- Y/n Tsugikuni -

Chapter 1 - The Spark Between -

3rd Person Pov

Tanjiro's lungs were screaming. Every muscle in his body begged him to stop, but he didn't. The heat of Hinokami still flickered on his blade, but Rui's threads-unrelenting and sharp-moved like a storm closing in.

He pushed forward anyway.

"I see it...!" Tanjiro shouted, slashing at the final thread with all he had.

But he wasn't fast enough.

The threads were faster. Closer.

In a blur, something cleaved through the web-not from Tanjiro's sword, but from the side.

A streak of flame. Then silence.

The threads incinerated midair, curling into ash before they reached him.

Tanjiro's breath hitched. The heat behind him was real, but it didn't burn him. He turned his head-

A figure stepped out of the smoke. Calm, composed. Blade already drawn.

His generic red haori moved slightly in the breeze, like the embers still clinging to the edge of battle.

Y/n Tsugikuni.

His sword was angled slightly downward, just having completed a precise horizontal cut. Not a wild swing-measured. A clean yoko kiri, slicing through the threads at neck height like they were paper.

Y/n's eyes met Tanjiro's, and there was something stern there-but not cold.

"You were half a second late," Y/n said, voice low. "But you didn't hesitate. That's something."

Tanjiro blinked. "You-saved me?"

"Wouldn't be the first time I pulled someone out of a fire they started." A small smile touched Y/n's lips, brief but real.

Rui screamed behind them, threads whipping back into formation like a wild storm.

"I'll kill you-both of you!"

Y/n turned slightly. His grip shifted subtly-left hand anchored the base of the hilt, right slid back for a burst draw.

"Don't blink, Kamado."

He stepped forward, smooth and fast. Rui launched his threads.

Too late.

Y/n's blade moved in a tight crescent-an upward diagonal arc, cutting across Rui's body like a fiery scythe. It wasn't showy. It wasn't dramatic. It was deliberate. A proper rising kiri-age, drawing from his hip with the full twist of his waist.

The slash went straight through Rui's neck.

The demon's body collapsed behind him before he even realized he'd been killed.

Y/n stood still for a moment, letting the weight of the strike settle. Then he flicked the blade with a short, traditional chiburi, blood snapping off clean.

Tanjiro was quiet, stunned. His arms trembled from adrenaline and exhaustion.

"You didn't do bad," Y/n said, walking over and kneeling beside him. "Your form's raw, but your heart's in the right place. That's something swords can't fake."

He paused, watching the dying embers in the air.

"You protected your sister. That matters more than the kill."

Tanjiro managed a weak smile, nodding. "Thank you..."

Y/n stood, eyes still watching the tree line.

"The Kakushi'll be here soon. Rest while you can."