Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know it's been too long and I'm so sorry for that. I've been working too much during the fall but then the holiday season came and one of my family members had a surgery this month and I needed some time to help them with their physical therapy. Fortunately, they are doing good.
Again I do apologize as it is one of my longest chapters. Hope you enjoy it!
Sango held her breath as she and the young man trailed into the fort of the Demon Slayers. She hoped that her village would not harass the poor man. She wasn't sure if he was up for answering any of their questions. She could only pray that her father would be there to have them talk and to have her escort her guest to his home. When the gates opened they were immediately greeted by the rest of the Demon Slayers.
"Welcome home, Sango!"
"We are relieved to see you've returned."
"How was your trip? Was it difficult slaying the sea dragon?"
All the greetings from the villagers were halted once they saw the young man who was traveling with her. They began whispering among themselves and glancing at him. Just like when they were being watched by the demons, he didn't even seem fazed by the attention that he was getting. Before the villagers could even begin to speak with him, the Chief of the Demon Slayers approached them with the two eldest slayers trailing close behind him.
Sango bowed as she greeted her father. Imitating Sango's action, her traveling companion bowed in response. The Chief bowed in returned.
"Welcome home, daughter. I congratulate you on your successful return from your slaying of the dragon."
As Sango bowed in thanks the chief turned his attention to the young man. "And as for you, welcome to the village of the Demon Slayers. My daughter has informed me of your circumstances. Please," He motioned for the two of them to follow him. "follow me."
The two of them followed him to his home. The two eldest slayers walked over to their wagon and examined the remains of the dragon that Sango had brought back. They summoned a few of the slayers to gather the remains while Sango and the young man followed her father to his home. The chief's house was the largest house in the entire fort of the Demon Slayers. It was located near the rear center of the village. There were cherry blossom trees around the front entrance of the house with shrubs surrounding the stone pathway. The chief led them to the dining room where he motioned for them to sit. They made themselves comfortable as he sat at the head of the table.
"So," Katsuro began as he got himself seated. "from what my daughter spoke of, it seems you have no memory of any events before your accident."
"That's correct, sir. I have no recollection of what happened to me prior to my ship wreck. Not even my own name."
Katsuro stroke his beard in thought. "I see. Well, I'm not sure what you plan to do at this point but my people and I will help you to the best of our abilities. For the time being, why don't you stay here in my home, as my guest? It will allow you to rest from your long journey and give you some time to think about what you want to do." He stood up and motioned to the hall. "There is a spare bedroom at the end of the hall. You may stay there, if you would like. I'll have Aya bring you some more clothes." Once they entered his room, Sango walked over to the closet.
"We have blankets and pillows for you. The weather is still warm so it shouldn't get too cold at night." She pulled out a futon and prepared it on the floor. She also grabbed a blanket and set it atop the futon, preparing his bed. The man brought in the very few belongings he had on him and set them on the floor.
He bowed. "Thank you for all your help. I don't know how to thank you enough."
Sango smiled. "It's my pleasure. My people will always help those in need, especially when they are not able to help themselves."
He glanced at her as she was going through the closet, looking for some spare clothes. "You have told me about your people, but you also told me that you hardly have jobs to hunt demons. Why is that?"
Sango nodded as she pulled out a few casual robes. "Yes, it was common for us to take demon slayings as jobs. But, there are not many demons who actively hunt humans anymore so we just scout for any demonic activity that will cause a problem for small villages or any human civilization. But the money is of no use to us. After all, we don't interact with the rest of humanity very much."
He frowned. "Why is that?"
Sango placed all of the robes except one down on the man's futon. She held onto one robe and walked up in front of him. "All of our trade and needs we receive from the Demon Lord."
She motioned for him to lift his arms for her to measure. He lifted his arms and held them straight out. As she placed the robe against him, mentally taking in the adjustments she would have to make for his size, she continued. "Because of our trade and interactions with the demon kingdom, we don't have the need to interact with the rest of the humanity. And besides," She placed the robe on the futon and grabbed another robe and placed it against the man's body. "why would we alarm humanity with the possibility of demons? As far as they know, demons no longer exist."
"And what do your people receive in return?"
Sango paused and stared at him. She had never thought of that before. It had never even come across her mind.
He continued. "You demons slayers are a great people who have many great achievements. Do you get nothing in return?"
Sango continued to stare at him. She said nothing for a moment and then removed the robe from him. "Our greatness doesn't come from receiving gifts as rewards for the duties we carry. It has always come from those who expect nothing and take nothing for granted. My people work hard for what they have and then reach out and help others. We focus on building up others," she paused for another moment and then continued. "And somehow our own sense of self-worth has improved. Some might call these random acts of human kindness. But the truth is, acting unselfishly is not random at all. Instead, it is our conscious effort to make the world better by making someone else's life better. We are happier by doing this."
She stepped away from him and gathered the rest of the robes on the bed. "I'll prepare your spare clothes. In the meantime, make yourself comfortable. Feel free to wander around if you like." Sango bowed and left the room.
He continued to glance at the door she left from. After a couple of moments, he places his hand on his chest where her hands were while she took his measurements. It was still warm. He frowned. How curious.
After Sango and one of the villages seamstress prepared a few spare clothes for their young guest, Sango headed over to his room to give him his clothes. Noticing the door was closed, Sango knocked on the door. When there was no response she called out to him.
"Excuse me. I have your clothes ready for you."
Still no response. Sango slowly slid the door open and peeked inside, in case he was asleep. When she didn't see him, she slid the door all the way open. He was not in his room. She placed the clothes in the closet and decided to head out and see where he went. He was most likely exploring her small village.
She put on her shoes and stepped outside. The village was small but flourishing. Since the Chief of the Demon Slayers lived in the center of the village, the rest of the slayers lived and worked around his home, allowing the chief to have easier access to the entire fort. Behind the home of the chief was the garden and home of the physician, Daisuke. The garden was flourishing of vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the physician to use whenever someone was ill or injured. Sango made a mental note to pay a visit to the physician to see if he could provide anything for their amnesic guest.
In the corner of the fort, behind the chief's home, were stables for the animals that the demon slayers cared for. There were stables for the horses and cattle they attended to, and there was a fairly large hen coop that held a dozen chickens. The animals were looked after by the Demon Slayer Caretaker Haruko. Haruko was a woman of large stature. She was taller than the average man at about 2 meters tall and had a large amount of muscle to boot. Her husband, Hideki, was also a human of large stature, being 2 and a half meters tall. They both were very tall and muscular individuals that were given a very important task of caring after the animals that lived in the village of Demon Slayers. Most people would assume that large individuals such as them would be guards stationed at the walls of the fort. Well, there was a reason they were given the jobs they had. Both of these demons slayers were very good with handling animals but there was a specific role they had that no one else could fulfill. In the case of an emergency situation where many of the slayers had to leave the fort to battle or if their fort gets ambush, they had to stay behind and defend the elderly and the children. It would be the two of them as the last defense for the future generation of the Demon Slayers. And they were both given a designated weapon in order to accomplish this.
Haruko was given two *tessens, each 600 millimeters in length and made with iron ribs. Not only were they great at slicing through thick flesh but with great speed and power, they generated great gusts of wind which worked wonderfully with their homemade poisons and other wind-based attacks. Hideki was given two *kanabos that were made from the bones of demons and the spikes were made from the scales of dragons. The kanabos were 100 millimeters each in length and each swing carried the brute force of a giant demon's swing. Together, they were the perfect team to create a defense for the children who were not ready to fight demons.
Around the west side of the chief's house were the workshops and homes of the blacksmiths. The blacksmiths had the skills to use the body parts of demons and other monsters to create weapons they used to fight. The most skilled blacksmith was Satoshi, he had a staff with a large spiked ball on the top end and a pitchfork at the bottom end. Being one of the Head Chief's Katsuro's closest friends, he gained the skill of bone welding after he learned about it from his father. The demon slayers learned the art of craftsmanship of demon weapons from a demon blacksmith named Totosai, who was the blacksmith responsible for creating the weapons of the demon lord himself. Totosai taught them that there was a specific way to use the remains of demons to create a weapon. He taught them to purify the demonic remains called *jaki and calm their hatred. Once that was complete the weapon that was carrying the consciousness of the slain demon would forge a bond with the slayer, seeing them as their companion would no longer hold any hatred towards humans, and fight by their side. It not only allowed them to fight demons that were incredibly powerful but it allowed them to understand the power of demons and how to manipulate the dark energy to the best of their abilities.
Since Katsuro became the Chief of the Demons Slayers, Satoshi devoted his life to hone his skill on creating weapons for his people. His wife, Michiko, was a scholar who studied demons to become an expert in demons and their powers. It made things easier to find out how to create the most effective weapons. He had a few apprentices but none of them had gotten close to his skill of welding. But even if they weren't masters, at the very least, all demon slayers needed to know the basics of welding for their own specific weapon in case they needed to repair them. There have been and would be many times were the Demon Slayers' weapon would become damaged. Each slayer needed to understand their weapon and the skills that were required to repair them. Which was why Satoshi was the master welder, he had to learn and understand how to repair all weapons that were created so he could teach slayers how to repair them in case the time arrived.
The east side of the chief's house had a small training grounds for the demon slayers to practice using their weapons and learning how to wield them. It was mostly used for young demons slayers who were barely learning how to wield their weapon. Sango remembered how she would spend hours in the hot sun, lifting the weapon and building strength to lift it above her head. Her father had her start her training at a very young age, which was younger than most demon slayers start their training. The reason was because her father had the feeling that she would inherit the Hiraikotsu and would need to build her strength in order to carry it, let alone wield it. The Hiraikotsu was a weapon that had been passed down in their family for generations. The Hiraikotsu has been usually passed down every other generation or every two generations. So when Katsuro's father passed away, he knew it was only a matter of time before the weapon would choose one of his children as its wielder. The day arrived when Sango was allowed to select her weapon. Her and her father entered the storage of weapons and he knew the Hiraikotsu had chosen her once he witnessed his daughter lay her eyes on the Hiraikotsu.
Sango didn't have to look far for the young man. He was watching one of the blacksmiths purify the demon parts of their jaki and would occasionally ask a question here and there. When Sango walked over to them, both men looked up and greeted her over.
"I never knew there was such a process to build a weapon from the remains of demons." The man exclaimed. "It's such a definite craftsmanship and it's fascinating to see someone with phenomenal talent to create such masterpieces."
Sango smiled while the blacksmith blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yes. It's an ability that not all Demon Slayers have. That's why they have been entrusted with creating our weapons. They are the most valued of our Demon Slayers."
The blacksmith laughed. "You're over exaggerating young Chief. We're replaceable."
Sango shook her head. "On the contrary, no one is replaceable." She then turned to her guest. "Tonight there will be a feast in celebration. I have brought some clothes for you to wear. I assume you will be joining us?"
He nodded. "It would be an honor."
Later that evening. The Demon Slayers gathered around a large stack of logs for the bonfire that was placed in front of the Chief's home. Tables were set up with all different platters of food. On each table there was a well cooked boar in the center with different varieties of dishes surrounding it. There were plates of fruits, pastries, soups, and poultry dishes. At the ends of each table were bottles of wine and saké to drink. The musicians were sitting together near the bonfire, waiting for the Chief to officially begin the celebration.
The Chief was sitting in front of his home where a mat was laying with pillows for him and his family to sit on. He was sitting on the center with Sango sitting on his right side and Kohaku on his left side. As the future Chief of the Demon Slayers, Sango was required to attend the celebrations as she will officially begin them once her father passes down the mantel to her. Sango was dressed in a pink furisode with purple lilacs on her sleeves and bottom part of her kimono. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail with an orange orchid pin in her hair. Kohaku was wearing a dark red kimono with turtles on his sleeves and on the bottom of his kimono. Their father, Chief Katsuro, was wearing a green kimono with a golden dragon that was designed from his sleeves to the back of his robe. As he was watching and waiting for all the Demon Slayers to gather, Sango heard footsteps from behind them. She turned to see their guest approach them. He was wearing a violet kimono with lions in a crouched positing at the bottom of his kimono. Katsuro turned and motioned for him to sit next to Kohaku. The young man walked over and sat against a pillow that was placed next to Kohaku. As soon as everyone was gathered, the Chief stood up and caught the attention of everyone gathered.
"My children, let us not forget to be thankful for this bountiful food we have been blessed with. We shall also give thanks for Sango's safe and successful journey to slay the sea dragon that has caused the destruction of fleets and the death of many." The demon slayers cheered as they bid their congratulations to their future chief.
Katsuro turned and motioned to the newcomer. "And let us be thankful for this courageous young man who survived the rage of the dragon, whom we also honor here tonight."
Sango noticed the startled expression on their guests' face as the rest of the slayers gave an applause. He clearly didn't expect that from her father. She hid her chuckle as she watched her father continue to address their people.
"There is much to be thankful for. Let this be a night of joy, gratitude, and family. Now let the celebration begin!" He grabbed a torch and lit up the bonfire, officially starting the celebration.
The musicians began playing their music, children stood up and began to dance around the fire, adults made drinks and begin conversing among themselves. Even Kohaku stood up to join his friends dancing in front of the bonfire while her father left to speak and laugh with his comrades. Sango glanced at Kohaku's abandoned spot where the newcomer was busy occupying himself with Kirara who was sitting in his lap and enjoying a belly rub. She stood up and gathered a plate of food with fruit and some pieces of meat. She also took two small cups and a bottle of saké. Sango seated herself next to him and offered some food. He politely declined and she set the plate down between them in case he changed his mind later. Kirara noticed the plate of food and hopped off her new friend's lap and began sniffing the plate. Sango picked up a small piece of boar meat and held it out to Kirara. Kirara stepped over to Sango and carefully sniffed the meat before she pried it off her fingers and ate it. As Kirara was chewing her food, Sango held out the bottle of saké towards the new member of her father's new ward.
"Would you like some?"
He paused for a moment, he then looked at the two cups she brought with the plate. He picked up one of the cups and leaned it towards her. "Yes, please."
She filled his cup as well as her own. Once she set the bottle down they clinked their cups and took a sip. Once he noticed that Kirara finished her last piece of meat he picked up another one and tossed it to her, only to have the nekomata catch it in her mouth and stalk away with it.
"I apologize if my father unsettled you by introducing you to our people." Sango commented.
He shook his head. "It's all right. I didn't expect for him to announce that during a celebration made for you."
Sango blinked before she burst into laughter. "No. The celebration is not just for me. As my father stated, there are many things we show our gratitude for. The silence of the dragon's rage is just one of them." She frowned as she picked up a handful grapes and nibbled on a couple of them. "Which is shame."
He looked up from his little game of tug-a-war with Kirara, who was attempting to pry another piece of meat from his hand. "Why is that?"
"Dragons are very respectable creatures. I do not take pleasure in killing them. But the dragon I killed was attacking fleets and it is my duty to protect people." Her frown deepened as she ate a couple more grapes. "It was odd though. Dragons usually don't attack humans, especially unprovoked. For years that sea dragon has lived in that region of the sea and it has never attacked humans until recently. That is why my father sent me to slay it."
She poured themselves another cup of saké. She hoped whoever received the weapon created from the dragon's remains had the respect to use and care for the weapon. Dragons were very strong and it was rare that they used dragon remains for their weapons. She considered it an honor to be able to have a dragon as your constant companion in battle.
The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the celebration as they watched the rest of the slayers dance, drink and be merry. Sango fiddled with her drink as she watched her brother dance with his friends and her father drink and laugh with his companions. It would be interesting to see how their guest would accommodate to their way of life.
For the past few weeks, the village of the demon slayers became impressed with the newcomer that their future Head Chief brought back. Not only did he carry himself very well but he was also intelligent, kind, and a very optimistic listener. He spent most of his days watching the demon slayers perform their tasks, train with their weapons, and he also spoke with the elders about the history of their village. As he would learn about their culture, he would also ask if there were other ways to complete tasks and occasionally give suggestions on how to improve them. Instead of storing the demon remains by organs, he suggested storing the remains by sturdiness and intended weapon parts. The remains that would be used for hilts and handles would be stored together. The remains that would be used for the main core of the weapon would be stored together and categorized between bladed weapons and blunt weapons. He also talked with the instructors about the training grounds. He spoke with them about practicing in different types of environments and how they would use that to their advantage. The instructors obliged him and showed him their training areas outside the fort.
Eventually the slayers' guest started to make an impact on them that the Head Chief decided to give the young man a name for the duration of his stay. He gave their guest the name 'Kenji', who didn't mind as he was still having trouble recovering his memories. Sango was worried that giving him a name that was not his would interfere with him recovering his memories but to her relief he was still determined to remember who he was.
Since there were no jobs available, Sango had quite amount of time to herself. She would spend it going on hikes in the mountains around the fort and sitting near the meadows where she would pick flowers for her mother's grave. She would use that time to ponder what was going to happen to Kenji once he got his memories back. Would he still try to stay in contact with them? Would he leave and never see them again? Would he try to bring people from his hometown into their village? They tried many different methods to recover his memories but nothing seemed to work. What would happen to him if he didn't remember anything? What would he want to do? Her father made it clear to him that he was welcome to stay for as long as he would like. But Sango was curious, was that what he wanted? Did he want to stay? Even though it was not logical for her to do so, a part of her did not want him to leave.
Sango hated to admit it but she was beginning to enjoy Kenji's company. It was nice to have someone that was her age to speak with. Everyone else in the fort were either older adults or children that were varying from Kohaku's age to toddlers. She didn't mind but it was a bit lonely to be the only person in her village that was a teenager. She felt like an adult around the children and a child around the adults even though she was mature enough to speak with them. But she couldn't speak with them on tales of the past. They would talk about 'the good old times' when they were children, the growth of their own children, and fond moments of their spouses. While Sango didn't mind listening to the adults talk about what was going on in their household, she couldn't share their enthusiasm. She wasn't old enough to talk about the 'good times' of her childhood and she wasn't married with children. Besides fighting demons, she didn't have a lot in common with the adults. She enjoyed spending time with her brother Kohaku but he had friends closer to his age with whom he would spend time with. So it was refreshing to have an individual around her age to speak with when they had the leisure time.
To her surprise, Kenji spend quite a bit of time watching her practice wielding her weapon as well as improving her hand-to-hand combat while she would spar with the other demon slayers. After a couple of days, he approached her and asked for her permission to spar with him. At first Sango wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Noticing her hesitation, Kenji quickly explained that he had a sense of familiarity when he would watch the demon slayers spar with one another. Intrigued, her father and some of the older demon slayers stood around them to watch as they began their match. Sango and Kenji were each given a bokken for their spar. Sango would watch and see how he would respond to her attacks and she would observe his approach on landing any attacks. If he was doing well, then she would push him a little harder. If not . . . well she would wait until they crossed that bridge.
The match officially started and Kenji waited for her to make the first move. Sango obliged him and charged towards him, bokken in hand and ready. She swung towards his head only for him to block her blade with the his own bokken. She flipped backwards and crouched down, weapon at the ready. Kenji slowly stood straight and tightened his grip on the sword. He wasn't frustrated but he had a look of determination on his face. To Sango's astonishment, it wasn't determination to defeat her. It was something else. He had a look of fierce curiosity all over his face. She wasn't sure what he was trying to discover from their spar but she knew he wasn't gong to make it easy for her. She inwardly frowned. Knowing that seemed to please her. She then wondered if she should push him to his limits or not. He answered that for her as he charged straight at her, the bokken held behind him. She smirked as she held her weapon, ready to defend.
The spar went on for quite a while. One thing that Katsuro and his comrades noticed about Kenji was that he had excellent speed and aim. He was quick to recover and the speed he used to attack was incredible. Of all the demon slayers that had a reputation for their speed, none of them were as fast as he was. His strikes also matched his speed. He was precise in his attacks, especially where he aimed. To achieve a victory, Kenji would have to defeat his opponent with as few moves as possible. Observing this, Katsuro and the rest of the demon slayers silently agreed that Kenji mostly likely had a warrior's background. There was a high chance that he was a soldier if he was from one of the five main kingdoms. Katsuro smirked as he watched his daughter fight this young man. While Kenji's skill was in his speed and precision, Sango's skill was her brute strength and stamina. Ever since she was young, Sango always had great endurance. That was definite once he started training her at the very young age of five. He noticed, as well as the other demon slayers noticed, that she didn't tire as quickly and she still had enough fight in her left once she was pushed to her limits. Her strength was also incredible. Even when she was a little girl, Sango had no problems defeating large demons with just her strength alone. Her punches and kicks were enough to bring even the strongest of beasts to their knees. Katsuro remembered when he took her on her very first mission to slay a bear demon. Her hits without her weapon were strong enough to bring the demon on the ground. It was a very proud moment for Katsuro as the nobles who hired them on that mission were praising his daughter. Even a young son of one of the nobles developed feelings for Sango after the bear was slain. But of course, his daughter didn't even bat an eye in the boy's direction. Katsuro almost felt sorry for the young boy. Sango was a young girl who seemed to think with her fists rather than her heart. In a way, she was still like that now.
The match ended in a tie, with Kenji running out of strength and Sango only able to defend. They both bowed to one another and turned in their bokkens to the elders. Katsuro watched the exchange between Kenji and Sango. Sango had a look of satisfactory on her face. She seemed very pleased with the match even if she didn't beat him. Kenji on the other hand, had a look on his face that Katsuro knew all too well. While Kenji seemed frustrated he was also intrigued about their fight. Whether or not the fight gave Kenji what he needed Katsuro wasn't sure but he knew one thing. There was a light within Kenji's eyes whenever Sango would be in his sight. Observing this, Katsuro was certain that the future would bring about interesting events.
A few week have passed since the sparring match between Kenji and Sango. During those weeks, Kenji trained with different demons slayers and it was evident that Kenji had fought before. During that time, Katsuro had informed Kenji that he should be given slayer weapons. While Kenji was skeptical, Sango had to admit she was a bit excited to see if any of the formed weapons would choose an outsider for their fighting companion.
When they entered into the weapon storage, both Sango and Katsuro waited patiently as Kenji slowly made his way around the storage. For Demon Slayers, when they became of age, usually around the age of ten, their parents would take them to the storage of the weapons for them to discover their companion. At a young age, the slayers were able to sense which weapon was meant for them. It wasn't a voice that called to them, or a light that the weapon emitted for them. If Sango had to describe it, it was like feeling a pulse. Once you felt it, the pulse would pull you closer until the weapon was in your grasp. Of course, that was how Sango felt. She wasn't sure because Demon Slayers were never allowed to disclose that to others. Their connection to their weapon and how the weapon chose them was sacred.
It was around ten minutes before Kenji seemed to close in on a weapon. To the surprise of both Katsuro and Sango, it wasn't one weapon that Kenji picked up. It was two. One was a very large Nagamaki blade and the other was a Jintachi blade. Kenji turned towards them and displayed the weapons. Sango let out a slight gasp as she recognized the blades. Both of them were newly forged weapons that Satoshi built from the dragon remains she brought back. A large smile formed on her face as she realized what occurred. There could be no better partner for the sea dragon than Kenji.
Katsuro was just as surprised as Sango but for a different reason. It had been centuries since a Demon Slayer was chosen by two weapons. Never mind being chosen by weapons created from the same creature! Their people usually had one weapon and were given smaller blades and weapons to fight with in case their weapon got confiscated or compromised. It has been a little over two months since Sango brought Kenji to their village. Although it might be too soon, Katsuro felt it was time for Kenji to go on a demon slaying mission. If he succeeded then he would introduce him to the Demon Lord. After all, Katsuro received messages that the Demon Lord was curious about their new resident and expressed a desire to meet him.
Katsuro watched Kenji curiously as Sango gave him her congratulations and suggested different methods on how to carry them on his person. He would ask permission from the Demon Lord first but he knew exactly what kind of mission to send Kenji on and Sango would be going with him.
Author's Note: I had originally intended for Itachi & Sango's story to be one chapter but honestly there's so much I want to add that it would be too long of a chapter so I was forced to split it in half. Obviously this chapter is Sango's version of the beginning of their story and to start I wanted to have Sango see him first as an acquaintance, a trustworthy fighting companion, and then a dear friend. Yes, there's a bit of her father's perspective but for the most part, I wanted it to be in Sango's perspective so we can see him through her eyes but at the same time I didn't want the relationship to go too fast.
Itachi's perspective is where we begin to see intimate feelings bloom and we'll explore that in the next chapter. I'm very excited and nervous to get that chapter going. Itachi is my favorite Naruto character and I want to do my best to write him as in character as possible. (Is it spoiler for me to put Itachi's name in the notes even though he goes by the name of 'Kenji' at this point in the story? Well, we know it's him so I guess there's no point in me pretending he's not.)
I know the celebration scene may have seemed a little bit out of place compared to the other scenes but there is a reason why I put it there. As you guys know, I love symbolism. Pay special attention to the colors and the animals on the designs of the kimonos of the Chief and his family. I especially put in some thought on the flowers for Sango's outfit.
Here are some terms that I used for a few demon slayer weapons, in case you needed clarification.
*Tessen - Japanese war fan
*Kanabos - Spiked club
*Jaki - a malicious energy that demons produced which is very similar to a demonic aura
