... Hey guys, it's me, CrimsonRev after another year of hiatus. And what sort of excuse do I have at hand and what empty promise do I have to offer to you all that still follow me?

None, to be honest.

I've grown tired of keeping your hopes up, only to drop it on a whim, or just not update a fic I've got. It isn't a joke to say that writer's block fucks me in the ass harder than I'd wish a fucking werewolf to do me. It's not fun.

As for this fic, it was a plot bunny I came up with last year, but recently I got into Demon Slayer fics again and it sorta gave me whatever drive I could muster to push out this chapter.

I feel that this idea is unique in its own way, and hopefully, as I've checked with friends to give me their opinions, this story is faithful to each character's Canon personalities while adding my own twists and turns.

Things might follow a similar narrative, but that's because it's easier for me to follow, but there will be unique arcs of my own to show the results of these different routes that the fic takes compared to Canon.

My hope is that I can muster the imagination to be consistent with the fic and have the skill to pull off my ideas and that you guys enjoy it.

As for my other fics, the majority of them will be officially on a permanent hiatus until I manage to figure out the right fucking way to make the next chapters work. So, with that being said, here's the dialogue glossary:

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Breathing Technique"

"Monstrous Speech"

And that should be all. Now...

On With The Show


Demons.

Supernatural creatures that are renowned for their superhuman strength, speed, longevity and their craving for human flesh. They were wild, cruel, bloodthirsty and manipulative, especially the older, stronger demons.

However, there is one particular demon that stands above them all. A demon that has existed for over millennia, the only one of his kind that could turn others into demons, and is so powerful that eating humans is trivial to him, nothing more than just a small pleasure: Kibutsuji Muzan.

Muzan lives and does things on his whim, his abilities and limits are beyond human comprehension. Gender is irrelevant, sleep is a thing of the past, and lust, nothing more than a simple game he occasionally plays.

Which is why the ancient demon lord was walking through the busy streets of Tokyo, in a form that most would consider to be beautiful; standing at 5'5", Muzan's features were captivating for the audience, with his silky black hair held in a bun and two strands framing his face contrasted with his fair, perfect skin, which glistened in the city lights; his pale pink eyes could make people lose themselves in them for hours, and the rather conservative kimono he was wearing hinted of his traditional standing.

But underneath it, laid a body that if a man were to behold it, he would lose himself to his lust and surrender his body to his, or rather, her whims.

Yes, indeed, Muzan had adopted a female form for his disguise in the city, married to a hardworking husband and mother of a healthy little girl, Muzan's alibi would not make her stand out and would rather make her look as if she was only buying groceries.

As the demon purchased the ingredients for tonight's dinner, she inwardly sneered a bit at the thought of dealing with Humans, given their inferior capabilities, but she could not do anything about it, lest she causes a commotion and, heavens forbid, it reaches the Demon Slayer Corps' ears.

Which was why she was intrigued when a distinctive smell reached her powerful nose, a smell she did the damnest to stay away from; it was the smell of steel that bore the heat of the sun itself. A Nichirin Sword.

'A Demon Slayer? Here? Hmmm, must be another demon causing trouble nearby, or maybe they're just passing by to their destination.' Muzan thought, maintaining her composure as she kept doing what she intended.

However, she grew more annoyed as the smell got stronger with each second, almost as if… 'Is it coming towards me?' She wondered, idly checking in her mind that she didn't do anything suspicious, or left any evidence of her kills, so why-

A hand grasped her shoulder.

The action made her subconsciously leak a bit of her true nature, the irises in her eyes bulging with tiny veins and her pupils turning into slits, denoting her demonic state. When she turned around, she was met with a boy that couldn't have been older than 15.

His head was covered by a light blue hood, which covered most of his auburn hair, but still left his peach-colored skin bare, showing a dark scar on the left of his forehead, with maroon eyes that gleamed with unbridled hatred and a craving for vengeance, which was obvious by his snarling expression.

He wore a green and black checkered kimono over what she assumed was his Demon Slayer Corps uniform, and on his left hip, he carried his Nichirin sword, resting in its sheath.

It surprised the demon to see a Demon Slayer look at her with such anger and recognition, from what she perceived, this was more than just obligation and anger told from someone else's mouth. This felt… personal.

'Hmmm… How interesting.'


The scent was unmistakable.

Kamado Tanjiro seethed as his nose detected the smell of the only culprit responsible for the murder of his family and Nezuko's conversion into a demon.

The only one capable of turning others into demons, as he was told.

Kibutsuji Muzan.

He pushed people left and right to make way and catch the demon, his heart raced and his chest ached with unbridled hatred, and finally, the owner of the accursed scent was in his sights.

He grabbed the being by the shoulder, making them stop. He didn't care if people were staring, so long as he got a good look at the man that took everything from him. Or rather, the woman that took everything from him.

Her face was sharp, with perfect alabaster skin, her peach-colored eyes were bulging with blood vessels, denoting her demonic nature.

The two stared at each other for a second, then the Slayer went to draw his sword first, but he stopped as a wave of murderous intent crashed down on him.

He gasped, breaking into a cold sweat as the demon in front of him smiled, the same way a mother would when watching her child do something adorable. His eyes darted left and right to see if the others reacted, but much to his shock, no one was batting an eye.

'How can they not feel this killing intent?! How can Muzan be able to just mingle amongst these people and no one even notices an oddity?!' Tanjiro wondered to himself incredulously, his hand trembling over the hilt of his sword, which seemed to only amuse the demon more.

"Hmmm.~" It was the first noise Muzan had made since the stare down had begun, tilting her head in a way that would've been charming to the young man, if not for the fact that he knew that she was a demon reeking of death. "You must be a Demon Slayer, right?" Said the woman, her voice was as melodious as it was cruel.

The boy couldn't respond, his chest beating audibly in his ears as the killing intent was still weighing down on him. The demon in disguise noticed his distress and giggled quietly, leaning towards his face, still wearing a smile on her own. "Judging by the sword at your hip, you must be, and by your stance, you've only become one recently, haven't you?" She guessed, her smile turning into a smirk as Tanjiro's eyes widened in horror from how the monster read him like an open book.

Muzan giggled again, her demonic eyes boring into his own with an intensity that made every other demon he had fought until this point pale in comparison. "The fact that you found me so easily… Either I'm slipping up, or you're that lucky." She remarked, her hand moving up to touch his hood.

He shivered from the ghostly touch, then gasped as the demon tugged on his hood lightly, uncovering his head and letting it pool over his shoulders. "Now, let's get a good look at you, before your luck runs… out…" She continued, then trailed off as she took notice of his ears, or more specifically, his earrings.

Her smile faded as flashes of that man assaulted her mind. His astonishing speed, his flawless technique, his overwhelming strength, the red shine of his sword, the might of the sun itself, the heat, it hurt, it burned, it didn't heal, hothothothothot-

"Are human lives worth nothing to you?"

Muzan snapped back to reality as the boy was frozen stiff in his position, and some people started to stare in confusion and wariness. She tsk'ed, she didn't like that attention. Her first solution was to create a mess for the boy to deal with and let her escape without a hitch, but she looked at his eyes again, and recalled the pure hate in them.

'Hmm… Something about this boy… beyond the possibility of being related to that man, I've never seen a look like that in any other Slayer, not even him… I need to see it thoroughly.'

Without missing a beat, the demon grabbed the young Slayer by the hand, alarming him greatly. "H-Hey! What are you do-" He tried to shake her off, but he was cut off as the demon started dragging him amidst the crowd.

She went faster and faster, shoving the people aside without a care as they hollered at her and some even tried to stop her in her tracks to no avail, and eventually, she leapt off the ground, sending the two soaring through the air as Tanjiro screamed.

The young boy looked down and his screams increased in volume as he noticed that they were very high up in the air, and were almost outside the city. 'S-So fast!' He thought, looking back at the stoic demoness dragging him through the air, her grip on his wrist not slipping at all. 'And she acts as if this is nothing to her. Is this the power of the progenitor of all demons?'

His musings were cut short when he noticed that the two were falling towards the middle of the woods, and he reactively braced himself as they landed with a loud 'CRASH'. Dust flew everywhere and Tanjiro wheezed from the impact, although it didn't hurt as much as it would've, had he not anticipated it.

As he laid on the ground, he slowly lifted himself up with a pained grunt, moving his eyes to find the being responsible, only for a gust of wind to blow the dust away, making him shield his eyes with his arm until it passed.

When he uncovered them, he noticed that they had landed in a spot where the moonlight shone clearly upon their forms, with Muzan's own skin giving off an ethereal vibe that, were the woman not a demon, it would be captivating; alas, this only put the boy on edge more, finally gathering the strength to stand up and draw his sword. The first demon smirked at his reaction, which reignited the hatred within him.

"Now, boy, we're finally alone. No one to bother us, nothing to distract us; just you and me." Started Muzan, her soft voice laced with cruel amusement. The teen said nothing in response, choosing to tighten his grip on the sword instead with gritted teeth. "The look in your eyes screams of recognition, and back in the city, you didn't hesitate to reach for your sword, despite it potentially causing a commotion. Why is that?" She pressed on, putting her hands behind her back in a display of total relaxation.

Tanjiro took a few deep breaths to calm down and maintain a calm mind, but the recent events as well as this prime opportunity to avenge his family had been wearing his composure down for a bit, and the demoness's nonchalance only made it worse. Nevertheless, he managed to rein in his anger, although he still grit his teeth.

"You… You reek of death and blood, the same scent that was spread all over my home, two years ago; the home where my family was massacred by YOU!" He said, and outright shouted at the end while pointing his sword at Muzan, with her sole response being a raised eyebrow.

"Not only that, but because of you, my sister was turned into a demon. I am here, to make you turn her back into a human. After that, I'll make you pay in the name of all the countless families that you've done the same to." As he finished, he took a stance, his eyes taking a determined glint, one that elicited a barely noticeable reaction from the woman.

Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at his auburn eyes, the glint in them seemed to almost flicker into flames, something that she had never seen on any Demon Slayer ever, not even that man had this glint. Muzan grinned. 'This might be entertaining, for once.' She thought, bringing one of her hands forward and doing a 'come hither' motion.

"You are welcome to try, slayer."

The boy's eyes widened as he took a deep breath through his teeth, then exploded into motion, dashing towards the woman as his sword was soon enveloped by water with his momentum. "Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!" He swung the sword with a mental roar, but shockingly, the demoness merely took a step back to dodge the swing, her clothes were barely even grazed by the attack.

She kept her grin on her face, and he could feel the condescension exuding from her. In response, he twisted his body in a fluid motion and kept swinging, the water enveloping his sword trailed behind his swings. "Third Form: Flowing Dance!" Much like with the first attack, Muzan dodged them all effortlessly, her movements were flawless and without a single wasted motion.

They kept this dance for a few more seconds, with the demoness hopping to the sides and up to dodge his assault while he pressed on. Eventually, he spent all of his energy and stopped, panting as he glowered at his failure to even nick his opponent, but the woman on the other hand, remained unfazed by his attacks, although her grin was replaced by a blank stare of boredom.

"You had your turn, Slayer." She idly raised a hand, then did a clawing motion as her nails grew sharp.

"Now it's my turn."

Tanjiro's eyes widened in alarm as he leapt back in the nick of time, the ground beneath where he previously stood was sliced cleanly, three massive gashes appearing on in as the woman suddenly appeared in front of him, her bored expression now replaced with one of curiosity.

However, he gasped as the actual force behind the attack hit him, a strong gust nailing his stomach and sending him flying back. With a grunt, he attempted to flip to a standing position, but as soon as he landed, he barely managed to dodge the following swipe from the attacking demoness, resulting in two gashes appearing in the chest area of his vest.

His body kicked into high gear as he swung his sword as fast as he could to parry the attacks, but they were swatted away without an issue, causing more tears in his uniform as her claws reached him. Tanjiro grit his teeth as he felt some of the gashes bleed, trying his best to even survive.

For the following seconds, the two would sprint in the area as metal and claws clashed constantly, grunts and screams would echo as the young slayer attempted every single attack that he could in order to gain even the slightest edge, only to be thwarted by his opponent.

'Dammit, she's relentless! I can't make out the Severing Thread at all, I can't even block properly. At this point, I'm going to die, and Nezuko will be left all by herself without her big brother to protect her! Think, Tanjiro, think, think! You gotta figure out a way to get out of this!' He ranted internally, swinging wildly as Muzan leisurely swatted his attacks away, her eyes boring into his own with killing intent.

"Is this everything you can do, slayer? With your previous boasts, I would've thought that you would at least provide a small workout, but all you're doing is scurrying around like a cornered animal, shameful." She idly commented, choosing at that moment to end it as she suddenly appeared in his face, the boy's eyes widened in horror as her claws were inches away from his head. "Goodbye."

Time slowed to a standstill for the boy, his entire life flashing before his eyes as he faced his imminent demise. 'Is this it? Is this how I die? Unable to avenge my family and find a cure for Nezuko, dying at the very hands of the being responsible for our tragedy? Were those two years of training in that mountain a waste of time? Am I really going to leave Nezuko alone, unable to fend for herself and eventually be killed by another slayer?' He thought to himself, almost feeling the sharp claws break his skin.

In that moment, however, his mind flashed as images of the future that awaited the girl assaulted his mind, and Tanjiro felt his chest burn. He gritted his teeth as he steeled his resolve. '¡No way! I've come this far, and I'll be damned if I even think of leaving Nezuko alone!'

His next move was nothing short of miraculous.

Muzan expected the boy's face to be sliced clean and join the pile of slayers that have boasted of defeating her and were now six feet under, but then she got more surprised than the last few times as the boy breathed.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone, with only wisps of vapor denoting where he went as her claws swiped at it, then she looked up to see the boy in the air, bringing his sword over his head and a small bloody cut on his cheek.

'He dodged my attack at the last minute?'

He ignored her expression, taking another deep breath as he started falling. "Eight Form: Waterfall Basin!" He swung the sword, Muzan's shock providing him enough time to land the first hit, the crushing force falling down on her like an actual waterfall, sending some dust flying everywhere.

He took a deep breath, knowing by now that it wouldn't stop the demoness, and he didn't wait to be proven right. "Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow!" He hopped back fast with small splashes of water following his wake and was nearly nicked by her claws again as the dust cloud cleared, revealing the woman as her smile returned, turning into a manic grin as she gave chase.

"You're making this very fun for me, Slayer! I might just have to put in a bit of effort after all!" She boasted while slashing and swinging, and Tanjirou had to breathe again to parry her attacks. "Third Form: Flowing Dance!" He swung frantically as the claws were chipping away at his sword visibly, and since the boy was also using the Ninth Form alongside the Third Form, it was straining his body and lungs beyond belief.

Part of him was terrified by the demon's strength, and it grew as he realized just how out of his league he truly was since even now, the Severing Thread had yet to even be formed. 'Dammit! I've almost exhausted all of my options! I need distance to think of something, fast!' He grunted internally, and during a rather vicious downward sweep that had him struggling to block the claws that were grinding against his sword, Muzan grinned wider as her eyes widened slightly and pushed him down harder.

"For a pathetic human, you were so amusing, Slayer. I'm half tempted to keep you as my pet to amuse me more, but I'd probably kill you a day later after having enough of your presence." She remarked, chuckling darkly as cracks began forming on the blade.

The hatred inside of him roared to life once more, and in a desperate gamble, he jumped and placed his feet on her stomach, making her look down in bafflement as yet again, he vanished with a hiss of steam, making her almost lose her balance from the sudden lack of resistance, then looked back up to see him a few dozen feet away from her, panting heavily and looking at his sword, which looked to be barely hanging by a thread.

There were cracks everywhere, the edge was chipped and turned blunt, and it was so brittle that even a child could break it with enough force. Tanjirou sighed with remorse. 'Sorry, Haganezuka-san, I hope you will forgive me for ruining your sword.' He thought to himself, lowering into a ready stance before taking a few deep breaths.

'Okay… This might be my last shot at even doing damage. Make it count, Tanjirou.' He thought to himself, then he breathed.

Water is as much of a chaotic force as it is a tranquil one, in a vast area and with a lot of water, once it picks momentum it hardly stops, and the density of the liquid makes the impact all the stronger. It was the secret to the last Form of Water Breathing, as Urokodaki had taught him, a fluid movement that only gets stronger and faster as it goes on.

With the distance, he reasoned that he could accumulate enough momentum, even for a last shot. With flashes of his sister crossing his mind, the scenery of his dead family and the smug visage of the one responsible for it all merely a few feet away from him, it made the fire in him roar as he moved.

"Tenth Form: Constant Flux!" He roared out loud as he ran, swinging in a fluid pattern, much to Muzan's disappointment.

"If you think that doing the same move with a different name and far from me is going to change anything…" She started, lifting her hands in a puppeteering gesture. "... You are dead wrong." As soon as she finished, fleshy tentacles emerged from her fingers, flying towards him and fast.

He quickly squashed down the feeling of surprise and moved to parry, this time more successful than before, which surprised Muzan as the tendrils were stronger than her mere swipes, but she shook her head and began attacking faster with them.

Tanjirou grit his teeth as his body was being pushed beyond its limits, but nonetheless kept swinging faster and harder, parrying her attacks whilst maintaining the form, and before he knew it, he was closing in the distance between them, and with another breath, he added the Ninth Form's footwork, now moving even faster and before either of them knew it, he was in front of her, blade covered in copious amounts of water as it swung for her neck.

"RAAAAAARRRRRRGH!" He roared as he swung it with all of his might, he could feel some of his tendons rupturing from the overwhelming strain and his voice giving up from how hoarse it was, but he didn't care, he couldn't, now that revenge was in his grasp, all he could do was to give it his all.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't see the smirk on her face right as the blade made contact.

CRASH!

His eyes widened in horror as his sword reached the last straw, caving in to her strong neck as it shattered into pieces in slow motion before him, and Muzan idly moved to the side.

The world went back to normal, and Tanjirou realized that thanks to the sword breaking, he had overreached, so when Muzan stepped aside, he was still being carried by the momentum of both Ninth and Tenth forms.

Thus, he couldn't brake in time, which led to him tumbling across the ground very painfully, and even more unfortunate, what broke his momentum was the tree he collided against, gasping in agony as his back rattled from the impact, before falling to the ground unceremoniously, groaning in pain as he tried to move, but to no avail.

It became hard to breathe, too hard, actually, most likely he ruptured his ribs and one might be poking his lungs, not good. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his brain almost shut itself down as the pain finally registered, but he remained awake out of sheer stubbornness. He heard the footsteps that were approaching him, and soon, a shadow loomed over him, making him look scornfully at the still smug visage of Muzan.

"Well, I guess that's all you've got. I have to commend your bravery… or better yet, your stupidity, for brazenly getting out of your rightful place and think you might stand a chance against me." She mocked him, which made him futilely growl in anger, and she huffed.

"Still, as much as I hate to admit it, you are the only demon slayer to ever draw blood from me, aside from that man…" She kept talking and then muttered the last part with as much bile and hate as she could muster, which he didn't understand.

Who was "that man"?

However, his eyes focused on her neck after realizing what she said, and indeed, at the conjuncture of her neck, there was a thin cut which was bleeding slightly, so small he wouldn't have noticed, if not for the small amount of blood it was leaking.

Before he knew it, her face loomed dangerously over his own.

"You are very interesting, slayer, far too interesting for my own good. Tell me, what is your name?" She asked him, quirking an elegant eyebrow in a gesture of curiosity.

Part of him wanted to spit in her face and say nothing, but since he was about to die, what's the point of trying to keep it hidden? "K-Kama-do… T-Tanjir-ou…" He grunted out, breathing erratically from the pain.

Muzan hummed in thought, then smiled as her eyes bore into his own. "Kamado… Ah, now I remember… It was two years ago, wasn't it? That day I've been hearing stuff about a family of coal miners that owned a pair of sun themed Hanafuda earrings, a remnant of that man I'd rather live without in this world. Imagine my surprise when there was no one with said earrings in that house, and the woman that opened the door for me clearly knew something was going on." She started, and his eyes widened in horror as it all clicked in his brain.

Hanafuda earrings, the same that his father gave to him, the same earrings he was wearing right now. 'I led this monster to my house, I caused mom, Takeo, Shigure, Hanako and Rokuta to die. I was the actual target, and they paid the price.' His inner turmoil was easily noticed by her, which made her chuckle.

"So it was you who I was looking for at that time. Heh, I guess fate can be ironic sometimes." She joked, and his attention snapped back to her, and the hatred reignited yet again.

Then, her smile's tone shifted, now adorning a more malicious glint, combined with… desire?

"You were less problematic than I thought you would be, however, I couldn't help but be intrigued by your eyes…" She started, making him inwardly question what she meant.

"Your eyes, so fierce and piercing, I can see the fire in them, a fire so intense I can't help but never stop looking at them…" She inched closer, and a long, freakish tongue emerged from her mouth and licked her lips, it was so close to his face that he could almost feel her vile tongue touching his mouth.

His heart raced in fear of what she could do.

"This fire of yours… I want it, I will own it, even if it costs me the world… even if it means having to tolerate a demon slayer like you."

Her hand scooped the blood from her neck, and she opened her mouth, revealing scarily sharp teeth before she smeared the blood on her teeth, then punctured her fingers on them, causing them to bleed before smearing the wounds on her teeth, turning them completely red.

"From now on, you will be mine, and no one else's. Your fire right now, it is dim and harmless, but I know that with time and growth, you will become as mighty as the Sun itself, my path to conquering it."

Before he knew it, she leaned down and bit on his neck, making him grunt from the pain, but then he was assaulted by more, too much at once and it finally made his consciousness give away, losing himself into the blissful darkness.

But before he did, he could hear her final words, as he thought of his sister.

"Live, and prove me right, my prize."


... Yep, this is the fic in question.

If you guys can't tell by this chapter alone, the main pairing in question is Tanjirou/Fem!Muzan (although the gender can change on a whim, perks of being a flesh modifying creature like Muzan, you can be anythink you fucking want, but for the most part, Muzan will be a woman in this fic), but there will be some other partners for Tanjirou, and by proxy, Muzan.

This is a poly fic, not a harem fic, even if both terms seem similar, the executions are extremely different, especially since the former is more realistic.

How this fic will progress, hopefully it is to y'all's liking.

Now, do leave a comment telling me what you guys think of this idea, and how's it been for y'all old followers that stuck around to this day.

Smell ya later