Welp, my second @ttempt just failed so I'm back with a new chapter hoes 😩

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{third person POV}

"CAW! CAW WAKE UP WAKE UP" Tanjiro's crow screeched, thrashing its wings at the window while scratching at it with his claws.

Tanjiro groaned and rolled to the other side of his mat, throwing a pillow at the closed window before going back to sleep.

The crow narrowed his dead black eyes and sent itself thundering into the glass, ultimately pushing it open in the process.

"TANJIRO WAKE UP! CAW" it started to peck at Tanjiro's face as he slept peacefully.

"Oh come on!" He huffed, sitting up and shooing the bird away; however it came back instantly and landed on Tanjiro's mop of unruly morning hair.

"UP THE MOUNTAIN, UP THE MOUNTAIN! WITH ZENITZU AND INOSUKE"

Tanjiro flopped face first into the bed and grabbed the crow like a sort of pillow and started to cuddle it "just a few more minutes..." he snored, clutching the crow in his arms as he drifted back to sleep once more.

"Let me go! Let me go!" It wailed, scratching Tanjiro's chest with its claws "ok ok I'm getting up"

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"Well done Nezuko, sorry for waking you up" Tanjiro smiled, patting his sister on the head as she shrunk to fit inside the box.

She hummed a small reply and got comfortable as Tanjiro left the room, heavy eyed and not really in the mood to do anything.

His hair was scruffy and uneven, parts standing up randomly and the odd fluffy patch. His slitted eyes were half lidded, along with small dark circles to match.

He looked like a wreck.

... a cute wreck.

"Oi, Zenitsu we've got a mission! Get Inosuke I'll be waiting outside" Tanjiro yelled from outside the yellow head's door; giving it a firm knock before heading outside into the garden.

"Geez, my head's spinning" The slayer mumbled to himself, rubbing a hand through his messy hair and sitting down in the snow.

The snow had settled overnight, creating an icy wonderland as it coated everything in sight. Blanketing it with a thick layer of pure white, it was untouched except for the occasional animal print.

So satisfyingly smooth and straight.

Tanjiro took a deep breath and relaxed whilst he waited, inhaling the calming scent of the snow which reminded him of his childhood up in the mountains. Before all this was ruined by muzan.

"Hey boy" a gruff voice boomed, gaining Tanjiro's attention and making him turn.

"Huh?" He mumbled, staring up at a rather muscular man of whom he's only seen once before; from his memory Tanjiro could recall him being the pillar of sound. Tangen Uzui.

Uzui had been on a very long mission; as a result he hadn't returned to the demon slayer corps for a while now.

The sound pillar stared down on the boy; staring at his weirdly demon like features "your the one everyone's been fighting over" he spoke lowly, an intimidating aura surrounding him.

Tanjiro tipped his head to the side in question, the blue rims of his eyes glowing as if part of the snow.

"Don't be so naive, your taking advantage of them aren't you?" Uzui narrowed his eyes in accusation, crossing his arms expectantly.

"I'm doing no such thing, and I have no idea what your talking about" Tanjiro spoke truthfully, confused as to what the hashira was going on about.

'This boy... I can't sense any lies. Is he really that delusional?'

"Hey Tanjiro! Let's get going!" Zenitsu yelled, already leaving with Inosuke.

Tanjiro got up and glared at the man, he was in a bad mood and Uzui was simply making it worse by spouting lies. Well at least Tanjiro thought it was a lie.

"Hey Inosuke!" Tanjiro beamed seeing the bore headed male, just walking next to him seemed to lift Tanjiro's spirit.

Inosuke blew out a puff of steam through his mask and jumped back; his sheilded face bright red as he remembered yesterday's events.

"Eh? What's up with you?" Zenitsu poked Inosuke's chest; sneakily moving closer to Tanjiro as he did so.

"N-NOTHING!" Inosuke huffed, slapping his hand away.

"Owwww Tanjiro! Inosuke's so violent" Zenitsu wailed, clinging onto the boy dramatically as Tanjiro giggled along with them as they continued to walk.

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"this smell... it's so gross" Tanjiro cringed, looking at the snow covered Woodland; an ominous aura surrounding the mountain.

"What! No way am I going in there! It's so creepy!" Zenitsu cried, flipping himself on the floor and grabbing at Tanjiro's feet.

"Common Zenitsu it'll be fine" he tried his best to calm the boy but even he himself felt unnerved.

"Fine! I'm going first cuz I'm the leader of corse!" Inosuke yelled, grappling Tanjiro's collar and dragging him into the woods behind him.

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"Hello! We're rank Mizunoto demon slayers, mind telling u-"

"M-Mizunoto?! They should've sent a hashira!" The black and white haired boy panicked, poking his head out from behind a bush to look at his fallen comrades.

"Hey! We're just as good as any Hashira!" Inosuke scolded, holding up his fist threateningly toward the boy's face.

"T-they just stared attacking each other at random! I managed to escape though"

——————time skip————-

"INOSUKE! DONT DIE TILL I GET BACK! WHATEVER YOU DO DONT DIE!" Tanjiro screamed, being hurdled into the distance by the spider father; leaving Inosuke to fend for himself till he could get back.

'Soften the impact with a technique' he thought mid air, getting closer to the ground any second.

"First form, water wheel!" He yelled, unleashing it right before he hit the ground. "Wow! I'm surprised that worked!" Tanjiro complimented himself and was about to be on his way again when he heard screaming.

He peaked around the corner and saw a small boy demon standing above a girl; he wore a scowl and had webs connecting his fingers as he slashed at her face.

"This isn't some kind of show" the demon hissed, turning towards where Tanjiro was hidden.

Tanjiro stepped out from behind the tree and unsheathed his sword "huh? A demon, why do you smell like a human" Rui questioned, his eyes narrowed threateningly.

Rui took a moment to observe the boy; deep red slitted eyes that slowly merged into a fresh aquamarine colour. His lips were parted as he steadied his breath, two small fangs poking out from his mouth. He had adorably unruly hair, of dark burgundy colour, tied messily in a high ponytail which furthermore helped him show off his sharp jaw line and cute puffy cheeks.

Rui smiled sinisterly and shooed off his sister; sending her running down the mountain as he looked Tanjiro up and down.

"Why don't you and me have a little chat?"

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I have a weird obsession with snails. No I cannot explain it