The Unforgiving Corp Rules
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest, and possibly shortest, chapter of Breath of the Rifleman! But hopefully that won't stop anyone's enjoyment of it, and since we have no guest review questions this week, let's get right to the story! And before I forget, I'd like to once again thank Noble Eight, Lonetaker and groche9655 for their input in this arc. Now once more, to the story!
Mt. Natagumo: Small Clearing
"You lowlifes are like an endless stream that refuses to get out of my way!" Exclaimed Rui in anger at the new arrival as a gravely injured Tanjiro and Subaru looked on from their prone positions on the ground. It was honestly a miracle neither of them had expected given just how close they'd come to being shredded by the Lower Moon Five of the Kizuki not hardly a minute ago. And now here stood their savior, Giyu Tomioka, the same person who'd set them on the path to demon slaying in the first place. And he was also the only thing currently standing between them and imminent death as Rui conjured up several more threads into a giant, rotating sphere which was circulating at high speed. "Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation!"
"Total Concentration Breathing," said Tomioka, not looking phased at all by the attack which was about to head his way, "Breath of Water Eleventh Form: Dead Calm." 'Eleventh form?' Thought Subaru and Tanjiro at the same time as they watched him take his stance.
"Who cares what form it is?!" Raged Rui as he sent his attack forward at high speed, where it was sliced to ribbons in an instant. 'Even with my eye patch off I still couldn't quite follow what just happened,' thought Subaru as he marveled at the incredible speed of Tomioka's swordsmanship. Even more incredible, those had been the red threads which had proven so strong that only Tanjiro's Hinokami technique from earlier had been able to cut them. "T-That's impossible," said Rui as a look of utter disbelief, then anger crossed his face as he raised his blood-soaked hands again, "Once mor-."
They were his final words as Giyu seemed to appear before him in an instant and cut through his head as if it was a piece of old cloth. The look of disbelief remained on Rui's face even as his, now definitely, severed head fell to the ground. "Truly amazing," breathed out Subaru, in awe of the skill he'd just witnessed before realization hit him, prompting the injured slayer to turn and begin his painful crawl toward Nezuko and Tanjiro. His friend had already reached his destination as he'd began his own crawl first and was currently hugging his sibling's head close to his heart.
"Nezuko….I'm so glad you're….okay," breathed out Tanjiro, too weak to even raise himself to a proper sitting position. Subaru's situation wasn't much better, only managing to get to his knees as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"How is she?" Questioned the Matagi, trying his best to keep the worry out of his voice.
"She's unconscious again, but she'll be alright once she has time to heal properly," Tanjiro assured him, turning to his friend with a relieved expression on his face. Subaru nodded before noting that his fellow slayer was looking at something else very close to them. The Slayer turned and weakly drew his knife as the decapitated body of Rui reached for them. "Wait Subaru, it's already over."
"Are you sure, he kinda came back once already," The Matagi reminded him without taking his eyes off the now dissolving body.
"I doubt he could fight us now. I don't think he even really wants too anymore," said Tanjiro, "I don't smell anything other than grief from him right now." The Slayer reached out and rested a hand on the headless demon's back despite Subaru's objections. "Grief too great for him to bear." Subaru simply sighed at this as he sheathed his hunting knife and removed one of Tamayo's knives for extracting blood.
"Then God save him, should it be right to do so," said Subaru as he withdrew what blood he could, "and for the gift of his blood I say 'may you hear pleasant sounds in the next life.'"
"T-Thank you, Subaru," said Tanjiro as he smiled weakly, which quickly turned into a frown when Giyu approached and stepped on the robes of the recently departed demon.
"Don't waste your sympathy on a demon who's devoured innocents," said Tomioka, "even if it looks like a child it is nothing more than a hideous monster that has survived for decades."
"I know," said Tanjiro as his grip tightened on Rui's robes, "to avenge the people who were killed, to insure there are no more victims. For that I will bring my blade down on a demon's neck without mercy! But there are those who suffered despair as demons, who regret their actions. I will never trample the ones like that. Because demons were once human too, just like us! So please, step off of his remains."
Giyu looked unconvinced at this argument so Tanjiro simply continued. "They may look like hideous monsters, but they're not that at all. Demons are hopeless and tragic creatures!" Subaru watched this exchange, doing his best to read Tomioka's features as he noted a tinge of surprise on his face when his gaze drifted to Nezuko. But as he was about to say his own piece, he noticed a strange troupe of blue butterflies suddenly appearing around them.
'Now what in the world is going on,' thought Subaru with an internal groan. Giyu apparently knew as he suddenly took a lower stance and drew his blade while stepping over Tanjiro and Nezuko protectively. An instant later, he deflected another blade from a girl who came flying out of nowhere. She apparently hadn't anticipated such a counter and landed several feet away before turning slowly towards them, allowing everyone to get a good look at the newcomer.
Her hair was dark and ended in purple highlights, much of it being held up by a butterfly-shaped hairpiece. And though she did wear the traditional demon slayer uniform, her look was made quite unique thanks to the hakama she wore that resembled white, black and rainbow colored butterfly wings. But what unnerved Subaru the most was her purple eyes and smile. Something about them seemed off, as if her eyes were almost dead and her happy expression forced to a degree.
"Why are you of all people getting in my way, Tomioka," asked the girl in a sweet tone that somehow made the hairs on the back of Subaru's neck stand on end. "You were the one who told me that we could never be friends with demons and yet, how do I put this, you seem to have backpedaled. And this is why no one likes you." Subaru noted how strange her sword was when she brandished it, like the fact that it was missing most of the edge with only the pointed end present. "Now, move out of the way please, Tomioka."
"But, people do like me," said Giyu, getting a somewhat stunned reaction from everyone present. 'Is that really the biggest concern right now,' thought Subaru as he tried to get to his feet, discreetly reloading his sleeve pistol along the way.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Shinobu, "you haven't even realized that people don't like you. So please forgive me for saying so."
"Hey I don't like 'you' right now," said Subaru, doing his best to control his racing heartbeat, "you do realize you nearly cut my friend's head off just now?"
"Oh dear," said the girl as she put her hand to her mouth, "have you not realized that what your friend is protecting is a demon? It'd be best if you both moved away so that you don't get hurt."
"Y-You're mistaken," said Tanjiro as he managed to haul both himself and Nezuko up to a near standing position, "I mean you're not mistaken that she's a demon, but she's my kid sister so…..you see.." Unfortunately, Tanjiro couldn't think up a good explanation at the moment. Getting kicked around so hard earlier had likely taken its toll on even his hard head. But it seemed to get through to the new arrival as she let out a small gasp.
"Is that so, oh you poor thing," she said before her face shifted back to her unnerving 'happy' expression, "In that case, I shall use a gentle toxin so that her end won't be one of suffering, all right?" She readied her sword upon that declaration as Giyu's body stiffened a bit.
"Can you move?" He whispered back to Tanjiro, "if you can't, make yourself move. Take your sister and run."
"You'd really," Tanjiro started to say before nodding in determination, "sorry for the trouble. But thank you!" The swordsman managed to pick his sister up bridal style and began heading off into the woods as Giyu and Subaru stood between him and their attacker.
"Isn't allowing a demon to escape like that against Corp rules," said the girl, her smile never faltering. Tomioka didn't answer as the two suddenly sped forward, moving nearly too fast for Subaru to even make out what was happening as sparks flew from their clashing blades. The Rifleman quickly lost count of how many times their swords collided with each other as the sound of clanging steel reverberated throughout the forest. After about a minute, the two retreated to make a bit of breathing room for themselves.
"I can see you're actually serious about this," said the girl as her smile finally turned into a frown, "who would've thought a Hashira of all people would defend a demon."
"Uh, a quick question if I may," said Subaru suddenly, "you said Hashira, are you by chance one of them?"
"I am indeed," she said as her smile returned to her face and she relaxed her stance, "Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Pillar. I'd say it's a pleasure but given the circumstances-."
"So it really is you," said the Matagi, "you're the one who specializes in using wisteria-based poisons to kill demons. That same method of fighting was originally proposed by a man who applied it to bullets and explosives as an alternative to decapitation."
"You seem to know quite a bit about the Corps for being a Mizunoto," remarked Shinobu, "have we possibly met somewhere before?"
"We haven't," said Subaru, "but I believe you might be familiar with my father, Saburo Genjirou."
"Your father," repeated Shinobu, "I wonder about that. Tell me, how much did he teach you of his applications?"
"He crushed wisteria and mixed it in with a basic salve to create a coating that he could apply to the head of a bullet," answered Subaru, "the problem he kept running into was having a steady supply of wisteria whenever he was forced to use a lot of ammunition on a given assignment. That's when he had a small network of couriers created with the Corp's connections to deliver supplies like extra bullets and wisteria."
"And his weapon of choice for demon slaying?" Asked Shinobu.
"He's a Matagi, so he preferred to stick with the Murata rifle when he could," replied Subaru, "though he also carried a Schofield he managed to acquire after saving a collector from a demon. Though he's grown fond of lever-action rifles as well, hence the 1895 Winchester he gifted to me."
"Alright, last question," said Shinobu, "what was he known as around the Corps during his time there? His nickname if you will."
"The Black Powder Beast," answered Subaru, "he said it was a bit misleading given that he used smokeless black powder, but it stuck with him the whole time."
"Perhaps you really are his son," said Shinobu, "In that case, I'll think on vouching for you. But right now, I can't allow either of you to stall me any longer. Good day to the both of you." The Insect Hashira then leapt up into the trees with seemingly little effort and began hopping from branch to branch in pursuit of Tanjiro and Nezuko.
Giyu and Subaru were quick to give chase, though Subaru was only able to keep himself running by using total concentration breathing. 'It hurts to run, it hurts to move, heck it hurts to even be standing right now!' thought the Matagi as he felt every injury on his body screaming at him to just stop and rest for the remainder of the night. In truth, there was probably nothing he could really do against someone who was apparently on Tomioka's level, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to protect Nezuko from her.
"Is that your idea of trying to catch up to me," laughed Shinobu, calling back as she turned upside down in midair before landing and jumping off another branch. "I don't mind that you're trying to stop me, but you've clearly forgotten about the other one."
"Shit," cursed Subaru, "I should've figured there'd be at least one more pursuer on a mountain this size."
"Then let me worry about Shinobu," said Giyu without taking his eyes off the object of their pursuit, "you keep running and find your friends."
"We definitely owe you one for this," said Subaru as he did his best to pick up the pace while Tomioka leapt up into the air after his colleague. The exhausted Hunter didn't wait to see how their confrontation would end as he rushed through the forest, utilizing Total Concentration Breathing the whole way. In another few minutes, he was met with mild success. He found Tanjiro, unconscious on the ground.
'Not good, is he,' Subaru didn't want to finish the thought as he knelt down and felt his friend's pulse. 'Alright he's still alive, which means the Corps isn't trying to kill him at least. But where's Nezuko?' The sound of running and a sword swinging in the distance was his answer as the Matagi spotted two pairs of footprints on the ground. "I promise I'll be back if I can," said Subaru to Tanjiro before grabbing the red box his friend had apparently picked up during his own flight and made himself run once more towards the sounds of a sword slicing through the air.
Upon entering another clearing, Subaru found Nezuko in her child form running away from the same girl with a butterfly hairpiece and right side-facing ponytail that had helped them at Final Selection. She now had her own slayer uniform with a black skirt, white laced boots that reached up to her knees and a white traveling cloak. Subaru might've thought it somewhat humorous how fate had managed to cross his and Tanjiro's path with all the other Final Selection survivors in such a short time, but as the girl attempted to strike at Nezuko with her blade, he could only think of one thing. 'This is gonna hurt!'
The Demon Slayer managed to catch the girl off guard as she was about to cut off Nezuko's head by barreling into her using the box as a makeshift battering ram. If it hurt, she didn't show it as she managed to keep her footing and lashed out with a powerful high kick. Even barely blocking it with the box wasn't enough to stop the force of the blow as the Matagi was knocked onto his rear in front of the demon girl. Nezuko made to move in front of him protectively, but Subaru stopped her as he held up the box to ward off the next inevitable blow that was about to come from their pursuer's sword.
But the blow never came as Subaru's hawk, Shika, suddenly landed on the blade of their pursuer, causing her to pause mid-swing. "Message from headquarters! Message from headquarters!" Shouted a suddenly arriving Kasugai crow as it began circling the trio. "Tanjiro, Nezuko and Subaru are to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters! Tanjiro, Subaru and the demon Nezuko are all to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters!"
The demon slayer girl was clearly confused by this turn of events as the crow started spouting out the descriptions of the three of them. But she did as ordered and lowered her blade while Shika went and perched on a nearby tree. "Are you, Subaru and Nezuko?" Asked the girl as she leaned forward to inspect the two of them.
"Yeah that's us," said Subaru as he managed to readjust himself and open Nezuko's box, "and if you don't mind, it'd be best if we got her in here before the sun comes up." The girl seemed to think on the matter for a moment before giving a light shrug and nodding. "Alright Nezuko, hop in and let's go find your brother." Nezuko gave a muffled sound of agreement before climbing in slowly and closing the door behind her. Once Subaru was satisfied that she was situated he managed to stand up, albeit painfully.
"Well I guess the next thing is for you to take us to headquarters," Said Subaru.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand," said the Girl, "our orders are to take you into custody. So I'll need to bind you."
"Do I look like I'm capable of escap-GUH," Subaru's argument was cut off by a quick chop to his neck from the girl, causing him to topple over. Despite that, he still kept an iron grip on Nezuko's box as the darkness of unconsciousness quickly took hold.
Morning: Unknown Garden
"Hey, wake up," said a seemingly distant voice, "hey, wake up both of you! Are you planning on sleeping all day?" 'What in the world is this guy's problem,' thought Subaru as he tried to ignore the irritable sounding voice, 'we just agreed to go with the quiet girl after everything and now we-shit!"
"NEZUKO!" Exclaimed Subaru as he shot up from his position on the ground and accidently slammed his head into someone wearing a demon slayer uniform with an added cloth head piece and black and white cloth mask covering their face. 'What the, a Kakushi? Why's one of the Corps cleanup crew here?' A stirring to his side alerted him that there was someone else around as he looked to see Tanjiro waking up. What was strange was that not only was he missing his checkered hakama, his hands were bound behind his back. In fact, Subaru noticed that his were as well. "Hey what gives with the restraints?"
"QUIET!" Explained the Kakushi as he forced both Subaru and Tanjiro's heads down, "don't open your mouths yet you morons! Just who do you think stands before you now? We're in the presence of the Hashiras!"
"As in the strongest demon slayers in the Corps, Hashiras," inquired Subaru, already dreading the answer as he tried to keep from eating dirt.
"Who else do you think is granted the title of Hashira?" The Kakushi whispered fiercely.
"And it is now our duty to put the both of you on trial," said one of the Hashiras, a man with long yellow hair and red highlights. 'The Hashiras are putting us on trial,' thought Subaru as he looked at the gathered individuals. Some of them looked fierce, others looked skilled, and a couple were just downright odd. But one thing Subaru didn't know was whether or not they were reasonable, hence his following remark.
"Well fuck," said the demon slayer. It was about to be a long morning.
And here we are at the end of this surprisingly short chapter, despite a fair bit happening. But hopefully the length was enough for everyone to enjoy and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes are put on trial by the best and brightest of the Demon Slayer Corps! 'Til then.