The teen was a decent-height, with reddish-black hair and a large burn scar going down the side of his face. His eyes were a burning red, filled with kindness and terror. Tanjiro Kamado. The main character of the world he was currently in.

Then, out of the temple, burst a…..Creature. Fiend. A Demon. 

The Demon was average in height, muscular with pale, ash-gray skin. Green marks covered both of his biceps and he wore a sleeveless blue tunic. Grotesque and disgusting, its sharp bloody teeth turned, presumably human flesh still dripping blood from its mouth.

“To think another human stumbled upon my lair!” The Temple Demon smirked arrogantly, brandishing his claws. “Good, good, good! But why didn’t I sense you?” The Demon spoke questioningly, before shaking it off as not paying attention. 

“Run!” Tanjiro grabbed the stranger by the collar, urging him to make a run for it. He didn’t question why Kage was so deep in the woods or anything. Blood dripped from the ground as the Demon sighed, swallowing the remains of whatever it had been eating before.

Kage gulped, muttering quietly, looking at the Demon before him. He trembled, looking at the beastly abomination, as Tanjiro gritted his teeth, stepping in front of them and turning around, brandishing a hatchet. 

Standing there frozen, Kage was terrified. In all his life, he had never felt such a sense of primal fear. He really wanted to run. But Tanjiro, who had just met him, was standing off against the Demon, trying to protect him. 

Even when he still had the life of his sister and of course himself to protect. Could someone in this world truly be so selfless? 

The Temple Demon lunged forwards, closing in on Tanjiro, who yelled, waving his hatchet. 

Part of Kage realized that with himself here, the outcomes of this fight might be different from canon. He was a hindrance. Urokodaki might not arrive for a while to come, so Kage had to act and help Tanjiro. Nezuko? Maybe, but he wasn’t taking any chances. And, Kage wanted to help. With his abilities, he had the capability to help!

At this moment, instinct took over as Kage ran forwards, as Tanjiro wrangled with the Demon, he punched out, speaking.

“Gum-Gum….. Pistol!” Kage squatted, as he turned, punching out, his arm somehow extending inhumanly, smashing the Temple Demon in the jaw. The beast flew out, spinning through the air, before collapsing to the ground in a cloud of dust. It was a novel feeling, really.

Tanjiro backed away, frightened and shocked.

As it recoiled in shock, Kage clapped his hands together, looking down at his red throbbing fist. He really put his all into that. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the first time Kage had really punched someone in a genuine fight. 

“Bastard…. Who the hell-” The Temple Demon got back up, rubbing its cheek, before Kage acted once more, running forwards in a zig-zag pattern, punching out once more with his right fist. It connected with the Demon's chest, who looked down mockingly. 

It obviously wasn’t at the same level as the one before, this was just a….. Normal punch. “Really?” The Temple Demon laughed gutturally, looking at the fist below him.

“Well….. Sorry about this…..” Kage punched forwards with his left hand, as black and red sparks began to flicker, this fist, connecting with the demon's jaw. As the space around it tore, and the black sparks began to flicker, all Kage could feel was total concentration, as his fist completely obliterated the Temple Demon’s upper body, destroying a few trees in the process.

“Black Flash.”

He watched in morbid fascination as blood splattered across the ground, painting the weeds a dark bubbling red. A wide grinning smile on his face, he suppressed a chuckle, before flinching and going back to a more….. Situation-appropriate face.

Stepping back, Kage stared down in horror as the Demon faded away out of existence, still cursing him as it did. 

Kneeling on the ground, Kage lay against a large rock, mentally and physically exhausted. Clapping his hands together, he bowed his head a little, even though he knew that the Demon was probably still cursing him on its way to the Pure Land….. “May you rest in pieces…..”

Both adrenaline and ecstasy pumped through his veins, Kage had gotten through his first conflict in this world….

“Are you…. Okay?” As Kage closed his eyes, panting for breath, he heard a kind light voice call out to him, as a hand patted his shoulder.

“Have been better…… Did I just…?” Kage replied, getting up, hands still trembling. His left hand was still partially caked in blood, the liquid dripping down onto the ground. Besides that, his fist was just a little red, nothing too bad.

“You killed a Demon with your bare fist….? Interesting… And it didn’t regenerate?” Kage and Tanjiro whipped around, hearing the sound of an old man's voice, as out of the forest, a man stepped. He was tall, with silver-colored hair, a symbol of his old age, and a cloud patterned jinbei kimono. A red tengu mask covered his whole face, quite the fearsome sight.