Screen 1 — first time meet
After the demons massacre his family and Nezuko transforms into something between monster and sister,
Tanjiro's world feels colder. Even the air seems to bite.
When he reaches Urokodaki's home at the foot of the mountain, the old man watches him with a gaze sharper than a blade.
"You'll be my fourth student," Urokodaki says quietly.
Tanjiro wipes blood from his cheek, still drying from the journey. "Fourth? Who were the other three?"
Urokodaki's mask doesn't move, but something in his posture stiffens—
a faint tension, like a wound reopened.
He slides the door open without answering.
Tanjiro steps inside… and freezes.
A skeleton in a hoodie lies on the floor like a corpse that simply decided to take a nap.
It lifts its head slowly—far too slowly for something without muscles.
One glowing blue eye flicks open.
"Oh. A new kid?" Sans asks, his voice sounding casual but echoing faintly, like he's speaking from the other side of death.
Before Tanjiro can react, the door slams open again.
A second skeleton, taller and much more animated, marches in with loud, armored steps.
"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SUPERIOR TO ALL FORMER TRAINEES, WELCOME YOU TO—"
Tanjiro jumps when Sans silently teleports beside him, hands in pockets.
"Don't mind him," Sans says, voice quiet but unnervingly close. "He's dramatic, but he's cool. Mostly."
Papyrus waves his skeletal hands frantically.
"WE ARE NOT DEMONS! WE ARE HEROES OF JUSTICE!
AND ALSO CERTIFIED STUDENTS OF THAT GRUMPY OLD MAN!"
Urokodaki sighs softly behind his mask, tired in a way only someone with a lifetime of regret can be.
Tanjiro tries to steady his breathing.
"O-okay… this is just… a little strange."
Sans shrugs.
"You live long enough, kid…
you get used to strange."
But the way he says it—
the weight in his voice—
makes Tanjiro wonder whether Sans has lived far longer than any human should.
To be continued…