Slayer Hero: Tanjiro

Zenitsu Agatsuma

Tanjiro's eyes, filled with blood and tears, strained to look upwards. He was being carried by a boy with familiar blonde hair and a yellow kimono. He was asleep yet aware of his surroundings.

"Zen-..itsu..?" Tanjiro spoke softly, trying not to interfere with his broken rib by breathing too heavily.

"Try not to work yourself up," Zenitsu said in a calm tone, "I could hear that you have a broken bone. Just hang tight, I'll get you somewhere safe."

Zenitsu continued to run faster through forest, carrying Tanjiro in his arms. He ran until he could no longer hear the footsteps of Shuichi behind them. Jumping on the roof of a nearby building, Zenitsu gently set Tanjiro down.

Tanjiro squinted up at the blurry figure of Zenitsu standing
above him, "Zenitsu... I-"

"I know everything about him is like a demon," Zenitsu interrupted him, "but he isn't one. Don't listen to anything he tells you."

Tanjiro was at a loss for words. Even though Shuichi himself had told him that. How could Zenitsu have known? He appeared after Shuichi had explained it all. It could only mean that Zenitsu must've known ahead of time before he came. But how?

"He's after you. You're not safe here." Zenitsu said in the most serious monotone that Tanjiro had ever heard from him, "He's worse than any demon or villain you'll ever have to face. You need to leave here as soon as possible."

"But... what about Izuku and the others..?" Tanjiro took light breaths and spoke softly, "I have to stay.. and help them."

"No, your only priority is yourself. Once you've healed, you need to learn how to travel to different worlds. I will teach you." Zenitsu turned away from Tanjiro and started walking towards the edge of the roof.

"No! He's not only after me!" Tanjiro attempted to sit upright, but his broken rib sent a sharp pain throughout his body, which made him fall back down, gripping his chest.

Zenitsu stopped walking and turned back to Tanjiro, "What do you mean by that? Who else is he after?"

Still gripping his chest from the pain, Tanjiro responded, "Izuku Midoriya."

~●~

Izuku was about to help Tanjiro, who was dealing with Shuichi, but he had to dodge an attack from Himiko Toga.

"Oh, Izuku~" Toga threw her knife at Izuku's head.

Izuku was able to successfully dodge the attack, but when he looked back to where Tanjiro was, he was gone.

He frantically looked around, confused. He became so worried about Tanjiro that he forgot that Toga was there. She came up from behind him and stabbed him right through his shoulder. Izuku winced as the blade penetrated his skin. A spray of blood shot out from Izuku's shoulder as he stumbled forward.

Blushing, Toga wrapped her other arm around Izuku and placed her hand over his mouth, "Ohh, the blood~, isn't it wonderful?"

Without hesitating, Izuku grabbed ahold of Toga's arm and threw her onto the ground in front of him.

"Aagh!" Toga screamed as her back impacted the ground.

Since it looked like his classmates had things under control for the time being, Izuku started running off to find Tanjiro, who might need his help. He started going in the direction he last saw Tanjiro. All of a sudden, he was stopped at the edge of the forest. He ran straight into Shuichi, who appeared right in front of him.

"Why, hello there~. Izuku, is that right?" He showed a wicked smile.

Izuku fell backward onto the ground. Terror and confusion flooded his mind. As he recalled, Shuichi was with Tanjiro. Why would he be here?

Izuku stood up again and held up a fighting position, "Where is Tanjiro?" He asked firmly.

"Ohh, he's finished~" Shuichi's smile widened, "and so are you."

Shuichi lunged forward to grab Izuku's forehead, but he was able to duck in time. Almost immediately, Shuichi threw another attack. He kicked Izuku in the stomach, which sent him flying backward. Landing, he scraped against the ground and crashed into the building of the UA dorms. Debris and smoke went in every direction. Izuku felt as though he couldn't move. There was a loud ringing in his head and an aching pain in his stomach unlike anything he's felt before. His shoulder hadn't stopped bleeding from the stab wound either.

Shuichi walked over to Izuku, who was laying helplessly in the ruined wall, "Oh, c'mon now," he said, "if that was enough to take you down, I don't know how you'll ever manage to become a pro hero."

The loud ringing in Izuku's head made it difficult to hear what Shuichi was saying, but he could see Shuichi's blurry figure coming closer.

Snap out of it! You need to fight! Izuku thought to himself.

Struggling, Izuku slowly started to lift himself off of the rubble. Once he was standing, he leaned himself up against what was left of the wall, then propelled himself forward.

"One for all... 100%.." Izuku aimed his leg for Shuichi's chest, "Shoot Style!"

Just barely, Shuichi was able to move out of the way. "Ooh, that was a close one~, I'm impressed."

Shuichi then threw another attack to the stomach. This time, the momentum of Izuku's kick added to the force of the blow, causing him to cough up thick red blood. Izuku was shot into the ground, making an indent in the earth's surface. This attack got everyone's attention, but no one in their class was able to help since they were dealing with the League of Villains.

One hit after the other, and Shuichi began to pummel Izuku, who no longer had the strength to block or fight back. With each hit, Izuku's vision became more blurry. He seemed to be on the brink of fading to unconsciousness when there was bright flash like a strike of lightning.

Zenitsu had sliced off Shuichi's left forearm. "Ooh, it's you again." Shuichi turned toward Zenitsu.

Almost immediately, Shuichi regenerated his forearm. Just like a demon.

"You're Tanjiro's friend, aren't you?" Shuichi sneered, "How did you get here?"

Before Zenitsu could answer, the pro heroes arrived. They started to battle against the League. Then, when one of them spotted Shuichi, they started to charge in that direction.

"Damn, this isn't what I wanted to deal with. What a pity." Shuichi said, disappointed, "I suppose I'll see you again soon, friends~"

With that, he made a portal underneath himself. After falling into it, he vanished.

When the pro hero reached where Shuichi used to be standing, he saw Izuku on the ground, "Oh crap, this boy needs medical attention. Someone call an ambulance, quickly!!"