The Devourer of Demons (Demon Slayer x Venom Symbiote Crossover)

Chapter 2: The Beliefs that Pull One Apart

At the Base of the Mountain

As Tanjiro approaches the base of the mountain, his slight panting drew his attention he looked at the puffs of his warm breath evaporate into the air but he kept on pushing.

"We don't have an easy life, but we're happy. But life could change suddenly like the weather. It shifts and moves on. It's not like it always stays sunny, and it's not like it ever snows endlessly. And... whenever happiness is destroyed, there's always... the smell of blood." He thought.

After another fifteen minutes of walking, Tanjiro had finally reached the base of the mountain as the townspeople were hunkering in their houses for warmth from the snow as a woman greeted him.

"Well now Tanjiro! I can't believe you came down the mountain on a day like this. You're such a hard worker!" She complimented him before frowning, "You might catch a cold like that."

Tanjiro chuckled and waved it off, "This is nothing really, do you have enough charcoal?"

"Hey Tanjiro!"

"Hmm?" He responded as he turned to who called his name.

"Can I have some charcoal?" A man asked.

"Thanks for fixing my sliding doors the other day!" Another man thanked the boy.

"I'll need some charcoal too!" A woman called out.

A door opens behind Tanjirou, revealing a woman holding a boy by the scruff of his clothes. The boy has blood coming from his mouth. He saw Tanjiro and immediately rushed over to him.

"Ah, Tanjirou! Oh man, perfect timing!" He said as he runs over and kneels before him.

"I've been accused of breaking this plate! Help me out, will you? Sniff it!" He said as he presented the broken plate to him.

Tanjiro gave a slight sniff before recognizing the scent of a feline on the plate.

"I smell a cat." He said.

"You see?!" The boy said to his mother.

"Oh my, so it was a cat?"

"I told you it wasn't me!"

Another man behind them wiped the sweat off his head before looking at Tanjiro, "Tanjiro, is it possible you could give me a hand with this luggage?"

All these favors the townsfolk asked of him made Tanjiro sweatdrop nervously but nevertheless, he gave them a kind smile and laughed gently before he got to work.

Night Fall

Tanjiro walked towards the mountain as he panted from all the work he had to today from selling charcoal to helping the townsfolk and that took the entirety of the day as night had begun creep up on him as the sun was close to fully setting.

"Jeez, its late already. I'm glad the charcoal sold out, though." He said to himself as he passed by a house at the base of the mountain before stopping and sniffing the air.

Throughout the day, he couldn't tell what it was but he had the feeling that something was watching him all day ever since he left his house but whenever he sniffed the air, there was nothing.

Turning around quickly, Tanjiro's eyes scoured everywhere for any sign of movement but he saw nothing. Could it just be him being paranoid?

"It's probably a bird or something... or maybe I'm just tired." Tanjiro said to himself as he continued up the mountain before a familiar voice called out to him.

"Hey Tanjiro!"

Internally groaning at how many times he's heard those two words today, Tanjiro turned around to see Saburou in front of his house.