𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇; 𝑲.𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑱𝑰𝑹𝑶 [✓]

forgotten;

tanjiro was exhausted. he had taken a lot of damage and had serious injuries, but he was still fighting. and he will continue doing so until kibutsuji muzan is dead.

another strum of a biwa could be heard as tanjiro and giyuu got teleported to a different room.

the red haired boy felt like throwing up, his head was spinning, and he got dizzier every time the surroundings around him changed.

strum.

strum.

strum.

strum.

once again, they were transported to a different place, except this time, there was someone else in the room with them.

his appearance has changed, but tanjiro recognised that sinister smell. a smell that made him sick to the stomach. one he could never forget.

"tanjiro," the water pillar said in a firm voice. "calm yourself." despite his words, the grip on his sword tightened as veins made themselves visible around his forehead. "just calm down."

"so persistent." the demon in front of them started. "i'm getting sick and tired of you all, and i'm losing my patience..." his gaze averted to tanjiro as he continued. "whenever you open your mouth, you only remember that one dumb notion about avenging your parents, kids, or siblings."

"you've all survived," he stated. "that should be enough for you."

tanjiro knew what kind of man muzan was from what he had heard from [y/n]. but hearing him speak about such things with a bored expression made him realise just how depraved he is.

how dare he.

"so your family got slaughtered. what's the problem here?"

how dare he.

"think of yourself as lucky, and go back to the way you lived before."

"what are you saying?" tanjiro asked in disbelief, unable to comprehend the logic behind the demon's words.

"look at it this way. being killed by me is the same as encountering a great calamity," muzan explained, like a parent lecturing their clueless child. "you don't need to think so hard about it."

"rains, winds, volcano eruptions, earthquakes. no matter many how many lives it takes, nobody tries to swear revenge on a natural disaster," he said nonchalantly. "you can't bring dead humans back to life. why not just stop fussing over the issue, move on, and live quietly to earn your daily wages. most humans live that life, so why can't you all do that?"

"there's only one reason." muzan furrowed his eyebrows, an annoyed expression taking over his features. "the demon hunters are an assembly of deviants." he held a finger up as if to silence them. "and i'm tired of deviants. i'm the only one who really wants to put an end to all this."

there was nothing but silence when he finished explaining. tanjiro stood, frozen to the ground, as he processed everything the demon had just said. he could not understand, and he did not want to. tanjiro felt absolutely nothing but hatred and disgust.

"muzan." his voice low and threatening when he spoke. "you are a being that should not be allowed to exist."

with an exhausted sigh, the demon dropped his hand back down to his side. "i don't expect someone like you to understand. you're just a kid."

"so was [y/n] when you killed her." tanjiro didn't mean to mention the girl, but he couldn't help it. he was filled with so much anger, he wasn't thinking clearly.

muzan's eyes widened at the sound of a name he had long forgotten about. "[y/n], huh?" he scoffed. "i don't know how you know her."

"but it doesn't matter. because she's already dead." muzan pointed a finger at tanjiro. "she doesn't matter anymore. she belongs in the past, like everything else."

"how can you talk about her like that..." tanjiro said through gritted teeth. "she's your sister!"

"and she betrayed me," the man retorted. "yet i was kind enough to give her a chance to live. but even then, she chose to reject me."

"what happened that night was her own fault." without another word, muzan swung his arm at the two demon slayers. it stretched and moved around like a whip with curved thorns on it, slashing everything in its path.

even after death, you're still meddling with me. the demon thought. you won't leave me alone, will you, kibutsuji [y/n]?

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