Slayer Hero: Tanjiro

Secrets Unraveled

"Oh, so this is one of your friends that you told me about." Izuku said to Tanjiro, who nodded. Turning to Inosuke, Izuku kindly introduced himself, "Hello Inosuke, I've heard so much about you. My name's Izuku Midoriya."

"Ok, Zikuru Midorada! You are now my underling number 4!" Inosuke said proudly, putting his hands on his hips. "Now fight me!!"

"Uh, actually, it's pronounced Izuku Midori-." Izuku's sentence was cut short when Inosuke headbutted him in the stomach. Izuku fell onto his back. The pain in his stomach left him too stunned to speak.

"INOSUKE!" Tanjiro wiped away some of his tears from earlier and stood up from the ground. Putting his hand on Inosuke's shoulder, he said, "Stop that!! You can't fight everyone right when you meet them!"

Tanjiro leaned down to help Izuku sit upright. Inosuke crossed his arms and huffed, "Whatever, he was weak anyway. Hey! Why don't you fight me, Tontaro?!"

"No, Inosuke." Tanjiro responded before standing back onto his feet. He looked at Inosuke, who stared back at him. Tanjiro was relieved that his friend was still alive.

"Whatcha starin' for?!" Inosuke asked. Tanjiro responded with a kind smile and small tears that appeared at the corners of his eyes and said, "I'm just happy you're here."

Feeling flustered, Inosuke took a step back and said, "H-hey!! Stop making me feel all warm and fuzzy!!"

Still recovering from the headbutt, Izuku slowly stood onto his feet. "But wait.. how is he here..? Didn't that demon kill him..?" He asked Tanjiro.

Before Tanjiro could respond, Inosuke flexed his biceps and yelled confidently, "No one kills Lord Inosuke!! I'm always the strongest!!"

Ignoring Inosuke's comment, Tanjiro answered Izuku's question, "I'm not entirely sure, but I think the most likely possibility is that the portal arrived to Inosuke before I was taken." Then he turned to Inosuke to clarify. "Inosuke, was I with you when you found that blue portal?"

"Yeah! We just beat the giant demon, and you were with Mr. Flame guy." Inosuke said.

Tanjiro stood still. From Inosuke's point of view, they had just beat the demon on the train. He didn't know that Rengoku had died.

As Tanjiro stood with the look of shock and horror on his face, Inosuke asked, "Hey! What's going on? Is there somethin' that somebody ain't telling me?!"

Izuku and Tanjiro exchanged glances at eachother. Facing Inosuke again, Tanjiro said, "I think we have some explaining to do."

Tanjiro and Izuku tried to clearly explain how Shuichi had used his blood demon art to teleport Tanjiro and Inosuke to the future and how he had threatened to kill Izuku and Tanjiro. They also explained how Shuichi claimed that everyone Tanjiro knew, including Inosuke, was dead. Surprisingly, Inosuke listened and understood.

"Then let's go kill him!" Inosuke said confidently, as he put his hands on his hips.

"Inosuke.. it's not going to be that easy." Tanjiro told him, "Remember, he was strong enough to kill you before. He also killed Muzan and all the Hashira."

"Tch! How do you know he ain't lying, huh?!" Inosuke said. "Besides! Now I know about him! I'll be able to tear him to shreds!!"

Tanjiro paused, what if it all really was just a big lie? What if Shuichi really just told Tanjiro these things to scare him. It was a very likely possibility.

"Why don't we get you a place to stay at the dorms?" Izuku smiled sheepishly while standing himself up.

"Stay in a what now??"

Tanjiro smiled, "I think that's a great idea Izuku, we can figure things out there. But first I have to see if I can retrieve my katana."

"Oh yeah, right. Forgot about that haha." Izuku scratched the back of his head.

"I'm gonna see if I can get it." Tanjiro said, "Could you ask Mr. Aizawa about letting Inosuke into the dorms?"

Tanjiro hadn't officially gotten his own dorm yet, but he figured that Inosuke could stay with him in the common area.

"Yeah sure," Izuku smiled.

Tanjiro showed a smile in return before running off towards the tall UA building.

"Hey wait!! Where do you think you're goin' huh?!" Inosuke called out to Tanjiro.

"Don't worry, he's just getting his sword. He'll be be back soon." Izuku reassured him. "In the meantime, I'm going to show you a place where you can stay."

"You can't tell me what to do! I'm the leader here!"

~●~

Once Tanjiro reached the building, locks were kept on the doors and the outside gates to keep out trespassers and villains. Frantically, Tanjiro looked around to see if someone nearby had access to the building. Then the school's principal, Nezu, made an appearance leaving the gates. Almost immediately, he noticed Tanjiro and greeted him with a friendly wave of his hand and a smile. "Why hello there, Kamado, what are you doing here?"

"Oh! Hello! Good morning!" Tanjiro smiled and waved back. "I was just wondering, would it be possible if I had access to some of my hero gear? I feel like it would be safer in case... a villain appeared."

"I appreciate your concern, but UA will take whatever precautions necessary to keep you and the rest of our students safe." Nezu reassured him, "Though you will be able to have access to your gear and weapons once you've obtained your hero license."

"My.. hero license?"

"Yes, your hero license is what gives you the freedom to do actual hero work." Nezu explained, "You'll be treated as a hero, not just a high school student. But until then, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to have access to your hero gear outside of the school grounds."

Tanjiro thought to himself for a moment before responding. "How do I get my hero license?"

"Eventually UA will partake in a hero licensing exam, that is where you will obtain it. " Nezu smiled, "I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about retrieving your license. If I remember correctly, it should take place in a few weeks."

A few weeks? Tanjiro thought to himself. That seemed like too much time for Shuichi to return.

"Could the event be rescheduled to happen sooner?"

"I'm afraid not, you see, UA isn't the only hero course that takes part in the licensing exam. Rescheduling on a student's request would be too much of a hassle."

"I see.." Tanjiro knew he had to be ready for Shuichi's next attack. But explaining that to Nezu would only put him in danger, and that was an outcome Tanjiro desperately wanted to avoid.

"Thank you for asking these questions! I am very happy that you are excited to become a future pro." Nezu smiled and waved as he began to walk away.

"Thanks for your help!" Tanjiro called out to him.

He knew he would have to try a different approach. If Shuichi were to appear right now, he would be completely defenseless. Maybe Inosuke still has his swords. Tanjiro thought.