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Chapter Text

Weak.

That’s what Bruce’s father had always called him.

Along with useless and waste of space.

Bruce’s mother, Rebecca, sometimes told Bruce that his father had been different when she married him. But something had changed in the years following, and he had started drinking to dull whatever pain he felt from it.

His drinking was the reason Rebecca could never afford a new kimono, and that Bruce was almost always barefoot.

But despite all the problems that he caused with his drinking, Bruce’s father always seemed to find a way to blame their problems on Bruce. And he relieved that frustration by beating his son.

And when Rebecca tried to step in, his father beat her too.

One night, when Bruce was four and his father was out drinking again, Rebecca had packed their belongings in a sack and taken Bruce’s hand.

We’re leaving, love, she said.

Where are we going, Mommy?

Somewhere that you’ll be safe.

They had walked quickly and quietly down the streets of their shabby neighborhood. They were nearly to the edge of town when the demon had shown up.

The demon looked exactly like how Bruce’s father looked in his nightmares. It was wearing his father’s green haori jacket, torn and bloody in places. And despite the fangs and the bulging veins and mad eyes, Bruce had known immediately who the demon once was.

Bruce’s father had not hesitated to kill his wife. Rebecca had shielded Bruce, fighting tooth and nail to protect her son, but she hadn’t lasted more than a minute.

Bruce had been in shock and couldn’t run, but a Demon Slayer had been in the area and had come running, seemingly from nowhere. He had dealt with Bruce’s father swiftly, slicing off his head. The demon had crumbled to ash in moments, spitting curses at Bruce.

Is there someone who can care for you? the Demon Slayer had asked, sheathing his sword.

Bruce had been in shock, but the Demon Slayer had seemed to understand anyway. He held out a hand to Bruce.

Come with me, then.

The loss of his father should have hurt more. But it didn’t.

The man who had called him weak, who had beaten him and hurt his mother and thrown away all their money on sake and beer was finally gone.

But so was his mother. That was who Bruce mourned. And when he was old enough, that was who he joined the Demon Slayer Corps in honor of.

He never wanted to be powerless to help again.

-0-O-0-

Bruce was now twenty-six, and still a member of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Bruce wasn’t a Demon Slayer though. He was a Kakushi, a Corps member that didn’t actively fight demons but worked alongside the Demon Slayers in non-combative roles. Bruce had risen through the ranks of the Kakushi and now headed up the science division devoted to finding ways to more effectively eliminate demons. Privately, Bruce was also looking for ways to turn demons back into humans. He felt sure that there must be a way to save those who had only recently been turned. His theory was that the less blood a demon consumed, the more human remained in them.

Bruce had been on a research expedition for the last month and was finally returning to Kagaku, the town that housed the science division of the Corps. He was still about a half hour away from the town. Ordinarily, he’d be accompanied by at least one mid-ranking Demon Slayer, as he was a top scientist for the Corps. But the Demon Slayer that had been with him had been summoned for a mission by a Kasugai crow very, very early that morning. With only a few more hours’ travel between Bruce and Kagaku, he hadn’t been worried, and he had given the Demon Slayer permission to hurry off to complete the mission.

Kagaku was a fairly large town, surrounded by a stone wall and a protective border of wisteria trees. The surrounding forest had a well-maintained road leading to the guarded town gate. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the Corps were always active in this area to protect the Kakushi scientists. That meant that even though it was the middle of fall and the wisteria trees had long since lost their flowers, Bruce’s home was well-protected. Demons had been unheard of in this area for years.

That was why it was such a shock when a demon crossed the path about twenty yards in front of him, chasing a teenage boy into the other side of the woods.

Bruce shook off his shock quickly, dropped his rucksack, and followed as fast as he could. Despite not being trained for combat, the Kakushi were required to maintain a state of physical fitness, so Bruce was actually quite fast.

The demon was gaining on the boy. Bruce ran faster.

He couldn’t just stand by while someone got hurt. Not this time.

The demon didn’t look especially powerful. It couldn’t have eaten more than a few humans. But even a weak demon was still deadly to anyone but a trained Demon Slayer.

Bruce wasn’t a Demon Slayer, not even close. But he had to try.

Bruce seized a rock and threw it hard at the demon’s head. By some miracle, it actually hit.

The demon whirled around, baring its fangs and snarling. Bruce was terrified, but there was nothing else to do, not if he wanted to save the boy. He darted to the side, grabbed another rock, and threw it.

The demon was already running towards him in great leaping bounds. Bruce drew his knife. It wasn’t nichirin, but it would have to do.

Bruce jumped back and felt the demon’s sharp nails slice into his chest, but, thanks to the burst of adrenaline, he barely noticed the pain. He took a swipe at the demon’s throat and grazed it. The demon stumbled back. It gasped, then grinned. The cut was already healing.

The demon took advantage of Bruce’s shock and lunged. Bruce dodged and felt the demon’s nails slice his shoulder.

And then there was worse pain as the demon lunged again and bit down on his injured shoulder.

Bruce cried out.

He was going to die.

But then a strong, stubborn voice in his mind said:

No. I am going to live!

By some miracle, Bruce was still holding the knife in his other hand. Without a second thought, Bruce drove the knife into the demon’s back as hard as he could.

The demon released him and howled with rage.

Bruce stumbled back. Everything was spinning, but he couldn’t stop. Not now.

Bruce flung himself at the demon, grabbed it in a bear hug, wrenched the knife out of its back, and stabbed again and again. The demon tore at him with its nails, but Bruce didn’t stop.

No! You won’t hurt anyone else!

But the demon bit him again, and the pain was bad enough now to make him let go.

The demon was healing. It laughed and yanked the knife from its back, dropping it.

“Pathetic human,” it rasped. “You’ll bleed your life out before you kill me.”

And then Bruce could see the sun just beginning to come up.

If he could hold out just a few more minutes…

Bruce saw a rock. He grabbed it and forced himself back up, wobbling but determined.

The demon laughed harder.

Bruce threw the rock as hard as he could, hitting the demon between the eyes. At the same moment, Bruce dove for the knife.

Bruce felt the demon’s nails pierce his shoulder, but he hardly noticed. He was up again, driving the knife into the demon’s throat and knocking the demon to the ground. The demon thrashed and threw Bruce off. Bruce found himself pinned to the ground by the demon before he could blink. The demon raised a hand, blood dripping from the knife in its throat, razor-sharp nails poised…

And then the demon gave a howl of agony.

The sun was rising.

The demon scrabbled to rip the knife out of its throat and run away, but Bruce grabbed the front of its ragged shirt and held on.
He was too close to ending it. The demon wasn’t getting away, not now.

The demon finally tore the knife out of its flesh and swung it clumsily, making a shallow cut across Bruce’s chest. Bruce yelped and let go. The cut burned like hot iron, worse than the bite to his shoulder.

It was too late for the demon. Before Bruce’s eyes, it screamed and crumbled to ash as the first rays of the sun hit it.

Bruce fell back, panting. Everything was spinning.

The last thing he saw was the terrified face of the boy he had saved.

Then everything was darkness.

-0-O-0-

Bruce sat up, feeling the tail-end of a scream leaving his mouth. He tried to catch his breath as his eyes darted around the room.

Someone was looking at him in alarm.

It took a few seconds, but Bruce eventually recognized the boy who had been attacked by the demon.

“H-hi,” the boy said. “…uh…”

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door. A half-second later, a woman wearing a doctor’s smock walked in. Bruce realized it was Betty, one of the other Kakushi assigned to this area in the medical division.

This did nothing to help him calm down, as he had a bit of a crush on her.

“How are you feeling?” she asked kindly, as she came towards him. She set a tray on the bedside table.

Bruce became aware of the pains all over his body, particularly near his heart.

“…um… well… it-it hurts…”

Betty frowned and nodded sympathetically.

“I brought some painkiller with me, but I need to check a few things first. Here.”

She helped him lie back down. The movement initially made the pain worse, but lying down felt better than sitting.

“Now, do you remember what happened?” she asked.

Bruce swallowed.

Before he could answer, the boy interrupted:

“You saved me from that thing. That… demon.”

A floodgate seemed to have opened, because the boy began to talk a lot and very fast, and it was difficult for Bruce to keep up.

“…saved me… it was gonna kill me… all my fault, I shouldn’t have been out there…”

“Rick… Rick ,” Betty finally broke in. She crossed to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“We can worry about all that later. Right now, Bruce needs some calm. Take a breath.”

The boy, Rick, looked up at Betty from his seat in a chair across from Bruce. He nodded mutely, his jaw tight as if he didn’t trust himself to quiet down. Bruce realized that Rick had a blanket around his shoulders.

Must be in shock. Poor kid…

Betty patted Rick’s shoulder and turned back to Bruce.

“Now, as Rick said, you saved him from a demon. He brought you here after you collapsed. You sustained quite a few injuries, but you’re doing remarkably well, considering. I’m just going to do a quick check of your vitals.”

Bruce nodded dumbly, suddenly aware that he was wearing nothing but his hakama pants and the bandages on his arms and chest.

Betty listened to his heart and breathing. She smiled at him.

“You’re doing well. But you’ll be here for at least a few days to recover. You do want painkiller, right?”

Bruce wanted to say no, but the wounds from the demon were painful, particularly the one near his heart.

So he nodded, grimacing.

“All right, then,” she said.

Bruce winced from the injection but didn’t say anything.

“The medicine might make you a little drowsy. I’ll be back within the hour to check your bandages, all right?

Bruce nodded, and Betty gave him one last kind smile before leaving.

An awkward silence followed. Bruce was aware of the kid, Rick, staring at him, but tried not to act like he had noticed.

There was a pitcher of water and a cup on the bedside table. Bruce was suddenly aware of how thirsty he was. He attempted to sit up and reach for it, but hissed with pain when he tried to move his shoulder. There were fast, panicked footsteps, and Rick appeared beside him.

“Here, I got this,” Rick said. He hastily filled the cup and held it out as Bruce got himself back on his pillow. Bruce took the cup.

“Thanks,” Bruce murmured, taking a careful sip.

There was a heavy silence. Finally, Rick broke it.

“Listen, uh… you saved me, so you have a right to know. I was screwing around out there because my friends dared me to. They heard about a monster in the woods and wanted to see how long I’d last before I chickened out and ran back into town. They ran off as soon as the demon showed up. It got between me and town and I couldn’t run back. I-if you hadn’t caught up and killed it…”

Rick swallowed.

“You need better friends,” Bruce said, before he could stop himself.

He realized the painkiller must be kicking in.

Rick gave a half-hearted laugh and took the empty cup from Bruce.

“No kidding,” he replied.

Things were starting to get a bit fuzzy. Rick crossed back to his chair, and Bruce allowed himself to relax.

He had survived fighting a demon. He had actually killed a demon, and had saved someone doing so.

Maybe he wasn’t such a weakling after all…

-0-O-0-

Bruce sat up with a gasp.

Something was wrong.

Bruce’s chest felt tight, and the wound on it burned. He was getting dizzy. But he couldn’t bring himself to lie back down. He had to move.

He got up and began pacing unsteadily, his breathing becoming faster and more shallow.

He was dimly aware of someone calling his name—Rick, probably—but he couldn’t respond.

His brain was on fire. Everything hurt. It felt like his bones were breaking. His heart was beating too hard, too fast, and it burned.

Bruce let out a scream of pain.

-0-O-0-

Rick scrambled back as Bruce screamed. The man’s muscles were expanding, and he was growing taller and wider. Somehow, his skin was taking on a green color with strange swirls of gray.

When Bruce turned around, Rick yelped and fell over backwards.

It wasn’t Bruce.

It was a demon, a demon with horns and fangs that was much, much bigger than the one that had attacked Rick the previous night.

The demon stared at him for a moment with fiery green eyes. Then the demon turned, grumbled something that sounded like, “want out,” and started to smash the wall.

The wall broke like paper around the demon’s fists. Without another word, the demon roared and leapt out, running off into the night.

Rick was frozen in place for a few seconds.

Demon… Bruce is a demon? How? What… But he didn’t try to hurt me. Betty said demons eat people, but… he just ran off?

Rick shook himself and made his decision.

He saved me. He needs me now.

Rick scrambled through the hole in the wall and ran off after the demon.

Chapter Text

Rick’s feet pounded the road. He wasn’t sure the demon—or Bruce, or whatever he was now—would follow the main road through town for much longer. But as long as the demon kept to the road, Rick could easily follow.

What was weird was that the demon wasn’t running. It was moving along with a purposeful—and huge— stride, but not running. Rick pushed himself a little harder. He could catch up, he knew he could. Just a little further…

Rick was dimly aware of just how stupid it was to chase after a demon. He had grown up hearing stories about demons, about how they ate humans and could only be killed by Demon Slayers. Nothing from recent memory. Just the old wives’ tales told to children to scare them into not being stupid. (Which, evidently, had not worked out for Rick.)

Kagaku was a town that had a very large population of the Demon Slayer Corps, but there were plenty of civilians there too, since it had been a civilian village before the Corps had moved in and made it a scientific base about twenty years ago. No one had complained about the occupation for long, not after the Corps had almost completely stopped demon attacks in the area. Demons were so rare in the area—practically nonexistent—that it was a popular dare among teenage boys to play a game of chicken in the woods. Stay out in the woods as long as possible, waiting for a demon to show up, and whoever came back to the village before sunrise lost.

Point was, Rick knew what demons were, and despite being stupid enough to take that dare, he was not stupid enough to forget what had happened the previous night. He knew how dangerous this was.

But he just had a feeling that the demon Bruce had become wouldn’t hurt him. A demon that big and powerful-looking should have been using Rick’s bones as toothpicks by now. But here Rick was; alive, chasing after a demon, still able to do stupid things because he wasn’t dead.

Rick had nearly caught up with the demon. He was just a few yards from it. It moved really quietly and gracefully for something so big.

But before Rick could think of what stupid thing to do next, someone let out a yell.

Rick looked around and saw a Demon Slayer up ahead drawing his sword. Even from this distance, he could see the absolute terror on the Demon Slayer’s face. The guy looked like he was practically still a child, barely older than Rick.

The Demon Slayer grabbed a whistle from around his neck and blew a long blast.

In front of Rick, the demon came to a sudden halt, and Rick skidded to a stop behind. Over the sound of pounding feet and swords being slid out of sheaths, Rick could hear a low growling.

The demon had lowered itself into something like a fighting stance.

Then it charged forward, heading for the distant gate. The group of Demon Slayers that had come yelled and most of them scattered, but four of them charged forward.

Their swords sliced into the demon’s flesh, and it— he— roared in pain. He swiped at one of them with a huge, greenish arm and sent the boy flying. Then he brought his hands together in a thunderous clap, and the rest of the Demon Slayers were thrown away by the shockwave. Even Rick found himself stumbling from it.

As he regained his feet, a blur of blue and gold ran past him. He could just make out the golden eagle on the back of the newcomer’s haori jacket.

“Stand your ground!” yelled a man’s voice.

There was a flash of gold nichirin and a roar of pain. Something dark green spattered the ground. Rick realized that it must be the demon’s blood. A sword was jammed halfway through his neck, dripping the same dark green liquid.

“You thought you’d sneak in here and have a feast, did you? Not on my watch!” roared the Demon Slayer.

Rick realized that it was Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a former Hashira that directed the Demon Slayers stationed in Kagaku. His hair and famous mustache had turned white with age, but he still had the reputation of being deadly with a blade, and he still personally trained some of the best Demon Slayers in the Corps.

Ross was going to kill the demon. And if he killed the demon, whatever was left of Bruce would die.

“No!” Rick yelled, running forward. He couldn’t let it happen, not after Bruce had gotten mauled and cursed saving him.

Ross saw Rick coming, but not quickly enough. Rick bowled Ross over, and the sword was yanked out of the demon’s neck. Whatever horrible sound it made was drowned by the demon’s roar of pain.

Ross was trying to get up.

“Get off me, you fool!”

“No! Leave him alone!” Rick bellowed, wrestling with the old man.

“Are you out of your mind?! It’s a monster! I should let it eat you, for how stupid you’re being!!” Ross roared, wrenching his sword arm free and ramming the butt of the sword into Rick’s cheekbone. Rick cried out and slackened his grip. Ross shoved him off and rolled into a fighting stance. Rick was on his back, pressing a hand to his throbbing cheek. He cracked open his eyes and found the demon.

“Run!” he cried. “Get out of here!”

Fiery green eyes were on Rick, a look of confusion on the demon’s face. And then the eyes slammed shut and the demon howled in agony as Ross appeared on his shoulders, slashing his sword across the back of the demon’s neck.

The demon roared and reached for Ross. Ross slashed the demon’s arm, cutting deep but not all the way through. The demon roared and twisted, trying to throw him off. Ross leapt from the demon’s back and slashed across the backs of his legs.

“Just DIE, why don’t you?!” Ross yelled, as the demon fell forward.

His sword bit into the demon’s neck again, but once again, it didn’t get more than halfway through.

The demon roared in agony and rage, and suddenly his skin was engulfed in green flames. He slammed his fists into the ground, and Rick felt the ground beneath him ripple violently, like stormy waters.

Ross was thrown over Rick’s head and into the side of a building. When Rick looked back at the demon, he was still covered in flickering green flames. As the flames died away, Rick could see the demon’s wounds healing.

There was a rush of air and something blue and gold streaked past Rick. But the demon was ready this time.

He caught Ross just before Ross’s sword made contact. Ross was held in midair, facing the demon.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” the demon roared, before throwing Ross back at the same building he had just run from.

The demon stood there, panting, his huge shoulders heaving and his teeth bared. Rick got shakily to his feet and approached.

 The demon’s head turned to face him, and the look in the demon’s eyes was terrifying. But it softened after a moment.

“You tried to stop him,” the demon rumbled.

Rick, still trembling a little, nodded.

“You saved my life yesterday,” Rick said. “I couldn’t let him kill you.”

Suddenly, there came the sound of many running feet.

“There! That hulking green thing! Kill it!” someone yelled.

Both Rick and the demon looked towards the source. It was another Demon Slayer, wearing a haori jacket a lot like Ross’s.

Before Rick could decide what stupid thing to do next, something that felt like a huge hand closed around his middle. The next thing he knew, he was slung over the demon’s shoulder like a sack and the demon was leaping over the town wall and into the night.

Chapter Text

The demon didn’t stop leaping for a long while, but Rick couldn’t be sure how long it actually went on. Rick was too terrified to mark the time.

When the demon finally did stop, it was in a thickly wooded forest on the slopes of a large hill. The demon crashed down through the trees and Rick threw his arms in front of his face, feeling twigs and branches tearing at his skin. But, finally, they stopped.

The demon slowly dropped Rick. On the ground, Rick turned over on his back and laid there for awhile, panting and trying to get his thoughts and heart to stop racing.

He was called back to reality by the low rumble of the demon’s voice.

“Who are you anyway, shrimp?”

Rick sat up, still panting. The demon sat down with a thump that shook the ground a bit and leaned against a nearby tree.

“I… I’m Rick. Y-you saved me from a demon earlier, remember?”

The demon snorted and tilted his head.

“Thoughts are all fuzzy. Can’t remember much before tonight.”

Rick swallowed.

“Are… are you still… y’know… Bruce?”

The demon frowned.

“Who’s Bruce?”

That’s a “no,” then, Rick thought.

“Call me Hulk,” the demon grunted. “That puny little human said it before we left, and it sounds tough. I like it.”

There was a long pause. The demon—Hulk—continued to stare steadily at Rick. Rick swallowed.

“Are you gonna eat me?” he asked, finally.

“No,” Hulk rumbled. “Why?”

“…because demons eat people,” Rick replied.

Hulk frowned.

“I don’t want to eat people. I just want to be left alone.”

Rick wasn’t sure he could take Hulk’s word for it, but it seemed true. A normal demon would have eaten him from the start. Hulk hadn’t. Maybe Hulk was different.

They sat in silence for a bit.

“So… what now?” Rick asked.

Hulk grunted.

“Don’t care. As long as no one bothers me, I’m fine. You can run back to that stupid human town if you want.”

Rick swallowed.

“Uhh…”

Before he could tell Hulk that he had no idea where Kagaku was anymore, Hulk suddenly tensed, his eyes focused somewhere in the distance.

“What—”

“Shut up,” Hulk growled.

He stared for a bit longer, and then he growled softly.

“There’s a demon around here.”

Without another word, Hulk got up and hurried off. And Rick, with nothing better to do, followed him.

They soon arrived on the outskirts of a fairly large village at the base of the hill. Hulk moved almost silently, and Rick tried not to make extra noise as they entered the boundaries of the village.

The streets were empty. Rick followed Hulk as closely as he could, which was hard with Hulk’s massive stride. Hulk finally stopped by a fairly large two-story house. Rick caught up and braced his hands on his knees, panting. He looked at Hulk’s face, trying to get an idea of what Hulk was planning to do.

A scream suddenly split the air. Hulk roared and leapt up to the second floor window. He crashed through the wall. There was another roar, and a body was flung out of the house. It hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Hulk jumped down from the house, and growled, baring his fangs and clenching his fists.

The body he had thrown out sat up and hissed, baring its own fangs. Sure enough, it was a demon.

“What’s the big idea?!” the demon snarled. “I was here first! Find your own village!”

Hulk stomped hard and a big, sharp rock shot out of the earth, impaling the demon through the stomach.

“GAK!!!” the demon choked. It started trying to push itself off the rock.

“Y-you’ve got Blood Demon Arts?” the demon gasped, slipping on the blood-covered rock.

Instead of answering, Hulk dragged the demon off the rock and hurled it away. It flew so high and so far that it was lost from sight before it could fall back down.

Hulk stood there, breathing hard. Rick was in shock. All was quiet.

And then a scream tore through the quiet.

Rick and Hulk both spun around. A woman was supporting herself on the broken upstairs wall. She pointed a shaking finger down at Hulk.

“M-monster!!!”

People were running towards them, carrying lanterns and farming equipment. They had probably been alerted by the first scream.

Between indistinct shouts, Rick could hear the words “monster” and “kill it.”

Rick swallowed and held up his hands, feeling worried but determined. He had to make them understand that Hulk had gotten rid of the demon for them. Hulk wasn’t going to—

A massive hand seized the back of Rick’s haori jacket and suddenly Rick was flying through the air. Hulk was gripping Rick under his huge arm and jumping again.

“You’re still here, shrimp?” Hulk grumbled, as they landed.

Rick coughed as Hulk let go.

“Y-yeah,” he said.

“Hmph. Thought you’d’a run off by now.”

Rick swallowed and drew himself up to his full height (which wasn’t even close to Hulk’s).

“No way. You saved me, and you saved those people back there. I’m not gonna leave just because you’re a demon.”

“Hmph.”

That was the last thing Hulk said for a long time. He started walking, and Rick hurried after him. As they walked, Hulk slowed down just a little, enough for Rick to not need to jog to keep up.

Eventually, they stopped on the shores of a lake, and Hulk sat down heavily. Rick sat down nearby.

Rick must have dozed off, because the next time he opened his eyes, sunlight was starting to spill over the horizon. Rick felt a sudden thrill of horror and jumped up. He tried to push Hulk back towards the trees behind them.

“You have to go! The sun’s coming up! It’ll kill you!”

But Hulk seemed oddly tired. He said nothing and made no effort to move from where he sat, and even Rick shoving with all his might wouldn’t budge the demon.

Hulk blinked and sighed. Finally, he stood up. Rick didn’t understand what was wrong with him, but he didn’t care. He continued to push Hulk towards the trees. Hulk moved as if his legs were weighed down with boulders.

It was too late. The sunlight had reached them.

But instead of burning, the green and gray were leaving Hulk’s skin, which was turning pale. He didn’t roar or cry out in pain or anything. He just sighed. And then he started shrinking.

And then Bruce was standing there, swaying on the spot. Rick just managed to catch him and clumsily lower him to the ground. Bruce groaned quietly. His skin was stained with dried green blood and the only remaining shred of clothing was his miraculously intact hakama pants. He looked completely exhausted.

“Wh… wh’happened?” he slurred.

“Y-you don’t remember?” Rick asked, shaking slightly.

Bruce shook his head slowly.

“Just a lot of pain. And anger.”

Bruce had started to shiver slightly in the early morning chill. Rick slipped off his haori jacket and put it around Bruce’s shoulders. Bruce pulled it tight around himself and continued to shiver. Rick waited for him to become a little more lucid.

Finally, when Bruce gave Rick a tired, questioning look, Rick took a deep breath.

“You… you turned into a demon last night. I don’t know why. But you didn’t hurt anyone!” Rick said quickly, seeing Bruce’s horrified face.

Rick swallowed and plowed on.

“I mean, you threw some Demon Slayers around and you probably gave Ross some serious back pain, but Hulk didn’t even try to eat anyone. He just—”

“Hold on, Hulk?! What—”

“That’s what he named himself.”

“ He named…?”

Rick explained everything as quickly as possible, making sure to emphasize the fact that Hulk hadn’t hurt him and that Hulk had only acted in self-defense when fighting the Demon Slayers in Kagaku.

“He didn’t want to eat anyone,” Rick finished. “He talked to me. He just wants to be left alone. And he found another demon that was about to eat someone and he killed it! At least, I think he did. I don’t know where the demon landed when he threw it, but it had to be at least a mile away.”

Bruce was sitting there silently and staring at his hands, apparently in shock.

Rick swallowed and waited for him to say something, anything. He said nothing for quite awhile.

And then Rick realized that Bruce had started crying.

“…Bruce?”

Bruce let out a tiny sob.

“I… I’m a demon… but… but I’m still a man… how? The-the sunlight… it should have killed me!”

Rick swallowed.

“I-I dunno why it didn’t, Bruce. But I’m glad it didn’t.”

Bruce gave him an anguished look.

“Rick, I could have killed someone! I could have killed you in the hospital! What if I change again?! It-it would be better if—”

Rick grabbed Bruce’s shoulders and shook him.

“No! Don’t you say that!” Rick exclaimed. “Don’t you dare say that!!”

There was a long beat of silence.

And then Rick took a deep breath and squeezed Bruce’s shoulders in a way that he hoped would be comforting.

“Bruce, if Hulk had wanted to kill me, he could have done it easily. But he didn’t. He didn’t kill any of the Demon Slayers either, not even when Ross sliced through his neck. I don’t think Hulk is like other demons. Look at how you changed back! Other demons are burned by the sun, but it brought you back! I think that whatever happened to you is different.”

Bruce continued to sit there, staring at his hands with wide, scared eyes. Rick let the silence go for a few minutes. Finally, Bruce swallowed and looked at Rick.

“Th-this isn’t the end of it. We don’t know if I’ll become a demon again. And what if he decides to kill someone? I’m responsible!”

Bruce stared at Rick, like he was begging for an answer.

Rick took a deep breath.

“Look, whatever happens, I’m not gonna leave you, okay? I’ll help you figure this out,” Rick said. “I owe you.”

They sat in silence again for a bit.

And—finally—Bruce nodded.

“O… okay,” he said.

There was a beat of silence.

“I’m hungry,” Bruce said. “I’m… I’m really, really hungry.”

Rick smiled.

“Then let’s go find some food. Can you walk?” he asked.

As it turned out, Bruce couldn’t walk. The slashes on his legs had healed, but it seemed that his body hadn’t forgotten the injury yet. On top of that, he was shaky with exhaustion.

In the end, Rick managed to lift Bruce onto his back and carry him. For an adult, Bruce was surprisingly light.

“I’m not sure where we are,” Rick said. “But Hulk only took one jump. The town we stopped in shouldn’t be that far away.”

I hope, he added silently.

Rick felt Bruce nod against his shoulder.

“Okay,” Rick said. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

It took almost an hour, but Rick finally got them back to the town that the demon—Hulk—had saved. Even though Bruce was a bit smaller than the average adult, he could tell Rick was aching from the walk. He hated that he’d made this poor boy carry him so far.

“Wait,” Bruce said, as Rick pointed out the town.

“What?”

“I… I’m covered in demon blood. We should probably clean it off before anyone sees me.”

“Oh. Right.”

Rick left Bruce under a tree and ran off to find the town’s water supply. Bruce sighed. His legs hurt, despite not walking at all. Rick had said that the old Thunder Hashira, Ross, had sliced the backs of Hulk’s legs open. Demons healed very quickly, but evidently human-demon hybrids didn’t get the full benefit. Bruce started to massage the back of his knee to try and get the aching to quiet down when there was a rustle above him.

He looked up and yelped.

A small figure was sitting in the branches, looking down at him through a red kabuki mask with wide, staring white eyes.

“Sorry, sorry!” the figure exclaimed.

The figure scurried down the tree and jumped the last few feet to the ground, landing in a crouch. He lifted his mask, revealing a boy of about ten.

“I’m Peter! Are you okay? I saw that guy leave you here, and… what’s that green stuff?”

Bruce looked down at the green blood crusted over his neck and chest. It was also on his hands from rubbing his leg.

“Um…”

“Wait, was it that demon?!”

“What?!” Bruce felt his heart hammering.

“Did it attack you too?! It tried to eat my neighbor!”

Bruce felt cold. Rick had said that Hulk hadn’t eaten anyone, hadn’t even wanted to. Was he wrong?

“But then that big, green demon showed up and got rid of it!” Peter said. “Everyone thinks it wanted to eat us, but I saw the whole thing! It looked like it only wanted to get rid of the demon. If it really wanted to eat us, it could have. It was huge! But it just left!”

“…why were you out so late?” Bruce asked, trying to get him off the subject of Hulk.

Peter blushed.

“I, uh… I like patrolling.” He kicked at the ground awkwardly. “I’m not supposed to be out at night. But that’s the only time I can run around on the roofs and not have people yelling at me.”

“Patrolling?” Bruce asked, smiling in spite of himself.

“Yeah! My uncle told me about people called Demon Slayers. I want to be one when I grow up! I want to save people too!”

Bruce’s smile froze.

The Demon Slayer Corps had a noble mission, but having been in it since he was even younger than Peter, he knew that it was a far bloodier and more horrifying a job than anyone outside it realized. Even the Kakushi, who didn’t fight demons at all, had seen truly nightmarish things in the aftermath of demon attacks. Most of the Demon Slayers were in it to avenge a loved one that a demon had killed, or because their family had served in the Corps for generations. Those who stumbled upon the Corps by accident or through word of mouth usually didn’t last long because they had no idea what demons were truly capable of.

“Mister? Uh, mister? Are you okay?”

Bruce jolted out of his reverie.

“Uh… yes, sorry.”

Peter looked dubious. But before Bruce could think of anything to change the subject again, Rick showed up, carrying a gourd that Bruce guessed he had filled with water.

“Uhh… who’s the kid?” he asked.

Bruce quickly explained. Rick looked a bit suspicious of the kid, but didn’t try to get rid of him. Bruce poured some water from the gourd into his hand and started to scrub the blood off of himself as best he could.

“Do you know somewhere that we could get some food?” Rick asked, looking at Peter. “My friend had a really rough night. He needs to eat.”

Peter brightened immediately.

“My aunt and uncle run a noodle shop! The udon is really good!”

The next step was obvious. Bruce didn’t know how they would pay for the food, but knowing where to get some was a start. After Bruce had cleaned up to the best of his ability, he allowed Rick to help him up, but he insisted on walking by himself. It hurt, but he didn’t want to burden Rick any more than he already had.

Peter led them through the streets of the village to a cozy-looking noodle shop. An older woman with gray-streaked hair stood behind the counter, chopping vegetables. A man, completely gray-haired, was making noodles further back in the kitchen. A few stock pots were bubbling nearby.

“Aunt May! Uncle Ben! I’m home!” Peter called.

Peter barely had to give an explanation. His aunt immediately began to fuss over Bruce (“Are you alright?! Sit down! You look half-dead! Peter, go get some rice balls!”) and his uncle filled a bowl with udon and set it in front of Bruce.

That was the last thing Bruce was really aware of. For the next five minutes, he was entirely focused on the udon.

He didn’t particularly care about the taste of the food (though it was very, very good). All he could think of was eating as much of it as he could. He gradually became more aware of his surroundings and was able to slow down, but he didn’t stop.

Finally, two bowls of udon and about twenty rice balls later, Bruce felt like himself again.

Rick was beside him, finishing off a bowl of ramen.

That’s when Bruce remembered that he had no money to pay for the food. He felt his face growing hot.

“Umm…” he began.

Peter’s uncle, Ben, placed a “closed” sign at the door of the shop and sat down beside him.

“I saw what happened last night,” he said quietly.

“W-what..?”

“The green and gray demon that came to our village. The house he broke into is right across from this shop. I saw the whole thing.”

Bruce felt cold, and his heart was hammering.

A child believing that a demon wasn’t evil was one thing. But it was far less likely for an adult to think the same.

Ben looked at May and nodded. May shooed Peter out the back door and went with him, closing it behind her. Bruce braced himself for the worst.

“Everyone thinks that demon attacked our town, but I saw what really happened. He threw that smaller demon out. He got rid of it. He saved my neighbor’s family, even if she doesn’t believe it. He could have killed us all, but he didn’t. No demon that powerful would just run away.”

Ben paused, and then he gave Bruce a strange, sad look.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Ben asked.

Bruce stared at him, dumbfounded.

Ben smiled grimly.

“I recognized the torn hakama pants. You’ve suffered a terrible thing, haven’t you?”

Bruce swallowed. He had no idea what to say. He had expected accusations, or even fear and threats. But Ben didn’t seem afraid.

Ben gestured to a wisteria patterned banner over the shop counter.

“My family was saved by the Demon Slayers when I was a boy, and Peter was saved by them when his parents were killed by a demon. Corps members have always eaten for free in our shop. I recognized your hakama pants as part of the uniform.”

Ben stood and bowed to Bruce.

“I don’t know what happened to you or why, but thank you. Whatever curse has come upon you, it saved someone last night. It probably saved our whole village. Thank you.”

-0-O-0-

Ben gave Bruce some old clothes that fit well enough, and May packed them enough food to get to the next village. Peter escorted them out of town and waved enthusiastically as they left.

Bruce had decided that their best option was to head back to Kagaku as soon as possible. It was dangerous, he knew. If Ross found out that one of the Kakushi under his command was a demon, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill that demon. But it was also where Bruce’s lab was. He hoped that if he could get back to the lab, he would be able to figure out what had happened to him and find a way to stop becoming a demon.

But a small seed of doubt had started growing in his mind.

The demon—Hulk—had saved someone. It wasn’t just Rick’s wishful thinking. There were two more witnesses to the idea that Hulk was different than other demons.

Maybe this curse could turn out to be a blessing.

Maybe.

Chapter Text

Based on what Bruce had learned, Kagaku was about a week’s journey to the north. Ben had given them directions to the next town, and Bruce and Rick headed off towards it. Bruce had found that after he ate, his legs no longer hurt and he was oddly full of energy. That was good, as they had a long walk ahead of them. But Bruce didn’t intend to actually stay in the town.

Rick could, of course. The poor boy deserved a good night’s rest.

But it wouldn’t be safe for Bruce. If he was right, the transformation was triggered when the sun went down. As soon as the sun set, Hulk would be back.

“I’m staying with Hulk,” Rick argued, when Bruce told him this. “I promised him that I would. He’s not gonna eat me!”

Bruce wanted to argue, but the evidence was staring him in the face. If Hulk had wanted to eat Rick, he would have already done it. Newly-turned demons couldn’t just suppress their hunger.

Bruce sighed.

“Then we’ll have to find a place to camp,” he said. “When… when it happens, I’m counting on you to keep him in line, Rick.”

Rick nodded, a determined look on his face.

He was either an idiot or the bravest kid Bruce had ever met.

The town came into sight late that afternoon. They still had about an hour before sundown, enough time to scout around and find a place to camp. It would be chilly without a fire, but Bruce had decided to let Rick wear the haori jacket and kimono Ben had given him, so Rick would be warm enough. Given what Bruce knew of demons, Hulk wouldn’t be bothered by the cold.

“Check this out!” Rick called.

Rick had run off ahead through the trees to the bottom of a small, rough cliff. Bruce hurried up to him. Rick was standing by a cleft that turned out to be the mouth of a cave. It looked small from the outside, but Bruce knew caves like this were often deceptively huge.

“We could stay in here for the night,” Rick said. “Plenty of shelter.”

Bruce shook his head, not really knowing why. Something about the cave bothered him. Like getting the faintest smell of something rotten.

“What’s up?” Rick asked, losing his smile.

“I don’t know why, but it just feels dangerous,” Bruce said.

Despite his fear, Bruce felt an inexplicable desire to go in.

“Bruce? … Bruce?! ”

Bruce started and looked at Rick. He felt a sudden ache in his hands and looked down.

There were marks from his fingernails in the palms.

“You, uh… you looked like you were going to start growling or something,” Rick said. “You were baring your teeth.”

“I was?”

Bruce tried to make sense of this information, but Rick called him again.

“Sun’s getting low.”

Bruce looked to the horizon.

There was hardly any sun left.

Bruce swallowed.

“Right.”

They walked a short distance away from the cave, and Bruce stripped down to his old hakama pants. He had decided to keep them, as they had already proved stretchy and durable enough to handle transforming into a demon much larger than Bruce was.

Suddenly, a scream rang out. Both Bruce and Rick turned in time to see someone being dragged into a cave.

Both of them rushed back to the cave without a second thought.

“Hello?!” Rick called.

Something reached out and grabbed him by his kimono. Rick yelped as he was dragged into the cave. Bruce gave an angry yell and darted in after him.

“Oh, for—I thought you were a girl!”

Bruce skidded to a halt.

Rick was held in something that resembled a giant fleshy shovel with long, dirty nails. The shovel-like hand and its arm were attached to the shoulder of a small, hunched demon with tiny eyes and massive, rodent-like teeth.

“Curses! I was hoping for a nice, sweet girl this time!”

The demon stamped a foot angrily before calming down.

“But I can’t afford to waste something this young and tender, can I? Might as well enjoy it!”

The demon’s mouth opened wide, far wider than any human mouth ever could.

Bruce knew he had to act.

But before he could, he felt a horrible pain in his heart.

He realized what it must mean.

Save him! Bruce thought, hoping Hulk would hear him.

-0-O-0-

Hulk roared.

In front of him was the demon he had sensed earlier. It had woken him up. Trapped inside that stupid weakling human, Hulk had been unable to do much more than growl. But now, he was free.

The mole demon stopped. The annoying boy was halfway to the demon’s mouth.

“Hm? A demon?”

The mole demon squinted even harder at Hulk.

“What do you want? I caught this human fair and square!” the mole demon exclaimed. “Find your own!”

The mole demon’s other huge hand suddenly stretched out and slapped Hulk aside. Hulk’s head slammed into the cave wall, and he heard the cracking of stone.

Hulk got up quickly. The mole demon was running away, deeper into the cave. Hulk growled and ran after him. It was dark and getting darker, but Hulk’s eyes were strong, and he could sense the mole demon even without sight.

He would never admit it, but he liked the annoying boy who called himself “Rick.” Rick hadn’t tried to hurt him or even run away. Rick spoke to him nicely.

And Hulk would destroy any demon that tried to eat his only friend.

Suddenly, the ground turned soft beneath Hulk’s feet, and he gave a roar of shock. He sank to his waist in something like a thick mix of water and sand.

A very annoying laugh, mixed with snorts, was coming from further into the cave.

“Idiot! My Blood Demon Art is woven throughout this cave system! The very rocks obey me!”

Hulk growled. He lifted his arms and slammed his fists onto the surface of the hardened cement.

The cement cracked around him, and Hulk clawed his way out.

Blood Demon Art… Earthquake!!!

He stomped hard on the ground. A shockwave rippled outwards to where Hulk could sense the demon.

The demon fell with a satisfying thud.

“I can do tricks with rocks too, stupid,” Hulk growled. He began to stride to where he could sense the mole demon. The mole demon suddenly began to scurry up the cave wall and onto the ceiling. Hulk itched to throw a big rock at him, but he knew it might hit Rick. So he clenched his fists and waited, shifting restlessly, for the mole demon’s next move.

There was the sound of scraping rocks. The mole demon was tunneling away through the ceiling, and all the rock made it harder to sense where it was going.

Suddenly, the mole demon sprang up from the ground behind Hulk. Before Hulk could turn around, the mole demon slashed him across the back. Hulk roared in pain and turned to swipe at the demon, but he had already dived beneath the cave floor again, and the rocks had sealed behind him.

Hulk felt the demon’s huge claws slice his back again, and Hulk howled with rage as he missed the mole demon again. The mole demon’s claws raked across the back of Hulk’s legs, then across his face as the demon dived over his head.

Not good! He’s too fast underground!

Hulk stomped hard on the ground, shooting up a rock spike. He did it again and again, trying to catch the mole demon when he leaped.

Finally, he got lucky. The mole demon was caught through the shoulder joint on a rock spike. But before Hulk could do anything else, the demon shrieked and shot out one of its shovel-like hands. The long nails stabbed into Hulk’s chest. Hulk roared in pain as hot green blood began to flow down his front.

The mole demon laughed and tore himself free from the rock, keeping the nails of his good hand jammed into Hulk’s skin. The demon’s other arm began to slowly regrow.

“That human must be really good, for you to fight so hard for it,” the mole demon snickered. “Tell you what: I’ll just tear off your arms and legs and stick you in the ground so you can watch me eat him!”

Rage blazed through Hulk, hotter than any he had felt before. A memory seemed to come to life, bright and sharp and terrible.

A demon, standing over a woman. She was dead, and now the demon was coming for him.

Mother.

Never again. I will never let this happen again!

Hulk didn’t know where the memory came from, but it was strong. He roared, and his blood erupted in green flames.

The demon shrieked in agony and tore his nails out of Hulk’s chest. Without pausing, Hulk launched himself forward, crushing the demon against the opposite cave wall. The flames on Hulk’s skin burned even hotter. The mole demon screamed horribly as his skin began to burn and crumble away.

Hulk didn’t let go until the demon was nothing but ash.

Hulk snorted in triumph as the flames on his skin disappeared.

His wounds had knitted back together with the blast of green flame, and he felt satisfied. The mole demon would never harm anyone else.

And then he remembered Rick.

Hulk’s senses apparently only worked on demons. His eyes were strong, but there was no light at all this deep in the cave. How could he find his friend?

“Hulk!!! Get me down!!”

Hulk turned quickly. He couldn’t see Rick at all, but he had an idea.

He sliced open his forearm with one nail, and as the blood seeped out, he focused hard on his anger.

The green flame died quickly, but not before it lit up the cave just enough for him to see.

The mole demon had stuck Rick to the cave ceiling by turning the rock into the same cement from earlier. Luckily, the demon had stuck him in the rock only up to his waist, leaving Rick’s top half dangling upside down. Hulk leapt up to the ceiling and jammed one set of fingers into the rock to hold on. He used his free hand to start digging Rick out.

“You okay, shrimp?” he asked.

Rick gave a weird little laugh. Finally, Hulk hauled Rick out of the rock and held onto him as they dropped to the ground. Hulk immediately sat the kid on his shoulders. Rick gave a startled little yelp.

“Hold on. I don’t want you tripping and falling to your death or something after all that,” Hulk grunted. “Even I can’t see in here.”

He sliced open his arm again and focused. The flame was just as short-lived as before, but strong enough to give him a quick view of the way out. He started walking. Rick wobbled a little on Hulk’s shoulders but quickly steadied himself.

“Why’d you come in here anyway?” Hulk asked.

“I heard someone scream from the cave. Bruce and I ran over to see if someone was hurt, and that demon grabbed me. Do you think he ate someone before he caught me?”

“Nah, it was a trick,” Hulk grumbled. “Probably been a bit since that demon’s last meal. There’s no blood spilled in here except mine.”

Rick made a noise between sympathy and disgust.

“How much did you—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

They finally stepped out into weak moonlight. Hulk bent so that Rick could clamber down.

“What now?” Rick asked.

Hulk shrugged. “No other demons around. I just want some quiet.”

Rick nodded.

“Let’s go back to where Bruce and I left our stuff.”

Rick led the way.

Once they were back, Hulk settled down against a tree to let the night pass. It took Rick awhile to calm down, but he finally fell asleep.

Definitely sharing a body with a stupid human then. Great. But at least the sun can’t kill me.

-0-O-0-

The next morning, Bruce woke up to fresh aches all over his body and terrible hunger pains.

Rick handed him a rice ball and started to fill him in on the previous night’s events. Bruce tried to eat slowly and pay attention, but it wasn’t working out too well.

Five rice balls in, though, and he was more coherent. Rick restarted the story, and Bruce, though still shocked that a demon was behaving this way (not to mention that he was the demon), was starting to connect some dots.

“I guess that settles it. Demons don’t usually work together, and they’ll get in fights to the death if they’re hungry enough. Seems like Hulk is just actively seeking out demons to kill. And if he’s not eating while he’s out, I guess he gets all that energy from the food I eat during the day. No wonder I’m so hungry when I wake up.”

Bruce reached for another rice ball, before realizing that Rick hadn’t eaten anything. He pushed the container to Rick.

“Why, though?” Bruce asked. “Why is Hulk so interested in protecting humans?”

Rick shrugged and finally accepted a rice ball.

“No idea. Maybe because you’re in the Demon Slayer Corps?”

Bruce frowned as he took a drink of water.

I joined the Corps because my mother… Does Hulk remember? Is my desire to end the demons really that strong? Is that it? Is it from me?

After a few minutes of eating in silence, when Rick pushed the last two rice balls towards Bruce and Bruce handed one of them back to Rick, Rick finally spoke.

“Hulk definitely killed a demon this time. He… he was on fire. Like, green fire. The fire burned the demon to ash.”

Bruce paused as he chewed.

“Something about Hulk must carry the power of the sun,” Bruce said. “Only sunlight and nichirin swords can destroy demons fully.”

“You’re not killed by the sun. It just turns Hulk back into you,” Rick said. “You told me nichirin works because the ore is exposed to sunlight for so long. Maybe because Hulk isn’t killed by it, and you’re walking around in sunlight all day…?”

Bruce shrugged.

“I guess if demons can use magic to turn solid rock into cement and cause earthquakes, it’s possible. Might as well not look a gift horse in the mouth. If Hulk’s got an effective method for killing demons, I’m not upset.”

Bruce paused.

“That still doesn’t explain why Hulk isn’t like other demons though.”

Rick sighed.

“I thought you just said not to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

He stood up and held out a hand to help Bruce up.

“Come on. I know that probably wasn’t enough food for you, and we’re gonna need directions again if we want to get back to Kagaku. Let’s get down to that town and see what we can scrounge up.”

Bruce nodded.

Chapter Text

After a little more than a week, they had finally made it back to Kagaku. Bruce and Rick caught cart-rides with a couple of farmers, but most of the time, they had to walk.

And every night, without fail, Hulk had made an appearance.

However, Rick had told Bruce that Hulk hadn’t gotten into any fights that whole time. Instead, Hulk either just moodily wandered around (staying within shouting distance of Rick) or stayed sitting nearby while Rick caught some sleep. There hadn’t been any demons around for him to go after.

Bruce hadn’t quite let go of wanting to find a way to stop becoming a demon. But thanks to the wealth of evidence starting to pile up, he wasn’t sure that was the best way forward. And regardless of his decision, his personal commitment to finding a way to cure demons remained. That meant, for one reason or the other, he needed to get back to his lab.

Staying in Kagaku would be dangerous, of course. If any Corps members caught even a glimpse of him turning into a demon, or even just happened to notice that the same demon was hanging around night after night, he’d have to run. He couldn’t risk Hulk killing one of them in self-defense, and he also didn’t want to be executed by his fellow Corps members.

Rick had vowed to continue helping Bruce, even if it put him at risk. He had told Bruce that he lived with a great-uncle that wasn’t too fussed if Rick came or went, and it would be easy enough to tell his uncle that Bruce had taken him on as an apprentice or something so that he could come by the lab to keep Hulk company at night. Despite his protestations, Bruce was quietly grateful for Rick’s loyalty.

But all of that left his mind as they came within sight of Kagaku just after noon that day.

The first hurdle was going to be making sure Ross believed his story. Since Ross was the overseer of the Demon Slayer base in Kagaku, if Ross believed him, then the rest of the lower-ranked demon slayers were likely to leave him alone.

It was a shot in the dark, but he had to at least try.

“Ready?” Rick asked.

Bruce swallowed.

“Yeah.”

They stepped through the town gate, and Bruce didn’t know if it was luck or fate or something else, but the first person to see them was Betty.

“Bruce!!”

She dropped the rucksack she had been carrying and ran over, throwing her arms around Bruce’s neck.

Bruce felt his face turning pink. Betty let go and stepped back, blushing and looking a little teary-eyed.

“I… We all thought that demon killed you! My father sent out search parties and everything, but no one could find you! How’d you get away?! Where’ve you been?!”

“Well, um…”

Bruce had never liked lying. He knew he was going to have to, but he hadn’t planned on having to lie to Betty this soon. Everything he had planned to say to Ross was spinning around in his head, and none of it seemed to be able to find its way to his mouth.

But Rick grabbed his shoulder and took charge.

“Hu… That demon got in a fight with another demon in a different town. We ran away while they were killing each other. We got lost, but we finally got directions. He jumped really far, so it took forever to get back, but we made it.”

Betty looked shocked, but appeared to believe it. Bruce breathed a quiet sigh of relief and gave Rick a grateful look. Rick nodded subtly.

The next few hours passed in a blur. Thanks to Betty, Ross bought the story (though he did glare daggers at Bruce for being anywhere near his precious daughter).

“Well, good job not dying, then,” Ross grumbled. “I would’ve thought a milksop like you would be eaten immediately. Guess you’re tougher than you look, Banner.”

Bruce just nodded and took his leave. As long as he kept his distance, it seemed like Ross would leave him alone.

After explanations were given and enough lies were told, and after Betty had satisfied herself that Bruce’s injuries had healed completely (which was nothing short of miraculous, she said), Bruce and Rick were finally in Bruce’s quarters. He flopped down on his futon and closed his eyes.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask; what’s Ross’s problem?” Rick asked. He sounded like he was fuming.

Bruce shrugged.

“He doesn’t really like any of us Kakushi. To him, most of us are second-class since we don’t actively go out and kill demons like the Demon Slayers do.”

And he especially hates that he has to treat me with at least a little respect, since as far as the Kakushi go, I’m an equal rank with him.

“But you’re helping the Corps!” Rick exclaimed. “You’ve found ways to make better weapons to fight against demons, and you, Bruce, you’re trying to find a way to turn demons back into humans! …Hang on, isn’t Betty one of the Kakushi?!”

Bruce sighed.

“She’s different. Betty passed Final Selection. Most of the Kakushi don’t do that, unless they’re retired Demon Slayers. Ross trained Betty himself, but she wanted to be a doctor for the Corps. I don’t think she’s picked up a sword since she started working here.”

Bruce gave a soft chuckle.

“And I’m sure it helps that she’s his daughter. He’s always been a bit of a softy where she’s concerned.”

Rick gave a soft “hmph” and said nothing else for awhile.

Bruce had just gotten nicely relaxed when Rick said, “Hey, it’s gonna be dark in a few hours. What’s the plan?”

Bruce groaned and sat up.

Right. This is my life now.

“There’s a basement under my lab, but I don’t think Hulk will like it. He likes to wander. I might have to go out into the woods. But I’ll have to go at least a mile away to be safe from patrols. And even then…”

Bruce was suddenly realizing just how hard this was going to be.

He took a deep breath, and then another, forcing himself to go into a clinically detached problem-solving state. After a few minutes, he spoke.

“Well, you might be able to convince Hulk to dig a tunnel from my lab’s basement out into the woods. That’ll take some planning, but he’s strong enough to manage it, and it should help him get out without anyone seeing him. For tonight, I guess I’ll just have to sneak out into the woods before the patrols start.”

“Don’t you mean “we”?” Rick asked.

Bruce shook his head.

“No. You need to sleep, Rick, and you can’t do that while you’re tailing Hulk. He’s a demon. He can take care of himself. And you’ve proven that he won’t hurt humans.”

Rick looked sour and crossed his arms.

“How do you plan to get back into town when you transform back? I’ve seen you after every transformation, Bruce. You can barely stand on your own until you get some food. Face it: you need my help.”

Bruce sighed.

“Then… just come and get me after sunrise.”

Rick shook his head.

“How am I supposed to find you? Hulk likes to wander; we both know that. And if I keep leaving and coming back every morning, someone’s going to get suspicious. We need a better plan than that.”

Bruce felt his temper rising, but took a deep breath to master it.

“...fine. Then what do you think we should do?”

“Well, I like the tunnel idea,” Rick began. “That’ll work great. But until we get the tunnel built, I’ll just stay with Hulk. I can sleep in the woods, and he can come back to me before he transforms. And then we’ll get you back into town. If I’m with you, you’ve got someone to carry food and do the talking. We can make that work for now.”

Bruce sighed.

“Okay. But remember: it’s autumn now, and the nights are getting longer. It’s going to be hard to keep smuggling me in and out of town because the patrols will be starting earlier and ending later.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Rick said, seeming much happier.

What have I gotten this kid into?

Eventually, Bruce and Rick worked out a rough plan. They left Bruce’s quarters and split up, with Rick going off to his great-uncle’s house for supplies and Bruce heading to the mess hall to get some food packed.

But as Bruce was leaving the mess hall, laden with a couple of bento boxes and a bag of rice balls, someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Not so fast,” the someone said sharply.

Bruce turned.

It was Talbot, Ross’s current tsuguko. Bruce swallowed.

“Where are you going with all that food?” Talbot asked.

“B-Back to my lab,” Bruce said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Talbot snorted.

“You may have fooled everyone else, but not me, Banner. That demon was empty-handed when Ross was fighting it, and you,” Talbot jabbed a finger into Bruce’s chest, “were supposed to be laid up in the hospital and too weak to move. The only person the demon ran off with was that stupid kid. I don’t know how you got mixed up in this or how the kid survived, but there’s something you’re hiding.”

Bruce felt cold.

Ross had somehow bought the story (likely thanks to Betty), but Bruce hadn’t realized the gaping hole in it.

But before he could formulate a reply, someone came to his rescue yet again.

“That’s Dr. Banner to you, Talbot,” Betty said. She stepped between the two men, facing Talbot. She jabbed a finger at his chest. “And he is not a coward. You may be my father’s tsuguko, but that does not give you the right to harass another member of the Demon Slayer Corps.”

Betty was nearly a head shorter than him, but Talbot looked shocked at her outburst.

“Come on, Dr. Banner. I need to talk to you.”

Betty steered Bruce away from Talbot and back towards Bruce’s lab.

Once they were inside (and more importantly, far away from Talbot), Betty turned and crossed her arms.

“Bruce, what’s wrong? I hate to say it, but Talbot’s right. How did you end up with that demon in the first place? I checked on you just a few minutes before that demon showed up. You were asleep, and your injuries weren’t even close to healed enough for you to be up and about.”

Bruce’s mind went blank. He swallowed and opened and shut his mouth several times, but no convincing story came out.

“I… I can’t tell you, Betty. I’m sorry. It… it was all a blur.”

Betty’s brow furrowed, but her next words weren’t angry.

“Bruce, something isn’t right. I’m worried about you.”

Bruce fastened his eyes on the ground and shuffled his feet nervously.

Betty sighed.

“Just… you can tell me, okay? I won’t say anything to my father unless it will help you. But, please, Bruce. I can tell you’re in some kind of trouble, and I want to help.”

Bruce sighed.

“Th-there’s nothing you can do, Betty. I’ll be okay.”

Betty shook her head.

“I’ll listen if you want to tell me, Bruce. Please, don’t do anything stupid.”

No guarantees, Bruce thought.

-0-O-0-

Betty left Bruce’s lab with a strong feeling that something was very, very wrong.

Human injuries didn’t heal that fast, not even among Demon Slayers who could use breathing techniques to reduce the damage and encourage faster healing. And even the Hashira bore scars from nasty injuries. From what Betty had seen in a quick examination, Bruce didn’t have a single mark on him.

People who were mauled by demons did not suddenly have no marks or trauma one week later.

Something was not adding up, and Betty intended to find out what. Bruce had always been kind and respectful to her, and on the handful of times they had collaborated on a project for the Corps, both of them had enjoyed working together. She had come to like the shy scientist quite a lot, and the fact that he had saved a teenage boy from a demon attack had only made her opinion of him go up. Seeing him suddenly become so jumpy and secretive worried her.

Talbot was certainly going to be keeping an eye on him out of suspicion, and Betty saw no reason not to do the same thing, but out of concern.

Chapter Text

Despite all odds, the first night went smoothly enough. And when the morning came, Rick was able to help Bruce back into Kagaku without anyone noticing.

Hulk had been his usual grumpy self, but had agreed to help dig a tunnel out of the lab basement if it would help him wander freely.

It wasn’t easy. Even with Hulk’s strength, it took nearly a month to dig a tunnel large enough for Hulk to fit through and long enough for him to leave town without suspicion. But finally, it was done.

Rick, at Bruce’s request, had started sleeping in the basement of the lab instead of tagging along with Hulk. And that seemed to have been a good choice, because Hulk had started coming back from some of his nighttime wanderings spattered with blood, either his own green blood or the red blood of other demons. The first time this happened, he had told Rick (with a satisfied grunt) that he’d been hunting down and killing demons whenever he could. There had been a few near-misses with Demon Slayers, but so far, no trouble in Kagaku. Rick figured that Hulk had been putting his leaping ability to good use to get home before sunrise.

Talbot was still being a nosy rat, and he kept finding excuses to search Bruce’s quarters and lab, but Bruce and Rick managed to stay one step ahead. The tunnel in the basement was hidden behind a heavy bookshelf that Hulk moved whenever he wanted to leave, and Rick was able to get extra food from the mess hall while Bruce just worked through dinner. Apparently, Bruce usually did that anyway, so no extra suspicion was raised, and Betty seemed pleased that Bruce had finally started to eat on a regular schedule, so no one questioned Rick suddenly becoming Bruce’s lab assistant.

Despite being stuck as a half-demon, Rick felt Bruce was doing okay. They had settled into a safe routine, and Hulk was actually helping by coming back before sunrise every morning. Rick had even noticed that Bruce seemed to have given up on searching for a way to stop becoming a demon, and even seemed to view Hulk as a person rather than a curse.

But after two months, things took a turn.

-0-O-0-

Hulk had been staking out a fishing village for two nights trying to find a demon. Four people had been killed already, and despite his demon-sensing ability, he hadn’t managed to catch more than a glimpse of the demon before it disappeared. From what he could tell, the demon was extremely fast and relied on a hit and run technique for its kills. Hulk had tried to track it, but he was never fast enough to catch it in time to get back to town before sunrise. It was angering him to no end.

But the demon wouldn’t come out in daylight, and he couldn’t stick around to look for it because puny little Banner ruled the day. Hulk gritted his teeth and took the first leap back towards Banner’s town. He’d have to ask Rick to get Banner to make up an excuse to visit the fishing village so Hulk could find the demon without having to jump all the way home before morning. Hulk clenched a fist as he landed and immediately jumped again. How many humans would that demon kill in that time? Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that he was stuck sharing a body with a stupid human.

Hulk finally hit the ground a final time with a resounding “THOOOM.” He lifted the rock that covered the tunnel entrance, which was hidden under the roots of a large tree. After covering the hole back up from the inside, Hulk began the long walk back to the lab basement. He was already starting to feel tired. Banner would be back out soon. He walked faster.

Gotta tell Rick…

Rick was already awake by the time Hulk pushed the bookshelf aside and walked into the basement.

“Hey, shrimp. I got a problem.”

Hulk clenched his teeth as he felt the change begin.

“Fishing village… to the north… There’s a demon. Can’t find it. Tell Banner to get his skinny butt—”

Hulk felt himself fading.

“Make him go!!” he roared.

-0-O-0-

Rick caught Bruce as the transformation finished.

“Good morning,” Rick said, helping Bruce sit down on the futon Rick had been sleeping on.

Bruce groaned and flopped over on his side. Rick sighed and looked at the bookshelf. Hulk had forgotten to move it back, and it would take both him and Bruce to move it again. Rick stood and walked to the table to retrieve food for Bruce.

“Hulk wanted me to tell you something,” Rick said, as Bruce sat up and sleepily began to shovel fish and rice into his mouth.

“Mmph.”

Rick explained Hulk’s vague directions.

Bruce put down the now-empty bento box, sighed, and scrubbed a hand over his face.

“It’s not going to be easy to find that exact village.” Bruce grabbed a second bento and opened it. “But I guess it being a fishing village narrows it down. I’ll ask around and find an excuse to go there. I should be able to get away with it somehow. Perks of my rank.”

“Can’t we just send a Demon Slayer there?” Rick asked.

“We could, but then we’d have to tell Ross how we found out about demon attacks in that village when we haven’t left Kagaku for two months.”

“Ah. Pull rank it is, then.”

“Yep.”

-0-O-0-

It was actually surprisingly easy to locate the fishing village, and it was equally easy to create an excuse to leave Kagaku.

Ross grumbled a lot, but was unable to deny Bruce’s request to search the area around the village for compounds to be used in his research. Being a high-ranking Kakushi scientist, despite Ross looking down on him, had its benefits.

But there was one condition: Bruce had to have an escort from the Demon Slayers. This was nothing out of the ordinary. Bruce had always traveled with at least one Demon Slayer on past journeys. But, whether it was Ross’s revenge for Bruce being friendly with Betty or some twisted volunteering from his tsuguko, Talbot was assigned to the task.

It was bad enough to have to travel with a Demon Slayer at all, but being assigned the old Thunder Hashira’s tsuguko made it even worse.

“Poison his next meal,” Rick said sourly, as he helped Bruce pack. “You can do that, right? You know enough about that kind of thing to do it without killing him. Just make him really sick or something so we have to get a different escort.”

Bruce had to admit, that plan had its merits. But he shook his head.

“Knowing him, he could be projectile vomiting and he’d still insist on being the one to do the job. And it would be really hard to do that without someone noticing anyway. Talbot eats in the mess hall with the other Demon Slayers stationed here. I couldn’t get close enough to poison just his portion without him noticing, and I couldn’t poison the main cooking pot without poisoning all the other Demon Slayers who eat at the same time as him.”

“...but if none of that was a problem, you’d still do it, right?”

Bruce paused, and then began to laugh.

“Yeah, probably.”

Rick laughed too.

Rick disappeared for a little while as Bruce finished packing, and when he came back, he was holding a small bundle.

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“What’s that?” he asked.

Rick smiled wickedly.

“One of the kitchen hands told me that Talbot’s favorite food is dorayaki. So I figured if we put a sleeping drug in it, Talbot will be out all night, so Hulk can do his job without getting in a fight with him.”

“...that plan is just crazy enough to work. Let’s do it.”

Within the hour, they were ready to depart. Talbot joined them. A Kasugai crow was on his shoulder. Unless Bruce was mistaken, it had a sort of tired, long-suffering look on its face.

“If you’re ready, then let’s go!” Talbot barked.

He waited for Bruce and Rick to pass, and then his sharp footsteps were heard behind them. Bruce heard a soft rustle of feathers, and then the crow was hovering beside him.

“My apologies for my master,” the crow croaked quietly. In a soft sweep of wings, it flew ahead of them.

After about two hours of walking, they finally reached the village. It was on the banks of a fairly large river. They had to cross a bridge to get to the village. As he stepped onto the bridge, Bruce suddenly stopped, his muscles tense. He clenched his fists and felt the back of his neck prickle.

It was the same feeling he had gotten when they passed the cave where the Mole Demon had lived.

“What’s the matter?” Talbot asked sharply.

Bruce quickly bent and made a show of rubbing his calf muscle.

“Muscle cramp,” he lied.

Talbot scoffed and walked ahead of him.

“It’s here,” Bruce whispered, as Rick stopped beside him.

Rick nodded subtly, and they continued walking.

Once they were within the boundaries of the village, Bruce pretended to search around the riverbank for “medicinal compounds” (Talbot was sharp, but apparently lacked enough knowledge of medicine to realize Bruce was lying). When Talbot finally wandered off to find the local izakaya, Bruce relaxed, but only a little.

The demon in this town was setting off his senses much worse than the Mole Demon had. No wonder Hulk had been so desperate to come here.

“It’ll be sunset soon,” Rick said. “How long will that sleeping drug take to work?”

“About half an hour. And it should last all night if he takes it around sundown. Let’s go.”

They found Talbot storming out of the izakaya.

“There’s a demon in this town,” he growled.

“Wh-what?” Bruce asked.

Thankfully, Talbot read Bruce’s shock as civilian terror.

“Yes. I heard some locals talking about it. We’ll find a safe place for you and the kid to stay tonight, and I’ll go kill it.”

Bruce exchanged glances with Rick.

They found someone who was willing to let them stay the night in a spare room. Talbot paid them and huffed and grumbled as Bruce pretended to settle in.

“Hey, uh, Talbot?”

Talbot turned his frown on Rick.

“The demon can’t come out until the sun is down, right? We might as well take some time to get ready.” He held out a dorayaki. “Can’t fight demons on an empty stomach.”

Despite his stony expression, Talbot’s eyes lit up.

“Bruce and I already had our share,” Rick lied. “Do you want the rest?”

It shouldn’t have been as easy as it was.

Talbot devoured the dorayaki without question. And, around the time the sun started to go down, he began to nod off.

It wasn’t long before he was snoring gently. And as soon as Talbot reached that stage, Bruce hurried outside. His chest was tightening uncomfortably. He hoped Rick would keep his promise to stay inside this time. He had given him a small sachet of dried wisteria flowers to help ward off the demon, but since it wasn’t as potent as fresh wisteria (which was long out of season), Rick would still be in danger if this demon was as bad as Bruce’s senses seemed to be telling him.

Bruce found a secluded place on the outskirts of town to wait for nightfall. As the sun edged towards the horizon, Bruce felt his demonic symptoms growing stronger. Anxiety yielded to anger, and he paced his hiding spot, flexing and extending his fingers restlessly as his mouth curled into a snarl. For the first time, Bruce welcomed the change.

I won’t let that demon hurt anyone else.

-0-O-0-

Hulk opened his eyes and growled.

It was time to hunt.

Hulk waited under the cover of his hiding spot, knowing that the demon would most likely wait until everyone was asleep before striking. The threat was small right now, just an itch in the back of Hulk’s mind.

After about six hours of waiting, Hulk’s senses suddenly flared. The demon was close. Hulk padded softly towards the river. As he stepped onto the bridge, something flew at him from the other side. Hulk sidestepped quickly, but then something sliced through his shoulder from behind. He roared in pain as blood spilled down his arm. A demon stepped out of the shadows and caught the thing that had cut Hulk.

He had pale white skin with blood-red stripes, with a red, mask-like pattern over most of his face and a set of small red horns growing out of his forehead under a mop of dark hair.

“So you’re the one who’s been tracking me,” the demon said, with a cocky grin. “What, did you want this village that badly?”

“Shut up,” Hulk growled, and launched himself forward.

His fists only crushed bare dirt, and then he felt the same slicing pain across his back. Hulk pivoted and saw the demon, now standing on the side of the bridge closest to the town, reach up to catch whatever he had thrown.

“Do you like my boomerangs?” the demon asked, still with that irritating grin.

Chapter Text

“So, what’s your name, then?” the demon asked, casually tossing one of the boomerangs and catching it. “I’m Hanekaeru.”

“I don’t care,” Hulk growled. “Because I’ll smash you in a minute.”

Hanekaeru shook his head and smiled.

“Honestly, there’s plenty of humans in this village for both of us. I’ll even let you have first pick tonight, since I’ve already been here… what is this, my fourth time?”

At least four people dead.

That was four too many.

Hulk shot forward, ready to pummel this punk into the dirt.

But once again, Hanekaeru was too fast. He leapt upward, and two boomerangs sliced downward, embedding themselves in Hulk’s shoulders. Hulk roared in pain and rage.

“Interesting. Those should have sliced your arms off.”

Hulk managed to grind past the pain and rip the objects from his shoulders as he spun around to find Hanekaeru.

He glanced down at the boomerangs. They were made of curved, sharp bone, stained dark green with Hulk’s blood.

“Grew those bones myself,” Hanekaeru said, snapping his fingers. The bones exploded in Hulk’s grip, tiny fragments slicing his skin and just barely missing his eyes.

“Just how many humans have you eaten?” Hanekaeru asked, as Hulk gritted his teeth and pushed his wounds to heal faster. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone, demon or human, who hasn’t lost a limb to my boomerangs. You must have eaten at least fifty, to be this strong.”

“SHUT UP!!!” Hulk roared. He slammed his hands together, creating a huge shockwave. As Hanekaeru slid backwards, Hulk used his Blood Demon Art to send five rock spikes up from the ground.

But when the dust cleared, Hanekaeru wasn’t impaled. He was balancing on top of one of the spikes with one hand. He smirked.

“Nice trick. But that won’t work on me.”

In a flash, Hanekaeru was shooting towards Hulk, boomerangs in front of him in an X. Hulk blocked the dual slice with his right arm. The boomerangs cut down to the bone, but his arm wouldn’t be severed so easily. As the boomerangs cut him, Hulk drove forward from his other hip, slamming his left fist into Hanekaeru’s ribs with a nasty crunch and breaking all the way through his body.

Hanekaeru gasped, but quickly drove the points of his boomerangs down into Hulk’s left forearm. The boomerangs exploded.

When the dust finally cleared and Hulk had healed, Hanekaeru was gone again.

Hulk focused on his senses and dodged just before the boomerangs could slice him again. There! Hanekaeru was standing on one of the posts that raised the bridge out of the water! Hulk drove his hand into the earth and flung a thick dirt clod at Hanekaeru’s head. Hanekaeru jumped to the opposite post to avoid it and hurled another boomerang at Hulk. It clipped his ear, sending a fresh stream of blood onto Hulk’s shoulder.

Hulk stomped hard, using his Blood Demon Art to throw up a heavy chunk of earth. He kicked it towards Hanekaeru, who dodged, leaping over it towards Hulk. Hulk leapt forward to meet him. Hanekaeru slashed at Hulk, cutting into his chest, but Hulk’s weight meant that when they collided, they continued moving in a direction that favored Hulk.

They crashed into the ground on the other side of the river, and Hulk began to pummel Hanekaeru relentlessly with his fists.

Suddenly, there was another explosion, and red mist and bone fragments completely obscured Hulk’s vision. He felt a bone boomerang slash across his neck, and knew that Hanekaeru had gotten away again.

Hulk’s eyes had been badly damaged by the explosion, and he couldn’t see.

But he still had his demon-sensing ability.

Hulk leapt sideways to avoid Hanekaeru’s attack from above. He sensed Hanekaeru throwing two more bone boomerangs at him. Hulk slammed his hands together, and the shockwave was enough to shatter the boomerangs.

He likes to fight from a distance. Bet he’s a crap fighter unless he can throw things.

In spite of his pain, Hulk smiled. He preferred close combat to all this throwing-stuff garbage anyway.

Hulk shot forward. His vision suddenly became sharp and clear as his eyes finished healing. Two boomerangs sliced through Hulk’s legs, but they weren’t nearly enough to stop him.

Hanekaeru dodged, but Hulk used his Blood Demon Art to get a better grip on the ground and turned sharply to follow him. With a dark satisfaction, Hulk finally saw fear on the other demon’s face.

Somewhere beneath his fury, Hulk remembered that there were people nearby, people who must be kept safe from this demon. They were getting too close to the village.

Hulk roared, grabbed Hanekaeru by the leg, and flung him into the river. Hulk dove into the river after him.

Thanks to his senses, it was easy to find Hanekaeru in the murk. Hulk grabbed the demon’s arm and dragged him down towards the river bed. Hanekaeru twisted, ripping his own arm off to get away. Hulk shot upward with a mighty kick and grabbed Hanekaeru again, this time by the leg. A boomerang slashed across his neck, but Hulk didn’t let go.

The water boiled around them as Hulk’s rage became flames.

A long stream of bubbles escaped the Hanekaeru’s mouth in a garbled scream. Hulk felt Hanekaeru’s leg disintegrate in his grip, but it wasn’t because the other demon was dead. He had torn off another limb to get away. Hulk propelled himself forward again, catching up with the demon. Hanekaeru had broken the surface of the river, all of his limbs re-grown. Hulk grabbed him in a bear hug from behind. Hanekaru twisted and stabbed two more boomerangs into Hulk’s ribs, and the boomerangs exploded.

In the haze of red vapor and pain, Hanekaeru had gotten away again. Hulk broke the surface of the river and saw him scrambling up onto the bank. With a roar of rage, Hulk shot towards the bank and leapt out. With another, smaller leap, he placed himself between Hanekaeru and the village.

“No more humans for you,” Hulk growled, igniting the leftover blood from his wounds.

Hanekaeru flung another boomerang at him. It stuck in Hulk’s chest, but Hulk immediately grabbed it and flung it aside before it exploded. Hanekaeru tried again, and Hulk, again, ripped it out and tossed it aside, walking forward.

“What kind of demon are you?” Hanekaeru panted.

“The strongest one there is,” Hulk growled. He ripped out the next boomerang and threw it directly at Hanekaeru. It exploded, and before the haze could clear, Hulk shot forward, grabbing Hanekaeru around the neck and roaring as the green flames engulfed them both.

When the screams faded and Hanekaeru was no more, Hulk took a deep breath and allowed his flames to flicker out. His wounds were healed now, but he still had blood on him.

Better clean up a bit.

Hulk stepped towards the river and suddenly roared in pain as something stabbed into his back.

“YOU!!!” someone yelled.

The sharp thing was torn out and Hulk pivoted.

Another slash across his chest as he turned.

It was a Demon Slayer, one with a blue and gold haori and a gold-colored sword.

In a flash of clarity, Hulk remembered the face and name that Banner had been worried about for months.

Talbot!

Talbot was winding up for another slash. Hulk blocked the strike to his neck, feeling the sword bite into his forearm.

He wanted to fight, wanted to destroy this stupid gnat… but he couldn’t. This was a human, and Hulk didn’t hurt humans, even when they wanted to hurt him so much.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” Hulk roared, smacking Talbot away with an open hand. The sword was torn from Hulk’s arm. Before Talbot could get back up, Hulk turned and leapt away.

-0-O-0-

Talbot had burned through the drugged dorayaki quicker than expected.

Rick had been up listening for sounds of battle, and had heard some loud roars (definitely Hulk), splashing, and then one last, awful scream. If he was right, Hulk had already finished off the demon. But they were still hours from sunrise, so that meant Hulk was still out and about.

Talbot had completely flipped out when he realized he had fallen asleep, smacked Rick across the face for not waking him, and then bolted outside to find the demon.

Rick heard everything, from Hulk’s roar of pain to the sound of Talbot hitting the ground, but by the time he caught up, Hulk was already leaping away, and there was green blood on the ground where he had been standing.

Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad.

Chapter Text

With no idea where else to go, Hulk leapt around at random. But, after a while, the sky began to lighten just a little. He knew he needed to find a place to hide, and he ended up dropping back down near the tunnel entrance outside Kagaku.

Anything he did at this point could get him or Banner in trouble. Hulk had never truly felt panic before, but it was all he could feel now.

Hiding in the basement until sunrise seemed like the best idea. Then Banner could figure out what to do next. Banner was weak, but he was smart.

Hulk made it into the tunnel and began the long, dark walk back to the basement.

-0-O-0-

Betty was up much too early.

She knew it was wrong to snoop like this, but something had been bothering her about Bruce ever since he had come back from his misadventure with the demon. And now that he was gone on a research trip, it was the perfect time to see if the basement under his lab held any clues.

She had no intentions of telling her father what was going on, unless it was something that put the town in danger. But she fully intended to confront Bruce about it.

He never eats dinner in the mess hall anymore. Rick is always around now. And I hate to admit it, but Talbot’s right. That whole thing with Bruce getting carried off by a demon doesn’t make any sense.

Betty made her way down to the basement and started to search.

There was a futon down here, which was odd. Was Bruce sleeping down here? Why?

Suddenly, Betty heard something. She looked and saw the bookshelf on the other side of the room moving sideways. She gasped and immediately felt for the nichirin tanto she kept on her.

Into the room stepped a tall, muscular demon with green and grey skin. Fiery green eyes met hers.

The demon gave a low yelp, eyes widening in surprise.

But instead of lunging forward to kill her, the demon immediately turned and scrambled back through the tunnel behind the bookshelf. Betty could hear his footsteps thundering down the dark tunnel.

Betty didn’t know what to do.

It’s a demon! Run and find Dad!

Why is there a demon in this basement?! Why is there a tunnel in this basement?!!

Is this what Bruce has been hiding?!!!

Betty knew it was beyond foolish to run after a demon, let alone one that was nearly twice her size. But by the time she raised an alarm, the demon might be gone.

And no demon ran away from an easy meal.

There were too many questions to not investigate. And dawn wasn’t far away, plus she was armed (even though it wasn’t a katana). She could handle this.

Betty swallowed and ran into the tunnel as fast as she could.

-0-O-0-

Hulk crashed his way out of the tunnel.

Of all the things that could happen tonight…

Everything was falling apart. Just like he had recognized Talbot from Banner’s memories, Hulk recognized the woman, Betty. Banner thought about her a lot, so it wasn’t hard.

Without the basement, Hulk had nowhere left to go. He would just have to run for it. Hulk prepared for a leap.

“HEY!!!”

Hulk turned.

Betty was running out of the tunnel.

Hulk had forgotten to block it with the boulder.

Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!!

Hulk growled and crouched for a leap. But before he could push off the ground, something sliced into the backs of his legs, bringing him down. Hulk rolled onto his back in time to dodge a jump attack from…

“Talbot!” Betty yelled.

“Go back, Betty! Raise the alarm!” Talbot yelled.

Hulk slammed one fist into the ground, sending a shockwave towards Talbot and knocking him over. Then Hulk somersaulted backwards and onto his feet. He wobbled for a second, but his legs finished healing quickly.

Talbot was up now too.

He glared at Hulk, brandishing his sword. Hulk snarled and stomped, sending out another shockwave. Talbot dodged this time and bolted forward with insane speed. Hulk stepped back and blocked the slash to his neck, sustaining a deep cut through his forearm

Can’t kill this guy… can’t let him kill me …

Hulk stomped in Talbot’s general direction to create another shockwave and crouched once again for a leap, but gave a roar of pain. Talbot had managed to bolt around behind him and had stabbed him in the back.

Talbot yanked the sword out of Hulk’s back and cut the backs of Hulk’s legs again, deeper this time. Hulk fell forward onto his hands and knees with a grunt. He wouldn’t be able to jump until his legs healed. And on top of all that, Hulk realized that the sun was rising. He didn’t have much time left to get away.

He felt the rush of air as Talbot leapt over him.

Hulk immediately raised his arm, blocking Talbot’s attempted blow to his neck. The sword bit into Hulk’s arm and cut into the bone, sending hot green blood trickling down his arm.

In that moment of pain and fear and anger, Hulk forgot that he was fighting a human.

He ROARED, and the green flames of his rage flared bright and hot. Talbot gasped and stumbled back. Hulk stood and tore the sword out of his arm, throwing it into the woods. In two swift steps, he was directly in front of Talbot. He grabbed the front of Talbot’s shirt and hurled him into the woods too, sending another furious roar after him.

Hulk stood, shoulders heaving, as the flames flickered out.

He was tired. It was nearly sunrise. He needed to run.

But out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.

Another blade was coming towards his neck. He blocked it with his forearm and shoved back hard. As the blade was torn from his arm, Hulk snarled at the human who dared try to hurt him.

And in that split second, he saw Betty’s terrified face as she fell backward, a short sword in hand. She had jumped up to try and slash his neck.

All of Hulk’s rage evaporated.

“Betty…” he said

Betty was scrambling back from him, but she looked confused.

“How…?! How do you know me?!” she exclaimed.

Hulk looked towards the horizon. The sun was up now.

Hulk looked back at Betty.

“I’m sorry,” he rumbled.

-0-O-0-

Betty watched in horror as the demon fell to his hands and knees, and instead of burning to ash, he began to shrink and change color.

Finally, the demon was gone, and Bruce slumped facedown to the ground.

“Betty…” he groaned.

Betty rushed forward, a million questions running through her mind. She turned Bruce over. He was unconscious and covered in dried blood, some red, some green. The wound on his arm was gently dripping blood, since it hadn’t been fully healed by the demon, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been.

Betty felt her stomach twist when she realized that the wound was from her . She had hurt Bruce. Her stomach twisted again when she remembered why she had struck in the first place.

He’s a demon.

Betty suddenly heard the rush of running feet behind her.

She spun around into a standing position and met Talbot’s strike with her own blade. Her nichirin tanto was much smaller than the standard nichirin katana, but she had trained hard in self-defense to ensure that wouldn’t matter.

It also helped that Talbot was completely caught off guard by Betty having a weapon at all.

“Glenn, no! Leave him alone!!!” she cried.

“Get out of my way!” Talbot yelled, wrenching his sword back and winding up for another swing.

“NO!!!” Betty roared. She managed to block each of Talbot’s blows, until they ended up in a sword-lock once again.

“Betty, listen to me! He’s a demon! I have to kill him before he hurts anyone!”

Talbot’s right.

But Betty couldn’t bring herself to let Talbot kill Bruce, and her sword did not waver.

“He’s never hurt anyone!!!” yelled a different voice.

Both Talbot and Betty looked and saw Rick sprinting towards them.

Rick skidded to a stop beside Betty.

“Please…” he panted. “Hulk is a demon, but… but he’s never once… eaten… a human! … I’ve seen him kill… other demons… to protect people! He only became a demon… because he saved me!”

Through her shock, Betty felt angry tears pricking her eyes.

She didn’t know what to think, but she wanted desperately to believe Rick. She drove her weight forward in a sudden burst, forcing Talbot to stumble back.

Talbot’s glare flicked between Betty, Rick, and, of course, Bruce.

But, finally, Talbot lowered his sword and pulled a whistle out of his shirt.

“We’ll take him to Ross,” he growled, before blowing a long, loud blast.

Chapter Text

Within minutes, they were surrounded by about ten Demon Slayers, most of whom had probably started running to the site of the battle as soon as they heard Hulk’s demon roar.

As Talbot gave orders, Rick looked at Betty.

There was green blood staining her short sword.

Betty followed his gaze down to the sword and swallowed.

“I… I didn’t know…” she began.

Rick shook his head.

“I… yeah. …you didn’t know,” he replied.

Betty wiped the green blood off her sword and sheathed it.

The strain of Rick’s long run was catching up to him now. He felt drained and wobbly. What had taken two hours to walk (luckily over mostly even ground), he had needed to run. He had gone after Talbot as soon as Talbot had run off, following his Kasugai crow. Talbot was much, much faster than Rick and had gotten to Kagaku first, but Rick had managed to get here in time to at least try to intervene.

He didn’t know what was going to happen now. Betty knowing about Hulk might not have been so bad, but now that Talbot knew, everyone would know. Would Ross execute Bruce? What would happen to Rick, since he was so deeply involved?

A few of the Demon Slayers were moving towards Bruce.

Without a second thought, Rick moved to intercept them. He stumbled and Betty caught him.

“They’re just carrying him back to town,” she said. “Come on. We’ll go too.”

Betty pulled Rick’s arm around her shoulders and helped him start walking back to the town. She yelled at free Demon Slayer to bring some water for Rick. Rick looked around for Talbot, but he was already far ahead of everyone else.

Probably to tell Ross himself. What a kiss-up snitch, Rick thought bitterly.

-0-O-0-

Betty helped Rick back into town as quickly as she could. She knew the poor boy must be exhausted from his long run, because unlike Demon Slayers or even Kakushi, Rick was a civilian, and he had likely never done the kind of training that would make such a trip easy. If she wasn’t so worried about Bruce, she would have been personally making sure Rick was taken care of.

Betty managed to yell to one of the free Demon Slayers to go get some water for him, and then returned her attention to the task at hand.

They were heading towards her father’s quarters. She could see him already standing on the porch. Talbot was standing beside him, arms crossed and scowling.

Finally, they came to a halt. It looked like most of the Demon Slayers stationed in Kagaku had come to see what was going on, as had the Kakushi.

Bruce appeared to have woken up a little, but not much. Betty was sure he would have already slumped to the ground asleep if two Demon Slayers weren’t supporting him.

The Demon Slayers tasked with holding Bruce looked extremely tense, and Betty understood why.

Not only were they holding up a demon, the kind of creature they had a sworn duty to kill, and which (ordinarily) wouldn’t hesitate to kill and devour humans, but the demon in question was bloodstained and standing in the morning sunlight, completely unaffected.

If even sunlight couldn’t kill this demon, what could?

Betty shook her head.

No. Not a demon. It’s Bruce.

A female Demon Slayer brought a gourd of water for Rick. Betty released him and he took the gourd just as Ross began to speak.

“Talbot, explain.”

Talbot immediately launched into the story, explaining that he had gone after a demon in the fishing village only to see the huge green and grey demon that had attacked Kagaku two months earlier.

“I followed him back here and I attacked. He was able throw me away, and by the time I got back, the demon turned into him.”

Talbot jabbed a finger at Bruce.

“Banner’s been a demon this entire time!”

“That’s not the whole story!” Rick shouted. Before Betty could stop him, Rick rushed forward and skidded to a stop between Talbot and Bruce.

“He only became a demon because he saved me from one, and it almost killed him! He’s never eaten a single human! And I’ve even seen him kill other demons to keep people safe! He’s been hiding it for months because he didn’t want to hurt anyone! We went to that fishing village because Hulk found a demon there, and he killed it before Talbot found him!”

Ross’s eyes narrowed, and there was a long pause as he stared piercingly, first at Rick, then at Bruce.

“Even if that is true, this demon is apparently able to survive in sunlight. If Doom finds out about him, it could be catastrophic for all of Japan, if not the world,” Ross said grimly. “We have a sworn duty to defeat Doom and his demons. We can’t allow a demon like this to live.”

His hand moved purposefully towards the hilt of his katana and rested on it.

Betty charged forward and placed herself beside Rick.

“If you don’t believe him, then maybe you’ll believe me. I found the demon in Bruce’s basement. He could have killed me easily, but he just ran away. Even when I tried to behead him, he didn’t hurt me. He’s not like other demons. He’s still Bruce.”

Ross’s grip slackened a little.

“Please, Father,” Betty pled, “before you do anything rash, send a Kasugai crow to headquarters. Council with the Master and the Hashira on this. Please.”

Ross sighed, and removed his hand from his sword.

“For your sake, Betty, I will do this,” he said quietly.

Ross gave orders for Bruce to be moved to a room in the hospital building and heavily guarded, with wisteria incense in burners around the perimeter of the room. Rick was taken away for questioning.

Betty directed the Demon Slayers in charge of moving Bruce to put him on the bed, and she tended to Bruce’s injured arm as soon as she could. It still hurt to remember that she had given him that wound.

Throughout all of these proceedings, Bruce barely moved or made a sound. At times his eyes were half-open, and he groaned with pain and weakly tried to pull away while she worked on his arm. But other than that, he did nothing.

If he really had been turning into a demon every night for the past few months, and had been able to carry out his duties as a Kakushi during the day without complaint or obvious signs of distress, why was he this way now?

Betty swallowed as she finished cleaning the blood off of Bruce.

There was nothing for it. She needed answers, and the only person who seemed to have them was Rick.

Betty made it out of the hospital room easily, but as she closed the door, the two Demon Slayers guarding it closed ranks. That made her uneasy, but she had no time to worry about it at the moment.

-0-O-0-

Rick endured Ross and Talbot’s questioning for way longer than he wanted to. In fact, he really would have preferred to not be questioned at all. But if submitting to the interrogation kept Bruce alive, he would do it.

Even so, there wasn’t much Rick could tell them that hadn’t already been said.

Bruce had turned into a demon the night after saving Rick from a demon, Hulk had killed other demons to keep people safe, and they had been managing just fine for about two months. No close calls with Hulk wanting to eat people, no Bruce trying to eat people, nothing.

Finally, it seemed like Ross had run out of questions, and his stern glare was the only thing that kept Talbot from grilling Rick even more.

“Since you’re a civilian, I have no jurisdiction over you. Go home,” Ross grunted, heading to a desk and settling down to write a letter.

Rick was allowed to walk out of Ross’s quarters on his own, and to his surprise, he met Betty at the door.

“Rick, I need your help,” she said. “I think something’s wrong with Bruce. He’s still not waking up fully.”

“He needs to eat,” Rick said. “Hulk uses up a lot of Bruce’s energy. We found out that since Hulk doesn’t eat humans, Bruce has to make up for it by eating extra food. And the more Hulk does at night, the more Bruce needs to eat in the morning.”

Betty nodded once.

“Right. Come on.”

And she rushed off to the mess hall with Rick close behind.

-0-O-0-

Betty hurried out of the mess hall, carrying a bento box. Rick followed a mere step behind, also carrying a bento box. The kitchen staff had asked no questions, as it was common for Demon Slayers to stop by any time of day for a snack.

“Being a bit careless, don’t you think?” asked a man’s voice.

Betty froze and looked to her right.

It was a high-ranked, green-haired Demon Slayer named Leonard Samson. He and Betty were friendly to each other, but at the moment, she didn’t trust anyone wielding a nichirin sword.

“Walking around in broad daylight with the same boy who claims Dr. Banner’s demon isn’t dangerous. If your father or Talbot sees you, there’ll be trouble,” he said.

Betty swallowed and drew herself up to her full height (which was still significantly less than Samson’s considerable height).

“Do I look like I care what my father thinks right now?” she asked, fixing him with a stony glare.

Samson smiled.

“Never said I agreed with him, just pointing out a flaw in whatever plan you’ve got going. How about I help you?”

“Why?” Rick asked. His face was set in a scowl. “You’re a Demon Slayer.”

“True,” said Samson. “In fact, I’m the same rank as Talbot, even if he is Ross’s tsuguko. But that doesn’t mean we’re on the same side.”

“Yeah? So what?” Rick growled.

Samson’s smile did not waver.

“I’ll tell you once we’re back in the infirmary. If you’re planning what I think you are, you won’t want just anyone to hear it.”

Betty swallowed.

Samson had always been decent to her. Unlike Talbot, he never held his rank over anyone’s head, and he treated everyone—Demon Slayer, Kakushi, or civilian—with the same respect.

She decided, for the moment at least, to trust him.

Samson escorted Betty and Rick to the hospital building and towards Bruce’s room. The building had almost no one inside it, likely due to the presence of a man-demon, so there was no one to stop them.

They finally reached their first obstacle at the door to Bruce’s room.

Two Demon Slayers were guarding the entrance. She recognized Danny Rand and Luke Cage, both Demon Slayers of equal rank to Samson.

Of course. Dad would only trust the strongest ones as guards.

Betty squared her shoulders and approached, but the two Demon Slayers closed ranks and blocked the door.

She looked at them with a raised eyebrow and a frown.

“Apologies, Dr. Ross,” said the shorter, thinner blond man, Rand. He had a somewhat pitying look on his face. “We’re under orders from Ross to make sure no one enters this room, for their own safety.”

The taller, muscular one with dark skin, Cage, nodded with a quiet grunt.

Well… this certainly complicates things.

“Let me handle this,” Samson murmured.

-0-O-0-

After the transformation, everything was a blur.

Bruce was too tired to make sense of anything for a long while. He was aware of being held in a standing position, of people talking, and then someone doing something to his arm, which hurt dully. But other than the persistent hunger pains in his stomach, he couldn’t feel or comprehend much.

Everything continued in a haze until he felt something in his mouth.

Rice?

That woke him up.

Bruce managed to sit up, snatch the spoon and bento box, and shovel the rest of the rice into his mouth in quick succession. It wasn’t nearly enough to fill him, but it was enough to get him back to full consciousness.

“Betty?” he asked, when he had finally finished and realized who he had taken the bento box from. He felt his cheeks turn pink.

“See? I told you it would work,” someone said.

Bruce turned his head to see Rick, who was wearing an amused smile.

Rick handed Bruce a bento box full of rice balls. Bruce took it and started eating. About five rice balls in, he was feeling well enough to be worried. He remembered just enough to know that his last transformation had happened in the open, and Betty knew about Hulk now.

He glanced at her and curled in on himself a bit. Then he looked back at Rick.

“Wh’happened?” he mumbled around a mouthful of rice and umeboshi.

“Well…” Rick began, his smile fading quickly. “…you’re not gonna like this, Bruce.”

Rick filled him in on everything that had happened.

Bruce swallowed the last bite of rice ball and stared into the empty bento box. He was still hungry, but it would have to wait.

“So they’re just going to hold me here?” he asked.

“Yes. My father is sending a message to headquarters,” Betty said. It was the first time she had spoken.

“What are they expecting? I’ll turn into Hulk whether I’m here or not. Hulk won’t hurt anyone, but I don’t know if Talbot can resist trying to kill him again.”

Or if Hulk will be able to hold back this time.

They were saved from further discussion by the arrival of a tall, muscular Demon Slayer with green hair. His name was Leonard Samson, and he had been Bruce’s escort on several past Kakushi missions. Bruce noted the slight hesitation in his stride.

He’s still afraid of me, even though I’m human right now.

“Dr. Banner,” Samson said quietly, “you need to get out of here. I overheard Talbot talking with Ross after the kid left. He’s convinced Ross that your demon is valuable enough to spare, but only enough to dissect. They want to bring in other Kakushi scientists to find out how your demon can survive sunlight, and then use that to fight Doom.”

After the initial horror at this statement, Bruce asked, “Why do you want to help me? You’re a Demon Slayer, Leonard. It’s your job to kill demons and defeat Doom. Why would you want to save a demon?”

Samson held Bruce’s gaze, and said, quietly but firmly, “Because a normal demon would have ripped Talbot in half, not thrown him away. And a normal demon would have killed Betty in that basement. Not to mention, the kid should have been dead that first night, but he’s completely fine. If your demon could walk away from such easy kills, then I don’t think it will eat people. I’m willing to trust that.”

There were a few moments of silence.

Then Bruce nodded.

“Okay. So how can I get out of Kagaku without anyone noticing?”

Chapter Text

It didn’t take much at all to convince the two Demon Slayers guarding his room to side with them. They apparently saw things much the same as Samson did.

“I don’t like killing any living creature without necessity. Your demon did not kill Talbot or Betty, and he has never harmed Rick in all this time. I am willing to trust that he has no interest in killing humans,” said Rand calmly.

“Hmph. I just don’t trust Talbot,” grunted Cage. “That suck-up might be Ross’s tsuguko, but that doesn’t mean he’s a nice guy. He’s had it out for you for ages, not just since last night.”

Bruce did not feel it necessary to mention that Talbot had hated him long before the Hulk simply because he was a rival for Betty’s affection, even if Bruce had never made any move to win Betty over.

“Great. Glad you’re with us. Now, how are we gonna get Bruce out of here?” Rick asked impatiently.

“Simple,” Samson said. “He puts on a Kakushi uniform and just walks right out. Most Kakushi wear masks, and they’re everywhere. No one will question him. And if you wear one too, you can go with him.”

How did I not think of that?

“Once you’re out of Kagaku, I’ll send my Kasugai crow ahead to the Master and the Hashira,” Samson continued. “If you go to his mansion, you can make an appeal to Master Xavier. He’s remarkably open-minded. I think he’ll side with you. And if he’s with you, Ross and Talbot can’t do anything about it without going against direct orders.”

“I’ll take my chances with Master Xavier over Ross any day,” Bruce muttered.

Samson left and returned an hour later with three sets of Kakushi uniforms and a bag of supplies. Betty took the smallest uniform and hurried out of the room to change. Bruce took another uniform, checked the size, and started to get dressed. He grimaced as he did so. His muscles were still incredibly sore, and he really needed more food than what he’d been able to get already.

Finally, Bruce tied the mask around his face. He looked at Rick, who was now dressed exactly the same as he was.

Samson nodded.

“Great. As long as Rand and Cage stay in position, no one should know you’re gone until it’s too late.”

“Uh, Samson?” Cage came rushing into the room.

“Betty says Ross and Talbot are on their way over. You guys need to move now.”

“Crap,” Samson hissed. He took a deep breath and turned back to Bruce and Rick. “I’ll go and distract them. Go out the back door and take the western gate out of town. I already commissioned an unassigned Kasugai crow to guide you. She’s waiting for you at the gate. Rand, Cage, and I will make sure Ross is pointed in the wrong direction.” Samson shoved the bag of supplies at Rick, who immediately put his shoulders through the straps.

“Now go!” Samson said, and turned to leave.

“Wait, what about you three?!” Bruce exclaimed. “If Ross finds out what you did…”

Samson turned back. He gave Bruce a solemn smile.

“What we’re doing is far more honorable than standing by and letting an innocent man suffer. Don’t worry about us. Go!”

Bruce and Rick rushed off to the back door, with Samson striding off in the opposite direction.

They met Betty at the back door, and they hurried as nonchalantly as they could towards the western gate.

The Kasugai crow sitting on the wall by the gate had a green ribbon around her neck. She nodded at them and took off.

“K’ai! K’ai! Call me Jarella!” she called.

And they set off.

They walked all day. To cover as much ground as possible, they didn’t stop for meals. It didn’t take long for Bruce to start feeling exhaustion creeping up on him. As much as the food earlier had helped, it wasn’t nearly enough to help him recover fully.

By the fourth hour of walking, Rick had to pull Bruce’s arm around his shoulders and help him stay upright.

Finally, the sun began to set. They had come upon a deserted shrine and decided to stop for the night. By this time, Betty and Rick were exhausted too, and Bruce could no longer stand on his own. Rick helped Bruce sit down, and Betty unpacked some food for them all to share. They took off their masks and started to eat. The food revived them all a bit.

The sun was low on the horizon. Bruce managed to stand with only a slight wobble, removed everything except his hakama pants, and started to make his way out of the shrine.

“I’ll see you both in the morning,” he said. “Hulk will keep watch, so you can sleep.”

Betty looked worried, but Rick nodded.

“See you,” he replied.

Bruce walked a short distance away and took a deep breath. There was a now-familiar burn in his heart that heralded a transformation.

Suddenly, Bruce heard the sound of someone running.

A demon? This early? Oh, brother…

He turned to his left and barely registered a flash of gold before something rammed into his stomach.

-0-O-0-

Rick heard a horrible sound, a grunt and then someone choking. He rushed out of the shrine, Betty at his heels, and suddenly he stopped, cold with horror.

Talbot was there, and his katana was rammed through Bruce’s stomach. Katanas were meant for slicing and slashing, not for stabbing, but there was the golden tip of the sword, stained red, sticking out of Bruce’s back.

Blood was dripping from Bruce’s chin as he gasped, eyes wide with shock.

Talbot yanked the sword out of Bruce, who immediately fell forward onto his face, continuing to choke on his own blood.

There was a terrible sound behind Rick, like the shriek of a harpy.

Betty was running forward, her short sword already slashing towards Talbot, who had his blade raised for the final blow. He didn’t block in time, and Betty’s tanto cut into his arm.

Talbot cried out as blood began to stain his uniform. Rick guessed it wasn’t enough to cost him his arm, but he wouldn’t be using it for awhile.

Talbot blocked Betty’s next strike with his good arm, and the two began to duel. Even with only one working arm, Talbot was still a good fighter.

Rick managed to tear his eyes away from the spectacle.

Bruce was still on the ground, but he was no longer choking. His skin had started to turn green, and his muscles were swelling.

The sun was fully down, and Hulk was making his return.

-0-O-0-

Hulk stood up and ROARED.

There he was, that stupid, STUPID human, fighting Betty with his stupid golden sword. Hulk took a step forward, preparing to launch himself into the fight and punish the man who had hurt Banner.

Rick skidded to a halt in front of him, his arms raised.

“Hulk, no! Run! Get out of here! NOW!”

Hulk bared his teeth and clenched his fists. He wanted to fight, to make the stupid man in the blue haori stop attacking him and his friends.

“Please!!!” Rick yelled. “Just run! We’ll find you and figure this out, I promise! Just get away from here!”

Hulk’s fury was still burning, but the look on Rick’s face…

Hulk turned and leaped away into the night.

-0-O-0-

Hulk had disappeared.

Rick let out a breath, and then registered the sounds of clashing metal behind him.

Betty was still fighting Talbot.

Rick turned and ran to help, but just as he did, Betty managed to disarm Talbot and held her sword just below his chin. Her face was full of a truly terrifying fury.

I hope I never get on her bad side.

Chapter Text

Hulk crashed down through some trees and started walking quickly through the woods. It had snowed here.

How had that stupid human with the stupid gold sword found them?!

Hulk vented his feelings by punching the nearest tree, causing snow to spill down onto his head and shoulders. Despite its thick trunk, the tree broke in half and slowly fell over. Hulk snorted, shook the snow off himself, and kept walking.

He didn’t know where to go. He had left his friends behind, and…

Friends…

He always told himself he didn’t care about humans, as long as they left him alone, but that was a lie. Something in him couldn’t bear to see humans harmed by demons. And that something was what fueled his rage. He didn’t fully understand it, and he was sure that stupid weakling human he turned into during the day didn’t either.

And now he had ended up with two friends, and a sense that he actually had a few more somewhere.

Hulk normally only felt happy when he was winning a fight, but…

The thought of having friends at all made him happy, but that happiness was causing an ache now, because he had left them behind.

Hulk growled and made to turn back.

It was probably stupid, but he would rather deal with the stupid Demon Slayers who didn’t know how to listen than be without his friends.

Suddenly, something pierced the back of his leg and gripped tight. Hulk roared and pivoted to face his new enemy.

-0-O-0-

“Take his katana, Rick,” Betty growled.

She saw Rick scrambling to obey out of the corner of her eye. She pressed her tanto against Talbot’s throat.

“How did you find us?” she spat.

Talbot scowled.

“Why are you still protecting him?! You’ve seen it yourself! Banner’s a monster!” he spat back.

“I asked you a question,” she said softly, pressing her tanto a little more firmly against his throat.

“Could you really do it?” Talbot asked, his voice icy. “Corps members aren’t supposed to attack each other, let alone kill each other.” Talbot’s voice rose. “You’re betraying everything you are for a demon, Betty! Think about it! Are you really willing to do that?!”

Betty swallowed and took a deep, Total Concentration breath.

“Yes,” she said calmly. “I suppose I am.”

Quick as a striking snake, Betty yanked her tanto back and punched Talbot in the face with her free hand. He fell like a tree in the forest.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Uhhh… are we good?” Rick asked.

Betty blinked and looked at him. He was clutching the hilt of Talbot’s katana.

She took a deep breath, this time to calm herself.

“Yes. Of course we are.”

Betty sheathed her tanto and bent down to take Talbot’s scabbard. She held it out to Rick.

“We’re taking his sword with us. Might as well remove as many of his advantages as we can.”

Rick obediently took the sword and sheathed it, and Betty helped him belt on the scabbard.

“Is he…?” Rick trailed off.

Betty scoffed.

“I can’t hit that hard. Don’t worry.” She gave him a grim smile. She bent down and quickly bound up Talbot’s injured arm. As much as she hated him right now, she couldn’t in good conscience leave him unconscious and bleeding.

Finally, she stood up.

“Where’s Jarella?” Betty asked.

A loud “k’ai, k’ai!!” sounded from above them. Jarella swept down and landed on Rick’s shoulder.

“The green demon moved faster than I can fly, but I know the general direction he went in. Follow me!”

Betty looked at Rick. Her fury had finally cooled enough to take stock of him like the doctor she was supposed to be.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked. He hadn’t trained for this, and he hadn’t slept since the night before.

“I’m gonna have to be,” he sighed. “Can’t just abandon Bruce. Or Hulk. I made a promise.”

“Let’s put a few miles between us and this jerk,” Betty said. “Then we can rest for a bit. Hulk can take care of himself, right?”

Rick smiled tiredly.

“Yeah, he can.”

And then his smile vanished, as if he remembered something.

“But we’d better find him by morning. Bruce won’t be able to get going on his own.”

-0-O-0-

Hulk caught his breath as the flames of his rage flickered and finally went out.

He’d been at this for hours. Where were they all coming from?!

He had killed demon after demon, moving through the trees towards wherever they seemed to be coming from, and now there was light on the horizon. That meant no more demons, but also that Banner would be back soon. Hulk needed to find a safe place for him to rest until night came again.

Hulk growled as he started walking.

The demons he had been fighting were smaller and thinner than him, and they were weak, almost mindless. They had attacked without speaking, which was weird, because most of the demons he had fought before this seemed to enjoy either taunting him or bragging about their blood demon arts. These new demons hadn’t taken much to go down, but more and more of them kept appearing, until at one point he had been fighting off ten at once.

Their eyes had been oddly blank too. And their skins had all been the dirty pink color of an old scar.

As the sun came up, he found an old house. A quick look around told him that it was part of an abandoned, and mostly destroyed, village.

Hulk frowned. Something was still buzzing on the edge of his senses.

It felt like another demon, a more powerful one than the creepy pink ones.

Guess I got so used to all the pink ones that my senses are dull. Gotta watch out for that next time…

Hulk was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. He fell to his knees, the faint warmth of the rising sun spilling across his back.

You better eat something this time, Banner .

-0-O-0-

It was cold. Very cold.

As he woke up, Bruce curled in on himself to try and preserve some of his body heat. He wasn’t sure how long he laid there, but despite his exhaustion, the cold kept him somewhat awake.

Finally, he managed to force himself to get up and look around. Clouds were obscuring the sun, and it had started to snow. He had to find some shelter.

There.

The house looked old and somewhat derelict, but there was a roof and walls, so it would be at least a bit better than being out in the open.

Bruce stumbled towards the house. His hands were numb with cold, but he managed to force the door open and all but fall inside.

He heard footsteps.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said, he sank to the ground. His teeth were chattering, making it hard to talk. “P-please… I’m s-s-so cold… C-can I r-rest here f-for a bit?”

Suddenly, Bruce felt himself baring his teeth and scrambling backwards.

DEMON.

Bruce tried to stand and run away, but he fell over.

Bruce felt something pressing against his face. It had a heavy, sickly sweet smell that made him feel light-headed. He tried to pull away, but he was still weak from the transformation and the cold, and something, no, someone was holding whatever it was in place.

“Just relax,” someone was crooning. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s time for some rest.”

Bruce fought harder against whatever was holding him down, but his limbs, already weak, were starting to feel heavy, and the dizziness was quickly overwhelming him. Bruce groaned, unable to keep going.

“That’s right,” the voice said. “Get some sleep.”

That was the last thing Bruce heard for awhile.

Chapter Text

By sunrise, Rick had all but collapsed. Betty had no choice but to stop so they both could rest. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees by this point in the year, so there was very little shade, but clouds had covered the sun, and Rick seemed tired enough not to care anyway.

Betty knew she was running on no sleep for almost 24 hours at this point, and Rick was likely even more tired, given the events before everything that happened in Kagaku.

She tried to tell herself that Bruce would be okay a little longer without them, but she continued to worry even as she fell asleep herself.

“Please keep watch, Jarella.”

“ K’ai! Of course I will! Now get some rest!”

-0-O-0-

To avoid any possibility of becoming like his father, Bruce had staunchly refused to drink alcohol for his whole life. However, given how he felt at the moment, he wondered if this was what a really bad hangover was like.

Everything hurt, he was dizzy, and he could barely form a coherent thought for awhile.

When he tried to get up, he couldn’t. At first he thought it was his tired, sore muscles protesting especially loudly, but as he became more aware, he realized something was stopping him from getting up.

When he managed to finally look down, he found his wrists were bound to a bamboo cot by leather straps.

And on top of that, there was a tube stuck in his right arm, along with a distinct ache that he recognized. Looking down, he saw a ceramic vessel under the opening of the tube.

Blood was dripping slowly into the vessel. His blood.

“Ah, it appears you’re awake,” said a soft voice that sent a chill down Bruce’s spine.

A hunched figure came into the dimly lit room. He was emaciated, and appeared to actually be missing chunks of flesh from the exposed skin Bruce could see. His head was oddly enlarged, and his skin had a faint, sickly greenish tinge.

“You’re quite the specimen. I’ve never met a demon who can withstand sunlight. Though, I would have to say, turning back into a human to do so is rather demeaning.”

“What do you want?” Bruce asked, attempting to sound braver and stronger than he felt.

The demon scoffed.

“Your blood, of course. As if that wasn’t obvious. But where are my manners? I am called Ōkina Atama.”

Despite everything, Bruce couldn’t help a snort of laughter.

Seriously?! “Big Head?” Well, I guess it’s at least an accurate name.

The demon scowled.

“However, I prefer to be called what I am. A leader.”

Bruce frowned.

“A leader of… what?”

The demon, Atama, scoffed.

“Science, of course. I have pushed the boundaries of demonic power further than anyone, except perhaps Lord Doom. You saw my power last night, did you not?”

Bruce looked at him blankly.

“Hmm… another flaw in your ability to withstand the sun, it would seem. Your demon half and your human half are still relatively separate.”

Atama began to slowly pace the room.

“So… how did you come by your power to survive sunlight?”

After a beat of silence, Bruce said, honestly:

“I don’t know. It just kind of happened.”

“Hmm. Disappointing. But I suppose that leaves me the satisfaction of figuring it out.”

Something about the way Atama said it was truly chilling.

Bruce had been a scientist within the Kakushi for years. Most of them were good people, who were using their expertise to protect humans from demons. But you couldn’t be a scientist of any kind without knowing that there were others who practiced without ethics, scientists who didn’t care what kind of suffering they left in the wake of their discoveries.

Bruce knew immediately that this was the kind of person Atama was.

In an effort to distract him, Bruce said, “Hey, there are other demons around here. They’re going to be attracted to all this blood.”

“Oh, those aren’t demons,” Atama said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Not true ones, anyway.”

“What?”

“My blood demon art allows me to create what I call Demonoids. They have no will of their own. They are simply extensions of my mind given flesh. I suppose you can see a fatal flaw in my blood demon art, however.”

Atama opened his shirt to reveal a gruesome sight: A large chunk was missing from the side of his chest.

“Every Demonoid I create requires a piece of my flesh, and when one is destroyed, it takes a long time to heal. Far longer than a demon as old and well-fed as I am should take. Thanks to the altercation between my Demonoids and your demon last night, I’m even worse off than usual.”

He gave Bruce a nasty smile.

“However, your demon half regenerates wonderfully fast. I shall enjoy gaining that quality. Perhaps I can finally challenge that stupid Gensō and reclaim my place as Lower Moon Six. And Lord Doom will finally give me his favor once again.”

Atama’s eyes gleamed, and that’s when Bruce saw that Atama’s left eyeball bore an x-shaped scar, under which the kanji for “six” was just visible.

Bruce shivered involuntarily, while at the same time feeling his fists clench and his lips pull back into a snarl.

The Twelve Kizuki were the twelve most powerful demons who served Doom directly and had received a portion of the Demon King’s blood. Even an ex-member was many degrees more powerful than any demon Hulk had fought so far.

“I may even rise to become an Upper Moon, with the power I gain from your blood,” Atama went on.

He dipped a clawed finger into the ceramic vessel holding Bruce’s blood.

He licked the blood off his finger and smiled nastily.

“Thank you in advance,” he said.

-0-O-0-

Rick was still tired, but he felt better than he had before. He and Betty continued onward as quickly as they could, following Jarella’s lead up the side of a mountain. It had started to snow, adding to the piles already on the ground.

“Good thing Samson found us winter uniforms,” Betty said.

“Yeah.”

Rick hated to think of how cold Bruce must be. He would have been back for most of a day by now, and would still only be wearing his hakama pants.

Please, Hulk, tell me you found some actual shelter to hide in…

The katana Rick had taken from Talbot bumped uncomfortably against his leg, and he tried to adjust it. Betty looked back and stopped to help him.

“Here. You’re supposed to wear it like this .”

As they went, the snow got deeper and deeper, and Rick’s unease only grew.

Finally, it was evening. Jarella had scouted ahead while Rick and Betty stopped briefly to share a rice ball (they needed to save as much of their food as possible for Bruce, who would probably be starving when they found him).

“K’ai!! K’ai!!”

Jarella was back. Rick had never seen a crow be truly scared before, but he could tell she was terrified.

“Demon ahead! Demon ahead! Your friend has been captured by a demon!!!” she squawked, flapping her wings crazily.

Betty immediately broke into a run, and so did Rick.

-0-O-0-

Atama removed the tube from Bruce’s arm and bandaged the wound.

“Wh-what are you…”

“Well, if I really wanted you to die right now, I’d just eat you,” Atama said. “But I think a test of my new abilities will be in order. And what better way to get some practice in for reclaiming my place as Lower Moon Six than fighting your demon half?” Atama grinned. “I look forward to it. And logic dictates that won’t be long now before he returns.”

Bruce was cold, shaky, and very, very tired. But knowing that sundown was close gave him the tiniest shred of hope. He’d survived what should have been a fatal blow from Talbot by transforming. Surely, Hulk would be able to get him out of this situation too.

Atama took the ceramic vessel and tipped it towards his mouth. He began to drink, eventually spilling some blood down his front. It was a gruesome sight.

Finally, Atama dropped the vessel. It shattered. The demon licked his lips and wiped the stray blood off his mouth with his arm.

“Forgive my poor manners,” he said. “But that was delicious.”

Chapter Text

Rick and Betty came to a halt in front of a trashed old house on the edge of what looked like a deserted village.

Betty took Talbot’s katana from Rick and drew it from the scabbard. She handed her tanto to Rick.

“I know it’s smaller, but it’s a lot easier to use than a katana when you’re untrained,” she said. “I’ll take care of any demons we come across, but you need something to defend yourself. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that though.”

Rick swallowed and nodded.

This is no time to back down. I promised Bruce and Hulk that I wouldn’t abandon them.

He squared his shoulders and followed Betty towards the door of the house.

As they reached it, a pair of ugly pink demons came shuffling towards them.

Rick heard Betty take a deep breath, and in a flash of movement, the heads of the demons were rolling across the ground, turning to ash as they went.

But more pink demons quickly took their place.

Betty beheaded demon after demon, and Rick even had the chance to kill one himself. He knew it was much less graceful than Betty could do it, given all her training, but he felt momentary pride anyway.

The pride vanished as Betty grabbed his wrist. Rick looked towards the door of the house.

A thin, greenish demon with a weirdly shaped head was emerging. With the clouds over the sun, it was safe for him to do so, even though the sun hadn’t fully set.

The demon looked like some kind of undead yōkai. Chunks of flesh were missing from his arms and neck. He grinned.

“Unexpected,” he said softly. “Very unexpected.”

Betty’s hand let go of Rick’s arm and returned to the katana. She took a fighting stance.

“I’ll handle this. Find a way in and then find Bruce,” she whispered.

Rick nodded.

More of the pink demons appeared. Betty shot forward to meet them, and Rick ran off towards the house, zigzagging to avoid the pink demons.

-0-O-0-

Gotta give Rick enough cover… Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!

Betty moved in the opposite direction of Rick to draw the green demon’s attention, beheading several pink ones along the way. She could tell that he was the most powerful demon here, despite his frail appearance.

Betty caught a glimpse of Rick dashing into the house, unnoticed by the green demon.

Good.

Betty changed from a diversionary tactic to an offensive one.

Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold!

Betty shot towards the green demon, beheading every pink demon that stood in her way. But somehow, the actual number of pink demons wasn’t decreasing, even though every demon she killed immediately turned to ash.

And the green demon was… smiling?!

The demon stretched out a hand. More demons sprang into existence in front of Betty.

Oh, crap… That’s a blood demon art! This is definitely not a minor demon!

-0-O-0-

The creepy green demon was focused on Betty. She had gotten him to turn away. Other than the pink demons, the doorway into the house was clear. Rick swung the tanto wildly every time a demon came near and just kept running.

Finally, he made it into the house.

It was dim inside, but he could see a light coming from a screened door that had been left open.

“Bruce?! Bruce!!”

Rick heard a faint reply and ran towards the door.

The room was lit by a few lanterns and was messy, covered with paper and random bottles and other vaguely scientific-looking stuff.

Bruce was in a corner on a bamboo cot. He had a bandage on his arm and looked really pale.

“R-rick…”

He was shivering.

“Hang on, Bruce! I got this!”

Rick darted forward and used Betty’s tanto to cut through the leather straps. He helped Bruce sit up.

Bruce suddenly went limp and began to fall back onto the cot.

“Whoa!” Rick exclaimed.

Bruce had fainted.

Rick looked around, panicking slightly.

What happened to him?! Crap, crap, crap!!!

Then Rick noticed the shards of some kind of vessel on the ground, and splotches of blood on the floorboards.

Pale… fainting… blood… bandage on the elbow…

“Bruce! Bruce, come on!”

Rick shook him as gently as his panic would let him.

Bruce’s eyes opened, but were unfocused.

“...hmmnnn?”

“Bruce, was that demon taking your blood?!”

Bruce blinked a few times and brought a shaky hand up to rub his face.

“...what… y-yeah. H-he was… he drank it…”

Rick felt Bruce’s muscles suddenly tighten.

“Where… where’s Betty? Rick, where’s Betty?!!”

“She’s fighting that green demon!”

Bruce suddenly sprang to his feet and took a step towards the door. He immediately fell with a groan, hitting one of the tables on his way down.

Rick hurried forward to help him.

As Rick lifted Bruce, he saw green creeping up through the veins of his neck. And when Bruce looked at him, it was with fiery, raging green eyes.

-0-O-0-

Betty fought off pink demon after pink demon. But no matter how many she killed, she couldn’t get any closer to the green demon. And the pink demons were moving faster and hitting harder with every one she killed.

Suddenly, the pink demons all vanished into dark vapor.

“Incredible…”

Betty looked at the green demon. He was smiling broadly and staring at his outstretched arms.

“I seem to be regenerating much faster now,” he was saying.

Betty’s grip on the katana tightened and she tensed her legs, gathering her strength to perform Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.

But just as she sprang forward, the green demon flung his arm out.

A new pink demon, much more muscular than the previous ones and with fiery green eyes, materialized in front of her and slashed at her with its claws.

Betty felt them graze her cheek as she dodged to the side.

Two more large pink demons appeared on either side of the first. All three of them rushed at her.

Betty immediately switched techniques.

Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!

But before she could engage her enemies, a terrifying sound split the night, and they all froze.

-0-O-0-

Hulk’s roar shook the messy house.

Betty was in trouble. Rick wasn’t safe. Demons were close.

And someone had hurt Banner, again.

Without another thought, Hulk thundered through the nearest wall and out into the cold night air.

There!

That stupid big-headed demon! That was the one he had to destroy!

Hulk took a swing at the demon’s stupid huge head.

His fist was stopped by something.

It was another pink demon, the same size as Hulk. It had caught Hulk’s fist in its hand.

“I-incredible… Just incredible…” said the big-headed demon. “I am truly much more powerful than ever before!”

Hulk roared and took another swing at the huge pink demon. It reeled back as the hit connected, but it swung back quickly. Its pink fist slammed into Hulk’s jaw, and he felt something crack.

The big pink demon hit Hulk again and again, faster and faster.

-0-O-0-

Hulk was out of the house!

That means Bruce is okay!

Filled with new energy, Betty redoubled her efforts and managed to behead one of the three demons.

-0-O-0-

“Finally… FINALLY!!!”

The green demon was cackling in triumph.

“Finally, I can reclaim my place in the Twelve Kizuki!!!” he crowed.

Rick had come to a stop right on the edge of the huge hole that Hulk had made in the wall of the house.

Betty was still fighting off two pink demons. And if Rick was seeing it right, they were bigger than the previous ones.

Oh, crud…

Hulk was fighting an even bigger pink demon.

Oh, CRUD.

And, watching Hulk, still laughing and grinning, was the green demon, with his back angled towards Rick.

Rick was terrified, but he was also angry.

Bruce had been through enough. Betty and Rick himself were barely hanging in there.

This has to end!!!

Rick ran forward and swung Betty’s tanto hard at the green demon’s neck.

The blade bit about a half inch into the demon’s neck and stopped. And no matter how hard Rick strained, it wouldn’t go any further.

Rick yelped in pain as the demon spun around and slashed him across the chest with his claws. Rick fell back on his butt, hard.

“Fool,” chuckled the green demon. He pulled the tanto out of his neck and tossed it aside. “You insignificant little fool. You think you can kill me with a little toy like that?! Pathetic!!”

The demon was outright guffawing with laughter now.

“With the blood I drank tonight, I can rise to be an Upper Moon! You have no chance against me!!!”

-0-O-0-

Blood Demon Art… Rock Spikes!

Five rock spikes shot out of the ground and impaled the big pink demon.

Just then, Hulk heard a yelp of pain.

Rick was on the ground. The big-headed demon was laughing.

Hulk didn’t think.

He leapt forward to tackle the big-headed demon.

Another huge pink demon got in his way. This one had some kind of blades instead of hands. The blades slashed Hulk across the chest and face.

Hulk roared and fell back, panting. The pink demon ran after him, slashing again and again with its blade-hands.

“I can even summon more powerful Demonoids now!!” the big-headed demon laughed. “I’ll be the strongest demon in the Twelve Kizuki!!!”

Before Hulk could try using a Blood Demon Art against him, the pink demon stabbed him through the chest. Hulk roared in pain.

The blade-demon yanked its blade-hand out of Hulk’s chest. Two more big pink demons appeared and grabbed Hulk’s arms, forcing him to kneel. The big-headed demon stepped closer. Hulk realized that the demon wasn’t missing chunks of his flesh anymore. He looked stronger, and his eyes were glowing green.

The green demon grabbed Hulk’s chin, digging in with his claws.

“I’m truly enjoying this, you know,” he said.

He let go of Hulk’s chin and punched him in the face. Hulk felt something break and pain exploded through his jaw. He let out a roar of agony.

“When I’ve finished beating you senseless, I’ll devour the rest of your flesh. I look forward to becoming even stronger, thanks to you. And perhaps I shall even conquer the sun!”

Can’t let him win… can’t let him survive sunlight…

That thought sounded a lot like Banner, but Hulk agreed.

“With your defeat, I will become the strongest one there is!!!” the big-headed demon cackled, as he wound up for another punch.

“NO!!!” Hulk roared.

A rock spike shot out of the ground, impaling the big-headed demon’s arm.

The demon gasped. The pink demon with blade hands stabbed Hulk through the chest. He roared even louder.

When he was able to focus again, the big-headed demon had already yanked his arm off of the rock spike and healed.

“Still fighting, eh? No matter. All the more satisfying for me!”

The pink demon yanked its blade-hand out of Hulk’s chest and stabbed him again.

Hulk’s roar echoed through the night.

Blood Demon Art… Rock Spikes!!!

Two rock spikes shot up at Hulk’s sides, impaling the demons holding him and forcing them to loosen their grip.

Hulk tore his arms free, grabbed the blade stuck in his chest, ripped it out, and flung the blade demon away. The green flames of his rage surged over him, healing his wounds.

The big-headed demon suddenly started making a choking sound. He curled forward.

“What… what is this?!”

Hulk roared again, stood, and stomped hard on the ground.

Blood Demon Art: Earthquake!!

The big-headed demon lost his balance and fell. Hulk started towards him.

Something stabbed into Hulk’s back and through the front of his chest. It was another pink demon with blade hands (or maybe the same one). Hulk roared in rage and the green flames exploded outwards. The blade in Hulk’s back turned to ash, and the wound healed instantly. He focused on the big-headed demon again.

The big-headed demon howled with pain as a green flame suddenly erupted from his chest too.

Green flames started to cover his whole body. The same flames that were covering Hulk.

Hulk suddenly understood. The demon drank the blood from Banner, the same blood that Hulk could set ablaze. It was still his blood, even though the other demon was using it!

Hulk rushed forward, still ablaze, and grabbed the demon, slamming him into the ground. He screamed in pain as Hulk channeled his rage into even more intense flames.

“No… No! I’m supposed to be stronger!!!” the demon wailed. “NOOOOOOO!!!”

Finally, with a last horrible shriek, the demon was a pile of ash, and then nothing.

“No,” Hulk growled. “ I’m the strongest one there is.”

Chapter Text

Betty swung the katana, but just as it made contact with the demon’s neck, the last of the three pink demons dissolved into ash.

Betty looked towards where she had last seen the green demon. She had heard Hulk roaring and fighting, but hadn’t been able to give any more attention than that. Now, Hulk was standing, wreathed in green flame, as the green demon burned away.

Finally, the green demon’s shrieks faded, and the green fire covering Hulk’s skin flickered out.

Betty darted towards him.

Hulk turned towards her.

Betty felt the katana fall from her grip, and she dropped to her knees. She bowed her head.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t understand before… but now I do. I will never let anyone hurt you, Hulk.”

There was a beat of silence.

Betty risked a look up at Hulk’s face.

He didn’t smile, but his face had softened.

“It’s okay,” he said. And that was all he said. Though Betty thought she saw a faint blush on his cheeks as he looked away.

And then Betty remembered.

“Rick!” She stood and rushed to him. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his breathing was ragged.

“D-demon got me…” he said, with a hiss of pain.

Betty immediately ran for the bag she had dropped as they entered the abandoned town. She had brought a few basic medical supplies with her, just in case. She pulled out the bottle of alcohol and quickly disinfected the wounds on Rick’s chest. It was a series of three gashes. The green demon had clawed him.

“You’re going to need stitches,” she muttered.

She took off her Kakushi mask and rolled it up, handing it to Rick.

“Bite down on this. I’m sorry, but it’s going to hurt. I’ll take care of it as quickly as I can.”

Betty stitched up the wounds as quickly as she could. Rick endured the treatment relatively quietly, but she could tell he was in a lot of pain.

“What now?” he asked, when she had finally finished. He was sweaty and a bit pale, despite the cold. His stolen uniform was still wet with blood in some places.

Betty looked at Hulk. He was pacing like a caged tiger several meters away. Oddly, Jarella was perched on his shoulder.

“H…Hulk?” she called.

He looked at her, and the angry look on his face softened.

“What?”

“We need to get to Master Xavier’s mansion. We’re going to plead your case. If the Master takes your side, none of the Demon Slayers would dare try to hurt you again.”

Hulk’s face got a stormy look on it, but he nodded.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Before Betty could say anything else, Hulk strode over, picked up both her and Rick, and leapt into the air.

Betty screamed in shock. But after a few more giant leaps, she was surprised to hear both Hulk and Rick chuckling.
“First time?” Rick laughed.

Even Hulk had a small smile on his face.

Betty realized that they were following Jarella once again.

I guess she talked to Hulk while he was pacing.

Despite everything that had happened, and everything that was likely to come next, Betty smiled.

-0-O-0-

Just as dawn was breaking, Hulk hit the ground with a final resounding THOOOOOMMM within the walls of the Demon Slayer headquarters.

He carefully set Rick and Betty down before falling to his hands and knees.

“Take care of the little guy,” he grumbled, before crashing onto his side.

The color drained from his skin until it was once again pale. Bruce was back. He didn’t move, other than breathing.

Betty sighed.

She was so, so tired. But there was still a lot to worry about.

Suddenly, Betty heard something. She immediately unsheathed Talbot’s katana and spun around, blocking a strike from hitting Bruce.

The man who had leapt out at them jumped back and took a low fighting stance. He was snarling, his blue-black hair and sideburns giving him a bestial look. He wasn’t holding a katana, but a set of pale blue nichirin claws in each hand. He was wearing a Demon Slayer uniform that exposed his scarred chest and arms.

“Outta the way, darlin’,” he growled. “I smell a demon. And ain’t no way I’m lettin’ a demon any closer to Master Xavier.”

Betty swallowed. She knew exactly who this was. Rumors ran rampant in the Corps about him.

The Beast Hashira.

“Lord Howlett, allow me to explain…” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

“No need to explain. I’m gettin’ this over with!!! RAAARGH!!!”

Howlett leapt forward over Betty, his claws aimed at Bruce.

There was no way Betty would be fast enough to stop this Hashira from killing him.

There was a clang of metal on metal.

“LOGAN!!!” a blond-haired man roared. “ENOUGH!!!”

The newcomer’s pure white sword had blocked Howlett’s claws. His blue and red haori (with the famous white star on the back) made him instantly recognizable, though Betty had only seen him once before.

The current Freedom Hashira, Steve Rogers.

“Outta my way, bub!!” snarled Howlett. “That’s a demon!!”

“If he’s a demon, how is he surviving sunlight?” Rogers asked, his voice firm.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Now outta my way, Rogers!!!”

“Logan!”

A woman with dark skin and white hair appeared, putting her hand on Howlett’s shoulder. Betty didn’t recognize her, but knew she must be a Hashira as well.

“The Master has given instruction that this man is to have his fate decided at our meeting. Now get to the courtyard.”

Howlett gritted his teeth, but finally stepped back.

“Whatever.” He sheathed his claws in the holsters at his sides and stormed off. The woman followed him.

“My apologies,” Rogers said, with a slight bow to Betty. “The Master is aware of your arrival and sent me out to get you. The other Hashira came later than me and did not receive the message.”

He frowned at Rick.

“Did Logan do that?” he asked.

“Do what?” Rick looked down at his torn uniform. “No, that was a demon.”

Rogers’ eyes widened, and his gaze flicked to Bruce.

“…this demon?”

His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.

“No!!” Rick exclaimed. “We were all fighting demons last night! He killed the one that clawed me!”

Rogers paused for a moment, looking from Rick to Bruce to Betty.

“I see,” he said quietly.

His grip on the katana loosened, and then dropped entirely.

“Stay here for a moment. I’ll be back with some help.”

“Uhh… right. Okay,” Betty replied.

Rogers jogged off in the direction the other two Hashira had gone.

“…who… the heck… was that guy?!” Rick exclaimed, as soon as Rogers was far enough away.

Betty sighed.

“That was Steve Rogers, the Freedom Hashira. He and the other two are some of the highest ranked Demon Slayers in the Corps. They’re the best of the best.”

“Yeah, I know what the Hashira are. But I didn’t expect them to be so… crazy.”

Betty chuckled softly.

“Not all of them are as uptight as my father. And Lord Howlett is… a special case. He’s got a reputation.”

“I can see why.”

While they waited for Rogers, Betty quickly checked Bruce over ( Breathing is even, heart rate is acceptable, no visible injuries ) and Rick filled Betty in on what she had missed the night before.

Of course, when Betty checked the cut on the inside of Bruce’s elbow, it was completely healed.

“His color is good, so I assume Hulk restored the blood he lost. But given what you’ve told me before, it might be awhile before he completely recovers from this,” Betty said.

Rick nodded.

Rogers was back now, with two Kakushi, a stretcher, and a blanket. The Kakushi looked nervous, but they got Bruce on the stretcher and covered with a blanket without complaint.

“Hey, whoa, whoa, where are you taking him?!” Rick explained, as the two Kakushi began to walk away with Bruce.

Rogers put out a hand to stop him.

“They’re just taking him inside to recover, son.”

“I go where he goes,” Rick growled, clenching his fists and looking up at the tall Hashira.

Rogers laughed.

“You got guts, kid. I like that. Fine, you can go with them. But follow their directions. No exploring. This is the Master’s home, and I can’t allow any danger to come near him. He’s showing incredible hospitality in letting a demon stay here.”

Rick nodded and hurried off after the Kakushi.

“Hey! Slow down! Don’t pull your stitches!” Betty called.

Rick ignored her, and she sighed.

“Stitches?” Rogers asked. His smile was gone again, replaced with genuine concern. “Kid’s even tougher than I thought,” he murmured.

He motioned for Betty to follow him.

“Come on. The meeting will start soon. You’ll present your case to the Master there.”

Betty followed Rogers to the courtyard outside the veranda of the main house. A small crowd of people were gathered. Most of them were arguing, and a few were silently watching.

“A demon’s a demon! Let’s just cut off his head and be done with it!” Howlett was roaring.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I’m with Logan on this one,” said another Hashira. He was lounging in a nearby tree, wearing a dark red blindfold and a matching haori jacket. “It’s our job to kill demons. Plenty of them have sob stories, but they’re still demons, and they still eat humans.”

“Hmph. Yes, I agree. Such a disgusting abomination must be dealt with immediately.”

It was a dark haired man with a haughty expression. His shirt, like Howlett’s, was open in the chest, and he wore a short green cape, rather than a haori.

“We have to at least hear what the Master says first,” said the woman with the white hair. Despite the white hair, she didn’t look much older than Betty, and she wore a black haori with gold edges.

“It would be merciful to end it quickly,” said another Hashira, sitting in a meditative pose under the same tree the blindfolded Hashira was in. He was wearing a red haori with gold edges and wide-legged hakama pants like Betty’s.

“A man cursed to turn into a demon every night… what a torturous existence… Oshtur Vishanti Watoomb…” he murmured.

“I wanna know how he can survive sunlight,” grumbled a huge, muscular man with an orange haori and a heavily scarred face. “We can’t let other demons figure that out, or they’ll kill even more people.”

“I think we should hear him out. You have to admit, his situation is a strange one,” said a petite woman with short dark hair and a black and yellow striped haori.

Betty didn’t recognize her or the short, silent man next to her with a gray samurai mask tied to the side of his head. The mask looked oddly like the head of an ant.

“Ororo’s right,” said Rogers. “At the very least, we must heed the Master’s wish to not pass any kind of judgement until he joins us.”

“Tch. Suck-up,” Howlett growled.

“Hey, show some respect!” exclaimed the petite woman.

“I say what I want!” Howlett shot back. “I’ve been a Hashira longer than any of you! I’ve earned that right!”

“You’d think surviving so long would mean you knew when to shut up!” the woman exclaimed.

“Watch it, half-pint!”

“I’ll give you something to watch, fuzz-butt!”

“Stop.”

The voice was quiet, but so commanding that the courtyard immediately went silent, and all the Demon Slayers present turned towards the veranda and took a knee, bowing their heads respectfully.

Betty quickly turned, knelt, and bowed until her forehead was touching the ground.

“Please, Master Xavier, I beg of you,” she said, daring to raise her eyes to address him. “Please don’t let them kill Bruce.”

The man before her sat in a wheelchair, wearing a green haori and a black kimono. He was bald and appeared rather frail, but he radiated a calm confidence. Two attendants, both girls in matching blue kimonos, were kneeling behind him.

Master Charles Xavier, the leader of the entire Demon Slayer Corps, smiled kindly at her.

“Patience, Dr. Ross,” Xavier said calmly. “I am aware of your situation and concerns. I will not pass judgement hastily. Your friend Dr. Banner is resting in the guest house with your other friend. Cerebro has assured me that both of them are being cared for.”

Xavier motioned to the Kasugai crow perched on the back of his wheelchair. The crow dipped its head in a bow.

Betty swallowed, nodded, and took the same kneeling position as the nine Hashira.

“Now, shall we begin, my children?” Xavier asked, continuing to smile calmly.

Chapter Text

Rick was fighting sleep.

The Kakushi had placed Bruce on a futon, left, come back with some food and water for Rick, and then left again. Other than Bruce, Rick was alone now.

He wasn’t sure what would happen next, but after he ate, he had started pacing in an effort to stay awake.

Who knows if that freaky guy with the claws will try to come in here… Gotta keep Bruce safe… so freaking tired…

Even with a limited understanding of the Demon Slayer hierarchy, Rick understood why the Hashira wouldn’t want a demon anywhere near their Master. He also understood that for the most part, they were just doing their job.

He was also painfully aware that if it came down to a fight, there was no way he’d last two seconds against any of the Hashira.

But I gotta try.

This was a big deal. The Demon Slayers would want to kill Bruce to keep Doom from finding out how he could survive sunlight. A few months ago, Rick would have thought someone named “Doom” was just another made-up boogey-man type of yokai, the kind you told kids about to keep them from doing stupid stuff that would get them hurt.

But Bruce had explained about how the demons came to be during their week-long trip back to Kagaku. Relatively few people outside the Demon Slayer Corps knew about demons at all, and almost no one outside the Corps knew about where they came from.

“Who’s Doom?” Rick had asked.

“Victor von Doom. Basically the king of the demons,” Bruce had told him. “He was the first demon, and he keeps making more of them. The Demon Slayers have been trying to find and eliminate him for over a thousand years. His blood is the source of the power of the demons. If he’s killed, the other demons will either die or be much easier to finish off.”

When he said that, Bruce tensed and stopped walking. Rick had stopped beside him.

“And if he ever finds out a demon exists that can withstand exposure to sunlight, he’ll stop at nothing to find that demon and gain the power for himself,” Bruce said quietly. “Wisteria drives them away and is poisonous to them, and nichirin blades can kill them by beheading, but sunlight is the only complete defense humans have from demons. If we lose the advantage of daylight, it’s over. All humanity becomes prey for demons.”

Bruce’s jaw had tightened, and his voice had become louder and stronger.

“We can never let that happen, Rick.”

Bruce had swallowed and looked Rick dead in the eye.

“Rick, if it ever comes down to a choice between saving me and stopping Doom… you have to let the Demon Slayers kill me. It’s better that I die rather than Doom learning how to survive sunlight. Promise me.”

“I… Bruce, I…”

Bruce had grabbed Rick by the shoulders, and Rick could’ve sworn he saw his eyes flash green.

“Promise me.”

Rick hadn’t known what to say.

So he had simply nodded.

That apparently wasn’t enough for Bruce, who hadn’t let go until Rick said, “I promise.”

And when Bruce had started walking again, Rick added, “But I swear, I’ll do everything I can so it never comes to that.”

Rick leaned against the wall of the guest house, suddenly more tired than ever.

Bruce was the first person Rick had felt genuinely cared about him. Rick was the stupid kid that had gotten Bruce cursed in the first place, but Bruce treated him like a brother.

I swear, I won’t let them kill you, Bruce.

-0-O-0-

“I am aware of Dr. Banner’s situation. I received a message by Kasugai crow yesterday. As Steve was the only one of you to get here last night, he was the only one I was able to explain to.”

Xavier inclined his head towards Betty.

“I apologize for the actions of Logan. He was only doing his job.”

Betty glared at Howlett, who continued to look ahead.

Yeah. Sure.

“However, I feel it would be unfair to pass judgement without Dr. Banner being able to speak for himself. Dr. Ross, in your opinion, how long do you think it will be until he recovers?”

Betty swallowed and sat up straighter.

“It’s hard to say, Master. I have only known about his… condition for the past two days. And he was subjected to a large amount of blood loss before his last transformation. I would say at least a few hours, if not most of today. He needs food and rest to recover properly.”

Xavier nodded and turned to one of his attendants.

“See to it.”

The attendant bowed and motioned to Betty. Betty stood and hurried towards her. As she and the attendant walked away, she heard Master Xavier continue:

“We will go forward with our usual semi-annual meeting, and we shall reconvene this evening.”

There were various exclamations of surprise.

“Master, are you sure that’s wise?!” exclaimed Rogers. “Allowing a demon here in the day is one thing, but when it’s getting close to nighttime…!”

“He’s right!” said the scarred one. “Your safety is—”

“With nine Hashira at my mansion, my safety is assured,” Master Xavier replied calmly. “Now let us continue with our usual meeting.”

Betty smiled.

-0-O-0-

“Rick.”

“YAHHHHH!!!!”

Rick shot back into a standing position and yanked the borrowed tanto out of its scabbard. Then he felt a searing pain in his chest and curled in on himself with a groan.

After a beat of silence, he heard, “Rick, it’s just me! Betty!”

Rick blinked.

“Oh, crap… I’m-I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed.

Betty sighed.

“It’s okay. But I think you pulled your stitches. Let me take a look.”

Rick sheathed the tanto clumsily and unbuttoned his shirt. He felt his face turning red as he realized he had briefly fallen asleep leaning against the wall.

Betty inspected his chest injury and sighed.

“Yeah, you tore a couple of stitches. Doesn’t help that I was doing them in the dark, so they weren’t the best. Let me take care of them.”

“Don’t worry about that, Dr. Ross.”

A girl that looked about Rick’s age, maybe a little younger, appeared from behind her. Another one who looked about the same age stood beside the one who was talking.

“You’re both tired. I’ll call another Kakushi doctor to take care of your friend, and my sister and I will take care of Dr. Banner. You need to rest.”

Rick realized that he must have been giving her a weird look, because she bowed slightly and said, “My name is Jean. My sister, Alison, and I are some of Master Xavier’s adopted children. He has given orders that you and your friends are to rest and wait for evening before he makes any judgement regarding Dr. Banner.”

“Jean!”

Another girl in a blue kimono, who looked about eight, came in behind Jean. She was carrying a pile of folded clothes. A slightly older boy wearing a blue haori was behind her, carrying bedding.

“Alison said to bring these to you!” said the girl.

“Thanks, Kitty. Put them over there,” Jean replied. She motioned to a low table in the corner of the room. “Jamie, you can put the extra futons against that wall.”

The kids did as they were told and hurried out of the room.

“Like I was saying, we can take care of everything. You and Dr. Ross should rest while you have a chance.”

Rick frowned and looked at Betty for guidance. She nodded and gave him a tired smile.

“Okay,” he said.

Rick was directed to take off his shirt entirely and change into clean clothes. Eventually a doctor in a Kakushi uniform came in to fix his stitches. Rick accepted a couple of bean paste buns and a gourd of water and as he ate, he watched Jean and Alison cleaning the dried blood off of Bruce.

Finally, Rick couldn’t fight sleep anymore. He glanced at Betty. She was curled up facing the wall, apparently asleep.

Guess it’s safe.

Rick closed his eyes.

-0-O-0-

Bruce woke up to someone shaking his shoulder gently.

“Dr. Banner, wake up. You need to eat.”

“Mmmhuh?”

Bruce blinked and pushed himself into a sitting position. He winced at the aches springing up all over him, especially in his chest and jaw.

“What…?”

He looked at who had spoken.

It was a teenage girl in a blue kimono.

“You’re in the guest house of Master Xavier’s mansion. Your trial will take place in about half an hour. You need to eat and get dressed.

“What time is it?”

“About an hour until sunset.”

Bruce looked around.

“Rick is getting washed up. Betty is eating dinner on the porch,” said the girl.

Bruce swallowed.

“And… you know about…”

The girl nodded solemnly.

“Yes. My father has decided to hear testimony from the demon at nightfall. The Hashira are all present as well.”

Bruce couldn’t help but feel a ripple of anxiety. He knew Hulk wouldn’t hurt anyone here, but how many of the Hashira knew that?

“You need to eat.”

The girl held out a bun.

“Rick told us that you won’t recover fully until you have food.” She smiled. “And since the Hashira are eating dinner here too, we made more than enough, so don’t worry about holding back.”

Bruce gave her a weak smile.

The appetites of even the smallest Hashira were legendary. He was in good company.

That didn’t stop him from feeling very awkward as he took the bun.

But once he started eating, Bruce forgot about being embarrassed. He lost count of how many red bean paste buns he ate, and only stopped when the girl—Alison—caught his attention and held out a set of folded clothes.

“You should get dressed. Your trial starts soon.”

Bruce swallowed his last bite of bun and took a deep breath.

-0-O-0-

Bruce headed towards the main courtyard, led by two girls in blue kimonos and supported by Rick and Betty.

Betty had a cut on the side of her face and Rick had stitches holding three gashes shut on his chest. Despite none of that being Bruce’s fault, he felt guilty about it.

Finally they made it to the courtyard, where the Hashira were assembled. The sun was low on the horizon and lamps around the courtyard were already lit.

Master Xavier sat on the veranda in his wheelchair, with two more children dressed in blue behind him. The two older girls left to join them.

Bruce made his way into the midst of the group. He was still pretty sore, even after eating (likely because he needed to make up for three days’ worth of not eating enough), but he managed to get to his knees and bow.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” he said.

Betty helped Bruce get back up.

“I apologize for my clothing. But I was told you want to speak to Hulk, so there didn’t seem to be much point in changing them.”

Master Xavier chuckled.

“Perhaps not.”

The chilly evening air nipped at Bruce’s exposed skin, and he fought the urge to shiver.

“I have received two letters from the Demon Slayer Base in Kagaku,” Master Xavier began. “One from the retired Thunder Hashira, Thaddeus Ross…”

Bruce felt his fists clench and forced his face to remain neutral instead of snarling.

Shut up, I’m trying to keep them from killing us!

“…and one signed by three Kinoe-ranked Demon Slayers, Leonard Samson, Danny Rand, and Luke Cage. I will first read Ross’s letter.”

One of the two older girls came forward with a folded piece of paper and handed it to Master Xavier.

Master Xavier began to read:

Master Xavier,

Several months ago, a high-ranking Kakushi scientist called Dr. Bruce Banner was injured in a demon attack. The night after the attack, a green and grey demon appeared and carried off one of the citizens of Kagaku. Regrettably, even I was unable to kill the demon at that time. It was incredibly strong.

However, a week later, the civilian returned to Kagaku, accompanied by Dr. Banner, who we thought had been the demon’s first victim and was presumed dead, as no body was recovered.

At the time of writing this, I have the green and grey demon in my custody. The case is very unusual, as I am told he is a human by day and a demon by night, and that his human form is in fact Dr. Bruce Banner. My tsuguko, Talbot, fought the demon twice and testifies that this is all true, and that the demon is incredibly strong and violent. However, the civilian that was first carried off by the demon argues that this demon has never eaten a human. As we know, the strongest demons have consumed the most humans. If this demon is strong enough to best my tsuguko, it is likely that the demon has killed and eaten many people.

It is my opinion that this demon should be killed immediately, to prevent further deaths and to ensure that Doom never learns how to survive sunlight as this demon can. My tsuguko has suggested keeping him alive and handing him over to Kakushi scientists to learn how it is possible for him to survive sunlight, so that we can find potential ways of more effectively killing demons.

I ask for your advice on this matter.

Master Xavier paused and folded up the letter.

“According to Ross, Dr. Banner transforms into a demon at night. This demon is strong enough to defeat both a Kinoe-ranked Demon Slayer and a former Hashira, making him incredibly dangerous. At least the level of one of the Lower Six of the Twelve Kizuki, if not higher. However…”

He unfolded a second letter.

“…the three other Demon Slayers disagree.”

Master Xavier,

Despite what Ross may tell you, we choose to vouch for Dr. Banner’s demon half. On the morning of his capture, this demon was presented with easy prey and refused to kill, instead preferring to flee. He also did not kill Talbot, despite Talbot attacking him multiple times.

While we have not seen much of the demon ourselves, Dr. Banner’s young friend, Rick Jones, has. He has been around the demon for months and has never been hurt, and holds that the demon has no interest in eating humans, preferring to destroy demons instead.

If this demon wanted to, he could have rampaged through Kagaku and killed us all, or at least tried to. But he did not.

We choose to have faith in him, and are willing to commit seppuku if we are wrong.

The situation is highly unusual, but we believe this demon could be a powerful ally in our mission to destroy Doom, if he is allowed to live.

“This letter is signed by all three Demon Slayers,” Master Xavier finished. “And as you have heard, they have willingly staked their lives on their claim.”

Master Xavier looked at Bruce.

“Dr. Banner, the sun is setting. Is there anything you would like to add in your defense?”

Bruce swallowed.

“I don’t know why I can survive sunlight,” he said. “I don’t know why Hulk refuses to eat humans. But I do know that he never has, and his desire to end the demons matches mine. If he ever becomes a threat to humans, I will willingly die to stop him. But the two of us are united in our desire to destroy Doom.”

Master Xavier nodded.

“I ask now for your input, my Hashira. Please keep it brief.”

“I’m willing to take a chance on the demon,” said Rogers, one of only two Hashira Bruce knew by sight.

“Suck-up,” someone muttered.

“I disagree,” said the Hashira with the green cape. “What real proof do we have that this demon won’t eat humans, beyond a few words?”

“I’m still alive, idiot! That’s your proof!!!” Rick exclaimed. Betty scrambled around Bruce and grabbed Rick’s shoulder to keep him from getting up.

“Rick…!” she hissed.

“If Hulk wanted to eat me, he would’ve done it back in the hospital when he first showed up!”

“It is true that newborn demons cannot control their hunger,” murmured another Hashira. He was wearing a red haori with gold edges. “Refusing to eat a human in the first moments after appearing is quite strange…”

As the Hashira continued arguing, Bruce felt his heart pounding uncomfortably in his chest. It had nothing to do with anxiety.

The change was coming.

Without another word, Bruce scrambled to his feet and tried to put some distance between himself and the others.

Someone grabbed him by the back of his haori and yanked him back.

“Oh, no you don’t,” someone growled. “We ain’t done with you yet.”

“L-let… me…g—”

“You said your demon’s not a threat, so prove it!”

Bruce’s haori was yanked again, forcing him to turn until he found himself face to face with the Beast Hashira.

“Let’s see how well you can resist this,” growled Howlett.

He swiftly unsheathed one set of his claws and sliced into his own arm. Blood immediately welled from the shallow cut. He held out his arm and glared at Bruce with a nasty smile.

“Come at me, bub.”

Bruce cried out as the transformation fully took over.

-0-O-0-

Hulk roared into life, grabbed Howlett in one massive hand, and pinned him to the ground. There was a collective intake of breath

“I… don’t… want your stinking blood, fuzzball!” Hulk growled.

He let go of Howlett and took a step back, not in a fighting stance, but definitely not relaxed.

He looked at the rest of the gathered crowd. With a glance around, Betty realized that all of the Hashira, even Rogers, had hands on their weapons.

“I only kill demons. I never hurt humans, even when they deserve it. End of story.”

Hulk clenched his fists and glowered at them all, his green eyes glowing in the fading light.

“And if all you’re gonna do is shove human blood in my face and hope I snap, then you’re stupid and I don’t need your approval to just to live,” he snarled.

There was a tense silence.

“Very well,” said Master Xavier. “I suppose there is no point in dragging this out any further then. If you have no taste for even Logan’s marechi blood, then I feel certain you won’t harm any human. My apologies for our treatment of you.”

Master Xavier raised his right hand, his face solemn. He looked around at the assembled Hashira.

“On my orders, no Demon Slayer is permitted to harm the Hulk.”

Then he looked back at Hulk.

“But as for their respect, you will have to earn that.”

“Pfft. I don’t need anyone’s respect,” Hulk grumbled.

Master Xavier gave him a wry smile.

“Feel free to leave the mansion, if you wish. I sense you prefer to wander at night. But please come back before morning. I hear your human half has had a very rough time lately.”

“Hmph. I know,” Hulk grumbled.

And then, to Betty’s (and probably everyone else’s) surprise, Hulk inclined his head to Master Xavier. Then he leapt away into the night.

“Logan, go clean your wound and bandage it. You’re getting blood everywhere,” Master Xavier said, giving an exasperated sigh.