"Please, Gods, Allah, or anyone else... Just let me go home."
In a black space, Goku was lying on a bunch of flesh. He extended his right arm to the sky, as if to touch it.
"Nezuko-chan... Inosuke-kun... Zenitsu-kun... I have to come back to them..." he said, starting to get up. But then, someone grabbed him from behind: Muzan.
"C'mon, I injected all of my blood in you to make you a full demon, you can't refuse it!" he said.
"Leave me alone, Muzan. My friends are waiting for me..." said Goku. "I have to take care of Nezuko-chan... I'm like his brother now. And Inosuke-kun and Zenitsu-kun, and everyone else... I can't leave them!"
"Why, though? Your friends are dead. You killed them," said Muzan.
"No, you're lying. They're all alive," said Goku. Suddenly, a hand placed on his back. Then another. Then another one. Goku started to float in the black space, trying to reach his friends' hands.
"You can't decide, Goku. You're the heir of my powers..." said Muzan.
"Don't make me laugh... I'm the heir of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the man who kicked your ass, and so did his son!"
Suddenly, Goku opened his left eye. His right eye was back lost, and his left arm disappeared again. His index and middle fingers were lost. When Goku realized where he was, he recognized his friends.
"Yo, guys," he said, sitting up. "Did I just try to kill you all?"
"You did," said Giyuu. "But it doesn't matter now."
"Welcome back, Aniki!" exclaimed Nezuko, hugging him.
"I'm here, Nezuko-chan... I won't lose control again, I promise..." said Goku, as his eye started to well up with tears.
"He's back!" exclaimed the demon slayers. Far away, Rengoku was sitting alone, too wounded to move.
"You're back normal, my brother..." he said. "I'm glad."
"I'll make him pay for almost killing you, wifey," said Zenitsu.
"Wifey?" repeated Nezuko.
"You did nothing to me, I swear!" said Inosuke, crying out of happiness.
"Kanao-chan! Goku woke up!" said a slayer. In that moment, Kanao and Goku made eye contact and smiled at each other.
"Welcome back," said Shinobu, hugging Goku. "Welcome back... my love."
"It's over..." thought Goku, looking at the sky and hugging Shinobu back with the only arm he had left.
Three months later, at the Butterfly Mansion...
Goku was sitting in a hospital bed. Sleeping on the layers of the bed were Zenitsu and Inosuke. Next to him, there was Nezuko.
"Can't you really grab anything?" she asked, taking Goku's right hand.
"No. The index and middle fingers are the most important ones for the hand, and if you lose them, you can say goodbye to your grip..." said Goku. "How are you, Nezuko-chan?"
"I'm all right!" exclaimed Nezuko.
"Sorry if I tried to kill you three months ago..."
"Who cares? Next time, I'll give you a hit on the forehead," said Nezuko. "I'm so happy you're back, human, Aniki..."
"I've never been a human. I've always had these demon cells that made a hybrid," said Goku. "Fortunately, they won't play games anymore..."
"Can I have a hug, Aniki?" asked Nezuko.
"Of course..." said Goku, hugging his 'sister' with his only arm. "Now I gotta go. The final Hashira meeting is about to begin..."
Later on, Goku entered the room where the meeting would have taken place. Inside the room, there were Sanemi, Giyuu, Muichiro, Rengoku, and Shinobu.
"Have a sit, brother," said Sanemi.
"Are you getting used to living without an arm?" asked Rengoku.
"I am. Even if it isn't easy..." said Goku, sitting beside Shinobu.
"Thank you for coming here, Goku, Sanemi, Giyuu, Muichiro, Kyojuro, and Shinobu," said Kiriya. "This meeting will be very short. Of nine Hashiras, only you survived. And a lot of slayers died. Probably, if it wasn't for Goku, the loss could've been even worse. For this reason, from this day on, the Demon Slayer Corps is dismantled."
"Got it," said the Hashiras, in unison.
When Goku got outside, he found a surprise: Tengen and his three wives were waiting for him.
"BROOOOO!" exclaimed Tengen, patting him on the head. "You're in an even worse state than me, huh? A missing arm, a missing eye, two missing fingers, and only one lung? You're tough."
"Thank you, bro..." said Goku, patting him on the back. "Unfortunately, this is the price of victory. But you should have seen me kicking that asshole Muzan's ass!"
"I'm sure you made him see green mice," said Tengen. "I've also heard that you and Kocho are about to marry. Is that true?"
"It is," said Goku, smiling.
"Can I be your best man at your wedding?" asked Tengen.
"Of course you can!" exclaimed Goku.
Goku walked towards a sakura tree. There, he found Kanao.
"Hello, Kanao-chan..." he said, walking beside her.
"Hello, Goku-san..." she said.
"Drop the '-san', please. I'm not a Hashira anymore, remember?" said Goku.
"Oh, right, the Demon Slayer Corps has been dismantled..." remembered Kanao. "You know, sometimes I wonder if Tanjiro would be proud of you, or if he'd be happy we have won."
"He surely would, Kanao-chan," said Goku.
"I've heard you're about to marry Shinobu nee-san," said Kanao.
"I am. I hired Tengen as my best man!" replied Goku.
"Oh, fine. Don't hurt her feelings, please," said Kanao.
"I won't," said Goku.
Then, the two stared at the sakura tree. And in that moment, Goku remembered Tanjiro, Genya, Gyomei, and everyone who died in the battle. Then, he looked at his missing arm. These lost limbs serve as a redemption to me.
Later...
"We'll never finish by today!" said Zenitsu. "There are too many graves!"
Goku was far away from everybody. He had placed flowers on the graves of everybody. But most importantly of all, he was sitting in front of a grave. The name on the grave was "Tanjiro Kamado".
"And this is how it ended, Tanjiro-kun," said Goku, smiling.
"Hey, brother, get up," said Rengoku, from afar.
"You're lucky you didn't lose any limb, Aniki..." said Goku, getting up. "Let's go, we have to honor everyone's death."
"Can I join too, guys?" said Muichiro.
"Of course, Muichiro-kun!" said Goku, wrapping his right arm around his shoulders.
For the first time, Goku felt happy again. The demons had disappeared, and the world was finally at peace.
All was well.
The End