjiro swore to never cause them pain.They didn’t need to know about the supernatural battle he was now part of, or that their real father was gone.He wasn’t sure what to do next, but he knew he couldn’t let them be hurt by the truth.
Feeling more dizzy and drained than ever, Tanjiro meditated, trying to regain control.Muzan’s body felt like it was withering away, just like his father had withered away.It wasn’t fair. Why did his father have to get sick and die, while someone as evil as Muzan lived on?
Tanjiro wondered what Muzan ate.If he was a demon, there had to be something that sustained him.He hadn’t asked Nakime or Douma, and now, after the family dinner, he was dreading whatever awaited him.He had forced himself to eat everything Uta had cooked, but now he needed to go out, once everyone was asleep.There was no other choice.
So there he was throwing up everything that his wife took so much time and dedication into making for the love of her life and her little girl.Tanjiro hated Muzan, he deeply hated him for everything he was, and he didn't feel like he was strong enough to make it back home.
Deep in the alley, Tanjiro found himself hunched over, retching violently.Everything he had eaten, all the love and care Uta had poured into that dinner, was forced out of him as if Muzan's evil body rejected anything good.The realization struck him like a blade--he was inhabiting the body of a monstrous being, a serial killer who had slaughtered countless innocent lives.He looked down at Muzan's hands, hands stained with the blood of so many, and felt the weight of that evil pressing down on his soul.
"What's wrong, got too much to drink?" A man approached, his voice laced with mockery.Tanjiro’s stomach twisted painfully--he was starving, his body screaming for sustenance.A deranged thought flickered in his mind: he could eat this man, devour him like a beast.The idea horrified him, yet Muzan’s body was urging him to act, to consume.
"No, I think I’m sick, and I don’t want my family to catch what I have," Tanjiro replied, forcing a lie through clenched teeth.He was sick, in more ways than one--his mind was battling against the dark urges of Muzan’s body, urges that pushed him toward an unthinkable act.
"Oh, a family man, huh? So you’ll do anything to get back home to your little girl," the man sneered, drawing a knife.Tanjiro’s heart pounded as he realized the man was a robber.If he killed him, would it be self-defense?The thought should have brought comfort, but instead, it fueled the dark hunger gnawing at him.
He remembered how Muzan had transformed his arm into a tendril to attack Yoriichi.The memory whispered that he could do the same, that the man wouldn’t stand a chance.Just a drop of blood… maybe just a sip.
"Money, or I’ll pop out your eyeballs," the man threatened, his knife glinting in the dim light.But Tanjiro only laughed, a sound that surprised even him.The robber was confused, and rightly so.How could a mere thief hope to harm someone who had survived being cut into pieces by Yoriichi, the god-like figure who had once nearly destroyed Muzan?
In that moment, everything clicked.Yoriichi, born to vanquish evil, hadn’t succeeded in his lifetime.But maybe he had chosen another path, another method.Maybe Tanjiro was that method.
"I am the second Yoriichi," Tanjiro declared, the words filling him with a twisted sense ofpurpose.It all made sense now--he was chosen to purify this evil, to become something greater than Muzan everwas.He was meant to inherit this power, to use it to eradicate those who would harm theinnocent.
The thought filled him with a disturbing sense ofrighteousness.Living in the forest, he had seen how predators hunted theirprey.This was no different. Without hesitation, Tanjiro lunged at the robber, sinking his teeth into the man’s neck.Blood filled his mouth, and with each gulp, he felt a surge of power, a euphoria that seemed to confirm his newfoundpurpose.
He was born to do this. Yoriichi had been born to destroy all evil in the world, and now Tanjiro, in Muzan’s body, was born to continue thatmission.His family had never needed him--Takeo was stronger, healthier, better in everyway.But this family, Muzan’s family, they neededhim.He could protect them, and keep them safe, and never again would he be weak oruseless.
The robber stabbed him in the side, but Tanjiro barely feltit.His body healed almost instantly, the wound closing as fast as the blade leftit.The man’s life drained away, but to Tanjiro, he was just food--nothing more than warm nourishment to fill his emptystomach.Yoriichi had guided this man to him, a gift to sustain him as he embraced his newdestiny.
When the man was dead, Tanjiro tossed the body aside, leaving it for therats.He felt stronger, more powerful as if the act had solidified hisresolve.A white bird landed nearby, watching him with unblinkingeyes.Tanjiro felt a strange connection to it as if Yoriichi’s spirit were watching over him, approving of hisactions.
He turned and began walkinghome.Muzan’s family needed him, and unlike his old, weak body, this one would never getsick.If any of them fell ill, he could turn them into demons, ensuring they would liveforever.He was their protector now, the one who would keep them safe from allharm.
The thought pierced through Tanjiro like a shard ofice.The Kamado family, the ones he loved more than anything, had never needed someone as weak ashim.Takeo was stronger, and morereliable.Nezuko had always been brave, protecting their younger siblings withouthesitation.Even his father, despite his illness, had been a pillar of strength for thefamily.
What had Tanjiro done? He had been too weak to save his father, too sick to attend the funeral, and too powerless to protect his family when they needed himmost.But in this new form, in Muzan's body, he was no longerweak.He had power--real, undeniablepower.Power that could protect, that could destroy any threat that dared to harm those he caredabout.
But the Kamados didn’t needhim.They had moved on without him, surviving and growing stronger in hisabsence.Maybe that’s why he had ended up in Muzan’s body--because his old self had no place among themanymore.They were better off without him, and deep down, he knewit.
But Muzan’s family… they neededhim.Uta, Kimi, the life they had built--they were dependent onhim.Unlike the Kamado family, they needed someone strong, someone who could protect them from the dangers of theworld.And Tanjiro, with the power of the demon lord coursing through his veins, could be thatprotector.
He would never let themsuffer.He would never let them feel the pain of losing a loved one, of watching someone wither away anddie.He would use this power to ensure they were safe, and that they would never need to face the horrors that the Kamado family hadendured.
As he walked through the dark streets, Tanjiro’s resolvehardened.The Kamado family had no place for him anymore, but Muzan’s familydid.He would embrace this new role, this newidentity.He would become the protector they needed, the one who could do what his old self nevercould.
And he would never allow himself to be weakagain.
